I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! - Chapter 15 - Banfield Family Territorial Defense Part 10

“The pirates are launching a pincer attack from the rear. Wait, they’re attacking without regard for their allies’ safety!”

The grim news reverberated across the bridge.

Eulisia, whose face contorted in response, immediately turned her gaze toward the commander-in-chief.

Liam, however, remained unperturbed. His expression remained unchanged even upon learning that the pirates were attacking both them and the Imperial Army.

“Lord Liam, things aren’t looking good for us!”

They were in a dangerous situation, even more so than before.

Liam brought his right hand forward.

“Order our men to disperse before regrouping.”

Until that moment, the fleet had maintained a conical assault formation. Upon receiving his orders, the ships began moving in all directions.

Soon, their formation broke down, leaving allied ships entangled among the enemies.

Eulisia broke out in a cold sweat, fear evident in her eyes.

(Our formation essentially collapsed!)

It appeared as if the Banfield Family’s fleet had been thrown into disarray due to the pirate fleet’s attack.

Liam, however, didn’t seem fazed by this. Rather, he exuded confidence.

“-These soldiers have accompanied me since the very beginning of my journey. They’re the cream of the crop, and something like this won’t bring them down.”

After dispersing, the ships began weaving their way through enemy fleets, slipping past their formation and eventually escaping the battlefield.

The Imperial Army was too preoccupied trying to make sense of the situation after being attacked by their supposed “allies”.

A few of them sporadically launched attacks, but their efforts lacked organization and posed no threat to the Banfield Family’s fleet.

The real issue lay with the pirate fleet.

One of the beams fired by the pirate fleet streaked past Argos, piercing an enemy ship nearby and causing it to explode.

Debris from the explosion struck Argos’s energy shield, which emitted a faint glow.

Seeing this, Liam gave further instructions.

“Ships that excel in defense are to protect their allies. Also, use the enemies as shields to avoid the pirates’ bombardment.”

That was easier said than done. However, Liam’s fleet was capable of following his orders.

Eulisia was having a difficult time keeping up with Liam’s madness.

The fleet under him made things even worse.

(What the heck is up with these guys!? How are they executing such a ridiculous order?)

Eulisia was rendered speechless, but Liam didn’t seem to mind as he sat in his seat, starting a conversation with one of the military officers onboard.

“Marvelous teamwork. If you were to perform at a ceremony, you might win some award money.”

In response to his lighthearted comment, the soldier cracked a joke, all the while maintaining a serious expression.

“Given the opportunity, we’d love to do so. People won’t call us a money sink if we can earn our own money.”

“Sorry, but you’ll be busy for a while. You’ll have to schedule the ceremonies for a later date.”

Eulisia felt dizzy watching Liam having this kind of conversation on the battlefield.

◇

Onboard the pirate fleet’s flagship, Cosmo was laughing with delight as he witnessed the collapse of the Banfield Family’s fleet formation.

He patted his knees several times to express his joy.

“We were willing to sacrifice our allies for this attack. He never saw that coming, did he? Still, that was enough to make the Banfield Family’s fleet crumble, huh? I can boast about this for the rest of my life!”

He had destroyed the Banfield Family’s fleet, a significant accomplishment on his part.

He fantasized about all the wealth and honor he’d receive for this achievement.

The others onboard were equally excited, but their training had conditioned them to avoid making a fuss as they did during their time as pirates.

Cosmo was almost certain of his victory, but he soon realized that something was off.

“-What’s going on?”

As the battle neared its end, his lieutenant, whose guard was now lowered, noticed that Cosmo was behaving strangely.

“What’s the matter, Your Excellency?”

“Something isn’t right. Could they be planning on–”

And his premonition came true.

The Banfield Family’s fleet, which they thought had collapsed, began to regroup as they emerged from the battlefield, escaping from the entanglement.

The lieutenant quickly caught on as well, and her eyes threatened to pop out.

“Your Excellency!”

“All fleet, charge! We must strike them before they can regroup!”

Cosmo’s decision to take immediate action turned out to be the correct one.

The Banfield Family’s fleet wasn’t given enough time to reassemble into a proper formation.

“It’s now or never!”

Cosmo, who sensed something ominous, wished to strike down Liam as quickly as possible using this opportunity.

◇

“Hey, they responded more quickly than I thought.”

“This isn’t the time to be praising our enemies! What are we going to do? If they attack us right now, things won’t end well for us, even if our troops are elites!”

I didn’t think the pirates would be spurred into action this early on, and because of that, I’m being forced to make a decision.

As Eulisia has pointed out, a direct confrontation with the enemies wouldn’t bode well for us in our current situation.

Getting up from my seat, I issue an order to Eulisia.

