Chapter 9:
First Battle
WE'D BEEN ABLE to scrape up some five thousand ships. Although
our full military force consisted of eight thousand ships, between vessels in
maintenance and those that simply couldn't be readied in time, that was what
we had to work with. If we'd waited a little longer, we might have been able
to boost that number to six or seven thousand, but I didn't think we should
delay any further.
On the bridge of my space battleship, I sat haughtily in my specially
outfitted chair. The bridge was large, with over a hundred people scurrying
around on it. Mine was a high-performance vessel, capable of serving as the
command center for all five thousand of my ships. With the commanders and
staff officers on board, it boasted more personnel than the average ship.
From my chair, I ordered the busy soldiers to pick up the pace. "Are we
ready to launch yet?"
The soldiers were all on edge, but they couldn't talk back to a noble.
This was just how things were in the Empire; the class divisions were
absolute, and no one could disobey me. Frankly, it felt great. The lowly
grunts worked like maniacs while I was sitting pretty at the top, watching
them.
This is what it means to be nobility. Course, I'd be pissed if I were in
their shoes. You're working hard and your boss is taking it easy? I'd wanna
kill him.
"It won't be long now, my lord. More importantly, is this really the
best course of action?"
The commanding officer once again questioned my orders, but I cut the
conversation short with a curt "Enough."
This is a fixed game. Sure, I'm up against a huge pirate gang, but it's
nothing but a bonus stage for me. My win's already been decided. I smirked.
I couldn't wait to see my prize.
"These guys have some sort of treasure, right?"
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The soldiers exchanged a glance at my sudden change in topic. "I-it
seems so. From the way they run rampant, it would make sense that the Goaz
Pirate Gang is in possession of some miraculous treasure."
I grinned. "I'm looking forward to taking it from them. I'm eager to
make use of it."
They continued to gawk at me, baffled.
These guys are totally scared of the other side's numbers. Is it normal
for my personal army to respond like this?
***
In the midst of all the nervous energy on the bridge, Liam alone was
smiling. Sitting in the chair prepared for the count and no one else, he
elegantly sipped his drink. He looked entirely calm, so no one was quite sure
how to react.
"Pretty calm for his first battle," the mouthy colonel remarked to his
commander, the lieutenant general.
The lieutenant general wasn't sure how to feel about Liam's attitude
either. "It doesn't look like he's simply putting on a brave face."
His cohort was inclined to agree. "He has a reputation for being a
capable administrator, but what about his military prowess? Personally, I'd
prefer it if he didn't try to interfere too much."
"Agreed."
None of the soldiers knew what to think. It was rare for a lord to come
to the front lines himself. Normally, nobles stayed safe in the rear or left their
domains behind and fled. Yet Liam had said he would lead them into battle—
and he wasn't even an adult yet.
"Maybe it's his brand of noble pride. I think it's commendable," the
lieutenant general said, and the colonel nodded.
If they were to be honest, the soldiers would have preferred that Liam
run and live to see another day, but it also gave them courage to watch him
trying to do his duty.
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"The troops are less jittery with our lord here. I hope he'll just keep
sitting there and boosting morale."
From the soldiers' perspective, their ruler was fighting with them
instead of abandoning ship. Some of them were deeply moved by the sight,
thinking, This is what a noble should be.
Liam being on the battlefield also meant that his military personnel
wouldn't be used as sacrificial pawns. Sacrificing soldiers so that the nobility
could escape wasn't an unusual tactic in the Empire. As a result, House
Banfield's private army had unexpectedly high morale. They were still able
to hold on to their fighting spirit in the face of an enemy force six times their
size.
Adjusting his hat, the lieutenant general steeled himself. "Now we have
to make sure to follow his example ourselves."
"You said it."
***
Of the ships making up the Goaz Pirate Gang's fleet, Goaz commanded
a particularly large vessel. It had belonged to a nation he'd destroyed, and
he'd taken a liking to it. Of course, with all the modifications he'd made, it
hardly resembled the original vessel anymore.
Having received a report on the bridge of this ship, Goaz pressed his
hand to his brow and laughed. "He's comin' out himself? The little kid's
gonna fight with the grown-ups?"
The other pirates made sure to join in his laughter to keep Goaz in a
good mood. To date, the Goaz Pirate Gang had never known defeat. They
had nothing to fear from a backwater count with a paltry number of soldiers
and not a single knight. To them, Liam's actions seemed suicidal.
"Well, he's got guts, I'll give him that. Hey, tell everyone that they'll
get twice the reward if they take him alive. I'm gonna make the kid my new
toy."
Knowing exactly how Goaz liked to play with his toys, his adjutant
grinned. "Great taste as always, Boss."
