Book 12: Chapter 2: Army of Conquest
After sending Serena back to the capital planet, Tia was summoned by Cleo to the palace.
When Tia was shown into a room to meet with the royal family, Cleo was waiting for her, surrounded by armed knights.
With Tia standing, Cleo was sitting on a chair, elegantly enjoying a cup of tea.
Tia's eyes were filled with murderous intent at the sight of him.
"--Please tell me again."
Cleo, who betrayed Liam as soon as he became the crown prince, utters outrageous things in a casual manner as if he were talking to a friend.
"There is a suspicion of treason in the Banfield family. After a while, the empire will officially invade the Banfield family's territory with all its might--that's what I said."
Tia clenched her hands as she looked at Cleo, who told her matter-of-factly.
She makes a creaking sound, but her expression doesn't change.
Tia, too, is unconcerned trying to look nonchalant.
"Are you planning to betray Liam-sama, who has devoted so much time and effort to help you?"
At Tia's comment, the knights armed to protect the crown prince picked up their weapons.
However, Cleo raised his hand to stop them.
Cleo stood up and approached Tia and stood next to her.
"It was the Duke who intended to use me from the beginning, wasn't he? Are you going to tell me that you made me crown prince just out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Do you think it was all malicious? How diminutive of you, the Crown Prince of the Empire."
Did they betray their own people just because of that? Cleo raised his eyebrows slightly at Tia who said so. However, he soon regained his smile.
"I was certainly disrespectful to you guys too. I know, Christiana, why don't you become my vassal? If you're as talented as you are, I'd be happy to have you as my right hand man and let you lead the empire."
The conditions for a vassal of a lord and a position in charge of an empire are comparable, after all.
However, Tia refuses.
"I do not need to be your vasal let alone your right hand man--I will refuse."
"You will regret it."
Cleo glares at her, and his expression makes Tia feel better.
"Well then, if you'll excuse me."
Tia turns around and leaves the room.
-The Banfield family is suspected of rebellion.
The empire has formed an army to conquer it.
This information was received after sending Serena to the capital planet.
After the information was received from Tia, who had been dispatched to the capital planet, the Empire began to cut off the Banfield family one after another.
"We, the Seventh Weapons Factory, have been expelled from the Empire!"
Nias Carlin was shown on a large monitor, sobbing and making a terrible face.
The merchant houses and arms factories connected to the Banfield family have all ceased doing business with the Empire at once.
It's an obvious act of hostility - but it's too mild and I don't like it.
"I told you to come over to our place, too."
"Don't make it sound so easy! It's not easy to move in!
"Then why don't you do it independently?"
"That's impossible, that's why we're consulting you!"
Despite its high technology, the Seventh Weapons Factory is not popular because it ignores the needs of its customers.
There is no way they can do it independently.
It is impossible to do business in the Empire.
After all, the Empire has suspended business with them.
Next to me, who is talking to Nias, is Elysia, who has her arms crossed and is tapping her fingers together.
She too was trying to say something to me.
"Liam-sama, we have received a complaint from my old place as well."
Elysia's old place is Third Weapons Factory, which is a very popular weapons factory in the Empire.
The people at the Third Weapons Factory were probably under the impression that they would not be discarded by the Empire.
However, the Empire had also cut off the Third Weapons Factory.
Sitting on the sofa, I cross my legs and smirk at them.
"Let Third know that if they come to us, we'll take care of them."
Elysia lets out a big sigh once and uses her terminal to relay my words to the factory.
Nias on the monitor, but this one was drooping.
"This is such a terrible thing."
It would be a good idea to flee to an interstellar nation other than the Empire, but that would mean taking secrets to another country.
If that were to happen, the Empire would destroy the weapons factory without question.
"--You go out of your way to send salt to the enemy? I'm sick and tired of the laxity of the imperial family."
I muttered in dissatisfaction, my smile fading, and Elysia, who had finished communicating with me, looked at me.
"What's the matter, sir?"
"Nothing. Now let's talk to Elliott and Patrice next."
I forcefully shut down the communication with Nias, and Elysia gives me a dumbfounded look.
"That's a lot of leeway, isn't it? The empire is seriously coming to crush us. The scale of the conquering force is said to be several million for sure."
With a force of that size, the Empire would have to do a lot of work.
