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Before me, the grand fleet of the Hegemony Kingdom, six hundred thousand strong, was closing in.

They were in a cone-shaped formation specialized for charging, apparently intending to clash head-on.

In response, the Banfield family's fleet also adopted a cone-shaped formation specialized for charging.

The Banfield family's charge has been refined into a specialty, but the Hegemony Kingdom's charge has been elevated to a traditional art.

Facing an enemy more formidable than any space pirates or fleets we had fought before, the military personnel on the bridge showed signs of tension.

An operator shouted.

"We're entering the range of their optical weapons!"

Since both sides were advancing, we were closing the distance rapidly.

I wanted to open fire on the approaching enemy fleet, but I crossed my arms and gave an order.

"Don't fire until we're in effective range."

There's a chance we could hit them if we fired, but close-range firefights consume a great deal of energy.

Optical weapons, shields, and various other systems consume massive amounts of energy in a close-range exchange.

We have no energy to spare for firing from outside effective range.

The Hegemony Kingdom understood this well, so they, like us, held their fire.

Those Hegemony Kingdom folks are rough, but their fleet management is disciplined.

They are a perfectly commanded, formidable fleet.

The enemy fleet drew closer at a rapid pace.

The operator announced that we had entered effective range.

"Entering effective range!"

I held out my right hand and smiled.

"Commence attack."

At my command, optical weapons were unleashed from the allied fleet all at once.

Simultaneously, the enemy fleet also fired their optical weapons.

Beams of light crossed in an instant, and our ships deployed their barriers—their shields.

Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of these flashes erupted, brightly illuminating the battlefield.

Many of the vessels positioned around the flagship, the Argos, were shield ships specialized in defense.

The optical weapons couldn't reach the Argos, blocked by our allied ships.

But the lasers and beams of light fired from the Argos—they mercilessly pierced through the enemy battleships.

A single beam pierced through two, then three enemy ships that had their shields deployed.

The flagship Argos is a state-of-the-art super-dreadnought.

On top of that, it's a battleship built with a lavish use of rare metals, designed by that Nias—the one whose competence is proportional to her terrible personality.

In other words, the Argos is the battleship version of Avid.

It's my personal vessel, built with an enormous budget, completely disregarding cost-performance.

Even if it were one ship against a hundred battleships, I don't feel like I could lose.

"From the very beginning, there was never a single reason for me to lose."

This is why I don't flinch in the slightest, even before the onslaught of optical weapons.

I won't lose.

But my fleet is another matter.

Just like the Hegemony Kingdom's, our ships that can't deploy powerful shields—destroyers and cruisers—were pierced by optical weapons and exploded.

Allied ships had their shields pierced.

The Banfield family's fleet is not composed of outdated, old-generation ships.

These are vessels that sought the highest performance even within the Empire.

The fact that they are being destroyed so easily is proof of the high performance of the Hegemony Kingdom's ships.

There's no doubt they are stronger than any fleet we've fought before.

But at this rate, the outnumbered Banfield fleet is in danger.

"Redeploy the Argos's shield ships. Have them form a wall for the vessels with weaker armor."

As I gave the order calmly, Eulisia, standing beside me, widened her eyes.

"You're thinning the flagship's defenses!?"

"It's more effective that way."

The shield ships moved away from the Argos's side, repositioning to protect the destroyers and cruisers.

An optical weapon struck the Argos's shield, releasing a brilliant flash of light.

The enemy's attacks cannot reach the Argos.

My lips naturally curled into a smile.

"We're using 'that'."

A stir went through the bridge.

Eulisia turned her face toward me.

"At this timing? I think it's too early."

"Show them what we've got."

When I called for the use of the weapon that could be called the Argos's trump card, the military personnel around me began to move frantically.

"Prepare to deploy the multiple magic circles!"
"Argos, deploy energy shields on the armor."
"Spatial magic circle deployment complete!"

Numerous magic circles appeared around the Argos.

Simultaneously, the same magic circles appeared within the enemy's formation.

