Volume 11 Chapter 8 - Competition

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Tia, who had conquered one of the kingdom’s important military bases, was watching the defeated allied forces enter the spaceport one after another.

The huge fortress was made of three asteroids that were interconnected after being completely mined of their resources, and it was equipped with everything from weapon development and production factories to living quarters and military facilities.

As such, the fortress could accommodate a fleet of up to tens of thousands of ships, and as it was central to the protection of the surrounding regions, it was probably of great importance to the Kingdom of Dominion.

Tia had somehow managed to bring it down and was now observing the allied fleets from one of the passages connecting the asteroids.

The columnar passage came with a moving walkway, so she didn’t have to walk herself.

“They’re a disgrace to the Banfield Family,” she muttered spitefully, directing a cold gaze to the allied fleets outside.

Many fleets were arriving at the newly acquired fortress, most of them in terrible condition.

If this had been the result of a pyrrhic victory, she would’ve welcomed them warmly, praising them for their efforts.

However, many of them were here after suffering defeat.

Although she may have sounded a bit harsh, the Banfield Family had provided them with everything that they needed.

The equipment and environment provided to them did not pale in comparison to those given to the Empire’s regular army.

In fact, they received better treatment than most members of the army.

Despite all this, they were still defeated in battle, which was why Tia couldn’t help but reprimand them.

Standing beside her was her adjutant, who similarly had a look of disdain in her eyes as she watched allied troops pour in.

“They’re only used to chasing pirates around. Hence, they’re weak against enemies that are at a similar level as them.”

The Banfield Family was merciless when it came to dealing with pirates, and the recently recruited troops only had experience going after pirates that had already lost their will to fight.

As a result, they didn’t know how to fight against enemies that were on equal footing.

Many soldiers were still in the process of getting used to real combat, which was completely different from the training that they had received until now.

The adjutant turned toward Tia to confirm their plan from now on.

“Our Third Division has been tasked with reorganizing the army. How shall we proceed? Our fleet has already been replenished with troops from Lord Liam’s personal army, so there’s no need to take in these newcomers.”

They had suffered more losses than they expected while capturing the fortress, and Liam, who acknowledged their achievement, had dispatched his elite troops to make up for their losses.

Those that belonged to Liam’s personal army were all skilled. They had supported the Banfield Family since the time Liam became the head of the household, and they had survived countless fierce battles.

Naturally, Tia was happy to hear the news.

Liam sharing some of his personal troops was a form of acknowledgment.

“Since the reinforcements are from Lord Liam’s personal troops, there shouldn’t be any problem with their quality. On a separate note, to give the defeated dogs another chance…he’s too kind.”

If it had been up to her, she would’ve dismissed them on the spot or even had them court-martialed.

Her adjutant shrugged.

“At least they’ll go all out this time. It’s their last chance after all.”

“—Useless b******s.”

“But what should we do about the ones that did perform well?”

There was a tablet made of reinforced glass in front of them which displayed the results of various generals and knights.

Within the well-trained-yet-fragile army, some had managed to display promising results, and Tia wasn’t about to let them go.

“Recruit them to our side. Don’t let Klaus or Marie take them in.”

Even though they all belonged to the Banfield Family, Tia had subordinates of her own, and she planned on recruiting capable men to make her fleet stronger.

—More than anything, she wished to surpass Klaus.

A glint appeared in the adjutant’s eyes.

“But of course. In terms of military exploit, we lost yet again to Klaus-dono. We can’t have to gap grow wider.”

Tia’s face became blank.

“Don’t think for a moment that you can monopolize Lord Liam’s affections forever. I’ll definitely return to being the Head Knight!”

There was fierce competition even within the Banfield Family.

◇

At around the same time, Marie, who led the Fourth Division responsible for guerilla attacks, was in a frenzy.

She kicked and destroyed her commander’s seat situated on the bridge of her flagship, glaring with bloodshot eyes at the commander and his officers who had requested to be rescued.

