"I am truly sorry."

An injured soldier comes before me, kneels, and bows his head.

I had him treated, but his scars are still fresh.

The soldier, a colonel, reports to me what happened.

"We were attacked by a pirate fleet. We fought back, but the enemy's momentum was overwhelming, and we were defeated without being able to do anything."

Within the Banfield family's territory, there are several secret bases for resupply during defensive battles.

The escort fleet for one of them was attacked by a pirate fleet.

Their stockpiled supplies were stolen, and the defensive fleet was annihilated.

I stand up and approach the colonel.

"You all received standard training, and your weaponry was at an average level for our forces. Is that correct?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

The colonel affirmed with a look of frustration.

Depending on how you heard it, it was the same as being asked, "I gave you proper training and decent equipment, and you still lost?"

I speak to the colonel.

"If you lost even with all that, then it can't be helped. Go get some rest."

"Huh? B-But, sir..."

"The enemy was stronger. That's the fact of the matter. I'll provide an escort from my fleet. Take the wounded back to the capital planet and place yourselves under Klaus's command. Well, you'll probably just be sent to the hospital anyway."

I can't imagine Klaus would force a defeated fleet back to the front lines.

Even if I sent them, it's obvious they'd just be sent to the rear.

After I finish speaking, the soldiers lead the injured colonel away.

Eulisia, who had been watching, gives me an anxious look.

"This is troublesome. Being former pirates, they're easily seeing through the existence of our secret bases."

"Their experience from their time hiding and running makes it easy for them to find them. Leaving them be is also a pain."

To think about what to do next, I project a simplified holographic image of the battlefield in front of me.

As I pondered what to do while looking at the image, I thought I saw something in the corner of my vision.

Something like an animal—like a dog.

It must have been my imagination.

"—Just noise?"

My gaze fell upon a location outside my territory.

It was the route the Imperial Army was thought to have used for their invasion.

Eulisia noticed this and operated her terminal.

"That's the suspected invasion route of the Imperial Army. It seems a constant stream of supplies is being sent from the Empire now. The planet that became their supply base must be overjoyed with the sudden economic boom."

If it becomes a supply base used by the Imperial fleet, it will receive subsidies, and development will proceed whether they like it or not.

It seems a magistrate has been dispatched from the Empire to that planet, and the once desolate world was now developing and becoming more urban.

"The enemy's supply base, huh?"

Hearing my murmur, Eulisia shakes her head.

"We can't target it. We can't use long-range warps, to begin with. Even if we reached it by repeating short-range warps, there's the fuel problem."

Even if we could attack the supply base, we'd only have enough fuel for a one-way trip.

Escape would be impossible, and failure would mean annihilation.

"Besides, if we try to dispatch a large-scale fleet, we'll be detected."

"What's a size that wouldn't be noticed by the enemy?"

"Thirty thousand ships would be the absolute limit."

To me, even thirty thousand is a considerable number.

"That's more than enough."

"In a war of this scale, that's on the smaller side."

True, this is a battlefield where a combined total of eight million ships are moving about.

Thirty thousand might be a small number, but—I can't accept that.

"The fleet I'm leading is also thirty thousand ships."

When I muttered that, Eulisia hurriedly tried to persuade me to stop.

"Attacking the supply base with a fleet of that size is reckless. The Imperial Army isn't stupid; they'll have forces stationed there."

Even if we could dispatch a fleet of several hundred thousand to strike, our own territory would be left vulnerable.

The dispersal of our forces would endanger our home base.

But with thirty thousand, there shouldn't be a problem, right?

"I've decided. We'll hit the supply base first. We'll trap them like rats in a bag."

"Were you listening to me? If we move a large fleet, the enemy will notice."

"It's possible right now. Besides, we only need to move my fleet."

"—Huh?"

Eulisia looked on with a dumbfounded expression, but I ignored her and gave an order to a nearby soldier.

"Tell Klaus. I'll be leaving the territory for a while, so I'm leaving the rest to him."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

◇

As the commander-in-chief, Cleo couldn't hide his excitement on the bridge of his fortress-class ship.

He stood up from his ornate seat and spread his arms wide in welcome to the reinforcement commanders projected on the screen.

"I'm glad you've come. I welcome your arrival."

"We are grateful for your words. It was worth our while to rush here."

The faces of the commanders projected in the air were varied, including nobles and patrol fleet commanders.

Nobles and soldiers had left their territories and posts to gather under Cleo.

Their number was a staggering two million ships.

With this, Cleo's fleet had swelled to four million ships.

Currently, Hampson's fleet, which was attacking Tia's, numbered three million ships, and he was delighted to have acquired a force that surpassed it.

"So, Your Highness the Crown Prince, what is our target?"

"—My fleet will remain on standby here at our designated headquarters."

Cleo answered the noble's question with a dissatisfied expression.

Seeing this, the noble narrowed his eyes slightly and offered Cleo some advice.

"What! It seems Marquis Hampson underestimates Your Highness's capabilities."

"What did you say?"

"For Your Highness the Crown Prince, who commands a grand army of four million, to do nothing at the headquarters is a mistake. With a force of this size, it is even possible to storm Liam's home base!"

Cleo also understood what the noble was trying to say.

(Is this guy trying to incite me to attack Liam's home planet?)

The nobles who had gone to the trouble of coming to the Banfield territory were trying to line their own pockets through plunder.

Cleo could see through something of that level, but at the same time, something inside him was speaking to him.

As if—he was being instigated by someone.

