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Chapter 172: The Beginning of the Final War
Chapter 172: The Beginning of the Final War
Chapter 172: The Beginning of the Final War
Not all efforts to talk with the United Human Federation had failed.
Yu Ji-ha accepted the dialogue offer from only one person.
It was Richard Bernstein, the former president.
It was not a rare case for a former president to act as a special envoy, but it was unusual that McKinley, the previous president, was rejected.
People were already speculating about Bernstein’s role before and after the war.
?It’s quite meaningful that he accepted a former president, and not a diplomat or a senior official, and only a specific one.
?Will Bernstein be the US’s window from now on? Maybe his role will grow after the war.
?If the current president loses his power due to this situation, Bernstein could be his successor.
That was because Bernstein had only served Baldwin’s remaining term as acting authority.
Depending on how the war ended, his treatment would also change, but anyway, people paid attention to his moves.
Some hoped that he would stop the war, but they were looking for the wrong number.
Bernstein, who visited the Blue House, heard an unexpected remark from Yu Ji-ha.
“This is the final war.”
“What do you mean by the final war?”
“The United Human Federation has fought many countries to get to this position. From North Korea to the US… We don’t need any more wars.”
He didn’t mean to end the war on Earth.
Yu Ji-ha was only interested in the United Human Federation and the megacity, and he was completely indifferent to the situation in Africa and the Middle East.
Even though he would be tempted to suppress the Middle East that shouted jihad as his influence and power grew.
This meant that his ultimate goal was not to dominate the Earth.
His eyes were focused on the monster from space, the Plague, from the beginning.
The United Human Federation and the megacity were also for confronting them.
But realistically, he couldn’t ignore the US, and since they had a conflict, he planned to finish it completely with war.
“So you’re going to split the world in half after our war.”
“That’s right. When this war is over, the US will cooperate with me and many other countries will follow suit. But there will still be places that distrust and hate me. I don’t want to care about them.”
China and the Middle East were typical examples.
But it didn’t seem like the United Human Federation that had made the US kneel would care about them.
“Dividing and changing the world… That means dismantling all the culture and financial systems that humanity has achieved so far.”
“It’s because they’re not needed for the war with the Plague. Let me ask you bluntly. There are many expensive houses in Central Park in New York. I heard that some of them are worth over 100 million dollars.”
“That’s true. It’s one of the most expensive places in the US.”
“To be precise, it was one of the most expensive places. It’s completely ruined by this incident.”
Bernstein realized what Yu Ji-ha wanted to say.
Nothing mattered in the face of the Plague’s threat.
“I understand why they’re expensive. It’s the financial center of a superpower, so there must be a lot of demand. But those things are no help in fighting the Plague.”
“We have to prepare for a total war. We have to gather and consume all our resources. The existing system is not necessary.”
Bernstein suddenly asked.
“Is that why the United Human Federation’s financial system is weak?”
“What role can the bloated finance play in the war with the Plague? Resources and manpower are limited in the end. What we have to do is use them as efficiently as possible to fight the Plague.”
“…”
Thinking about it, Yu Ji-ha always emphasized the danger of the Plague.
The existing countries were badly hit by treating it as nothing.
Now it was time for the US to change.
Of course, Bernstein didn’t think that Yu Ji-ha’s way was the best.
But complaining without offering an alternative wouldn’t change anything.
The United Human Federation had developed dazzlingly and prepared for the war with the Plague. Shouldn’t they at least cooperate with them?
He ultimately had the dissolution of the US in mind.
But that was after this war.
“How far are you planning to go with this war?”
“The US has to kneel completely, so we have to lose at least half of our power. That includes the carrier fleet, hundreds of stealth fighters, and satellites.”
“The strongest military in human history is gone… It cost a lot of money…”
“Wouldn’t it be better for me to smash it than to waste it on maintenance?”
It wasn’t a wrong thing to say, considering that he could give up cleanly.
Bernstein smirked and Yu Ji-ha spoke seriously.
“The key point of this war is the advance of the Earth Fleet. They will move towards the American continent with an unprecedented scale. If the US can’t stop them, it’s the United Human Federation’s victory.”
They could arrive in an hour, but they had to do it that way to crush the US military power.
It was completely different from the wars with China and Japan.
The goal of those wars was to make them surrender as efficiently and quickly as possible, but what they needed this time was to change people’s perception.
