Before me, the Kingdom of Dominion’s fleet numbering 600,000 is rapidly approaching, having assumed a conical assault formation.
They seem intent on a head-on collision.
The Banfield Family likewise specializes in conical assaults. It can be considered one of our trademark moves, but the Kingdom of Dominion has taken this to a whole new level, almost sublimating it into a form of traditional art.
Facing enemies that are tougher than any of the space pirates or fleets that we’ve encountered, my miliary personnel show signs of tension.
“They’ve entered the range of our optical weapons!” the operator shouts.
Since both fleets are charging at one another, the distance between us is shortening at an alarming rate.
Normally, we’d start attacking and bombarding the enemy fleet the moment we could, but I fold my arms and tell my men to wait.
“Don’t shoot until we’re in effective range.”
Although it’s possible to hit enemies from a distance, close-range artillery battles require a tremendous amount of energy.
Using optical weapons and deploying shields at close-range consume a lot of energy, so we can’t have it wasted on firing long-range artillery.
The Kingdom of Dominion seems to understand this too as they aren’t attacking us from long range either.
Violent as they are, the fleet under the Kingdom of Dominion is operated extremely well, being both powerful and well-coordinated.
The enemy fleet swiftly closes in on us, and the operator reports that we’ve entered effective range.
“We’re in effective range!”
With a smile on my face, I extend my right hand forward.
“Commence attack!”
In response to my command, allied troops begin firing their optical weapons simultaneously, and the enemy fleet responds in kind.
Beams of light intersect as allied troops erect barriers to shield against the attack.
The battlefield gets illuminated as beams are shot out of hundreds of thousands of battleships.
Most of the ships around Argos specialized in defense, and they help block the enemy’s attacks, protecting the flagship from harm’s way.
On the other hand, the lasers and beams emitted from Argos ruthlessly pierce through enemy warships, each penetrating two or three shielded enemies.
Argos is a state-of-the-art super-dreadnought class battleship, and it’s made from all sorts of rare metals that have been processed by Nias, who has a nasty personality despite her excellent skills.
I invested a massive budget into constructing the ship without taking cost performance into consideration, making Argos a battleship version of Avid.
It should be able to hold its ground against hundreds of battleships without any problem.
“We outclass the enemies in every regard.”
And that’s why I’m advancing fearlessly, ignoring all the attacks from the optical weapons.
There’s no way that I’d lose.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the rest of my fleet.
Destroyers and cruisers of both enemies and allies are being pierced by optical weapons, causing them to explode because they are unable to deploy powerful shields. The shields that they come up with are quickly shredded by the relentless attacks.
The Banfield Family’s fleet isn’t outdated. In fact, its battleships boast one of the highest performances in the Empire.
The fact that they can be destroyed so easily is proof that the kingdom’s warships are also high-performance.
There’s no doubt that they are stronger than any of the fleets we’ve fought until now.
If things continue like this, we’ll be put in a disadvantage as our fleet is smaller in size.
“Reposition the shield ships that are around Argos. Have them protect the vulnerable ships.”
I give out orders in a calm manner.
Eulisia, who’s standing beside me, widens her eyes.
“But that’s going to lower the flagship’s defense!”
“It’s more effective this way.”
The shield ships move away from Argos to protect the destroyers and cruisers.
Attacks from optical weapons begin landing on Argos, but they get dispersed after emitting a strong light. The shield that surrounds Argos is too powerful, rendering their attacks null.
A smirk appears on my face.
“Let’s use that.”
Those onboard Argos become restless.
Eulisia turns towards me and asks, “You sure? It’s too early, don’t you think?”
“Let’s show them what we’ve got.”
The military personnel around us move in a hurry to prepare for the activation of Argos’s secret weapon.
“Preparations for multiple magic circle deployment complete!”
“Deployment of energy shield complete!”
“Deployment of spatial magic circles complete!”
Numerous magic circles appear around Argos.
At the same time, similar-looking magic circles appear amidst the enemies.
Behold our secret weapon—
“I prefer something more flashy, but I’ll put up with it for now.”
— long-distance bombardment using spatial magic.
When Argos shoots into the magic circles around it, the attack gets unleashed on the other side.
