Battle of Divine Forest

### Outcome

Emissaries of the Sun God summoned as reinforcements to destroy the horde of demons.

### Result

**Japanese and Alliance Victory*** Demons suffer heavy casualties
* Malastriss and Red Ogre flee

**Battle of Divine Forest** is the battle between the Alliance of the Races and the Demon Lord's Army that is where the Divine Forest is the Alliance of the Races’ last bastion against the Demon Lord's Army in the Rodenius continent. The battle is also the first battle of the Empire of Japan known as the Emissaries of the Sun God on the Divine Forest, ending with their victory.

* Irregular Unit Commander Red Ogre
* Infantry Force Commander Kenshiva (Wolf Beastman)
* Craftsmen Commander Dorguff (Dwarf)
* Mage Force Commander Meriell (Elf)
* Head Priest Ilkanresis (Elf)
* Otherworld Army Division Commander Lt. General Matsushita Takao
* Otherworld Deployment Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Kasai Ryuuken
	+ Goblins
	+ Orcs with heavy weaponry
	+ Orc dragon knights
	+ Goblin bowmen
* 10 Colossal trolls
* Infantrymen (unknown number details)
* Archers (unknown number details)
* Mages (unknown number details)
* Catapults (unknown number details)

**Imperial Japanese Otherworld Army Division**
* 24 Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks
* 12 Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks
* 1 Kurogane Type 95 scout car
* Imperial Soldiers (unknown number details)

**Imperial Japanese Otherworld Deployment Fleet**
* 10 colossal trolls dead

## Background

### Alliance of the Races

After the Alliance of the Races' final major defensive operation failed in their last line of defense in the Iwat Valley by the overwhelming Demon Lord's Army, the warriors and the commanders of the Alliance of the Races were still alive all broke down in tears as hopelessness and despair set in. Wolf beastman Commander Orlaxle, who was one of the seven great generals of the races, was defeated by the Red Ogre. There was nothing else they could do to stop the Demon Army’s onslaught. The forces garrisoned in the Divine Forest assisted and tended to the wounded soldiers that retreated from Iwat Valley.

Everyone has heard of the tragic fate of the kingdoms and settlements that were overrun by the Demon Lord's Army. With their unavoidable death set in stone, everyone welled up with sadness, fear, and anger at how they could do nothing to stop their fate. If the Divine Forest were to be burned, the elves would cease to exist. With that, they’d lose the only allies they have that could field sufficiently potent magic. The fate of the settlements beyond the forest and all the other regions elsewhere that are yet to be invaded hung hopelessly close to being set in stone. They only have one hope left for a reversal in their fortunes.

Head Priest Ilkanresis reported their conversation with Goddess Astalte and Sun Goddess Shamash to the alliance meeting on the defense of the Divine Forest that night, in which army commander Galeos was also present. At the meeting, the following was what they agreed upon:

* *They’d entrust the full authority of the Alliance of the Races to the emissaries of the Sun God, which are expected to appear before long.*
* *To lessen the number of casualties moving forward, they will prioritize retreating over-committing to a fight.*
* *To prevent the forest from being burned as much as possible, they will have units patrolling to kill any fires. If an enemy unit is encountered, even if they are an easy kill, they will not be pursued. Instead, they will be lured deeper into the forest where multiple units can converge and eliminate them. The goal is to buy time.*

Someday later, the prologue to what will be the fight for the survival of humanity would begin.

### Emissaries of the Sun God

Under the guidance of the goddess Shamash (Amaterasu), Imperial Japanese nineteen ships of the Eastern Deployment fleet appeared in the ocean beyond the whirlpool 100km northeast of the Rodenius continent. The Imperial Japanese Navy sent eight reconnaissance planes to cover all directions and discovered the Rodenius Continent and the local elves.

After twelve Japanese soldiers saved elves from a scouting force of ten orcs, Head Priest Ilkanresis and other elves believed to confirm them called "Emissaries of the Sun God" after witnessing a massive fleet of 19 humongous ships with the flag in a shining sun painted red on a white banner. They explained to the Japanese officers Lt. General Matsushita Takao and Vice Admiral Kasai Ryuuken about the emergence of the Demon Lord and his army, the formation of the Alliance of the Races, and their response, and their current predicament having been pushed back to the Divine Forest. Ilkanresis found out that Japanese people didn't know and use magic itself did not exist, but only they used science everything by their knowledge and technology. He requested Japan to send reinforcements to subjugate the horde of demons where the Divine Forest was under attack from the Demon Lord's Army.

