Book 12: Chapter 15: Banfield Territory Defense (10)

Book 12: Chapter 15: Banfield Territory Defense (10)

"The pirate fleet has turned to the rear and is attacking us...or rather, all of us!?"

The bridge was filled with the terrible news.

Hearing this, Elysia immediately turned her bitter face to look at the Commander-in-Chief.

Liam, the commander-in-chief, did not even change his expression when he learned that the pirate fleet was attacking him and his allies.

"Liam-sama, we are in danger if we continue like this."

The situation was getting dire, but it was getting even more dangerous.

Liam puts his right hand out in front of him.

"Spread out and then regroup."

As Liam's order was given, the fleet, which had been maintaining a conical assault formation, began to move as they pleased.

The formation collapsed, plunging the fleet into a situation of confusion between friend and foe.

Elysia was breaking out in a profusion of cold sweat from fear.

(It's almost like it collapsed!?)

It looked as if the Banfield family's fleet had been knocked out of formation by the pirate fleet's attack.

However, Liam did not feel in the least bit threatened.

In fact, he even looks confident.

"-- I'm sorry, but I'm bringing with me the best of the best, the ones who have been fighting since the beginning. Don't think that they will collapse at this level."

The allied fleet spread out and quickly weaved in and out of the formation between enemy fleets - getting out of the battlefield.

The enemy fleet being attacked by the pirate fleet is confused and has no time to worry about them.

There were some ships that attacked occasionally, but they were not coherent and not a threat.

Rather, it is the pirate fleet that poses a threat.

Just after passing a few dozen meters next to the enemy ship, the pirate fleet's gunfire passed right next to Argos.

The enemy ship was pierced by the beam of light, and Argos's shield glowed faintly as it exploded.

It was protecting Argos from the debris that had been generated.

In such a situation, Liam gives an instruction.

"The ship that is confident in its defense should protect its allies. Then, use the enemy as a shield against the pirates' bombardment."

It is a simple statement, but if it could be done, there would be no trouble.

Nevertheless, Liam's fleet pulls it off.

Elysia couldn't believe Liam, but she also thought it was impossible for the fleet to give Liam's orders.

(What the hell is wrong with these guys! How could they possibly carry out such an order!?)

In front of a stunned Elysia, Liam was sitting in his seat talking to a soldier.

"A great collective effort. You could get more money if you show it off at the ceremony."

The soldier replies to Liam's flippant remark with a serious face - with a joke.

"We will join in as much as we can in peacetime. If we could earn our own money, we wouldn't have to be called money-grubbers."

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to be busy for a while, and the ceremony will have to wait."

Seeing Liam having this conversation on the battlefield, Elysia felt dizzy.

The flagship of the pirate fleet.

On its bridge, Cozmo is laughing at the Banfield family fleet that has broken formation.

He slaps his knee and looks amused.

"You probably don't think we're going to kill all our allies. Still, to see the Banfield fleet crumble is something I'll be bragging about for the rest of my life."

The Banfield family's fleet was destroyed.

For Cozmo, it's a major achievement.

He begins to calculate in his mind that he will have more status, honor, and wealth than ever before.

The bridge crew was equally buoyant, but they were trained and did not make a fuss as they had in their pirate days.

Cozmo was confident of victory--but he turned his eyes to a slight discomfort.

"--What the hell is that?"

As the end of the battle nears, the secretary, who is somewhat relaxed, notices that Cozmo is acting strangely and asks him.

"What's wrong, sir?"

"The situation is not right. No way...those guys..."

Cozmo's bad premonition is proven true.

The Banfield family's fleet, which they thought had collapsed, had begun to regroup as they exited the battlefield where friend and foe were mingling.

The secretary noticed, too, and was surprised to see her eyes widen.

"Sir!"

"All fleet, charge at once! We'll hit them before they can regroup and form up!"

Cozmo's decision to take immediate action was correct.

The Banfield fleet had not assembled in time and was not even in good shape.

"Now is the time. It's now or never!"

Cozmo had a bad feeling about this, and he wanted to strike Liam at this moment, no matter what it took.

"He is faster than I thought he would be."

