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Chapter 146: The Mediator
Chapter 146: The Mediator
Chapter 146: The Mediator
The clash between the Russian army and the NATO forces seemed to be one-sided.
It was because the French army, the main force of NATO, adopted a flexible defense strategy to absorb the shock of the Russian army.
It sounded grandiose, but the gist was to retreat their troops slowly and respond according to the situation.
It was a strategy that they could adopt because time was on NATO’s side, and the Russian army advanced to the capital of Estonia, ignoring all other factors.
In this process, the Estonian army’s troops were surprisingly useless.
Even if they mobilized all their troops, they were no match for a single Russian division.
Naturally, the US army took the lead in the overall situation and they wanted the French army to retreat to the vicinity of the Estonian capital.
They knew well that the Russian army had no choice but to stop.
—I don’t know why they attacked by surprise, but it’s clear that Dmitry didn’t intend this. The Russian army’s movements are not coordinated.
—Only the Guards Tank Army is protruding, and it seems like they are trying to replicate the case of the Korean 7th Division capturing Beijing.
—When they reach the end of their offensive, the French army will turn around and launch a counterattack. They can rout the Russian army.
The US observation that the Russian army was impatient was accurate.
The Guards Tank Army was busy advancing without even forming a proper formation for each unit.
For the first few hours, it seemed to work well.
NATO only retreated and did not intervene with their air power.
But when an urgent report came from their homeland, Minister Dmitry was shocked.
“What? Borchenko is dead?”
“Yes! The mob threw him from the top floor of the parliament! He was taken to a nearby hospital, but he was already dead…”
“…”
The chaos in Moscow seemed much worse than he had heard.
Probably, Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk were the same.
Minister Dmitry pushed away his aides and pondered.
He didn’t care that his rival Borchenko was dead, but it would be troublesome if his death tilted the balance of power further.
Someone could seize control of the executive branch while Mihailov was absent.
‘I have to return to Moscow right away…’
At this point, entering Moscow was more important than anything else.
Whoever settled the chaos in Moscow would hold Russia’s power in the future.
‘I can do it. No, I have to do it.’
The problem was that it was not easy to retreat after entering deep into Estonian territory.
The rest of the troops were also advancing at this point, so there was not enough time to pull back all the troops.
Minister Dmitry wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead.
He had already decided what to choose between the Western Military District and Moscow.
The former could be rebuilt anytime, but the latter would be over once he lost it.
Whoever seized power would not leave him alone.
‘If I return to Moscow right now, I can seize power.’
Deputy Prime Minister Mihailov was a hopeless old man, so he would give up Kremlin if he threatened him with his troops.
Not to mention other bureaucrats or heads of intelligence agencies.
He decided to abandon the Western Military District and called his closest aide and the commander of the Spetsnaz Brigade.
“Prepare a team of elite soldiers as secretly as possible. We’re going back to Moscow.”
“Yes? What about the troops advancing to Tallinn?”
“That’s not important right now. Borchenko is dead. We have to enter Moscow as soon as possible and take over Kremlin.”
The expressions of his aides changed.
Of course, there must have been a calculation that suppressing Moscow’s chaos would help him gain power later.
But he was the one who pushed the Western Military District into war.
What would happen if he deserted like a frontline commander?
“Minister, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”
The commander of the Western Military District, who was like his right arm, stepped forward, but Minister Dmitry cut him off with a determined voice.
“Shut up and get ready. We have to go into Moscow right now. We don’t have time.”
The soldiers on the front line were not important.
He snapped back with a lump in his throat.
What could he do?
He made a wrong choice by following this bastard.
The Spetsnaz agents escorted the headquarters officers and rumors spread in no time.
—The headquarters has withdrawn!
—Where? The whole Western Military District is about to advance! Connect me to them!
Of course, there was no connection.
As soon as Minister Dmitry and a few officers who followed him retreated to Moscow, the remaining troops were confused.
—The headquarters gave up the war!
—Dmitry betrayed and abandoned us!
The rumors spread to the entire unit in no time, and even the Guards Tank Army, which was advancing in a frenzy, stopped.
—What do we do now?
—Headquarters! Answer me! Headquarters!
