Chapter 169

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 2, 2025

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Chapter 169. I Hate Victories That Leave Only Scars (2)

Anyway, we had a pretty successful battle, but…

Even so, the fact that we were at a disadvantage in terms of military strength didn’t change.

“Jessica, so you’re saying we only have 9 mercenary group ships left now?”

“Yes, Commander.”

After such a massive battle, I felt the need to properly assess the current status of our fleet.

And there, I decided to first look at the status of the mercenary groups, which had lost a quarter—no, practically a third—of their strength.

—————————————-

<Mercenary Group Employment Status>

<Currently Employing 9 Mercenary Groups>

<Daily Resource Consumption: Minerals 5,325, Rare Resources 410>

—————————————-

‘Dang.’

Since the numbers were way lower than I expected, I pulled up a screenshot I had taken without much thought last time.

I couldn’t help but feel like we’d lost way too much.

—————————————-

<Mercenary Group Employment Status>

<Currently Employing 12 Mercenary Groups>

<Daily Resource Consumption: Minerals 12,750, Rare Resources 1,100>

—————————————-

But when I compared the mercenary group employment status in the screenshot to the current one, I realized just how much we’d lost.

“Wow, we really lost a lot.”

“…That includes the intact mercenary groups, right?”

“Of course.”

Naturally, as Jessica and I discussed the mercenary group situation, Belial, who usually takes over fleet command in my place, approached with curiosity.

Unfortunately, Belial couldn’t see the status window we were looking at, so Jessica briefly explained instead.

Hearing that, Belial frowned, showing a less-than-enthusiastic reaction.

“It seems dangerous, Commander.”

“I think so too.”

“Currently, the mercenary groups are undergoing repairs, but… don’t our ships also need repairs?”

She wasn’t wrong.

Looking at my fleet’s current status, the number of main ships had actually increased compared to before the battle.

—————————————-

<Fleet Status>

Total Points: 378/550 Points

Aircraft Carriers: 1, 70 points each = 70 points

Light Aircraft Carriers: 2, 40 points each = 80 points

Cruiser Battleships: 2, 30 points each = 60 points

Heavy Cruisers: 7, 10 points each = 70 points

Light Cruisers: 4, 6 points each = 24 points

Destroyers: 11, 3 points each = 33 points

Escort Ships: 1, 1.5 points each = 1.5 points

Patrol Ships: 2, 1 point each = 2 points

Resource Mining Ships: 25, 1.5 points each = 37.5 points

—————————————-

But as Gryanarr had mentioned earlier, the captured ships were being frantically repaired at the shipyard by Gryanarr.

The rest of the ships, especially the heavy cruisers and the mercenary groups that couldn’t enter the shipyard…

Even the busy mining ships, which were only supposed to transport resources, were being used to set up temporary repair operations outside the base.

And to make matters worse…

“Commander, the only destroyer left in our fleet is the one we captured this time.”

“Wait, where did all my precious Azkuran-class destroyers go?”

“…They were all sunk.”

“What.”

Including the general-grade ones that were dismantled, the destroyers that had been the backbone of our fleet were literally wiped out.

And not just any destroyers—our fleet’s versatile workhorses, the ‘Azkuran’-class destroyers, which I had been carefully using since buying them from the event shop, were all sunk.

For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard.

But still…

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Belial is right, there are no Azkran-class ships that returned after the battle.”

“…I see.”

Hearing Jessica’s words, which confirmed Belial’s statement, I felt a wave of deep sadness wash over me.

‘Ugh, my poor destroyers.’

But I couldn’t just keep wallowing in despair forever.

More importantly, at this point, I realized something truly astonishing about why my mental state was so shaken and why I was feeling so exhausted…

“Commander, how about getting some rest, even if it’s just for a little while?”

“…Huh?”

“You just fought a battle, Commander. You’ve been up all night.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yep.”

Hearing Jessica’s words, her black rabbit ears twitching, I realized that the battle I thought had only lasted 3-4 hours had actually gone on for over 24 hours. No wonder both I and the invading clan users were starting to lose it.

On top of that, after the battle, we spent another 5 hours dealing with the Kraken’s indigestion.

‘Yeah, no wonder I’m feeling like crap.’

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I was feeling “astonished.”

What truly amazed me was realizing that, after spending another full day like this, there were less than 4 days left until the arrival of the only fleet coming to aid our base…

…and that fleet, the Pirate Alliance’s protective fleet, was bringing a ridiculously large number of ships.

Upon realizing this, I immediately told Jessica to hurry up with the fleet’s reorganization.

Then, I decided to take a brief journey to dreamland to reorganize my own mental and physical state.

==========

Meanwhile, at the same time, Icarus was thrashing around in bed, having fallen off after dreaming about pulling 5 SSS-Class Superhumans and 5 Dreadnoughts in a 10-pull summon.

Following the orders of the Humanity Clan, a carefully selected group had come to either make Icarus, ranked 3rd, surrender or submit, to serve as a stepping stone for the Humanity Clan’s grand plan.

In other words, the members of the Unity Clan…

“Looks like we’re screwed. Should we just head back now?”

…were clearly showing signs of mental collapse, embodying the term “morale breakdown.”

Among them, Marshmallow was the most mentally shattered.

Unlike the other clan members, Marshmallow had lost 2 out of 3 Light Aircraft Carriers they had proudly posted in the gallery, and two-thirds of their Escort Fleet had been wiped out.

As a result, Marshmallow was turning into a whiny baby, constantly complaining.

—————————————-

-[My carriers are all gone, this sucks so much](Marshmallow)

-[Get a grip!](Dolphin)

-[Dude, we’re not doing great either](Bailaktar)

—————————————-

But the other users couldn’t just keep tolerating Marshmallow’s whining forever.

Even among the remaining users, just the three who had rammed their Cruiser Battleships into the enemy…

—————————————-

-[Why are you whining so much when we don’t even have ships left?](Bailaktar)

-[We need repair ships](Dolphin)

-[We’re using support units for auto-repairs, but it’ll take at least a day just to get them mobile again](Goliath)

—————————————-

…had lost over 20 ships combined due to the surprise attack.

On top of that, their precious Cruiser Battleships were all heavily damaged, with even their engines failing, leaving them unable to move.

Unlike Icarus, who was peacefully sleeping and recovering from fatigue, these three were staying up all night, wide awake, anxiously worrying about their beloved Cruiser Battleships being destroyed by Icarus’s massive assault.

Having lost 2 Light Aircraft Carriers, Marshmallow, arguably the biggest victim, was in no state to properly handle the whining, as their nerves were already on edge.

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