As Ishmael had predicted, the spread of nationalism and the nationwide adoption of conscription systems were becoming a widespread meta among the warring nations.
“Oh? If this continues, we won’t have to waste money hiring mercenaries anymore?”
“Yes. But first, we need to provoke the people and encourage voluntary enlistment.”
“That won’t be difficult. I’ll allocate a budget—gather experts and start preparing.”
The nation’s leadership wasn’t made up of fools.
They were well aware that the trend of warfare was changing.
Gone were the days when armies relied solely on professional veteran soldiers—after all, even a battle-hardened warrior could be taken down with a single bullet.
Why depend solely on expensive elite troops when mass conscription could fill the ranks?
Of course, shifting the system immediately was easier said than done.
They had intended to gradually implement changes—but then, the neighboring country had already discovered the perfect solution.
“The Helvetian Republic’s population is only one-sixth of ours.
Yet, they’ve managed to hold out so far because of continuous conscription.”
“And since we’ve cut off their access to mercenaries, they’ve had no choice but to rely on domestic recruitment.”
“Seeing how well their conscripts are performing, it seems they’re more useful than we thought.”
There was no need for extensive research or verification.
The enemy was already proving the system’s effectiveness in real-time on the battlefield.
War has always been the fastest incubator for new technologies.
No warring nation would refuse an option that could increase their chances of victory.
(Except for the Artiuum Empire, which had yet to fully commit troops and thus hadn’t absorbed these wartime lessons.)
“Let’s start by reviewing these—’On War’ and ‘The Social Contract’?”
“This pamphlet also seems worth referencing.”
“We need to carefully select what content to include so it aligns with our national situation…”
Important reference materials and textbooks were already in circulation.
The leadership acquired them—either by purchasing them or confiscating them from merchants—and began analyzing them, word by word.
It was not an easy task for them.
The texts were filled with ideas that completely overturned conventional wisdom.
That a king’s and noble’s authority is established through a social contract.
That rulers should be ruthless and cunning.
These were concepts that no one would have thought of on their own.
Under normal circumstances, they would have dismissed them as nonsense and banned them outright.
But this was wartime.
The existential crisis of the nation demanded extreme ideological flexibility and a high tolerance for new ideas.
Ban such books?
Why would they?
In fact, even previously forbidden books were now being reconsidered for their potential propaganda value.
“To inspire national war fervor, we need content that’s as provocative as possible.”
“We should frame it so that anyone who isn’t one of us is an enemy that must be destroyed.”
“Wouldn’t that lead to diplomatic backlash later…?”
“That’s better than losing the war and having our nation wiped out.”
They soon realized something.
To stir up nationalism, they needed to instill a twisted national identity and exclusive patriotism.
They had to clearly separate ‘us’ from ‘them.’
They had to accept the concept of racial superiority and inferiority.
The values of universal brotherhood and tolerance once pursued by past empires and religious orders?
Throw them in the gutter.
“But… how?”
“Well…”
“Wait, aren’t we a multi-ethnic empire? Can we even call ourselves a single nation?”
Understanding the concept was one thing—implementing it was another.
The realities of their own country—a diverse empire—made things complicated.
They had no experience in fostering this kind of nationalism.
No one knew exactly how to do it effectively.
But humans are creatures who find solutions when they hit a wall.
Faced with a dilemma, they soon devised an answer.
“Demons! Let’s use the demons as scapegoats!”
“If we’re unsure, just copy the lines from this pamphlet! Whoever wrote it has a striking writing style—it’ll be effective!”
“Too complex to explain? Just glorify the Emperor! If we write about how grand and magnificent our Imperial House is, the people will cheer!”
If creating new ideas was too hard, then they would imitate existing ones.
If originality was difficult, then they would adapt what was already available.
Thus, the propaganda materials created by various nations.
surprisingly worked well.
The common people weren’t particularly intelligent in this era.
And while the materials lacked sophistication, they compensated with strong, clear messaging.
Even if the quality was somewhat poor, the target audience wasn’t exactly discerning either—so it worked well enough.
“Long live the great Navre! Long live!!!”
“Everyone, submit your enlistment applications! We must defend our homeland with our own hands!”
“Slaughter those filthy horned bastards! Purge those spawns of Satan with sacred fire!”
