I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! - Book 13: Chapter 7: The Immortal Fleet

“O-our communication has improved. It appears the Imperial Army has completely given up on jamming our communication.”

The soldiers aboard Argos were confused to hear this.

It was standard protocol to disrupt the enemy’s communication on the battlefield, yet the Imperial Army had stopped all attempts at jamming.

As a result, the simplified map of the battlefield began displaying more accurate numbers.

Was the Imperial Army about to surrender?

Such were the thoughts of everyone onboard, but the appearance of the Imperial Army reflected on the monitor was abnormal.

Eulisia rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

A fleet of unknown affiliations had suddenly appeared and was attacking the Imperial Army.

If that was all, she would’ve assumed that reinforcements had arrived. However, something was clearly off about the situation.

“How are the destroyed ships recovering? This doesn’t make any sense!”

Eulisia, who used to work at the Third Weapons Factory, shook her head when she saw the destroyed spaceships being automatically repaired.

The ships under the Imperial Army were equipped with a self-repair function, and minor damages to the ships’ armor could be dealt with on the battlefield. Still, they would need to undergo maintenance afterward.

However, that wasn’t the extent of what was happening.

Heavily damaged battleships were being forcibly repaired by reabsorbing parts and pieces that had scattered into space.

Their shapes became slightly distorted after the repair, but they were fully functional.

Liam, who also watched as this scene unfolded, became much more serious than before. His leisurely attitude disappeared, and he began laying down orders.

“Shower the enemies with long-range attacks while maintaining our distance. We don’t know what they’re doing yet, but there’s no reason for us to stand around waiting for them to finish.”

Eulisia was surprised when Liam issued orders to attack the mysterious fleet.

“Are we not going to confirm their affiliation?”

“Do you recall anyone on our side with such monstrous abilities?”

It seemed highly unlikely that the eerie fleet was here to help them.

However, a certain thought crossed Eulisia’s mind.

(Christina-dono and Marie-dono are quite monstrous if you ask me, but Lord Liam will probably get angry if I say that right now.)

She decided to swallow her words so as to not disturb Liam.

The other officers on the bridge of Argos also noticed the change in Liam’s demeanor, and the air became much heavier.

“Execute Lord Liam’s orders! Switch formations to long-range combat!”

The operators hurriedly began relaying the order, spreading tension throughout the entire army.

The allied fleet quickly assumed a new formation specialized for long-range combat.

“Lord Liam, are we to launch our attacks simultaneously?” asked the captain of Argos.

“Yes. Also, remind the other ships to keep an eye on the amount of energy they have left. If they’re low on ammunition and energy, have them retreat.”

“Understood.”

The Banfield Family timed their fires and launched a volley at the Imperial Army, bombarding both the subjugation force and the mysterious fleet with attacks from optical weapons.

◇

Meanwhile, Farabar had returned to his ship, Garun, which shook upon receiving the initial volley from the Banfield Family.

Farabar removed his helmet and revealed his skeletal head.

“No hesitation in exploiting the gaps in our defense. I don’t dislike such ruthlessness. Unfortunately, their army isn’t big enough to cause a major disturbance.”

Upon arriving at Garun’s bridge, Farabar’s crew members greeted him.

They were originally soldiers from intergalactic nations of another world that Farabar had descended upon. Indeed, the true nature of Farabar’s immortal army was that of an alien fleet from another world.

“Lord Farabar, we have control over more than 80% of the fleet.”

“Fumu.”

Farabar sat down on a throne made of bones, befitting his title of Demon Lord.

Then, with folded arms, he perused the number of troops he had.

“If we outnumber them by too much, it would be a one-sided battle. On the other hand, it would be rude of me to underestimate a powerful opponent. But then again, a one-sided battle won’t be fun – oh, decisions, decisions!”

He spoke as if he was troubled, but everyone knew he was giddy with excitement.

The opportunity to fight against a powerful opponent filled him with elation.

His undead lieutenant, a general who used to lead the alien fleet, reported the details to Farabar.

“If we were to include the fleet we originally had, we currently have 1.5 million ships under our command.”

“I guess that should do. Now, how will our wonderful opponent respond?”

Farabar looked at the monitor in anticipation of Liam’s next move. However, he was once again disrupted by his lieutenant.

“What shall we do with the commander of the absorbed fleet?”

“Huh? If you’re talking about Hampson, I made him my subordinate.”

“While he’s the one in command, the nominal commander appears to be a Crown Prince named Cleo.”

Farabar cocked his head and put his hand on his chin, processing the new information.

“I didn’t sense anyone stronger than Hampson when I first inspected the fleet. Is this Cleo stronger than Hampson? Or perhaps he’s a wise general?”

“According to the information we obtained from the new recruits, he appears to be an incompetent prince with nothing to show for…”

“No need! I’m about to battle against a powerful foe. I have no time for such pests!”

Feeling grumpy about his fun being interrupted, Farabar quickly turned his attention back to the Banfield Family, completely forgetting about Cleo.

The Banfield Family’s fleet was mercilessly striking at the immortal fleet, leaving Farabar smitten.

“Look how orderly their ships are! Look how disciplined their troops are! Their attacks are perfectly timed; it’s approaching the realm of art! Once they’ve become my subordinates, we shall treat them as elites!”

