Upon learning that the commanders of both armies were engaged in a mobile knight duel, Tia, who was fighting the enemy's left flank fleet, was tearing her hair out.

"A one-on-one duel between commanders in a war of this scale... Lord Liam is amazing as always, but please wait for meeeeee!"

"Well, the battle has already begun, so I don't think he can wait."

It was her adjutant, Claudia, who calmly interjected from beside Tia.

However, Claudia wasn't happy about this situation either.

"They said the other side also sent a relief force, but they were destroyed just by getting close, so they had to give up. Lord Liam also said not to come, as he couldn't tolerate any more sacrifices."

Allied units would simply explode if they got near the enemy machine.

In such a situation, no matter how much help they sent, it would only build a mountain of casualties.

Liam's decision was correct... but the consensus among his allies was that they didn't want their commander fighting a one-on-one duel.

Tia clutched her head, desperately trying to think of a way to overcome this situation... a way to crush the fleet before her.

(They've lost a hundred thousand ships in the rear, yet there's no sign of them collapsing. There's no doubt they're disgustingly elite, but how could someone like this be unknown?)

As she was thinking about the lack of information on the enemy, a figure emerged from her shadow.

A large man, his head appearing first, slowly revealed himself. It was Kukri... the leader of the Banfield family's black ops.

He usually wore a mask, but today it was noticeably damaged.

"You seem to be having quite a tough time."

As Kukri let out an eerie chuckle, Tia spun around and retorted defensively.

"It's an even match! You should say we're fighting on equal terms! No, we have a slight advantage, so you could even say we're winning!"

It was true that they held a slight advantage.

"...Well, let's just go with that."

Kukri seemed to accept it, and Tia asked suspiciously.

"So? Would you mind telling me why you've come here?"

With the head of the black ops himself on board, Tia, Claudia, and the bridge crew were tense.

In this situation, the most frightening thing was betrayal by an ally.

Could he have betrayed them and come to assassinate her? ...Sensing their wariness, Kukri theatrically raised both hands.

"I acquired some information in the middle of a job and thought I had to report it, but I couldn't get close to Lord Liam."

It seemed he couldn't get near due to the battle with the exploding mobile knight.

"Meaning, you thought I was more suitable than Lord Klaus?"

Then why not just tell Klaus? Tia had this question, but she judged that Kukri must have had a reason for not doing so.

Kukri said.

"Yes. After all, you are the one fighting the enemy's left flank fleet... By the way, the enemy commanders are the Three Knights, hailed as the strongest in history, who were cryogenically preserved by the Empire."

Tia reacted slightly to the term "Three Knights."

"A former title that is no longer appointed."

"It seems they were preserved as a trump card. And the one leading the left flank is a man named Eljin Sera Sanders."

Hearing this, Tia turned her back to Kukri and extended her right hand toward the bow of the ship.

"Change the fleet formation!"

She reacted instantly because that person was recorded in her memory as a great figure from the past.

Eljin Sera Sanders... a knight who specialized in fleet command.

However, the methods of warfare were different now than they were back then, so Tia hadn't noticed.

But knowing who it was changed everything.

As Tia issued her commands, the Banfield family's fleet gradually gained momentum.

In contrast, the enemy's left flank fleet began to be pushed back, a slight disorder appearing that wasn't there before.

Tia spoke with a triumphant look on her face.

"I thought there was a strange quirk to his fleet management, but he's not accustomed to modern warfare. If anything, I'll praise him for holding out this long against me."

Having figured out the enemy's weakness from Kukri's information, Tia proceeded to crush the enemy's left flank fleet.

◇

Around that time, a report from the black ops also reached Marie.

The one who delivered the information was Kunai... a female member of the black ops who had received her name from Liam.

"The enemy are the former Three Knights, and the one leading the enemy's right flank fleet is Deedee Sera Drew. She is one of the Three Knights with whom you have a fateful connection."

As Kunai reported this provocatively, Marie fell silent.

She was also told about Eljin and Cornelius, but Marie had no memory of those individuals.

"Of the Three Knights from the era when I was alive, only Deedee remains. No, rather, I should say it's impressive she's managed to survive this long, shouldn't I?"

For Marie, who had already guessed her opponent was Deedee, this was merely confirmation of her hunch.

However.

"Despite being the eldest, she couldn't even become the head of the Three Knights... which means Cornelius, who leads the main force, is more dangerous... That puts Lord Liam in even more danger, damn it!!"

The previously quiet Marie kicked her nearby seat.

THUD! The violent sound echoed, but the bridge crew just looked on with expressions that said, "here we go again..."

Marie took out her frustration so often that her seat was now equipped with large springs to absorb the impact.

Kunai finished her report to Marie and slowly sank into the shadows, disappearing.

"Therefore, please hurry to the rescue. Oh, by the way, Lady Christiana is in the process of conquering the enemy's left flank fleet. At this rate, you'll be the only one left behind."

Having said her piece, Kunai vanished, and Marie clicked her tongue.

"The black ops are getting cocky."

Seeing Marie's displeasure, her adjutant, Heidi, shrugged her shoulders.

"That's because you bad-mouthed the black ops in front of General Liam before, Marie. They seem to be holding a serious grudge over it."

