I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! - Chapter 9 - Banfield Family Territorial Defense Part 4

“My most sincere apologies.”

An injured soldier kneels before me and lowers his head. He has already been treated, but his wounds are still fresh.

The soldier, who holds the rank of Colonel, reports what happened.

“We were attacked by the pirate fleet, and while we tried to fight back, the enemies’ attacks were fierce, and we were eventually defeated.”

Inside our territory, there are several secret bases that we use to supply our troops in a defensive battle.

An escort fleet that was in charge of protecting one such base suffered an attack by the pirates, and they were consequently destroyed, allowing the pirates to loot the supplies that had been stockpiled there.

I stand up and approach the Colonel.

“If I recall correctly, you and your troops had received formal training and were equipped with our standard weapons. Is that correct?”

“Y-yes.”

The Colonel agrees while looking frustrated.

My question could be taken as criticism. Basically, what I said was “We trained you well and gave you proper equipment, yet you still lost?”

I address the Colonel.

“It can’t be helped then. Make sure to take a good rest.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The enemies were simply stronger than you. It’s as simple as that. I’ll have some of the troops under me escort you and your injured men back to our home planet. Once you’re there, report to Klaus. He’s probably sending you right to the hospital though.”

I doubt Klaus would force a defeated fleet to fight on the front lines. He’ll probably send them to the rear instead.

Having nothing more to say, I have the Colonel leave with some of the soldiers.

Eulisia, who’s been watching from the side, gives me a worried look.

“What a tricky opponent. As former space pirates, they can sniff out our secret bases.”

“They themselves have experience fleeing and going into hiding. It’s no wonder they can find them. It wouldn’t do to leave them alone.”

To plan out our next move, I project a simplified 3D image of the battlefield before me.

As I’m wondering what to do next, I notice something in the corner of my vision.

It’s an animal. More specifically, a dog.

I must be seeing things.

“—Is it a glitch?”

My eyes land on a certain location outside our territory.

It’s the route that the Imperial Army took to arrive here.

Eulisia notices as well and operates her terminal.

“That’s the route that the subjugation force used to invade our territory. It seems supplies are being constantly sent there by the Empire. The planet in that region has been turned into a supply base. The residents must be delighted that their economy is booming.”

A base where the Imperial Army replenishes its supplies. Whether they like it or not, a planet like that would receive subsidies and undergo rapid development.

The Empire apparently dispatched a governor to oversee the planet’s development. What was once a lonely planet has now become a bustling metropolis.

“The enemies’ supply base, you say…”

Hearing my mutter, Eulisia shakes her head.

“Attacking isn’t a viable option. Long-distance warps won’t work, and if we were to use short-distance warps repeatedly, we’d run out of fuels.”

Even if we manage to reach their supply base, it would be a one-way trip. We won’t be able to escape, and we could very well be annihilated.

“Besides, if we were to dispatch a large fleet, the enemies would definitely notice it.”

“Then how many ships can we send without being noticed?”

“Thirty thousand at most.”

From my perspective, that’s still a huge number.

“That’s more than enough.”

“It’s not, especially in a war of this magnitude.”

She has a point. There are eight million ships moving about on the battlefield. Thirty thousand is almost insignificant in comparison.

Even so—

“The fleet that I lead is thirty thousand strong.”

In a panic, Eulisia tries to stop me.

“It would be reckless to attack their supply base with a fleet of that size. The Imperial Army isn’t stupid. They would have stationed troops there as well.”

If we dispatch hundreds of thousands of ships to attack them, the territory would be put in a dangerous situation.

If we spread out our troops any more than this, our defenses would weaken.

But surely, a vacuum of thirty thousand wouldn’t pose much of a problem, right?

“Yup, I’ve decided. We’ll strike at the enemy base and corner them.”

“Lord Liam, have you been listening to anything I said? If we were to move a large fleet, the enemies are bound to notice.”

“It’s going to be alright. After all, we’ll only move my fleet.”

“—Eh?”

Eulisia appears stupefied, but I ignore her and give an order to one of the soldiers nearby.

“Inform Klaus that I’ll be leaving the territory for a short while. He’s in charge while I’m gone.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

◇

Cleo, the supreme commander of the subjugation force, couldn’t contain her excitement as she welcomed the leaders of the reinforcement army, standing up from her ornate seat inside the bridge of her fortress-class battleship.

“Thank you for coming. I’m happy to see that you’re all here.”

‘We’re grateful for Your Highness’ kind words. It seems it was the right choice to rush over.’

The faces of the commanders projected in the air varied from nobles to patrol fleet captains.

Aristocrats and soldiers alike had left their territories and posts to assist Cleo in her endeavor.

They numbered two million in total, and as a result, Cleo’s fleet ballooned to a whopping four million.

Hampson’s fleet, which was currently battling Tia’s, stood at around three million ships, and Cleo was happy to have acquired a fleet bigger than that.

‘May I ask what Your Highness is doing right now?’

“—My fleet’s been ordered to be on standby at our base.”

Cleo answered the question asked by one of the nobles while looking disgruntled.

A noble that saw this narrowed his eyes and advised Cleo.

‘Preposterous! Marquis Hampson must be underestimating Your Highness’ power!’

“What do you mean?”

‘Your Highness now has four million ships under your command. It wouldn’t make sense to remain idle at headquarters. With an army this big, we could even try going after Liam’s base.’

Cleo knew exactly what the noble was trying to do.

(He wants to lure me into attacking Liam’s home planet.)

The nobles that had come to assist her were planning on filling their pockets with the Banfield Family’s riches.

Cleo could see right through their thoughts, but there was something brewing up inside her, as if someone was trying to entice her into action.

