Chapter 445

Chapter 445. Let’s Ride the Bus.

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While watching users in the gallery struggle against a fleet that was a “copy-paste” of my own, I couldn’t help but notice their frustration.

One of them wasn’t an NPC but a user I had personally fought, which gave me a strangely profound feeling.

This was because, unlike other Icarus users, their verification post showed attacks from long-range superhumans like Pashtira and Dornia standing out prominently.

NPCs tend to avoid using “superhumans,” so it immediately caught my eye.

Well, it’s probably because there are so many people trying to mess with my fleet.

Some users were desperately trying to come up with strategies to counter my fleet, but…

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[Round 1 – Solo Battle]

[Battle Result: Victory]

[Remaining Modes: Battle Royale, Team Battle]

—————————————–

“Ah, the juicy taste of the first victory.”

“Good job, Commander.”

“Everyone did well, and Dornia, despite it being your first real battle in a while, you did great.”

“Thank you!”

Anyway.

Since I had just crushed the solo battle without a single ship lost, I was now enjoying the delightful dilemma of choosing the next mode.

Of course, that dilemma didn’t last long.

“Commander, what are you so worried about?”

“Oh, Jessica, I’m just wondering whether to go for Team Battle or Battle Royale.”

“If I had to choose, Team Battle would be better, right? Honestly, our fleet is designed as a support style, assuming there’s another fleet to tank and attack.”

“…You’re right.”

Jessica was correct.

The structure of the “main force” I was leading wasn’t exactly what I had intended, but…

In conclusion, the “regular fleet battles” were handled by direct subordinates or hired mercenaries.

The main force I led had become a support unit, thoroughly backing up or guiding the main combat units.

Given my fleet’s nature, choosing Team Battle first would definitely be advantageous.

Following that decision, I pressed the event-exclusive status window to select the mode.

—————————————–

[Round 2 – Team Battle Selected]

[Proceed with this mode?]

[Y/N]

—————————————–

I naturally pressed Y and began entering the event map.

And the moment I entered the event map…

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[Event-Exclusive Chat]

-[Oh]

-[Wow, a ranker]

-[Hi hi]

-[Kraken is huge]

-[Can I move to your area later?]

—————————————–

I was greeted by lively users.

As I nodded at the nine users welcoming me, I calmly continued chatting from the bridge of the Ouroboros.

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[Event-Exclusive Chat]

-[Guys] (Icarus)

-[I’ll carry this round, so follow my orders, okay?] (Icarus)

-[Kuuuu]

-[What’s your plan?]

-[I’ll let you know once the battle starts and we spot the enemy fleet] (Icarus)

-[Honestly, with those things behind us, we’ll have the advantage no matter what]

-[True]

-[Okay, we’ll follow your lead]

-[Good]

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And as the Team Battle officially began, the fun, exciting, and frustrating scouting battles against the enemy fleet…

Or the indiscriminate bombardment based on rough estimates.

After tracking those indiscriminate bombardments, confirming or being confirmed by the enemy fleet’s location, and all sorts of intense work and shenanigans from both sides…

Finally, the moment both teams perfectly scouted each other’s positions.

Starting with the Ouroboros’ Pashtira-Dornia-Belial-Gryanarr quadruple superhuman buff combo, I unleashed a 140% overcharged full-power focused mode to snipe the enemy team’s Dreadnought and surrounding ships.

As the Dreadnought’s front upper section melted and collapsed, turning into a “ㅡDreadnought” and causing a massive explosion…

I immediately used Kraken No. 1’s teleport to slam all of Hreðsvelgr’s missiles into the left side of the fleet, causing chaos.

Then, I ordered my teammates to annihilate the enemy fleet.

—————————————–

[Now ㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱ](Icarus)

-[Oh oh]

-[Wow, Ouroboros full charge ㅆㅅㅌㅊ]

-[Let’s go gather the spoils of victory]

-[Lololol so lucky]

—————————————–

Of course, in response to our allies’ full-scale offensive, the enemies, except for those already hit, quickly started to counterattack.

Not long after our fleet began to advance, both sides lined up like old battleships and started exchanging insane artillery fire.

Probably because one enemy user was taken out of the fight right from the start by me.

They seemed to be on the defensive, and there was no way out.

And on top of that…

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[Event Chat Window]

-[[Specific coordinates]](Icarus)

-[Ouroboros additional bombardment incoming, be careful not to get hit](Icarus)

-[Oh good]

-[Wow, so cool]

-[[Another set of coordinates]]

-[Can you bombard here too? A Dreadnought just popped up]

-[Okay](Icarus)

-[It’s already prepared](Icarus)

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Whenever there was downtime and cooldowns allowed, Ouroboros kept firing its main guns non-stop.

Hreðsvelgr’s relentless missile swarm, which alone matched the firepower of 5-6 ships of the same class, pounded the enemy fleet’s formation.

And then, as soon as Hreðsvelgr’s strategic missile cooldown was complete…

The second unit waiting in the wings unleashed a brutal surprise attack with strategic missiles and other firepower on the enemy’s rear.

Soon enough, the enemy fleet had to prepare for the next round.

—————————————–

[Event Chat Window]

-[Oh, the other team surrendered]

-[GG]

-[Wow, the bus is so sweet, damn]

-[This is the bus, this is the romance]

-[Good job everyone]

-[GG]

-[Great work everyone, hope to see you again next time]

-[Yeah]

-[The orders were so good, right? Yeah, right]

-[Right]

—————————————–

Thankfully, the team battle users didn’t try to do any half-baked team-killing.

They followed my orders well but also used their own judgment appropriately for victory.

—————————————–

[Round 2 – Team Battle]

[Battle Result: Victory]

[Remaining Available Mode: Battle Royale]

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‘This is it.’

I felt the sweet taste of victory in the second round and happily proceeded to enter the third round.

But as soon as I entered the third round…

Contrary to expectations, my fleet’s “structure” was so structured that it drew too much aggro.

Unlike in solo or team battles, the enemy users had endless ways to bypass or mess with my Kraken.

I could see temporary alliances forming among the enemy users from all directions, aiming to take me down.

And with Kraken, Hreðsvelgr, and Ouroboros all having tanking issues…

I tried to protect the fleet with Bayern-class ships, Anchorage, a regular Dreadnought No. 2, and other regular ships…

But the non-gacha ships, due to leveling and basic performance issues, were instantly wrecked.

Before long, it was 1 vs 9.

And not just any 9, but all top 1% high-rankers.

I managed to take down 4 of them as a last-ditch effort, but…

—————————————–

[Round 3 – Battle Royale]

[Battle Result: Defeat]

[Remaining Available Mode: None]

[Raid Mode will open shortly.]

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It was just too overwhelming, and unfortunately, the last battle ended in defeat.