Chapter 56 – Retreating American Destroyers

To launch the missile or not to launch the missile?

With only two options, the question seemed simple enough. But for the president, this was perhaps the most difficult quandary he had faced in his term.

After all, who could know what the consequences of such an action would be?

Despite their immense militaristic powers, the USA was not so stupid as to fire Tomahawk missiles at every single problem they faced.

They dared to make a fuss almost anywhere on Earth due to their advanced intelligence systems. If they ever wished to make a move on a certain target, they would only do so after intense investigation and research of not only the target but the possible consequences of their actions. Thus, as he had no proper understanding of the strange creature in the image, the president could not move recklessly.

Were their weapons powerful enough? How much damage could a single missile do to such an entity? What if the missiles lost control the moment they entered the warped domain, just as the drone had? And was that thing really an evil god?

If the missile was useless, then they would have provoked a powerful entity with nothing to show for it except its ire. In that case, the creature would likely retaliate in some way, and no one could guess as to the horrors it would unleash upon their people. As the highest official in the nation, the president did not wish for it to become a battleground for a war against strange beings.

If possible, they’d rather the monster go to Japan, the land where strange shows and movies are aired!

Despite the powers at his disposal, he could not help but feel fear of the unknown.

It was possible, after all, that the creature had woken up just to find food. After eating its fill, it might just go back to sleep.

The president hoped for such a convenient state of affairs.

What’s more, the place where the evil God had appeared was closer to Asia and Australia. Even if it wanted to attack, it should attack Asia or Australia first. This way, the United States of America would be able to collect detailed information on its abilities.

The more the president thought about it, the more comfortable he felt about not acting against the creature. Had it been heading straight for US territory he would have launched the attack immediately. But now, as it was closer to Asia and Australia, provoking it would not be the optimal move.

Coughing, the president announced his decision, “With the information we have on hand, they are likely in the so-called city of R’lyeh. If we were to attack it at the moment, we would likely involve our citizens in the fallout.”

The Secretary of State lowered his head. Of course, he knew that this was just the president’s excuse. If there were still American citizens inside the strange area, then they would have died long ago.

But the Secretary of Defense felt that the President’s decision was correct. The United States of America should not rashly launch an attack. Why should they place themselves in danger while other countries watched the show from the back? If they were to attack this monster, they would first pull other countries into it as well.

Thinking this way, he thought that those allies should provide America with supplies, or to be more precise pay for military expenses. Now that the international situation was quite bad with so many monsters appearing, the military expenses for the year should also increase by 25%.

Just after the president and the Secretary of Defense thought about this, the USS Narry suddenly fired a missile.

Everyone in the room watched the video with dumbfounded expressions. As the missile flew into the air, the president stood up in anger and slammed the table, “What the hell? Who gave them the order to fire!!!”

The president’s heart chilled. Could the naval forces be rebelling against him? How dare they launch missiles without orders! If something happened the president would have to take the blame.

The Secretary of Defense was also thinking the same.

“Reporting, there is an emergency onboard USS Barry. The captain, Commander Lewis, suddenly went crazy and pressed the missile launch button. A Tomahawk missile was fired. Colonel Lewis has now been temporarily restrained!”

“Where did the missile go?”

The Secretary of Defense asked in a hurry because the missile did not enter the image of the City of R’lyeh at all, which means that the missile that was fired was not aimed at the monster.

‘Please don’t be a different country.’

He prayed. The Tomahawk missile had a range of 1,600 kilometers. At their current position, they could shoot directly into Australian territory!

“The missile was fired at the USS Gordon, which was on the same mission with the Barry.”

Hearing that it actually shot friendly forces, the Secretary of Defense was relieved.

“What are the damages?”

“There are no damages to the Gordon’s mechanical system. Appraisals are still underway, however.”

Sinking a destroyer was extremely difficult. The United States of America experimented with using anti-aircraft missiles to destroy ships. From their results, they were assured that at least five standard missiles were needed to properly annihilate a destroyer. Any less and it wouldn’t sink.

So firing a missile at a destroyer was meaningless. That said, the personnel casualties may have been significant.

“Quick, quick! Get the Gordon and Barry out of the area!”

The Secretary of Defense quickly reacted and hurriedly gave his orders.

At this point, they could even hear the captain of the USS Gordon curse, “I’m going to have that bastard Lewis court-martialed. Damn Lewis, I’m going to make him pay.”

By the time the emergency was dealt with, everyone in the office looked at each other.

“This… this might be the evil god’s power of influencing the hearts of the people. In the Cthulhu mythology, there are more people who went crazy than those who died.”

An expert said dryly.

The president and the Secretary of Defense heavily nodded their heads.

This was simply too terrifying. The horror of having their wills twisted was more frightening than being fired at by cannons. There was little they could do against mental terrors.

“Let’s put our newly created special department into action. Also, look for experts in Lovecraftian mythology. I want to know what other possible monsters might appear on our planet.”

The President spoke in a heavy tone.

In the Pacific waters, Louie was relieved after seeing the destroyers leave at the fastest speed.

In the end, he could collect his spoils without any disturbance.