Chapter 115

Chapter 115. The Final Week. (6)

Clearly, the enemy must have thought about ambushes or flanking to some extent.

Although it wasn’t intentional, our main force got completely wrecked, so…

It seems the enemy got careless, like catching a mouse while walking backward.

-“The Savior wills it! Charge!”

-“Kyaaaaaah!”

Seeing the mobile unit appearing from the asteroid belt and rushing at full speed,

The enemy, seemingly panicked, hastily sent their rear cruisers to the front where their small ships were.

They seemed to want the close-range support buff from their small ships, but…

The problem was that the “front” was where my main force’s cruisers were already grappling with the enemy.

In the midst of this chaotic battle, when the light cruisers waiting in the rear were randomly pushed into the battlefield,

The enemy fleet became overly concentrated, leading to a loss of mobility.

-“Now’s the time♡”

-“Overseer main cannon firing, targeting the center of the enemy formation.”

The result of firing the Overseer’s remaining main cannon and Pashtira’s serious beam at the concentrated enemy fleet center was…

-“Boom!!!”

-“Kwaang!”

-“Enemy formation collapsing! The enemy fleet is in complete disarray!”

The lightly armored cruisers were skewered like kebabs by the Overseer’s cannon,

Or completely obliterated by Pashtira’s beam, leaving only the bow and stern.

Witnessing this fiery scene that instantly erased all the previous suffering, I was about to jump up and cheer.

But right after…

-“Kwaaaang!”

-“What the?!”

“Huh? What’s going on, Gryanarr?”

-“Uh… Commander? The Overseer’s main cannons are all destroyed.”

“…”

Hearing that the Overseer was now useless, I realized that despite the enemy’s chaos,

Their small ships, commanded by some unknown commander, were still functioning perfectly.

So, I ordered the mobile unit, which was charging at the enemy, to fire all their torpedoes to inflict damage on the enemy formation.

Of course, the dozens of 55m-diameter torpedoes fired by the mobile unit,

Despite their size and mobility similar to patrol ships, most were shot down by the enemy’s anti-aircraft fire.

But the few that survived tore through the weak armor of the enemy light cruisers,

Causing massive internal explosions and rendering half of the enemy light cruisers either immobile or combat ineffective.

The problem was that the mobile unit’s ships had to sacrifice their own armaments to carry the torpedoes,

So after the torpedo barrage, most of them couldn’t even scratch the light cruisers and just flitted around like flies.

Anyway, with the mobile unit joining the fray,

A bizarre double battle unfolded: ‘enemy – my main force – enemy main force – mobile unit,’

And both sides started accumulating massive losses.

But with such a messy battle structure, retreating became nearly impossible for both sides.

Our ships were so close that small ships were constantly getting caught in the explosions of larger ships,

And superhumans from both sides were hopping between ships like stepping stones, stealing and losing ships left and right.

During the battle, our formations got completely mixed up,

With one cruiser changing ownership five times in an hour.

The level of micromanagement required was impossible, and I started to understand why,

Even three years before I got possessed, most veterans were so negative about PVP despite the developers’ incentives.

But now, five hours after having those thoughts,

Most of the ships on both sides, excluding those bought from the shop or obtained through gacha,

Had changed ownership at least once or been repaired after being heavily damaged.

After nearly 10 hours of such chaotic fighting, I started feeling the need for rest more than anything.

The problem was, as mentioned earlier, retreating wasn’t an option because the battlefield was too mixed up.

If I retreated now out of exhaustion,

My fleet would get utterly destroyed by the enemy’s attacks from all directions.

The enemy probably knew this too, which is why, despite most players hating such chaotic battles,

They were sticking around instead of retreating.

Anyway, how the hell am I supposed to resolve this situation…?

At the moment of deep thought.

<Notification!>

<A 1:1 chat request from Commander Icarus has arrived. Will you accept?>

<Y/N>

‘Huh?’

Naturally, I felt suspicious about the sudden chat request.

But only for a moment.

Given the situation, there was only one ‘user’ who would request a chat with me.

As soon as I pressed <Y>, I opened the chat window and calmly started the conversation.

-[What’s up?](Me)

-[You’re good at fighting.](Opponent)

-[Yeah.](Me)

-[Your ship fleet is worse than mine, but you’re pretty impressive, huh?](Opponent)

In the midst of this, I felt a surge of irritation and thought about closing the chat window.

-[Oh, just in case, I’m not trying to mock you.](Opponent)

-[Seriously, yeah.](Opponent)

At the hurriedly updated chat, I eased my irritation but maintained a curt attitude and asked again.

-[Got it, so why did you contact me?](Me)

-[You know, right? Honestly, it’s tough to keep fighting now.](Opponent)

-[Yeah.](Me)

-[Plus, both our main ships are wrecked, and the damage is too intense.](Opponent)

-[…So?](Me)

-[What do you mean? Let’s call it a draw and say goodbye.](Opponent)

Despite striking first, the opponent’s attitude was quite bold.

I felt momentarily stunned.

But that feeling was brief.

Upon closer inspection, the opponent wasn’t hurried; they were just typing incredibly fast.

And their tone…

“Commander, may I report?”

“Yes, Jessica.”

“Frankly, our current combat status is slightly unfavorable.”

“…”

As Jessica’s report indicated, we were not in a favorable position.

I realized the opponent was actually giving me a ‘break’ and pondered deeply.

Of course, this only applied to the current battle.

If I gathered all the ships being produced and the defense ships from the resource zones with Marian waiting at the base,

it was obvious that the opponent’s expedition fleet, unable to replenish ships, would be completely destroyed.

It seemed the opponent aimed to preserve both our fleets through negotiation rather than annihilating my main force.

But if I immediately accepted their proposal,

they might think, ‘This guy has no strength left! Screw peace talks, full attack!’

While I was tempted by their offer, I expressed refusal in the chat.

But…

-[^^ㅗ](Me)

-[Oh, come on.](Opponent)

-[We both know we have hidden reserves, right? It’s better to end this with a peace agreement.](Opponent)

-[If I really wanted a war of annihilation, why would I engage in a 1v1 PVP with you instead of bringing my clan?](Opponent)

-[If you really can’t trust me, I’ll propose the peace agreement first. Please accept it.](Opponent)

<Notification!>

<The opponent 'Betelgeuse' has requested a peace negotiation with you!>

<Effect: The combat situation between both sides will be immediately lifted.>

<Y/N>

‘What?’

Amid the rapid-fire chat and shocking information,

the opponent genuinely proposing a peace agreement first left me momentarily unable to comprehend the situation, feeling as if my brain had frozen.