The Risk I Took IV

   Here's the part where things get a little Risk-y. That is to say, the board game-based mechanics of this universe begin showing their roots. To counter Rome's holding hostage of their missionaries, Portugal sends out exactly five troops. (See?). An alliance between Portugal and France is struck (see?), and France sends out 15 troops of its own (see?). Rome destroys seven of France's fifteen troops (I guess that leaves eight left) and, in retaliation, brutally slaughters all of Portugal's captive missionaries. I'm not sure if the Romans ever knew that those guys weren't Chinese. No matter. They're dead now. France, with their presumably eight troops remaining (how much is a troop, anyway? Have I been doing it wrong?) with their eight remaining-- units, I guess-- have removed the threat of Rome off of the minor Mediterranean islands, because that's how combat works in Risk. The Mediterranean is a slightly safer place to be, yay.

   Portugal's missionaries were still killed, though, and, enraged at France's incompetence, they decide to break the treaty off. The announcement of said break-up comes in the form of ambushing the heck out of some peaceful French ships. The Portuguese ships themselves are ambushed by Roman ships immediately afterwards-- for a society that apparently doesn't have enough spies to tell the Portuguese from the Chinese, they sure have good timing. Also, they were still kind of the undisputed rulers of the Mediterranean all along, with their fancy pirate ships and things, so there's that. For Portugal, what was a simple misunderstanding before has now turned into outright aggression, and the President (yes) of Portugal declares war (yes) on Rome. By the time he had gotten around to doing this, however, Rome was already waging a war on the shores of Portugal, cutting all communications off so that the President would have no way of knowing that Rome was already occupying the cities of Barcelona and Cadiz (yes.) (I guess Portugal had assimilated Spain somewhere along the line?) Anyway more Risk stuff, because the precise number of troops-- units!-- taken out was five.