Throughout the nation, mobs of excitable young men staged demonstrations and rushed to enlist.
Of course, this also led to a few “minor” incidents like crimes and massacres.
But with patriotism and military manpower surging overnight, conscription became easier than ever.
With nationwide understanding and acceptance of conscription now established, each country rapidly began filling their armies with draftees.
Some regions resorted to coercive methods, but overall, the process was far simpler than before.
“Ha! 30,000 reinforcements by next month? That used to take at least half a year.”
“Just rounding up able-bodied men from anywhere… Raising an army has never been easier!”
“Why didn’t we think of this sooner?”
With this, the mobilization advantage that the Helvetian Republic once enjoyed was nullified.
For Helvetia—who had barely managed to maintain a fragile balance in the war—this was nothing short of a disaster.
How would they respond?
*****
The Duce’s answer to this challenge was simple.
“Expand the prisoner battalions and widen the conscription pool.”
“B-But, Duce! If we do that, we’ll lose the labor force needed for farming and production!”
“We still have our fellow countrymen, don’t we? If we focus recruitment on the Holy Order territories, our homeland will take less damage.”
This wasn’t the 19th or 20th century—an era of complex tactical maneuvers and advanced technology.
At this time, it was common for captured enemy soldiers to be conscripted into the victor’s army.
Of course, they were paid next to nothing and treated like slaves, but technically, they were still hired soldiers.
And Helvetia had plenty of captured enemy troops and citizens from the early stages of the war.
So the Duce reorganized them into military units,And assigned them to the most dangerous, high-casualty operations.
“Send envoys to the peninsula nations that haven’t joined the war yet. Plead with them. Beg them to allow volunteer corps or at least permit their citizens to enlist.”
“They’ve refused up until now. Why would their stance change all of a sudden?”
“If we fail, our people’s safety will be in jeopardy. Even if we win, we won’t emerge unscathed.”
“That was something we were prepared for from the beginning of this war. Win or be destroyed—either way, this was always going to be a fight with only two possible outcomes.”
Objectively speaking, it was madness.
No, it wasn’t even a matter of objectivity—anyone could see that this was insanity.
They had already conscripted the nation’s youth, the very foundation of their future.
And now, they were about to send the middle-aged and elderly to be consumed by the war as well.
If that happened, who would be left to lead the country once the war was over?
But that didn’t matter.
This war was a battle for the very survival of their people.
No matter the cost, they had to win first.
“Now that you understand, begin preparations. We need to act quickly for the sake of the war effort.”
“…Understood, Your Excellency.”
“Oh, and one more thing. The newly recruited soldiers will need an inspiring name, don’t you think?”
With so many people suddenly being conscripted, there was bound to be confusion.
To boost morale, they decided to give them an impressive title.
“They are the people’s army, charging forward to face the enemy… Yes, ‘People’s Assault Corps’ should be fitting.”
And so, the first-ever army of the elderly in this world—the People’s Assault Corps—was born.
*****
“…Should I call this desperation, or insanity?”
Humans were truly terrifying creatures.
Sure, I had given them various ideas, laid down the ideological groundwork, proposed strategies and future plans, and even encouraged them.
But I never expected them to take it this far.
Were they really that desperate to win?
“How utterly delightful.”
I was more than satisfied.
Hopefully, they would continue fighting like this.
Ideally, until other nations also started planning their own People’s Assault Corps.
“I should tell the Helvetia branch to send mostly elderly operatives for now. If we send young people, they’ll just get drafted into the army.”
“They’re probably already doing that. Losing valuable agents to conscription would be a problem. We already have too much on our plate—how would we even handle additional personnel shortages?”
Kalia shrugged as she replied.
It made sense.
I had heard that our organization had been struggling lately due to the escalating war.
Recruiting refugees as new operatives, maintaining communication networks across the frontlines, regularly exchanging coded messages for intelligence sharing.
These tasks were already difficult enough in this primitive era.
Even with the help of magic, managing everything must have been enough to make their heads explode.
“And on top of that… there’s this to deal with as well.”
As she spoke, Kalia handed me a stack of documents.
The title on the topmost page read:
[Status Report on the Construction of Labor Camps for Demons]