The advantage of using spatial magic in attacks is clear. It’s like placing a cannon in the middle of the enemy formation and letting it loose.
The attacks can cause a massive disturbance in their formation as they get hit from an unexpected angle.
Having said that, it’s not flashy at all.
“Disturbance in enemy fleet confirmed!”
“Concentrate our firepower on that location!”
The military personnel onboard Argos get to work, taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion.
It really is an effective form of attack, albeit a complicated one.
With both enemies and allies constantly moving about on the battlefield, it’s not an easy task to calculate where to place the magic circles.
Even if it’s possible in theory, realizing it is another hurdle.
However, being the genius that she was, Nias had successfully made it.
Anyway, this is our secret weapon.
All in all, I think it’s amazing, and it’s effective to boot.
But it’s plain as hell!
“I want something more flashy,” I sigh as I say so.
Eulisia’s cheeks twitch when she hears this.
“Is that all you have to say after witnessing such a sophisticated attack?”
“I prefer flashy attacks that even beginners can appreciate over something only experts can understand.”
The enemy fleet seems disoriented, still trying to figure out what had happened.
Some of the ships are attacking each other, thinking they’d been stabbed in the back.
Since the attack came from somewhere totally unexpected, it’s not surprising that they’re confused.
With their enemies before them, they concentrated their shields on the bow of their ships, leaving the other parts vulnerable to attacks.
Unfortunately, we can’t perform this sort of attack repeatedly. It’s a problem that we’ll have to fix in the future.
The military personnel suddenly frown.
“They’ve already rebuilt themselves.”
“It’s to be expected of the Kingdom of Dominion.”
The kingdom’s fleet is gradually regaining its composure.
If they had been space pirates, their fleet would have collapsed by now. The speed of their recovery is astonishing, even for an army.
Done poorly, the fleet would’ve collapsed, but the Kingdom of Dominion seems to be built different.
As a result, our hidden weapon doesn’t do as much damage as we expected.
“We’re about to clash with the enemy fleet!” the operator shouts.
I raise the corners of my mouth.
“Put Argos at the very front.”
◇
The vanguards of both fleets were entangled in battle.
Typically, the stronger fleet would swiftly overpower the weaker one in extremely close-ranged battles.
However, as both armies were equally strong, neither of their formations broke.
Watching everything unfold from the kingdom’s flagship, Aluna narrowed her eyes.
“How wonderful. It’s a pity that they let some of them flee, but they managed to build themselves back up again in such a short period. —That said, we outnumber them greatly.”
Since they were evenly matched in terms of quality, the battle would boil down to who had the bigger army.
Allowing a hundred thousand deserters to flee had sealed the enemy’s fate.
Things might have been different, however, if they had a similar number of troops.
“I had hoped to defeat you on equal terms, but alas, such is the nature of the battlefield. Your bravery will be recounted in our tales for generations to come,” said Aluna, feeling disappointed for having her battle against a strong opponent ruined.
That was when a report arrived from the operator.
“W-we’ve confirmed the presence of a super-dreadnought class battleship in the enemy’s vanguard!”
Upon hearing this, Aluna closed her eyes.
A super-dreadnought class battleship, meaning one of their highest commanders had to be onboard.
It was obvious that they were pushing themselves to break through this situation.
“They must’ve had a famous general come forward. Unfortunately, that won’t be enough to overturn this difference in numbers.”
Normally, that would’ve been true, but it was the Banfield Family they were facing.
“We’ve identified the ship. The name of the ship is Argos… and it’s the flagship of the enemy commander Liam Sera Banfield!!”
When this was announced, Aluna rose from her seat, her eyes wide open.
“I-impossible. He came forward himself?”
Argos appeared on the monitor in front of her, and its figure was seen charging into the kingdom’s fleet, destroying their ships one after another.
Near the flagship, two white mobile knights were swiftly taking down enemies to the left and right, while the Banfield Family’s fleet followed closely behind them.
Aluna hugged her own body as she trembled with excitement.
“Bravo, Liam, bravo! You’re truly a man worthy of being the father of my child! Hurry and prepare Arachne for battle!” she commanded.