“As you command. Shall we commence our attack?”

“Yes, it’s about time we start attacking as well!”

A red glow appeared in his orbital region, and the immortal fleet began its attack.

The optical weapons that its ships fired were reddish-black in color, indicating their sinister nature.

Fortunately, the ships at the forefront of the Banfield Family’s fleet had high defensive capabilities, and their defensive fields were able to overcome the immortal army’s first wave of attacks, much to the delight of Farabar.

Rattling sounds could be heard from the Demon Lord’s jaws as he spoke words of praise.

“Excellent! I was a bit worried there. After all, it wouldn’t have been much of a competition if you couldn’t block this. Now, show me what you have!”

◇

–How infuriating.

It’s as if they’re trying to test me.

Several hours have passed since the appearance of the mysterious fleet which caused changes to the Imperial Army.

We’ve been keeping our distance and exchanging fires using long-range weapons, but it seems we aren’t close enough to deal a decisive blow.

“I don’t see an end to this.”

The issue is that the enemy ships keep recovering. Each time a ship is destroyed, it automatically repairs itself, allowing it to return to the front lines, albeit with some distortion in its appearance.

This leads to our second problem, which is our morale.

The crew members on the bridge are clearly unsettled by what’s happening.

Eulisia seems stunned as well.

“What are we supposed to do when the enemy ships keep regenerating every time we destroy them?”

She appears to be speaking to herself, but her voice is loud enough for others to hear.

Fear spreads among the soldiers as they’re confronted with an opponent they could not defeat.

“What kind of outrageous spell has the Imperial Army resorted to?”

“This is ridiculous. We can’t call this a war anymore!”

“What are the experts saying!?”

“Apparently, it doesn’t resemble any of the spells they know…”

“Then what is it!?”

At first, everyone assumed the Imperial Army had used a forbidden spell, but none of our expert mages could find even a clue as to what is happening.

As a result, our army’s morale is rapidly dropping.

To make matters worse, it seems the Imperial Army has resolved its supply issues; they’ve been spamming optical weapons without showing any signs of conserving energy.

“They would’ve won long ago if they charged with all their troops. Since they haven’t done so, they either couldn’t for some reason, or they’re messing with us. –I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter.”

My instincts are telling me that the enemies are toying with us, which infuriates me to no end.

It feels as if I’m being looked down on by someone who has an overwhelming advantage.

Eulisia grabs my arm with both hands while I’m busy being angry at the enemies.

“Lord Liam, let’s have our army retreat. There’s still some distance between us. We should be able to escape if we keep performing short-distance warps.”

I can definitely see where she’s coming from, but I don’t think our enemies are kind enough to give us time to flee.

“Rejected. If we show our backs, they’ll follow wherever we go.”

We’re being treated like prey, which irritates me greatly.

I stare at the Imperial Army displayed on the monitor, giving the mysterious battleship another look.

Suddenly, one of the operators gives a report, sounding oddly happy.

“Reinforcements have arrived! The ones leading the fleet are Lady Ellen and Emma-dono!”

Our morale rises slightly with the arrival of the Numbers.

Nevertheless, not much has changed. Extra troops wouldn’t be of much help in this situation.

Even so…

“Ask Ellen about the whereabouts of Rinho and Fuuka.”

The operator executes my order while seeming confused.

“It appears they’re onboard Lady Ellen’s ship.”

The corners of my mouth rise when I hear this.

“Good, I should praise them later on.”

“And also-”

“?”

“Supplies from His Excellency Klaus have arrived.”

–He never disappoints.

“Have Tia deal with the supplies. She’ll also be in charge of commanding the fleet.”

Eulisia panics when I relinquish command over the fleet.

“W-where will you be going!?”

I give her a serious look before replying.

“I’ll be heading out with Avid. This is a matter that concerns the School of One Flash.”

“We’re in the middle of a war, you know?”

“Matters that concern the School of One Flash are much more important than a measly war!”

Eulisia doesn’t seem convinced by this.

“Ehhhhhhhhh!?”

The other crew members on the bridge are probably taken aback by my words as well, but as a swordsman of the School of One Flash, this is my fate.

“I’ll be departing with the other three. Once I’m gone, have Argos fall back.”

–It’s pointless to throw my troops at the enemies knowing full well that they’ll die.

This is something that we, nay, I must resolve myself.

*****

Brian (´；ω；｀): “Lord Liam is prioritizing the School of One Flash over the war, it’s painful. What’s worse is that he’s come up with a ‘fate’ that doesn’t even exist. It’s painful.”

Wakagi-chan ヽ(≧▽≦)ノ: “Whatever, that’s not what’s important right now! Volume 11 of ‘The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs’ and Volume 1 of ‘That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us’ have been released!! But you’re not allowed to go hog wild comparing Marie and Mylene!”

Brian (´・ω・`;): “They’re both extremely popular female characters though.”

Wakagi-chan（＊´・∀＜）: “I bet they’re not as popular as me.”

Brian (*´艸`): “Fyi, I personally prefer Mylene. She’s nothing like a certain greedy, vulgar plant that lies about its age.”

Wakagi-chan (#゜Д゜): “–Hey.”