Book 12: Chapter 7: Banfield Territory Defense (2)
There is a space battleship called the fortress class.
It is a very large space battleship called a moving fortress.
Sitting in the seat of the commander-in-chief on its bridge was Cleo.
Surrounding him were his stewards and maids, in addition to his escorting knights.
The knights and soldiers were also waiting, but away from Cleo's periphery, the imperial soldiers were busy moving about.
"Short-range warp succeeded!"
"No enemy in sight around the perimeter!"
"Take formation immediately!"
As Cleo watched the fortress-class commanders and captains issuing orders one after another, he took the drink offered by the maid.
"Are we just going to sit here and watch the battle?"
A nearby soldier - a general who is Cleo's military advisor - answers the question.
He was a very old man with a lot of war experience, and his uniform was decorated with many medals.
The same goes for the other soldiers.
"Your Highness, the Commander-in-Chief has the duty of Commanding General. The fleet of Marquis Hampson, which preceded us, is building a base, and we will join them as soon as the fleet is ready."
Cleo was getting tired of the general stating the obvious.
"How much time are we spending just repeating short-range warps?"
Because there are too many of them, it is taking too long to make short-distance warps.
As he watched the following vessels come into short-range warp, he received a transmission from the Marquis of Hampson.
An image is projected in front of Cleo's eyes.
"Your arrival has been delayed by several days."
Cleo was miffed at the sudden sarcasm.
The reason for the delay was not Cleo's fault.
"Ask your men."
Hearing Cleo's reply, Hampson frowned slightly. However, his face immediately turned into one of dismay, and he said with a look that said he had no choice.
The head of the fleet is the Crown Prince. It's part of his job to keep the men below him on their toes.
Cleo sniffs at the accusation.
"You want to be dictated to by a layman?"
"If you understand, I'd like you to try to raise morale. --...the Banfield family's formation has been discovered."
"What!?"
As Cleo rises from his seat, a map of the Banfield family's fleet is displayed around him.
The Banfield family abandoned the planets they were pioneering and formed a line to protect only those planets and bases that they deemed important.
Seeing this, Cleo laughs.
"It's all too predictable and uninteresting. As expected of Liam, he could not come up with a brilliant plan."
He had expected Liam's action beforehand, but when he saw the result, he found it to be the most boring and ordinary lineup.
Hampson's face remained grim as Cleo seemed to be shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't want to be underestimated. Liam is not the only one, but he has Klaus as a confidant. I don't think he chose this protection without thinking."
"Klaus--the most powerful knight in the empire?"
If Liam is the strongest in terms of individual valor, Klaus is the strongest knight leading an army.
The mere mention of Klaus' two names is enough to make the bridge crew nervous.
Liam is terrifying, but the odds of encountering him themselves are not high.
But Klaus is different.
The knight they were about to fight was the most powerful knight in the empire, who supported Liam by his side.
Hampson was also wary.
"He's a man who would send out even his own master as a decoy if necessary. Banfield is also a nutcase who uses him heavily, but the two of them are the worst match for us. Please, Your Royal Highness, keep to the schedule."
"--Are you telling me here to run when Liam comes?"
"Winning is all that matters. Victory comes to those who do what their opponents don't want them to do."
Cleo is annoyed at Hampson for going for a hapless victory, but he is relieved when he remembers those who have underestimated Liam and lost so far.
(I'm sure this man will be fine.)
Despite his annoyance, Cleo thinks that a man like him would be able to beat Liam.
"Let's just follow the straightforward approach here."
"Thank you, sir."
(If we could defeat a large army with a small army, no one would have any trouble!)
There was a man who had his head in his hands inwardly.
The first knight of the Banfield family, the knight whom Liam trusts the most, who was given the number "1" - Klaus.
There are several fortress-class ships stationed in the vicinity of the main planet, protecting the Banfield family's stronghold.
A large fleet of several hundred thousand ships has been prepared, and Klaus is in command.
The bridge of the flagship of the several thousand-meter class, the superdreadnought battleship.
Klaus was looking at a huge monitor screen with a blank expression on his face while crossing his arms.
Surrounding him are his subordinate knights and soldiers.
"The fleet is in position, Your Excellency Klaus."
"The enemy fleet has entered the territory one after another at short-range warp."
"Some of the fleets are saying that we should intercept them."
Many knights and soldiers were valiantly charging in the face of the large fleet.
Klaus's response to this was a fixed one.
"No. Tell them to behave themselves. Inform them to man up and get on the defensive."
When he refused, one of the soldiers seemed somewhat disgruntled.
"But we are at a disadvantage if we run into an enemy of this number. We should take some kind of surprise strategy. With a small, elite fleet, let's play tricks on the enemy."
If something is not done, they will be crushed by the violence of their numbers.
Klaus understood that, but if he did something bad, he would only be surrounded and beaten by a small, elite fleet. It would be the Banfield family that would be reduced in numbers unilaterally.
"Don't underestimate the enemy. They have already taken that much into account."
(To begin with, the enemy is the regular army of the empire and influential nobles who have been equipped with new models.)
A simply strong enemy is extremely troublesome.
Klaus, aware that he was an ordinary man, was going to strike the enemy by taking advantage of his geographical location without doing anything poorly.
As he looked at the monitor, the operator shouted.
"Sir! The Christiana fleet has made contact with the enemy fleet!"
