Cleo, who had launched an operation to retake the gate’s relay station, was shouting furiously on the flagship’s bridge.

“Liam himself, here in just a few years…!? R–Retreat!”

Emerging from the long-range warp gate was none other than Liam’s flagship, the Argos.

If Liam was leading them, then the fleet consisted either of Banfield House’s elite or the main force itself.

Or perhaps both.

Either way, Cleo couldn’t imagine a scenario in which they would win.

Overcome with fear, Cleo declared a retreat—but the battle had already begun.

One of his attending knights grimaced at Cleo’s panicked state.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, if the commander shows such weakness, what example does that set for his men? Even retreating like this, we’ll only become easy prey for the enemy.”

The crew on the bridge already realized that Cleo was trying to flee after recognizing defeat.

If things went on like this, the thought we’re going to lose would spread like wildfire, undermining morale throughout the fleet.

The knight, frustrated by Cleo’s self-defeating behavior, clenched his jaw.

“We should at least order an orderly withdrawal of the whole army, or we’ll lose countless comrades.”

But Cleo didn’t care.

“If we don’t retreat right now, we’ll be the ones who get trapped! Head straight back to the Capital Planet, now!”

Cleo had just issued an order abandoning his allies. The knight exhaled deeply, then relayed instructions to the bridge crew.

“……As you heard, spread the order. All units, retreat.”

Relieved by the knight’s obedience, Cleo sneered.

“You should have just listened to me from the start.”

Yet the knight turned toward him, offered a knight’s salute, and spoke words of farewell.

“Your Highness, I will transfer to another ship and oversee the withdrawal from there. This is where we part ways.”

Having said his piece, the knight hurried off the bridge.

Cleo couldn’t comprehend why the knight would abandon the safety of the flagship only to head toward the jaws of death.

“You’re supposed to be my aide! I kept you close because of your talent—are you abandoning me!?”

Meanwhile, aboard the newly refurbished Argos, I lounged in my personal seat with legs crossed, watching the battle unfold.

A simplified 3D hologram displayed the entire battlefield, making the situation far clearer than looking through a viewport.

I, Liam Sera Banfield, grinned like the villainous lord I was, watching the enemy scatter and flee.

“They’re crumbling so easily it’s almost pitiful. Thanks to Cleo commanding, even the Capital Planet’s defense fleet is being dragged down.”

The intel Tiia had shared with me confirmed that most of their forces were just a ragtag collection of patrol fleets.

Those were hardly a threat, but mixed among them were the so-called elite fleets responsible for defending the Capital Planet.

Under normal circumstances, they might have put up a tough fight, and we’d have suffered losses.

But bogged down by the incompetence around them, they couldn’t even show their true strength.

Standing by my side, Klaus Sera Mont pitied those elite defenders.

“They can’t maneuver properly, hampered by their own allies.”

“A textbook case—when the commander is incompetent, even elites can’t demonstrate their full power. In that sense, Cleo has been extremely useful to us.”

If he were merely useless, I’d have killed him already. But Cleo was the worst kind of man—an industrious fool who only made things worse.

In the military, such people are considered far more dangerous than idle incompetents.

“The Empire’s forces are losing without ever unleashing their true might—all thanks to Cleo.”

I was striving to be a corrupt lord, and now, I had even betrayed my own nation.

A true villain.

There was no way I’d say, Let’s both fight at our best!

Klaus turned to me.

“Lord Liam, a portion of their forces seem to be recovering from the chaos.”

The hologram zoomed in, showing a few thousand ships regrouping and attempting to cover their allies’ retreat.

“Someone capable is among them. But I can’t allow their numbers to recover here.”

Before I even gave the order, Klaus—my Number One Knight—understood my intent and commanded:

“Concentrate fire on the regrouping fleet.”

Our forces immediately targeted the stabilizing enemy formation.

With no functional fleet left, the enemy lost all cohesion.

I rose from my seat and gave the final order.

“……Charge.”

When Cleo’s ship fled back to the Capital Planet, the palace erupted in uproar.

After all, despite the presence of elite defenders, the Capital Planet’s fleet—one hundred and fifty thousand ships strong—had been routed.

Word of Cleo’s defeat had already spread among the common people, and fear swirled throughout the capital.

For generations, the Capital Planet had never been invaded. To its peaceful citizens, the idea of an enemy at their gates was unbearable.

Hovering above them, arms outstretched, the Guide absorbed their negative emotions.

The rapidly spreading fear was fueling his power.

“Fuhahaha! I feel it! I feel it! My power is returning to its peak! The Capital Planet is a paradise of negative emotion—fear spirals and multiplies here! What a magnificent world!”

The Capital Planet was the perfect place for the Guide to recover his strength.

With Banfield’s army approaching, the planet radiated negative emotions like never before.

And because Liam was the cause, the Guide absorbed them at one hundred percent efficiency.

Having regained his peak strength, the Guide was ready to act.

……But truth be told, he was terrified.