“Bring out Avid. I’ll buy us some time, so get the fleet back into formation as soon as possible.”

“Eh? Y-you mean…”

“–I was planning on defeating them in fleet-to-fleet combat, but I suppose I can’t match up to Klaus.”

I wanted to distinguish myself as a fleet commander, but it seems I’m not cut out for that.

–Well, it matters not.

After all, I’m neither a knight nor a soldier. I’m just an evil lord.

“I’ll finish them off with brute force.”

◇

A lone mobile knight appeared before Cosmo’s fleet as they were about to attack the Banfield Family.

Normally, Cosmo would’ve had the hero-wannabe dealt with immediately without so much as changing an expression.

However, the mobile knight that appeared before them was somewhat special.

The operator onboard trembled as he gave the report.

“I-It’s Avid! We’ve confirmed the deployment of space magic. A giant battleship has appeared from within the magic circle. It appears to be the gigantic mobile knight built by the Seventh Weapons Factory!”

Frustrated, Cosmo swung his fist onto his armrest.

“What’s the commander-in-chief doing at the very front!?”

He had a point.

If this had been anyone else, Cosmo would’ve happily dealt with the enemy, saving himself much trouble.

However, their opponent this time was Liam.

His lieutenant took a step back after seeing what was displayed on the monitor, frightened by the imposing figure of Avid and the giant battleship transforming into a humanoid form.

“Is that aircraft what he calls Griffin? That’s not even a mobile knight anymore,” she exclaimed.

Cosmo agreed with her opinion.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to give the idiots over at the Seventh Weapons Factory an earful for creating such a monstrosity.

As Avid merged with Griffin, the latter’s twin eyes began to glow.

“He’s coming! Deploy all shields! Have them at maximum output, and cover the entire ship! Bring all the shield ships forward as well!”

Griffin pointed its large hands at the pirate fleet.

Its fingers began to emit a glow, and soon enough, beams streaked toward Cosmo’s fleet, each destroying dozens of ships.

Fortunately, Cosmo’s flagship was spared, but this wasn’t the kind of attack one could take lightly.

Furthermore, Griffins had other weapons in its arsenal. On top of optical weapons, shells from its cannons rained down one after another.

“How does it make sense for a single aircraft to take on an entire fleet!?”

Cosmo’s scream was met with an explosion from one of the allied ships that was nearby.

As frustrating as it was, the lone aircraft was proving to be a formidable foe for his pirate fleet.

“–We’ll have to resort to that.”

His secretary nodded and rushed to make a call.

◇

Inside Griffin and Avid’s cockpit, I let go of the control stick and clasp my hands behind my head, enjoying the scene of the battlefield reflected on the monitor.

“Ending the fight with brute force is boring, but you have to admit, it’s pretty darn refreshing.”

Thanks in part to the influence of Machine Heart, Griffin has further improved its performance.

Its performance should be superior to that of a similar aircraft.

I switch the control to autopilot. The battle’s about to come to an end.

“As for the Imperial Army…”

After suffering an attack from its allies, they’ve managed to gather themselves back together and flee from the battlefield.

In a sense, they were pincer attacked by both us and the pirate fleet. As a result, their numbers have dwindled, and they’ve been left in a sorry state.

To make matters worse, they’re probably experiencing a shortage of supplies, which means they won’t be able to continue battling.

In other words, they’ll have to surrender in due to time even if we leave them alone.

While I’m distracted by the Imperial Army, the pirates deploy space magic like I did.

Something massive comes out of the magic circle.

“–It seems we’re similar-minded.”

What emerges is a huge mobile knight.

It’s about the same size as Griffin, but there are some gray and rusty spots, indicating that it wasn’t painted well.

It also lacks a transformation mechanism as it makes its entrance in humanoid form.

Having said that, its appearance closely resembles that of Griffin.

“Is it a fake copy of Griffin?”

As I mutter to myself, the face of the pirate fleet’s commander appears on the monitor.

The man reflected in the small window is wearing a pirate hat.

Presumably, this man is Cosmo.

‘How you feelin’, General?’

“Don’t speak to me so casually.”

I give a curt response, but Cosmo, seemingly at ease, continues the conversation, wishing to “chat more casually”.

‘You might’ve had the Seventh Weapons Factory build Griffin, but the Empire’s been building them as well.’

“Seems so. But you should’ve at least changed the design a bit.”

‘File your complaints to the guys at the factory. They’re the ones that built it after all. By the way, they may look similar, but they’re completely different on the inside. We’ve removed all the unnecessary components used in the transformation process to make it more sturdy.’

Is he bragging that they’ve made it stronger by getting rid of superfluous components?

‘In other words, we have an ace up our sleeves that’s stronger than yours. And it isn’t just me. Hampson and Moss each have one, and so does His Highness.’

