“Lord, how shall we arrange our formation?”
A soldier asked the Lord, who was gazing at a monitor displaying a map.
This soldier, named Argo, was a formal commander whose sole purpose was to convey the Lord’s will to the entire army.
He was a middle-aged civil official with a fine mustache.
Argo was always present on the Lord’s battlefield to relay his intentions.
This also meant he was an excellent commander, but it was something he strongly desired.
He was trembling with joy.
Serving the Imperial Family was considered the highest honor in the Empire.
However, he wasn’t particularly devout.
Of course, he was loyal to the Empire, but what moved him more was his almost fanatical faith in the Lord.
(Ah, to see Lord’s battle again after so long… It’s the best, how fortunate I am.)
He was ecstatic.
The first time he witnessed the Lord’s battle was during the war in the EU.
That great war, which had already lasted five years, had reached a stalemate.
Then, an ornamental Imperial Family military advisor was thrown into the fray.
That’s what he thought.
He couldn’t believe that a child, not even a ten-year-old, was taking command. He thought it was a mockery of war.
He expected a crushing defeat, after which the command would be entrusted to him.
He even worried that he might be blamed.
Argo met the Lord with such gloomy feelings.
However, his perception was quickly corrected.
◇Flashback: The Lord’s First Battle
“Alpha to Point A-21, Bravo to A-32.”
“!?…But there are no enemies there?”
“They are there. An ambush. Let’s see, eight… no, ten.”
The map showed the enemy and friendly forces.
The friendly forces were fully detailed, with units named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo.
The enemy was unknown, with only visible units recorded.
(Hmph, what does a ten-year-old brat know, even if he is royalty?)
Argo cursed inwardly.
He was slightly angered that his command was taken away by the power of the Imperial Family.
The Lord’s origins were unusual, so he had weak loyalty from the military.
He was the child of the Emperor and a Second-Class Citizen. Initially, he wasn’t even acknowledged, but the Emperor changed his mind and recognized him.
A sudden Imperial Family member.
Perhaps because of that, the Lord was immediately sent to the battlefield.
Argo had assumed that the Lord was an Imperial Family member who was expected to die on the battlefield.
“Understood, all units as instructed!”
For now, the command was with this boy.
So he decided to obey, to this boy’s delusion.
He would probably come crying later, or wail that it wasn’t his fault.
He sighed with such thoughts.
“This is Alpha! Enemy contact! Engaging!”
“What!?”
However, that delusion became reality.
“This is Bravo! Supporting Alpha as they are engaged! We can get behind them!”
“I, I see…”
In just a few minutes, the ten-unit EU-made KOG force was annihilated.
They were ambushed, suddenly engaged, and then hit with twice their strength from behind, resulting in their instant destruction.
“W, well done…”
(Coincidence? No way. Why? Does he know the enemy’s information?)
With such speculation, Argo listened to the Lord’s instructions one after another.
Every single instruction was swift, perfect, and resulted in a complete victory.
“I, impossible…”
Before he knew it, the front line had collapsed, and the enemy’s base was right in front of them.
The enemy forces, surrounded by all units, surrendered easily.
“This is Delta! We have occupied the enemy’s main camp! The enemy has surrendered. What are your orders?”
“Tell them to be treated as prisoners with respect. Argo.”
“Y, yes!”
The front line, which had been in a stalemate for a month, was won in a single day.
Victory after victory, complete victory.
It was as if the Lord knew the enemy’s position, the enemy’s intentions.
His instructions were as if he knew everything about the battlefield.
The delusions that were all correct in this battle were later called Future Sight, a confirmed future.
The EU was never able to change the confirmed future of victory that the Lord saw.
This battle was the beginning.
The beginning of the devilish mind that determined the victor of the ten-year-long war later known as the EU Great War.
The first battle of Lord Earthgards, the most feared Imperial Family member in the world.
“I’ll rest for a bit, I’ll leave the rest to you, Argo.”
