————————————————————————–
“They fled?”
Sitting in the finest seat on the bridge of the flagship Argos, I ask in disbelief at what just happened.
Our fleet has a total of thirty thousand ships in it, whereas the enemy fleet numbered over sixty thousand.
And yet they fled without so much as attempting to fight, which came as a great surprise.
If they were nobodies, they might’ve fled out of fear for my reputation. However, our opponents should be elite military men of the Imperial Army.
As I ponder on the enemies’ actions, Eulisia, who’s here as my adjutant, stares bitterly at the projection of the planet that’s just been plundered.
Averting her gaze from the planet that’s been devastated, she feeds me more information about the enemy fleet.
“Lord Liam, that was the Empire’s Special Tasks Fleet.”
“What’s with that name? Is that what they officially go by?”
“No, I just prefer not to mention their official name. They’re a fleet led by former space pirates, and while they can be considered elites among the elites, they’re willing to engage in looting without hesitation, whether the target is friend or foe.”
“In other words, they’re responsible for the Empire’s covert operations.”
Essentially, they’ve assembled a fleet composed solely of Black Ops personnel like Kukuri.
As expected, intergalactic nations do things on a different scale.
I stand up and look out the window.
From here, I can see the devastation they’ve caused to my planet through their lootings.
It’s infuriating, to say the least.
They’ve even annihilated the fleet entrusted with guerrilla attacks.
Allied ships and mobile knights are drifting about in space while the planet burns in the background.
Without turning around, I ask why the enemies fled.
“How strong as they?”
A soldier who stood near Eulisia answered while shaking his head.
“They’re an elite fleet equipped with the newest models. They effortlessly destroyed our guerrilla fleet, proving that they shouldn’t be underestimated.”
“Then why did they flee the moment they saw us?”
The soldier deliberated for a moment, only to come up with a normal response.
“Maybe they’ve made it a policy to only fight battles where they outnumber us by more than four times.”
“And they’ll flee under any other circumstances?”
I cross my arms and contemplate, finding it hard to believe.
“—We should start rescuing any survivors. Afterward, we’ll target a fleet that numbers over a hundred thousand.”
Eulisia interrupts me as I’m relaying orders.
“You mustn’t, Lord Liam! His Excellency Klaus has reminded you multiple times that you must not push yourself!!”
“A fleet of that size is nothing in my eyes, so I’m not breaking my words. Besides, they’ve piqued my curiosity.”
“Piqued your curiosity?”
Eulisia gives me a suspicious look, but I ignore her and continue staring out the window.
“—I’ll make you regret touching what’s mine.”
◇
Cosmo, having fled from the battlefield, gave a report to his allies that Liam, the enemies’ supreme commander, had appeared.
The one he was talking to was Hampson.
‘You mean Argos appeared on the front line? There’s no guarantee that Liam was on board, but the same can be said about the opposite. Hm…’
Liam was an oddball among the Empire’s nobility, which was evident from his decision to launch an attack on the Kingdom of Dominion.
Therefore, it was plausible that he personally led his troops into battle, provoked by Cosmo and his fleet ransacking his territory.
Cosmo made his report without a hint of apology.
“And because of that, we had to leave halfway through the looting process. They seem to have evacuated their citizens in a hurry. There were lots of treasures on the planet.”
Hampson frowned when he saw Cosmo flaunt the treasures that he recently acquired.
‘Were you able to obtain supplies necessary for the fleet?’
“—Not as much as we thought we would.”
Operating a massive fleet required a lot of resources, and upon later inspection, they realized that they weren’t able to acquire much of them.
Hampson raised the corners of his mouth.
‘So he made sure to retrieve the resources necessary for war while evacuating his citizens.’
It wasn’t good news to them, but this was within Hampson’s expectations.
Cosmo raised his eyebrows.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself. Are you glad that Banfield is a tough enemy?”
He wasn’t too happy with Hampson’s warrior-like temperament.