"You're praising the enemy!? What are you going to do? If they attack us in this situation, no matter how elite they are, we can't win!"

The pirate fleet moved unexpectedly fast, so I was forced to make a decision.

If we were to collide with the enemy fleet at this point, the odds would be against us.

I get up from my seat and give Elysia an order.

"I'll send out Avid. I'll buy you some time, so hurry up with the assembly."

"Huh? Uh, Liam-sama...?"

" --I really wanted to end this with a fleet battle, but not like Klaus."

I wanted to be a fleet commander, but it seems I'm not cut out for that.

-Well, it doesn't matter.

I'm not a knight, I'm not a soldier, I'm just a villainous lord.

"I'll end it with a show of force."

As Cozmo's fleet was about to attack the Banfield family fleet, a single mobile knight jumped out.

In the face of the brave men who came out to defend the fleet, normally Cozmo would have let them handle it without even changing his expression.

But the aircraft that came out is the problem.

The operator reported back to him, but his mouth was trembling.

"Avid--it's Avid! We have confirmed spatial magic. We have confirmed the appearance of a giant battleship from the magic circle. It appears to be a super-sized mobile knight built at the Seventh Weapons Factory!"

Exasperated, Cozmo swung his fist down on his armrest.

"Don't you dare come out here, Commander-in-chief!"

It's not just a good argument.

If this had been anyone other than Liam, Cozmo would have gladly taken him down.

He was glad that his enemy was an idiot.

But the opponent was Liam.

The frightened secretary stepped back as she watched the monitor show Avid - the giant battleship transform and become humanoid.

"Is that the plane they call the Griffin? It's not a maneuvering knight anymore."

Cozmo agrees with that opinion.

He wanted to complain to the idiots at the Seventh Weapons Factory who created the Griffin.

But when Avid merges with the Griffin - and gets in - the Griffin's twin eyes light up.

"Here it comes! Deploy shields! Stretch it thick on all sides. Then, all shield ships forward!"

Griffin points its large hand at the pirate fleet, and each fingertip begins to glow - and soon after, ten beams of light hit the Cozmo fleet.

Dozens of ships were pierced by a single beam.

Luckily, the flagship aboard Cozmo was spared, but it was not an attack one would want to take more than once.

Other weapons attached to the Griffin also attack the fleet.

Optical weapons as well as live ammunition attacked the fleet one after another.

"The idea of taking on the fleet with a single aircraft is a mistake to begin with!"

Cozmo yelled, and a nearby friendly ship exploded.

"I'm complaining because at the moment it's very effective."

The situation where it is directed at them is infuriating.

"--we're going to use that thing."

At the mention of the "thing," the secretary huffs and immediately calls.

Inside the Avid--Griffin.

In the cockpit, hands folded behind my head, I watch the battlefield from a monitor.

"It's boring when it ends up being a pushover, but it's exhilarating."

Due in part to the influence of the machine heart, the current Griffin is even more powerful.

It was showing superior performance compared to the same model.

I switch to autopilot and look at it, but that's all I can do to make this battle almost over.

"The imperial fleet that was attacked--"

The imperial fleet that was attacked by our allies was rallying as they fled the battlefield.

In a sense, it was as if they were sandwiched between me and the pirate fleet, greatly reduced in number and in a state of tatters.

In addition, supplies were running low and the battle would be hard to continue.

If left alone, they would surrender.

While I was looking away, a spatial magic was used on the pirate fleet.

Something huge comes out.

"-- Is it the same thing I think about?"

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

It was the same size as Griffin, and was noticeably gray and rusty in spots, perhaps not painted.

Because it was roughly constructed, it apparently had no deformation mechanism.

It appeared in humanoid form from the start, and its appearance - similar to Griffin's.

"The same as a griffin?"

I muttered, and the face of the man who is the commander of the pirate fleet appeared on the monitor.

The man in the small window is wearing a pirate hat - a man named Cozmo.

"Hey, how you doing, General?"

"Don't talk to me so casually."

The one on board was a swordsman of One-Flash.

The guide has a bad feeling.

"One of the kids Yasushi raised!?"

