Aaron's Reviews > I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! (Light Novel) Vol. 6

War is on the horizon. The nobles who rest easy in the heart of the Algrand Empire may have nothing to worry about, but the rebels on the fringes and the discontented dukes in more rural areas have much to lose in a large-scale mobilization effort. EVIL LORD v6 puts the prospects of an inter-empire conflict on the shoulders of Liam Sera Banfield. The book offers readers the tantalizing query of what might happen if the universe's most oddly successful "evil" lord were to be saddled with commanding a fleet of hundreds of thousands against an opponent numbering in the millions.

Interestingly, however inevitable war between the Algrand Empire and the United Kingdom of Oxys may be, the conflict is nothing but background music to much of the novel's events. Liam is more entrenched and focused on counter-navigating spies, assassins, arrogant nobles, and a dark-hearted prince. War? Sure, he'll establish Claus and Tina as joint commanders to ensure Cleo, the third prince, survives the battle. But Liam would much rather party every single day, flaunt his wealth all over the Capital Planet, and spend his predawn hours training his young apprentice in the Way of the Flash.

I'M THE EVIL LORD OF AN INTERGALACTIC EMPIRE v6 offers a full spectrum of perspectives of Liam's odd fortune. In doing so, the book also broaches, with distinct clarity, a singularly unique moment in which Liam's self-awareness rushes to the surface, and the young man adroitly understands that he must apply legitimate tactics and wherewithal to come out on top. For example, Liam knows good fortune won't win him a war against another intergalactic assembly of nations. He knows he can't command a fleet of hundreds of thousands, despite the blatant pressure from Crown Prince Calvin to do so (and thus failing spectacularly). But Liam doesn't force his way through. Instead, he makes a strategic plan: he empowers those with battlefield experience to do what they do best, while he keeps to the rear and does what he does best (coordinate logistics).

The scale and breadth of war between intergalactic empires is not downplayed, but is wielded with comical convenience. Conflicts like these are purported to last decades, and yet, with Liam's crew at the helm, strategies and resources are paramount, and all sorts of red herrings and traitorous goings-on are top of mind. In brief, the war itself is brief, but not without an array of clever shenanigans and betrayals. Tina, in particular, shines in her role as the Acting Supreme Commander; the woman's bitter recalcitrance makes her an effective and efficient leader. Elsewhere, Chengsi Sera Tohrei, the violence-adoring knight pilot, earns the battlefield moniker "the Empire's Red Devil" thanks to her marvelous and murderous work in her red mech, "a one-of-a-kind machine for a one-of-a-kind knight."

EVIL LORD v6 has several side stories vying for attention, the most intriguing of which is the maturation and emergence of Master Yasushi's additional apprentices. The two young women, tasked with killing Yasushi's principal student, include Fuka Shishikami and Riho Satsuki. Fuka, whose full name roughly translates to "bad-behaving lion-hair," is a brusque and overpowered dual-wielding swordfighter. Riho is a glory-hungry wannabe idol whose smile hides a deep sadism. Both have their sights set on every powerful swordsman in the Empire, Liam included. And their final showdown, a few novels in the making, contributes to one of the book's tertiary themes of explicitly showing readers just how powerful Liam is as an individual. Liam is a skilled negotiator, tactician, and treasure hunter. As a swordsman? All on his own? The assumption is there, sure, but EVIL LORD v6 actively tests the young man in more ways than one.

I'M THE EVIL LORD OF AN INTERGALACTIC EMPIRE v6 is an entertaining read in how the author gifts readers a taste of something intriguing without going overboard. The splinter plot about the apprentices to the Way of the Flash has evolved. The occasional side story about Amagi's fatalist devotion to Liam gets a jump-start in an admittedly odd but effective manner. Liam continuously, accidentally, pledges to build up his allies in the shadows when he calls upon Kukuri's men with great expediency. And most fun of all, the protagonist's self-defeating claim of being "evil" is bearing fruit in an acutely ideological way that nobody picks up on:

"'Justice' was quite a handy word. No one would choose to be scorned for being "evil" instead of being lauded for being "just." It was useful that people fell in line whenever you started talking about justice as well. Even if they didn't know if what they were doing was truly proper, if they convinced themselves something was just, people felt like they were on the right side [...] No matter what the system of government was, there were always rulers and there were always subjects. A world without a class system? Something like that couldn't exist" (pages 21, 243).