Chapter 35

【I am the Wicked Lord of an Interstellar Nation!】

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Emma entered the cockpit of the Atlante and took a deep breath to focus.

"――We need to show our worth. That's all we need to think about right now."

As soon as she returned to the hangar, Emma treated the Merea crew coldly.

She was aware that she had overreacted, and not everything she said was genuine.

However, Emma had to say it.

"If we can't stand up here, the military will abandon Merea."

The Merea crew, lacking motivation, didn't particularly bother Emma.

This was because they had once desperately defended the Banfield family.

She wanted to reach out to them, who had lost heart.

"I'll be stubborn if you get used to being the good guy."

With a serious expression, Emma opened a communication line to the bridge and made a request to the commander.

"This is Lieutenant Emma Rodman. Bridge, our ship is too far from the allied fleet. Please advance Merea to the designated point."

As she indicated the direction they should head, the operator on the monitor was speechless.

After a moment, realizing what was said, the operator shouted back.

"Hey, you're getting pretty cocky, aren't you? What kind of nerve does a mere lieutenant have to give orders to the bridge?"

Despite the operator's harsh tone, Emma responded without fear in her voice.

"The flagship's order states that Merea's position should be further forward. I am advising that this is a violation of orders."

"You're being pretty high and mighty," the operator sneered.

Just as the operator was about to shout again, the commander, a colonel, took over.

"Lieutenant, Merea will remain in the rear."

"Why? Are you telling us to stand by and watch our allies struggle?"

"Yes," the commander replied without a hint of remorse.

"We have followed every unreasonable order in the past. Unlike you, who have never seen true hell."

The old military had seen hell.

It was a battlefield beyond Emma's imagination.

But...

"I understand your point, but I cannot overlook the violation of orders. I will temporarily take command of Merea."

"What are you saying? You're just a lieutenant!"

Emma's statement was something that would never be accepted in the military, but this was the Banfield family's military, which adopted the imperial system.

"I cannot overlook the violation of orders by the commander. Besides, knights have the privilege of leading a unit regardless of rank, depending on the situation."

The commander's face twisted in displeasure at Emma's assertion of her privilege.

"Do you think anyone on this ship will follow your orders? Ridiculous!"

"It's you who are being ridiculous. How long are you going to be stubborn?"

"What?"

"The military has modified Merea and equipped it with new units. Isn't it time for the commander to respond to the military's efforts?"

"You don't know anything, kid. We have seen—"

"I am talking about the present. If you keep making excuses, you should have left the military honorably."

The commander had no answer to Emma's valid question.

As the commander tried to cut off the communication, Emma gritted her teeth.

(If I go out alone, Merea's situation won't change.)

Just as she thought that, a communication came from the flagship.

The monitor displayed Heidi, Marie's adjutant.

"This is Brigadier General Heidi from the flagship. Merea, immediately place yourself under the command of Lieutenant Emma Rodman. Also, Lieutenant, you can use the Russell squad as you see fit."

Surprised by the permission to use the Russell squad, Emma's eyes widened.

"I am a lieutenant, General. I cannot command Captain Russell's squad."

"That's good news. Your rank is temporarily promoted to captain on the spot. Your knight rank is also upgraded to A. Use them as you see fit, Atlante pilot."

"That's... No, thank you."

While this was a favor to Emma, Heidi's intention was "If this doesn't work, give up."

If she couldn't perform well even with the Russell squad, it would mean Merea should give up.

Finally, Heidi drove the point home to Merea.

"Also, Colonel, I will not overlook any further violations of orders. If you defy this, be prepared for a firing squad."

After saying that, the communication ended, and the commander slammed his fist on the armrest of his seat.

"Arrogant knights with their privileges!!"

After the communication with the commander ended, the operator, looking truly annoyed, said:

"Damn! I'll send you to your death as you wish!"

◇

The flagship of the Daria Mercenary Corps.

Sirena frowned as she looked at the number of rebel ships from the bridge.

"If it were the planned number, we could have finished the job more easily."

The Daria Mercenary Corps had five hundred ships participating in this battle.

Together with the rebels, it was a force of two thousand ships.

If they were space pirates, it would be worrying, but the rebels were, until recently, part of the regular military.

The Daria Mercenary Corps was a fleet trained by Sirena.

Even against the Banfield family's fleet, they had a good chance of winning.

The adjutant agreed with Sirena and discussed the next steps.

"The enemy is tough. They fight well against twice their number. The commander must be quite skilled."

Sirena checked the enemy commander on her terminal, information obtained from River.

"Vice Admiral Marie Marian. Oh? She is listed as attending the Imperial University."

"University student? If she doesn't have a middle name, she must be a knight candidate, right?"

