The Imperial Army makes its move.

By the time Aluna received the news, a million Imperial troops had already begun their invasion on the front lines.

"A million? They were still holding back their forces?"

On the bridge of her flagship, Aluna, speaking with her staff officers, questioned the number of Imperial troops.

If they had that many, why didn't they deploy them from the start?

One of the staff officers speculated based on the information they had obtained.

"We predict that the enemy is not the Banfield family's army, but predominantly the Imperial Army."

"—So they've brought in the main Imperial Army."

Liam attacking with only the Banfield family's forces was the strange part; normally, one would fight in cooperation with the Imperial Army.

"They lost a considerable number in the last battle. Even for a duke, losing several hundred thousand ships must be a significant blow."

Aluna was exasperated with Liam for relying on the Imperial Army to invade.

"But it's still a million. We can meet them with three times that number."

The Hegemony Kingdom had also suffered great losses, but they still had the advantage of defending their home turf.

Aluna's expression turned grim.

"I won't forget the grudge of being ignored on the battlefield."

Just then, an unbelievable report reached Aluna.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince!"

"What is it?"

"Th-The Imperial Army is—they're crushing our fleets one after another and heading for the capital planet! Their momentum is unstoppable!"

"What!?"

Hearing that a fleet of a million was making a beeline for the capital planet, Aluna couldn't comprehend it.

Aiming for the enemy's capital was logical, but to do so without any preparation was foolish.

Problems with supply and maintenance would arise, and above all, it was like being isolated in enemy territory.

Normally, a war would be advanced slowly, capturing key strategic points along the way.

"Have they underestimated us?"

Aluna couldn't understand Liam's actions.

But hearing that the Imperial Army's momentum was unstoppable, Aluna felt a sense of unease.

"—Gather all forces. Do not allow them to be picked off one by one any further!"

◇

Hegemony Kingdom space.

Aboard Avid, I lightly gripped the control stick, tapping my index finger on it.

The surrounding scenery displayed on the monitor was the Hegemony Kingdom's fleet, now reduced to debris—space junk.

"They're strong, sure, but is this all the Hegemony Kingdom has?"

Flanking Avid, which held a katana, were the figures of Amaryllis's Ein and Zwei.

Zwei's left arm had been field-modified with emergency repairs.

Officially, I brought these two mechs as escorts, but my real intention was to teach them how to conduct themselves on the battlefield.

In other words, it's part of their training.

I had Avid put some distance between itself and the two mechs, then had it turn around.

The allied fleet came into view.

The reorganized fleet was more cohesive than before.

It was far from ideal, but still better than last time.

"The Hegemony Kingdom will make a good opponent. You two think so too, right?"

When I asked my junior disciples with an intimidating tone, they showed me determined faces, unlike before.

Their faces were displayed on the monitor, and the slight hint of dependence they once had was gone.

They had the same sharp, glittering eyes as when I first met them.

—The eyes of a swordsman.

"That's right. But I'll be the one to kill Aluna."

As Fuuka stated her resolve, Rinho interjected, saying she wouldn't allow it.

"I already told you, she's my prey, right? I'll kill you first."

I could feel killing intent in their usual conversation.

It seemed that being separated from their Master allowed them to regain their original strength.

In truth, they should be able to display their strength regardless of their Master.

"She's too much for you two to handle. Besides, I said I'd deal with her. Hold back this time."

"Senior Brother!?" "Why!?"

As I glared at the two defying my orders through the monitor, Avid let go of its katana and reached for the necks of the two Amaryllis mechs.

The katana, floating in space, disappeared into a magic circle that had appeared.

The two Amaryllis mechs desperately resisted Avid.

Apparently, Avid was getting irritated too.

"Didn't I tell you we don't have time? I plan to finish this quickly and return to the capital."

Fuuka and Rinho looked down, appearing frustrated.

Just then, a communication came in from Tia.

"Lord Liam! A report has come in from a scout ship. The Hegemony Kingdom's forces are gathering near the capital planet. Their numbers are approximately three million ships."

It seemed Aluna had prepared a stage for us as we headed for the capital planet.