NATO captured the troops that stopped in the middle of Estonian territory.
They had retreated well and preserved their troops relatively well, and they did not miss this opportunity.
When the joint command ordered a turnaround, the French army and the troops that joined from Poland pushed back the Guards Tank Army.
No matter how strong their power was, they were powerless without proper command.
The Guards Tank Army, who could not find a reason to fight, failed to counterattack and fled.
As tens of thousands of troops collapsed like that, the field commanders cursed Dmitry.
“This pig bastard abandoned us and ran away to Moscow!”
“Dmitry! You’ll be the first to die!”
The Russian generals had sworn allegiance to President Putin, not Dmitry.
It was understandable that the defense minister would have the military power after the president’s death, but they never thought he would discard his loyalty and run away.
As the furious commanders rallied their troops and advanced to Moscow, the western part of Russia became a mess.
The reports and cries of countless government agencies and combat units were mixed and chaotic.
There seemed to be no one to settle this confusion.
And while the French army dispatched to Estonia was fighting with the joint command over whether to advance to Russian territory or not.
He called the United Human Federation troops that he maintained to Moscow.
“Dmitry ran away too quickly. I have no choice but to mediate by force.”
Of course, he intended to get a hefty reward for mediation.
The drone ship loaded with Caliber drones and combat walkers left the base on Terra Island and flew in the sky.
***
The troops who followed Dmitry entered Moscow.
They hurried back and left most of their troops behind, but they didn’t care.
They thought it was important to enter Moscow and take over Kremlin.
Sure enough, Moscow was in chaos due to the war news and riots.
“Damn! It reminds me of the August coup!”
Dmitry called the head of the National Security Agency, who was Borchenko’s subordinate who died, but his response was not satisfactory.
“I heard you were on the front line…”
“Moscow is more important than Estonia! If you help me this time, I’ll reward you!”
“I’m sorry, but the National Security Agency only follows the deputy prime minister’s orders.”
“Don’t you know who I am?”
Dmitry shook his body and got angry, but he calmly retorted.
“The deputy prime minister has the authority. If you want to order us, you have to rule Kremlin.”
His eyes flashed.
Yes, Kremlin was important.
It was the center of Moscow and the symbol of Mother Russia itself.
If he ruled there, he could issue orders to numerous government agencies and combat units.
He drove through the chaotic streets of Moscow with his subordinates in an armored car.
As they entered the radial central area of Moscow, a heavily armed unit blocked them with a barricade.
“Stop! No one can pass!”
“I’m the defense minister! Remove the barricade immediately!”
“We are following the deputy prime minister’s orders! Stand back!”
Surprisingly, they were the National Guard, who could be called the president’s personal guard.
It was not strange that they were commanded by the deputy prime minister who had direct authority from the president, but Dmitry had doubts.
‘That indecisive old man wouldn’t give such an order!’
Mihailov was nothing but a politician of an old era who should have retired with Putin’s death.
He shouldn’t block him like this.
Dmitry threatened the commander of the National Guard, but he didn’t budge.
“We’ll let you in if you get permission.”
“Damn! Do you think I can’t do it?”
He immediately contacted Mihailov’s secretary’s office.
Moscow was under severe radio interference by someone’s doing, so it was not easy to contact them.
After several attempts of connection failures, he finally got through.
“Deputy Prime Minister, this is urgent. Please let me into Kremlin.”
“Why are you in Moscow when you should be commanding the Western Military District at the border?”
“The important thing now is not Estonia but settling Moscow’s chaos!”
“I can’t entrust that to a traitor.”
“Traitor? Don’t talk nonsense.”
Dmitry had to lower his voice enough so that the National Guard soldiers wouldn’t hear him.
He laughed at him.
“You suddenly got greedy for power after Borchenko died? I’m sorry. Your betrayal is already known not only to Moscow citizens but also to the entire army. No one welcomes you.”
“Mihailov! It’s not too late now!”
“It’s too late. Look at the sky.”
The sky?
He looked up and saw something.
It was a ship.
A flounder-shaped ship floating in the sky.
These days, tanks and trains fly in the sky, so it wasn’t a big deal to see a ship flying, but seeing it in reality was a different story.
