Chapter 141

Episode 141. Bullying is the Right Civilization. (1)

“What the hell, that’s definitely a battleship-class or higher!”

At the sudden appearance of the massive ship, Kaltar’s Blue Fang Pirate Group began to panic.

Of course, if they were just simple pirates, close to being clueless, they would have thought the enemy was underestimating them, seeing that the massive ship only had one cruiser and two destroyers.

They would have chosen to flee at full speed without looking back…

“Captain, what do we do?”

“What the hell can we do here?! Everyone, prepare for battle immediately!”

As Icarus’ command staff speculated, and as Marian had guessed, they were not just ‘dumb pirates’ on the surface. In reality, they were a proper ‘privateer group’ operating under the orders of the Xenobia Empire.

Unlike other clueless pirate groups, they realized that the massive ship that had appeared before them with only three escort ships meant that the surrounding airspace was already surrounded by a ‘fleet,’ and that the enemy intended to crush them with sheer size.

They understood that the enemy had deployed such a monster to destroy them and their ships, and that they would not be spared.

“Damn it, we have to break through that damn battleship and its escorts!”

“If we just smash those bastards, the encirclement will fall apart!”

“Wow!”

“Oooh!”

“Kill them all!”

Though it wasn’t Kaltar’s intention, the pirates, who had suddenly been forced into a corner, began to burn with fighting spirit, determined to overpower the enemy fleet and escape.

Of course, regardless of that fighting spirit…

“Damn it, what do we do?”

“Let’s try to escape during the chaos, Captain.”

Kaltar and the other officers were already thinking of surrendering if necessary to save their lives.

==========

And a few minutes before that.

When our Kaltar, or whatever his name was, was in shock and terror…

-“The pirate fleet has left the resource zone.”

“Good, good.”

I was admiring the majestic rear of the Kraken, and with nothing else to do, I joined the other superhumans who had come to see me.

Since everyone insisted that I shouldn’t personally take the front lines, I had to grit my teeth and agree.

Along with Belial, who boarded the ship in my place, I began commanding the mixed fleet while receiving real-time briefings from Jessica at the command center.

But seeing my imposing demeanor, Jessica approached me with a worried expression.

“Commander, are you really okay with just four ships?”

“Hmm?”

“Even the actual countermeasures for small ships are just two destroyers, and they’re not even the Azkran-class from the event shop, just regular destroyers.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Our Jessica, who seemed to know nothing about military affairs, had really grown up.

Feeling deeply moved, I waved my finger at her, indicating that it was no problem.

After all, logically speaking, the pirate group’s largest and ‘most powerful’ ships were just three light cruisers.

Against such foes, the Kraken-class, which is over five times longer than the Overseer-class heavy cruiser—one of the top five in size—and equipped with hundreds, if not thousands, of aircraft, missiles, and assault pods, couldn’t possibly lose.

Anyway, seeing the enemy fleet not running away but preparing to fight, I nodded and prepared to launch an attack force of aircraft from all of Kraken’s biolabs.

But right at that moment…

—————————————-

<Warning!>

<The ‘Blue Fang’ Pirate Group has been granted the ‘Desperate Battle’ trait!>

<Desperate Battle>

<Attack Power +10%, Rate of Fire +10%, Evasion Rate +5%, Surrender Probability -95%>

—————————————-

‘Why are you doing this to me?’

Seeing the unexpected twist, I decided to abandon my smooth sailing plans and get serious.

“Launch all of Kraken’s aircraft, and send the first attack force to their positions.”

– “Understood, initiating aircraft launch.”

Upon Belial’s command following my order, the Kraken opened its biostructure, resembling the abdominal spiracles of a giant insect.

As soon as the tightly sealed biostructure opened, thousands of ‘Gargoyles,’ the bio-bombers widely used by ‘Monsters,’ revealed themselves.

Perhaps because so many of them emerged at once, the launched Gargoyles appeared quite disorganized.

But that didn’t last long.

“Form attack groups 1 to 3. Have the 1st attack group fly directly to the enemy fleet and engage them head-on.”

– “Yes, Commander.”

“Once the 2nd attack group completes positioning, use the Kraken’s teleport system to attack the enemy fleet’s flank.”

– “Understood, 1st attack group, launch!”

– “And finally, deploy the 3rd attack group after the 1st attack group finishes their assault.”

– “Understood, Commander. Moving to the 2nd attack group’s position!”

As I began to take control and organize things on my end, the Gargoyles, the bio-bombers, started to act as if they were puppets on strings, swiftly and precisely following my commands to launch a full-scale offensive.

But unfortunately, the real trouble was just beginning.

– *Boom boom boom boom!*

– “Commander?! The enemy fleet’s anti-air capabilities are stronger than expected!”

“My aircraft!!!”

Originally, ship types like ‘Light Cruisers’ and ‘Destroyers’ have some bonus to anti-air capabilities, so I expected some aircraft losses when engaging them. But still…

It’s almost ridiculous. I wonder if the enemy fleet leader has some anti-air buff or something.

One of the Light Cruisers turned out to be an ‘Anti-Air’ type Cruiser, and thanks to the ‘Desperate Resistance’ trait that just activated, its already strong anti-air capabilities got even stronger.

And to make matters worse, the anti-air enhancements multiplied exponentially.

The enemy fleet’s desperate anti-air attacks intercepted over 95% of the 1st attack group’s assault, and more than 50% of the remaining aircraft were turned into permanent casualties.

Of course, thanks to the 1st attack group’s tragic sacrifice, the enemy’s attention was completely focused on the front.

Seizing the moment, I used the 2nd attack group, which had teleported in as planned.

While the enemy’s vision and focus were locked on the front, my 2nd attack group unleashed a barrage of torpedoes and missiles on the distracted enemy fleet.

And in response to our 2nd attack group’s surprise assault, the pirates hastily rearranged their formation while frantically firing anti-air shots, managing to wipe out a whopping 10% of the 2nd attack group that was trying to retreat or re-engage.

Of course, in the process, their precious ships accumulated significant damage.

One Destroyer, in particular, took seven torpedoes from the 2nd attack group and exploded, giving the Kraken some leveling points.

But despite that, the enemy stubbornly maintained their anti-air formation, thoroughly dominating the airspace.

At this rate, it seemed like all of the Kraken’s little ones—no, the aircraft—would be wiped out.

I started to think it might be better to just advance the Kraken and tear everything apart with its abundant tentacles, but…

“Ah, Commander!”

“I see it, they’re advancing towards us.”

Fortunately, instead of stubbornly holding their position and grinding down all our aircraft, the pirates, after being hit by three massive air raids—one of which involved a ‘teleport’ attack—must have realized they’d slowly wither away if they stayed put.

As the pirate group began to charge towards us, abandoning their anti-air formation, I pressed the recall button for the aircraft and prepared to engage in a proper fleet battle.