◇
On the bridge of the super-dreadnought class battleship Vaal, Tia, who had stood up from her commander’s seat, was trembling.
“Get Lord Liam to step back! Bring Vaal to the front and use it as a shield for Argos!”
Tia was pale in the face and shivering uncontrollably, so much so that her adjutant had to calm her down.
“Please compose yourself, Lady Tia.”
“And how am I supposed to do that in this situation!? W-who sent him forward!?”
“Who else could it be but Lord Liam himself?”
Having the supreme commander lead the charge was unheard of, and it definitely wouldn’t be executed unless the order was given by the supreme commander himself.
His subordinates should’ve stopped him, but for better or for worse, Liam held all the power as a lord.
If Tia had been beside him, she would’ve risked her life to stop him, but even then, it was unlikely that he would listen.
“Send Vaal to the front!”
She tried to have her ship approach Liam’s, but her adjutant stopped her.
“If the ship advances forcefully, it’ll disrupt the fleet’s formation!”
If the super-dreadnought class battleship were to charge forward, it would affect the formation of their densely packed allies.
They would have to move aside to avoid being hit by Vaal, and in the worst-case scenario, this could lead to a major accident.
The adjutant had to prevent something like that from happening.
Tia, who was worried sick about Liam’s safety, finally realized the possibility. After a moment of consideration, she made a painful decision with her head hung low.
“Send the fossil woman forward! —Her ship’s agile.”
Tia was strongly against relying on Marie, but with Liam’s life at stake, she had no other option.
The bridge crews including Tia’s adjutant were surprised to hear this.
“B-but Lady Tia…”
To ask for help from an enemy faction was akin to Tia throwing away her pride.
“Just do it. Whatever it takes to save Lord Liam’s life.”
Owing Marie a favor was something her pride could not allow, but she was willing to let go of such pride for Liam.
◇
Meanwhile, Marie was also panicking.
“Can’t you go any faster?”
Knowing that Liam had charged into the enemy fleet, Marie was sweating profusely and trembling.
Those onboard couldn’t bear to watch their superior acting this nervous. Normally, she behaved graciously without a hint of rush.
Her adjutant tried to calm her down.
“Please calm down. We’re moving at maximum speed already. Besides, Argos is moving forward as well, making it difficult to catch up.”
Marie’s fleet was advancing through the gaps of allied ships, chasing after Argos which was steadily moving forward.
Tia had made a path through which they could pass, adjusting the location of allied ships.
With Liam in danger, a rare event happened where the two rivals cooperated.
“PLEASE COME BACK, LORD LIAAAAAAM!!!”
Knowing full well that it was futile, Marie reached out her hand towards Argos, which was displayed on her monitor.
◇
Tia and Marie weren’t the only ones panicking.
While enduring a pain that felt as if a hole was being formed in his stomach, Klaus screamed inside his head.
(Don’t go forward, Lord Liam!!!)
Unlike Tia and Marie, he had seen this coming.
Something similar had happened previously when they confronted the Kingdom of Dominion with a smaller number, so he had been worried that Liam would pull off another stunt.
—Which was why he had positioned his ship where he could help Liam if he had to.
“Where are the shield ships that we’ve dispatched to Argos?”
“They’re about to catch up to them,” his subordinates replied.
The shield ships that were meant to protect Klaus had been sent forward in advance to protect Liam.
This was the result of his preparations.
His subordinates, however, thought he had predicted the events that would unfold during the battle, which led to an even higher evaluation of him.
“Moving several steps ahead of the others. As expected of His Excellency Klaus!”
Klaus glared at the subordinate that said this.
“This isn’t the time to joke around. We must protect Lord Liam at all costs.”
(Enough of that nonsense!)
Hearing his harsh words, his subordinate apologized.
Klaus wasn’t in the right state of mind to care about what the others said anymore.
(I don’t wanna do this anymore——)
———————————————————————————————————–
Brian (´；ω；｀): “NOOOOO!! Don’t go forward, Lord Liam!!! He’s supposed to be the supreme commander, and yet he’s leading the charge. It’s painful.”
Brian (´；ω；｀): “And with that said—”
Brian (´・ω・)占~<巛巛巛: “Onwards to the next chapter!”
