Book 13: Chapter 5: Decisive Battle Against the Subjugation Army
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The monitor on the bridge of the flagship Argos is displaying an image of the 1.8 million enemy ships in battle formation.
In contrast, the Banfield Familys fleet has around 150,000 ships.
At first glance, it may seem like a hopeless battle, but by now everyone knows that the truth isnt so simple.
It must suck not being able to receive proper maintenance and supplies, I mutter to myself.
Eulisia, whos been standing nearby, picks up on this and starts a conversation.
Still, it doesnt change the fact that they outnumber us greatly.
Well, the resources available to the Empire are not something the Banfield Family can match.
Please stop saying things that may negatively affect our morale.
Its the truth, though. Nevertheless, well be the ones to have the final laugh.
Seeing how confident I am, Eulisia lets out a small sigh.
From an outsiders point of view, the situation may appear hopeless for the Banfield Family, but well-informed individuals would quickly realize that victory or defeat is still up in the air. In fact, Id even say that the Banfield Family has the upper hand in this situation.
The subjugation force is currently isolated in enemy territory without any means to receive proper maintenance or supplies.
Their numbers are certainly staggering, but its not a fight that cant be won.
I dont know what the enemies are doing, but Im glad they keep making mistakes.
Mistakes?
Eulisia starts listing the mistakes that the enemies have made up to this point.
First and foremost, they didnt procure a proper supply line befitting the size of their fleet. This made their reinforcements more of a hindrance than anything else. They also had their main army attack our home planet.
Mhm.
Thinking back, the enemies did make a lot of mistakes.
Eulisia continues, predicting the cause of these mistakes.
His Highness Cleo whos serving as the enemy forces supreme commander probably got impatient, which led to these fatal errors.
Theres nothing wrong with what she says, but I dont like the way she puts it. Its as if shes implying that we wouldnt have won without the enemies help.
Cleo has indeed played a part in our swift victory, but even if he hadnt done anything, I wouldve still been the victor. We may have had to suffer a bit more casualties, but the result wouldnt have changed.
Since I have the blessing of the Guide, theres no way Id lose.
To begin with, I had never trusted the Empire, and I had always been making preparations in case the Empire decided to direct its fangs at us.
I flash a malicious grin at the enemy ships. Cleo should definitely be on one of them.
Cleo, Im curious to see what kind of expression you have right now as youre about to confront me.
On the bridge of the fortress-class battleship that she had chosen as her flagship, Cleo was sweating from the intense stress of having to face the Banfield Familys fleet of 150,000.
(Calm down. The size of our fleet is more than ten times our opponents. Even if we only take into account the combat-ready ships, we have 500,000 as opposed to Liams 150,000. No matter how great Liam is, theres no way he can overcome such a massive difference in numbers.)
Cleo began listing the advantages they had to compose herself, ignoring the issue of supply and maintenance that their army was facing.
(I must win. If I dont, thered be no future for me. Now that Ive come this far, I refuse to simply await death!)
If she were to lose in the upcoming battle, shed lose her standing in the Empire, which was akin to a death sentence for her.
(Ill defeat Liam and ascend the throne. Today is the day that I surpass Liam!)
Although they had the numbers advantage, she was experiencing trouble shaking off her fears.
That was when Marquis Hampsons face appeared on the monitor.
[Your Highness, I would like to ask for permission to strike preemptively.]
Cleo frowned when she heard this.
Why? I thought we had to be prudent in a war of such magnitude?
Striking first seemed unwise based on the knowledge that had been installed in her head.
Marquis responded in a calm manner.
[Under normal circumstances, Your Highness would be right. But our situation is far from normal right now. We may outnumber our enemies, but due to a lack of resources, wed be put at a disadvantage as time progresses. Didnt we discuss this in the previous meeting?]
R-right.
This had already been explained to Cleo, but she was nervous and lacked practical experience, which made it difficult for her to think properly. This alone was proof of how cornered she felt.
