Chapter 259

Chapter 259. Watch closely what I can do. (1)

—

Triggered by an aggressive post, I, like any human, got completely hooked.

“Co-Commander, maybe you should take a break first…?”

“Quiet, Jessica.”

“Ouch…”

As if possessed, I scrolled through posts about solo play and the criticisms aimed at me.

Thanks to that, Oxianor, who had come to talk to me, was startled and flustered.

Even Tiamat, full of energy, came in with Ignis, only to back away with the same posture and expression.

It was quite a peculiar situation to witness.

But at that time, I wasn’t in a position to care about such things, so I ignored them all like a dog.

After going through all sorts of things, I finally found something.

—

Title: Honestly, no matter how strong a solo player is, isn’t it impossible to solo conquer a fortress city?

Author: ㅇㅇ

Content: [Image of the fortress city’s defense turrets]

There are thousands of defense turrets here, and hundreds of interceptors and patrol fleets pop out to buy time, while a war fleet including battleships comes out and beats you up.

The armor plates are ridiculously tough too.

Comments:

– [ㅇㅇTrue]

– [That place is meant for mid-sized clans to seriously siege.]

– [Even Raksha and Icarus can’t break through that.]

– [ㄱㄷ](Icarus)

– [???]

– [Why?]

– [What?]

—

After reaching the peak of frustration in the comments of a post I stumbled upon.

“Jessica.”

“Ah… yes?”

“Cancel the clan creation. These bastards dared to touch my pride.”

Having been triggered to the max, I decided to throw away my PTSD about clans and, as a solo player, decided to try something to protect my pride (?).

And what that ‘something’ was.

“Commander, what exactly are you planning to do?”

“Jessica, there are ‘space cities’ in the Central Zone that clans use for invasions, right?”

“Ah, yes, there are.”

“I think the biggest one was the Tanhoizer Gate Fortress…”

“Yes, but… Commander, surely you’re not…?”

“We’re taking it over, starting now.”

—

The ultimate solo player challenge in this god-tier game Astral Lagrange: conquering a ‘space city’ without any clan help.

The plan was to conquer a space city all by myself.

Not some small fortress colony that even an average solo player could manage with some effort, but a massive space fortress and port, complete with a super-large warp gate, larger than most planets.

Of course, Jessica was quite worried about my sudden, impulsive plan.

“But Commander, conquering a city alone could turn into a ‘Pyrrhic victory’?”

“Hmm…”

“Even though we have ships like Hreðsvelgr and Kraken that can handle fleets, there’s still a limit.”

“Ugh…”

—

And hearing Jessica’s words, I remembered a post I had seen earlier in the gallery.

—

Title: There are really a lot of fortress cities and stations left in the Central Zone.

Author: Mineirang

Content: [Clan map – Image showing the locations of ‘unconquered fortress cities and planetary systems’ in the Central Zone]

Why are there so many left?

It’s not like there are no clans there.

Comments:

– [There are clans, but unlike other zones, there are no mid-sized clans capable of sieging fortresses.]

– [It’s a den full of solo players, so if a real large clan comes in, they resist the clan systematically.]

– [The situation there is a bit complicated to explain in a comment.]

– [ㄱㄷ I’ll write a post about it.]

—

—

Title: Explanation of why the bases in the Central Zone are left.txt

Author: Seagull

Content: [Image of unnamed users’ fleets exchanging fire with each other.jpg]

To put it simply, there are quite a few top-ranked users among those who survived in that den.

So those top…

Top rankers can definitely conquer bases, but the problem is, while the user who’s doing the conquering is busy fighting the defense fleet and their forces are split, it’s way too easy for another user to stab them in the back like a dog.

When it’s a clan doing it, even if the users participating in the siege take damage, other clan members can cover for them, and they can quickly recover using the resources stockpiled by the clan, right?

But over there, the user has to act alone, so the recovery speed is slow, and there’s no one to protect them. If there were, they wouldn’t be solo in the first place.

And actually, recently, some rankers tried to challenge city sieges, got backstabbed by other users, and got wrecked. Even before the backstabber could take control of the city, another guy jumped in, and they all got tangled up until the city fleet respawned, leading to everyone’s downfall.

Because of that nonsense, several solo rankers have had their mental health shattered and often end up going to Humanity, which has strong welfare, or Loki, which is lenient towards other users’ trolling.

Comments:

– [Quite a few people go to Justice to be loved]

– [Strangely, people don’t go to the space Kanfu side]

– [There’s no representative clan there, Justice is between Kanfu and the Earth Federation]

– [Ah, is that so?]

—————————————-

And what can be understood from the posts in that gallery is that Jessica’s concerns are indeed valid.

I nodded at Jessica, who was making a worried face, and calmly spoke.

“Jessica, your concern is very plausible… no, it’s a reasonable argument.”

“Right?”

“But just in case, I never said I would only use my fleet in this battle, did I?”

“…Nope?”

Solo player special.

I use whatever I can.

And among the things I can use, there’s the ‘unlimitedly hireable pirate mercenaries’ that many users have pointed out whenever they mention me.

Secondly, Princess Luka’s personal hobby fleet that multiplies on its own as long as I provide resources.

Lastly… after I pulled out the fleet for various reasons and found myself in danger, Marian gave me command over thousands of pirate ships.

With all that, plus my own ships including the Kraken and Hreðsvelgr moving together?

Calculating the forces in my head, it’s almost like a full-fledged clan moving, despite the solo player pride thing.

It seems entirely possible.

And as I shared these thoughts with Jessica, I also made it clear that I wasn’t planning to attack right away.

“Jessica, what’s being built right now?”

“Huh? Ah… the Air Command, right?”

“Yeah, but for that to be fully built… wait a sec.”

—————————————-

<Air Command under construction...>

<Time remaining until completion: 20 days 13 hours 0 minutes 19 seconds>

—————————————-

“Well, there’s about 20 days left, right? I plan to start the attack only after this is fully built and my first large aircraft carrier is repaired.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But during that time, think about gathering additional resources and increasing the resource supply to Princess Luka’s fleet.”

“…!”

“Then, max out the leveling and proficiency, and finally, lead a fleet with a massive number of hired mercenaries using the resources I’ve gathered.”

“…That would be amazing.”

If that happens, I’ll have Marian, the original 8 superhumans, a forgettable bearded pirate admiral and his pirate captains, mercenary captains who can perform S-class or above when they’re on a roll, modified chimeras, monsters, and various pirate troops as a solid assault force.

It’s truly a majestic force that makes your chest swell with pride.