Chapter 63

“…So I’m a little late.”

Saying this, I chuckled sheepishly at Ryuje in front of me, but Ryuje continued to look at me with narrow eyes.

“…Isn’t it more than just a little?”

“Well, yeah?”

“…I waited until dawn.”

“I’m sorry!”

There was a reason, but it was true that I had arbitrarily broken our appointment, so I bowed my head and apologized humbly.

No, I didn’t know Nisia’s story would take that long.

While I was bowing my head, I heard Ryuje let out a small sigh.

“Alright, you must’ve had your reasons.”

“Are you forgiving me?”

“Yes, lift your head. …But I’m curious. Why is she here?”

Ryuje’s gaze shifted to my side.

Nisia, who had been tense, was startled by Ryuje’s gaze, and then abruptly stood up from her seat.

“Ah, hello, President. My name is Nisia Den!”

Nisia greeted Ryuje with a 90-degree bow and a voice filled with determination.

“Hmm.”

Ryuje briefly responded and answered Nisia’s greeting.

After observing this for a moment, I explained to Ryuje on Nisia’s behalf.

“I thought it would be good if Nisia came along too. Didn’t I mention this before?”

“I remember that… but…”

The uniqueness of the protagonist Nisia.

Even though I had informed Ryuje about her the day before, I could faintly sense dissatisfaction in her expression.

Considering Ryuje’s personality, she probably didn’t want to involve many people in dangerous situations.

But Nisia is the protagonist, and the more opportunities to grow, the better.

“Then, shall we begin the discussion?”

“Yes, let’s proceed.”

The atmosphere of the room changed.

Ryuje and Nisia looked at me with serious expressions.

I cleared my throat slightly and continued.

“First off, our enemy is the Megabase and the Invader ground forces.”

The Invaders have a unique characteristic.

Namely, each fortress serves as a command tower and uniformly commands specific troops.

For example, the main enemy we’re dealing with this time, the Megabase, operates a large force of conventional power composed of tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled artillery, but there is no mixed formation with other types of forces.

In other words, there won’t be a situation where Earthsquirrel’s subordinate forces are active alongside Megabase.

Thus, after the aerial force Blacksky was dismantled by U.S. forces, the Invaders completely lost air supremacy.

At first glance, this may seem highly inefficient, but I vaguely remembered that the setting book mentioned this was for smoother command and control purposes.

I’m not entirely sure, but the Invaders must have their reasons.

“Our force is greatly inferior to the enemy.”

“That’s correct.”

“And so, I’m thinking of reinforcing our forces.”

“Reinforcements?”

“Yes.”

In such situations, where we’re up against a strong opponent and we’re weak, the orthodox strategy is to avoid confrontation, but we can’t do that now.

Therefore, there’s only one thing we must do.

That is, to establish a fight where we have a chance.

It’s foolish to step into a fight we’re obviously going to lose. That’s why we try every possible means to ensure our side wins.

One of them is reinforcements.

“Where do you plan to obtain reinforcements? Most of our available forces are already deployed on the ground, are you suggesting we send Fangju-affiliated forces down to the surface?”

“No, those forces need to guard the Fangju. Besides, I don’t have the authority for that.”

Maintaining order and security is essential.

Plus, I already knew that even if we gathered forces from various Fangju defense armies and guards with the knowledge of AOE, it would barely amount to more than a handful.

“So, where exactly do you plan to obtain reinforcements?”

Ryuje tilted her head.

Smiling faintly, I looked at her.

“They’re already on the ground.”

“On the ground?”

Ryuje, after pondering for a moment, was startled. She seemed to finally understand my thoughts.

“…Edu. Are you referring to the Fallen?”

“Yes.”

“Is that even feasible? They’ve completely lost their humanity, they’re monsters.”

“True, it won’t be easy as you said. Therefore, we need to showcase overwhelming power.”

At my words, Ryuje’s head tilted in the opposite direction.

“Overwhelming power?”

“Yes. On the contrary, because they’ve lost their humanity, they blindly follow power, making them perfect as soldiers.”

“Hmm… you do make a point, but how do you plan to demonstrate this overwhelming power to the Fallen?”

“There are many ways.”

Summoning armored units using the Nightmare.

Or having Ryuje demonstrate her strength by blowing the head off the enemy boss–that would also be a good method.

But those methods, though effective, were ultimately troublesome and inconvenient.

“Still, it’s best if we can keep using this method without any hitches, right?”

“That would be preferable.”

“So, how about this, President…”

Smiling confidently, I spoke firmly to Ryuje.

“Let’s seize the alien ships.”

This is the second means.

The power gap between Megabase and us is overwhelming. Therefore, we need something to bridge that gap.

Since we cannot reverse the power disparity through growth alone, we need to exclude the time spent on growth.

Then there’s only one way to strengthen our forces in a short period.

Gear bonus.

Boosting specs with items that have extremely powerful performance. And that item is the alien ships.

If we use those ships to gather the Fallen, it would be a win-win, wouldn’t it?

