Chapter 21: Military Festival

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September 25, 1639
Foreign Affairs Audit Bureau

Ever since Parpaldia's first encounter with the United States one month ago, Remille and her staff have been utterly confounded at the appearance of this mysterious nation. Throwing a wrench in their plans for domination, this new nation showed up almost out of nowhere, fielding fleets that are at least on par with those of Mu's ships. For the past several weeks, the Mu delegates have continued to deny any involvement with the Americans, only claiming that they too have recently found out about them. Worryingly, the Muans seem to hold these newcomers with interest; they think American technology is superior to their own.

If Remille had heard this from some commoner, she might've dismissed it as propaganda. However, these opinions came from the Muans themselves. After studying the properties of the aircraft they saw last month, even her analysts were convinced that the American planes are better than whatever Mu currently has in active service. Because of the overall lack of information and the general concern among her subordinates, Remille decided to play cautiously. Despite their geographic location being in barbarian territory, she couldn't deny that they were indeed civilized.

However, as the premier superpower of the Third Civilized Region, the Parpaldian Empire cannot be pushed around. As such, Remille invited the American diplomat, Ambassador Anders, to visit her office. She placed a crystal ball on her desk, which was connected to magical recording equipment in Fenn. The American diplomat would not only be able to see their advanced magical capabilities as demonstrated by the crystal ball itself, but also realize how powerful the Parpaldian Empire is once they conduct a demonstration for the festival.

Her original desire was to intimidate Fenn into submission by attacking the festival and striking fear into the hearts of the barbarians. However, with the knowledge that many civilized countries were also attending, she discarded the idea, unwilling to create a diplomat incident should her forces accidentally harm someone from a civilized country. Instead, she resorted to a simple demonstration. By targeting a fleet of decommissioned vessels, she should be able to cement Parpaldian influence over the Third Civilized Region. Additionally, such pressure could help Fenn come to a decision regarding Kaios' generous land-lease program. She sighed, leaning her head on the top of her cushioned chair as she waited for the Military Festival to begin.

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Amanoki, Fenn Kingdom

The capital city of Fenn bustled with activity as its citizens prepared for the day's festivities. Many were excited to see the new military hardware that the participants were sure to flaunt, while others were worried — worried about how Parpaldia would exercise its power. Everyone, from ordinary Fenn citizens to representatives from the other barbarian nations to the Sword King himself, were surprised to see the civilized nations taking an interest in the event.

As the sun rose higher in the distance, the citizens gathered along the docks, gawking at arriving ships. The first to arrive were those of the uncivilized countries. As constant participants, these nations' ships were nothing out of the ordinary. Still, they remained awe-inspiring as those outside of the civilized regions found something to be proud of.

The next set of ships to arrive were those from the civilized nations. Boasting cannons, these vessels garnered several 'oohs' and 'ahs'. Their mighty warships were considerably larger than the other docked vessels, armed with their primitive, barbarian ballistae. Everywhere their disembarked personnel went, restrained atmospheres soon followed. Prior to this military festival, none of the participants were treated unfairly or with disgust. However, this changed with the arrival of the pompous citizens of Riem and the other 'civilized' nations.

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