"The pirate fleet has moved to our rear for a pincer attack—no, they're attacking us along with our allies!?"

An outrageous report echoed through the bridge.

Hearing this, Eulisia quickly composed her bitter expression and turned her gaze to the commander-in-chief.

Liam, the commander-in-chief, didn't even flinch upon learning that the pirate fleet was attacking them along with their own allies.

"Lord Liam, this is dangerous!"

The situation had been precarious, but now they were being driven into an even more dangerous one.

Liam held out his right hand.

"Disperse, then regroup."

At Liam's command, the fleet, which had been maintaining a cone-shaped assault formation, began to move as they saw fit.

The formation broke, and they fell into a chaotic situation where friend and foe were intermingled.

Eulisia broke out in a cold sweat from fear.

(Isn't this practically a total collapse!?)

It looked for all the world like the Banfield fleet's formation had been broken by the pirate fleet's attack.

However, Liam didn't seem to feel a shred of crisis.

If anything, he even looked confident.

"—Sorry, but the men I have with me are the elite of the elite, who've been fighting since the very beginning. Don't think they'll break from something like this."

The allied fleet dispersed, then swiftly weaved through the gaps in the enemy fleet, breaking out of the formation—and out of the battlefield.

The enemy fleet, under attack by the pirates, was in chaos and had no time to spare for them.

A few ships would occasionally attack, but they were uncoordinated and posed no threat.

The real threat was the pirate fleet.

Just after passing a few dozen meters beside an enemy ship, a volley from the pirate fleet shot past the Argos.

As the enemy ship, pierced by the beam of light, exploded, the Argos's shield glowed faintly.

It was protecting the Argos from the resulting debris.

In the midst of this situation, Liam gave his orders.

"Ships confident in their defenses are to protect our allies. As for the pirates' bombardment, use the enemy as shields."

He said it so simply, but if it were that easy, there'd be no trouble.

But Liam's fleet managed to pull it off.

Eulisia found Liam unbelievable—but she found the fleet that could execute his orders just as incredible.

(What are they!? How can they possibly carry out an order like that!?)

Before the dumbfounded Eulisia, Liam sat in his seat, chatting with a military officer.

"That's some magnificent group coordination. We could charge money to see it at a ceremony."

In response to Liam's jest, the officer replied with a serious face—and a joke of his own.

"In peacetime, we'd be happy to participate. If we could earn our own keep, we wouldn't be called money-grubbers."

"Sorry, but we're going to be busy for a while. Any talk of ceremonies will have to wait."

Watching Liam have such a conversation on the battlefield, Eulisia felt dizzy.

◇

On the bridge of the pirate fleet's flagship.

Watching the Banfield fleet's formation crumble, Cozmo was laughing.

He slapped his knee, looking thoroughly amused.

"They never would have thought we'd come to kill them along with our own allies. Still, to think I'd get to see the Banfield fleet fall apart... this will be a story to brag about for the rest of my life."

He had destroyed the Banfield fleet.

For Cozmo, this was a major achievement.

He began to mentally calculate the greater status, honor, and fortune that would come his way.

The bridge crew was similarly elated, but being well-trained, they didn't make a ruckus like they would have in their pirate days.

Cozmo was convinced of his victory—but a slight sense of unease made him open his eyes wide.

"—What's going on?"

His secretary, who had relaxed slightly, believing the battle was nearing its end, noticed Cozmo's strange demeanor and inquired.

"What is it, Your Excellency?"

"Something's off. Those guys, don't tell me they're—"

Cozmo's bad feeling proved to be correct.

The Banfield fleet, which he thought had collapsed, had broken through the chaotic melee of friend and foe and was beginning to regroup.

His secretary must have noticed too, as his eyes widened in shock.

"Your Excellency!?"

"All fleets, charge immediately! Crush them before they can regroup and form up!"

Cozmo's decision to act immediately was the right one.

The Banfield fleet hadn't had time to fully regroup and had barely formed a proper formation.

"Now's our chance! This is the only chance we'll get!"

Cozmo had a bad feeling and wanted to crush Liam at this timing, no matter what.

◇

"He's faster on the uptake than I thought."

"Is this any time to be praising the enemy!? What are we going to do? If they attack us in this state, not even the elites can win!"