The Imperial Japanese Navy immediately concluded that the recon planes’ reports of columns of smoke rising from the forest were from attacks. With that in mind, Matsushita Takao and Kasai Ryuuken thought that the situation was much more pressing than they initially assumed. They sent their Naval Air Force, Tank Division, and Infantry Regiment to the Divine Forest from the Imperial Japanese Otherworld Deployment Fleet.

### Demon Lord's Army

The plan of sweeping up the Divine Forest was Malastras’s own work. Originally, he thought that the eradication of the races would go well once they removed Orlaxle, the strongest among the three surviving seven great generals of the Alliance of the Races, from the picture. However, it turned out that it wasn’t as easy as he thought. Kenshiva, Orlaxle’s successor, has shown to them that he was as strong in combat as his predecessor. Counting the divine protections and blessings, eliminating him while they were inside the forest wouldn’t be easy. Malastras could also rain down magic attacks from above, but the elves’ sacred land would extinguish most magical attacks. Even with his hellfire of darkness, burning the forest itself is a daunting task. The strategy of having goblins and orcs gradually cut down trees seemed to be the most efficient way of moving forward.

Since goblins basically emerge from the ground and reproduce easily, it would make things easier, but replenishing goblin numbers to the scale of an army will nevertheless take time. On the other hand, if they continue using their strategy, they’d only be at a near-constant state of stalemate. The Red Ogre’s suggestion had ample amounts of consideration to it.

Although Malastras had an inkling of anxiety with the plan, he gave out orders to all of their units of the impending attack. The next day, the Demon Lord's Army of 13,000 deployed in the Sargeley Hills, besieging the Divine Forest. They would begin their incursion into the Divine Forest, the sacred land of the elves.

## Battle

### Northern Portion Battlefield

Malastras looked down on the Divine Forest from on top of a small hill jotting from above the plain. Deployed before his eyes were the 12,000 strong detachment of the Demon Lord's Army. Goblins and orcs let out an unsettling battle cry as orders disseminated to the entire army of the last remaining forces of the races.

As Malastras was about to give the signal to march, he felt that something was out of place. He could see the black dots in the sky far off to the east and heard the sound of insects fluttering their wings which grew louder by the second. There were also some objects belching out black smoke approaching from the far reaches of the plains, making thunderous noises and rumbling that got stronger as they got nearer. The forces of the Demon Army were bewildered and confused by the things that were approaching them. Since even Malastras didn’t know what they were, the demons could only wait for orders not knowing whether to split up their ranks or to welcome the approaching things as allies. He ordered unfurled its black wings and flew off.

Division Commander Matsushita saw a black, winged creature through a pair of binoculars from a Kurogane Type 95 scout car with shrine elf Calel, who confirmed Malastras as an enemy and then emanated a bright red light from a flare gun into the dim, cloudy sky. The Zero fighters spotted the demons and fired them with a 20mm autocannon shell, killing them. Malastras and the Demon Lord's Army saw it happen, confirming to them that the Zero fighters who were approaching them were enemies. Within the next moment, it happened. Explosions suddenly erupted from the ranks of goblin infantrymen formed up in the plains. Countless black lumps falling from the sky hit the ground, manifesting into explosive flames and shockwaves, embroiling the clueless goblins and orcs in chaos.

The demons and beasts, who were set to set foot into the forest against the races, ran aimlessly screaming as they tried to get away from the carnage. The berserking trolls that were more than a match for the races were obliterated from direct hits from the intense explosions. The Zero fighters dropped the 60kg bombs the numbers of the Demon Army’s Rodenius Dispatch Force. They that were approaching them from the plains also began spouting fire and smoke. The Zero fighters at ultra-high speeds cut down countless orcs and goblins, pulverizing them in mere moments. They had so much power that a simple graze could end up taking away an entire arm.

The Red Ogre cleared the entrenchment and made a run for the objects. The orcs on rabid wolves backed by light goblin infantry to their rear made a beeline for the line formation of twenty-four Type 97 medium tanks and twelve Type 95 light tanks. However, for every shot that was fired by one of the tanks, 5 to 6 demons were felled. In addition to the aerial attacks that cut them down, their numbers fell rapidly. As the Red Ogre got closer to the tanks, he was labeled as a priority target, causing fire to concentrate on him. Since his constant recovery magic protecting his body couldn’t keep up with the successive barrage of steel, causing him to stop his advance. Unable to turn his back on his enemies, he desperately tried to stand his ground as he bore the intensifying pain. However, the tanks nevertheless marched forth towards him. Unable to withstand the more potent gunfire at a closer range, the Red Ogre looked for an opening and ran away from the hail of fire.

