Chapter 301

Chapter 301. The Approaching Storm (2)

From the start, using the teleport system of two Krakens.

They successfully turned the fleets of two users into piles of scrap by pouring missile bombardments from the fleet, including Hreðsvelgr, but…

“…Do we have to do this 500 more times now?”

“Exactly 523 times, actually.”

“Ughhhhh.”

The problem was that even though they felt a sense of accomplishment, there were just too many enemies to feel truly happy about it.

The only saving grace was that the 500 users weren’t all rushing in at once…

-“Commander, new fleets are pushing forward on the frontlines!”

-“Respond immediately.”

Perhaps because it was a coalition of at least 50 clans.

Some of them, trying to hog all the glory, were recklessly charging straight toward the fortress.

But those kinds of guys only showed up early on, when not many enemies had gathered near the base.

After repelling about three clans consisting of roughly 10 members each, they got scared and stopped coming recklessly.

Once the main force—presumably the remaining clans—started arriving one after another, they began setting up camp outside the range of our defense turrets, surrounding us.

From my perspective, it was enough to make my blood boil.

But after surrounding us like that… how should I put it?

It’s hard to describe in one word, but if I had to force it…

Unlike me, they had a huge advantage in the number of “commanders.”

They were trying to wear down our fleet bit by bit using a “wheel formation” tactic that maximized each user’s command abilities.

The problem was, if I sent out the guard fleet to counter their combat style, the guard fleet, without any buffs, would just get wiped out unilaterally.

But if I didn’t send out the guard fleet?

Then the user fleets, each receiving multiple buffs from their respective superhumans, would swoop in and blow up the Avalon Fortress’s defense systems one by one.

Or they’d just smash through the fleet I had deployed outside the fortress.

So, whether I liked it or not, the only option I had was to throw the guard fleet, which would recover over time, into the fray to hold them off.

Of course, that situation didn’t last long.

-“How’s Kraken 2? Is it still docked at the fortress facilities?”

-“Yes, Commander. You said it’s still too weak to go out, right?”

-“Let’s try one more teleport attack with it.”

A glorious swarm of strategic missiles and torpedoes rained down on the fleet trying to execute their wheel formation.

As a result, five of their cruiser battleships were sunk without even firing a single shot from their main guns, and the users attempting the wheel formation hastily retreated with a backstep.

==========

At the same time, inside the Walpurgis Union Clan…

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<Mint Choco Meeting Room>

-[WTF, why does the Kraken teleport twice a day?]

-[Oh crap, did they get another Kraken?]

-[Probably.]

-[First, let’s fall back and form a siege.]

-[Retreating.]

—————————————-

Seeing one of the clan’s users, who had charged in carelessly, take irreparable damage, they couldn’t help but be shocked by the fact that Icarus’s strength was far beyond their expectations.

Though, strictly speaking, it wasn’t so much shock at Icarus’s strength as it was…

‘Ugh, if I charge in first like this, my fleet’s just gonna get wrecked.’

…an endless wave of selfishness slowly rearing its head.

Users who didn’t want to see their months-long efforts to build their elite fleets go up in smoke started eyeing each other, giving up on being the first to move.

No, that would’ve been fine.

‘Hey, isn’t someone gonna make the first move?’

‘Let’s just play the waiting game.’

‘There’s that one annoying guy, can’t we trick him into going first?’

Some jokers were even trying to use this as an opportunity for a “legitimate purge” (???).

And while the members of the union clan were busy playing this game of chicken…

==========

-“Commander, the enemy fleet is continuing to harass us with long-range attacks.”

-“Sigh.”

Seeing the enemy maintain a tight siege and only fire missiles and torpedoes from extreme distances, I felt a sense of unease creeping in.

Of course, it wasn’t because the strategy itself was threatening.

Unlike when I first laid siege, the fortress’s defense systems weren’t just sitting idle while missiles flew in.

-“All fleets, including Hreðsvelgr, engage in anti-aircraft activities.”