The pirate fleet had moved faster than expected, and I was forced to make a decision.

If we clashed with the enemy fleet as we were, we'd be at a clear disadvantage.

I stood from my seat and gave Eulisia an order.

"I'm deploying Avid. I'll buy you some time, so hurry up and regroup."

"Huh? Ah, um..."

"—I really wanted to end this with a fleet battle, but it seems I can't do it like Klaus."

I had wanted to build up my achievements as a fleet commander, but it seems I'm not cut out for it.

—Well, whatever.

I'm not a knight or a soldier, just an evil lord.

"I'll just end this with brute force."

◇

As Cozmo's fleet was about to descend upon the Banfield fleet, a single mobile knight shot out.

Faced with a hero who had come out to protect the fleet, the usual Cozmo would have dealt with it without even changing his expression.

But the unit that appeared was the problem.

The operator's report came, his voice trembling.

"Avid—it's Avid! We've confirmed spatial magic. A giant battleship has appeared from the magic circle. It's believed to be the super-large mobile knight built at the Seventh Weapons Factory!"

An irritated Cozmo slammed his fist on the armrest.

"The commander-in-chief shouldn't be coming out himself!"

This wasn't just a sound argument.

If it had been anyone but Liam, Cozmo would have gladly struck them down.

He would have thought, Thank goodness the enemy is an idiot.

However, his opponent was Liam.

The terrified secretary took a step back, watching the image on the monitor of Avid—the giant battleship transforming into a humanoid shape.

"Is that the machine they call the Griffin? That's not a mobile knight anymore."

Cozmo agreed with that sentiment.

He wanted to give the idiots at the Seventh Weapons Factory who created the Griffin a piece of his mind.

However, as Avid combined with—boarded—the Griffin, the Griffin's twin eyes lit up.

"It's coming! Shields up! Form a thick barrier at the front! And all shield ships, move forward!"

As the Griffin pointed its large hands toward the pirate fleet, each of its fingertips began to glow—and an instant later, ten beams of light assaulted Cozmo's fleet.

Dozens of ships were pierced by a single beam.

Cozmo's flagship was lucky enough to escape, but it wasn't an attack he wanted to receive multiple times.

In addition, the other weapons mounted on the Griffin began to attack the fleet.

Optical weapons, of course, but physical munitions also rained down on them one after another.

"The very idea of taking on a fleet with a single unit is just wrong to begin with!"

As Cozmo yelled, a friendly ship nearby exploded.

The reason he was complaining was because, at this moment, it was incredibly effective.

And the fact that it was directed at them was infuriating.

"—We're using that."

Hearing the word that, the secretary's eyes widened in realization and he immediately made the call.

◇

Inside Avid—inside the Griffin.

In the cockpit, I let go of the controls, clasped my hands behind my head, and watched the battlefield on the monitor.

"Ending things with a brute-force push is boring, but it sure is exhilarating."

Thanks to the influence of the Machine Heart, the Griffin's performance was now even higher.

It was demonstrating superior performance even compared to others of the same model.

I had switched to autopilot and was just watching, but it looked like the battle was about to end just from that.

"The Imperial fleet that was attacked is—"

The Imperial fleet, which had been attacked by its own allies, had fled the battlefield and regrouped.

In a way, they had been caught in a pincer between me and the pirate fleet, and their numbers were greatly reduced, leaving them in a battered state.

To top it off, they were short on supplies and seemed to be having trouble continuing the fight.

If left alone, they would probably surrender.

As I averted my gaze, spatial magic was used on the pirate fleet.

Something huge was emerging.

"—So we were thinking the same thing, huh?"

What emerged from the giant magic circle was a massive mobile knight.

It was the same size as the Griffin, but it was unpainted, with gray and rusted spots standing out.

Due to its crude construction, it apparently lacked a transformation mechanism.

It appeared in its humanoid form from the start, and its appearance was—similar to the Griffin.

"Same as the Griffin?"

As I muttered, the face of the pirate fleet's commander appeared on the monitor.

The man in the small window, wearing a pirate hat, was the man named Cozmo.

"Yo, how's it feel, big shot?"

"Don't talk to me so casually."

