Lào Cai, former Sino-Vietnamese Border
Vietnam Border Defense Force

After escorting the knights back to the police station near the border, the border guards put them in a separate, green-yellow colored room to be interrogated. The police officers joined in as well, turning off all the lights in the room, as the border guards from earlier, joined by a police and border defense Major General. Two border guards in the squad who escorted the knights earlier stood guard by the sides of the two doors, with one lower hand on the STV stock and one higher hand on the handguard like in a parade formation, with the more experienced Senior Lieutenant of the two closing the doors behind them as everyone was inside.

The knights were then released from the handcuffs they had on their hands as they were escorted and sat down on the left side of the large table, with the Vietnamese side sitting on the right side of the table. The knight Captain marveled at the room in how it was built, as well as the comfortable chairs and table near him.

"All of this...this is amazing!" He cried out happily.

The Vietnamese side laughed in acknowledgement as the knight Captain, and now his squad, looked around in the room in more marvel.

"H-How is this possible-" The knight Captain stopped.

The Vietnamese side looked to themselves, identifying the language the knight Captain was speaking in as Mandarin Chinese.

"Captain Phong." The border guard Captain replied back.

The knight Captain stared at Captain Phong in shock.

"You understand my language?"

"Your language is similar to Mandarin. And this is the border with China, so learning Mandarin is essential."

The knights questioned amongst themselves what was "Mandarin" and "China" but were stopped by Phong as he waved his hand to the police Major General.

"This is Major General Đức, of the Vietnamese Public Security. He is the commander of police forces here in Lào Cai."

Major General Đức stretched his hand out to the knight Captain, who, confused, raised his hand up.

"Here, let me help you." Major General Đức took the knight Captain's hand and shook it, in a gesture of friendliness.

Phong waved to the other Major General.

"And this is Major General Mạnh, of the Vietnam Border Defense Force. He is in charge of the border defense forces in this area."

Major General Mạnh greeted the knight Captain in the same way the police Major General did, with a simple handshake.

"Welcome to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," Minh said.

"Thank you, Major General." The knight Captain, still bewildered, sat back down.

The two sides did the same as the secret meeting started.

"So. Let me ask you first. Where are you from?" Major General Mạnh asked while sipping his cup of coffee.

Captain Phong helped to translate it to the Mandarin speaking knight squad.

"My squad is from the Qua Toyne Principality, the country over your border." The knight Captain spoke up.

"So then, what was surrounding your nation before our country showed up?"

"It was the ocean. The vast seas of which this world was created upon with the help of the gods from above blessed us with."

The Vietnamese side nodded their heads, in understanding. Even though all of them were atheists, they acknowledged the reality that they were in a new world and hence had to conform with the stories of the locals, however ridiculous it may sound in reality.

"Who are your trading partners?" The border guard Major General continued.

"Out of coercion, the Parpaldian Empire, an advanced civilization in the Third Civilization Area. We also have to trade with the Lourian Empire, our soon to be enemies."

"Soon to be enemies?"

"Yes. The Lourian military have been staging their forces on our borders, and have a bigger force to invade overall than we do. They are also receiving aid from the Parpaldians in the form of what we believe to be "spears of light", as well as in combination with normal swords and spears."

As the knights were murmuring doubts of their commanding officer, Major General Minh paused to think.

"I think he means firearms, sir," Captain Phong said.

The general nodded in response.

"Though from my assumption of their forces, they are not as advanced as your border defense force's weapons. Here, one of my knights has a specimen of the Lourian spear of light."

One of the knights brings out what appears to be a musket.

"This is deadly from our troops' perspective. Our army does not possess a large amount of these to fight back against the Lourian Empire. In other words-" He was interrupted by Major General Đức.

"You will get slaughtered. To put it simply."

"Correct."

Major General Đức leans back to Captain Phong.

"Đồng chí, what do you think this is?"

Phong inspected the musket carefully.

"Đồng chí Thiếu Tướng, I believe this is a musket. From my judgment here, I can say that this specific type is a Spanish matchlock."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"The stock and the trigger are two factors. The trigger extends all the way to the wooden stock. And the stock itself is smaller to accommodate height restrictions during the time period. In addition, the barrel is long, hence why it isn't an arquebus, since those are carbine sized, and the barrel is a smoothbore type barrel, not rifled."

