091 Lord's Compilation 3: Suppression of Rebellion 1

Been laid up with a bad case of the flu and woke up to find it was already four in the morning. Sorry I’m late.

"What's 'Aqua Three, Three' mean?"

Saya, utterly fascinated by the oceanic resort planet, suddenly asked.

I did call it casually enough, but maybe I should explain the stellar system naming conventions.

Yes, dear, take care of it.

I’m handing this over to Aya entirely.

Star system names are derived directly from the star's name. Planets within a system are numbered in order of their orbital position, starting from the innermost.

Aqua System—Aqua One, Aqua Two, and the third planet, so Aqua Three.

"But Graul doesn’t have numbers, does it?"

The Graul system has only one planet, so it doesn’t have a numerical designation.

In their place, multiple satellites follow in sequence: Graul Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta.

They call it Graul Alpha because of that, but in the Aqua System, where there are multiple planets, the satellite becomes Aqua 3 Alpha."

"Wait—Anoi System has multiple planets, but Planet Anoi doesn’t have a number?"

"Because the Prince was keeping the information classified. The data never got updated.

Now, based on the new intel, Planet Anoi is Anoi 2.

But we’re still calling it Planet Anoi, by convention."

"Hmm. Got it."

Explanatory dialogue ends.

***************

I issued a warrant for the execution of Douglas, the count confirmed as a rebel, and the Prince’s regional governor, Miller.

Miller’s the third son of a high-ranking knight in the Prince’s household, and a civil servant who graduated from the Imperial Knight Academy.

I’d sent a surrender ultimatum via dimensional comm to the two of them, but got no reply.

There were two options for the extermination.

Either I’d lead the charge myself and deal with them directly, or I’d issue a “Harvest Freedom Edict” to my noble subordinates and let them do it indirectly.

Weyzen IV, where Miller was the steward, should be fine with the Harvest Freedom Edict.

It’d double as a reward for the vassals who’d come to war.

The factory satellites at the main battlefronts—Fam V and Tatarra IV—would need me to organize and command the troops personally.

Until we locate Douglas, Marquis, we can’t risk splitting our forces.

Anoi Fortress, Secret Conference Room

I gathered the military or regional officials stationed at Anoi Fortress and convened a war council.

Attendees: me (Akira), Anoi Fortress Commanding Officer Commander Sanders, Caprius Regional Commander Noah, Graul Regional Commander Hunter, Small Territory Combined Forces Commander John, Earth Forces Commander Kamizawa, Planet Aqua III Territory Lord Aquan Viscount, and four other officials.

Oh right—President Kamizawa was ennobled as a baron. Necessary polish, since she’s technically Earth Forces Commander.

I’m a prince, so I had the rank eligibility up to viscount. That’s why I handed out titles like confetti.

And that includes the vassal ranks.

Promoted Caprius Baron to Viscount, Graul Baron to Viscount, and John—John Doe Lartel, the baronet—to Baron.

I offered Commander Sanders a promotion, but he declined. Is it really that bad to have a different title now?

The unmanned ships we’d offloaded because managing them was a hassle—apparently, they saw it as a reward.

"Hey, who’s the system lord over Caprius territory? Even the planet with the mixed small domain army’s system lord?"

At the war council, I threw a question at Noah, commander of the Caprius garrison, and John, commander of the minor domain combined forces.

Caprius is an imperial直辖 province, so the Emperor himself is technically in charge—but it's a backwater, so it's just ceremonial.

In reality, the system was such that no one wanted to take on the role of sector lord—thanks to the red ink and the headache it caused.

If Lord Caprice makes the request, Lord Akira could become the system's lord.

"Even minor territories are imperial holdings. Honestly, it's just a backwater no one wants—so if Lord Caprice approves the request, Prince Akira will become the system's lord."

"Sounds like you've already applied, then?"

"‘Yes, Your Grace.’"

So the empire dumps a system this bad on my shoulders. Just great.

That prince went out of his way to avoid this system—how much is it gonna cost me?

But it's a loyal vassal who swore allegiance to me.

Not looking after it? That's not an option.

"Better reward this loyalty. (Livestock 2, agriculture 4, aquaculture 1, mining 3, industry 1, recreation 1—might not make much profit, but should be enough to eat, right?)"

"‘We are blessed beyond measure!’"

Now livestock 1, agriculture 1, and industry 1 are all in enemy hands.

We’d prefer the factory satellite intact, if possible.

“How many ships per commander are ready for deployment? Keep the planetary defense forces intact.”

“Yes, we’ve followed Akira-sama’s orders—left about two thousand behind in each territory, and allocated three thousand each to the three armies.”

Commander Sanders speaks for the three armies.

“The three armies are to serve as the defense force at Anoi Fortress. Each will leave a thousand behind.”

“““Yes, sir!”””

“Two thousand each remain. As for Planet Weizen IV, we’ll allow free harvesting. But how many ships are you sending?”

“Truthfully, I’d like to send all our ships, but with war looming, our funds are tight—so we’d like to send fifteen hundred.”

(…Wait, John? What’s “young” mean? Young?! Okay, sure, John’s my stepfather, but…)

I keep my composure and reply.

Yeah, if each commander handles about that much, total’s four and a half thousand—should be enough to secure control.

But no looting or violence against the locals. Execute the magistrates, divide the territory among the three armies.

“Hah!”

“I’ll leave the defense of Anoi to Commander Sanders.”

“Hah!”

“Viscount Aqua, you’re in charge of Planet Aqua Three. If your territory’s attacked, deploy your fleet for delaying actions—immediate report, then move to reinforce.

Sorry, but I’ve requisitioned command authority from both Viscount Aqua and the magistrate. If you betray me, your ships won’t move. So, please—don’t do that.”

“Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!”

Still, transferring command authority should prevent leaks. Let’s just hope no one’s planning to double-cross us.

Main force: seven hundred fifty Earth forces, five hundred Caprius vassal troops, five hundred Graul vassal troops, five hundred mixed minor lordships’ troops, plus fifty thousand from the factory mothership—hit them all at once.

They probably think we’re coming through the Dimensional Jump Gate.

But we’re getting a ride on the factory mothership and hitting them straight with a Dimensional Jump—aka warp—surprise assault.

Operation starts tomorrow at twelve hundred hours.

Until then, the three vassal armies will dive through the Dimensional Jump Gate and advance toward Planet Weizen IV.

Main force first secures the factory satellite. Once that’s done, we warp straight to Fam Five.

Any questions?

I scan the room. No one speaks.

Then—operation begins. All forces, prepare for battle!

Everyone stands at once and disperses to their respective units and territories.

The overall rating had somehow crept past four thousand.

All thanks to your support. Really appreciate it.

If you haven’t rated yet, there’s a rating box down below the latest chapter—just give it a click if you’re feeling generous. (hehe)