"It was their own failure that caused it."

Kukri and the rest of the black ops disliked Marie and Tia.

The reason lay in a past incident where they had allowed intruders to infiltrate the Banfield mansion.

On that occasion, Tia and Marie had relentlessly blamed the black ops.

Though there was a valid reason, it was Klaus who had defended the black ops at the time.

Since then, they have shown a pro-Klaus stance.

Heidi let out a sigh.

"The only saving grace is that they don't slack off on their work. Well, I have a feeling the main reason is that they don't want to anger General Liam with all this infighting."

The Banfield Knight Order had only recently been re-formed during Liam's generation.

Initially, it was a ragtag group with poor relations, and even after that, factions continued to fight amongst themselves.

As a result, they angered Liam, and the faction leaders, Tia and Marie, were demoted... a bitter experience of losing to Klaus in the promotion race.

Heidi changed the subject.

"Now then, our General Liam is in a critical situation... but conquering Deedee will be difficult."

For the fleet on the right flank, which was already fighting with an understanding of who their opponent was, the information wasn't a major turning point like it was for Tia.

However, Marie said.

"...No, the time is about right. She's always had the despicable habit of thinking about how to save her own skin the moment the situation turns even slightly sour."

Deedee, who always acted to secure an advantageous position, was, from Marie's perspective, a knight who lacked loyalty.

Marie realized this was the difference between them, who were turned to stone, and Deedee, who was cryogenically frozen.

Looking only at the results, Deedee had been right at the time.

However.

"Prepare the mobile knights for launch... I'm going out too. Also, if Deedee tries to contact us, tell them I've already sortied and am not here. She must be getting quite desperate."

Unlike when Marie was struggling, a hundred thousand Imperial ships had just been crushed in their rear.

The situation was tilting in the Banfield family's favor.

Under these circumstances, Marie predicted that Deedee would try to contact her.

◇

Marie's prediction was spot on.

"...To think Cornelius can't finish him off. The strongest knight of this generation is tough. No, really, how is he able to compete?"

Watching the footage of Cornelius and Liam's mobile knight duel, Deedee wore a grim expression.

(This might... this just might happen? My intuition is screaming that this is bad... In that case...)

Deedee began to move, preparing for the worst-case scenario.

"Our situation hasn't changed much, so maybe I'll taunt Marie while reminiscing about old times?"

Making a plausible excuse to those around her, she ordered a communication link to be opened with the enemy fleet.

The knights around her questioned Deedee's actions.

"We're in the middle of a battle, are you sure about this?"

They didn't seem to doubt her, but they were clearly concerned.

Deedee acted so as not to reveal her inner thoughts, even to her subordinates.

"Me, who was put in cold sleep, and her, who was turned to stone... don't you feel a sense of destiny as former colleagues of the Three Knights? It would be a waste to just defeat her like this, wouldn't it?"

"That's... Understood."

"Oh, and while I'm talking, ease up on the attack. If we attack too fiercely, we might sink them mid-conversation."

The communications officer made contact with the enemy and seemed to get a response.

"Connection established. Putting it on the main monitor."

Deedee waved with a smile at the bridge's giant main monitor.

"Heeey, long time no see, Marie... wait, who the hell are you!?"

However, the person on the main monitor was a man in a military uniform, likely a communications officer.

"The commander is currently out and unavailable. If you have a message, I can take it for her."

"Put Marie on! It's just opening a line!"

"I apologize. Marie is currently out and cannot be contacted. You may either call back later, or I can relay your message to her afterwards."

Deedee's face contorted at the man's standard phone-call-like response in the middle of a war.

"You've got to be kid..."

It was at that moment.

"Fou~nd you... Deedee, it's been a while."

As Marie's voice was heard, a group of mobile knights suddenly appeared directly above the ship.

Deedee, with her sharp intuition, leaped from the bridge and ran straight for the hangar.

She ignored the sound of explosions behind her and the violent shaking of the ship.

"That bitch! She read that I'd try to make contact and got the jump on me!"

Deedee moved to the hangar, boarded her mobile knight, and performed an emergency launch, ignoring the mechanics.

She understood it was dangerous to remain on the super-dreadnought.

However, waiting for her outside was the mobile knight that Marie was likely piloting.

"Yo, I've been waiting for this moment..."

"Marie Marian!?"

The mobile knights led by Marie were latched onto Deedee's super-dreadnought, attacking it.

With its flagship under attack, the fleet was thrown into chaos.

Marie's fleet descended upon Deedee's, making the situation even worse.

(This is bad. Bad, bad, bad!! At this rate, even if I survive, I'll be held responsible for the defeat and blown up by Cornelius!? Huh? Am I... checkmated?)

Deedee, who had survived until now thanks to her sharp intuition and savvy personality, realized she was finally cornered.

Marie's mobile knight closed in.

But Deedee was also a top-class knight, and she reacted instantly, lunging at Marie.

"Don't underestimate me, you petrified piece of shit with your fake high-class speech! I'm going to survive this and be the one who wins in the end!"

The fist of Marie's mobile knight closed in on Deedee's cockpit.

Marie's voice was the last thing she heard.

"It seems we were the ones who won in the end, wasn't it?"

And with that, Deedee's cockpit was crushed.