However, it turned out Hampson was smiling for a different reason.
‘He’s steadfast and sticks to the fundamentals, making him a formidable opponent. But this also implies that he’s accumulated a massive wealth on his home planet. If we manage to annihilate Banfield, there’s little doubt that we’d be able to get our hands on an immense wealth.’
Hampson believed Liam had saved up a huge fortune on his main planet.
Cosmo also broke into a grin when he heard this.
‘You’re a bad man, Marquis.’
Hampson didn’t seem to mind being called a bad man. In fact, he appeared to fully embrace it.
‘A nice person won’t last long in the circle of nobility.’
◇
Our fleet, consisting of thirty thousand elites and spearheaded by Argos, has encountered an enemy fleet numbering over a hundred thousand.
They’ve even got a base under construction, likely with the intention of plundering the planets nearby once it is complete.
The problem, however—
“The enemies are making their escape via short-distance warps!”
Despite being several times larger than us, the enemy fleet began retreating the moment they laid eyes on Argos.
Eulisia, who was the one who gave the report, is also visibly confused.
Watching the enemies flee all at once, I sit on my seat with my arms crossed.
“This makes it the third time.”
After our initial encounter with the pirate fleet, we were able to come across another unit.
But they reacted in the same manner. When they found out that I was present, they immediately withdrew.
Their coordinated movements lead me to believe that they’ve discussed ahead of time and agreed not to fight me.
“This settles it. They don’t intend to fight me.”
Eulisia seems unconvinced by the conclusion I’ve come to.
“But why would they avoid us when the enemy supreme commander is right here? That doesn’t make sense! —Though the same could be said about a supreme commander appearing on the front line.”
I ignore her last sentence, as responding wouldn’t be to my advantage.
Looking up at the ceiling, I rack my brain.
“It feels good that the enemies are fleeing at my sight, but we can’t crush them this way. Should we just go after their main unit?”
Although it remains to be seen how many ships are in Cleo’s fleet, they should at least number in the hundreds of thousands.
If they still run away from me, I’ll make a mockery out of them.
Eulisia discusses with the officers around her, eventually asking me to make a decision.
“We believe the best course of action would be to help our allies that are fighting on various battlefields. Since they wish to pull back, we should take advantage of that.”
Why should I, the supreme commander, go around helping my subordinates?
The operator makes a report just as I’m about to shout in anger.
“Lord Liam, Lady Marie’s fleet has entered combat. The enemy forces number around a million troops, three times the size of Lady Marie’s fleet.”
It seems that following Tia, a fleet has also been dispatched to the planet that Marie is protecting.
Given the numbers, Cleo has around two million troops that he can move freely.
“Maybe we should assist Marie in repelling the million troops. I’ll document the entire process and make the Imperial Army a laughingstock.”
Afterward, I’ll upload it on a free platform, titling it “Imperial Army Gets Pursued by a Smaller Force.”
However, the operator’s report doesn’t end there.
“But it seems the enemy fleet isn’t launching an attack. They’re currently at a standstill.”
◇
—On the planet that Marie was tasked to protect—
Marie was commanding her fleet from the bridge of her battleship, feeling irritated by the enemies that weren’t attacking.
“So they wish to lock me up here?”
Standing beside her, the knight that served as Marie’s adjutant scratched her head, as if they’ve been had.
“We can’t even send reinforcements anywhere now. We’ve effectively been immobilized.”
Their initial strategy was to engage in active defense, with Marie leading tens of thousands of ships to destroy the enemy fleets isolated on the battlefield and destroying them one at a time.
With a significant portion of the enemy forces heading for the planet that Tia was protecting, she had anticipated having some freedom of movement.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, the enemies had managed to seal them in place.
What made things even worse was that they weren’t attacking, choosing to simply watch on.
Since Marie and her fleet were heavily outnumbered, they couldn’t charge at the enemies either.
“At least we’ve managed to tie down a million troops. By the way, where do you think they get the resources to maintain a fleet of that size?”