Permission granted.
[Please leave the rest to me.]
After saying that, the communication was cut off.
Marquis Hampson, who was on board a super-dreadnought class battleship, cursed in a small voice after the call ended.
Tsk, how annoying.
He found the conversation he had with Cleo earlier tedious and unnecessary.
Now that hed received permission from the Crown Prince, he immediately began issuing orders to the entire army.
All forces are to launch an all-out attack! Banfield has come with only 150,000 ships. We shall teach him the harsh reality of the battlefield!
Under his orders, the unmanned spaceships accelerated toward the Banfield Familys fleet, firing optical weapons as they did so.
These ships had no one on board, and they had been programmed to ram the enemy fleet.
Marquis Hampson grinned when he saw this.
Such expensive missiles. Lets see how you deal with them, Banfield!
First wave of enemies incoming!
Their number 300,000!
I observe the simplified 3D image of the battlefield with narrowed eyes while listening to the reports coming from the operators.
Theyre having 300,000 unmanned ships charge at us? Is the Imperial Army even more understaffed than we expected?
To prepare 300,000 unmanned ships, theyd have to transfer the crew members elsewhere.
Were they transferred to different ships? Its also possible that they had a shortage of staff from the get-go.
Regardless, Eulisia laments the enemies poor treatment of their state-of-the-art ships.
I doubt any of those ships were cheap. The enemies must have decided to take the plunge.
It really is quite an extravagant use of the ships.
To be honest, I feel a little jealous. Amagi would probably scold me if I were to waste my ships like that.
Speaking of which, I miss her.
I want to get this war over with and return home.
I wonder what Rosetta and Edward are up to right now.
Brian is probably bawling his eyes over something, not that I care.
What are their main forces doing?
The operator responds dutifully to my question.
Theyre putting some distance between themselves and the assault unit.
I nod after hearing this.
So they arent planning on attacking together. In that case, we shall assume formation and scatter some mines here and there. Slowly move backward and lay waste to those ships!
The troops under my command fall into formation and begin firing at the unmanned ships.
The optical weapons that we fire split into multiple rays that cause numerous explosions, both big and small.
Their commander should be Marquis Hampson, right? Why arent they using the unmanned ships as meat shields to attack together? Is he too scared to act?
Eulisia, whos standing next to me, replies.
Within the Empire, only Lord Liam and members of the Banfield Family would think of such strategies.
It seems like a good move though.
If I were in their shoes, I wouldve used the unmanned ships as shields and punched a hole in the enemys defense, after which Id have the troops go on a rampage.
This should be a feasible plan for the subjugation force, especially since they outnumber us.
Just as Im wondering if they dont have the guts to do so, one of the military officers on board Argos offers a plausible explanation.
Perhaps they werent trained for that kind of mission.
You mean the subjugation army wasnt adequately trained?
Considering the scale of the subjugation army and how quickly it was assembled, the Empire must have pushed itself quite hard. They no doubt have trained military personnel, but they must also have a lot of conscripts that only received the bare minimum training.
The officer who spoke up used to work for the Empire, so he probably knows what hes saying.
To think theyd use such a method to gather troops. I kind of envy them I voice my jealousy.
Eulisia asks a question to which she already knows the answer.
Lord Liam, if youre that jealous, why dont we conscript soldiers as well?
Weve been accepting recruits, but I have no intention of forcefully conscripting people.
Our territory has been recruiting military personnel on a large scale, offering great terms and preferential treatment in a wide variety of matters. As a result, weve had many applicants.
As for why I didnt turn to conscription, its because doing so could cause a lot of issues.
Part of the reason is that weve been expanding our influence and territory too quickly, and conscripting soldiers could lead to problems in various areas. Our finances might take a hit as well.
A strong army can only exist with the help of various facilities that support it. If we focus only on expanding our military, our foundation wont be as stable.
Thats why Im envious of the Empire they have the means and resources to push through with these decisions.