“A ship flies in the sky…”
As the soldiers murmured, Dmitry wondered not about the existence of the ship, but why it was here.
“Is it from Earth Fleet…?”
Earth Fleet was the only fleet of the United Human Federation and was known to be stationed on Terra Island in the Pacific Ocean.
There was no reason for it to be in the sky above Moscow.
The aides were shocked by the ship flying in the sky and murmured.
“Isn’t that the drone ship that launched drones in the Indian Ocean battle?”
“Did the United Human Federation intervene in this situation?”
Someone’s face flashed in Dmitry’s mind.
‘Did he intervene in this situation with resentment for Borchenko’s demand for territorial renegotiation? Then things might be easier than expected.’
If he made the renegotiation a non-issue, he could be on his side.
Mihailov might have made the same proposal, but he would trust his promise more than that indecisive person.
It wouldn’t be hard for him to gain power if he brought in Yu Ji-ha, who had the absolute support of Russians in this chaotic situation.
But he had no way to contact him.
“Find a way to contact the Korean president as soon as possible! Hurry!”
As he urged his aides, something strange happened in the sky.
The flounder-shaped ship transformed here and there and suddenly started spewing out drones.
It was Caliber drones, unmanned fighters unique to Earth Fleet.
As if it had been agreed upon beforehand, Moscow’s air defense network was silent and even containers began to be ejected.
The black metal containers quickly transformed in mid-air and dropped something.
Thud, thud!
Dozens of robots appeared as the asphalt cracked.
They were combat walkers, which had gained a great reputation in the East Asian War.
The soldiers who knew well what kind of mess they had made in Japan were thoughtful.
Japan had not been rearming for long and had a weak army, but they still had more than 150,000 troops.
The fact that they were humiliated meant that it was difficult for Russia to handle.
Especially now that they had entered Moscow without any resistance!
Dmitry swallowed dry saliva and approached one of them.
“Hey, hey, you’re an AI, right? Can you connect me to your owner? President Yu Ji-ha, I mean.”
One of the combat walkers slowly turned its head and its eye camera, which had been green until then, turned red.
The soldiers grabbed their guns in surprise and a voice came out of the combat walker.
“As a collaborator of Deputy Prime Minister Mihailov, Minister Dmitry, I arrest you.”
“What? Me? By what right?”
“By the right of all Russian people who have been betrayed. You abandoned the entire Western Military District. They are being hunted by NATO without a commander.”
The voice of the combat walker made the soldiers of the National Guard frown.
They wondered why the minister who should have been at the Western Military District headquarters came to Moscow…
Minister Dmitry desperately denied and backed away.
“Do you believe what this tin can says? My retreat was part of the operational plan!”
Then the combat walker played the communication content of the Russian army that it had eavesdropped on.
“This pig bastard abandoned us and ran away to Moscow!”
“Dmitry! You’ll be the first to die!”
As vulgar curses popped out, Dmitry lowered his head but could not stop the soldiers’ eyes from changing.
“No, no, it’s synthesized. It’s easy to synthesize voices in a world where ships fly in the sky. National Guard! Let me in! I’ll explain everything after I enter Kremlin!”
Then the combat walker persuaded the commander.
“I am President Yu Ji-ha of Korea. I received a request from Deputy Prime Minister Mihailov to arrest Dmitry. If you trust me, please step back.”
Yu Ji-ha’s name was not only familiar but also trustworthy to most Russians.
Although he was a foreign politician, there was no reason not to intervene if he received a request from Deputy Prime Minister Mihailov.
The commander made a stern face and signaled his subordinates with his eyes.
The National Guard soldiers stepped back behind the barricade and Dmitry gritted his teeth.
“Why are Russians listening to Koreans? You are all traitors who will be shot!”
Dozens of combat walkers raised their railguns attached to their dark units.
The Spetsnaz soldiers hesitated at the railguns that boasted enough power to penetrate even the frontal armor of tanks.
A reliable Russian voice came out of the combat walker.
“I will arrest Dmitry and help Deputy Prime Minister Mihailov end this chaos. I promise.”
“…”
Except for his closest aides, the troops exchanged glances and slowly backed away.
Now Dmitry lost all hope and slumped his shoulders.