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Goaz was in a great mood, enjoying Liam's response to his arrival.
"It's nice to take down stuck-up brats like him. I think I'll torment his poor,
defenseless people when I'm done with him."
For nearly a century, Goaz had toyed with countless people's lives. The
reason he was able to accomplish all this was the small gold box he'd
acquired—the alchemy box. This was the treasure that had transformed Goaz
from some random thug into the captain of a tremendous pirate fleet.
The alchemy box was a fantastical item that could turn any old junk
into gold. It had been created by an ancient craftsman, the secrets of its
manufacturing lost to time. It was said that no one would ever be able to
make anything like it again. It didn't just make gold either; the device could
also transmute material into mithril or adamantite. With this item, any old
stone lying by a roadside could become a precious metal. It was just that
powerful.
"I think it's time we teach an ignorant little brat what a real war is all
about."
In the pirates' minds, they had already won. It was only natural for
them to feel this way, considering their forces were six times as large as their
enemy's. They didn't even need a strategy. Ram into 'em head-on, and
victory was certain.
***
Several days after departing my domain, we finally faced off against
the pirates. I'd been listening to the lieutenant general, who was acting
commander on my ship, give orders, but it was so boring that I struggled to
stay awake. My captain's chair was really high quality. It didn't make my
back hurt when I sat in it for hours, and it was so comfortable, it made me
sleepy. In fact, I'd already fallen asleep in it several times over the last few
days. If I let my guard down now, I would probably start snoozing again.
There was a reason for the boredom. Because both fleets knew the
other's exact position, every move was too predictable. It had been days since
we'd first encountered each other, but there hadn't yet been a battle. All
either side had done during this time was reposition its ships into fresh battle
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formations. I didn't know anything about warfare, so I'd let my men do the
work, but if I didn't say something soon, there might never be a battle.
I got the impression we were in for a hard fight because of our inferior
numbers, but so far, it was just too quiet. When's the fighting gonna start?
I asked a nearby soldier just that. "So when will we go to battle?"
"It has already begun, my lord. In a fight of this scale, one cannot
simply charge at the enemy. Being outnumbered, we're in a bit of a tight
spot."
It hasn't even started yet and we're already in a tight spot? What's up
with that?
"I don't see the enemy."
"In space, if you can see the enemy, you're at point-blank range."
"That does sound familiar." I felt like I'd learned it in the education
capsule, but I'd never gotten a lesson from an actual soldier, so the memory
eluded me.
These guys really don't suck up to me though, huh? I wouldn't mind if
they did, but I guess I should value their frankness. They're doing good work
for me, so I'll allow it. I guess they're just trying to gauge the right distance
we should be from the enemy and the right time to close that distance. Really,
this is a battle fought with instrumentation. Still, how long does it take to
stare down the other guys?
"At that scale, they probably have some real military advisers," the
commander muttered.
Neighboring soldiers were discussing the same. "I hear they've got a
lot of former soldiers."
"With this difference in numbers, they'll be massive trouble if they're
any better than incompetent."
I turned back to the soldier next to me. "Is this what all battles are
like?"
"Not typically, no, but commanders always have to worry about the
timing of their attacks."
Gradually, the two forces drew closer together and readjusted their
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formations. The enemy wasn't in visible range, but both sides were aware of
the other. On a simplified 3D representation of the battlefield, I could see our
enemies attempting to surround us.
"How long do we have to wait?" Just when I was thinking about
ordering my fleet to charge already, I snapped alert at a shout from one of the
bridge operators.
"Communications failure! Jamming is coming from...directly above
the fleet! Enemies approaching from above! Five hundred of them!"
The commander calmly gave his orders. "Prepare to intercept, but don't
let them distract you from the main force!"
My swiftly moving fleet turned, so that the ships' noses pointed
upward at the attacking enemy.
Meanwhile, the commander grimaced. "So they made their move first."
I asked the soldier next to me to explain. "Shouldn't you avoid dividing
your forces? Why would they attack us with only five hundred ships?"
"They're trying to break up our formation. No matter how quickly we
intercept, they'll be able to throw us off somehow."
"They should just go all out from the start," I complained.
This soldier then noticed something about the charging enemies, and
the color drained from his face. "My lord, those aren't pirates... These are
vessels that surrendered to the pirates. That's another territory's military—
being used as sacrificial pawns."
These ships didn't look to be of the Empire, so they must have been
from a different intergalactic nation.
"They capture an enemy force and send it at another enemy. Tell me, if
they could cut off our communications, why didn't they do that first?"
"It would affect their own communications too. Think of it as
something to be used only at a crucial moment."