-“Hah, firing missiles from that far away? What a waste of ammo!”

With the fleet under my command still intact, they began swiftly intercepting the countless missiles and torpedoes flying toward the fortress.

Of course, among the enemy fleets detected by the graviton radar, there were no ships like Hreðsvelgr—arsenal ship types.

Me.

With about 500 users—equivalent to around 400,000 points worth of ships—scattering missiles and torpedoes, the numbers were anything but small.

A few to several dozen managed to slip through the interception systems and hit the fortress or ships.

While small ships like destroyers might be vulnerable, larger ships like cruisers and above, as well as the fortress’s defense turrets and armor plates, were unlikely to suffer significant damage from a few measly missiles (even if they were several meters long).

In such a situation, not just me but also the other superhumans and mercenary commanders were just shrugging it off.

However, that didn’t mean no damage was accumulating at all.

As mentioned earlier, the sheer volume of those damn missiles and torpedoes, unleashed by over 500 fleets, was absolutely insane.

Even though the fortress and fleet’s various anti-air systems intercepted 99.9% of them, the remaining 0.1% was enough to blow small ships to smithereens.

“This doesn’t look good at all.”

“What’s wrong, Commander?”

When I let out a sigh of concern after assessing the situation, Jessica looked puzzled and asked.

I pointed out that the enemy’s strategy was essentially melting away our time, which suggested a very worrisome outcome for us.

“Those guys are trying to chip away at us from extreme range, without worrying about a surprise attack from the rear.”

“Right.”

“They’re either showing off that they’ve secured their surroundings or signaling that they’re untouchable from behind.”

“…Ah, I see.”

The problem was, we had no way of knowing whether that was true or not.

And whether it was true or not, if we just sat still, we’d be slowly but surely worn down by the enemy.

I didn’t know what the enemy was thinking, but I kept racking my brain for a way out of this situation.

Then, after a while.

As I sipped the coffee Jessica brought me, the caffeine stimulated my brain, and a forgotten fact flashed through my mind.

“Oh right, Jessica!”

“Yes, Commander.”

Afraid I might forget, I immediately called Jessica and put the idea into action.

“Is the Nerañzara still out there?”

“Yes, it is…?”

“Get it to dock inside the fortress facilities immediately, then have it fully submerge inside the base and head back out!”

“…!”

And that method was none other than using our Nerañzara-class.

It would approach the enemy fleet, unleash all available weapons, starting with spatial torpedoes, and then calmly return to the base to recharge.

Then it would head out again, fire all its weapons, and retreat—a classic “hit-and-run” tactic.

==========

And as a result of Icarus’s misstep (?) and the Nerañzara’s hit-and-run…

—————————————-

<Mint Chocolate Chat Room>

-[What the hell?]

-[What’s the fleet’s perimeter doing?]

-[I can’t see it, how are we supposed to catch it?]

-[The battleships’ propulsion systems are all wrecked.]

-[You’re blaming us for what you can’t do? If you’re mad, do it yourself.]

-[What the hell?]

—————————————-

If this dragged on a little longer, sadly for the Walpurgis Union leadership…

They would likely end up splitting and self-destructing on their own, which would be the happiest ending for Icarus.

But… as always, a happy ending for Icarus was never in the cards.

—————————————-

<Mint Chocolate Chat Room>

-[Why are these guys acting so pathetic?]

-[But still…]

-[You guys better TS starting tomorrow.]

-[Everyone, step aside. I’ll sacrifice myself.]

-[Oh.]

—————————————-

Unable to stand the situation, a certain clan leader with a 3 vs. 700 record exploded in the chat.

Then, leading his entire fleet, he charged headfirst and met a glorious end, annihilated by the fourth Kraken teleportation strike.

Inspired by this, the users—specifically those now confident that their ships wouldn’t be easily destroyed by Kraken’s teleportation ambushes—and the allied clan leaders…

Finally launched an all-out assault on Icarus’s Avalon Fortress.