“When did foreigners start meddling in Russia…? This is interference in internal affairs…”
“Minister Dmitry, I arrest you.”
That was the end.
One of the combat walkers transformed its body and completely captured Dmitry.
The combat walker unit, including him, immediately activated their ion thrusters and returned to the drone ship.
The drone ship slowly settled in the sky above Kremlin.
***
“Now they’re operating an air carrier outright.”
President Baldwin laughed bitterly after seeing the photos and videos circulating on SNS.
He knew well the ship floating in the sky above Kremlin.
It was a warship belonging to Earth Fleet, which had carried drones and combat walkers and performed well in the Indian Ocean battle and the East Asian War.
At the time, the US did not pay much attention to that ship, because they considered it a mere transport vessel.
It only carried drones, so it was less noticeable than a railgun battleship or a firepower ship.
“But I didn’t know it could fly in the sky.”
Judging by the lack of ion thrusters on the bottom, it seemed to use an Aether field.
Was it a recent modification, or had it been there since the ship was built?
If the latter was true, then it meant that Earth Fleet could use ether fields even before it appeared.
‘Maybe he planned all this right after he woke up from his coma.’
Or was it all a coincidence?
President Baldwin looked at the ship in the sky above the Kremlin.
The ship itself was not a big problem.
The civilians were amazed that the ship could fly, but its usefulness was rather vague.
It was nothing but a large target in the sky with that size.
It must have been fast with ion thrusters, but recently several military powers had succeeded in deploying hypersonic anti-air missiles.
These missiles were developed for intercepting high-altitude ballistic missiles, so they had a range of hundreds of kilometers and a very high speed.
The US military had tested them with their own iron beam and concluded that they were hard to stop.
Of course, the iron beam of the United Human Federation might have different performance, but they probably had not solved the fundamental problem of power shortage.
That meant that the ship could not use the iron beam while moving.
‘It’s only natural that there is a limit to the power it can use if it doesn’t have a nuclear fusion reactor.’
But President Yu Ji-ha seemed proud to show off that ship, so he might have solved that problem too.
Earth Fleet had revealed its weakness of being vulnerable to missile attacks in the Indian Ocean, and Japan’s navy had taken advantage of that.
In other words, the weaknesses that the aides reported might have been just baits from Yu Ji-ha.
President Baldwin muttered as he rewound the video.
“Looking at the development speed, they might be making an aerial carrier by now.”
The ship was too small to be called an aerial carrier by its size.
In a few months, a monster that would make his mouth drop might appear.
He wondered if his real goal was world domination at this point.
‘Maybe I should do something before that happens…’
Baldwin was an isolationist and had agreed to cooperate with him, but he could not just watch someone who could threaten America’s hegemony.
America had maintained its position as a superpower for almost 100 years, but it had been shaken severely recently.
It was unbelievable that it was caused by one person’s changes in a few years.
‘Let’s see how he handles this situation first.’
He had intervened at the request of Deputy Prime Minister Mikhailov, but President Baldwin did not believe that.
It would be good for America if he helped the deputy prime minister and withdrew cleanly, but Yu Ji-ha was not that kind of person.
As he was deep in thought, his security aide Gere came in.
“Mr. President, Korea has requested to stop the war in Eastern Europe.”
“Really? What happened to Dmitry?”
“He was arrested with the cooperation of Deputy Prime Minister Mikhailov.”
“Cooperation? He must have sent androids from that ship to capture him. How dare he conduct a military operation in another country. He’s too arrogant.”
“France is insisting that we should push into Russian territory as it is. What should we do?”
“A wounded bear is still a bear. If we go in rashly, we might face retaliation. Tell them it’s impossible.”
France’s pride would be hurt, but NATO’s command was America’s responsibility.
“And about mediation…”
President Baldwin looked out the window for a moment and said,
“If he wants mediation, tell him to come forward himself. Then we’ll accept it.”
Since Russia was the aggressor, they had to make a big concession for this matter.
But he had no idea what he could get from him.
He got up.
“He must be in Moscow by now. Tell him to meet me in Brussels.”
NATO headquarters and EU headquarters were both located in Brussels.
It seemed like Europe would be noisy for a while.