Before me, the Kingdom of Dominion’s fleet numbering 600,000 is rapidly approaching, having assumed a conical assault formation.
They seem intent on a head-on collision.
The Banfield Family likewise specializes in conical assaults. It can be considered one of our trademark moves, but the Kingdom of Dominion has taken this to a whole new level, almost sublimating it into a form of traditional art.
Facing enemies that are tougher than any of the space pirates or fleets that we’ve encountered, my miliary personnel show signs of tension.
“They’ve entered the range of our optical weapons!” the operator shouts.
Since both fleets are charging at one another, the distance between us is shortening at an alarming rate.
Normally, we’d start attacking and bombarding the enemy fleet the moment we could, but I fold my arms and tell my men to wait.
“Don’t shoot until we’re in effective range.”
Although it’s possible to hit enemies from a distance, close-range artillery battles require a tremendous amount of energy.
Using optical weapons and deploying shields at close-range consume a lot of energy, so we can’t have it wasted on firing long-range artillery.
The Kingdom of Dominion seems to understand this too as they aren’t attacking us from long range either.
Violent as they are, the fleet under the Kingdom of Dominion is operated extremely well, being both powerful and well-coordinated.
The enemy fleet swiftly closes in on us, and the operator reports that we’ve entered effective range.
“We’re in effective range!”
With a smile on my face, I extend my right hand forward.
“Commence attack!”
In response to my command, allied troops begin firing their optical weapons simultaneously, and the enemy fleet responds in kind.
Beams of light intersect as allied troops erect barriers to shield against the attack.
The battlefield gets illuminated as beams are shot out of hundreds of thousands of battleships.
Most of the ships around Argos specialized in defense, and they help block the enemy’s attacks, protecting the flagship from harm’s way.
On the other hand, the lasers and beams emitted from Argos ruthlessly pierce through enemy warships, each penetrating two or three shielded enemies.
Argos is a state-of-the-art super-dreadnought class battleship, and it’s made from all sorts of rare metals that have been processed by Nias, who has a nasty personality despite her excellent skills.
I invested a massive budget into constructing the ship without taking cost performance into consideration, making Argos a battleship version of Avid.
It should be able to hold its ground against hundreds of battleships without any problem.
“We outclass the enemies in every regard.”
And that’s why I’m advancing fearlessly, ignoring all the attacks from the optical weapons.
There’s no way that I’d lose.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the rest of my fleet.
Destroyers and cruisers of both enemies and allies are being pierced by optical weapons, causing them to explode because they are unable to deploy powerful shields. The shields that they come up with are quickly shredded by the relentless attacks.
The Banfield Family’s fleet isn’t outdated. In fact, its battleships boast one of the highest performances in the Empire.
The fact that they can be destroyed so easily is proof that the kingdom’s warships are also high-performance.
There’s no doubt that they are stronger than any of the fleets we’ve fought until now.
If things continue like this, we’ll be put in a disadvantage as our fleet is smaller in size.
“Reposition the shield ships that are around Argos. Have them protect the vulnerable ships.”
I give out orders in a calm manner.
Eulisia, who’s standing beside me, widens her eyes.
“But that’s going to lower the flagship’s defense!”
“It’s more effective this way.”
The shield ships move away from Argos to protect the destroyers and cruisers.
Attacks from optical weapons begin landing on Argos, but they get dispersed after emitting a strong light. The shield that surrounds Argos is too powerful, rendering their attacks null.
A smirk appears on my face.
“Let’s use that.”
Those onboard Argos become restless.
Eulisia turns towards me and asks, “You sure? It’s too early, don’t you think?”
“Let’s show them what we’ve got.”
The military personnel around us move in a hurry to prepare for the activation of Argos’s secret weapon.
“Preparations for multiple magic circle deployment complete!”
“Deployment of energy shield complete!”
“Deployment of spatial magic circles complete!”
Numerous magic circles appear around Argos.
At the same time, similar-looking magic circles appear amidst the enemies.
Behold our secret weapon—
“I prefer something more flashy, but I’ll put up with it for now.”
— long-distance bombardment using spatial magic.
When Argos shoots into the magic circles around it, the attack gets unleashed on the other side.