The knights except for the knight Captain were awestruck with the statement.

"So you are saying that the Lourian Empire can't hope to stand against you even with their army numbering in the hundreds of thousands?" One of the knights asked.

"Now, now. We must not come to that conclusion. We must all proceed with high caution. Not just for us Vietnamese, but also for you Qua Toyians. Overconfidence is never a good thing, especially when your country is under threat of an invasion from another. First thing's first, what is your country known for making?" Major General Đức asked the knight Captain with a serious look.

"We are known for our fertile land, with which the gods blessed us. Crops are easy to grow in Qua Toyne, and as such, we heavily rely on agriculture to keep up with the markets, as well as sell food to Parpaldia and Louria."

"But that would be a problem should Louria decide to declare war on you. The stocks you supplied them may give them more ability to feed their troops."

"Yes, that is a problem that can only be solved with a miracle. And I believe with full honesty, it is your nation that should be the new trading partner."

"Why is that?"

"Judging from your advancements, they far surpass any nation thus far in this world. Us Qua Toyians would like to have some help from a stronger nation, which we have found. That is your Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Major General."

Major General Đức slightly nodded his head to the analysis the knight Captain was giving.

"You have a logical point. We are in dire need of food, and it seems like your nation can provide us with such. However, our country operates on a three nos policy." Major General Mạnh outlined.

"Three nos?" The knight Captain asked, in confusion.

"No military alliances, no aligning with one country against another, and no foreign military bases on Vietnamese soil."

"I can see how the 'no aligning with one country against another' part will do to us."

"Although, it may be possible to have some room for your nation. That is for the diplomats and politicians to decide in the next few days."

"Understood, sir."

"Very well. Your job now is to inform your country's government about our existence, and we will do the same with ours. Diplomacy and future trading can go from there."

Everyone nodded their heads in unison.

"This meeting is now concluded. Dismissed."

Each side got up and handshook each other before heading for the doors, ready for the future of their nations. A brighter one, that is.

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Esthirant, Parpaldian Empire
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Central Calender Year 1637, March 7th, 13:00

Behind a desk in a red colored room filled with magical electricity sat a young woman in her late teens, about to turn into her early 20s, elegantly dressed in the style of an 18th century noble. Her name was Remille, a princess of the Parpaldian Imperial Family and head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs audit bureau, whose job it was to not only audit Parpaldian law, but also other nations' laws as to how the Parpaldian Imperial Family deems fit. Remille never used this power, however, as she understood herself how dangerous this imperial power of hers could be used against an innocent nation.

The horrifying sight of devastated villages, burnt to nothing but ashes by the Parpaldian army against a weaker army, later written in Parpaldian history books as just another rebel army. Her father, the former emperor before Emperor Ludius took power, took her out into the battlefield, proclaiming the glorious might of the Parpaldian Empire. She, however, saw it in a more different light as she saw for herself the mutilated bodies of the civilians who lived there. Men were shot in the head as brain tissue splatted out, skulls crushed from the constant beating of the hard wooden stocks of rifles; women were dealt with even worse of an experience, first being sexually assaulted before being left to slowly die from their wounds sustained by the victorious army. A young child Remille widened her mouth in shock at the brutality of war seen in front of her eyes, effectively burning that memory into her head for life. From then on, Remille swore to herself that she would do better than most to protect lives, not to cause meaningless wars that would further damage society as a whole.

Now, the present Remille was working on a small stack of paperwork given to her by her subordinates.

"Paperwork. So much for being a member of the Imperial Family," Remille said to herself as she stared out the window, rain pouring down onto the streets below, giggling to herself in amusement for a few seconds at the life she has currently.

A knock then came at her door.

"Come in," she said.

A man in his early 50s comes in, wearing the Parpaldian military uniform.

"Your Highness, I have been informed of another nation transfer outside the civilized area." The man, Kaios, informs her.

"Very interesting. So what have you gathered about this nation?"

"Unfortunately we were not able to gather any sort of information about this nation."

Remille had her hands on her chin, thinking.

"Go gather more information about this unknown nation. I would like to very much consider their stance on this world."

"But your Highness, these are...barbarians."