While everyone around him was buzzing, Klaus made up his mind inwardly.
(I'll do whatever I can do to help. Christiana can withstand an enemy twice her size.)
Christiana is known for her problematic behavior, but Klaus trusts her abilities.
However, the operator's attention was drawn to the enemy's behavior.
"The size of the enemy fleet--about three million!"
Hearing that number, Klaus' eyes widened for a moment.
(They suddenly put half of the fleet into action!?)
.
A habitable planet owned by the Banfield family.
Several bases were placed around it, using asteroids as fortifications.
It was a planet that Liam had developed, and the Banfield family could not afford to lose it.
Tia, who was defending it, felt annoyed at the enemy fleet that was pouring in.
At the same time, she was impressed by their boldness.
"Breaking down the fleet individually--that's certainly effective."
Tia thought that the conquering force, which had led a fleet of six million ships, was proud of its numbers.
In their pride, they would spread their conquering forces throughout the Banfield family's territory, according to the report.
However, the enemy turned about half of them against the planet Tia was defending.
Tia's second-in-command was slightly dismayed.
"Tia-sama, your orders!"
Tia was silent for a moment at her second-in-command words, but she immediately put her right hand in front of her and gave the order.
"Use the defense equipment to thoroughly cut down the enemy. It's only a tenfold difference."
Tia leads a force of 300,000 ships.
In addition, it had been considered a defensive base for some time.
If the difference was two or three times as large, they could afford to easily defeat them.
However, ten times as many, three million vessels, would make them impatient.
The second-in-command shouted out.
"Attack from the enemy fleet! --They are coming!"
Optical weapons were fired one after another, and live ammunition rained down.
The deployed fleet uses asteroids and other objects as shields to withstand the enemy fleet's attacks, while the deployed interceptor facilities counterattack.
The only damage that was caused to their side was to the defensive facilities, and in the enemy fleet, the ships that took direct hits were exploding.
However, even if they were able to destroy some of them, the enemy's momentum remained the same.
Tia immediately asked for help.
"--Have Klaus turn the reserve force around."
Tia's order surprised her second-in-command.
"Is that all right with you, ma'am? If you ask for help when the battle has just started, your reputation will be damaged."
The adjutant, who is concerned about Tia's credibility, replies indignantly.
"If we endure this point, we will be closer to victory!--It's true that destroying each of them individually is ideal. But you know, the enemy has a supply problem."
This is the Banfield family's territory.
The Banfield fleet can be supplied more easily than the conquering army.
In contrast, the conquering army, which has suddenly thrown in half of its forces, will suffer the longer it takes.
Tia understood that they were suffering, but the enemy was suffering even more.
That is why they decided that if they could get through this battle, the shape of the battle would tilt in favor of the Banfield family.
The value of this battlefield was great.
"It would have been worse if they had been dispersed and looted from place to place. If we can make half of them useless here, our victory will be--"
No doubt! Just as Tia was about to say that, an unpleasant report came to her.
The operator tells her what happened on a different battlefield.
"An enemy fleet is descending on a planet in our territory!"
Tia turns to the operator and asks for more information.
"What is the ranger fleet doing? Are you letting another fleet plunder the planet!?"
The operator's face paled at the mention of a fleet raiding the territory.
"The enemy fleet--it's a special mission fleet of the Imperial Guard. The ranger fleet has been wiped out."
Hearing this, Tia became furious and ruffled her hair.
"Those damn pirates!"
Cozmo's arms are crossed on the bridge.
Cozmo is aboard a fortress-class battleship named the Hydra.
On the bridge, which was decorated and glistening, Cozmo was attended by beautiful women dressed in modified military uniforms. The skirts are short and the busts are open, and beautiful women in military uniforms are leaning against Cozmo.
The corner of Cozmo's mouth turned up as he watched the images on the huge monitor.
"The Banfield family, I heared rumors, is no slouch. The elite fleet that has been entrusted with the ambuscade is this good."
The destroyed Banfield family vessels and mobile knights are drifting in space.
A beautiful secretary informs Cozmo of the current situation.
"Sir, the descending troops have begun looting."
At this report, Cozmo lets out a small, deliberate sigh.
"This is imperial territory."
Many of the pirate fleet led by Cozmo had descended on the planet they had acquired.
They are pillaging there.
"Excuse me, sir. The requisition is going well. As we expected, the Banfield family is a treasure trove. It's just--"
A beautiful secretary reports something curious.
"--It seems that they have hurriedly evacuated the citizens."
Cozmo's eyes narrowed as he heard this, and he looked at her with a look of incomprehension.
"The treasure was still there, but they evacuated the people? --Are these Banfield people really that stupid?"
For Cozmo, who valued treasure more than human life, Liam was someone he could not understand.
The beautiful secretary said.
"The fleet that has been requisitioned has returned. What are we going to do now, Your Excellency?"
"Of course, we will continue on to the next planet--"
Cozmo was going to attack another planet, but the operator shouted.
"General! It's the elite fleet of Banfield. The flagship is the Argos!"
Cozmo pushes away the beautiful women he has been assigned to guard, gets up from his seat, and immediately gives the order:
"Banfield himself!?"
"Yes, sir! We think that's a possibility."
"All right! --Retreat!!"
When the elite fleet led by Liam arrived, the pirate fleet led by Cozmo ran away at once.
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