“Yes, sir!”
Argo gave a straight salute.
He realized that he no longer held any anger towards the Lord.
He gave a respectful salute as if he were looking at the Emperor, filled with sincere respect and awe.
At this moment, Argo trembled at the Lord’s battle.
He felt like he had seen the beautiful peak that a commander should aim for.
He even felt a sense of gentlemanship in the way he treated the prisoners with respect.
He even felt respect for him as a person, a boy who was only ten years old.
A boy who was a decade or two younger than his own children.
“Now then, report the damage status of each unit!”
Argo began the post-battle procedures.
He wanted to hear the status of each unit because they had to defend the occupied base from now on.
“This is Alpha! Damage status is… none! As long as we replenish ammunition and KOG energy, we can continue fighting!”
“I see! Well done, you’re excellent.”
(To have a unit with no damage in such a battle, that’s amazing.)
There was a need for some minor repairs and ammunition replenishment, but the results were excellent with no damage.
Argo thought that the unit leader should be rewarded.
Argo, who thought the unit was excellent, turned pale at the next report.
“This is Bravo… we also have no damage!”
“What!?”
“This is Delta… we also… have no damage…”
“Huh!?”
“T, this is Charlie! Zero damage!”
“No way…”
“Echo also has no damage…”
Each unit reported their damage status one after another.
However, all units had no damage, no deaths.
This was something that had never happened in the battlefields Argo had seen, and it shouldn’t have happened.
It was like winning a game of chess without losing a single piece.
It was something that couldn’t be done without aiming for it, and the difficulty was unimaginable to Argo.
He understood that it was impossible unless there was a level difference like a professional playing chess against an amateur.
However, the opposing commander was also a skilled commander who had endured for a month, not an amateur.
In other words, the Lord’s ability was at that level.
Argo trembled.
He realized that the Lord, whom he thought was already amazing, was beyond his comprehension.
It was probably from that moment.
Like an enthusiastic fan, like a believer who blindly worships a religious leader.
He began to worship the Lord like a god.
◇
“That’s right, let’s slowly surround them. Leave only points B and C open. Gather the rest at Point E.”
“May I ask your intention?”
“I’m not a pleasure-seeking killer. I’ll give the civilians a gap to escape. They’ll become Third-Class Citizens after the battle with the resistance is over.”
“Yes! I am impressed by your merciful judgment!”
Argo conveyed the Lord’s will.
The meaning of leaving a certain area open was the Lord’s mercy, to allow them to escape from the battlefield.
The resistance, who were guilty of killing Ymir, needed to be annihilated, but the Lord had no intention of killing ordinary civilians.
However, the real meaning was different.
And a slow, but certain defeat, like being strangled with cotton, enveloped Kenyya and the others.
…
“Isshin-san! The entire Slums are surrounded…”
“What about the evacuation!”
“The evacuation is… going smoothly? I’m not sure, but it seems the evacuation is progressing!”
They received a radio message from the soldiers guiding the evacuation, stating that the evacuation was progressing without problems.
“I see…”
(A trap? But I’ve heard the Second Prince is a man of character, was it intentional…? But he killed the Princess? Kenyya-kun said she escaped, but, ugh! I don’t understand at all! But…)
“Then, use all our forces for a breakthrough. The evacuation is probably fine!”
(If the rumors about the Imperial Family member called Lord are true… the evacuation is fine.)
“Understood!”
Isshin’s instructions were accurate.
He was also an excellent commander, a fierce general of the Japanese army who had survived many life-or-death situations.
He gave the best instructions in this situation. The enemy was positioned to surround them on all sides.
Therefore, the only way to find a way out was to break through at one point.
Kenyya and the others attempted a breakthrough under his instructions.
It was the best and quickest decision.
However, precisely because it was the best.
“Why… are there so many enemies only here…”
They couldn’t escape the Lord’s Future Sight.