Chapter 256: The Guide’s Futile Struggle

A short while after I returned to the bridge of the Argos, an offer of surrender came from the Imperial army.

I was sitting in my dedicated seat, and this offer surprised me a little.

“I thought they’d fight to the bitter end, but it seems the Three Knights are a rather disloyal bunch.”

Still, it’s far more human than vowing to fight for the Empire to the last man, so I personally find it rather likable.

Klaus, standing by my side, seemed to understand how the enemy commander felt.

“They must have judged that they couldn’t win by continuing to resist. To the enemy, Cornelius, the head of the Three Knights, was their trump card and a significant pillar of morale. Without him… no, faced with you, Lord Liam, who defeated him, the commander must have wanted to prevent the needless sacrifice of his soldiers’ lives.”

A commander who cares for his subordinates.

However, not all of them were following the commander’s orders.

Klaus said.

“However, only the enemy’s left-wing fleet has surrendered. The enemy’s central main force and right-wing fleet are still resisting fiercely.”

“Those were the fleets led by the other Three Knights, weren’t they? Are they trying to avenge their fallen master? How foolish. If they’d just surrendered, their lives would have been spared.”

Or perhaps they’ve lost their commanders and control, and their opinions are divided internally?

In any case, the war is over.

Klaus made a suggestion to me.

“Lord Liam, we have also sustained considerable damage. May I have your permission to reorganize the fleet to mop up the remnants?”

“Have we taken that much damage?”

“Yes.”

Although we were victorious, the Banfield family’s fleet had also suffered significant damage.

“…Have the damaged ships fall back. It’s foolish to take any more damage in a mop-up operation like this.”

“Yes, sir!”

When I gave the order, Klaus instructed the bridge crew to have the damaged ships withdraw.

Just then, a pained cry from the communications officer echoed through the bridge.

“A group believed to be an enemy fleet is gathering one after another via short-range warp! Is this… the Imperial Army’s patrol fleet? Fleets owned by nobles are joining them too!”

Hearing that, I think my eyes must have widened.

An enemy attack, right when I’d allowed the fleet to reorganize and the damaged ships to fall back, throwing our formation into disarray.

The timing was the worst possible.

“They’re attacking at a time like this…? Hurry and prepare Avid for another sortie! Klaus, you take command of the fleet!”

“Yes, sir!”

If I don’t sortie in Avid again, we’ll be attacked by the enemy and suffer heavy losses.

I have no intention of losing, but I can’t accept such losses after coming this far.

◇

“Fuhah, fuhahahaha! In the end, it is I who will win, Liam! Now that I’ve drained every last drop of negative emotion from the Capital Planet, I can launch an attack at the worst possible moment for you!”

Having drained all the negative emotions from the Capital Planet, the Guide was using that power to gather Liam’s enemies to this location.

These were the patrol fleets commanded by nobles, and the fleets of other nobles who had been waiting to see who would win this emergency before siding with the victor.

The Guide was on the flagship leading these assembled fleets.

On the flagship was a duke whose territory was relatively close to the Capital Planet, a man who was, in the worst sense, a typical Imperial noble.

The man was usually fat from a life of luxury, but he had used an education capsule to slim down for this battle.

He had changed his appearance to be handsome and was eagerly thinking, ‘I will be the next emperor…’

“Slay the treacherous vassal, Banfield, and save His Majesty the Emperor! Everyone, now is the time to show your pride as nobles!”

(Once we reach the Capital Planet, I’ll assassinate His Majesty the Emperor and pin the blame on Banfield. Then, I will be the next emperor.)

The Guide, while feeling the duke’s simple-minded desires were rather bland, continued to support him.

“Tch, to think I could only gather such small fry. The Empire is really lacking in talent. To think that most of the evil nobles have disappeared in the last hundred years.”

The reason they had decreased was Liam.

After destroying the Berkley family, who were famous as pirate nobles, and crushing any other nobles who opposed him, only the small fry were left.

The Guide had scraped together these petty nobles and was about to attack the Banfield army.

He had only managed to gather outdated ships and mobile knights, but even so, they posed a threat to the Banfield army in its current state.

The Guide turned his gaze to the elite Imperial troops who were still fighting.

“If they coordinate with us, we can pincer the Banfield army. If that happens, Liam will be defeated both militarily and politically… and if we’re lucky, we might even be able to finish Liam off.”

To be relying on luck at this stage.

It was proof that the Guide’s power was far below its peak.

The duke spread his arms, basking in delight on the bridge of his outdated super-dreadnought.

“My ducal house’s sixty thousand ships, plus the five hundred thousand I’ve scraped together from other nobles and patrol fleets! A grand fleet! If I defeat the treacherous Liam with this fleet, my name will be etched into history!”

A grand fleet of five hundred thousand ships, gathered with great effort!

Its main components were villains who usually holed up in their territories, content to exploit their people, and the patrol fleets commanded by their relatives.

Among them were pirates and scoundrels who saw this as a golden opportunity to join in.

A chance to defeat the infamous pirate-hunter, Liam!

Like the duke, the Guide also spread his arms and looked up to the heavens.

“Liam, I will plunge you into the depths of misery!! Today, I will definitely, absolutely see you cry and scream!!”

The Guide laughed maniacally alongside the duke… Since no one could see him, no one found it strange.

However, it was here that the Guide’s usual bad conduct came back to bite him.