"I do not care if they are 'barbarians' or not. I will determine for myself once I get more information. Have I made myself clear, Director Kaios? I am sure you understand as the head of the 3rd Foreign Affairs Office. If you refuse, I will treat you as defying a member of the Imperial Family." She waved her finger in front of Kaios saying her statement.

"Yes, your Highness. And I forgot something."

"What is it?"

"Our allies, the Lourian Empire, are preparing for an invasion on the Qua Toyne Principality."

"Why exactly? Are you an influencer of the Lourians going to war?"

"No, your Highness. They choose this on their own accord."

Remille paused, fuming inside of another needless war happening against a  nation that traditionally was peaceful. Not only that, they were more or less forced to trade at the whim of the Parpaldian Empire.

"Ludius...he's up to something again, is he?" She clenched her teeth, muttering to herself.

"Your Highness?" Kaios had to deal with some of Remille's outbursts before, especially about starting unnecessary wars instigated by Emperor Ludius's influence on other nations "inferior" to them, in his words of course. And Remille would be left behind to pick up the pieces.

"Very well...we shall discuss more of this matter later. You are dismissed, Director Kaios," Remille said.

"Yes, your Highness." Kaios left the room and closed the doors behind her.

Left alone by herself again, she began pondering her next move.

"Ludius, I thought I could trust you...I like you for god sakes. Let's hope this new nation is strong enough to counter Ludius's influence." Remille wondered to herself with a looming sense of concern of what's to come.

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Hà Nội, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Bộ Ngoại Giao (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Central Calendar Year 1637 (2028), March 13th, 10:00 Hà Nội Time

Qua Toyian Prime Minister Kanata checked the time on a billboard for a soap advertisement from a window: 10:00. In 20 more minutes, the official meeting between Qua Toyian and Vietnamese representatives was bound to start. The Prime Minister marveled at the sight of new technologies unknown to them before contact.

"Cars, planes, skyscrapers, even little magicomms. Tell me young soldier, how is this all possible?" The Prime Minister asked a Second Lieutenant from the 102nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment, part of the 308th Division stationed in the city because of the marital law imposed throughout the country.

"Sir, with all due respect, all of this is possible due to advancements in technology. Computers, microchips, steel, etc. Many innovations that have helped human lives prosper in every single way of life made most of what you see today, possible."

"I see, young one. Your nation is so advanced to such a degree that it can rival most, if not all, the civilization superpowers on this planet. Hah!" The Prime Minister laughed at his statement.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Personally for me, I think it's best to remain cautious as is. Underestimation is not a good thing, and who knows who lies out there for us, since we just arrived."

"Do not be so tense, young one. I am sure your leaders will understand and work out the details."

"Well if you say so. Sometimes Đảng (Communist Party of Vietnam) tends to complicate things, especially on a scale this big. I won't be surprised if it's a standstill, considering our policy when it comes to military projection."

"That is?"

"Sir, I'll think you'll understand more once the diplomats from my side explain it to you. For now, just focus on the meeting."

"Hah. Take care, young one." The Qua Toyian Prime Minister opened the doors to the Bộ Ngoại Giao (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) interior, with the meeting room on the left, and the dining area on the right. Turning left, he was greeted by some of his Qua Toyian colleagues.

"This is truly marvelous, your Excellency. The Vietnamese truly have conjured up these miracles that we can never have imagined." 

Prime Minister Kanata nodded his head in response.

"We must get going gentlemen, the host country would not like us to be late to one of the most important meetings in our nation's history."

The Qua Toyian diplomats were led by the guards to the left row of a large wooden table, green colored walls, with the usual Hồ Chí Minh bust in front of the room. The Vietnamese side already sat in their seats, with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Phạm Mạnh Trường, sitting at the center.

"Prime Minister Kanata, please, sit down," Minister Trường said.

"Much obliged." Minister Kanata acknowledged and sat down in a relatively comfortable seat.

"I must say, Minister Trường, your country is a country full of miracles," Minister Kanata said.

"Why thank you, although it was more of a global effort." The Vietnamese Prime Minister chuckled.

"I see. Shall we get to business then?"

"We shall."

