Chapter 223

Episode 223. The battle continues, zzzzzzzzzzzzooooooook. (4)

Anyway, while we were talking like that, the sixth battle had already begun.

Strangely enough, this round was really going “happy.”

And the reason for that was…

-“Icarus, I noticed your fleet has almost no small ships… wanna stick with me?”

“Oh.”

-“That sounds great, I’ll cover the rear for everyone.”

-“Alright, let’s go then.”

Out of nowhere, Arcadia and Königs declared they’d fight alongside my fleet.

And they were even using my ship’s communication channel to chat, with the chat window closed.

But despite the sudden formation, the combination of the three of us was pretty damn awesome.

Just looking at Arcadia’s fleet composition, it was perfect for maneuvers like flanking or ambushing.

So, they charged headfirst into the enemy fleet, including three cruiser battleships, and started brawling, tearing through the fleet left and right.

It was the kind of insane physical domination you’d expect from a “veteran player,” to the point where calling them a “dead man toying with the enemy” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Of course, given Arcadia’s style, if the enemy kept their distance and attacked from afar, we’d definitely take some serious losses.

-“The enemy is keeping their distance.”

“Perfect, launch the aircraft and missiles from Kraken and the light carrier!”

Keeping their distance?

Well, from then on, it was just a flood of mindless spam from aircraft and missiles.

-Boom… bang!

-“Strategic missile hit the enemy cruiser battleship! Heavy damage… no, it’s sunk!”

“Feels good.”

No matter who the enemy was, if we used the power of teleporting death spears… who could withstand losing 3-4 main ships, cruisers or bigger?

Plus, with this setup, if additional enemy reinforcements came from a “different direction,” it’d be tough for both me and Arcadia to handle.

But Königs had our backs, thoroughly covering that “different direction,” like the rear.

So, the three of us roamed around, happily and excitingly clashing with the enemy.

In the end, the fleets of five enemy users were torn apart by me, Arcadia, and Königs.

And the remaining five fleets were crushed by our seven allied ships, leading to a clean and satisfying victory.

And of course, since we were happily grinding the enemy, even our teammates were cheering in the chat, saying how happy they were.

—————————————-

-[LOL, this bus ride is so sweet LOL]

-[Two rankers are so sweet together]

-[Wait, two rankers teamed up to bully others? Or not?]

-[LOLOLOL]

-[Ah, that was so good]

—————————————-

Of course, seeing this, the enemy team completely lost their morale.

With the remaining five players under attack from seven, they all surrendered within 10 minutes, preventing the other users from getting more kills…

—————————————-

-[WTF, you guys took all the kills we were supposed to get]

-[Damn, you’re so strong, I’ll cut you down now, GG]

-[What?] (Me)

—————————————-

Two out of the seven allies tried to backstab me and Arcadia right after we finished the battle and regrouped.

—————————————-

-[Now, take it easy, comfort fades quickly, but pain lasts long] (Königs)

-[Ah, please]

-[WTF, when did you get here?]

-[LOLOLOLOL]

-[The backstabbers got backstabbed LOL]

—————————————-

True to his role as a political officer (?), Königs arrived a step late and stuffed a bunch of torpedoes into the fleets of the two users who were about to backstab us.

Suddenly, those friends found their butts expanded, losing a light carrier and a cruiser battleship each right before the game ended, paying the price for their betrayal.

==========

Anyway, with the sudden surrender, I immediately hit the surrender button and, with a relaxed attitude, opened my mouth to the two still connected via comms.

“Thanks to you two, that was a sweet ride. Hope we team up again next time.”

-“Ah, the combo was so good.”

-“Yeah.”

“I wish I could say the same, everyone did a great job.”

And as the battle completely ended with that communication, returning to the ‘waiting space,’ I was immediately able to receive the battle results…

—————————————-

<Results of the 6th Battle of 'Capital of the Ancient Empire'>

<Victory>

<Player's Lost Ships>

<None>

—————————————-

“Ugh, fighting spirit.”

Since Arcadia and Königs took charge of all direct combat with the enemy fleet, including close-quarters combat…

I had no small ships, so I kept providing long-range support.

For the first time during the event, my fleet suffered no losses, and I felt indescribably happy.

“Is this what they call a bus?”

I never experienced this in the first five rounds, but now, albeit late, I finally get to.

Is this why newbies and even seasoned veterans sometimes whine about wanting to ride the bus of other experienced players, as if they’ve suddenly gone senile?

It felt like I had just grasped a profound truth of the world, akin to the enlightenment often mentioned in martial arts novels.

==========

And in the next battle, I was able to suck up all the honey…

-“We’re on the same team again.”

“Oh, hello.”

Surprisingly, Arcadia was on my team again.

Moreover, there was another sweet advantage I could enjoy…

—————————————-

-[Hey hey]

-[Hey]

-[Heyy]

-[Why do we have one more person?]

-[Dunno]

-[Isn’t it because the max number of users is 500,000, and when divided, there’s a decimal point?]

-[Ah]

-[The non-existent 11th number…!]

-[Oh]

-[That’s cool ㄷㄷ]

—————————————-

Due to the user classification process, it seemed a bye could occur.

Forcing a 10 vs 10 into an 11 vs 10.

Already, after six rounds, most users had their fleets significantly reduced.

With one additional ‘fleet’ and teamwork now in play with Arcadia and me…

The poor enemy team suffered unfair treatment, crushed in pain and sorrow, much like when I roll gacha.

Of course, this time, Königs wasn’t there, so I brought along another user as an escort…

But naturally, Königs’ skills were impressive, even to me and Arcadia, who are ranked players.

The temporary escort user had more holes in their defense than I expected.

Resulting in escort failure.

—————————————-

<Results of the 7th Battle of 'Capital of the Ancient Empire'>

<Victory>

<Player's Lost Ships>

<2 Patrol Ships, 4 Resource Mining Ships>

—————————————-

Unable to withstand the enemy’s barrage, my last two Patrol Ships met their fate.

Naturally, due to the ‘escort failure,’ the surviving enemies closed in, and over half of the Resource Mining Ships were wiped out.

But looking at it differently, sacrificing just 2 Patrol Ships and 4 Resource Mining Ships, I managed to secure an incredible 8-win streak.

“Farewell, Patrol Ships, live strong even in space.”

“…”

After paying tribute to the Patrol Ships that sacrificed themselves to protect the Large Ships, especially Hreðsvelgr…

I resolved to put in even more effort for the battles to come.