The Banfield Family had left as little military supplies as possible when they evacuated the citizens, yet the subjugation force didn’t seem to lack resources.
Her adjutant responded with a casual shrug.
“They probably have the Empire’s generous support.”
The Empire’s national power was simply overwhelming.
It seemed they had supplied enough resources to maintain a fleet of six million troops.
“—They were able to amass such a colossal army without compromising their national defense. It’s revolting how strong they are.”
Although Marie loathed the Empire, she had to begrudgingly acknowledge its strength.
◇
Toraido was the man behind the attack on Marie’s planet.
The viscount’s army served as the fleet’s core, with the private armies of other aristocrats making up the rest.
On the bridge of the super-dreadnought battleship, Toraido and the rest of the aristocrats were having a discussion.
“Viscount Toraido, how about attack a little?”
“Aren’t we being too passive?”
“I don’t think His Highness Cleo would be too pleased by this.”
The people around him were worried that Toraido’s passive fighting style would incur the anger of the royal family.
However, Toraido replied with a smile, maintaining his composure.
“No need to worry. Our main fleet is besieging a different planet. When they’re done, they’ll come here. We just have to keep the enemies here and at bay until they arrive.”
An overwhelming victory had been asked of the subjugation force.
Cleo would criticize them much more heavily if they pushed themselves and ended up failing.
There was also another reason why Toraido chose not to attack Marie.
(Within each fleet, they have impeccable coordination and skill. However, it’s hard to expect these private armies to cooperate well with one another. It wouldn’t be easy to control this hodgepodge of a million ships.)
Although they outnumbered their opponents, they weren’t as cohesive, which was why he opted for this strategy.
“—Marie Sera Marian, a knight that has shown exceptional performance in the Banfield Family. Even if we end up winning, we won’t be able to avoid heavy losses in a direct confrontation. It’s better to just tie them down here.”
He calmed the nobles and advised them on their next course of action.
“From now on, it would be a matter of patience. Although we’re at an advantage, our supplies aren’t unlimited, so please practice restraint.”
The only thing he was worried about was the supplies running out, but thanks to the Empire’s support, they had enough supplies to last a couple of years.
In the meantime, they would stare each other in the eye.
“I’ve heard Marie’s like a wild boar. I wonder how long she can endure.”
It wouldn’t be a problem either if she couldn’t.
And if she did endure, all they had to do was wait for Hampson to arrive with his fleet after dealing with Tia.
Toraido was certain of his victory.
◇
A supply fleet of the Imperial Army was heading for the Banfield Family’s territory, and the Guide was on the bow of one of the battleships in charge of protecting the fleet.
After collecting enough negative energy from the Capital, he was on his way to support Cleo.
He could’ve warped there, but he chose not to, saving as much negative energy as possible to increase the chance of Cleo’s victory.
“Wait just a little longer, Cleo. I’ll be sure to bring you victory! Huahahahaha!! Liam, the days I spend cowering in fear are now over! This time, this time for sure, you’ll have a taste of defeat!!”
The Guide screamed at the top of his lungs, spreading his arms out and celebrating Cleo’s victory.
He was certain that Cleo would win, the reason being—
“Liam, you’ve made far too many enemies along the way.”
The Guide turned around. Behind him was a large fleet of space pirates in addition to the Imperial Army.
Patrol fleets of nobles were also present.
Aristocrats and their armies that held a grudge against Liam were at the scene as well.
“It won’t end with just six million. More enemies will come for you in due time.”
The Guide was leading Liam’s enemies to join up with Cleo.
———————————————————————————————————–
Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜)ノ: “Volume 5 of the light novel and Volume 2 of the manga for ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!’ are now on sale! Please buy a copy!”
Brain (´；ω；｀): “Lord Liam is fighting a difficult battle, it’s painful. By the way, Episode 4 of ‘The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs’ has just aired. If you can, please support the anime as well.”
