Chapter 403

Episode 403. Humanity is Awakening. (4)

At least there’s one silver lining for Humanity: for the users pushing into the federation from the “outside”…

Unlike the internal users, they have the advantage of not knowing where the frontlines are, so their morale won’t break.

—————————————–

<Humanity Executive Chat Room>

<Notice: Urgent Measures Needed Regarding the Earth Federation>

-[Okay, right now Xenobia and the Central Zone are under user assault]

-[Ooooh]

-[Ah, damn, I should’ve just taken the outer zone]

-[LOL]

-[Ah, life’s all about timing]

—————————————–

But in this world, things with only advantages are as rare as unicorns.

While it was good that the External Mercenary Alliance led by Indypatible and Menaldu, hired by Humanity, along with some lower clan alliances, had begun crossing borders in full force…

As always, things never go according to plan.

As if to remind everyone this was a game made by a peninsula nation, the Earth Federation’s border defense forces…

Excluding the practically non-existent “Earth Defense Fleet,” were supposedly the elite within the Earth Federation.

So, Humanity’s coup attempt, which started with high spirits, was short-lived.

—————————————–

<Humanity Alliance Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Take Over the Earth Federation>

-[We’re screwed]

-[Hey, don’t say that]

-[Why is the border defense fleet so strong LOL]

-[No Jörmungandr-Class ships to wreck]

-[How does it make sense that 35 enhanced torpedoes hit one spot and did nothing?]

-[That’s why it’s a Super Dreadnought]

—————————————–

Faced with the unexpectedly tough resistance from the border defense fleet, the frontlines of the external mercenaries and lower clans dragged in by Humanity became completely stuck.

Of course, to try and avoid this situation, Humanity’s strategists, along with the strategists of the external mercenaries and lower clans, gathered to pool their collective intelligence and desperately tried to break through the defenses.

—————————————–

<Humanity Alliance Official Chat Room>

<Notice: Let’s Take Over the Earth Federation>

-[Ah, if we just had a bit more fleet power, we could break through]

-[Our smart old-timer said the same thing]

-[How much more do we need?]

-[He said we need about 20,000 more users]

-[Damn, that’s not “a bit”]

-[Haha]

—————————————–

<Humanity Strategist Group Chat>

<Notice: Protect Your Mental Health>

-[Damn, we’re really short on numbers]

-[What’s the internal team doing? Why aren’t they responding?]

-[Aaaaaah]

-[Isn’t the external fleet bigger than the internal one?]

-[No way, we barely scraped together over 30,000 with external mercenary users]

—————————————–

That’s right.

Out of the 180,000 users Humanity gathered, only about 30,000 were forming the frontline and charging in from the outside.

No matter how much collective intelligence they threw at it, the sheer lack of firepower made it impossible to break through the Earth Federation’s defenses.

Of course, as you can see from the strategists’ screams, if there was support from the “inside,” a breakthrough was possible…

—————————————–

<Humanity Strategist Group Chat>

<Notice: Protect Your Mental Health>

-[Where’s the internal force doing what?]

-[Control failed LOL]

-[Honestly, we’re barely managing to control the users near us]

-[Both us and the Earth Federation are too spread out, so even if we wanted to unite forces, we can’t]

—————————————–

Sure, there are 150,000 users.

But to put it differently, that’s 150,000 fleets made up of dozens to hundreds of kilometers-long super-sized ships and 150,000 bases.

And with even larger key bases scattered across the universe, it’s a mess managed by just 1,000 users.

“Why on earth did it turn out like this?”

“According to the plan, we were supposed to occupy a large area by now, form a front line, and take down the Earth Federation Fleet one by one, right?”

Why is the situation deviating from expectations and plunging into this hellish chaos?

The executives of Humanity were screaming like little girls, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Of course, it’s not like Humanity created this massive clan for no reason.

There were some smart folks who could squeeze their brains and explain the reasons…

According to ‘Zegal Yang,’ a close aide to Antares who served as a kind of chief strategist—like Zhuge Liang—in Humanity’s staff:

“Some bases were left undefended because users got too excited and charged in aggressively, leading to an elite battle situation.”

“…Huh?”

“Some bases thought, ‘Oh, someone else will handle it even if we slack off,’ and got wrecked.”

“…What did you say?”

“Especially the users in charge of the ‘defensive line’ bases we planned—they had a serious case of safety complacency, which led to this mess.”

“This is f***ing ridiculous.”

“Of course, not everyone is like that, but the cracks that formed quickly affected other users and bases… You all know how it is, right?”

“Ughhhhhhh.”

“Damn.”

It turns out that a series of ‘carelessness’ and ‘mistakes’—things anyone could make—piled up and caused the problem.

Antares, who was at the Level 8 base ‘Alpha Centauri,’ Humanity’s headquarters, felt a headache coming on.

But if he were to say, “Ugh, I’m tired, I’m going to sleep,” and just leave, everything they’d prepared for over three years would go down the drain.

While receiving a scalp massage from his aide, Antares did his best to stabilize the situation.

“Zegal Yang, what’s the current state of the war within the Earth Federation’s territory?”

“Both us and the Earth Federation are engaged in a point-to-point battlefield centered around Level 5 and above bases.”

“…Wait, what?”

“Except for the bases and their immediate surroundings, even we can’t get a clear picture.”

“Wow.”

“Because of this, not just me, but the executives, staff, and even the lower clan strategists are all about to lose their minds, so please stop asking questions.”

Of course, as Zegal Yang continued his report, Antares felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

But even as he personally led his fleet into battle…

A fellow clan member attacked an Earth Federation patrol fleet that was passing by his own fleet.

The Earth Federation’s main force then raided that clan member’s base, only to be double-encircled by Humanity’s defense fleet.

Another fleet, responding to the Federation’s call for reinforcements, ended up attacking Antares’ fleet from behind.

And then Humanity’s user fleets or guard fleets from other bases came in and attacked from behind again.

In this chaotic mess, Zegal Yang’s hysterical outbursts were completely understandable.

The only silver lining was that this wasn’t just happening to Antares and Humanity.

Ironically, the Earth Federation was in the same mess, with no real ‘front line’ to speak of.

While the most critical bases—Level 8 and above—were holding strong…

Lower-level bases were changing hands multiple times a day due to fierce sieges between users and Federation fleets.

As for the Earth Defense Fleet, the strongest unit of the Earth Federation that Humanity’s staff had been most wary of…

They were stuck on ‘Earth’ because some users kept charging in recklessly, trying to grab the highest rewards.

“Maybe this is a kind of stabilized war situation?”

Exhausted, Antares couldn’t help but think that way.

But honestly, the longer this dragged on, the more disadvantaged the users would become.

Then came the ‘advice’ from ‘Indypatible’ and ‘Menaldu,’ who had been forcibly appointed as temporary commanders leading external mercenaries.

The suggestion to ‘bring Icarus into this war’ made Antares’ ears perk up without him even realizing it.