If they couldn't communicate, they couldn't send orders. It would be a
real pain for both sides.
When the charging fleet launched their attack, we intercepted and fired
back at them. All sorts of beams streaked between us. There was some beauty
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in the flashes of light as they lit up the darkness of space.
Man, explosions in space... Gotta say, fantasy worlds are pretty
amazing.
***
From his ship's bridge, Goaz applauded his enemy. "The brat can fight.
Or he's got some talented people working for him."
They'd repelled five hundred of his allied ships, but Goaz didn't care.
The defeated troops were just fodder who'd surrendered to him, so it was no
skin off his back to lose them. Plus, his advantage was so overwhelming that
the loss of a mere five hundred ships would do nothing to affect the outcome
of the battle.
His adjutant didn't look particularly bothered either. "Things are
chaotic for them, Boss. Now's the time to attack."
House Banfield's fleet was already in disarray, and there was no way
for them to regain their organization with communications down. While their
detachment was doing battle, the pirates had advanced.
Goaz nodded at his adjutant's appraisal of the situation. His rousing
voice reverberated through the bridge. "Time to charge, boys! While they're
still confused, let's teach 'em how pirates do things!"
At Goaz's order, the full pirate fleet charged. They weren't in any kind
of formation, but they didn't care. Considering how disorganized their enemy
was, they could easily be defeated with just a head-on assault.
House Banfield's fleet retreated while staying in formation, the ships'
noses still pointed at the enemy.
"They're running. We'll pursue, and... Hm?"
The attacking pirates had flown straight into a trap—a minefield. Fifty
or so ships at the front of the charge got caught up in the blasts and were torn
to pieces. The explosions even reached some ships behind them, creating
significant damage.
"Sneaky."
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They must have spread the mines as the two forces were facing off, or
while they retreated. Whatever the case, in terms of their total fighting force,
they hadn't lost that much.
Unbothered, the adjutant evaluated House Banfield's forces. "They're
better than we thought."
Goaz was rather amused by their resistance. "It's better when they
entertain us a bit. A few losses won't—"
Suddenly, their frontline ships were hit by an enemy barrage and began
to explode.
"Huh?" Goaz raised an eyebrow and looked to his adjutant for an
explanation.
The other man hurried to reply, looking anxious. "Their troops seem to
be quite experienced, and their equipment isn't bad either."
Goaz clicked his tongue. They weren't able to confer with their other
ships or intercept enemy transmissions with communications down for both
sides, but from here, it appeared these guys were putting up a better fight than
they'd expected. The tables had turned at the front lines.
"Pretty impressive, but what does it matter? You really think you can
make up for the difference in numbers with this?"
Even if the other side proved to be more experienced, the pirates still
had overwhelmingly superior numbers. No matter how many ships they lost,
there would be more behind them to continue the attack on House Banfield's
fleet.
The two sides clashed, and both fleets took damage to their front lines,
yet none of the attacks reached Goaz's ship. His ship was equipped with an
energy shield, and several vessels specialized for defense were arranged
around his own, protecting him. There was nothing for him to fear from his
enemy.
"Keep pushing—we've got the advantage! Crush them!"
They were putting up a bit of a fight, that was all. The pirates surged
forward, bearing down on House Banfield's fleet.
The adjutant anticipated their foe's moves. "Normally, a noble's
private army will start to flee right about now. Once one of them breaks rank
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and turns tail, they fall apart from there."
When one ship fled, the rest eventually followed, breaking up the
fleet's formation. It was easier to run down a fleeing enemy, so the adjutant
was hoping for that to happen.
"Well, they've got the balls not to run. If they want to fight so bad,
we'll bring it to them."
"You got it, Boss."
Poorly trained crews belonging to nobility tended to flee as soon as
they were at a disadvantage, either because of a lack of experience or because
they simply lacked loyalty. However, so far House Banfield's fleet was
sticking together and fighting in a show of perseverance. Figuring they'd
pound the fight out of them eventually, the pirates continued their charge.
"I bet they'll run soon," Goaz said.
Finally, the movements of the House Banfield ships changed. Seeing
this, the adjutant figured the clash was coming to an end. "We got 'em on the
ropes, Boss."
"'Bout what I'd expect from 'em."
The two men believed their enemy was breaking formation, and that
the battle was over.
However, something wasn't right.
***
How long's this battle gonna drag on for? Irritated, I rose from my
chair and beckoned the commander over. He looked busy, but I didn't care.
"Hey, how long are we gonna run?"
"This is the best we can do at the moment, my lord. In order to win, we
have to drag out the battle as long as we can while we wait for the regular
army to—"
That's what your plan is? I shouldn't have left things to you guys.