“If the satellites are destroyed, the US army that they are proud of is smashed, and the war reaches the major cities, the Americans will change too. The world will change if the US changes. It doesn’t matter if it’s not everything.”
“The US military won’t sit still.”
“They’ll flock to Terra Island or the Korean Peninsula. They know that other regions are meaningless. It doesn’t matter much. The result will be the same anyway.”
It was not a bluff to say that Yu Ji-ha said.
He pressed the switch on his desk and the camera started to turn with a click.
It was a public meeting from now on.
“The United Human Federation rejects the negotiation offer of former President Bernstein. There is only one way to stop the war, unconditional surrender of the US…”
Bernstein’s ceremonial speech followed and the short meeting ended.
The world’s efforts to stop the war had failed completely.
People wondered why the attack hadn’t started until then.
?It’s strange. They attacked as soon as the declaration of war was over when they faced China and Japan, but it feels like they’re giving us time.
?The US troops that were out there are returning to their homeland. The more time they give, the stronger the US military becomes.
?Do they have confidence to defeat them all?
In fact, the carrier fleet that had been roaming the five oceans and six continents, as well as other fleets, were returning to their homeland.
Thanks to that, they made a mess at the Panama Canal with US ships and cargo ships tangled up.
If the United Human Federation had started bombing at this point, they could have annihilated at least 30% of the US Navy.
It wasn’t a big problem for the United Human Federation that they were mixed with civilian ships.
But they waited quietly.
Until all preparations were done.
***
Most countries start a war by launching missiles at hostile countries.
Recently, railguns or lasers had pushed away missiles, but still cruise missiles were one of the signal flares of war.
Especially, the US had mainly used the tactic of launching hundreds or thousands of cruise missiles from destroyers or submarines that had been dispatched in advance to disable enemy military facilities.
So everyone thought that the United Human Federation would do something similar and paid attention to what kind of missiles they would show.
With the United Human Federation’s technology, they could make hypersonic cruise missiles that could reach thousands of kilometers.
The US also kept an eye on Terra Island and the Korean Peninsula with dozens of reconnaissance satellites.
But the war started in space.
Several US reconnaissance satellites that were changing their positions for shooting in low orbit exploded like fireworks.
It was because the Sibiri 2 combat support satellite fired ion cannons in all directions with reduced power.
That was the start of a spectacular firework show by the satellites owned by the US.
The stealth reconnaissance satellites that were secretly manufactured in Gobi also met the same fate and scattered debris in the atmosphere.
As dozens of artificial satellites were destroyed in an instant, the US National Reconnaissance Office, which operated them, declared an emergency.
“Multiple satellites have been shut down! Data nodes collapsed!”
“It will take more than an hour to observe the Korean Peninsula and Terra Island!”
“…What are they trying to do by intercepting satellites? Don’t they care about debris or fuel leakage?”
The National Reconnaissance Office assumed that the United Human Federation had destroyed the satellites with missiles or lasers.
There was no other way.
In fact, the US also had a satellite interception system and had a very high success rate.
There was no reason why they couldn’t intercept a satellite that showed easy movements in low orbit while intercepting ballistic missiles.
The reason why the US didn’t reveal it was because it was difficult to deal with the debris.
If they couldn’t vaporize a satellite orbiting in low orbit at once, the debris would cover the Earth and no one knew where it would fall.
If toxic fuels such as hydrazine fell into a metropolis, it would be no different from a chemical attack.
The director of the National Reconnaissance Office immediately informed other agencies of this information and reported to the White House.
President James frowned at the report that many satellites had been shot down, but clenched his fist when he worried about the damage.
“If there is civilian damage, we can corner them! They are despicable bastards who have no blood or tears.”
But that didn’t happen.
The Settler and Pyongyang ships went around and sucked up the debris with their gravity crane function.
The location of the low orbit reconnaissance satellites was mostly limited, so it was not difficult to handle.
After dozens of satellites disappeared cleanly, two Siberi satellites started a joint operation.
They ejected dozens of reflector bits and started firing ion cannons in all directions.
The ion cannons reflected by the reflector bits destroyed the US military satellites located in various orbits and angles as they hit them.
There were so many explosions that even in the clear sky, one could see a magnificent firework show in the Pacific sky.
Urgent reports flew into the Pentagon and the White House.
“Signals from USA 111 to 193 have been cut off!”
