Chapter 230

Chapter 230. The Final Push is the Mark of a Masterpiece…! (2)

Of course, for Betelgeuse, who used to get poked in the lower abdomen every time he met Marian, it wasn’t enough that his precious gacha ship got blown up in one hit.

To make matters worse, he had to watch in real-time as what could be compared to a “lower abdomen” got hit by a massive strategic missile before sinking.

“Why!!! Even my ship gets punched in the gut!!!!!!!!!!”

“Commander, please calm down first!”

With his PTSD (?) flaring up, he started having all sorts of fits on the bridge.

While Betelgeuse was busy cursing up a storm, the remaining strategic missile flew toward the “Griffon”-class battleship in Antares’ fleet.

-“Strategic missile approaching from the front!”

“Intercept with CIWS and evade! Activate boosters!”

Unlike Betelgeuse’s Odin-class, which was at the front line for the artillery battle and got hit, Antares’ battleship was relatively further back, giving it a few seconds to react.

Thanks to Antares’ quick decision-making, the ship managed to evade.

-*Whoooosh!*

-“Missile warhead passing right above the ship!”

The Griffon-class battleship narrowly avoided being skewered like a kebab by the big, beautiful strategic missile.

But no matter how fast it moved, the battleship’s mobility was limited, as the name “battleship” suggests.

And the Griffon-class had the added issue of its bridge slightly protruding from the hull.

-“Uh-oh.”

-“Aaaaah!!!”

-*Crash! Boom! Bang!*

In a truly ridiculous turn of events, while the battleship barely dodged the missile, its bridge was crushed and destroyed by the massive strategic missile, which was the size of a cruiser.

Of course, this wasn’t an anime, so the rest of the ship didn’t explode just because the bridge was destroyed.

The collision with the missile was just a “contact accident,” so the only casualties were the unfortunate bridge crew, leaving the battleship temporarily unable to steer.

But while the battleship’s CIC/secondary bridge quickly took over control, the “missed” strategic missile continued forward and hit Laura’s standard-class cruiser battleship.

The cruiser battleship, with its firing angles restricted by the battleship, couldn’t resist and was pierced, exploding just like the Odin-class.

The resulting shockwave and debris from the explosion hit the Griffon-class battleship’s propulsion system.

Even after the secondary bridge took control, the Griffon-class remained unable to steer.

And so…

-*Boom! Crash… Splash!*

—————————————-

–<Antares' Griffon-class battleship has rammed and sunk Menaldu's Guardian-class defense cruiser.>

-[WTF?](Menaldu)

-[Lol… sorry… haha!!!](Antares)

—————————————-

After smashing through Menaldu’s Guardian-class, which had been forming an anti-air defense net to block enemy aircraft and missiles, the half-destroyed Griffon-class moved forward.

It was then immediately targeted by Icarus’ team’s aircraft, missiles, and artillery fire, quickly turning into a shredded mess.

==========

But even in the midst of this chaos, one nameless user with only one ship, who had been treated like an outcast from the start, and all the other users (except Raksha, who wasn’t even here) remained vigilant, constantly wary of Kraken’s “teleport ambush.”

Sure, the strategic missiles were probably all used up in the last attack, but regular missiles and torpedoes still hurt.

There was always the risk of a missile strike hitting the deck of Mona Lisa’s Anomalocaris-class combat carrier or the carrier fleet at the rear.

Or enemy bombers and aircraft could suddenly swoop in above the frontline fleet.

Like it or not, they had to stay on guard.

The only silver lining was that shortly after Antares’ battleship rammed Menaldu’s cruiser…

—————————————-

-[Teleport incoming!]

-[Telepo-]

-[Teleport!](Laura)

-[Oh, please…](Mona Lisa)

—————————————-

As Laura’s warning echoed through the team chat, accompanied by a frantic typo, the unmistakable reaction of the Kraken’s unique matter-transferring teleportation occurred right behind Mona Lisa’s Anomalocaris-class.

The problem was, what came through that teleportation wasn’t aircraft or missile swarms… but something far worse.

—

– [Ah, we’re screwed.] (Laura)

– [Wait, wtf, aren’t those all assault pods?]

– [Save me!] (Mona Lisa)

– [Huh?] (Königs)

—

As the panicked chat reactions showed, the Kraken’s once-a-day teleportation had brought not just a few missiles, but a massive wave of ‘assault pods.’

Naturally, assault pods are designed to crash into ships with troops inside, making them far more durable than your average aircraft or missile. They teleported in at point-blank range, leaving no time to intercept.

Suddenly, the carriers of each user, which had been leisurely launching aircraft from the rear, were in chaos. Mona Lisa, who had the impressive Anomalocaris-class, found her entire fleet treated like mere accessories. And Königs, always stationed at the fleet’s rear for flanking and carrier defense, was bombarded by thousands of missiles and assault pods.

Of course, this was still a low-probability scenario, but it was one that top players had considered “possible” in their heads.

—

– [Okay, deploying the superhumans now.] (Königs)

– [Icarus has like 6 or 7 superhumans, all SSS-Class, so assign at least 2 superhumans per enemy.] (Betelgeuse)

– [Got it.] (Mona Lisa)

– [We’ve each got one on standby, so defense should be fine, right?] (Laura)

– [Call for backup if needed, I’ll launch superhumans from my carrier.] (Menaldu)

– [Thanks.] (Mona Lisa)

—

From the start, Mona Lisa and Königs had superhumans on standby. Betelgeuse, Laura, and Menaldu had also stationed superhumans on their carriers. Everyone nodded, thinking that the 20 superhumans Mona Lisa and Königs had would be enough to handle Icarus’s 6-7 SSS-Class superhumans.

But that peace of mind didn’t last long.

In the rear, there was a nameless user with only one battleship. Quietly holding his position, he sent out his 3 superhumans to deal with Icarus’s (?) superhuman that had boarded his ship.

Right after, he realized it wasn’t just one—it was three, each belonging to different users. Breaking his silence, he urgently opened the chat to warn his teammates.

—

– [WTF, wait, HELP!]

– [HELP]

– [Guys, we’re screwed.]

– [It’s not just Icarus with the assault pods, the entire enemy team’s superhumans are here!!!!!] (Melon)

—

But by the time the nameless user—no, Melon, the sacrificial lamb of Icarus’s first PVP and a reformed troublemaker—sent his desperate message, it was too late.

—

– <Betelgeuse's general large aircraft carrier has been captured by Asparagus's 'Sasha' and Chuchu's 'Venice'!>

– <Mona Lisa's Seraphias-Class Electronic Warfare Cruiser has been captured by Elang's 'Organ', Chuchu's 'Rama', and Longpei's 'Chen'!>

– <Laura's Izumo-Class Light Aircraft Carrier has been captured by Icarus's 'Gryanarr' and Raizenkan's 'Arcturus'!>

– [Lol, we’re screwed.] (Betelgeuse)

– [Crazy.] (Indypatible)

– [Oh, f***.] (Laura)

—

About 90 superhumans had spilled out of the assault pods, rapidly conquering the entire fleet in a swift Reconquista.