“With this power, Liam should be nothing to fear……should be. Yes, that’s right. Just because the Capital’s defense fleet lost doesn’t mean the mighty Empire itself will fall to him. Surely… probably… I think.”

He couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Every time he thought he could win against Liam, he had challenged him—and lost.

Even now, though his power had returned, dread gnawed at him.

“Wait! This time, I’ll prepare properly! Until now, I’ve underestimated Liam, thinking he was just human. That was my mistake… Human? Is that thing really human?”

Liam had long surpassed human limits, wielding strength capable of slaughtering transcendent beings like the Guide himself.

Should he even be counted among humans anymore?

The Guide shivered at the thought.

“Damn it!? This arrogance is why I’ve lost every time! I mustn’t underestimate him. He is a terrifying enemy. Yes—that’s better!”

In all his existence, the Guide had never encountered someone who made him feel such fear.

Cold sweat dripped down his face as he studied the Capital Planet, siphoning even more negativity than before.

“Fufu… Fufufufu! This time I won’t lose. No—I will be the victor! Believe in yourself, me!”

Muttering encouragement to himself, the Guide flew toward the palace.

Something ominous was stirring there.

The Guide arrived at a chamber where Emperor Bagrada was meeting with his closest retainers.

Normally, they’d gather in the Audience Hall, but this was a preparatory chamber used for prior discussions.

Prime Minister and influential nobles—key ministers of state—were present before the Emperor.

The Prime Minister’s expression was grim.

“Your Majesty, I humbly request your agreement to disinherit His Highness, the Crown Prince Cleo.”

Normally, these powerful nobles, belonging to rival factions, would never cooperate.

But on this matter, they were united.

Not only that, many were pressing for immediate action, demanding Cleo’s removal as crown prince.

Though Emperor Bagrada looked troubled, the Guide could read his true feelings.

(Oh? This one’s scheming something. And he isn’t fazed by the situation at all? As for the Prime Minister and ministers—they’re driven not by fear, but by anger… Do they have a way to defeat Liam?)

Even with invasion looming, not one of them showed fear.

What they radiated instead was wrath—anger at Cleo, who had dragged the Empire into this crisis.

Facing them, Bagrada smiled faintly.

“I don’t mind leaving Cleo as he is.”

The Prime Minister bowed deeply.

“Perhaps in peacetime, but under the current Crown Prince, we cannot serve with peace of mind. The Banfield uprising is not our only concern. Neighboring states have grown bolder, pressing attacks. With such hardships ahead, our soldiers cannot fight confidently under Prince Cleo’s leadership.”

To demand the Emperor strip his heir was outrageous—but desperation had pushed them here.

Bagrada gave a small sigh and shifted the topic.

“Still, those hardships could be overcome if we had heroes. Isn’t that right?”

At his words, three knights entered the room.

The Prime Minister’s eyes widened.

“They’ve already awakened?”

Even he spoke respectfully—for these were the Empire’s Three Knights, the mightiest champions of the realm.

Like the title of Sword Saint, the Three Knights was a special designation, limited to three individuals.

They hadn’t been seen until now for a reason.

The one who stepped forward, Marquis Cornelius Sera Clancy, placed a hand on the back of his neck and tilted his head.

“To think that upon awakening, the Capital is already under attack… Prime Minister, was this your failure?”

Cornelius was a strikingly handsome man with long hair and a well-groomed beard—of imperial blood himself.

Yet even so, the Prime Minister bowed deeply.

“My apologies. We underestimated Liam of House Banfield.”

“In my time, he should’ve been an insignificant noble, if he even existed at all.”

At that, a female knight burst into laughter.

With a lion’s mane of blue hair, she was Deedee Sera Drew.

“Of course! Our era was two thousand years ago!”

The last of the three was a male knight with green hair tied in a ponytail—Elgin Sera Sanders.

“……I do recall hearing of them in my day. A frontier count’s family, wasn’t it?”

The truth was, the Three Knights had been in cold sleep, preserved at their peak.

Two millennia ago, the Emperor had changed policy: rather than appoint the strongest knights of the age, the Three Knights would always be the strongest in history.

They would awaken only when a new knight rivaling them appeared, or when the Empire faced existential crisis.

They were, in short, the Empire’s trump card.

Bagrada spoke.

“These three will not only defeat Banfield House but also help handle our neighboring states for the time being. So, if possible, set aside the matter of Cleo’s disinheritance. I still have hopes for him.”

The Prime Minister exchanged glances with the ministers, quietly conferring.

Meanwhile, the Guide’s eyes locked onto Cornelius.

(So… such beings still exist. Just like Liam, he has stepped beyond humanity. But unlike Liam’s path of light, this one walks in darkness.)

Cornelius radiated a sinister aura.

The Guide smiled.

At last, he had found a trump card against Liam.

(You can defeat him. No—you will defeat him! I’ll give you my full support, everything I have! This time, Liam will lose… please, I’m begging youuuu!)