"Aluna is quite thoughtful. Shall we head over as well?"

Avid deployed a massive magic circle on its back, and from it, the bow of a giant battleship emerged.

As its full form was gradually revealed, the giant battleship began to transform.

"Izel was entertaining, but I wonder about Aluna."

◇

The Hegemony Kingdom's army lay in wait for the Imperial forces.

Aluna boarded the parent unit of Arachne and was observing the battlefield from multiple angles through several hundred child units.

All several hundred child units were Aluna's eyes.

An unconventional Mobile Knight that could grasp the entire battlefield with a single unit.

However, Aluna was witnessing an unbelievable sight.

"A monster."

What the Imperial Army had brought to the battlefield was a humanoid weapon larger than a battleship.

From each of the humanoid weapon's fingertips, optical weapons powerful enough to engulf a small ship were fired.

A Hegemony Kingdom battleship was pierced by a beam and exploded, and one of the child units was caught in the blast, causing one of her visual feeds to go dark.

The experience was fed back to her, but it was meaningless at this point.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince! That's the giant humanoid weapon that was defeated by the former Crown Prince, Lord Izel!"

Hearing her subordinate's words, Aluna clenched her jaw.

If Izel could defeat it, then surely Aluna, who called herself the strongest, would have no problem, right?

She felt as if that was being said to her, but Aluna was struggling against the giant humanoid weapon.

(Have they improved its performance since Izel defeated it?)

The child units approached the giant humanoid weapon, but its anti-interception weaponry had increased.

Furthermore, the two mechs flying around the giant humanoid weapon were a nuisance.

More than sixty of Arachne's child units had already been destroyed.

"Just die!"

Another child unit was destroyed by the white, dual-wielding mech.

"It's your fault I got scolded by my Senior Brother. —Get out of my sight."

Another unit was destroyed by the white mech wielding a tachi, and Aluna clicked her tongue.

"They've gotten stronger than last time. How troublesome."

She could have handled either one alone, but she was struggling against the giant humanoid weapon and two swordsmen of the One-Flash style.

However, Aluna had no intention of losing either.

"—Then, let's try this next."

The child units paired up, back-to-back, to cover all directions.

Then, she began to target everyone except the giant humanoid weapon and the two One-Flash swordsmen.

"You all are strong, but you can't fight a war alone. Now, what will you do, Liam?"

Aluna switched to a strategy of thinning out Liam's allies first.

◇

—How boring.

That was my honest impression.

"So you've given up on defeating me and switched to a war of attrition to see who can crush the small fry first."

We continued a battle where neither of us could land a decisive blow, but Aluna started targeting my surroundings more than me.

In the meantime, the giant humanoid weapon—it has a long name, but I call it [Griffin].

Griffin was destroying the Hegemony Kingdom's ships one after another.

We were both continuously destroying small fry and wearing each other down.

A waste. A completely pointless battle.

Aluna's judgment might be correct, but for me, it lacked any entertainment.

But in war, Aluna was probably the stronger one.

Izel was too much of a warrior at heart.

"She's the type who's strong in an army. As for individual strength, Izel was—"

As I was stating my thoughts, something interesting appeared in the data Griffin had collected.

Displayed on the monitor, I could see allies fighting the child units of the ancient weapon Aluna was piloting.

It was a battle between Mobile Knights, but the child units controlled by Aluna had the upper hand.

In terms of performance and pilot skill, they were several levels above a typical knight.

There were units trying to counter with numbers, and fleets concentrating their battleships' main cannons.

Amidst all that, a regular Mobile Knight was destroying a child unit.

"—What's this? They're trying harder than I expected."

Most of the skilled knights in the Banfield family were people who had drifted in from elsewhere.

But among the knights achieving results on the battlefield were those who were homegrown members of the Banfield family.

It's been nearly a hundred years since I established the knight order, and knights who have finally blossomed their talents are starting to appear.

The birth of the Banfield family's purebred aces.

"Was it worth losing half our forces?"

As a result of sacrificing half the fleet, new powerhouses emerged from our own side.