In the past, the guide in his glory days was defeated by Liam.

The army he led was strong, but few in number.

In addition, Avid and Griffin were mass-producers.

And now comes Fuuka, who is probably stronger than Liam was back then.

When the fake released its main cannon, the beam was fired at many times the normal output with the help of the guide.

The mass-produced model that Fuuka rides intercepts it with its main cannon as well.

When the beams from both sides collided, they tried to push each other back.

"I can't lose. I can't lose in a place like this!"

As the guide sends more negative emotions into the fake, the output increases even more and the mass-produced one is pushed in.

"I'm going to crush you like this!"

Fuuka was in the cockpit, sweating cold sweat.

"Damn it! How can you lose to a fake? Isn't this guy defective?"

The mass-production model had been hastily built at the Seventh Weapons Factory.

Fuuka, who had been told this, imagined that the Seventh Weapons Factory had cut corners.

"It ain't no sword fight, and I can run away if I want--just, if I retreat here.

She looked back and there was Liam's main planet.

She is still fighting the enemy, protected by several fortresses.

"If I run away here, I won't be able to protect my master and Yasuyuki. --I can't fulfill the promise I made to Senior brother and I'll be laughed at by Rinho.

Fuuka, telling herself the reason why she could not retreat, gripped the control stick tightly.

"-- but I don't want to die here as a swordsman. I can't face my master when that happens."

She thought about using the mass-produced model as a shield to protect it, but she didn't want a One-Flash swordsman to die on a battlefield like this.

"If I'm going to die, I'd rather die in a serious match between my katana and another katana."

There is no way to be defeated by another school.

However, she wanted to risk her life in a match.

As a result, a serious match between two fighters of the same school would be ideal for Fuuka now.

The first time she took her hand off the control stick, she stood up straight.

"I've been told by my senior brother and sister that it's okay to smash them. I'm going to push you too hard, so follow me!"

At the same time as the mass-produced model growls, the firing port of the main gun reaches its limit and explodes.

However, Fuuka does not escape, but instead uses the mass-produced model as a shield.

"Bear with me, damn it!"

Crossing her arms, she caught the fake main gun and protected it from a direct hit to the main planet.

The mass-produced armor, made of rare metals, but it reached its limits and began to dissolve.

Explosions occurred in various places, and the alerts did not stop sounding.

However, it was the same for the enemy that had reached its limit.

Perhaps it was the cost of releasing the main gun at a higher output than expected, but fire was coming from inside.

The enemy, however, seems to have reached its limit.

"I guess I win the endurance contest."

Stamping down on the foot pedal, Fuuka charged the mass-production model and entered the enemy's pocket.

Then, she made a hand sword with both hands and pierced through the fake.

Both sides are in a state of tatters, but Fuuka is not finished here.

"This is not the end!"

She accelerates the mass-produced model as it is and heads toward the enemy fleet.

The destination is part of the main fleet led by Cleo.

Even so, since they are a regular army, they are probably bewildered, but their reaction is not bad.

They immediately change formation and start attacking the mass-production type.

Fuuka produced a mass-production type hand sword - a huge blade with a beam coming out of it.

Thousands of kilometers long.

Tearing the fake apart, Fuuka unleashed a slash at the surrounding fleet.

"If I'm going to destroy it anyway, I'm going to go on a rampage in yer goddamn asses!"

A mass-produced model rampaging around while destroying itself.

The surrounding vessels were swallowed up and destroyed by the blades of the giant humanoid weapon.

As it reached its limit, the cockpit in the head of the mass-produced model - the Amaryllis in which Fuuka rides - was ejected.

It was equipped with an escape function.

"So much for this."

As she quickly tries to escape, the mobile knights that sailed out from the enemy ship appear there.

There were several hundred of them, and the number was still increasing.

The mobile knight that seemed to be the captain's machine had a different coloring from the surrounding mass-produced machines.

It seems to be a custom machine.

"Don't think you can escape!"

In front of them, Fuka raised the corner of her mouth.

"Let's go and play a little longer."

Amaryllis holds a sword in each of her two hands, and as she becomes a dual sword - the surrounding mobile knights explode one after the other.