"Wait for the regular army? Who ordered you to do that? I'm going to
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fight here and now, and win with my force alone. We'll finish this before the
others even get here."
"B-but, my lord..."
"The enemy has greater numbers. What's going to happen if they send
a detached force to my planet?"
"W-well...there's a possibility that our defensive unit won't be able to
fend them off. That's why we have to keep them occupied here!"
"Don't be ridiculous! You want to just let them into my domain?"
I couldn't give a shit about my planet, really, but Amagi was there.
Well, and Brian. There was no point in victory if my territory was torn apart
and Amagi was dead. Actually, did I really not care what happened to my
planet and my people? After all the work it had taken to build things up this
far, having someone else tear it all down would be humiliating.
"We're going to crush them here. Don't let any of them escape! I won't
allow a single one of them to set foot on my planet!"
"B-but what about your own life, my lord?"
True, I did value my own life, but there was no point in prolonging this
game of tag with the pirates. Fighting against a more powerful enemy, you
have to do everything you can to bring them down to your level. We're up
against pirates; they're not afraid to play dirty. I don't want to give them any
extra time to strategize.
"Don't argue with me. Now then, I brought my own personal craft
since it's my first battle and all. We'll have to get closer to the enemy for me
to go out and fight them, right?"
Everyone was looking at me with harsh eyes, as if to say "What does
this brat think he's doing, talking about matters he doesn't understand?" But I
didn't care. Plus, if I waited for the regular army to intervene, they'd claim
my treasure. Goaz is my prey! I'm not giving him to anyone else!
"All ships, charge."
At my order, the commander's eyes widened. "Wha—?"
"Did you not hear me? Charge with all ships, I said. Hurry up and do it.
I'm going to deploy in the Avid, so just tell me when we're close enough.
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We'll be sending out the rest of the mobile knights too."
I was tired of sitting on the bridge, so I headed for the hangar, where
the Avid was stored. Jeez, if you were just trying to keep them busy, you
should have told me sooner. What a waste of time.
***
On the bridge of Goaz's ship, he and his adjutant were becoming
agitated. They'd realized something was odd when the firefight hadn't gone
the way they'd expected. Normally, their enemy's attack would be waning by
now, but they showed no signs of stopping.
Goaz bolted up from his chair. "What's going on?"
The screen in front of him magnified the distant enemy fleet. What he
saw was the enemy ships retaining formation... Fighting, not fleeing. Seeing
this, it was hard to imagine this fleet losing its will to fight.
His adjutant was just as surprised. "They're not retreating? No, it looks
like they're tightening their formation and advancing!"
"Send out the mobile knights!" Goaz bellowed. "All the mercenaries
too!"
They were close enough to send their humanoid weapons out to fight
now, but they realized then that the enemy had already deployed their own
mobile knights, and these were cutting into Goaz's front lines.
"This kid has got a backbone. I'm definitely gonna nab him so I can
make him my toy."
For the first time, Goaz simmered with anger, finally acknowledging
his enemy.
***
On the bridge, the commander barked out order after order. The staff
officers were busy confirming the state of the battle and dishing out their own
instructions. One officer—the one Liam had been talking with earlier—
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glanced at the lord's now-empty chair.
"I didn't think he'd really go out there."
All the other soldiers were bewildered as well. They'd boarded Liam's
battleship in order to serve beside him, but then he'd deployed in a mobile
knight. He'd ordered the charge, and now he was on the battlefield himself,
leaving the commander and staff officers to oversee the chaotic bridge.
"Just move the mobile knights forward! Don't let our lord take fire!"
"He has pulled away from his guards and is rushing ahead!"
"We have to protect him, whatever it takes!"
The soldiers all looked up at the wall-length main monitor, watching
the Avid's movements.
"So this is a knight..."
Knights were truly something special, unlike rank-and-file soldiers.
They had trained their minds and bodies from a young age, and regular
soldiers stood no chance against them. There was such a difference in their
abilities that when they fought, all regular soldiers could do was try to
surround and overwhelm them. Mobile knights piloted by regular soldiers
and those piloted by knights moved in completely different ways, even if the
machines had the same specs.
There were no knights in House Banfield. The only one in this domain
with the abilities of a knight was Liam himself.
The monitor displayed the Avid, Liam within it, blasting through
enemy forces with a rocket launcher in its right manipulator and a laser sword
in its left. As soon as the pirates' mobile knights drew close, he cut through
them with his laser blade, blasting holes in their battleships with his rocket
launcher.
