The Hungry Monster's turn had not yet arrived.
War was a long affair.
Even when the actual combat was on a small scale, most of the time was spent either in transit or on standby.
Since I was one of several commanders, my job was to monitor the state of the war.
The corn was delicious.
Now then, this current job was proving to be quite difficult.
There was Parcion, Magellan, and Ozen, all burning for revenge.
Latania was expressionless but clearly furious.
The Taikyoku Nation was being flooded with volunteers; people had come in droves to avenge their families.
Chronos was matter-of-factly accepting the reality that "we just have to kill them."
The Battle Dome participants had reached the realization that "if we don't kill these guys, there is no tomorrow for us."
The Kishinkoku people were shouting, "Hyah-ha! It’s a Great War!" and getting themselves hyped up.
Only Repsitore was relatively calm.
How was I supposed to manage all of this...?
It wouldn't have been strange for any of them to run wild at a moment's notice.
Wait... was I currently facing the biggest pinch of my life?
...This was bad.
Almost all the soldiers were here to settle personal scores.
For now... I just had to do my best.
"The Taikyoku Nation fleet is deploying."
And there it was—someone ignoring the operation right from the start.
The plan was for the Tatiana Unit to construct a defense line first, and once that was finished, the Leonidas Unit would conduct reconnaissance, right?
Why were they moving forward?
I contacted Shi-yun, who was commanding the Taikyoku Nation fleet.
"Shi-yun. Why is the Taikyoku Nation moving forward...?"
The moment Shi-yun's face appeared on the screen, I understood.
It was the same face she made during baseball games.
The dark version of it.
No one could stop her now.
"Lord Leo. I adore you."
"O-Oh."
I was a man with wives, after all.
I couldn't keep playing the dense protagonist forever.
I was aware of Shi-yun's feelings.
"However, in this battle alone, I ask that you let me act freely. If I do not take revenge for my parents, siblings, and the benefactors who passed away before me, I will not be able to face my ancestors."
Only her voice was calm.
Her heart was thumping.
So, I could only say this:
"Tatiana and One-O-One are your friends too. Don't make them sad."
"I will keep that in mind."
Shi-yun performed a gongshou.
Ah, geez!
It wasn't a Galactic Empire style salute.
That meant it was a formal response from the Emperor of the Taikyoku Nation to the King of Chronos.
I was sure she didn't intend to die...
But even so, it was a declaration that in this battle, she would choose being the Emperor of the Taikyoku Nation over being our companion.
We weren't enemies, but it was still sad.
I had prepared myself for the day this would happen, though.
The Taikyoku Nation fleet launched drones.
It was reconnaissance straight out of a Galactic Empire textbook.
Chronos's methods were a bit irregular by comparison.
That was because... well, the enemy was biological and would come to kill you with everything they had, even during the reconnaissance phase...
"This is Tatiana! Barrier installation complete."
"Roger. Return to the carrier and stand by. Be ready to launch at any time. And make sure to use the bathroom. Leonidas Unit, begin reconnaissance."
"I told you I’ve got it! Understood."
"Zork Unit. Ready for deployment, sir!"
A communication came in from One-O-One.
It was the unit of female Zork spies from Kevin's place.
"Move to the Taikyoku Nation Emperor’s flagship and protect Shi-yun."
It was a dragon-type battleship.
"Understood, sir!"
"You are the key to this operation, One-O-One."
"Yes, sir!"
When I ended the transmission, Polina-san chuckled.
"This is quite a handful, isn't it?"
"You could say that. I'm actually a field pilot at heart. I'm not very good at this kind of thing."
"I believe you are performing without issue."
I hoped that was the case.
The Chronos battleships were also positioned in their designated areas.
But since the Taikyoku Nation had already started ignoring the plan, I wondered how much of this would actually hold.
An alarm blared.
"The Parcion fleet has abandoned the operation. They have begun following the Taikyoku Nation."
"I knew they would!"
What was I supposed to do?
The operation had completely fallen apart.
"What about Ozen and Magellan!?"
"They have been completely annexed and are being supervised by Chronos Army officers."
That meant they might still mess up at the squad level.
Damn it, nothing was going according to plan!
They weren't afraid of the results, punishment, or deteriorating relationships.
There were too many people prepared to use up whatever remained of their lives in this one single moment!
People like that weren't afraid of punishment.
It might have looked brave, but it wasn't.
It was just mass suicide!
Look, I’m begging you, just listen to me!
This is why I said I’m not cut out to be a strategist!
"The Parcion Army has made contact. They are initiating a charge against the Corpse Eater Bio-Fleet."
"What are you doing!?"
We had equipped the Parcion Army with the latest humanoid fighters.
I thought the outcome shouldn't be too bad, but...
I thought that, but... no, it was impossible.
Nothing was following the plan!
"Combat has commenced."
The battle began without anything going the way I wanted.
I watched through the cameras.
The enemies were eerie biological entities.
Flesh-like masses with exposed cells and grotesque appearances—presumably their battleships—fired beams.
The Parcion Army had the latest battleships from the Kamishiro Group.
They shouldn't have lost in terms of specs.
"Parcion Army! Deploy simplified barriers!" I shouted reflexively.
Parcion deployed the barriers.
It was a simplified version with lower effectiveness compared to Tatiana's.
This should have been enough to stop suicide attacks.
But from there, it was terrible.
The Parcion fleet became isolated.
The new humanoid fighters were being shot down one after another.
Well, of course they were!
If you just rush in, you’re nothing but a target!
That’s why I told you to wait at the barrier positions and whittle them down bit by bit with long-range fire!
The plan was to steadily increase the number of defensive positions between attacks.
In short, it was a game of territory capture!
It was an operation that required that kind of sober persistence!
But they had prioritized their personal feelings.
Historically, this was the pattern where we lose.
I might have carved my name into history as the war criminal who messed up during the big game!
It was just like that!
The kind of story where a military commander who was doing great suddenly screws up and disappears from the records!
Phew!
I had to stabilize the situation from here!
I finally realized just how great Wifey's charisma really was!
Fweeennn!
"Leo-kun, there's a transmission from Veronica-chan."
Fairy-san appeared.
"What is it, Fairy-san?"
"I was asked to give you a message if you were truly in trouble. Ahem... 'Do not try to move humans like chess pieces. Give up and think of the next plan,' she said."
In other words, just go with the flow.
...I looked at Polina-san.
Alright, I had made up my mind.
"Tatiana Unit! Escort the carriers and rendezvous with One-O-One! Protect Shi-yun."
"What about you, Aniki?"
"I'm heading out, obviously!"
Yes, it was better if I wasn't the one commanding!
In that case, I’d just go wild on the front lines!
Hyah-ha!
"Who shall take over the command?"
"Ask Raven-kun! He should be better than me! If that doesn't work, ask Pigetto, who's in Chronos guarding Wifey!"
Ah, yes, yes.
I was done being the commander!
It was because I was acting as the commander that things weren't working!
I, the one who proposed this, was letting too many personal feelings get in the way!
I would let the two people I trusted most handle the rest.