“‘We’re grateful for the rescue’, my a*s! Lord Liam entrusted you with 15,000 ships, and yet you were losing against a fleet of 10,000! Is that head of yours a decoration!?”

The ladylike tone that she normally had disappeared, and she went about beating the ones that she had rescued.

Marie’s subordinates watched on as she rampaged, giving the fleet commander and his officers nothing but cold glares.

Seeing that Marie had put her hand on the hilt of her sword, the commander rushed to apologize.

“M-ma’am, I understand that you’re angry, but lynching goes against military regulations.”

Marie nevertheless drew her sword and pointed it at the commander’s neck, her hand shaking in anger.

“Dead men tell no tales!”

To stop Marie who was on the verge of killing their allies, her adjutant approached the fleet commander and sent him flying with a punch before giving orders to his officers.

“Take him away.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

They quickly rushed off and left the bridge.

The adjutant then turned toward Marie, who was having a difficult time breathing due to her anger, and began to console her, together lamenting the incompetence of their allies.

“As expected, they lack experience in real combat. Very few know what real war is like. The fleets that we absorbed from other households are particularly weak.”

“Damn it all!”

“—Lady Marie, please be mindful of the way you speak.”

“Enough is enough! They’re all pulling my leg!”

Those with experience fighting in fierce battles had been mostly divided amongst Liam and his key officers, Marie included.

These were the elites that Liam had gathered while traveling incognito to various places, and they were given high-performance battleships and mobile knights to fight with.

They were undoubtedly better off compared to the others, and the fact that she had been entrusted with a fleet that so much money was poured into was proof of Liam’s trust.

However, Marie wasn’t satisfied with this.

“Klaus, the Head Knight, and Christina, that minced woman, are taking down bases left and right, yet here I am, having to wipe the asses of incompetent allies. If it weren’t for them, we would’ve produced tangible results by now!”

She grabbed a piece of her already destroyed commander’s seat and crushed it.

She also wished to go after enemy fleets and bases, but they were constantly receiving requests for help, which left no time for her to act.

To calm her anger, her adjutant reiterated the message that their messenger had brought.

“Lord Liam said he appreciates our hard work.”

“But we must go beyond that. We must surpass Klaus and that minced woman in terms of achievements and have them all kicked to the side. I’m the only one Lord Liam needs, the only one who should stand beside him.”

◇

The colonel who served as the Second Division’s messenger returned to their flagship’s bridge with his head held high.

“Lord Liam is overjoyed by His Excellency Klaus’ achievements,” he proudly reported.

“Eh?”

Klaus was puzzled to hear that his military exploits were praised during the meeting.

While it was true that his division had achieved great things, from Klaus’ point of view, all he did was follow up on his subordinates.

And there was a reason why he was upset to hear this news.

(O-oh no. If I stand out too much, those two are going to raise a fuss again.)

By those two, he was naturally referring to Tia and Marie.

They were constantly aiming for his position, and if he stood out too much, they might end up doing something rash.

There was a hint of madness in them, and Klaus was worried that they would send assassins after him.

Though it might sound like an exaggeration, Klaus was convinced that those two were more than capable of pulling such a stunt.

As that was the case, his original plan had been to support the other fleets in this war.

However, because Chengshi and her subordinates kept advancing deeper and deeper into enemy territory, he had no choice but to follow along.

The colonel continued to praise Klaus for his achievements.

“As expected of the Banfield Family’s Head Knight. Your Excellency has shown the Kingdom of Dominion that the title of the Empire’s Strongest Knight isn’t just for show.”

“The Empire’s Strongest?”

While he was wondering what this was about, those around him also joined in to praise him.

“It’s one of the nicknames given to Your Excellency, who’s been active in various places as the right-hand man of Lord Liam.”

“My nickname!?”

(Previously, it was the Divine General. But there’s more now!?)

His subordinates spoke of the rumors surrounding him.

