There are spaceships known as fortress-class.

They are massive battleships, also called mobile fortresses.

Sitting in the commander-in-chief's seat on the bridge of one such ship was Cleo.

In addition to his knight escorts, butlers and maids were standing by around him.

Knights and soldiers were also present, but away from Cleo's immediate vicinity, Imperial military personnel were bustling about.

"Short-range warp successful!"
"No enemy contacts in the vicinity!"
"Assume formation immediately!"

Watching the fortress-class commanders and captains issue one order after another, Cleo took the drink offered to him by a maid.

"Are we just going to watch from here?"

A military officer nearby—Cleo's military advisor, an admiral—answered his question.

He was an elderly man with a long and distinguished military career, his uniform adorned with numerous medals.

Other military officers were the same.

"Your Highness, the commander-in-chief has his duties. Marquis Hampson's advance fleet is constructing a base. We shall join them as soon as our fleet is assembled."

Cleo was fed up with the admiral stating the obvious.

"How much time are we wasting just repeating these short-range warps?"

Because there were so many ships, even the short-range warps were taking a long time.

As he watched the trailing vessels warp in, a communication came through from Marquis Hampson.

An image was projected in front of Cleo.

"'You're a few days late.'"

Cleo scowled at the immediate sarcastic remark.

The delay wasn't his fault.

"Tell that to my subordinates."

Hearing Cleo's reply, Hampson grimaced slightly. But his expression quickly turned to one of exasperation as he spoke with an air of resignation.

"'You are the head of this fleet, Your Highness. It's part of your job to keep your subordinates in line.'"

Cleo snorted in response.

"Do you want an amateur meddling in your affairs?"

"'If you understand that, then I'd appreciate it if you'd work on boosting morale. ...We've determined the Banfield family's formation.'"

"What?!"

As Cleo shot up from his seat, a deployment map of the Banfield fleet appeared around them.

It was a formation that abandoned planets still under development, choosing to defend only the planets and bases the Banfield family deemed important.

Seeing this, Cleo couldn't help but laugh.

"It's so predictable it's boring. It seems even Liam couldn't come up with any unconventional strategies."

He had anticipated Liam's moves beforehand, but the result was the most boring, conventional formation possible.

In contrast to Cleo, who felt let down, Hampson's expression remained grim.

"'I'd rather you not underestimate them. Liam aside, he has his right-hand man, Klaus. I can't imagine he chose this defensive posture without a plan.'"

"Klaus... the Empire's strongest knight."

If Liam was the strongest in terms of personal martial prowess, then Klaus was the strongest knight when it came to leading an army.

Just hearing Klaus's moniker sent a wave of tension through the bridge crew.

Liam was terrifying, but the chances of them encountering him personally were low.

But Klaus was a different story.

They were about to fight the knight who supported Liam from his side, a man hailed as the strongest in the Empire.

Hampson was also on high alert.

"'That man is ruthless enough to use even his own lord as a decoy if necessary. The Banfield who employs such a man is an eccentric himself, but the chemistry between those two is the worst possible for us. Your Highness, please stick to the plan.'"

"—Are you telling me to run if Liam shows up?"

"'All that matters is that we win. Victory comes to those who thoroughly do what the enemy detests.'"

Cleo was irritated by Hampson's willingness to pursue an unsightly victory, but when he remembered all those who had underestimated Liam and lost, he felt a sense of reassurance.

(This man will probably be fine.)

He was an infuriating man, but a man like him could probably defeat Liam.

"I'll defer to you for now."

"'I appreciate it.'"

◇

(If you could defeat a large army with a small force, no one would ever have any trouble!)

There was a man clutching his head in his mind.

It was Klaus, the head knight of the Banfield family, the knight Liam trusted most, the one given the number "One."

Near the capital planet, numerous fortress-class ships were deployed, protecting the Banfield family's home base.

A grand fleet of several hundred thousand ships had been prepared, and Klaus was the one in command.

On the bridge of his flagship, a super-dreadnought-class vessel thousands of meters long.

Klaus stood with his arms crossed, staring expressionlessly at the giant monitor screen.

Around him were his subordinate knights and military personnel.

"Lord Klaus, all fleets are in position."
"The enemy fleet is also entering our territory one after another via short-range warps."
"Some fleets are reporting that we should intercept."

Faced with a massive fleet, many of the knights and soldiers were eager to charge in bravely.

To this, Klaus's answer was firm.

"No. Tell them to quietly fortify their defenses."

Upon being denied, one of the military officers seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"But if we clash with an enemy of this size, we'll be at a disadvantage. We should employ some kind of clever stratagem. Let's use a small, elite fleet to harass the enemy."

If they did nothing, they would be crushed by the sheer force of numbers.

Klaus understood that, but any clumsy move would just get their small, elite fleet surrounded and crushed. The Banfield family would be the one to have their numbers unilaterally reduced.

"Don't underestimate the enemy. They've likely already considered such a possibility."

(In the first place, the enemy is the Empire's regular army and powerful nobles, all equipped with the latest models. They're on a completely different level in both quality and quantity compared to those we've fought before.)

Klaus, who considered himself an ordinary man, intended to avoid any foolish moves and instead use the terrain to his advantage to strike the enemy.

As he watched the monitor, an operator shouted.

"Your Excellency! Christiana's fleet has made contact with the enemy!"

As a murmur went through the bridge, Klaus steeled himself internally.