At the same time, however, it feels like Ive finally gotten to see the Empires limits.
I was wondering why some of the ships moved so sluggishly. For a moment, I thought they were unmanned. Turns out its because the ones operating them are amateurs.
Previously, I noticed that some parts of the enemy fleet showed slow movement and thought they were unmanned ships, but apparently, I was wrong.
Either way, aiming for the weakest link has always been the go-to strategy in battles.
The operator notices a change in the battle and raises his voice.
The enemy fleet has changed formation!
I take a look at the simplified image of the battlefield. It seems the enemies have assumed an assault formation.
Our fleet had to spread out in order to eliminate the unmanned ships coming our way. Theyre probably thinking of taking advantage of this to penetrate our defense.
Eulisia panics when she hears this.
It seems like you were right, Lord Liam. Theyre planning on using the unmanned ships as meat shields.
Call Tia and Marie for me.
The operator immediately summons the two, and they appear in front of me as holographic figures.
A slight noise disrupts our communication from time to time, but its inevitable on a battlefield.
Tia, Marie, well be dividing our fleet into three. Well flank the enemies before joining up again.
Tia hesitates when I mention splitting up our forces.
[But Lord Liam, that would increase our chance of being annihilated.]
If the enemy troops were that skilled, Im sure Hampson wouldnt be having such a difficult time right now.
Dont worry about it. Why, do you feel uneasy?
Marie offers a faint smile when she hears my words of encouragement.
[I will do my utmost to meet Lord Liams expectations.]
Not willing to be outdone by her rival, Tia also declares that she would do it.
[! If that is your will, my lord, I will see to it that it is done!]
The holographic image of the two women then disappears.
Satisfied, I cross my legs and clasp my hands on my knees.
You shouldve whittled down your numbers a bit more, Hampson.
The subjugation force had been preparing to charge while using the unmanned ships as shields, but they soon lost their targets as the Banfield Familys fleet split into three.
Hampson revealed a bitter expression when he saw this.
Theyre clever.
They had split into three fleets, each with around 50,000 ships.
If the subjugation force could annihilate even one of them, victory would probably be theirs.
Unfortunately, the subjugation force wasnt dexterous enough to pull this off.
Not only was their fleet too large, but the unmanned ships and the ships manned by conscripts had been positioned in the outer perimeter of their formation. These ships reacted slowly to orders, and attempting to move them in a dexterous manner was bound to result in accidents.
Collisions between allied ships were frequent even when executing the simplest of orders, such as assuming assault formation.
Previously, when the troops morale was high, they were composed enough to avoid such mistakes. However, in this battle where victory and defeat were uncertain, accidents had become a common occurrence.
The operator on board made a report.
The enemy fleets are aiming for our rear! At the same time, theyre destroying the ships in the outermost part of our formation!
The subjugation forces movement was being severely restricted by the slow reactions of the allied ships and the unmanned ships.
(It seems I was too focused on the troop count, and were paying dearly for that now. Most of them are only getting in the way; we mightve been better off with only 300,000 ships. But then again, could we have stopped the Banfield Family with such few troops?)
Hampson continued to issue orders while reflecting on his bad decision.
Full speed ahead! The enemies are trying to flank us! We must get past our unmanned ships and use them as shields!
To once again put some distance between themselves and the Banfield Family, they had to advance at maximum velocity.
However, this order confused many of their allied ships.
The operator raised his voice in a panic.
Countless collisions are occurring between allied ships!
Ignore them! We can assume a new formation with the ships that survive. Instead, focus on proceeding with caution. We must avoid getting into an accident ourselves!
Hampsons orders were ruthless, but no one objected to them.
It wouldnt be funny if they got caught up in the chaos as well.
With that in mind, the super-dreadnought class battleship moved forward while avoiding the surrounding ships.
They proceeded forward while ignoring the pleas for help from allied ships that got entangled in the mess.
*****
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