Chapter 158

Chapter 158. Without You Knowing. (1)

After screaming like a pterodactyl for a while,

we decided to risk losing some of our forces and sent an Azkran-Class Destroyer to conduct a forced reconnaissance mission to figure out who these guys were.

And after that one ship barely survived, teetering on the brink of destruction while conducting an intense reconnaissance,

we finally found out who dared to invade my precious little territory.

—————————————-

<Unity Clan>

<Members: 5>

<Affiliation: Earth Federation>

<Tendency: None>

—————————————-

The problem was, once we got that information,

“Wait, they’re clearly a new clan, so why are they suddenly invading us?”

“Uh, yeah, good question.”

For me, it was impossible to figure out why a measly 5-member newbie clan would even think of invading me.

The only thing I could guess was…

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Title: Shouldn’t we be blocking the people who *didn’t* pull a Large Ship instead of those who did?

Author: 1557

Content: [Image of a smug toad]

People who pulled a Large Ship either have resources to spare, grinded hard, or got lucky.

But the ones who didn’t pull? They lack money, skill, and effort. Lol.

They’re literally the epitome of incompetence, so why are we reverse-discriminating?

Comments:

– [Take it back… what you just said…!]

– [Lol, you’re wild.]

– [Where do you live, bro?]

– [Mod!!! Track this guy’s IP!!!]

– [LOLOLOLOLOLOL]

—————————————-

“Maybe it’s because of this.”

Someone posted an inflammatory comment, and Jessica shook her head, asking why such a thing wasn’t deleted.

“Commander, why didn’t you delete this and just left it there?”

“People can make mistakes sometimes.”

Of course, despite this confident attitude,

deep down, it was just a petty thought of wanting to ride the wave of someone else’s trolling.

I had no time to explain as Jessica looked at me with a complicated expression.

==========

But unlike what Icarus thought, reality was much more complicated.

Just as our protagonist Icarus was thriving behind the scenes by forming a secret alliance between the Pirate Empress Marian and the Monsters,

the Earth Federation also had a similar figure…

“So, we’ve pretty much taken over the Earth Federation, right?”

“Yes, Clan Leader.”

“Except for the border regions and some unique tendencies, almost all users in the Earth Federation are under our control now.”

“Wow.”

The current top-ranked clan, ‘Humanity,’ led by its Clan Leader,

who also holds the number one spot in the individual rankings—Antares—was that very figure.

And his goal, naturally, was to take over the Earth Federation,

unlike other users who seemed to be enjoying the game for some reason…

“It’s going to be tough to stage a coup and take over the Earth Federation like this.”

“I think so too.”

“Honestly, even though the Clan Leader used trust to scatter their main forces, there are still over 10 million troops near Earth alone.”

“At least the other clan members have also raised their trust and completely dispersed the colonial fleets, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

To see the end of this game through the victory of his clan = his own victory,

Antares was fully preparing for a ‘coup’ to firmly take control of the Earth Federation, the faction with the most users.

Even though his direct clan members numbered nearly 15,000,

and including subordinate clans, so-called ‘external mercenaries,’ and allied clans and users, he had at least 20,000 troops,

his opponent was a massive force capable of mobilizing millions, if not tens of millions, of ships.

“We’re hungry.”

“Agreed.”

To somehow increase the success rate of the coup, Antares and the clan leadership were trying everything.

From scattering the Earth Federation’s ‘main forces’ in all directions or depleting their strength against other factions,

to preventing the mobilization of regional forces by using their high ‘trust’ with the Federation to maintain control and divert troops meant for ‘war’ through ‘faction offices.’

And by using those troops and commanders to build friendly relations…

They were carrying out operations, turning people into their own.

From the Earth Federation’s perspective, if they knew about this, they would be absolutely furious, calling it “internal slander” and doing everything to express their extreme anger.

Of course, the Earth Federation’s leadership, the “Security Council,” and its chairman were completely unaware of this fact.

The Humanity Clan was thoroughly executing this heart-pounding coup plan.

However, despite this, the leadership of the Humanity Clan, including Antares, believed that it would be impossible to establish their command through a “coup against the Earth Federation” in this way.

They thought that to slightly increase their chances of success, they needed more “military power.”

So, what were they planning to do?

“To acquire military power for the coup, it makes sense to bring the ‘neutral’ users located in the Central Zone to our side, right?”

“Of course, and to launch a coup within the Federation, we would need to deploy most—no, all—of our forces. But then, who would guard our empty base?”

“That’s true.”

Along with increasing the success rate of the coup, they also needed to prevent invasions from other factions or clans during the inevitable power vacuum that would occur during the coup process.

This was both a “preventive war” and a way to expand their military power.

However, there were two problems with their plan.

“Although we managed to repel that Arcardia clan last time with the help of the Federation’s main force, we also suffered significant losses in the process.”

“To repair the large ships lost by the frontline subordinate clans, we’ve already consumed a considerable amount of strategic supplies from the clan’s warehouse.”

“In this situation, if we make another move…”

“…The Loki Clan, that damn pink-haired TS, definitely won’t just sit still.”

Not long ago, the war with the “Justice” Clan, which was trying to establish itself in the neutral zone, caused more damage to the subordinate clans than expected.

This damage was enough to nullify the increased military power that Antares and the Humanity Clan had gained by dividing factions and disbanding intact clans, then absorbing their members into Humanity or its subordinate clans.

And even if the damage wasn’t that severe…

The Loki Clan and its leader, Betelgeuse, who were watching the Humanity Clan’s growth with displeasure, would definitely not sit idly by.

“That damn pink-haired TS, she’ll definitely interfere with us.”

“Originally a man, he’s incredibly skilled at seducing other clan leaders and using them.”

“That’s not the point…”

So, Antares and the Humanity Clan’s dilemma was how to deal with the Loki Clan’s interference and quickly seize the neutral factions…

After much deliberation, Antares suddenly felt an amazing solution flash through his mind.

“Wait a minute, they’re going to pay attention to us anyway, right?”

“Hmm… that’s true?”

“Since Justice has suffered losses, there’s no other place worth paying attention to except us.”

“Then why don’t we use that to our advantage and use this clan as bait.”

“…Huh?”

“How exactly do you plan to do that, Clan Leader?”

At first, it sounded like nonsense, and the Humanity leadership was filled with question marks.

But only for a moment.

“Simply put, we persuade a clan located in the zone between the Federation and the Pirate Alliance, far from the Central Zone, to provoke a conflict with a Pirate Alliance-affiliated clan.”

“And then?”

“We show our clan directly intervening in that conflict, while also using the trust we’ve built up to get the main force to deploy at least some troops.”

Following Antares’ words, the leadership nodded in agreement, showing their approval.

However, some of them, acting as advisors, offered their own opinions.

“Hmm, Clan Leader? Due to the damage we suffered last time, even if the main force moves, they won’t be able to deploy much, right?”

“That’s right, at best, they’ll send a few small fleets with cruisers and that’s it.”

“The scale isn’t important. What matters is the fact that the ‘main force’ has moved.”

If the Earth Federation’s main force moves and the Humanity Clan’s fleet is seen making a large-scale movement, whether they like it or not, the Loki Clan and Betelgeuse will have to respond accordingly.

Hearing Antares’ plan, the clan leadership applauded and decided to formally establish the detailed operation plan and put it into action.