Volume 11 Chapter 10 - The Banfield Family vs. Kingdom of Dominion

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The Banfield Family was able to defeat the kingdom’s fleet which consisted of around 350,000 ships, but the damage that they received was also enormous.

When they were first deployed, they had around 700,000 ships, but after the battle, they were whittled down to less than 500,000.

“We won the battle, but now we have to face an enemy force several times our own.”

From the bridge, Klaus watched as allied ships moved about.

Their fleet now numbered around 500,000, and they were busy preparing for the battle against the kingdom’s main force, which was being led by Aluna.

It was a sight to behold as battleships were lined up all around them, with the fleet being in perfect formation.

Klaus, however, was suffering from ulcer pain as he observed the fleet from his flagship.

(It hurts. My stomach hurts like h**l. How are we going to get through this?)

He couldn’t help but feel uneasy as he thought of ways to deal with Aluna’s fleet, which could appear at any moment.

Klaus knew better than anyone else that his skill as a commander was ordinary.

He didn’t think he had a chance against Aluna, someone who loved to fight and could easily lead a fleet of millions into battle.

Indeed, they were up against an enemy fleet that numbered over a million at the very least.

They had to confront such a massive army with less than half a million troops, which placed a great burden on Klaus.

He wished to flee from his role, but his strong sense of responsibility was stopping him from doing so.

“Any movement from the enemies?” he asked one of his staff.

Scouts had been deployed to the surrounding areas to detect the movement of the enemy fleet.

His staffs were also on high alert, not being able to relax in the slightest.

“None, sir. But this might change at any moment.”

“I see.”

Klaus put on his best poker face, desperately enduring the stomachache.

As the commander, he had to pretend as if he was fine, taking care not to agitate the people around him.

His staff members were impressed by his façade.

“His Excellency seems so at ease. It’s as if he doesn’t feel nervous at all.”

“But of course. There was once a time when His Excellency led a charge against the Kingdom of Dominion’s fleet despite being outnumbered 10:1.”

“I see, so something like this doesn’t faze him anymore.”

Several decades ago, Liam had commanded Klaus to order his men to charge.

Klaus played no role in coming up with this plan, but for some reason, he ended up getting the credit for it.

Liam was at fault for this.

He thought he’d be reprimanded by Amagi for being reckless, so he had pushed the achievement onto Klaus.

It didn’t take long for his lie to be exposed, and as expected, Amagi scolded him for it, but the achievement remained as Klaus’s.

Klaus had racked up so many achievements that Liam didn’t think it mattered if he had one more.

However, Klaus’s stance was different.

“That was all thanks to Lord Liam. It had nothing to do with me.”

He was simply telling the truth, but the people around him got even more rowdy when they heard this.

“Your Excellency is always so humble. Tia-dono and Marie-dono should take a page out of his book.”

“No, as I said—”

He tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but before he could do so, the operator raised his voice.

“It’s an emergency call from one of the scouts! They’ve confirmed the location of an enemy fleet. Its size is believed to be around 300,000. They’ve also caught sight of another fleet that numbers in the hundreds of thousands,” he shouted anxiously.

Everyone on deck tensed up when they heard the report.

“300,000?”

(They split up their forces? It’s definitely good news for us, but why would they do that?)

Klaus wasn’t incompetent either and had been proceeding with the installment of defensive equipment, preparing an environment where they could engage their enemies.

However, he wasn’t naïve enough to believe that this would be enough to beat the Kingdom of Dominion.

“We need to hurry and report this to Lord Liam.”

A ship departed from the Second Division to deliver a message to Liam.

◇

-Inside the bridge of flagship Argos-

I’m sitting in my luxurious chair, watching over the battlefield as messengers arrive one after another.

“The Kingdom of Dominion split their forces?” I ask while wrinkling my eyebrows.

Standing beside me is Eulisia in her military uniform.

She’s needlessly talented, which is why she’s doubling as my adjutant despite already being my secretary.

“Maybe they plan on cornering us?”

A holographic image appears in front of me, showing us our current situation.

It’s apparent that the enemy forces are trying to surround the Banfield Family’s fleet.

The way they’re trying to corner us reminds me of a hunt more so than war.

They’re cutting off our paths of escape.

“I don’t like this at all. Look at them getting all thirsty for our blood.”

I express my dissatisfaction, to which Eulisia gives a flat reply.

“The fact of the matter is, we’re at a massive disadvantage. It’s no wonder they see us as prey.”

“—You should be more considerate with your words.”

“That’s what you get for always shutting me down when I act amicably.”

Eulisia turns away from me and sulks.

“I would’ve had you demoted for that if it weren’t for your skills.”

“Are you sure? I act as your bridge with the Imperial Army, not to mention I have connections with the Third Weapons Factory.”

It’s as she says. She’s disappointing and easily forgettable, but her connections make it difficult to demote her.

Also, there’s no telling what kind of person would replace her, so I’ll bear with her for now.

“How brazen of you.”

“This amount of brazenness is necessary to be Lord Liam’s adjutant.”

After wrapping up our conversation, I extend one of my arms forward to project a screen in the air.

I stare at the clock that’s displayed on the monitor.

—It seems this is as far as we go.

“Time’s up. I guess it was too much of me to expect that we take down the kingdom’s capital.”

Hearing me let out a small sigh, Eulisia, who’s standing next to me, asks what’s going on.

Apparently, she wasn’t able to hear what I said.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, but we might’ve been pushing ourselves a little too hard. Tend to the wounded and have them retreat to the backlines.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, if not for the millions of enemy troops approaching us from behind.”

If we don’t get out of this, we’ll literally be wiped out.

“We’ll just have to break through. Contact Klaus. We’ll charge through an affordable enemy line and retreat to the rear.”

