Since declaring war against the Victor Empire, as the French ambassador stationed in Victor, Anthony has kept his nerves tense, ready at all times to sacrifice himself for his homeland.
Even though the two countries are already at war, he needs to stay in the capital of the Victor Empire. On one hand, it’s to continue gathering information from within Victor, as intelligence is crucial during war.
On the other hand, it’s to continue deception operations, sending false signals to the upper echelons of the Victor Empire in hopes of misleading them into making incorrect judgments.
For instance, this time France allied with two other nations to declare war on the Victor Empire. Ostensibly, they are assembling elite armies to launch amphibious operations to attack the Empire’s mainland. But in reality, the naval fleets of the three nations have already assembled and are currently anchored at France’s naval ports. Updates are released by novel~fire~net
Their mission is to launch a surprise attack on Victor’s Royal Shipyard after the main forces of the Imperial Navy leave the port to respond to the amphibious assault.
The upper echelons of the three nations are actually very aware that they are not a match for the Empire in both naval and army strength.
Although it sounds quite embarrassing, the Victor Empire claims to be the empire on which the sun never sets. The Imperial Navy can simultaneously engage with the navies of any two countries in the world without defeat, enough to demonstrate the Victor Empire’s might.
Even with the coalition of the three nations’ navies this time, they still lack confidence in defeating the Imperial Navy.
According to pre-war simulations, if they engage directly with the Imperial Navy, the best result might be a pyrrhic victory.
If they were confident in winning, France wouldn’t have lost that war when it vied for world hegemony against Victor in the past.
Previously, the three nations might have truly attempted to open a front with the army, as Victor’s army somewhat lagged behind compared to its formidable navy.
Despite the army reforms maintaining its dignity as a great power, Victor’s army still fell short when compared to the French Army and the Russian Army.
The French Army is recognized as the world’s top army, a ranking earned through substantial combat achievements.
As for the Russian Army, its vast population made it a force comparable to the French Army, even once defeating the French Army.
If it were only about army strength, France and Russia would be confident in surpassing Victor.
However, Victor’s biggest weakness was patched up—an artifact from the past draped in steam and steel, shining brightly in this new era.
Just like a dusty sword that was cleaned and sharpened, becoming even sharper than before.
No one wanted to confront the legendary Steam Knights that allegedly pierced through an entire guard battalion’s defenses with just five units.
Initially, all countries suspected this to be a smokescreen from Victor, or greatly exaggerated achievements, not taking it seriously.
But as investigations deepened and Victor openly showcased the Steam Knights, other countries began to panic.
"You’re serious?" was the first reaction from various countries after repeatedly verifying the intelligence on the Steam Knights.
Anthony still remembers how anxious he was upon first confirming the authenticity of this intelligence, fearing that Victor’s Steam Knights would appear on the streets of France’s capital the next day.
Presumably, those back home had similar thoughts to his at the time. Anthony can no longer recall how he has spent the past half-year, almost never having a peaceful night’s sleep.
In France, those who once overthrew the decaying Royal Family and established the Republic, after analysis and study, concluded that Victor might not yet have fully equipped the Steam Knights. They believed there was a slim chance of victory if they fought desperately.
But if this dragged on for three to five years, Victor Empire’s industrial strength would arm more than a dozen Steam Knight Orders.
At that time, even if all the old-world countries united, they would still be crushed by the Victor Empire.
Hence, Anthony, along with ambassadors from other countries stationed in Victor, received orders from their respective national governments to deliver a declaration of war to the Victor Empire, with France, Russia, and Saint Romulus jointly declaring war on Victor.
The three nations aimed to defeat the Victor Empire before it was fully equipped with Steam Knights and developed the capacity to crush other countries.
At the very least, they wanted to force Victor to the negotiating table to share Steam Knights technology, bringing all countries back to the same starting line.
Achieving this by relying on defeating Victor on the front lines was clearly not feasible.
Not to mention whether the three-nation alliance could defeat Victor’s army, which fielded Steam Knights, on the front lines. The Victor Empire is an island nation, and without defeating the Imperial Navy first, Victor would remain undefeated!
Even if they defeat Victor’s army on the front lines, as long as the Imperial Navy remains undefeated, Victor could continuously produce Steam Knights based on its strong industrial capabilities and crush everything.