Behind the Guide… from the shadows, a figure with sharp eyes, bared fangs, and a threatening posture appeared. It was the soul of the dog Liam had cherished in his past life.

The dog let out a howl as if calling its companions, and the Guide turned around.

“Ah, you’re that dog from before!? Are you going to interfere with me again—”

Before he could finish saying, ‘Are you going to interfere!,’ the bridge crew began to clamor.

“Your Grace! An enemy fleet has appeared before us!”

“Which idiots are they, appearing at a time like this?”

The fleet that appeared one after another via short-range warp was…

“‘This is Vice Admiral Cedric Noah Albalate, commander of the Imperial Army’s Special Independent Mobile Fleet. Duke, I can’t let you interfere.'”

It was the hundred-thousand-ship strong regular Imperial army, led by Cedric.

He had entered the battle leading his own fleet and other Imperial forces who shared his views.

The duke was flustered by the appearance of the regular army, but since his own forces were still superior in number, he wasn’t too panicked.

“Are you in your right mind? We have gathered to protect the Empire. I cannot comprehend why you, a member of the imperial family, would stand in our way.”

Cedric, considering his own position, scratched his head.

He must have had his own thoughts on the matter.

“‘I know I’m supposed to be on the defending side, but after seeing so many places, I’ve come to keenly feel that the Empire’s current methods are wrong. As a royal and as a soldier, I admit what I’m doing is wrong. But I also owe General Liam a huge debt, and I won’t be satisfied until I pay it back here and now.'”

“You foolish former prince. Very well, my fleet shall be your opponent.”

Then, the communications officer shouted again.

“Another new enemy fleet has appeared! Th-this is… the house of Baron Rezel!”

“Rezel? The demoted former viscount house? What are they doing here now?”

As the duke was flustered, Baron Rezel, who seemed to have scraped together his forces, appeared on the monitor.

“‘Duke, I’m afraid the House of Baron Rezel will be siding with the Banfield family, with whom we have a connection. You see, I looked after Duke Banfield during his training days. It would be a problem for us if you interfered.'”

The House of Viscount Rezel, which had once treated Liam coldly, was now apparently siding with him.

And peeking out from behind Baron Rezel was his daughter, Catherina.

Catherina, who had married into the Peetak family, was apparently aboard Baron Rezel’s battleship.

“‘Father, don’t forget to mention the Peetak family’s name! If we don’t do our best here, Peter’s Peter will never be cured!'”

“‘Wait, Catherina! Don’t push forward! The House of Baron Rezel will remain in decline if we don’t give it our all here!'”

It seemed they were siding with Liam because it was more profitable for them…

However, unlike before, both the Rezel and Peetak families seemed to have become much more respectable nobles.

The fleet they brought with them was mostly outdated, but it was well-trained.

Appearing on the monitor in place of Baron Rezel was Peter.

Peter, with his tan skin and flashy pink hair, had become a calmer, more androgynous handsome man than he was during his training days.

He spoke with a slightly bewildered expression.

“‘My apologies for my wife and father-in-law’s rudeness. …I am Peter, the head of the House of Count Peetak. Duke, for certain reasons, we are siding with the Banfield family. We can’t have you getting in our way.'”

The fleet Peter brought with him included other respectable nobles and numbered over four hundred thousand ships.

That Peter… the very same Peter from whom the Guide had drained malice and other negative emotions, had now become a respectable noble.

Though it seems Peter’s Peter still hadn’t been treated.

The Guide was stunned at the sight.

“Wh-what is this? To think that these people, who I thought were worth no more than pebbles on the roadside, would get in my way now!? D-don’t mess with me! My chance had finally come! So why are you all getting in my way!”

It was all the Guide’s own doing.

The cause was the Guide.

The duke’s fleet was filled with outdated and poorly trained ships.

In contrast, their opponents were a collection of well-trained fleets, albeit with some outdated ships, and even included the Empire’s regular army.

The duke’s fists trembled.

“You traitors! It’s impossible for you to obstruct my path to supremacy with a fleet of that size! All forces, charge! Annihilate the enemy before you and slay the treacherous Liam!”

His true intentions, his ‘path to supremacy,’ had slipped out.

Next to the duke, the Guide was trying to flee.

“There’s no way we can win this! In that case, I’ll return to the Capital Planet and spill everything to Liam! If he finds out I’m actually his enemy, he should be surprised… right? Huh? Where did that dog go?”

In the end, the Guide returned to the Capital Planet just to harass him.

◇

“…Uh… I can understand Cedric and the regular army, but the Rezel and Peetak families sided with us too? Are those guys for real?”

The forces that had stopped the suddenly appearing enemy fleet were allies.

The names of the House of Baron Rezel and the House of Count Peetak were among them, and I couldn’t hide my confusion.

We certainly had a connection from my training days, but we weren’t on close terms.

Even Klaus was a little surprised by this.

“They are indeed houses with which our family has little connection. However, thanks to them, our army was spared from taking damage. Let’s leave the remnants to our allies and descend to the Capital Planet.”

With this, the battle is truly over… but the final touch is necessary.

It’s mostly finished, but I still have to take the Emperor’s head.

“Descend to the Capital Planet and inform its people of my victory. …The time has come for everyone in the Empire to bow down to me, Liam Sera Banfield!”

I’ve finally made it this far.

This must also be thanks to the Guide watching over me.

I won’t forget to thank him today either… Thank you, Guide!

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