When the rocket launcher ran out of ammunition, he tossed it aside,
summoned a glowing magic portal in front of the Avid, and pulled a new
weapon from within. He had a massive supply of weapons at his disposal, all
of which were stored with spatial magic. This was something only a high-
class weapon like the Avid could pull off; mass-produced machines couldn't
hope to achieve it. He maneuvered the Avid freely through space, displaying
an overwhelming might.
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House Banfield's fleet was still struggling with communications issues,
but they could hear Liam's voice interspersed with static. "Ah ha ha ha, just
try to stop me!"
As they watched Liam crush his enemies without hesitation, destroying
pirate ship after pirate ship, one soldier wiped a tear from his cheek. "He's so
strong. He really is a knight."
Since he hadn't had his coming-of-age ceremony yet, Liam was still
considered a child, so these soldiers felt they were watching a child battle
gleefully with pirates.
The commander approached his men, finished with dispensing orders
for now. "Does he frighten you?"
Snapping to attention, one soldier uttered, "Oh, Commander. No, I..."
"At ease," said the commander, who then returned to his chair. While
directing the battleship, he'd been stealing glances at the Avid on the
monitors. "I wonder if our lord would have lived a normal childhood if he
hadn't been born a noble. It's actually a shame."
On the main screen, Liam cackled as he slaughtered his foes. There
were of course some troubling aspects to the sight, but overall, the morale of
his fighters soared as they watched him slay his enemies. Only the
commander watched Liam with some regret.
"A shame, you say? Even though he's so strong?" his colonel asked.
The commander nodded and shared the tale of Liam's past. "He was
abandoned by his parents at a young age and saddled with a ruined territory
on the outskirts of the Empire. Through his hard work, he managed to build
up his domain, but now he's fighting with pirates to preserve it. To be honest,
I'd like to know how to raise a child like this myself."
Revitalizing such a barren territory at his age was already a miracle,
but the young lord was even fighting pirates on the front line of battle as a
knight, displaying overwhelming strength.
"I'd like my own children to learn from him," the commander muttered
to himself.
These former Imperial Army soldiers had been forced out to Liam's
domain. Many of them were stubborn men, ousted for being too serious, too
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diligent, too upright. In other words, many of them were honest, hardworking
people. This was because the Guide had wanted to gather people who would
be the complete opposite of Liam, who aimed to become an evil lord.
"I've spent some time thinking about my life since being driven out
here, and I've decided that I'm glad it happened. I never would've thought
that this was how I'd meet the one lord I should be serving."
He'd known of the lord's administrative talents, but he had never
imagined that Liam would be such a powerful knight as well. Liam truly
shone in the soldiers' eyes. They were enchanted by the sight of him crushing
all the enemies before him, cutting a path forward.
"So there truly are great rulers, skilled with both the pen and the blade.
Who would've thought I'd witness a noble lord fighting as a knight on the
front lines?" the commander mused aloud. "In him, I've seen a real noble for
the first time. He was right when he said that if his domain were attacked
while we waited for reinforcements, everything would be for naught. If our
lord survives, House Banfield will be safe, but it's for the sake of his people
that he wishes to defeat the pirates."
As he fought, Liam personified the ideal knight. Seeing the mettle of
this noble, who normally should have been sitting safely in the rear, as he
protected his own territory from harm, made his soldiers ashamed of their
cowardly initial strategy.
"Did he really have to go and fight himself, though?" the colonel
asked.
"House Banfield has no knights, so it was necessary. It's true that this
is shameful, but who could be a more dependable fighter? He vowed not to
let even one pirate set foot on his land."
Liam was fighting on the front lines to defend his people—at least, that
was what it looked like to the soldiers. This young noble had thrown away a
safer, more drawn-out strategy in favor of a quick, decisive battle, all for the
sake of his subjects.
"This is the first time I've actually seen a noble protecting his people.
It's rare to even see them fight at all. It's true that it's the best thing he can do
for his domain, but he's risking his life for his people!"
It just seemed wrong for the person in charge to be fighting in the
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vanguard, but he gave his troops the sense that they could win if they fought
alongside him. Nowadays, nobles never stepped forward like this, even if
they had the power of knights at their disposal. Most nobles who improved
their own abilities only did so with the thought of seeming superior and
exploiting others. This was the current state of Imperial nobility. There were
very few nobles of decent character, and those who did exist were not nearly
as resolute as Liam. Today, Liam had proven himself to be a true rarity in the
Empire.
"You weaklings are nothing but prey! At least try to entertain me!"
Perhaps he was enjoying the battlefield a little more than was
necessary, but that was no doubt better than shedding tears as he fought.
Their lord was laughing as he faced down the pirates, and his men felt
less anxious as they watched him.
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