The Argos's trump card.

It was—

"I prefer a flashier attack, but I'll have to make do with this for now."

—a long-range attack utilizing spatial magic.

When the Argos fired its optical weapons into a magic circle, they were discharged from a distant magic circle.

The advantage of this attack method using spatial magic is that it's like placing a turret right in the middle of the enemy formation and attacking the surroundings.

An attack from an unexpected location is effective, causing great confusion in the enemy's ranks.

However, it lacks flashiness.

"Confirmed disorder in the enemy fleet."
"Break them from there! Concentrate fire!"

In the bustling bridge, the military personnel tried to exploit the chaos in the enemy's formation.

It's a truly effective attack, but the problem is that an attack this complex isn't easy to perform.

With both sides moving, designating the deployment location for the magic circles is also a huge task.

Normally, even if you thought of it, you couldn't do it. But that's Nias, the genius, for you.

She made it a reality.

This is the Argos's trump card, but—it's incredibly plain.

I think it's amazing, and I also believe it's effective.

But, it's plain!

"I really do want a flashier method of attack."

When I sighed, Eulisia's cheek twitched beside me.

"Even after seeing such a sophisticated attack, that's your reaction?"

"It's a connoisseur's choice, but I want a flashy attack that appeals to the layman."

Looking at the enemy fleet, it seemed they still didn't understand what had happened.

Ships that mistook it for an attack from their allies had even started friendly fire.

When you're expecting the enemy to come from the front, an attack from an unexpected direction would naturally cause a panic.

They've probably concentrated their shield energy at the bow, so it's the same as attacking their weaker points.

But, being a trump card, it can't be used repeatedly.

That's a challenge for the future.

The military personnel wore bitter expressions.

"The enemy fleet has already regrouped?"
"So this is the Hegemony Kingdom."

Looking at the Hegemony Kingdom's fleet, they were gradually regaining their composure.

If these were space pirates, they would have collapsed. A normal fleet would have taken much more time to recover.

It could have easily been the trigger for a total collapse, but the Hegemony Kingdom was different.

The Argos's trump card didn't have as much of an effect as I had hoped.

An operator shouted.

"We're making contact with the enemy fleet!"

The corners of my mouth turned up.

"Move the Argos to the very front."

◇

The formations of both fleets—their tips made contact.

When the battle at super-close range began, normally the stronger side would break through the weaker one.

However, both forces were formidable—and their formations did not break.

Watching this from the Hegemony Kingdom's flagship, Aluna narrowed her eyes.

"Truly magnificent. It's a shame they had dropouts, but their subsequent recovery and formidability are worthy of praise. —However, at this rate, our numerical advantage will grant us victory."

When two forces of similar strength clash head-on, it's only natural that the side with greater numbers will win.

The one hundred thousand ships that dropped out from the enemy fleet had already decided the outcome.

If the enemy had a few more numbers, it would have been a much better fight.

"I wanted to defeat you under equal conditions, but this too is the way of the battlefield. I shall pass down the tale of your strength."

Just as Aluna was feeling unsatisfied, with the battle against a strong opponent having been soured, a report came from an operator.

"W-we've confirmed a super-dreadnought in the enemy's vanguard!"

Aluna closed her eyes at the report.

If it's a super-dreadnought, the one aboard must be of commander rank.

It was clear they were pushing themselves to break this stalemate.

"Has a renowned general come to the front? But it's impossible to overturn this numerical difference."

However, the Banfield family was different.

"Identification results are in. The ship's name is Argos—it's the vessel of the enemy's Supreme Commander, Liam Sera Banfield!?"

Hearing the ship's name, Aluna shot up from her seat, her eyes wide.

"I-Impossible. He came to the front himself!?"

The image of the Argos appeared on the monitor, cutting into the Hegemony Kingdom's fleet as it destroyed their ships.

It was flanked by two distinctive white mobile knights, which were destroying nearby allied ships one after another.

The Banfield fleet followed behind the Argos.