The advantage of using spatial magic in attacks is clear. It’s like placing a cannon in the middle of the enemy formation and letting it loose.
The attacks can cause a massive disturbance in their formation as they get hit from an unexpected angle.
Having said that, it’s not flashy at all.
“Disturbance in enemy fleet confirmed!”
“Concentrate our firepower on that location!”
The military personnel onboard Argos get to work, taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion.
It really is an effective form of attack, albeit a complicated one.
With both enemies and allies constantly moving about on the battlefield, it’s not an easy task to calculate where to place the magic circles.
Even if it’s possible in theory, realizing it is another hurdle.
However, being the genius that she was, Nias had successfully made it.
Anyway, this is our secret weapon.
All in all, I think it’s amazing, and it’s effective to boot.
But it’s plain as hell!
“I want something more flashy,” I sigh as I say so.
Eulisia’s cheeks twitch when she hears this.
“Is that all you have to say after witnessing such a sophisticated attack?”
“I prefer flashy attacks that even beginners can appreciate over something only experts can understand.”
The enemy fleet seems disoriented, still trying to figure out what had happened.
Some of the ships are attacking each other, thinking they’d been stabbed in the back.
Since the attack came from somewhere totally unexpected, it’s not surprising that they’re confused.
With their enemies before them, they concentrated their shields on the bow of their ships, leaving the other parts vulnerable to attacks.
Unfortunately, we can’t perform this sort of attack repeatedly. It’s a problem that we’ll have to fix in the future.
The military personnel suddenly frown.
“They’ve already rebuilt themselves.”
“It’s to be expected of the Kingdom of Dominion.”
The kingdom’s fleet is gradually regaining its composure.
If they had been space pirates, their fleet would have collapsed by now. The speed of their recovery is astonishing, even for an army.
Done poorly, the fleet would’ve collapsed, but the Kingdom of Dominion seems to be built different.
As a result, our hidden weapon doesn’t do as much damage as we expected.
“We’re about to clash with the enemy fleet!” the operator shouts.
I raise the corners of my mouth.
“Put Argos at the very front.”
◇
The vanguards of both fleets were entangled in battle.
Typically, the stronger fleet would swiftly overpower the weaker one in extremely close-ranged battles.
However, as both armies were equally strong, neither of their formations broke.
Watching everything unfold from the kingdom’s flagship, Aluna narrowed her eyes.
“How wonderful. It’s a pity that they let some of them flee, but they managed to build themselves back up again in such a short period. —That said, we outnumber them greatly.”
Since they were evenly matched in terms of quality, the battle would boil down to who had the bigger army.
Allowing a hundred thousand deserters to flee had sealed the enemy’s fate.
Things might have been different, however, if they had a similar number of troops.
“I had hoped to defeat you on equal terms, but alas, such is the nature of the battlefield. Your bravery will be recounted in our tales for generations to come,” said Aluna, feeling disappointed for having her battle against a strong opponent ruined.
That was when a report arrived from the operator.
“W-we’ve confirmed the presence of a super-dreadnought class battleship in the enemy’s vanguard!”
Upon hearing this, Aluna closed her eyes.
A super-dreadnought class battleship, meaning one of their highest commanders had to be onboard.
It was obvious that they were pushing themselves to break through this situation.
“They must’ve had a famous general come forward. Unfortunately, that won’t be enough to overturn this difference in numbers.”
Normally, that would’ve been true, but it was the Banfield Family they were facing.
“We’ve identified the ship. The name of the ship is Argos… and it’s the flagship of the enemy commander Liam Sera Banfield!!”
When this was announced, Aluna rose from her seat, her eyes wide open.
“I-impossible. He came forward himself?”
Argos appeared on the monitor in front of her, and its figure was seen charging into the kingdom’s fleet, destroying their ships one after another.
Near the flagship, two white mobile knights were swiftly taking down enemies to the left and right, while the Banfield Family’s fleet followed closely behind them.
Aluna hugged her own body as she trembled with excitement.
“Bravo, Liam, bravo! You’re truly a man worthy of being the father of my child! Hurry and prepare Arachne for battle!” she commanded.