————————————————————————–
“They fled?”
Sitting in the finest seat on the bridge of the flagship Argos, I ask in disbelief at what just happened.
Our fleet has a total of thirty thousand ships in it, whereas the enemy fleet numbered over sixty thousand.
And yet they fled without so much as attempting to fight, which came as a great surprise.
If they were nobodies, they might’ve fled out of fear for my reputation. However, our opponents should be elite military men of the Imperial Army.
As I ponder on the enemies’ actions, Eulisia, who’s here as my adjutant, stares bitterly at the projection of the planet that’s just been plundered.
Averting her gaze from the planet that’s been devastated, she feeds me more information about the enemy fleet.
“Lord Liam, that was the Empire’s Special Tasks Fleet.”
“What’s with that name? Is that what they officially go by?”
“No, I just prefer not to mention their official name. They’re a fleet led by former space pirates, and while they can be considered elites among the elites, they’re willing to engage in looting without hesitation, whether the target is friend or foe.”
“In other words, they’re responsible for the Empire’s covert operations.”
Essentially, they’ve assembled a fleet composed solely of Black Ops personnel like Kukuri.
As expected, intergalactic nations do things on a different scale.
I stand up and look out the window.
From here, I can see the devastation they’ve caused to my planet through their lootings.
It’s infuriating, to say the least.
They’ve even annihilated the fleet entrusted with guerrilla attacks.
Allied ships and mobile knights are drifting about in space while the planet burns in the background.
Without turning around, I ask why the enemies fled.
“How strong as they?”
A soldier who stood near Eulisia answered while shaking his head.
“They’re an elite fleet equipped with the newest models. They effortlessly destroyed our guerrilla fleet, proving that they shouldn’t be underestimated.”
“Then why did they flee the moment they saw us?”
The soldier deliberated for a moment, only to come up with a normal response.
“Maybe they’ve made it a policy to only fight battles where they outnumber us by more than four times.”
“And they’ll flee under any other circumstances?”
I cross my arms and contemplate, finding it hard to believe.
“—We should start rescuing any survivors. Afterward, we’ll target a fleet that numbers over a hundred thousand.”
Eulisia interrupts me as I’m relaying orders.
“You mustn’t, Lord Liam! His Excellency Klaus has reminded you multiple times that you must not push yourself!!”
“A fleet of that size is nothing in my eyes, so I’m not breaking my words. Besides, they’ve piqued my curiosity.”
“Piqued your curiosity?”
Eulisia gives me a suspicious look, but I ignore her and continue staring out the window.
“—I’ll make you regret touching what’s mine.”
◇
Cosmo, having fled from the battlefield, gave a report to his allies that Liam, the enemies’ supreme commander, had appeared.
The one he was talking to was Hampson.
‘You mean Argos appeared on the front line? There’s no guarantee that Liam was on board, but the same can be said about the opposite. Hm…’
Liam was an oddball among the Empire’s nobility, which was evident from his decision to launch an attack on the Kingdom of Dominion.
Therefore, it was plausible that he personally led his troops into battle, provoked by Cosmo and his fleet ransacking his territory.
Cosmo made his report without a hint of apology.
“And because of that, we had to leave halfway through the looting process. They seem to have evacuated their citizens in a hurry. There were lots of treasures on the planet.”
Hampson frowned when he saw Cosmo flaunt the treasures that he recently acquired.
‘Were you able to obtain supplies necessary for the fleet?’
“—Not as much as we thought we would.”
Operating a massive fleet required a lot of resources, and upon later inspection, they realized that they weren’t able to acquire much of them.
Hampson raised the corners of his mouth.
‘So he made sure to retrieve the resources necessary for war while evacuating his citizens.’
It wasn’t good news to them, but this was within Hampson’s expectations.
Cosmo raised his eyebrows.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself. Are you glad that Banfield is a tough enemy?”
He wasn’t too happy with Hampson’s warrior-like temperament.