"That's right, Cleo! You have me with you now. Besides, with a fleet of this size, it will be easy to strike Liam's home planet!"

—The Guide, standing diagonally behind Cleo, was trying with all his might to persuade Cleo to attack.

The Guide's form was invisible to all, and not even his voice reached Cleo.

However, the Guide's voice resonated in Cleo's heart.

(Even without Hampson, I can defeat Liam on my own. With a fleet of this size, I can do it with brute force alone.)

Hearing Cleo's inner thoughts, the Guide's lips curled up at both corners, and he began to laugh in high spirits.

"You really are the best, Cleo. When you become emperor, I'll support you with all my might. The Empire will surely become an interesting country."

The Guide, imagining the Empire ruled by Cleo, voiced his thoughts.

"Cleo—you're a smaller fry and more of a villain than Liam. You are the real petty villain."

The Guide was overjoyed, but a few dozen meters behind him was a small light.

If one looked closely, the light resembled the shape of a dog, and it seemed to be glaring and growling at the Guide.

Then, the Guide turned around.

"Who's that I see watching over there~?"

Laughing, he emitted a sinister black aura and looked at the small light that had been glaring at him.

The small light immediately vanished, but the Guide smiled.

"A spirit form? What a puny existence. You probably don't have the power to do anything to me now, but I'll have you pay the price for stalking me all this time."

The Guide extended his right hand, and the small light, which should have escaped, was caught by black smoke.

The small light, drawn in, struggled within the hand formed by the black smoke.

The Guide brought his face close, opened his mouth wide, and—swallowed the light.

"You detestable being!"

Jagged teeth and a mouth that opened impossibly wide for his face.

Seeing this, the small light struggled, but for some reason, its resistance weakened.

"Given up? Well then, time to dig in~!!"

The small light was swallowed, chewed, and gulped down.

The Guide licked his lips clean with a long tongue.

"—A spirit connected to Liam's past life. Still, to think I was being toyed with by a mere animal spirit all this time is truly infuriating."

He straightened his back and corrected his posture.

The Guide smiled, convinced that the being who had been helping Liam was now gone.

"But now, the one helping Liam from behind the scenes has vanished. Liam, the real hell starts now."

Thinking that Liam's luck had run out, the Guide laughed boisterously.

Then, Cleo, who had been pondering until now, announced.

"—The main army will now advance toward the Banfield family's home planet. I will be the one to deliver the final blow to Liam!"

Hearing this, the bridge crew and the nobles raised a cheer.

The Guide, watching this with joyful nods, shed a single tear.

"A wonderful decision. For the you of now, Liam is not even worth fearing. Just attack with brute force. That alone, Cleo—is your victory."

Cleo, having gained the Guide's powerful blessing, began his advance toward the Banfield family's home planet.

◇

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

It wasn't just the Banfield family who was surprised to hear this news.

The one most surprised was Hampson, Cleo's aide.

"What did you say!?"

He shot up from his seat and closed in on the knight who brought the report.

The cornered knight stammered as he reported the details.

"W-well, he has begun the advance toward the Banfield family's home planet, joined by the private fleets of nobles and military patrol fleets participating as a volunteer army."

Hearing the knight's report, Hampson pointed out that crucial information was missing.

"The size of the volunteer army!"

"Sir! It is said to be two million. This too must be due to His Highness Cleo's prestige—"

Faced with the knight who began to flatter Cleo without being asked, Hampson turned his face away and thought about other things.

(Two million!? How could a fleet of that size gather!? In the first place, I can't believe a volunteer army of that scale has secured its supply lines.)

They called themselves a volunteer army, but to put it bluntly, they were a motley fleet.

Nobles who had come seeking the Banfield family's wealth, and the patrol fleets and military misfits led by their associates.

Hampson had no expectations for these plunder-seeking thieves as a fighting force.

(Did they unite out of hatred for the Banfields? But the supplies to maintain such a number aren't in the plan.)

The biggest problem was supply.

They had prepared a supply base on a rear planet and were gathering supplies there from all over the Empire.

Even so, it wasn't enough to maintain the newly added two million ships.

Hampson felt anger at the unplanned reinforcements.

(Did His Highness the Crown Prince get impatient for glory? Klaus, defending the home planet, isn't so soft that he can be beaten by a motley crew of two million ships.)

Hampson yelled at the knight who brought the report.

"Have His Highness the Crown Prince withdraw immediately! Drive those fools calling themselves a volunteer army off the battlefield!"

"Huh? But..."

But the messenger knight, failing to grasp the situation, was slow to react to Hampson's order.

So, Hampson took the trouble to explain the problem.

"How can a ragtag group of two million ships that can't even supply themselves be of any use on the battlefield! The main army's supplies will be depleted in no time. A main force that can't move within Banfield territory is just prey. Have His Highness withdraw at once!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

At Hampson's explanation, the knight finally seemed to cool down from his excitement and hurried back to the main army.

Watching him go, Hampson questioned the quality of the knights surrounding Cleo.

At the same time, he clutched his head.

(Things were going according to our plan up until now, so why is it all falling apart at this stage? Has His Highness Cleo been bewitched by some evil entity?)

He felt that while they should have been able to crush them if things continued as they were, Cleo's decision was causing their own forces to falter significantly.

Hampson issued orders to those around him.

"We can no longer afford to be leisurely. Our army will immediately crush the enemy before us and rendezvous with the main force."

They would hurry to conquer the planet Tia was defending and rush to join the main army.