Aluna hugged herself as she trembled with excitement.

"This is the best, Liam! You are the one worthy of being the father of my child!"

Aluna gave an order.

"Hurry and prepare the Arachne for launch."

◇

The bridge of the super-dreadnought, Vaal.

Tia, who had stood up from the commander's seat, had trembling legs.

"Make Lord Liam fall back! Move the Vaal forward instead! Make it a shield for the Argos!"

Her adjutant, standing beside the pale and trembling Tia, tried to calm her down.

"Please calm down, Lady Tia."

"H-how can I be calm! W-who let him do such a thing!?"

"—I believe it could be no one other than Lord Liam himself."

It's unthinkable to have the supreme commander lead the charge.

If it were to happen, it would have to be the supreme commander's own doing.

Normally, those around him should have stopped him, but Liam is, for better or worse, a one-man-show lord.

If Tia had been by his side, she would have stopped him at the risk of her own life—but even then, she couldn't imagine Liam overturning his decision.

"Move the Vaal to the front!"

Tia tried to move towards Liam, but her adjutant admonished her.

"If this ship forces its way forward, the formation will collapse!"

If a super-dreadnought were to force its way forward, it would affect the densely packed allied ships.

To avoid the Vaal, the formation would be disrupted, and in the worst case, it would lead to a major accident.

The adjutant placated Tia, telling her they had to avoid that at all costs.

Tia, distraught with worry for Liam, finally realized that possibility, looked down, and made a bitter decision.

"Send the fossil woman! —Her ship is maneuverable."

Tia fiercely regretted having to rely on Marie, but with Liam's life on the line, she couldn't be picky about her methods.

The adjutant and the bridge crew were astonished.

"Lady Tia? B-but..."

To borrow the power of a rival faction with whom she could even come to blows.

For Tia, it was a decision that meant casting aside her pride.

"Hurry up. If something like this can save Lord Liam's life..."

Being indebted to Marie was something Tia's pride could not allow.

However, she wanted to save Liam, even if it meant abandoning that pride.

◇

Meanwhile.

Marie, too, was in a panic.

"Can't you go any faster!?"

Learning that Liam had charged into the enemy formation, Marie was trembling so much that those around her couldn't bear to watch, a cold sweat pouring down her face.

Their usually elegant, yet fierce, superior officer was terrified.

Her adjutant tried to calm Marie down.

"Any faster is impossible. Besides, the Argos is also moving forward."

To chase after the Argos as it smoothly cut its way forward, Marie's fleet was advancing, weaving through the gaps between allied ships.

Tia was having the allied ship lines adjusted, creating a path for them to pass through.

In Liam's moment of crisis, the rare event of these two, who were like cats and dogs, cooperating was occurring.

"Lord Liam, please come baaack!?"

The flustered Marie reached out and shouted at the Argos on the monitor, even though she knew her voice wouldn't reach.

◇

Tia and Marie weren't the only ones panicking.

While enduring a pain that felt like a hole was being bored into his stomach, Klaus screamed in his mind.

(Lord Liam, don't go to the front!!)

However, what made him different from Tia and Marie was that Klaus had anticipated Liam's actions.

From the experience of charging into the Hegemony Kingdom with a small force before, he was made to think that Liam would do something even in this situation.

That's why—he had moved his ship to a position where he could protect Liam in advance.

"What's the position of the shield ships dispatched to the Argos?"

One of his subordinates answered.

"They should catch up soon."

He had directed the shield ships protecting his own vessel towards Liam beforehand.

This, too, was the result of his prior preparations.

To those around him, this looked like Klaus's foresight, further raising his reputation.

"Such fluid movements in this situation. As expected of Lord Klaus!"

Klaus glared at his subordinate's words.

"That doesn't matter. Protect Lord Liam, no matter what."

(I don't have time for that right now!)

At Klaus's harsh words, the subordinate apologized.

Inwardly, Klaus had no leeway to care about his surroundings.

(I can't take this anymore—)