“Apparently, His Excellency didn’t bat an eye even when the Prime Minister tried to recruit him. The Strongest Knight that possesses both unparalleled strength and unwavering loyalty.”

“This is my first time hearing about that!”

(What kind of nonsense is this? I turned him down because I didn’t think I’d be able to meet the Prime Minster’s expectations! Why is everyone praising me to high heavens!?)

Everyone in the bridge seemed to be in a good mood.

“We of the Second Division are honored to have Your Excellency as our commander.”

“Lady Christina and Marie are amazing as well, but the face of the Banfield Family is none other than His Excellency Klaus.”

“I hear a lot of children that are born in the Banfield Family’s territory are being named Klaus nowadays. Your Excellency’s popularity is truly unfathomable.”

While everyone else was in a jovial mood, Klaus was not. In fact, he was sweating bullets.

“You overestimate me. I’m not the kind of person everyone makes me out to be.”

“Lord Liam has mentioned how humble Your Excellency is. As expected, Klaus-dono is unmatched!”

With no way out, Klaus could only hold his head in his hands.

(WHYYYYYY!!!)

That was when they received a call from Liam.

He was trying to communicate with them despite the risk of being intercepted by the enemies, which meant it was probably of utmost urgency.

“Your Excellency, it’s an urgent message from Lord Liam!”

◇

The First Division has been joined by troops from the Banfield Family’s second army, which numbers around 300,000.

The fleets that have been reorganized in Augur are also joining us, but it seems they still need more time.

Inside Argos’ conference room, the generals and military officers of the second army are criticizing the officers of the first army.

“Why are we attacking!?”

“I-it was Lord Liam’s orders.”

“It’s part of your responsibility to stop him from making such decisions!”

“We tried! B-but…”

The officers of the first army take a glance at me.

I lean back on my chair and smile as I look at the officers of the second army.

“I prefer offense over defense.”

“But Lord Liam, are you aware of the dangerous situation that we’re in?”

Dissatisfied they may be, my subordinates cannot go against me, who stands at the top.

“Of course. We have roughly 300,000 enemies in front of us and millions behind us, correct?”

I believe the Banfield Family’s army numbers around 700,000.

“We’ll first strike the enemies before us. Then, we’ll engage with their expeditionary fleet. I’ve already contacted Klaus. He should be here soon.”

The second army reports who’s commanding the Kingdom of Dominion’s army.

“It seems the expeditionary fleet is being led by Her Highness Aluna, who’s assumed the position of Crown Princess.”

“Aluna?”

What comes to mind is the party commemorating our ceasefire with the Kingdom of Dominion.

She should be the woman who said, “Give me your genes!” the moment we met.

“It’s her, huh—I don’t really like her.”

What I mean is that I’m not good with people like her.

But my subordinates misinterpret my words and assume I see her as a tricky opponent.

“Since she’s the Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Dominion, her strength is all but confirmed. Lord Liam, you might have defeated Prince Izel in the past, but luck played a role in your victory. We shouldn’t assume it’d be like that this time as well.”

Izel, an idiot that dared to challenge me.

Indeed, he was quite powerful.

I had won the duel, but looking at the overall picture, the Empire had lost the war, not to mention he caused us trouble even after his death.

The Kingdom of Dominion values strength above all else, so the Crown Princess won’t be an easy opponent.

It’s understandable that my subordinates are worried.

“If we can’t even overcome an obstacle of this caliber, we’d have no hope in future battles. Besides, I must quickly return to my territory, so have that in mind.”

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Wakagi-chan (゜∀゜): “Competing with each other over promotions much be tough. I’m a unique existence though, so I don’t need to worry about stuff like that.”

Brian (´・ω・｀): “Eh? But the World Tree—”

Wakagi-chan (゜言˚): “Ah? Said something?”

Brian (´；ω；｀): “Hiii!? Volume 4 of ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire’ is currently on sale!! Please buy one to read more about Lord Liam’s activities! —The plant that claims to be the idol of postscripts is scary. It’s painful.”