The guide drifting in space cried, clutching his knees.

"Yasushi--I'll never forgive you for preparing a mass-produced Liam, of all things."

The white Avid on which Fuuka rides--Amaryllis--watches the scene of the battle in the distance.

The approaching mobile knights were destroyed and the bombardment by the battleships were all blocked by Amaryllis' energy field.

At times, battleships have been cut in both directions, and there appears to be room for a lone battleship, even though it should be a lone battleship.

The guide has a bad feeling about this and looks at the view of the other battlefields.

"There must have been other disciples of One-Flash. Where are they doing-- hmm!?"

He reached out his hand and projected the scene of other battlefields around him, and there was an unbelievable sight.

There was no major movement on the planet Marie was defending, but the problem was the planet Tia was defending.

A mass-produced model with the number three written on it easily defeated the fake one that Hampson had sent out.

"This guy--Liam's disciple!?"

At that time.

Hampson was stunned by the scene before him.

"What was Banfield thinking? How could Banfield be so crazy!?"

A supersized mobile knight.

Hampson was also fascinated by the idea of a super-sized mobile knight, but Liam, in his position as a lord, would never have adopted such a weapon, let alone mass-produced it.

It was a decision that Hampson could not understand, but what surprised him even more was the strength of the weapon.

Based on data from Griffin at the Seventh Weapons Factory, the design of the fake was reviewed.

Although they were superior in performance, the counterfeits they had prepared were easily destroyed by the mass-produced models in front of them.

The image of the enemy pilot is projected on a huge monitor on the bridge.

"I didn't think they had prepared the same weapon."

The other party seems surprised, but Hampson is surprised again.

"Ellen Tyler? Banfield's disciple!?"

The red-haired female knight on the monitor narrowed her eyes, perhaps uncomfortable at the mention of her name.

"--I have some unfortunate news for you gentlemen, I must tell you."

Hampson resists a bitter look when he hears the unfortunate news.

He had to show some composure, or his subordinates would become anxious.

--It's too late now, after all the surprise, but if he shows even more pettiness here, it will be even more demoralizing.

"The unfortunate news is that they hit our supply base, right? But there is more than one supply base. Our army can still fight."

It was a true statement, but it was also a lie.

Although they built several supply bases, it was the supply base, that Liam hit that were accumulating the supplies that needed to be sent to those supply bases'.

He could see that the supplies would eventually run out in enemy territory.

But Ellen smiles and says something different than Hampson expected.

"Number Four will be crushing around, but that's another story. --I have a message from my master, Liam Sera Banfield. "Destroy the enemy."

Liam's decision is conveyed: destroy the conquering army that has invaded the territory - no surrender will be accepted.

But Hampson still had room to maneuver.

"He was as bullish as the documents say. But the Empire will send reinforcements soon. Supplies will arrive in great piles, and we will be victorious. It will be you who will be begging for your lives."

Knowing the current situation, he knew that the Empire would come to their rescue.

Ellen's eyes narrowed as she smiled and sneered at Hampson.

"That's impossible. The High Kingdom has launched an advance to the border. There are other moves being made by the unified government and the United Kingdoms. Even the Empire won't be able to send a fleet to help you anytime soon."

Hampson's eyes widened.

The High Kingdom? They've already submitted to the Empire!

He had expected the unified government and the Allied Powers to make a move.

Hampson also thought that if there was a disturbance in the Empire, they would take advantage of the opportunity and invade.

But the High Kingdom was different.

The current Empire did not anticipate an invasion by the High Kingdom.

"They have the quality of following the strong. It's just that the person they revered was their master, not the Empire."

As the bridge crew is in an uproar, another figure appears on the giant monitor.

It was Tia, one eye wide open.

It seems that she is very frustrated and wants to complain to Hampson.

"Nice to meet you, Marquis Hampson."

"Christiana."

"You've given us a lot of trouble, but it's finally our turn."

Tia tells Hampson as her expression becomes blank.

"--from here it's time to hunt. Let them run around and enjoy us as much as they can."

As soon as the communication was cut off, Hampson swung his fist down on the armrest.