Chapter 221

Chapter 221. The Battle Continues, Zzzzzzzzz. (2)

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<General Notice>

<FAQ on the 'Capital of the Ancient Empire'>

<Questions frequently asked by Commanders!>

<Q1. Does the Event Battle continue until the last survivor remains?>

<A1. The battles in this event will be conducted a total of 10 times.>

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Well, there were a bunch of other small details mentioned later, but…

Only one Q&A caught my eye.

“10 times… So, we only have to fight 5 more times to finish.”

“Then, will they calculate the scores of the remaining participants?”

“Yeah, something like that. At least the management posted that notice, so it’s a relief.”

“Is that so? But Commander, what does that mean?”

I wasn’t unaware of that information.

Originally, this event had some modifications, but it was an event from when I used to play, so I knew it well.

The problem was that due to the management’s blunder, the information that should have been in the ‘first notice’ only came out now.

If that hadn’t happened, my precious ships wouldn’t have been blowing up left and right by now.

Of course, Jessica looked puzzled at my reaction.

Seeing her expression, I nodded and decided to briefly explain the situation.

“It’s nothing much, just that those damn team killers and trolls will be less of a pain now.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And as you can see from the notice earlier, friendly fire negatively affects your score.”

By now, anyone still alive would naturally start caring about their score.

The reason for trying to survive without properly participating in battles is obvious.

‘Oh, I’m a newbie, I’ll just survive somehow, become a ranker, get rewards, and wear a badge.’

Isn’t that it?

But if you look closely at the notice I skimmed earlier…

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<Q5. How is the event score determined?>

<A5. Apart from victory points, each Commander's individual battle results will determine the score per match.>

<A5-1. Note that actions, kills, assists, and sunk ships are all factored into the score, so please be careful.>

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‘Wow, this is gold.’

The notice had some lines that would really screw over those who were slacking off, team killing, or just riding the bus.

“Look, Jessica, the trolls are going to disappear now.”

“Oh…”

Moreover, the management’s ‘proper education’ didn’t end there.

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<Q8. What happens to ships sunk in the event?>

<A8. Ships will be automatically repaired upon returning to the base after the event ends.>

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‘Ahh.’

The notice’s normalization, the only salvation…

Although it was posted late, the content itself was truly satisfying.

I nodded and started preparing for the next battle.

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And finally, as we entered the 6th battle map, not only me and Jessica…

But also the other superhumans connected via the comms, especially Belial and Marian, who had extensive experience in fleet command, couldn’t help but groan.

“Ugh…”

“This terrain is really not good.”

-“Commander, leading a fleet in such terrain is dangerous.”

-“I agree, bro.”

Indeed, while the map’s layout changed every match…

The terrain was usually just nebulae that interfered with detection or a few planets.

But now, it’s like…

“This is truly a chaotic place.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Wow, there are so many ‘fragments’ like that.”

It was like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, a densely packed asteroid belt filling up the entire visible area.

Even fragments the size of planets were scattered around, enough to make anyone who saw them curse out loud.

And it seemed like the users who had arrived earlier or were just arriving felt the same way.

As soon as they entered the battle map, the chat window lit up with a stream of curses aimed at the map’s layout.

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-[This map is a joke lololololol]

-[If this keeps up, battleships are just gonna be useless]

-[Long-range meta blocked]

-[Seriously, I lost all my small ships just getting here, what am I supposed to do now?]

-[Lololol, you too?]

-[Everyone’s small ships in the fleet got wiped out]

-[Wait, what’s that huge thing over there?]

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But that was only for a moment.

As always, users looked at the map, checked out their teammates, and started evaluating things in the chat…

But as soon as their eyes landed on my fleet, they started showing interest in the massive and majestic Kraken.

Though, unlike before, since the remaining players were essentially the top 1-2% of all users…

Instead of the usual over-the-top reactions, they were surprisingly calm.

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-[Oh, it’s the Kraken? So that fleet must be the 3rd ranked one]

-[So that’s the Kraken, huh? It’s disgustingly huge]

-[It’s an Assault Battle Carrier, and since it’s a monster ship, it grows the more it eats]

-[I wonder how much it’s eaten to get that big]

-[Hey hey]

-[Hey hey]

-[The one next to it is battleship-sized but has no main turrets]

-[Looks like a battleship, but no runway]

-[Yo, that’s a Hreðsvelgr-Class. Looks like the 3rd ranker’s been all about long-range poke meta]

-[For real, they probably farmed a ton with the Kraken’s teleport. So jealous]

-[True]

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No, it wasn’t just calm reactions. It was more like…

They were straight-up analyzing my fleet, something I secretly feared.

*Sigh*

The only saving grace was that they stopped their analysis at a certain level and kept their “manners” intact.

…Well, actually, it wasn’t exactly “manners.”

Just as other users were about to go full-on crazy analyzing my fleet…

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-[Can everyone chill a bit?]

-[It’s not cool to dissect someone else’s fleet like that]

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Two users who had been silent suddenly spoke up in the chat, stopping the madness directed at me.

*Sniff, thank you… overwhelming gratitude!*

Of course, I immediately tried to thank them in the chat.

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-[Lol, thx thx] (Me)

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But the moment I sent that message…

For some reason, the two who shielded me started acting like they knew me.

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-[I just repaid the favor from when you covered for me earlier]

-[Hello, Icarus. Is this the first time we’re meeting directly?]

-[???]

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Naturally, I had no idea who they were, so I could only raise a bunch of question marks in my mind.