“—Are we seriously doing that? Wouldn’t it be better to slip past their encirclement?”

“I’m always serious. I was getting tired of raiding the Kingdom of Dominion anyway. Let’s go back and regroup.”

The soldiers that have been waiting around me react when I stand up from my seat to stretch.

“Have Rinho and Fuuka prepare for battle. They’ll be leading the way.”

Eulisia appears dismayed when I mention my cute junior disciples.

“Lord Liam must treasure them a lot. Despite sending them off to their deaths, you don’t seem the least bit worried,” she says sarcastically.

From an outsider’s perspective, it may seem like I’m having them march to their deaths.

“I believe in the School of One Flash.”

“This is insane, but so be it. It seems whatever goes in the School of One Flash.”

Eulisia operates her terminal and has Rinho and Fuuka prepare for combat.

She makes various arrangements to get the mobile knights [Amaryllis] ready for battle.

Although she’s a disappointing woman, she’s one to always get her job done.

Truth be told, as an evil lord, I have no business with a serious soldier like Eulisia.

I’d rather have someone good at bootlicking next to me.

However, in the long run, it would be problematic to have a subordinate who only has a big mouth.

Someone like that wouldn’t hesitate to report lies or cover up information that may displease me, their superior.

Having a subordinate like that would be detrimental to the entire organization.

In that regard, it’s good to have someone like Eulisia, who wouldn’t hesitate to report everything, even if it displeases me.

To go up against the Empire, subordinates like her will be necessary.

—Her personality leaves much to be desired though.

“This will be a good chance for those two to train.”

“Which fleet shall we target for our breakthrough? Personally, I would suggest going after the fleet which has 300,000 troops.”

Eulisia asks for my opinion.

While there are fleets that number less than a hundred thousand, they’re probably traps, which is why she brought up one of the medium-sized fleets.

If I were in her shoes, I would’ve suggested the same.

However, I’m the lord, the commander-in-chief.

“Let’s spice things up a bit and bite the bait that they’ve put forward.”

“Bait? Do you mean the small fleets?”

“No, I’m talking about them.”

I point at the holographic image.

To invite us in, they’ve purposely prepared a fleet that numbers around 600,000, which is approximately the same size as ours.

“—We’ve spotted the enemy commander’s flagship in that fleet. Our allies risked their lives to obtain this piece of information, so there’s no doubt in its authenticity.”

According to the scouts that we’ve sent out, the enemy commander’s flagship is in that fleet. I have a rough idea of what the Kingdom of Dominion is thinking.

“They probably let the scouts go on purpose. Since they’ve kindly invited us in, it’d be rude to ignore them, right?”

Eulisia’s expression becomes dark.

“So we’re jumping into their trap?”

“See, traps are everywhere. We’re in their territory, so they have a much better grasp of the terrain. Things are going to be dicey no matter which route we choose, so why not aim for their commander’s head?”

It appears the Kingdom of Dominion doesn’t have the intention of letting any of us go. They plan on killing us all, down to the last person.

“Now then, what shall I do?”

◇

-At the Argos’ hangar-

Both Rinho and Fuuka were in their pilot suits as they walked up to the two Amaryllis mobile knights placed near Avid.

They had their swords on their waists as well.

“Senior brother really works people to their bones, doesn’t he?”

Though Fuuka complained, she didn’t seem upset about it at all.

Rinho revealed a faint smile.

“Well, it’s at least better than watching the small fries fight each other. Oh, have you heard? Aluna, the Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Dominion, apparently wants Senior Brother’s genes.”

Fuuka was puzzled to hear this.

She wasn’t ignorant about s*x and the like, but she couldn’t understand Aluna’s feelings.

“They just have to bang once, right? Or ask him for his genes upfront.”

Rinho shook her head, feeling hopeless after hearing Fuuka’s comment.

“It’s not that simple, idiot.”

“What’d ya call me just now!?”

Fuuka blushed, angry about being ridiculed.

Rinho ignored her and jumped onto Ein, the first of the Amaryllis unit.

When she boarded the white aircraft which resembled Avid in appearance, Ein’s twin eyes glowed.

Clicking her tongue, Fuuka boarded Zwei.

When the two units were ready to head out, the runway lights were lit up.

There were lights in the air that indicated where they should launch.

The mechanics around them either waved their hands or performed a salute to send them off.

Fuuka didn’t give them a time of day, instead tying up her curly orange hair after observing her surroundings in the cockpit.

They didn’t have to do anything as the launch was mostly automated.

“Senior brother recently scolded us for playing around too much, so we should earn some achievements this time. If we don’t, he might forbid us from vising Master’s house.”

Fuuka was aware of the fact that they had been neglecting sword training.

After all, they had been spending a lot of time at Yasushi’s house. However, it was the only place that felt like home to them.

The earliest memory she had was of her and Rinho rummaging through trash cans in the back alleys.

Yasushi had reached out to them in their time of need. Not only did he teach them swordsmanship and One Flash, but he also gave them something that they lacked: a family.

Yasushi was their father, Nina their mother, Yasuyuki their cute little brother, and Liam their scary older brother.

Though they weren’t related by blood, they were a family united by something much stronger, a bond known as the School of One Flash.

Fuuka put on her helmet and grabbed the control sticks before taking a deep breath.

Zwei, the second of the Amaryllis unit, prepared for take-off.

“I guess it’s time to repay Senior Brother for everything he’s done for us.”

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Brian (´；ω；｀): “It’s painful. Lord Liam has his back pressed against the wall, it’s painful. On a different note—”

Brian (｀・ω・´): “Volume 4 of ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!’ is now on sale, along with Volume 1 of the manga. Thank you for your continued support of the series!”