◇
On the bridge of the super-dreadnought class battleship Vaal, Tia, who had stood up from her commander’s seat, was trembling.
“Get Lord Liam to step back! Bring Vaal to the front and use it as a shield for Argos!”
Tia was pale in the face and shivering uncontrollably, so much so that her adjutant had to calm her down.
“Please compose yourself, Lady Tia.”
“And how am I supposed to do that in this situation!? W-who sent him forward!?”
“Who else could it be but Lord Liam himself?”
Having the supreme commander lead the charge was unheard of, and it definitely wouldn’t be executed unless the order was given by the supreme commander himself.
His subordinates should’ve stopped him, but for better or for worse, Liam held all the power as a lord.
If Tia had been beside him, she would’ve risked her life to stop him, but even then, it was unlikely that he would listen.
“Send Vaal to the front!”
She tried to have her ship approach Liam’s, but her adjutant stopped her.
“If the ship advances forcefully, it’ll disrupt the fleet’s formation!”
If the super-dreadnought class battleship were to charge forward, it would affect the formation of their densely packed allies.
They would have to move aside to avoid being hit by Vaal, and in the worst-case scenario, this could lead to a major accident.
The adjutant had to prevent something like that from happening.
Tia, who was worried sick about Liam’s safety, finally realized the possibility. After a moment of consideration, she made a painful decision with her head hung low.
“Send the fossil woman forward! —Her ship’s agile.”
Tia was strongly against relying on Marie, but with Liam’s life at stake, she had no other option.
The bridge crews including Tia’s adjutant were surprised to hear this.
“B-but Lady Tia…”
To ask for help from an enemy faction was akin to Tia throwing away her pride.
“Just do it. Whatever it takes to save Lord Liam’s life.”
Owing Marie a favor was something her pride could not allow, but she was willing to let go of such pride for Liam.
◇
Meanwhile, Marie was also panicking.
“Can’t you go any faster?”
Knowing that Liam had charged into the enemy fleet, Marie was sweating profusely and trembling.
Those onboard couldn’t bear to watch their superior acting this nervous. Normally, she behaved graciously without a hint of rush.
Her adjutant tried to calm her down.
“Please calm down. We’re moving at maximum speed already. Besides, Argos is moving forward as well, making it difficult to catch up.”
Marie’s fleet was advancing through the gaps of allied ships, chasing after Argos which was steadily moving forward.
Tia had made a path through which they could pass, adjusting the location of allied ships.
With Liam in danger, a rare event happened where the two rivals cooperated.
“PLEASE COME BACK, LORD LIAAAAAAM!!!”
Knowing full well that it was futile, Marie reached out her hand towards Argos, which was displayed on her monitor.
◇
Tia and Marie weren’t the only ones panicking.
While enduring a pain that felt as if a hole was being formed in his stomach, Klaus screamed inside his head.
(Don’t go forward, Lord Liam!!!)
Unlike Tia and Marie, he had seen this coming.
Something similar had happened previously when they confronted the Kingdom of Dominion with a smaller number, so he had been worried that Liam would pull off another stunt.
—Which was why he had positioned his ship where he could help Liam if he had to.
“Where are the shield ships that we’ve dispatched to Argos?”
“They’re about to catch up to them,” his subordinates replied.
The shield ships that were meant to protect Klaus had been sent forward in advance to protect Liam.
This was the result of his preparations.
His subordinates, however, thought he had predicted the events that would unfold during the battle, which led to an even higher evaluation of him.
“Moving several steps ahead of the others. As expected of His Excellency Klaus!”
Klaus glared at the subordinate that said this.
“This isn’t the time to joke around. We must protect Lord Liam at all costs.”
(Enough of that nonsense!)
Hearing his harsh words, his subordinate apologized.
Klaus wasn’t in the right state of mind to care about what the others said anymore.
(I don’t wanna do this anymore——)
———————————————————————————————————–
Brian (´；ω；｀): “NOOOOO!! Don’t go forward, Lord Liam!!! He’s supposed to be the supreme commander, and yet he’s leading the charge. It’s painful.”
Brian (´；ω；｀): “And with that said—”
Brian (´・ω・)占~<巛巛巛: “Onwards to the next chapter!”