I gave him a curt brush-off, but Cozmo, looking relaxed, continued the conversation, saying, "Let's have a more fun chat."

"Your Griffin was built by the Seventh Weapons Factory, but as it turns out, the Empire was building the same weapon too."

"I thought as much. But you could have at least changed its appearance."

"You can tell that to the guys at the arsenal that built it. But while the outside is the same, the inside is a different beast. After all, we got rid of useless mechanisms like transformation and made it even sturdier."

Is he trying to brag about making it stronger by cutting out the frills?

"It means we have the same trump card as you, or maybe—an even better one. And it's not just one, either. Hampson and Moss have them, of course, but so does His Highness the Crown Prince."

"That's a problem."

So they all think alike.

If they had such a trump card, they should have used it from the start—is not something I can say.

After all, in exchange for its overwhelming power on the battlefield, the Griffin's operational costs are absurd.

It's better to just prepare a fleet than to ready a single one of these.

Once it's deployed, it requires maintenance, but while I can afford it, the enemy side probably doesn't have that luxury.

In their situation, with supplies running low, they might even have to treat it as disposable.

If they could get by without using it, that would have been for the best.

"You've lost, Liam."

"It's Lord Liam to you, small fry."

The fake Griffin turned its chest toward my Griffin.

Light converged there—and was unleashed as its main cannon fired.

A massive beam of light shot towards the Griffin.

Cozmo seemed certain of his victory.

"If your attitude had been a little better, I would've gone easy on you and given you a quick death. Now your remaining subordinates will all see hell."

It seems he plans to torture my subordinates after defeating me.

The Griffin, engulfed in light, crossed its arms to defend itself.

"You don't need to worry about what comes next. You should just worry about yourself."

Having decided Cozmo's fate in my mind, I gripped the controls and moved the Griffin.

The Griffin's engines roared as it pushed forward through the light.

As it advanced against the current, the fake began to increase its output even further.

It was overexerting itself despite the strain, and electrical discharges were occurring from within.

"I'm sorry to make you go to the trouble of preparing a fake, but—don't think this is the same machine as before. This one is constantly evolving."

The influence of the Machine Heart extends to the Griffin through Avid.

As the Griffin closed in on the fake, it reached out and pierced its chest.

It then thrust its other hand in and began to tear it apart from the inside.

"Wh-!?"

I enlightened the astonished Cozmo.

"Did you use rare metals in the fake, too? —Thank you for going to the trouble of transporting resources all the way here. I'll be sure to put them to good use."

As the Griffin forcibly tore the fake apart, debris scattered around.

I used the alchemy box hidden inside Avid to collect it.

The junk scattered around was converted into particles of light and gathered into the Griffin.

"What did you do!?"

I didn't answer Cozmo, who couldn't comprehend what was happening—instead, I aimed the Griffin's main cannon at the pirate fleet.

Seeing the light converge in its chest, Cozmo's face turned pale.

"I have no intention of telling you. And another thing—how dare you rampage through my domain."

One of the reasons I attacked the supply base was to crush these guys.

As his allied ships were destroyed one after another, Cozmo just glared at me, not begging for his life.

"It's over for all of you, right here. Do you have any last words?"

When I asked, Cozmo showed a fearless smile.

"I've rampaged to my heart's content. I expected a future like this."

"You give up easily."

"—But even if you win here, it's all the same. No matter how many victories you pile up, in the end, the Empire will always win! Our national power is on a different level. I'll be looking forward to watching you fall into the same hell as me from the other side."

If there really is a hell, I'll undoubtedly fall into it.

But so what?

"Sorry, but I plan to enjoy this world for a while longer. You can just wait patiently for me to arrive."

"You bastard, you think you can beat the Empire? Reinforcements will be here soon—"

He probably wanted to say that reinforcements or the next subjugation force would be dispatched—but that's not going to happen.

It's not.

"Reinforcements aren't coming."

"What?"

As Cozmo looked surprised, the Griffin, having scattered the pirate fleet, approached and found the flagship.

It grabbed the flagship with its giant hand, and Cozmo glared at me.

"You get special treatment."

—I suppose I should prepare at least one present to reward my hard-working subordinates.

"Now then, is it about time for them to play their trump card?"