"Perhaps a so-called 'controversial' figure? Maybe they brought in a capable knight from abroad and forced them to become an imperial knight."

"The nobility is always so forceful. What do we do about an opponent we can't underestimate? If we continue like this, we will take casualties even if we don't lose."

"Prepare my mech. If we destroy one of the large transport ships they are protecting, it should disrupt their command."

The adjutant nodded and gave orders to the subordinates.

"Hurry and prepare Sirena's Goldrakeon!"

However, Sirena frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the mech's name.

"I told you to change the mech's name to Chimera."

"Eh? Ah, yes. But, with that appearance, Chimera—"

"Just do it!"

"Yes, yes! Hurry and prepare the Chimera for the commander!"

◇

When Merea entered the battlefield, it was met with enemy ship fire.

Various communications flooded the Atlante's cockpit.

First, from the bridge:

"Thanks to the knight, we're in a terrible situation! Hey, is the defense field okay?"

"Thanks to the modifications, it's stronger than before."

"In that case, get rid of those troublesome guys quickly!"

The bridge was trying to get rid of Emma and her team as a nuisance.

Then, the Russell squad was also noisy.

"Why are we under her command? Just because she got a temporary promotion, when we have Captain Russell here!"

"An order from above, but it doesn't sit well. It smells like favoritism."

Yorm's thoughts weren't entirely wrong.

However, Russell, though unhappy, accepted the order.

"You guys, this is an order. If it's a direct order from Lady Marie, we must follow it, no matter how unhappy we are."

But Char and Yorm still weren't convinced.

"Captain, you have personal reasons for accepting, right?"

"Of course, I'd be thrilled to follow an admired knight. Rather, I want to perform well and get praised."

Ignoring the two subordinates, Russell spoke to Emma.

"So, Lieutenant—no, Captain Rodman, what is our objective?"

While the Russell squad was bickering, Emma, admiring their cohesion, responded.

"To rescue the struggling units and attack the enemy fleet."

The allies, who were protecting a target, couldn't move freely.

The enemy was closing in, and a close-range battle was taking place, unusual for a fleet engagement.

Mobile knights were also flying around.

The battlefield was a chaotic mix of intense combat.

"Understood."

"Eh?"

Surprised by Russell's straightforward acceptance, Emma's expression showed it.

Russell averted his gaze from Emma.

"I don't recognize you, but I won't ignore orders. If the higher-ups put you in command, I'll follow. However, if I judge that you lack the ability to command us, I'll report it."

A high-ranking, difficult knight from her past.

As Emma gained experience, she began to see him as not entirely bad.

"Thank you. Let's go then."

The Atlante's hangar lock was released, and it was grabbed by an arm and moved to the electromagnetic catapult.

The Russell squad's Nevan Customs followed.

The operator's voice was heard.

"Preparations are complete."

"Atlante, let's go."

The Atlante was launched from the catapult into space.

The Nevan Customs followed, matching the speed and forming a lead position with three units.

"We will target the enemy ships!"

"Understood!" "Okay!" "Let's get to work!"

Despite their reservations, the three followed Emma's orders.

The four units accelerated towards the enemy fleet that was pushing back the allies.

A dozen ships centered around a 500-meter battleship.

Aiming for the battleship, the four units dove in.

"We will target the battleship first."

The Atlante, equipped with a multi-purpose beam rifle, was about to attack when Yorm, who had a large rifle, fired first.

"Aiming for a big target right away is reckless. I'll provide cover."

He targeted the mobile knights surrounding the battleship.

Next, Char dove into the enemy.

"Ah, I can't get points unless I fight knights."

Char's mech destroyed an enemy mobile knight, securing the attack route.

Russell shouted:

"The surrounding enemy ships are targeting us. If we stay too long, we'll be swarmed!"

Even the Nevan types would be destroyed by concentrated fire.

Emma noticed that Russell was well aware of the situation.

"I'll take care of it."

(They work together better than I thought.)

The Atlante accelerated and hit the enemy ship's defense field.

The field glowed and discharged electricity, but...

"Atlante won't stop here!!"

The Atlante's boosters flared, and it broke through the defense field.

It aimed at the enemy ship's bridge and fired a beam.

A charged shot from the Atlante's excess energy easily penetrated the bridge and went through to the other side.

The bridge exploded, and the explosion spread throughout the ship.

The enemy ship's anti-aircraft optical weapons began firing, but the Atlante evaded and moved away.

By then, the other three units had joined the Atlante.

Char was amazed at the sight of the exploding enemy battleship.

"She really broke through and sank the battleship."

Emma, who had no sense of accomplishment from destroying the enemy battleship, felt more discomfort.

"Next target, let's go."

To rescue the allies, the Atlante and the Russell squad headed to the next target.