“That is troublesome.”

I guess both sides were thinking of the same thing.

It would’ve been much appreciated if they had deployed their trump cards earlier on, but expecting that from our opponents is probably asking too much.

After all, in exchange for overwhelming strength on the battlefield, Griffin expends a ridiculous amount of fuel.

One might as well just operate a fleet.

What’s more, it needs maintenance after being used, a luxury which our enemies cannot afford at the moment.

Without enough supplies, they would have to throw away the aircraft after a single use.

Not taking it out would’ve been the best outcome for them.

‘You’ve lost, Liam.’

“That’s Lord Liam to you, trash.”

The fake  turns around, positioning its chest toward Griffin. It then proceeds to accumulate a massive amount of concentrated energy before releasing it from its main cannon.

An extremely thick beam strikes Griffin, assuring Cosmo of his victory.

‘If you weren’t so insufferable, I would’ve awarded you with a swift death. Now, I’ll make sure that your subordinates see hell.’

It seems he plans on torturing my subordinates after defeating me.

Swallowed by the beam, Griffin crosses its arms and assumes a defensive position.

“No need for your concern. You should instead worry about yourself.”

I make up my mind about what to do with Cosmo.

Afterward, I grab onto the control stick and begin operating Griffin.

Griffin’s engine roars, and it advances into the light.

The fake increases its output in an attempt to stop Griffin in its track.

The burden on the aircraft must be considerable as sparks fly.

“You’ve gone through the trouble of preparing a fake, but I must say, it was very wrong of you to assume that its performance is the same as before. For you see, this aircraft is constantly evolving.”

Machine Heart’s influence extends to Griffin via Avid.

Griffin soon arrives before the fake and pierces its chest with one of its hands.

Then, it inserts its other hand and tears the fake apart from the inside.

‘What!?’

Cosmo seems shell-shocked.

“You must’ve used rare metals to build this fake.–I must thank you for going through the trouble of delivering resources to us. I’ll make good use of them.”

Debris is generated as Griffin forcefully tears the fake apart, but I collect them using the alchemy box that I’ve hidden inside Avid.

The debris is then converted into bright particles that gather near Griffin.

‘What did you do!?’

Cosmo struggles to understand what just happened, but I don’t bother answering his question.

Instead, I point Griffin’s main cannon at the pirate fleet.

Cosmo’s face turns pale as light converges on Griffin’s chest.

“I’m not obligated to tell you anything. –Oh, and how dare you go around ravaging my territory.”

One of the reasons I attacked the supply base is to lure these guys in.

Even as the ships around him are destroyed, Cosmo glares at me without begging for his life.

“This is the end of the line for you all. Any last words?”

Cosmo merely grins.

‘I’ve done my share of rampaging after all. I knew a day like this would eventually come. ’

“You gave up rather quickly.”

‘–But mark my words. Even if you win here, the results won’t change. No matter how many victories you bring home, the Empire will be the ultimate winner! You can’t overcome the power of a nation. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in hell.’

If hell exists, it’s certain that I’ll go there. But so what?

“Sorry, but for the time being, I plan on enjoying what I have in this world. You’ll have to wait patiently for my arrival.”

‘Heh, you think you can beat the Empire? Reinforcements will arrive soon–’

He probably thinks that reinforcements will arrive soon, or that the Empire will dispatch another subjugation force, but he’s mistaken.

There’s no such thing.

“If you’re talking about reinforcements, they won’t come.”

‘Huh?’

As Cosmo exclaims in surprise, Griffin approaches the pirate fleet that’s now in shambles and discovers the flagship, grabbing it with its giant hands.

All the while, Cosmo glares at me.

“You get special treatment.”

–Maybe I should prepare a present for my subordinates that are working hard.

“They should’ve revealed their trump cards by now.”

————————————————————————————————————–

Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜): “Volume 10 of ‘The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs!’ will be released on May 30th! Volume 8 of the manga will be released soon as well, so be sure to get your hands on it!”

Brian (´・ω・): “Volume 8 of the manga corresponds to Volume 3 of the novel, marking the beginning of a new arc! Come to think of it, Volume 8 should be where Yumeria-dono appears–”

Wakagi-chan ((((；゜Д゜))))ガクガクブルブル: “NOOOOO!! DON’T COME, YUMERIA!! I’LL BE A GOOD GIRL! I’LL BE A GOOD GIRL, SO PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEE!!”

Brian (´・ω・｀): “Please show much love to Volume 5 of ‘I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!’ The bonus chapter this time features the mass-produced maid robot [Lisan]. According to Lord Liam, she’s quiet and shy, but frankly, they all look the same, so it’s hard to tell them apart. It’s painful.”