I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

Not only did Mitia receive the war report, but the Church also received it.

However, in contrast to Mitia’s surprise, the Church’s side was filled with confusion and disbelief.

A few hours? Thirty thousand men gone?

That was a proper Church’s Class-B Division—fifteen thousand strong.

Although not all were Mechanical Bodies, there were about three thousand of them.

A Class-A Division only had double that, six thousand at most.

After all, on the Secondary Continent, where absorbing mana was difficult, it was nearly impossible to keep all Mechanical Bodies operating independently.

Having more of them made little difference—when they broke down, they broke down.

The rest were all proper mid- to high-level Mage-Warriors, with support from Magi-Crystal Cannons.

And they were just… gone?

The Church had transported two Army Groups, a total of six divisions, over the course of a month to aid the Kingdom of Paria.

Losing two divisions—nearly thirty thousand soldiers—in one go… how could they keep fighting like that?

The Dmitria Church immediately proposed convening a Main Continent Alliance Conference.

The Seris Federation envoy, who had been stranded on the continent, finally got to meet with the seven national representatives of the Alliance.

Interestingly, the representative of the Dmitria Church was none other than the former Pontiff of the Secondary Continent, Oligovich.

It was clear that the exchange between the two sides would not be exactly “cordial.”

Oligovich was the first to lash out at the Federation envoy, furiously denouncing the Seris Federation’s unannounced attack that caused severe losses to the Church, demanding the release of prisoners and compensation for the assault.

As he spoke, he even presented a detailed list.

The envoy glanced at it—those demands could fund the equipment of twenty tank divisions for the Federation.

They might as well hand over the entire Federation to the Church.

He couldn’t help but sneer.

“Our side had issued multiple warnings and advisories before this. The nations of the Main Continent have no right to interfere with the development of the Secondary Continent.”

Oligovich roared angrily, “Who said we can’t interfere with the development of the Secondary Continent? Who agreed to that?”

The envoy responded righteously, “Our Federation’s Empress said so! We don’t need your permission.”

“If your side meddles in the affairs of the Secondary Continent without cause, then as a nation of the Secondary Continent, we naturally have the right to counter your unjust behavior.”

The representative of the Kingdom of Ixia couldn’t help but sneer.

“A joke! Do you mean to say that our Seven-Nation Alliance must seek the consent of you primitive savages before acting?”

As he spoke, violent magical waves erupted from his body.

The powerful pressure stirred elemental storms throughout the entire conference hall.

The Federation envoy staggered back a few steps under the crushing pressure.

His eyelids twitched—Saint-level?! The foundations of these nations were terrifying indeed.

The representative of the Kingdom of Suria waved his hand to quell the escalating elemental storm.

“Representative Sarkel, the founding purpose of our Alliance was to promote better trade and cooperation with neighboring nations, not to incite regional chaos. Such behavior is not in our interest.”

Everyone knew that political stability was the most fundamental requirement for doing business.

No matter how backward the Secondary Continent was, it remained an essential source of raw materials for these nations.

Now that war had broken out, many trade routes were cut off, and the prices of materials had skyrocketed—especially food and slaves—causing significant losses for the Kingdom of Suria.

Oligovich, however, had his own reasoning.

“Our support for the Kingdom of Paria was precisely to prevent the war from expanding further—to act as mediators among the three nations.”

“On the contrary, if not for the firearms supplied by the Seris Federation, this Three-Nation War would never have even started. They should take responsibility for it. I propose that the Alliance raise tariffs on the Seris Federation’s goods as punishment.”

The Federation envoy ignored Oligovich’s provocation and reiterated, “From the very beginning, our side tried to engage in dialogue with yours, yet we were never granted an audience. Every protest document was duly submitted. Our actions are just and lawful.”

“If your side still refuses to withdraw your troops from the Secondary Continent, we cannot rule out the possibility that what happened before may happen again.”

Oligovich stood up and pointed at the Federation envoy.

“You! Fight, then! Do you think you’ll have such good luck pulling off a sneak attack again?”

“All I can say is—wait and see!”

“How arrogant of the Seris Federation! The great empires haven’t spoken yet, and these barbarians already act so insolently,” said the representative of the Kingdom of Pue Lent mockingly.

The representatives of the two empires merely waved their hands at that remark.

They were only here to watch the show and had no intention of getting involved—for now.

In fact, they would prefer for them to fight.

After all, as the primary suppliers of Mechanical Body production, the fiercer the wars between nations, the more profit they would earn.

The representative of the Tsarist Nation, who had remained silent, looked curiously at the Federation envoy.

He couldn’t quite figure out why such an ordinary man of seemingly low power was so confident—daring to stand up to the Church.

But then again, considering that his Federation had annihilated two entire Church divisions, that confidence was perhaps understandable.

He suddenly grew curious about this Federation.

What kind of weapons could have caused the Church such heavy losses? As the Church’s neighboring state, their disputes were anything but few.

In truth, the Church wanted to know the same thing.

That was precisely why they demanded the return of the prisoners.

To this day, they still hadn’t figured out how those two divisions had been wiped out.

There was simply no way to investigate it.

With airships patrolling from above, any scouts they sent were immediately tracked, chased, and eliminated by the All-terrain Vehicles following behind.

There was no chance of escape.

The Church’s encounter with the armored forces had been sudden.

The battle entered its fiercest phase right from the start, leaving no time—nor any survivors capable—of reporting back.

This conference—or rather, this interrogation of the Federation—ended on a sour note.

Neither side was willing to yield.

However, the camps had become much clearer.

The Church had the support of two kingdoms, while the Seris Federation found itself backed by the Kingdom of Suria’s mediation.

Although diplomatic relations had not been formally established, their cooperation had already surpassed that of normal allies.

Once back at his hotel, the Federation envoy immediately sent the meeting’s contents back via telegraph, instructing the homeland to prepare for continued warfare.

Mitia had told him from the start: “Be as firm as you wish. The Federation will handle everything.”

The Federation had risen by overthrowing the Church and the noble kingdoms.

There was no room for compromise between them—especially with the Holy Light Church still looming behind the scenes.

Forget reconciliation—by now, the Church probably dreamed of destroying the Seris Federation.

If the Church refused to accept their defeat, then they would just keep fighting until it did.

Factories across the Federation were operating nonstop, producing tank hulls and components, transporting them to assembly plants for final construction.

From the start, Mitia had arranged specialized factories for each tank component.

After the initial period of adjustment, the workers’ proficiency had fully stabilized, enabling three-shift, high-speed production.

Thanks to simplified processes and a pulsating automotive-style production method, the complete manufacturing and assembly cycle for a light tank required only about 9,500 man-hours before it rolled out to the railway station, ready for transport.