Chapter 279

Chapter 279. Alone in the Fortress. (1)

Anyway, whether they fight among themselves over factions or not, it was something far, far away from here.

I decided to focus on the things right in front of me and handle them diligently.

And the most important thing among them was, of course, repairing the two battleships I had received as a reward last time and used so frugally during this fortress siege…

If you ask me why I hadn’t repaired them until now, I’d only have one thing to say.

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<Fleet Association under construction...>

<Time remaining until completion: 10 days, 9 hours, 11 minutes, 52 seconds>

—————————————-

“There’s no facility to repair battleships.”

It’s a ridiculous story, but as you can see from the fact that the Fortress Defense Fleet has “battleships,” I naturally assumed that battleships could be repaired.

But apparently, the user system treats them separately, so even if you put a battleship in a large ship dock, it won’t get repaired.

“Ugh, you guys should really cut us some slack in situations like this.”

Just like how I couldn’t repair carriers before because there was no aviation command, battleships couldn’t be repaired until the Fleet Association was fully constructed.

So, once the Fleet Association’s construction is completed in about 10 days, I decided not to immediately start producing large ships but to first repair my two precious battleships that are still waiting.

==========

Anyway, after handling the battleship-related issues, I decided to check the current resource supply situation of the base.

…Honestly, I should’ve checked this a long time ago, but I’ve been too busy to do so. What can I do?

“So, Jessica, bring me a fresh, cute, and beautifully decorated resource status panel right now.”

“…Sigh, sometimes I really wonder what goes through your mind, Commander.”

At my words, Jessica let out a deep sigh, fiddled with a nearby computer for a moment, and then began to clearly explain our current status.

“First, our resource supply is 56,000 for minerals and 20,000 for rare resources.”

“…For having such a massive fortress, that feels a bit lacking.”

“Ah, this is the ‘actual supply amount’ after deducting consumption. If we’re talking about pure supply without any deductions, it’s 80,000 for minerals and over 40,000 for rare resources.”

“Hmm.”

‘Interesting.’

Considering the resources we were getting just before docking, this is almost a 2.5 times increase.

I couldn’t help but nod in approval.

But right after that, I noticed something peculiar in my conversation with Jessica.

“Wait… didn’t I specifically say resources obtained from the base?”

“Yep, you did. Why?”

“But you’re saying the net profit is 80,000 minerals and 40,000 rare resources?”

“Yep.”

Before coming here, when we had gathered all the resources from the base, resource zones, and forward bases, I remember the minerals barely exceeded 30,000, and rare resources barely surpassed 10,000. So, hearing this, what could I say?

“Jessica, I clearly said ‘only resources obtained from the base.’”

At my words, Jessica widened her eyes in surprise.

“Yes, as you said, it’s only the resources obtained from the base.”

“…Oh?”

“If we include the production from the external Resource Mining Fleets and the forward bases that have started operating in earnest, it’s no joke—our actual daily supply could easily exceed 100,000 minerals.”

“Oh…”

“Thanks to that, since docking here at the fortress, the total resources we’ve gathered so far have surpassed 1.2 million minerals, and rare resources have just crossed 600,000 today.”

“Good.”

I nodded at Jessica’s words, feeling my chest swell with pride at the fact that I’ve become a resource tycoon.

==========

With the resource discussion over, we continued to work hard on other tasks.

While we were busy with various things, Jessica suddenly said to me:

“By the way, Commander, now that we have 500 battleships, no other commander can mess with us, right?”

“Hmm… well, defense-wise…”

“Well, in that case, it makes sense.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah?”

Of course, what I thought and remembered was different from what Jessica had accepted, as the recent dissonance revealed.

Since the topic had come up, I decided to make it clear to Jessica to avoid any future misunderstandings.

And the first thing I needed to do was, without a doubt, a thorough denial.

“Jessica, I can’t command the Defense Fleet.”

“Huh?”

Next, instead of me rambling on with a tedious explanation…

“All the details are in here.”

“…”

I naturally used the ‘Wiki Tab’ in the gallery to let the post within it explain on my behalf.

…Of course, the fundamental reason was that I was extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely lazy to explain everything myself.

But whatever, it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, the information I found in the Wiki Tab wasn’t that complicated or difficult to understand.

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Title: Q. Who has command over the Base Defense Fleet?

Author: Wiki Officer mk-36

Content: [Image of a toad with a strange smile, resting its chin]

A. It’s strictly for city defense.

No further explanation needed.

Users can’t command it; its sole role is to defend the base.

Oh, and if a battle happens near the base, the Guard Fleet might lend a hand.

But the main ‘Combat Fleet’ won’t show up unless the base or a docked facility is directly threatened.

However, if a user owns the base, they won’t just sit around like NPCs, waiting until the last second to launch a surprise attack and wipe out the fleet.

Comments:

-[So, it’s just decoration most of the time?]

-˪[Yep.]

-[Does that mean if a clan that owns the base mines in a nearby Resource Zone, will the fleet protect that too?]

-˪[Nope, it’s strictly for base defense. The fleet isn’t even large enough to protect all the Resource Zones of clan members.](Author)

-˪[What if one person owns the base?]

-˪[Still no. If it did, that’d be a bug.](Author)

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“Hmm… that’s quite disappointing.”

Of course, Jessica had assumed I’d become the admiral of a grand fleet commanding 500 battleships.

Her face was visibly filled with disappointment.

Unlike Jessica, I hadn’t had any high expectations from the start.

Moreover, I had already done some preliminary learning about how to use the Base Defense Fleet.

“Well, it’s just a simple matter, isn’t it?”

“Is it?”

“Think about Leonard, who we used so well in the past.”

“…Ah.”

What’s the problem?

As I just mentioned, we could apply the same tactics we used with Leonard from the Pirate Alliance, who once defended our base.

Even though I couldn’t directly control the fleet, that alone was more than enough.

I had no regrets about the Base Defense Fleet… or the Main Combat Fleet.

Of course, Jessica still seemed disappointed, clicking her tongue as she looked at the monitor showing the base’s docking facilities.

But then…

Something happened that left even me, let alone Jessica, with a bitter taste in my mouth.

“…What?”

“It’s truly unfortunate, but it seems we’ll be returning to our original territory by next week.”

“Oh.”

That was none other than the news that the Pirate Alliance’s Defense Fleet, which had saved us in the 1:5 battle, would be heading back home.