Both sides opened up their folders on the topics that will be discussed, ranging from origins to trade. Qua Toyne was especially excited for this meeting since if done right, it would give them an advantage against the Lourians, who wanted to all but either exterminate them from the face of the Earth or have their people as slaves to sell to their lucrative slave market by using their vastly superior army against the Qua Toyians.

"From the information we gathered from our end, Minister Trường, your nation is a transferred nation, is that correct?" Kanata pressed the Vietnamese Prime Minister headfirst.

"Yes, your information confirms with ours that we are from a different world."

"Thank you. Now, are you aware of the superpowers that exist in this world?"

"No, we do not."

"Then I will have my assistant cover them for you all. This should help you adjust further to the new world."

The delegates from both sides turned to look at Kanata's assistant, who was in the front, about to give a presentation using a large map and some papers attached to the side.

"Thank you, gentlemen. I would like you to turn your attention to the map shown." The assistant used a long pointer to point to various key locations on the map, starting from the middle right.

"Our nations are located on the continent of Rodenius, in the outside Civilization area. According to your world, this continent is about half the size of Australia."

"That's still a sizable amount of land to cover." A Vietnamese Army Captain commented.

"Correct. On this continent there are currently four nations: the Qua Toyne Principality, the Quila Kingdom, the Kingdom of Louria, and your nation, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Of these nations before your transfer, we considered the Kingdom of Louria the strongest nation on this continent. However, they do not compare in scale to the superpowers."

The pointer turned to another part of the map, this time upwards slightly.

"This is the Third Civilization Area. The superpower here is the Parpaldian Empire, who we suspect is supplying Louria with new wyverns and spears of light."

"Which our border defense force has identified as Spanish muskets. The muskets are smoothbores, which is easy to produce for their side, however it has an unrifled groove. Without rifling, it would go in all directions and miss its shot on target." Another Vietnamese delegate, this time a Vietnamese Border Defense Lieutenant Colonel, added.

"Yes. That is true. Moving on, in the Second Civilization Area, there is the Mu Monarchy, a nation that specializes in magic technology such as their "airplanes", which are essentially flying objects. Also in the Second Civilization Area is Leifor, a country that is like Parpaldia, but more...loving to their country.

"So basically like the ultranationalist Philippines and the Fire Nation in a certain GATE x Avatar story?" A younger Vietnamese Second Lieutenant asked into the ear of a Vietnamese First Lieutenant.

"Yeah it does sound like that." The First Lieutenant seemed to agree with the statement and nodded back.

"And for the First Civilization Area and strongest superpower, the Holy Millishal Empire. They use more superior military items such as an advanced version of Mu's "airplanes" called "jets", items that were last seen with the Ancient Sorcerous Empire.

"Jets...what kind of jets?" Minister Trường asked curiously.

Pulling out a few pictures he got from the Holy Millishal Empire, the assistant began to explain further briefly.

"It is called the Alpha-3. Faster than any wyvern we possess on this continent and has superior weaponry; the wyvern's fireballs will not be able to deal any significant damage to it, let alone anti-wyvern ballistas."

The assistant turned to both sides at the desk.

"Any more questions?"

Both sides shook their heads no.

"And that concludes my briefing on this world. Thank you."

Talks resumed after the briefing was finished.

"So in short, Prime Minister Trường, we are asking for your help in any way possible." Prime Minister Kanata pleaded.

"Our foreign policy would provide us with little assistance to help you. But, our government has made it flexible for us to negotiate on certain grounds," Prime Minister Trường said.

"Excellent. I would like to discuss trade between our countries. I see that your country is technologically superior than us, would it be possible to have some of your country's technology?"

"That would be considered if you have a desirable offer for us to trade technology. Perhaps food would be a good option to start. I see that your country has fertile grounds suitable for specific crops, and that the land is very drought resistant"

"Ah yes, we do. Our people cultivate wheat, maize, and potatoes, something that we have gathered in our short stay here that your country is lacking."

"Certainly we are. However, we are also not empty of those stocks just yet."

"Then we can agree to limited trade. We acquire small amounts of your scientific technology with the amount of food you need, as well as your protection when necessary. What is your exchange?"

The Vietnamese Prime Minister paused to think.

"About the first one, that can get the go ahead. For the second one, unless there is an urgent need, we cannot intervene in other countries' affairs."

Prime Minister Kanata sighed.