However, it turned out Hampson was smiling for a different reason.
‘He’s steadfast and sticks to the fundamentals, making him a formidable opponent. But this also implies that he’s accumulated a massive wealth on his home planet. If we manage to annihilate Banfield, there’s little doubt that we’d be able to get our hands on an immense wealth.’
Hampson believed Liam had saved up a huge fortune on his main planet.
Cosmo also broke into a grin when he heard this.
‘You’re a bad man, Marquis.’
Hampson didn’t seem to mind being called a bad man. In fact, he appeared to fully embrace it.
‘A nice person won’t last long in the circle of nobility.’
◇
Our fleet, consisting of thirty thousand elites and spearheaded by Argos, has encountered an enemy fleet numbering over a hundred thousand.
They’ve even got a base under construction, likely with the intention of plundering the planets nearby once it is complete.
The problem, however—
“The enemies are making their escape via short-distance warps!”
Despite being several times larger than us, the enemy fleet began retreating the moment they laid eyes on Argos.
Eulisia, who was the one who gave the report, is also visibly confused.
Watching the enemies flee all at once, I sit on my seat with my arms crossed.
“This makes it the third time.”
After our initial encounter with the pirate fleet, we were able to come across another unit.
But they reacted in the same manner. When they found out that I was present, they immediately withdrew.
Their coordinated movements lead me to believe that they’ve discussed ahead of time and agreed not to fight me.
“This settles it. They don’t intend to fight me.”
Eulisia seems unconvinced by the conclusion I’ve come to.
“But why would they avoid us when the enemy supreme commander is right here? That doesn’t make sense! —Though the same could be said about a supreme commander appearing on the front line.”
I ignore her last sentence, as responding wouldn’t be to my advantage.
Looking up at the ceiling, I rack my brain.
“It feels good that the enemies are fleeing at my sight, but we can’t crush them this way. Should we just go after their main unit?”
Although it remains to be seen how many ships are in Cleo’s fleet, they should at least number in the hundreds of thousands.
If they still run away from me, I’ll make a mockery out of them.
Eulisia discusses with the officers around her, eventually asking me to make a decision.
“We believe the best course of action would be to help our allies that are fighting on various battlefields. Since they wish to pull back, we should take advantage of that.”
Why should I, the supreme commander, go around helping my subordinates?
The operator makes a report just as I’m about to shout in anger.
“Lord Liam, Lady Marie’s fleet has entered combat. The enemy forces number around a million troops, three times the size of Lady Marie’s fleet.”
It seems that following Tia, a fleet has also been dispatched to the planet that Marie is protecting.
Given the numbers, Cleo has around two million troops that he can move freely.
“Maybe we should assist Marie in repelling the million troops. I’ll document the entire process and make the Imperial Army a laughingstock.”
Afterward, I’ll upload it on a free platform, titling it “Imperial Army Gets Pursued by a Smaller Force.”
However, the operator’s report doesn’t end there.
“But it seems the enemy fleet isn’t launching an attack. They’re currently at a standstill.”
◇
—On the planet that Marie was tasked to protect—
Marie was commanding her fleet from the bridge of her battleship, feeling irritated by the enemies that weren’t attacking.
“So they wish to lock me up here?”
Standing beside her, the knight that served as Marie’s adjutant scratched her head, as if they’ve been had.
“We can’t even send reinforcements anywhere now. We’ve effectively been immobilized.”
Their initial strategy was to engage in active defense, with Marie leading tens of thousands of ships to destroy the enemy fleets isolated on the battlefield and destroying them one at a time.
With a significant portion of the enemy forces heading for the planet that Tia was protecting, she had anticipated having some freedom of movement.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, the enemies had managed to seal them in place.
What made things even worse was that they weren’t attacking, choosing to simply watch on.
Since Marie and her fleet were heavily outnumbered, they couldn’t charge at the enemies either.
“At least we’ve managed to tie down a million troops. By the way, where do you think they get the resources to maintain a fleet of that size?”
The Banfield Family had left as little military supplies as possible when they evacuated the citizens, yet the subjugation force didn’t seem to lack resources.
Her adjutant responded with a casual shrug.
“They probably have the Empire’s generous support.”
The Empire’s national power was simply overwhelming.
It seemed they had supplied enough resources to maintain a fleet of six million troops.
“—They were able to amass such a colossal army without compromising their national defense. It’s revolting how strong they are.”
Although Marie loathed the Empire, she had to begrudgingly acknowledge its strength.
◇
Toraido was the man behind the attack on Marie’s planet.
The viscount’s army served as the fleet’s core, with the private armies of other aristocrats making up the rest.
On the bridge of the super-dreadnought battleship, Toraido and the rest of the aristocrats were having a discussion.
“Viscount Toraido, how about attack a little?”
“Aren’t we being too passive?”
“I don’t think His Highness Cleo would be too pleased by this.”
The people around him were worried that Toraido’s passive fighting style would incur the anger of the royal family.
However, Toraido replied with a smile, maintaining his composure.
“No need to worry. Our main fleet is besieging a different planet. When they’re done, they’ll come here. We just have to keep the enemies here and at bay until they arrive.”
An overwhelming victory had been asked of the subjugation force.
Cleo would criticize them much more heavily if they pushed themselves and ended up failing.
There was also another reason why Toraido chose not to attack Marie.
(Within each fleet, they have impeccable coordination and skill. However, it’s hard to expect these private armies to cooperate well with one another. It wouldn’t be easy to control this hodgepodge of a million ships.)
Although they outnumbered their opponents, they weren’t as cohesive, which was why he opted for this strategy.
“—Marie Sera Marian, a knight that has shown exceptional performance in the Banfield Family. Even if we end up winning, we won’t be able to avoid heavy losses in a direct confrontation. It’s better to just tie them down here.”
He calmed the nobles and advised them on their next course of action.
“From now on, it would be a matter of patience. Although we’re at an advantage, our supplies aren’t unlimited, so please practice restraint.”
The only thing he was worried about was the supplies running out, but thanks to the Empire’s support, they had enough supplies to last a couple of years.
In the meantime, they would stare each other in the eye.
“I’ve heard Marie’s like a wild boar. I wonder how long she can endure.”
It wouldn’t be a problem either if she couldn’t.
And if she did endure, all they had to do was wait for Hampson to arrive with his fleet after dealing with Tia.
Toraido was certain of his victory.
◇
A supply fleet of the Imperial Army was heading for the Banfield Family’s territory, and the Guide was on the bow of one of the battleships in charge of protecting the fleet.
After collecting enough negative energy from the Capital, he was on his way to support Cleo.
He could’ve warped there, but he chose not to, saving as much negative energy as possible to increase the chance of Cleo’s victory.
“Wait just a little longer, Cleo. I’ll be sure to bring you victory! Huahahahaha!! Liam, the days I spend cowering in fear are now over! This time, this time for sure, you’ll have a taste of defeat!!”
The Guide screamed at the top of his lungs, spreading his arms out and celebrating Cleo’s victory.
He was certain that Cleo would win, the reason being—
“Liam, you’ve made far too many enemies along the way.”
The Guide turned around. Behind him was a large fleet of space pirates in addition to the Imperial Army.
Patrol fleets of nobles were also present.
Aristocrats and their armies that held a grudge against Liam were at the scene as well.
“It won’t end with just six million. More enemies will come for you in due time.”
The Guide was leading Liam’s enemies to join up with Cleo.
———————————————————————————————————–
Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜)ノ: “Volume 5 of the light novel and Volume 2 of the manga for ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!’ are now on sale! Please buy a copy!”
Brain (´；ω；｀): “Lord Liam is fighting a difficult battle, it’s painful. By the way, Episode 4 of ‘The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs’ has just aired. If you can, please support the anime as well.”
