Chapter 356

Chapter 356. Please let us move in.

However, the fact that about ten users rushed in wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

“All guard fleets, deploy. Intercept the enemy fleet that has entered the area.”

“Hohhh.”

As I mentioned before, after wiping out the mercenary group, I managed to preserve some of Tanhoizer’s defense fleet strength.

The users who were scrambling to flee were met not by Tanhoizer’s main fleet but by the guard fleet.

Even though they were only at about 50% of their full strength.

-“Commander, the enemy fleet is retreating quickly.”

“No exchange of fire?”

-“Yes, they started running as soon as the guard fleet appeared.”

“Hmm.”

Watching them instantly counterattack and flee, I nodded slightly.

—————————————–

Title: Super Cowards Who Came Running Right After Taking the Base.jpg

Author: Icarus

Content: [GIF of user fleets doing a 180 and fleeing as soon as the guard fleet appears]

Trash♡

Super cowards♡

Just ran away♡

Comments:

-[This is so triggering]

-[Why is the title jpg when the content is a gif? What’s the intention?]

-[Fake image, what’s this nonsense]

-˪[LOLOLOLOL]

-[Fake content and a Mesugaki armband? This is rare indeed]

-˪[Kinda hot though]

-˪[Bro]

—————————————–

I preserved their humiliation in the gallery to prevent any potential small-scale attacks in the future.

==========

Anyway, after all that happened.

“Today’s daily quests are done, and we’ve decided to wrap things up by having the pirate fleets give us some resources.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, and also, the monster fleet only had about three patrol ships damaged this time, so Princess Luka seems pleased.”

“I see.”

After handling various miscellaneous tasks and taking care of Marian’s escort fleet and Princess Luka’s fleet’s aftermath,

I also proceeded with the post-processing of my exclusive mercenary group, the Rhodes Mercenary Group.

But while doing so, I heard something unexpected…

“The mercenaries who charged in with Captain Lephan are all being treated, and the Rhodes Mercenary Group’s ships are currently being repaired at the shipyard.”

“Hmm.”

“And, Commander, this might sound a bit out of nowhere…”

“Yeah?”

“Since we’re moving bases, we’ll have to terminate the contract with Avalon’s base mercenary group, right?”

“Ah, right, you’re talking about Avalonia.”

At Jessica’s words, I nodded with a look that asked what the problem was.

Seeing my expression, Jessica continued.

“But the Avalonia Security Fleet contacted us, saying they want to sign an exclusive contract with us.”

“…Like Rhodes?”

“Yep.”

As soon as I heard Jessica’s words, complete with her rabbit ears twitching, an event message I hadn’t seen in a while popped up in front of me.

—————————————-

<Event>

<Exclusive Contract with a Mercenary Group!>

<Content>

<The commander of the ‘Avalonia Security Fleet,’ ‘Aquarias,’ hired from Avalon Fortress, wants to establish a proper employment relationship with you this time.>

<Of course, the biggest reason is that Aquarias’s favorability with you has surpassed +200.>

<It seems that within the Avalonia Security Fleet, they’ve decided it’s better to follow Aquarias’s lead.>

<Effects>

<While this mercenary group is called an ‘exclusive contract’ and ‘subordinates,’ they are still treated as ‘mercenaries.’>

<Due to the exclusive contract effect, the daily contract fee is discounted by 5%!>

<This mercenary group cannot be dismissed arbitrarily, and you must notify them at least one month in advance to terminate the contract.>

<A new contract menu for the ‘Avalonia Security Fleet’ will be created!>

<The ‘Avalonia Security Fleet’ will have a separate loyalty check, and the contract fee and performance will vary based on loyalty!>

<Will you enter into an exclusive contract with the ‘Avalonia Security Fleet’?>

<Y/N>

—————————————-

‘Hmm.’

It seems like after Aquarias got caught by Gryanarr last time and got hit with that “itcha-yetcha-eunggi-itcha” move, our friendship level maxed out, and that seems to have influenced this whole situation.

But hey, if they’re coming at us all friendly-like, there’s no reason for us to reject them, right?

So I immediately pressed Y and finalized the hiring of the Avalonia Security Fleet.

Then I called them over to the Tanhoizer and decided to welcome them as new allies.

=========

After sorting out the hiring situation with Avalonia, I kinda felt like, “Now that this is done, there’s nothing urgent left to deal with, huh?”

There were no pressing issues at the moment, and I’d already finished all the daily quests I needed to do.

“Commander, over here.”

“Hmm, thanks.”

I took the warm iced Americano (?) Jessica brought me and sipped on it while watching the massive screen in the command center. On it, huge heavy machinery was moving around the surface of the Tanhoizer, carrying out repair work.

…Sure, you might wonder what’s so fun about that, but after a tough battle, burnout is pretty much inevitable.

Sometimes, you just need to chill and watch things unfold slowly to recover your mental state.

But just as I was enjoying this peaceful moment…

*Beep beep beep, beep beep beep!*

“Huh, Commander?”

“Please don’t tell me another group of users is coming to beat me up.”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just that the ships docked at Avalon and Barracuda have arrived.”

“…What for?”

“Well, they’re asking if they can dock at the Tanhoizer.”

“Ah.”

I heard that some users who were docked at the existing bases, with their base warp cooldowns up, were dreaming of moving to the Tanhoizer.

I couldn’t help but shake my head, feeling like things just kept piling up one after another.

But it’s not like I could just ignore this.

You might wonder, “Why can’t you just ignore it? Aren’t you the building owner?” but…

—————————————–

<Avalon-Barracuda-Tanhoizer Resident Chatroom>

<Announcement: Let’s all live together harmoniously~>

-[Whaaaaaaaat]

-[Who are we?]

-[The guardians of Avalon and Barracuda☆]

-[We’ve already killed the annoying rebellion instigators, so let’s keep it this way!]

-[Wait, when did we kill them?]

-[Technically, it’s not the instigators but the ones who got tricked by them, lol]

-[Rebellion must be purged…!]

-[Celebrating Icarus’s conquest of the Tanhoizer, congrats!]

-[Congrats!]

-[Congrats congrats congrats!]

-[This is kinda cult-like]

—————————————–

‘What’s with everyone?’

They’ve already gone full-on crazy, even changing the chatroom title like they’ve been chugging the hype juice.

If I keep ignoring them, and if other users come after me, there’s a high chance these guys will stab me in the back, unlike before.

But that’s still an unknown future possibility, and right now, these people are the ones protecting my back…

“Jessica, how many maximum docking points does the Tanhoizer have?”

“We’re still checking, but it’s estimated to be around 2,500.”

“Hmm.”

If there’s enough room, I’d like to allow those who want to move to the Tanhoizer to do so.

Of course, that’s only if there’s “enough room.”

“It’ll take some time to fully replenish the Tanhoizer Defense Fleet, right?”

“Yes, we’ll need at least another week.”

Right now, we don’t even have the Fortress Main Gun, and the Defense Fleet numbers are insufficient.

So, until the Defense Fleet’s strength is fully restored, I decided to reject any docking requests from users.