"Is the knight order finally coming together?"

It was coming together not just in numbers, but in quality as well.

"I have to thank Aluna! As a token of my gratitude—I'll deal with you myself."

Griffin's hatch opened, and the stored Avid emerged outside.

As Griffin stopped moving, I directed Avid towards the direction where I sensed Aluna's presence.

I cut down even the enemy mechs—the ancient weapon's child units—that I passed and moved forward, until Aluna's ancient weapon came into view.

Battleships tried to intervene to protect Aluna, but as the unarmed Avid approached, they were bisected.

I passed through the space created by the bisected battleship splitting to the left and right, and when I appeared before Aluna, she seemed surprised and forcefully created distance.

While closing in on Aluna, who was retreating with reverse thrusters, I destroyed the approaching Hegemony Kingdom enemy Mobile Knights.

"What was that? What did you do!?"

It seems Aluna couldn't understand what I was doing.

It's no wonder she couldn't comprehend the sight of her allies being destroyed one after another.

After all, Avid wasn't holding any weapons.

From Aluna's perspective, it must look like her allies are just being destroyed on their own.

"You saw through my junior disciples' One-Flash, didn't you? Your talent is the real deal."

"Don't mess with me! You haven't done anything!"

With her talent and abundant combat experience, Aluna is a formidable enemy.

It's understandable that Rinho and Fuuka couldn't secure a victory.

They probably would have won in a fight on foot—but there's a chance they would have been injured as well.

However, even someone like Aluna cannot see through my One-Flash.

After all, neither I nor Avid are using a weapon.

"This is the true One-Flash. Did you feel relieved after facing my half-baked junior disciples? If so, my apologies. I'm personally grateful to you, so I'll show you the real thing."

Show you—that's a lie.

A secret technique is not something to be seen.

Anyone who sees it must be killed! That's what a secret technique is.

However—my Master once said.

A perfected One-Flash is meaningless even if seen.

Because, after all, it can't be seen.

The ancient weapon jettisoned its lower body, and eight arms emerged from the Mobile Knight where I sensed Aluna's presence.

"I've taken too much time!"

Looking around, several hundred child units had surrounded Avid.

From the eight arms each possessed, attacks were about to be unleashed.

The idea of overwhelming with numbers isn't bad.

Battles are about numbers.

However, against me, who possesses overwhelming strength, it's far too few.

The rain of attacks was deflected by Avid's field.

"You should have prepared at least tens of thousands before challenging me. At this level, Izel was stronger."

Avid is a passion project mech, one that threw cost-performance out the window.

It doesn't matter if it's an ancient weapon.

"Kuh!"

I slowly approached Aluna, who couldn't destroy Avid, and told her.

"I'll tell you something interesting. I upgraded Avid after the fight with Izel, but what do you think I used for it?"

"No way!?"

The eight-armed ancient weapon that Izel piloted.

Unlike Aluna's, it was a machine that pursued strength as an individual.

It turned into liquid when it was finally destroyed, but I obtained it and had it analyzed.

"Izel's machine was useful. What will you give me?"

After analyzing the ancient weapon, Avid and Griffin were upgraded.

When I told her it greatly contributed to their performance improvement, Aluna charged at me.

It wasn't a strike born from passion, but from joy.

"Excellent! You're the best, Liam! The loser is sustenance for the strong. If you grow stronger by devouring me, then it is an honor. Devour me to your heart's content!!"

Aluna's machine, charging at me in earnest, had manifested beam swords with its eight arms.

It's inferior to Izel's machine, prioritizing the swarm, but its excellent points lie elsewhere.

Besides, I find her personally agreeable.

She's a woman who's after my genes, but her gracefulness is something I'd like Cleo to learn.

"I think I'll let you live."

Immediately after, I sliced off all the ancient weapon's arms.

From the ancient weapon drifting in space, Aluna's bitter voice could be heard.

"What do you think you're doing?"

She seemed dissatisfied that I didn't kill my enemy, but this one is useful.

I'll make her work for me until she dies.

"The Hegemony Kingdom and you... from this day forward, I will rule you all."