Chapter 306

Chapter 306. Today, I’m still surviving with grit.

The guys who’ve been aggressively attacking suddenly started charging recklessly. Despite the base’s anti-air defense system being perfectly intact, they were raining down assault pods like fireworks. It was a situation that made me deeply suspicious, and honestly, it was hard to understand.

Surprisingly, the reason for their behavior was none other than the 6,000 jokesters who came to save me. With their appearance, the 50 invading clans finally turned tail and fled.

“Today, I survived again.”

I’m not sure if I’m lucky or not, but hey, I’m alive, so that’s something, right? Of course, I only survived against some random coalition of 50 clans. There was no guarantee that the massive user fleet that suddenly showed up was on my side.

I contacted the Mercenary Dispatch Center again, determined to self-destruct with whatever was left—2.5 million minerals and 500,000 rare resources—if it came to that. Before that, I reorganized the surviving mercenaries and the defense fleet. I also quickly deployed the remaining 20 resource mining ships to repair the battleships and other vessels.

But thankfully, all my worries turned out to be just that—worries. After I diligently reorganized and redeployed the fleet, including two Krakens, and showed that I still had fight left in me, a chat notification popped up.

It was from Menaldu, who was leisurely commanding the fleet heading my way.

—

<Menaldu has sent you a chat message.>

– “Hey, these guys are all here to help you, FYI.” (Menaldu)

– “?????” (Me)

– “Turns out the guys attacking you were actually a single clan. We found out and came to beat them up.” (Menaldu)

– “Oh.” (Me)

—

There was more to the conversation, but I finally understood how things had unfolded.

“Huh, so we weren’t attacked by multiple small clans but got caught up in the schemes of one clan aiming for dominance.”

“Seems like it.”

To prove the point, most of the loosely formed user fleet started heading back to their bases through the “Solo Player Room,” saying it had been fun.

Nodding at Menaldu’s explanation and the users’ actions, I finally felt that the long—or maybe short—fortress siege had come to an end.

—

Anyway, because of all this, I had to let go of the mercenaries whose contracts were completely severed. I also terminated contracts with the remaining mercenary groups and docked the surviving ships in the base’s repair facilities.

But here’s the thing—there was a small issue I’d forgotten about because it happened so long ago. Our Kraken No. 2, which had been feasting on enemy ships, was still in its growth phase (?) compared to Kraken No. 1. Maybe it ate so many ships that it got indigestion, but it ended up stuck in the spaceport gate entrance, which it used to pass through just fine before.

“Commander, we’ve got a big problem.”

“…Don’t tell me one of those jokesters actually attacked?”

“No, it’s Kraken No. 2—it’s stuck in the gate and can’t get out!”

“…”

Naturally, the reason was that Kraken No. 2 was slightly smaller than No. 1. While No. 1 had used the largest gate, No. 2 had used a relatively smaller one. So, when I ordered the 3-day-old Kraken No. 2 to return, it tried to go through the same entrance without considering its now-bloated belly.

By the time I turned the screen to see what Jessica was reporting, Kraken No. 2 was already stuck, its round butt sticking out of the gate, flailing its tentacles helplessly.

The problem was, Kraken No. 2 had eaten so many ships that…

If we just leave it alone, there are only two possible outcomes that will hit us.

“Jessica, what kind of ending do you think will find us if we leave that alone?”

“Either the Kraken, having digested the ships it ate, grows bigger and smashes the gate, or it gets crushed from the inside like a lobster that can’t shed its shell and dies.”

“…”

I can’t understand how another accident could happen in a place like this…

As soon as the battle ended, I immediately started the task of pulling out Kraken Unit 2, which was stuck in the gate.

==========

Meanwhile, at the same time, most of the ‘jokers’ had finished smashing things and were heading back, thinking their work was done.

—————————————–

<Solo Players' Room⚥>

-[Guys, if we play our cards right now, can’t we also take a base solo?]

-[???]

-[What?]

—————————————–

Another group of ‘jokers’ who wanted to solo a base and suck up the sweet rewards like Icarus were slowly starting to raise their heads.

Of course, most reacted negatively, asking why we even came here if that’s the case.

But with the number of users who had gathered reaching several thousand, even if only 10% accepted that opinion, it would still amount to hundreds of people.

If those users started to slowly swarm in, it was clear that a very dangerous situation would arise for Icarus.

—————————————–

<Solo Players' Room⚥>

-[Then you guys go ahead, we’ll do our own thing]

-[Crossing the line]

-[LOL]

-[Ugh, these jokers, they’re just trying to mess around]

-[Well, if you really want to take it, now’s the only chance]

-[The guard fleet is wiped out, and the mercenary group was dismissed because there’s no money to pay them]

-[The combat fleet is almost depleted, and the defense facilities are destroyed, so yeah]

-[…Damn, that’s tempting?]

—————————————–

Moreover, the more you thought about it, the more it seemed that Icarus had exhausted all means to defend the fortress.

And with the fleet’s strength almost completely gone except for their own.

If they charged in now, it seemed likely that at least a level 5 base for public use by users would appear in the central zone.

Of course, the moment Icarus was defeated and driven out of the base.

Hundreds of users would fight over the base, leading to a situation where they would cannibalize each other.

But as they say, when people are blinded by desire, they see nothing, so unfortunately, that future scenario wasn’t in the minds of the users slowly preparing to charge.

And in the midst of all this, one of Icarus’s main ships, a Kraken, was stuck in the gate, exposing a weakness.

Thinking now was the perfect chance to strike, the users eagerly discussed and soon decided to charge in without hesitation.

But right at that moment…

-BOOM!

—————————————–

<Solo Players' Room⚥>

-[WTF is that]

-[Ah, crap, did the mercenaries come again?]

-[No, that’s the Pirate Empress, did the fortress master pull another power move?]

-[I got played by the top rankers again]

—————————————–

As they saw the 5,000-strong pirate fleet appearing right in front of Icarus’s fortress, with flags bearing the mark of the ‘Pirate Empress’ fluttering.

The users who had been slowly testing the waters realized that Icarus had seen their actions and pulled out the final card, and decided to run for it.

Of course, neither Icarus nor Marian, who had brought the fleet, had any idea that they would think that.