Malastras heard the report that the Red Ogre had withdrawn from the attack and ordered the army to reform ranks. He’d be able to disseminate orders faster from above, but he feared being shot out of the sky by the strange dragons that circled the sky. Looking up at the sky in frustration, one of the dragons made a loud, rattling sound as it descended to the earth. Hearing Malastras’ orders, the goblin bowmen swiftly drew their bowstrings simultaneously. The song of hundreds of arrows flying through the sky ended as they hit the Zero fighter. However, none of the arrows did much damage nor did they penetrate the "hide," resulting only in multiple clanks as they bounced off the fighter.

However, the enemy didn’t wait for Malastras as the orcs and goblins that rushed towards the downed Zero fighter were shredded to pieces by high-speed arrowheads. Looking closely, soldiers clad in green and brown clothing emerged from out of nowhere, wielding magical apparatuses that spit highly potent fire magic. As Malastras felt strong indignation against the unknown enemies that suddenly emerged, he took with him whatever demons and beasts he could and fled the battlefield.

Two hours after the battle started, the surrounding plain was now riddled with blood and dismembered beasts and demons. The first battle in the other world ended superbly for the Japanese as the Emissaries of the Sun God.

## Aftermath

Since the Japanese forces repeatedly carried out their destructive attacks, the alliance forces originally offered to do the cleanup themselves but this was the result after the Japanese offered a compromise in having them help clean up. The earth surrounding the Divine Forest was devoid of living demons and beasts.

Twenty other high-ranking personnel from the Alliance of the Races and the Emissaries of the Sun God attended the meeting. Chief of Staff Lievet explained to the Japanese officers about the Demon Lord's invasion over two continents, Philades and Mirishient, in the new world as he showed them a map on top of the table. They learned the reason why the Demon Lord didn’t cross to Rodenius may have been since the races have not completely wiped out on Philades. Galeos told them a tale of the Ravernal Empire that Demon Lord Nosgorath created by the light-winged people. Everyone was conjecture on who the Demon Lord was on point, but there was no use in pondering more on that aspect. Deciding that any more time spent on it was a waste, they went back to how they would distribute their forces. Kasai and Matsushita thought their minds that it might be good to split our forces into two that will each take the eastern and western routes. If the western force was the main force, they could expect them to link up with the force that went to the Mirishient continent. If that was the case, then they came in and eliminated them in a large-scale offensive. Matsushita would take command of the eastern route as 1st Otherworld Army Division and 1st Otherworld Deployment Fleet to chase down the Yellow Ogre as well as block any forces from the west that retreated to their direction. Kasai would take command of the western route as 2nd Otherworld Army Division and 2nd Otherworld Deployment Fleet.

In addition, they needed oil and metals what the weapons and vehicles required. The elves would possess duplication and material transport magic, the dwarves would process digging iron and ore, and the beastmen would help in carrying those iron, ore, and oil.

Right after Kasai and Matsushita discussed their plan, the formation of their forces was promptly decided to split our forces into two that will each take the eastern and western routes. Galeos and Kenshiva were chosen as the chief of staff due to their intimate knowledge of the Philades continent and were both quick to offer their opinion. Each transport corps, communications corps, medical corps, and others halved to distribute to the two halves. These support units would also actively employ those from the Alliance of the Races to strive towards increasing the effectiveness of said units. The mages were especially vital. There were many opportunities along the way of enlisting their help in quick repair of damaged or deteriorated Japanese weapons, duplication of supplies when needed, and performing emergency medical aid on fatal wounds.

The Alliance of the Races and the Emissaries of the Sun God began preparations nineteen ships of the Otherworld Deployment Fleet for their departure from Rodenius to the Philades continent.

At the encampment in the southeastern Philades, Demon Lord Nosgorath heard the report from Malastras that the Rodenius Dispatch Force has been annihilated by numerous iron dragons with powerful explosive magic, making him puzzled at the demon’s explanation. After thinking for a while, he issued new orders to Gulgorath, the Demon Lord’s closest aide, to set out from Philades over the sea with the 2nd Rodenius Dispatch Force of 20,000 goblins, 6,000 orcs, and 200 wyverns.

## Outline Map

1. Under the guidance of the goddess Shamash (Amaterasu), the Imperial Japanese Navy's fleet and the Army's forces of the Otherworld appeared in the ocean about 100km northeast of the Rodenius Continent. The Imperial Japanese Navy sends a reconnaissance ship and discovers the Rodenius Continent and the local elves.
2. The Imperial Japanese Army sweeps away the dispatched troops of the Demon Army's Rodenius Dispatch Force with the Naval Air Force, Tank Division, and Infantry Regiment. Red Ogre and Malastras flee.

## Trivia

* The Battle of Divine Forest only details in the light novel.