“He’s right, Cleo! Now that I’m here, striking Liam’s home planet would be a walk in the park, especially with a fleet of such magnitude!”

—The Guide was standing diagonally behind Cleo, doing his best to persuade her into attacking.

No one could see him, and his voice couldn’t reach Cleo either. However, his thoughts resonated in her heart.

(Even without Hampson, I’ll be able to defeat Liam by myself. With an army this big, we can overwhelm them with sheer numbers.)

Hearing her inner thoughts, the Guide smirked and began laughing, feeling exhilarated.

“You’re seriously the best, Cleo. Once you become the Emperor, I’ll give you all my support. I’m looking forward to how the Empire develops.”

The Guide imagined how the Empire would turn out under Cleo’s rule.

“Cleo, you’re even more petty and evil than Liam. In other words, you’re a true villain!”

The Guide was overjoyed, but there was a faint light flickering several dozens of meters behind him.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the light resembled a dog, and it appeared to be glaring and glowering at the Guide.

The Guide suddenly turned around.

“I wonder who it is that’s staring at me~”

While cackling, the Guide proceeded to emit a dark aura as he looked at the small light.

The small light quickly disappeared, but the Guide smiled when he saw this.

“A spirit, is it? Nothing more than a feeble existence. You probably lack the power to act against me as I am now, but you still have to pay me back for following me around.”

The Guide reached out his right hand, capturing the small light that should have escaped in black smoke.

The small light struggled to escape from the hand created by the black smoke.

The Guide then raised his head and opened his mouth to swallow the light

“Begone, you hateful creature!”

His teeth were jagged, and his mouth was unconventionally wide.

The small light struggled for a while, but its resistance gradually weakened.

“Oh, did it give up? Well then, I’m digging in~!!”

After a series of chewing, the Guide swallowed the small light, after which he smacked his lips and cleaned it with his long tongue.

“—So it was a spirit that had connections to Liam in his past life. Even so, it pisses me off knowing that an animal spirit managed to torment me for so long.”

Stretching his back, he adjusted his appearance.

He then smiled, convinced that Liam had lost his last hope.

“The existence that has been supporting him all this time has disappeared. Liam, this is where the real hell begins.”

Believing Liam’s luck to have come to an end, the Guide roared in laughter.

That was when Cleo, who had been contemplating all this time, finally came to her decision.

“—We shall march towards the Banfield Family’s home planet. I will be the one to put an end to Liam!”

Her announcement was met with cheers from the bridge’s crew and the nobles participating in the meeting.

The Guide nodded over and over again in sheer delight, shedding a tear.

“Good lass. There’s no need to be frightened of Liam anymore. Just brute force your way through, and victory will be yours.”

Under the powerful blessing of the Guide, Cleo and her army began marching towards the Banfield Family’s home planet.

◇

The main force of the subjugation army is on the move.

The Banfield Family wasn’t the only one surprised to hear this piece of news.

Hampson, who was working as Cleo’s right-hand man, was the most surprised out of everyone.

“What!?”

Getting up from his seat, he approached the knight who had given the report.

The knight hesitantly reported the details.

“A-as previously mentioned, some nobles have brought over their private armies, and several patrol fleets have joined as well. Together with the volunteer troops, we’ve begun to march towards the Banfield Family’s home planet.”

Upon hearing the report, Hampson pointed out an important detail that the knight had left out.

“What’s the size of the volunteer army?”

“It’s believed to be around two million. This must be proof of His Highness’ majesty—”

The knight began praising Cleo out of nowhere.

Ignoring him, Hampson organized his thoughts.

(Two million!? How were they able to bring together such a massive fleet!? Have they even thought of how they’d replenish their supplies?)

Although they called themselves the volunteer army, they were actually just a motley fleet.

The nobles had joined hoping to acquire the Banfield Family’s fortune, and the patrol fleets were either led by someone related to them or by outcasts that had nowhere to go.

They were just thieves intent on plundering the Banfield Family’s territory, and Hampson didn’t consider them a legitimate force.

(Did they band together out of their shared hatred for Banfield? But we don’t have enough supplies for them!)

Supply was going to be their biggest problem.

A supply base was being set up in the rear, and resources were being gathered from all over the Empire.

However, it wasn’t going to be enough to sustain the newly joined fleet.

Hampson was furious at the unexpected arrival of the reinforcements.

(Did the Crown Prince grow impatient? Even so, a motley fleet of two million won’t be enough to take down Klaus, who’s protecting their home planet.)

Hampson yelled at the knight who had brought the report.

“Tell His Highness to withdraw immediately, and have the so-called volunteer army leave the battlefield!”

“But that’s..!”

The messenger didn’t respond well to his orders, and he had to explain what the problem was.

“We have no need for two million troops that have no means of replenishing their supplies. They would only dry up our resources, and once they do, we’d be like sitting ducks. Have His Highness withdraw immediately.”

“U-understood!”

The knight was able to regain his cool after listening to Hampson’s explanation, and he hurried on back to the main unit.

Seeing this, Hampson began to question the competence of Cleo’s knights.

At the same time, he held his head.

(Everything was going according to plan. Why is it coming crashing down all of a sudden? Has His Highness caught the attention of an evil entity?)

If things had continued according to plan, they would’ve been able to crush the Banfield Family.

However, now that Cleo had intervened, he had a feeling that things wouldn’t be so smooth sailing anymore.

Hampson laid down orders to the men around him.

“Taking it easy is no longer an option. We must swiftly defeat the enemy before us and join up with the main unit.”

He was going to conquer the planet Tia was protecting before rushing over to Cleo’s side.

————————————————————————————————————

Brian (´；ω；｀): “Woof woof!?”

Wakagi-chan Σ(゜Д゜): “Woof woof!?”