“Shock detected from stealth satellite! Surprisingly, it seems to absorb debris!”
Misty 9, which was secretly deployed by the US, was a representative stealth satellite.
It couldn’t be detected by ordinary radar output, and the US used it very conveniently.
But Misty 9 satellite sent its last video data to the reconnaissance office and oxidized gloriously.
President James watched the end of the satellite with his aides.
The video recorded a scene where a golden beam pierced through the satellite precisely.
“Is that the Aether Laser thing?”
“No, it’s not. Lasers are not that thick. It’s completely different from the Iron Beam.”
“The United Human Federation has developed a new weapon. It seems to be a thermal weapon, judging by the rapid collapse of the contact surface. Maybe a charged particle cannon…”
“A charged particle cannon? Is that even possible?”
“Didn’t you just see billions of dollars go up in smoke?”
The aide’s tone was sour, perhaps because of his resentment towards James.
Lambert, the security adviser, turned off the TV and said.
“The important thing is that the United Human Federation can attack us from space. We have no countermeasures.”
“What did they attack with?”
“Probably a combat satellite.”
“Didn’t you say that all of the United Human Federation’s satellites were in geostationary orbit?”
The aides looked at the president with annoyed eyes.
How could there be such a person who lacked imagination?
“Artificial satellites can change their orbits if they have fuel. Their lifespan will be drastically shortened, but the problem will be solved if they attach an ion thruster.”
“Ion thrusters can be used in any environment. And their efficiency is incomparable to the conventional rocket fuel. They can easily come down to low orbit and attack.”
“Or they could have attacked directly from geostationary orbit.”
If that was true, it meant that the United Human Federation had deployed weapons with a range of 30,000km in practice.
In space, mass objects keep moving by inertia, but it’s a different story if it’s an energy weapon.
The lasers developed by humanity had limited range due to diffraction, but the United Human Federation had overcome that.
James was flustered and rolled his eyes.
“That’s a problem. What do we do?”
“There’s no way. We have to surrender.”
“That’s not an option.”
“Then we have to take a beating as it is. Fortunately, they don’t touch the GPS satellites. Maybe they’re worried about civilian damage.”
It was probably not just because of that reason.
The United Human Federation didn’t destroy all the reconnaissance satellites, but left only one old Kihol-11 satellite that passed over Terra Island.
The meaning was clear, but James seemed to not understand.
Lambert, the adviser, had no choice but to explain further.
“They are saying this now. Do your best to stop them.”
“Stop them? What do they mean by that?”
“You’ll see soon enough. But the debris doesn’t fall. That’s strange.”
Reconnaissance satellites were big objects and they produced a lot of debris when they were destroyed.
Some of them burned up in the atmosphere, but most of the parts fell to the ground.
It was almost impossible to control them, but it was not hard to observe them.
But they couldn’t be detected by the ground observation means either.
Then new information came from the National Reconnaissance Office.
An agent sent by the office explained the content of the video.
“It seems that the United Human Federation is using Aether Reverse Field to suck up the debris while destroying them.”
“With what?”
“We don’t know. Maybe another satellite… or a spaceship.”
“So, in summary, the United Human Federation can completely block our sight.”
“According to the analysis of the situation when the president escaped from the detention facility, they can also interfere with the radio waves.”
“In other words, we have to fight against the United Human Federation with our eyes and ears covered.”
Cyberwar was impossible as long as they had artificial intelligence.
If they tried rashly, their encryption system would be hacked.
It was a situation that made him sigh, but James didn’t seem to care much.
“What’s the big deal? It’s over if we can occupy Terra Island.”
He didn’t seem to be such a stupid person before, but something was wrong.
Instead of explaining why it was impossible, the aides contacted the Congress.
“Yes, Congressman. I think we need to suspend James’s authority.”
It was a very serious matter to suspend the president’s authority during wartime.
But everyone who saw him agreed that he couldn’t make a normal judgment.
It was impossible to entrust the command of the US military to such a person.
The Congress, who received the contact, immediately discussed with the bureaucrats of the executive branch and quickly attempted to suspend his authority.
President James, who was only obsessed with the war, didn’t realize this movement.
Thus, before the result came out, the Pentagon confirmed the vice president as the acting authority and started reporting to him.
***
“The reconnaissance satellite group has been destroyed. Now we can’t see the movement of the United Human Federation.”