(It's come to this. I have no choice but to do whatever I can. Besides, Lady Christiana should be able to hold out against an enemy twice her size.)

Christiana was known for her problematic behavior, but Klaus trusted her abilities.

However, the operator's eyes widened at the enemy's actions.

"The scale of the enemy fleet—approximately three million ships?!"

Hearing that number, even Klaus's eyes widened for a moment.

(They committed half their forces right from the start?!)

◇

An inhabitable planet owned by the Banfield family.

Surrounding it were numerous bases built into asteroids.

It was a planet that Liam had developed and advanced, one that the current Banfield family could not afford to lose.

Tia, who was defending it, felt a sense of irritation at the advancing enemy fleet.

At the same time, she was impressed by their decisiveness.

"Picking us off one by one... It's certainly an effective strategy."

Tia had thought that since the punitive force was leading a massive fleet of six million ships, they would be complacent due to their numerical superiority.

She had expected that this complacency would lead them to disperse their forces throughout the Banfield territory.

However, the enemy had sent about half their forces toward the planet Tia was defending.

Tia's second-in-command was slightly flustered.

"Lady Tia, your orders!"

After a moment of silence in response to her subordinate's words, Tia thrust her right hand forward and gave her command.

"Use the defensive installations to wear down the enemy as much as possible. It's only a ten-to-one difference."

Tia was leading three hundred thousand ships.

In addition, since it had long been designated as a defensive stronghold, preparations had been made for this eventuality.

If the difference was only two or three times, she had the confidence to repel them easily.

However, she was flustered by the ten-fold difference—three million enemy vessels.

Her second-in-command's voice was strained.

"Incoming attack from the enemy fleet! —Here they come!!"

A rain of optical weapons and physical projectiles was fired one after another.

Her deployed fleet used asteroids and other objects as shields to withstand the enemy's attack, while the interception facilities returned fire.

Our only losses were to the defensive installations, while in the enemy fleet, ships that took direct hits were exploding.

But even if they destroyed a few, the enemy's momentum didn't change.

Tia immediately requested reinforcements.

"—Have Klaus send the reserve units."

Tia's second-in-command was surprised by her order.

"Are you sure? If you request reinforcements right after the battle has started, your reputation will suffer, Lady Tia."

In response to her subordinate's concern for her reputation, she snapped back.

"If we can hold out here, we'll be one step closer to victory! —It's true that picking them off one by one is ideal. But the enemy has supply problems."

This is Banfield territory.

The Banfield fleet can be resupplied much more easily than the punitive force.

In contrast, the punitive force, having committed half its numbers at once, will find themselves in an increasingly difficult position as time goes on.

Tia understood that while things were tough for them, they were even tougher for the enemy.

That's why she judged that if they could just get through this, the tide would turn in the Banfield family's favor.

The value of this battlefield was immense.

"It would have been more troublesome if they had dispersed and started looting various places. If we can render half their forces useless here, our victory is—"

Assured! Just as Tia was about to declare this, a disturbing report came in.

An operator reported an event happening on a different battlefield.

"An enemy fleet is descending on a planet within our territory!"

Tia turned her face toward the operator, demanding details.

"They're having a separate fleet conduct raids? What is our patrol fleet doing?!"

The operator's face paled as she identified the affiliation of the fleet rampaging through their territory.

"The enemy fleet is—an Imperial special operations fleet. Our patrol fleet has reportedly been wiped out."

Hearing this, Tia flew into a rage, her hair flying wildly.

"Those damn pirates!!"

◇

There was Cozmo, standing on the bridge with his arms crossed.

The ship Cozmo was aboard was a fortress-class battleship named Hydra.

On the gaudily decorated bridge, Cozmo was attended by beautiful women in modified military uniforms. With short skirts and open chests, the beauties leaned against him.

Watching the images displayed on the giant monitor, Cozmo's lips curled into a smile.

"The Banfield family I've heard so much about is nothing special. To think their elite patrol fleet is this weak."

Wreckage of Banfield ships and mobile knights drifted in space.

A beautiful secretary reported the current situation to Cozmo.

"Your Excellency, the descending troops have begun looting."

At that report, Cozmo let out a small, theatrical sigh.

"Now, now, call it requisitioning. This is Imperial territory, you know."

Most of the pirate fleet led by Cozmo had descended upon the planet they had captured.

They were carrying out raids there.

"My apologies, Your Excellency. The requisitioning is proceeding smoothly. Just as expected, the Banfield family is a mountain of treasure. However—"

The beautiful secretary reported something concerning.

"—it seems they hastily evacuated their citizens."

Hearing this, Cozmo narrowed his eyes, his face a mask of incomprehension.

"They left the treasure but evacuated the people? —Is this Banfield fellow a complete idiot?"

For Cozmo, who valued treasure more than human lives, Liam was an incomprehensible opponent.

The beautiful secretary spoke.

"The fleets that have finished their requisitioning are returning. Your Excellency, what are your orders?"

"Of course, we'll head for the next planet—"

Just as Cozmo was about to order an attack on another planet, an operator shouted.

"Admiral! It's the Banfield's elite fleet! The flagship is—the Argos!!"

Cozmo shoved aside the beautiful women attending him, shot up from his seat, and immediately issued an order.

"Is it Banfield himself?!"

"Y-Yes!! It's a possibility!"

"Alright! —Retreat!!"

When Liam's elite fleet arrived, Cozmo's pirate fleet fled for their lives.