The battle commenced. We were simply observing from the rear.
The Ghoul fleet consisted of a motley assortment of outdated models and seized Chronos battleships. Their crews likely comprised a mix of the pirates who had hijacked them and regular Chronos soldiers. The reason for this state of affairs was quite straightforward.
The supplier for those Ghoul battleships was the Pirate Guild. And the Pirate Guild followed the Galactic Empire—or more accurately, they followed me personally.
I didn't begrudge them their tolls or prostitution. I simply told them that if they were taking people's money, they had better provide proper escorts and protect the merchandise. I also added, "If you start looting, I'll kill you," and "If you spread drugs... well, you know what happens, right?" That was about the extent of it.
The pirates seemed to think I was the best of a bad bunch. Both Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation had basically washed their hands of the pirate issue and dumped it on me. As a result, the pirates stopped doing business with the Ghouls. There was no way Latarnia or the Taikyoku Nation would trade with them either.
In short, the Ghouls had lost their suppliers. That was why they were stuck using second-hand ships that might or might not even function, alongside the relatively decent vessels of the Chronos Army.
The Chronos Army's battleships were the balanced type. Yes, truly balanced. By comparison, the ships in outer space were all full of "freak" specifications...
[Combatants should just board the enemy ship and punch everyone! Guns are for show! Muscle is number one! —Ogre God Nation]
[Meat is delicious! Prioritize capture, charge with humanoid fighters. —Proone]
[Kejime is number one! Soldier safety first, pile on the missiles! —Latarnia]
[Attack power and mobility! Defense? It doesn't matter as long as they don't hit you! —Taikyoku Nation]
Chronos was actually the most sensible of the lot. Meanwhile, our Galactic Empire was as follows:
[Behold! These are the many freakish armaments that survived the Extermination War! Full of weaknesses? Shut up! The pilot's performance will compensate for it! —Galactic Empire]
We were easily the worst ones.
Regardless, the Chronos Army's equipment followed orthodox tactics. They were a formidable force—provided the people operating them were properly trained.
"Salute to His Excellency the Brigadier General Leo Kamishiro of the Galactic Empire Army!"
The Colonel went out of his way to send me a video feed. The man was remarkably formal. He had certainly been diligent with the training.
"We shall reclaim our homeland!"
"Uoooohhhhhhh!"
Only Chronos soldiers could draw out the full potential of Chronos warships. That was only natural. Of course, we had adapted some components to our standards—missiles from Latarnia and beam systems from the Taikyoku Nation. Normally, such disparate standards wouldn't communicate, but we had developed software that forced the systems to run through sheer digital willpower. Why were we always so proficient at the behind-the-scenes grunt work?
Because of that effort, the Chronos ships could be operated with their usual familiarity. We yielded the first strike to them.
The people of the Ogre God Nation watched with sparkling eyes, claiming they "sko'd" a moving story. Saria, who was waiting in the rear with us, shared that same glint in his eyes. To the Ogre God Nation, an act of revenge was the ultimate virtue. There was likely some kind of spiritual nutrient that could only be ingested through vengeance.
The Latarnian Army Commander was also smiling, as were the Commander of the Taikyoku Nation and Shiyun. Vengeance was theirs. The Ghouls were to be slaughtered.
"Commence attack!"
The offensive began at the Colonel's command. High-output main cannons made by the Taikyoku Nation rained down on the Ghoul fleet. The pirates' second-hand ships melted away.
Latarnia fundamentally recovered even the corpses of their enemies—that was the teaching of the Latarnian Kejime religion. However, the Ghouls were an exception. There was nothing to do with them but burn them. Consequently, no one opposed the overkill.
Without a moment's delay after Chronos's opening volley, the forces of Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation—now effectively berserkers—joined the fray.
The battle was being broadcast in real-time across the entire universe. Both countries were spending money on this war without limit, and the number of viewers was already immeasurable. In the Ogre God Nation, Latarnia, and the Taikyoku Nation, it seemed as though every single household was tuned in.
We were watching the feed from the soldiers' waiting room. The commentary on Latarnia National Broadcasting was ongoing, so I switched to that channel. For some reason, they were providing an analysis of the Galactic Empire.
A stout, white-haired Latarnian man was providing commentary. The subtitles identified him as a Latarnia Capital University Professor.
"The current Ghoul Subjugation Operation by the Multinational Force is heavily influenced by the presence of the Galactic Empire Army. Particularly Grand Duke Leo Kamishiro. He is hailed as the greatest strategist and tactician, as well as the strongest soldier."
"So, is that ultimately domestic propaganda?" the announcer asked.
"That's right! I'm against propaganda!" I shouted, cheering the announcer on. Go for it, Latarnia! Say more!
"It appears that those claims are all factual," the professor replied.
Oof. Everyone in the room looked at me and smirked.
"In the first place, the Galactic Empire's citizens are the descendants of the Combat Life Forms that the Ancient People feared. It seems that one-third of the entire population belongs to the Combat Life Form Lineage."
That was true. So much for the theory that our numbers weren't increasing! A third of our citizens carried Jester blood. It was just that the probability of awakening as a Jester was low. There weren't many ESP users either, and awakening didn't necessarily make someone strong. It mostly just meant they were harder to kill. Ah... maybe that was why the population was growing.
The program's commentary then focused on our comrades, specifically Tatiana. She was essential—a Saint and a key figure in Latarnia. For some reason, the artist's rendition of Rikochi portrayed him as a buff dude in sunglasses, brandishing a rocket launcher on his shoulder. That was fairly standard.
After introducing other important figures like Shiyun and the Colonel, the screen switched to the Chronos humanoid fighters in action. Their machines were similar to our own before the Zork war: a Mid-to-Long-Range Combat Specialization Type using beam weaponry. Their basic tactic mirrored Eddie's fighting style, though Eddie's accuracy was freakishly higher.
The pilots under the Colonel were roughly at the average level of the Imperial Army prior to the Zork War. In short, the Ghouls weren't even worth worrying about. Their morale was high, too. Operating around the heavy bombardment of the battleships, they hunted down any stragglers.
Yes! This was the ideal form shared by both the Imperial Army and Chronos! Though the current Galactic Empire had devolved into a group of muscle-heads defined by constant grandstanding... I really should study tactics more seriously. Even if I lacked flexibility.
For some reason, I was proficient at national-level strategy and unit-commander-level leadership, but I struggled with the board level. I was good at predicting emotions and intentions, but I lacked optimization.
"Leo, look! Something's flying this way!" Kevin shouted.
Kevin had deployed reconnaissance aircraft and now projected the footage onto the screen.
"Locusts?" I muttered.
It was a massive swarm of locusts flying through the vacuum of space.
"Drones!" Kevin corrected.
"Contact the Multinational Force Operations Command! Warn them to watch out for enemy drones!" I barked. The Fairy immediately sent out the warning.
"Kevin! Can you deploy our drones?"
"Yeah! But if they're just locusts, I don't think they can break through the warships' hulls."
"No! Those are the same as the spider-types! They're self-destruct drones!"
It was only a hunch, but I had a terrible feeling about this.
"Got it! Nina!"
"On it!" Nina chirped.
Dammit! They were resorting to off-board tactics, were they? They certainly had some nerve. I was going to crush them.