“There’s no way to deal with it. Now all we have left is to gather our strength and confront them, or surrender.”
Fortunately, the newly appointed Vice President Evans was a very sensible person.
He understood his limits and roles well.
“We can’t accept unconditional surrender. We have to resist at least a little to have an advantage in the post-war negotiations, don’t we?”
“That’s up to the politicians. Our job is to carry out the war.”
“So is there a possibility?”
“…I can’t guarantee you that.”
It was a strange thing.
He had thought that he wouldn’t win, but he could inflict considerable damage before the war, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
It was because the reconnaissance satellite system had completely collapsed.
The fact that it happened even though Seoul ship was in Seoul meant that the United Human Federation had a different weapon system.
It was probably a combat satellite in geostationary orbit.
Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained one by one to Vice President Evans who visited the Pentagon Central Command Room.
“The United Human Federation intends to fight this war as a limited war. It’s a limited war, but it will be very difficult to stop it. Because…”
The main monitor of the situation room showed the sound signal from the underwater base.
“We deployed small unmanned submarines to install multiple sonars in the seabed of Terra Island. This is the analysis result.”
“They’ve already escaped from more than 30 underwater bases…”
“The United Human Federation’s production capacity was relatively low compared to their technology, but now we need to change our perspective. The United Human Federation can produce more than 20,000 tons of warships in less than a day.”
The US had done something similar during World War II.
The Liberty-class cargo ship was an example, with a record of building one ship in four days and 15 hours.
It was an unbelievable speed at that time, and completely impossible in modern times.
It was because they needed time to install and apply various electronic equipment and facilities.
But the United Human Federation was doing that crazy thing right now.
The expression of Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, changed unpleasantly.
“The problem is that the United Human Federation knows that we have found out this information. They probably know that we have deployed unmanned submarines as well.”
“…They’re openly provoking us.”
“Yes. Dozens of ships that escaped from the underwater base will soon surface. The target is obviously us.”
“Can’t we stop them with Hafnium-2 warheads?”
“Hafnium-2 warheads are the United Human Federation’s specialty. If we use them, they will use them too.”
“We have no other way to destroy Black Metal. Even if we don’t activate nuclear power, we need Hafnium-2.”
Even ordinary Hafnium-2 warheads had a power comparable to tactical nuclear weapons.
They could use them as much as they wanted without radiation, and the US had already deployed them to the strike fleet.
It meant that they were not far behind the United Human Federation in terms of minimum punch power.
Of course, this excluded the new anti-particle warheads that were tested on Mars.
If the United Human Federation was determined to wage a nuclear war, there was no way out.
Vice President Evans looked around the situation room and asked.
“How is the morale of the troops?”
“They are anxious, but not too bad. There is a strong sentiment to fight them once.”
“We have 11 carrier strike groups, hundreds of stealth fighters, and missile power. The people won’t accept it if we surrender without using them.”
“Yes… We think so too.”
“Let’s do it. We don’t know how strong the United Human Federation is, but we’ll show them that we’re not easy to deal with.”
A few moments later, an old Kihol reconnaissance satellite took a picture of the vicinity of Terra Island and transmitted it.
The Pentagon immediately deployed the SR-72 reconnaissance plane that was waiting in the air after refueling.
Although the reconnaissance plane was shot down, it succeeded in sending a few clear pictures to the Pentagon.
Conrad, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, groaned at the pictures.
Dozens of ships that weighed more than 20,000 tons easily were lined up on the sea.
The ship at the front was especially noticeable.
It looked like a Seoul-class combat cruiser, but it was almost twice as big.
“It’s much bigger than an aircraft carrier…”
He knew that there was a spaceship construction base on Mars, but he never imagined that they would come so soon.
And while avoiding the US surveillance network.
He called the combat commanders and they all wrinkled their foreheads at the pictures.
“They must be spaceships, but they came down to the sea. They’re openly challenging us.”
“The intention of the United Human Federation is clear now. They will advance from Terra Island to the North American continent in a straight line. They will crush all the forces they encounter along the way.”
“Their advance speed won’t be that fast. But they will be very powerful.”
The commanders agreed and only the chairman’s decision was left.
He smirked bitterly and muttered.
“I never thought I would have a naval battle in 2034 like in World War II. It’s hopeless with the Pacific fleet, so call them all.”
Dozens of fleets, including 11 US Navy carrier strike groups, began to gather at the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii.