Volume 11 Chapter 5 - To the Kingdom of Dominion

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By the time I returned from the Capital to my home planet, the spaceport was bustling with activity.

Rumors have spread that I’ve been entrusted with protecting the border against the Kingdom of Dominion, and the Banfield Family has thus transitioned into a wartime regime.

When I arrive at the spaceport, I’m greeted by Klaus, who’s been managing the affairs in my territory while I was gone.

“Lord Liam, as per your instructions, we’re proceeding with preparations for departure.”

I continue walking, and Klaus follows diagonally behind me.

“His Highness the Crown Prince sure is a handful, don’t you agree?”

I sarcastically call Cleo by his title.

Klaus doesn’t comment on this and continues.

“Lord Liam, since it’s an imperial order, there’s nothing we can do. Having said that, are we to fight seriously against the Kingdom of Dominion?”

The Kingdom of Dominion loves to wage war, and would probably continue charging even if their army suffers damage.

Fighting against them always results in a net loss, which is why the nobles in the Empire are hesitant to fight against them.

However, I plan on going all out against such opponents.

I won’t be holding anything back, and I intend to clash with the Kingdom of Dominion head-on.

“Do you have a problem with that?” I ask while turning toward Klaus.

He doesn’t seem so sure about my decision.

“I believe our best course of action would be to focus on fortifying strategically important bases. To avoid losses, we should try our best to minimize contact with the Kingdom of Dominion.”

If my goal is only to protect, then he’d be right.

But why do you think I’m fighting for the Empire?

An evil lord is someone that always pursues his own interests.

“This is my war, and I’ve deemed that it would be beneficial for us. That’s why we’ll be going all out this time. Klaus, you shouldn’t hold back either.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“This is just my personal opinion, but you should really try to be more greedy.”

Although he’s highly competent, Klaus doesn’t like to be in the limelight.

Hmm, maybe it’s more appropriate to say that he doesn’t have much ambition.

He’s reliable and performs impeccably as my right-hand man, but he’s too serious, which doesn’t fit the image of an evil lord’s subordinate.

One could argue that he’s a loyal subject, but I prefer someone with a little more greed.

I might be asking for too much, but he should really relax a bit.

“Now then, let’s see how powerful the Kingdom of Dominion is.”

◇

“They’ve gone too far this time!”

A furious Brian greets me the moment I step into the mansion.

Cleo’s betrayal had him fuming, especially considering how much support we provided him.

After learning that we’ve been pitted against the Kingdom of Dominion, Brian’s anger level has shot through the roof.

“Calm down. You’re already so old. Getting so angry is bad for your health.”

“How are we supposed to remain calm in this situation!? Lord Liam, you should be angry as well!”

It’s annoying that I have to follow Cleo’s orders, but this isn’t necessarily a bad situation for us either.

— Now, we can openly make contact with the Kingdom of Dominion.

I have some plans of my own in mind, but I don’t bother explaining them to Brian as he won’t understand.

“There’s no need,” I say bluntly.

Serena, who’s been standing beside Brian, gives me a serious look. Her eyes are sharp as if she’s searching for something.

“Lord Liam, do you plan on committing to the battle?”

“Of course. Why would I hold back?”

“Is it out of your loyalty to the Empire?”

“Loyalty?”

I almost burst into laughter after hearing her question.

Since she’s asking about loyalty, it seems she doesn’t understand me at all.

“As if. In this world, results are everything. Loyalty is nothing more than an evaluation derived from a person’s actions before their death. –If I were to die in the war against the Kingdom of Dominion, the people will probably praise me for my loyalty.”

There’s no point in discussing loyalty.

I only trust those that have died for my sake.

“Then–”

Hearing my response, Serena’s gaze becomes sharper, but Brian’s scream interrupts her before she could say anything.

“Lord Liam, please refrain from saying something so inauspicious! Not only are you the head of the Banfield Family, you are also the symbol of hope for the citizens of this territory! The Banfield Family only exists because of Lord Liam! You shouldn’t speak about your death even as a joke! Please have more self-awareness!”

“R-right.”

Overwhelmed by Brian’s momentum, I nod my head without realizing it.

His eyes are bloodshot, which is seriously scaring me.

Dude, don’t get so worked up. You might collapse from your blood vessels bursting.

◇

After listening to Brian’s sermon, I return to my bedroom where Rosetta’s waiting.

“Welcome back.”

“This sucks. Brian, that b*****d, had the gall to preach to me for an entire hour. Who does he think he is? If it was anyone else, I would’ve had him beaten to death.”

I sit down on the bed, and Rosetta sits next to me.

“Are preparations for the war going well? I hear the Kingdom of Dominion has the upper hand.”

Rosetta holds my hands, feeling anxious. To reassure her, I squeeze hers with a little force.

It seems she’s quite worried.

“We’ll be sending out a fleet of 600,000 ships as our first batch.”

Not all of them can be considered elite troops, but in terms of number, they should be sufficient for now.

“I hear the Kingdom of Dominion is a scary country.”

“Scary? The same could be said about any country in the world. Do you know what the Empire has been doing behind the scenes until now? At least the Kingdom of Dominion is simple and straightforward in their emphasis on military power.”

I see the Empire as a bigger threat than the Kingdom of Dominion.

After all, the “real enemy” that the Guide has mentioned resides in the Empire.

Emperor Bagrada, a threat so great that the Guide felt compelled to warn me in advance.

Hence, the enemy that I should be watching out for is the Empire, not the Kingdom of Dominion.

Rosetta looks down sadly.

“His Highness Cleo has changed. He used to be so kind.”

“He was just pretending to be nice because he was weak.”

“Maybe you’re right. –But even so, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s sad. Darling, what about you?”

“I never trusted him in the first place.”

If he was truly a kind person, he wouldn’t have treated his older sister, who’s been protecting him, in that manner.

“–The troops will be leaving tomorrow. I’m entrusting you with the territory. Try your best to maintain order in the territory.”

“When will you be coming back?”

“Who knows? However, I won’t be able to contact you for a while. Amagi will stay behind in the mansion as well, so if you face any trouble, seek her help.”

“Okay, Darling.”

◇

Protecting the border isn’t an easy task.

After all, the universe is vast, too vast, and defending the border entails securing bases on key planets and keeping an eye on locations that could be used to warp.

There are two main categories of warping.

The first is long-distance warping. This requires the construction of special gates in locations suitable for warping.

The second type is short-distance warping, which can be done by spaceships without requiring a special gate.

The advantage of long-distance warping is that one could quickly move to a specific location. However, it’s impossible without a special gate, and locations suitable for warping are rare.

On the other hand, the advantage of short-distance warping is that it doesn’t need a gate. Having said that, short-distance warping consumes a lot of the spacecraft’s energy, and if it fails, it could lead to a disaster.

When it comes to warfare, short-distance warping is the meta since gates could be destroyed or put out of commission.

As a result, chance encounters with enemies don’t happen often, and the outcomes of large-scale battles boil down to which side occupies a better position.

Since we don’t know where the enemies will strike, our forces must defend locations that are of strategic importance.

It’s not ideal to separate our forces, but there’s nothing that can be done about it, so the hundreds of thousands of ships that we’ve brought along will be split into several groups.

-Planet Augur-

After arriving at the planet that was once under the Banfied Family’s protection, I visit its spaceport for the first time in a long while.

“I wonder how Marion’s doing?”

I think back to my junior from my time as an official.

Eulisia, who’s tagging along, makes an exasperated face.

“This isn’t the time to be joking around. The commanders of the expeditionary force will soon gather for a meeting.”

“I’m curious to see with my own eyes how things are progressing on a planet that I took care of. ”

Previously, I had dispatched Tia and Klaus to carry out development here, and I’m seeing the fruits of their labor.

While the other hospitable planets around here look like rural villages, Augur looks like one of those small provincial cities from my previous life.

However, I didn’t visit the spaceport incognito just to admire the sceneries of the planet.

Three rough-looking soldiers approach us as I’m looking at some souvenirs at the spaceport alongside Eulisia, who’s wearing casual clothes.

Ignoring me, the trio talks to Eulisia.

“Hey, beauty. How ’bout some tea with us?”

“We’re soldiers that belong to the Banfield Family.”

They’re wearing military uniforms issued by our family.

It seems they’re out on leave and have come to the spaceport for fresh air.

I have no idea which division they belong to, but they appear quite frivolous.

“I’m not interested,” Eulisia firmly refuses and turns her back on the trio.

The rejection makes the trio upset, their face turning sullen.

“–Hey, don’t get carried away. We’re soldiers employed by the Banfield Family. You’ll regret offending us.”

“We serve Lord Liam, the invincible swordsman. Do you want to know what happens if you offend him?”

“Look, your boyfriend’s too scared to speak back. Now, you better come play with us.”

They’re using my name and the Banfield Family to get away with what they’re doing.

–From the looks of it, they’re probably people from the planets that I recently acquired.

Whenever I acquire a planet, the Banfield Family would absorb the military contained within it.

They should’ve undergone re-education, but it appears it’s not very effective.

I’m glad I was able to see this with my own eyes.

For a moment I consider slashing these guys to death.

However, I’m sure there are others like them, and killing these three won’t resolve the issue.

As such, I decided to just leave this place with Eulisia.

“B-boyfriend!? So we look like lovers, huh? How troubling~”

–We’ve been mistaken for a couple, and for some reason, Eulisia is blushing from embarrassment.

The three soldiers that have called out to us stare at me with jealous eyes.

“Right, I almost forgot that you’re a disappointing woman as well. Anyway, it’s time for us to get going.”

“W-wait up!”

I pull Eulisia’s hand, trying to leave, but before we could, the soldiers stop us.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?“

“–Scram.”

“Hiiiiii!?”

I give them a light glare, which terrifies them enough to make them fall on their butts.

I leave with Eulisia in tow, ignoring the soldiers with terrible discipline that now stick out like a sore thumb at the spaceport.

–I have no use for such people.

◇

On Argos, our super dreadnought-class flagship, senior military officers are participating in a virtual holographic meeting.

Naturally, Klaus is the one leading it.

“The Banfield Family’s fleet numbers around 600,000. The Empire has also dispatched its troops, but–”

Our knights and generals express dissatisfaction toward the Empire’s fleet.

The senior officers that were dispatched as part of said fleet seem uncomfortable as well despite this being a virtual meeting, and for good reasons, too.

A laugh almost escapes my mouth after hearing how many ships were sent to assist us.

“I’m impressed they managed to gather this many. Most of them are outdated ships or mobile knights, and the ones that belong to the regular fleet haven’t received any supplies or maintenance.”

The fleet stands at around 1.2 million strong, and although the number may sound impressive, what’s contained inside it is problematic.

The Empire is currently facing a trouble of having to deal with an overflowing number of patrol fleets.

These patrol fleets are provided only the minimum amount of supplies and maintenance, and they usually float around in empty space, doing nothing of importance.

Each of these patrol fleets consists of dozens or hundreds of ships, and I bet even the Imperial Army has no idea of their exact numbers.

In addition to them are the troops of frontier nobles, nobles that live in the countryside.

Though their fleets each contain hundreds of ships, most of them are outdated.

Last but not least are the ships that belong to the regular army, all of which seem to be in terrible condition.

“Really makes you wonder whether the Empire is trying to wipe us out by having us clash with the Kingdom of Dominion.”

I say this out loud as a joke.

The knights and generals participating in the meeting don’t seem too pleased to hear this, but there’s not a single word of complaint since I’m the commander-in-chief…or at least there shouldn’t have been.

“Does the Duke consider this battle already lost?”

A middle-aged man who looks like a serious general stares intently at me.

He seems like a decent man, at least much more so than the soldiers we met at the spaceport.

Apparently, he’s one of the commanders that were dispatched along with the regular fleet.

“Let me ask in return. Do you plan on winning?”

I sense determination in the general’s eyes.

The nobles, knights, and generals dispatched by the Empire also appear earnest.

“Of course.”

Since he’s so confident, I ask the general what plan he has in mind.

“Tell me how we can win.”

The general projects a 3D image inside the conference room.

“Victory is ours as long as we station our soldiers on major planets and defend against the attacks of the Kingdom of Dominion.”

We have 1.8 million ships under our command, and he’s essentially saying that we should split it into three groups and have them protect important bases.

The strategy that gets proposed is one that Klaus has brought up before.

I applaud the general.

“Indeed, that’s our only option…if our goal is to defend, that is.”

Inside the bustling conference room, I make my declaration.

“We won’t be the ones defending this time. –We’ll be attacking the Kingdom of Dominion.”

◇

The meeting eventually ends, and after a short break, another meeting is held, this time with only the members of the Banfield Family.

Klaus is once again the one leading it.

“Including Lord Liam’s personal guards, the first division will consist of 60,000 ships, led by Lord Liam. The second division will also consist of 60,000 ships, and it will be led by…me. The third division will consist of 30,000 ships, and it will be led by Christina-dono. The fourth division will consist of 10,000 ships, and it will be performing guerilla attacks under Marie-dono’s command. The fifth division-”

This time around, the Banfield Family has dispatched 600,000 ships, and we’re currently in the middle of announcing how they’ll be split.

However, I’m not familiar with the names of the commanders from the fifth division onward.

Knights that can also serve as commanders are extremely valuable.

I’ve no doubt that the people being called right now are all excellent. However, very few individuals are capable of making a name for themselves like Klaus, our head knight.

This is a huge problem.

There are several people that surpass Klaus in terms of ability alone, but when it comes to producing results, none even come close to him.

My junior disciples who are next to me watch on in dissatisfaction as Klaus continues his announcement.

Both of them are dressed in ceremonial knights uniform, something which annoys Fuuka.

“Was another meeting really necessary? He could’ve just told us which division we belong to individually. Also, why do we have to wear these? They’re not cute at all.”

Rinho, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to mind the outfit.

She’s just disgruntled to be on the battlefield.

“It sucks to be separated from Master and Yasuyuki-kun. I like the outfit though. I look good no matter what I wear, and it feels like I’m cosplaying.”

Anyway, they’re treated as colonels in the Banfield Family’s military.

Truth be told, I wanted to have them as brigadier generals, but Klaus stopped me from doing so.

Dissatisfied they may be, I brought these two runts to the battlefield at the request of my Master.

“You guys have been horsing around too much. So much so that Master personally asked that I bring you two along. Reflect a little, will you?”

They seem to know what I’m referring to as they look away from me.

“Okie-dokie~”

“We shall reflect, sire.”

I can tell that these two definitely aren’t reflecting.

“Think of this as a part of your training. I’ve brought your mobile knights as well, so I’m looking forward to your performance on the battlefield. Don’t put a stain on the title of One-Flash.”

After retrieving the three Avid imitations that Cleo and Calvin prepared, I had them fixed and given to my junior disciples and Ellen, who’s not here.

Fuuka appears interested in the war.

“They have strong warriors, right? I personally prefer fighting with my body, but I guess mobile knights aren’t too bad.”

Rinho, on the other hand, seems excited to spread the fame of One-Flash.

“I guess this is a good opportunity to let others know that senior brother’s not the only member of One-Flash.”

Such reliable juniors I have.

Just as I’m thinking of preparing some opportunities to have them shine, Klaus finishes the announcement and turns to face me, hinting at me to say something.

When I stand up from my seat, I come under the spotlight inside the dimly lit room.

“I’m sure a lot of you are feeling frustrated right now. Why must we go out of our way to deal with the Kingdom of Dominion? This question must be in your minds.”

There’s nothing wrong with being dispatched to the borders to fight against the Kingdom of Dominion, but the blatant harassment that the Banfield Family is receiving has everyone on edge.

And I don’t plan on taking this lying down.

“Just in case you’re under some misconception, I’ll tell you now that I have no intention of fighting for the sake of the Empire.”

Things begin to get noisy as whispers are heard within the room.

Klaus raises his voice in response to this.

“Lord Liam is speaking. Please refrain from talking privately.”

I wait until everyone quiets down.

“A battle to protect the Empire? Nothing interests me less than that. Instead, my goal is to capture the capital of the Kingdom of Dominion.”

Honestly, who cares about defending the Empire? From the beginning, I was planning on challenging the Kingdom of Dominion to a fight.

The look of surprise on everyone’s face, including Klaus’, amuses me.

◇

Some time had passed since Liam’s departure.

At the Banfield Family’s mansion, Amagi was standing beside Rosetta, who had been put in charge of the territory’s affairs.

Amagi was assisting her with some government affairs when she noticed a change in Rosetta’s physical condition.

“Lady Rosetta, if you’re feeling unwell, you should take a rest.”

“I-it’s fine. I’ve been entrusted with the territory by Darling. I must answer his expecta–!”

Seeing Rosetta cover her mouth with her hand, Amagi immediately rushed over to her and performed a scan.

Then, she immediately arranged for a doctor.

Putting her left hand over her ear, she explained the situation to the person on the other side of the call.

“Please have a doctor arrive immediately. Yes, it concerns Lady Rosetta.”

As soon as it became clear who the patient was, the office door was flung open, and a group of nurses who were waiting outside entered the room, accompanied by a doctor.

Female knights promptly surrounded Rosetta, standing guard next to her so that no one could harm her.

The doctor began examining Rosetta, and a short while later, Brian arrived, panting and heaving.

“Is Lady Rosetta safe?”

“Men aren’t allowed to enter.”

Despite being blocked by the female knights, Brian forced his way in, worried about Rosetta.

“Is Lady Rosetta okay!? With Lord Liam absent, if something were to happen to Lady Rosetta–”

The doctor ignored the fuss that Brian was raising and began discussing with the nurses.

“Quite a rare occurrence.”

“Given Lord Liam’s circumstances, maybe this was to be expected.”

Brian, who overheard their conversation, interjected.

“What does this have to do with Lord Liam?”

Seeing how uneasy he was, Amagi stood up and brought him out of the room.

Things had become even rowdier inside by the time they were in the hallway.

While listening to the situation unfolding inside, Amagi placed her left hand over her ear.

“–It doesn’t seem to be working. Contact with Master is being blocked.”

Communication failures were common on the battlefield.

This suggested that the battle against the Kingdom of Dominion was intensifying.

“It’s only been a few months since Lord Liam was dispatched to protect the Empire’s border. Has the war progressed that far already? Is Lord Liam safe?”

Since they couldn’t get in touch with Liam, who was the commander-in-chief, it meant things were getting dangerous near the border.

Amagi narrowed her eyes.

“The invasion of the Kingdom of Dominion must be fiercer than expected. We should have the second batch of troops depart early.”

Brian fell to his knees.

“To think both Lord Liam and Lady Rosetta are in dangerous situations.”

Amagi looked up at the ceiling while Brian wallowed in sadness.

“I must inform Master as soon as possible.”

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Brian (´；ω；｀): “It’s painful. Lady Rosetta has collapsed. It’s painful…”

Wakagi-chan (；゜Д゜): “Things seem serious this time…”

Wakagi-chan( ゜∀゜): “Still, I won’t give up on advertising! Volume 4 of the light novel and Volume 1 of the manga for ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!’ are now on sale! You can read the manga on Nico Nico Seiga, so please check it out!”