We are also facing a very hard fight, but we have not been waiting for nothing to happen.
I knew that we would eventually go to war with the Empire, and we are making preparations for that.
But we can't make up for the difference in numbers.
"We'll take them on. Now, let's get ready for this one. --Elysia declare the transition to a wartime system in the territory. All undefended planets and colonies are to be destroyed and their inhabitants evacuated."
"All of them!?"
I replied curtly to the astonished Elysia.
"Of course. Everything in my territory is my property, human or otherwise."
I don't care if I throw it away.
But I will not allow someone to take my property without my permission.
Besides, this world can develop again as long as there are human beings in it.
We cannot waste any human resources for the future.
Elysia puts her hand on her chin.
"--There will be some lords who will say they don't want to leave the planet they have pioneered."
That's easy.
"Order the army to force them out.--I'm not asking you to do it, I'm ordering you to do it."
The people of the House of Banfield should not disobey me.
Elysia shook her head, and then she set up the terminal that would deliver my orders.
I get up from the couch and stand up.
"Now, how many enemies are coming?"
.
The basement of the Banfield family mansion.
Various materials were collected there.
From the materials engraved on stone tablets to the memories still in use today, they were all there.
These materials are managed by maid robots led by Amagi.
A number of maid robots were analyzing the collected materials.
Among them was Amagi.
She was carefully turning the pages of a very old and thick book, page by page, to check the contents.
However, the information they were looking for was not written in the book.
"This is different, too."
As she closed the thick book and was about to put it back on the shelf, the maid robots stopped moving all together.
It was only a few seconds in time, but soon thereafter, they began to start cleaning up the materials.
One of the maid robots approaches Amagi.
"The Master has ordered us to change to the wartime system. Overseer, we will suspend our work and return to our original tasks."
Gathering materials and information was not Liam's order.
Originally, the maid robots were not allowed to do this.
When he said that he would suspend the work because of the emergency, Amagi moved her gaze - and gave an order to the three maid robots.
"Rejected. The three of you will stay behind and continue working. The others will return to their normal work."
"Are you sure?"
Amagi looked down at the mass-produced maid robots that were nodding their heads.
"I don't care. I can do my job without any problem."
Saying this, Amagi left the reference room with the three maid robots.
When the sliding door closed, it was disguised as if there had never been a door there in the first place.
It was a hidden room that even Liam did not know about.
The maid robots pass on information to Amagi.
"The Empire has summoned the regular army and nobles to the capital planet."
"All other weapon factories, except the third and seventh, have cancelled their orders."
"We have confirmed that prices are rising in the Empire."
As the information that the Empire has seriously begun preparations continues, Amagi blurts out, "I wonder if that entity is behind this as well."
At that time.
The guide was found in an alleyway overflowing with trash on the capital planet.
Standing on a pile of garbage, the guide was spreading out an electronic paper.
And his hands were trembling.
"Hell Yeah!"
He screamed with glee as he tore the electronic paper apart.
He clenched his hands and looked up, rejoicing in Liam's misfortune.
"I can do it. This time I can do it! Now that almost the entire empire has turned against him, there's no way Liam can win, no matter how much he wants to!"
The guide trembled with joy.
The article on the electronic paper said that the Empire would impose sanctions on the old Cleo faction.
It identified not only Liam, but all the aristocratic factions led by Liam who supported Cleo, as enemies.
The guide praised Cleo.
"Good on you, Cleo! I love you for betraying your former allies, but I love you for going so far for Liam!"
Cleo's reputation in the guide's mind continued to rise to new heights after betraying Liam and even getting the empire to send out an army to conquer the Banfield family.
The black mist spread as the guide straightened his back and opened his arms.
"I will release the negative energy stored in the capital planet. If I support Cleo with all my strength, I should be able to defeat Liam this time."
It will not be easy to defeat Liam, who has stepped into the realm of something inhuman.
However,
Liam is still human.
If they are thrown out into space alive, they will die, and if they are hit directly by the main guns of a battleship, they will be vaporized.
Even if one can't beat them one-on-one, with an army of millions, one will have a chance.
"That son of a bitch. This time, this time, I will end him. I'm going to put an end to the relationship between you and me."
The guide plans to use all the negative emotions he has stored up on the capital planet to support Cleo and defeat Liam.
"Liam--Next time is your end!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