One thing I realized after the drop... this was a breeze.
Up until now, I’d spent most of my time worrying I was about to die, whether I was being targeted by allied systems or under fire from the Zork.
Then there were the actual landings—sometimes there was no oxygen, sometimes the place was crawling with giant monsters, or the atmosphere was toxic.
Man, there was nothing like the comfort of an Imperial-owned planet!!!
I landed near Despair first.
When I rushed over, I spotted Despair and the other machines.
They were surrounded by Crabs.
"Ren, Kevin, Nina-san, can I leave this to you?"
I called upon the Long-range Attack Trio.
"Self-destruct drones ready," Kevin reported.
"Self-propelled guns in position~," Nina added.
"Alright. Ren, cover Despair while I try to hail him. You two, commence the bombing once the Republic citizens have cleared out."
"Understood."
Ren began her sniping just as I spoke into the radio.
"Old Man Despair, you still with us? This is Leo Kamishiro."
"O-Oh! You actually came for us!?"
"What happened to the hostages?"
I hadn't been able to save them before due to the surprise warp and the whole mess with Ayame...
"After I heard about Ayame and returned to my men, we were transferred to this planet. That Mother! She never intended to keep her word from the very beginning!!!"
"Figures. We got tossed all the way out here by an ESP Warp ourselves... Sorry we couldn't get to you sooner, Old Man."
"No, the executions had already started before the Empire arrived. Besides... the survivors are... look."
The other machine gave a thumbs-up.
I felt like this was the first time I’d ever met a Zork I could actually communicate with.
Well, I guess One-oh-one, Kevin, Aoi-san, and the old men who turned into girls could be communicated with too...
But they were all technically Imperial citizens now.
"Evacuate immediately. We’ll cover you."
"I am grateful."
"Everyone, provide cover. Kevin, Nina-san, burn them all when the time is right!"
The attack commenced.
While Ren provided support, the rest of us rained bullets down on the Crab swarm.
In a situation like this, accuracy didn't really matter.
What was important was the sheer volume of the assault.
After all, our objective was just to buy time.
Even without me giving the word, Isono and Nakajima deployed their light machine guns and started spraying lead.
The Crabs were thrown into confusion by the sudden onslaught.
Their reaction time was sluggish because only a single entity was issuing them orders.
Ayame likely couldn't comprehend it.
The idea that I would go out of my way to rescue Old Man Despair.
It was the pinnacle of irrationality, after all!
When you really thought about it, that was the Zork's greatest weakness.
There were only a handful of players on the Zork side, like Ayame, Despair, and Sariel.
The rest were nothing more than units controlled by those players.
In contrast, unlike the Zork, every single one of us was a player.
We could handle parallel processing across any operation.
Once we shared new developments and knowledge, the Zork's superiority vanished.
The Zork would be finished the moment Ayame died, but for us, even if Wifey died, there were still over a hundred Imperial Successors left.
Even if all of them died, someone else would just step up as leader.
Someone would inherit our combat data and keep the fight going.
As long as they didn't wipe us out to the last man, we could fight forever.
That was our strength.
As long as you understood the rules, any game was beatable.
It was just like how walkthrough information for a masocore game would leak, and the number of people who could clear it would skyrocket.
I wasn't afraid of the Zork anymore! (Though I'm not saying I won't die myself.)
I watched until I was sure Old Man Despair had made it to the safety zone.
"Bomb them!!!"
It was truly a Hell's Apocalypse.
The Crabs were incinerated.
Beam weapon nullification.
That had given them an overwhelming advantage at the start of the war.
But once the mechanism was understood, it was no longer a threat.
"My Lord! Leave the rest to us!"
Suematsu-san and the Knights from Eddie's unit came lumbering over.
Exactly. The Crabs were no longer a threat that required my personal attention; Suematsu-san and the others could handle them.
Suematsu-san’s Knights were equipped with missiles and miniguns tailored specifically for dealing with Crabs.
They were ultra-large, heavyweight humanoid fighters... or rather, they were basically tanks.
They were the New Machine with Maxed-out Attack Power, developed using my combat data.
These units had already seen action and reclaimed several planets.
The Empire had adapted to new machines and new tactics.
The Suematsu Squad rained missiles and minigun fire onto the surviving Crabs.
The Crabs were reduced to mincemeat in a heartbeat.
"Fuhahahaha! Behold the true might of the Anheim Knight Order!!!"
Suematsu-san and the Anheim Knight Order were absolutely dominating the field.
This spectacle was being broadcast live throughout the Empire.
That was how much confidence the Empire had now!
"Suematsu-san! We're leaving this to you! Let's go, Leo!"
With Eddie's call, I issued orders to my own Knights.
"Raven! Support the Suematsu Squad!"
"Understood. My Lord, please, I beg of you—do nothing reckless!"
Yeah... sorry, Raven.
From here on out, I’m going to fight an enemy that new tactics alone can't beat.
I'll give you a bonus if I make it back alive, so forgive me!
Later!
"We're moving into the ruins! It's time for the decisive battle!!!"
"YEAH!!!"
Alright, what should we do when this is over?
Maybe we should go have some fun, like we're on a school trip.
We could rent out a theme park and play like we did before!
It seemed like Wifey really enjoyed playing with everyone, after all!
We could wear glowing headbands and take commemorative photos!
...But I’m definitely not playing the Idiot Lord again.
We swarmed into the ruins.
Any enemies blocking our path were mowed down.
Once we were inside the ruins, a transmission came through.
"Big Brother Leo! One-oh-one is...!"
It was Tatiana.
"Huh!? What’s going on?"
Then, I heard One-oh-one's voice.
"The ruins... they are calling to me, sir..."
At that exact moment, the ruins began to quake.
As the ground shook, the walls started to glow.
"W-What is this!?"
As I stood there bewildered by the tremors and the light, a voice rang out.
It was Ayame!
"O foolish people of the Empire! I shall show you the end of our journey!!! Our history, steeped in bitterness!!! Now, the gate opens!!! O new Mother!!! Demonstrate your power!!!"
The light began to spiral toward the chamber where Ayame was waiting.
"The Empire shall fall with us! You shall be crushed by a world of death, destruction, and slaughter!!!"
The light flared out.
I watched the brilliance for a moment.
Then, I spoke to One-oh-one.
"If you can shut this down, I'll buy you a parfait."
"Eh? Major, sir! What did you just say!?"
"One-oh-one! Sit!!!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
The light abruptly died down.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to my junior sister, you moron!!!"
I drew my sword.
As if I’d let some depressing development happen, you bastard!