"Although there is a solution that my government has approved of that doesn't go fully against our policy: land for some temporary Vietnamese airfields. That way if anything truly terrible were to happen for real, Vietnamese forces can respond faster to threats than if we stayed on the mainland."

"That...can be arranged." Prime Minister Kanata agreed.

A historic break from one of the three nos, that being no aligning with one country against another, Vietnam firmly aligned itself in being Qua Toyne's protector against Louria for limited trade to sustain its populace.

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Hà Nội
Central Calendar Year 1637 (2028), April 3rd, 14:00 Hà Nội Time

In a dark alleyway, near the 308th Division's new headquarters inside the city, a Lourian spy group was getting ready to move.

"Let's go." A Lourian spy leader told his men as they put on Vietnamese uniforms they had stolen from a store.

The men remarked on how comfortable they were compared to their own, but the leader scolded them, reminding them they were there to cause the "barbarians" trouble. As they approached the front gates, things began to turn south. The Vietnamese Army guards, gripping on their STVs, were suspicious about the Lourian spy group, who disembarked from a civilian taxi and wore almost nothing on their uniforms, not to mention no semblance of ranks. They also wore the K-07 uniform, which was not uncommon, however was already phased out by the K-20 uniform currently being worn by all branches of the Vietnamese Armed Forces. The guards still did their normal procedure of identification.

"Your identification, gentlemen." The first guard, a Sergeant, ordered in Vietnamese.

The Lourian spy group then suddenly realized how screwed they were and spoke in what turned out to be Spanish.

"Sir, they speak a whole different language, shouldn't we have accounted for this?" An anxious spy asked.

"It's too late now, get ready to sheath knives." The leader calmly replied back.

"I ask again, your identification." This time the guard used English.

The group didn't respond and instead...

"For the glorious Kingdom of Louria, die you barbarians!"

Pulled out their knives and ran to attack the two guards. Needless to say, it wasn't a fair fight as the guards shot two of the spies before their backup came, which took around 40 seconds. At that time the Lourian spy leader gave the wise decision to retreat, only for the guards to be faster and surround the remaining eight.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" A guard yelled in Spanish so that the spies could understand.

Having no choice, the spies did as asked, albeit reluctantly, dropping their swords and putting their hands behind their heads. The Vietnamese guards arrested the spy group on charges of espionage and hurled them off to the interrogation rooms. As they were led in the dimly lit room with handcuffs, Senior Colonel Cường decided to pay the Lourian spy leader a "visit". Sitting across from a wooden table with a translator, a Vietnamese Air Force Senior Lieutenant, he gave off a menacing stare that could pierce through the thickest of steel.

"Uh..." The spy leader was beginning to sweat, as he had never seen an interrogation done in this method before.

No words were being said by the younger Senior Colonel, as he kept staring to make the spy leader spill the beans.

"Whatever you do, I won't talk!" The spy leader yelled out in desperation.

Holding a remote in his hand, Cường played a video of exercises practiced by 122mm self propelled 2S1 Gvozdikas along with a combination of rocket strikes from the multiple rocket launch system BM-30 Smerch and the BM-21 Grad. This was the final nail in the coffin for the spy leader, as he widened his eyes in fear for his home village.

"Fine, fine, you win! I will tell you everything, just please don't destroy my village!" The spy leader finally broke under the pressure.

"Spill it." The words of the Senior Colonel rang cold into the spy leader's ears, who shivered further in fear.

The Lourian spy leader proceeded to tell of the plan to infiltrate into the Vietnamese military disguised as Vietnamese soldiers, gather intelligence about the strength and equipment of the Vietnamese military and to cause destruction, havoc, and mayhem through the ranks. They were also to capture some Vietnamese soldiers to bring back to Louria for information about Vietnam and its capabilities.

"I'm sure you realize that what you are doing is espionage, not to mention arson from what your plan curtailed. To us..."

Cường leaned forward on the table.

"You are the barbarians. And you will never win."

A/N: And that's chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed!

Equipment featured in this chapter:

STV-380/Galil ACE 32 Assault Rifle

2S1 Gvozdika 122mm Self Propelled Artillery

BM-30 Smerch Multiple Rocket Launcher System

BM-21 Grad Multiple Rocket Launcher System