“Hmm?! When you say aliens… are you referring to the Ustansha?”

“Yes.”

The Ustansha Galactic Empire,

One of the hostile forces that have taken root on Earth alongside the Invaders and Cryptids, an aggressive group of extraterrestrials steeped in imperialist ideology.

Fitting their setting as invaders from space, they possessed numerous large and powerful ships.

“Hold on, Edu. Our current situation is already horribly disadvantageous. How do you plan to deal with an additional enemy?”

Ryuje’s voice sounded flustered.

Most likely because she had learned from Freya that the aliens, the Ustansha, were resuming their operations.

However, since I knew the ins and outs of their operations, I confidently replied.

“It’s fine, President. The extraterrestrial fellows can’t launch a full-scale offensive against us anyway.”

“What?! Is that true?”

“Yes.”

The Ustansha will only start their full-scale activities during the game’s mid-term, commonly referred to as Act 2, when the subsequent fleet appears in the satellite orbit.

Prior to that period, their activities are almost non-existent.

However, if there are any movements now, it probably means that the subsequent fleet will arrive soon.

Some people may wonder why extraterrestrial invaders with large fleets and armies are acting so passively.

The main reason is that the Earth’s climate is not welcoming to them.

Additionally, another practical reason exists:

Simply put, there’s no need for them to fight right now.

Immediately after their arrival, the imperial army launched indiscriminate attacks as part of their invasion strategy.

But, after suffering significant losses while fighting the Invaders and the Cryptids, they realized that the Invaders and Cryptids were not to be underestimated and retreated.

Why?

Because, no matter what, the Invaders and Cryptids won’t expand into space anyway.

Thus, they have decided to wait until their subsequent fleets arrive and until they have secured a definitive victory.

In fact, the reason they become active during Act 2 is to prepare the Earth environment to be favorable to them before the main fleet arrives, showing just how cunning and meticulous they are.

However, paradoxically, because the aliens are thinking and acting in this way, their forces are limited to maintaining and safeguarding the occupied territories at this moment.

The human race, which had almost been crushed in sheer strength, is not even considered by them.

“Anyway, the ones lingering in Earth’s orbit now are just the vanguard forces. They’re just preparing for the arrival of the main fleet later. In other words, these aliens are strategizing for the future.”

“Continue.”

“Yes, do you think these aliens will suddenly divert all their forces to attack us? What if there’s a clash with the Invaders?”

“Hmm…”

Ryuje nodded, though reluctantly, in response to my words.

“I see, that’s not incorrect.”

“Right?”

“Yes. But, how do you plan to lure them out? As you know, they are in space, aren’t they?”

A valid concern.

True to what Ryuje said, most of the Ustansha Imperial Navy fleets that appeared on Earth are in space.

The operations on the ground are limited to small ships and shuttles supplying materials to the ground forces. Hence, Ryuje’s realistic question made sense.

“No need to worry about that. Even though they’re in space, there are still ways.”

“What exactly do you plan to do?”

“Well, the Ustansha, they can communicate, right?”

“Hmm?”

Ryuje’s head tilted again at my words.

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“That’s what we can utilize.”

“???”

The Invaders.

The Cryptids.

The Ustansha.

Of these, the Cryptids are mere monsters, communication is impossible from the start, and while it may be possible with the Invaders, ultimately dialogue is impossible.

But the Ustansha. They are different.

Despite their somewhat unappealing appearance as extraterrestrials, they are the species most similar to humanity among these three.

Born as infants, growing into adults, and dying when the time comes, all the same as the human race.

Thus, we could engage in limited, but possible dialogue with them. And the ability to communicate is, ironically, their fatal weakness.

The Ustansha, masters of a vast galactic empire.

Naturally, their pride is immense.

Imagine what would happen if such a species, considering a lowly livestock as nothing more than inferior beings, were to receive curses and trolling from them.

What kind of reaction would they get?

“President, have you ever heard of something called ‘teabagging’?”

…

At the Earth’s satellite orbit,

There stood rows of gold-lit, towering battleships, appearing majestic at first glance.

There were bulky ships, resembling enlarged weapons in their threatening appearance, and sleek cruisers with gracefully curved designs.

Impressive aircraft carriers with layered decks, and a large-scale fleet anchored in the vast, empty space.

And at the center where the ships gathered,

A massive, golden ring took its place.

In the center of the ring, a platform rising high as if to pull apart the giant ring.

Inside this platform, two figures gazed down at the fleet and the universe.

“Boring…”

The overall figure was similar to a human.

However, the reddish skin tone and countless tentacle-like appendages protruding from the chin clearly indicated that this was no human.

Beneath the squirming tentacles, a resplendently golden and violet, uniquely designed garment.

Aesthetically different, yet the countless decorations on the attire clearly conveyed the figure’s high status.

“Soon the subsequent fleet will arrive, Admiral Rigerda. Please wait until then.”

I also know that, Tomban,” replied Rigerda while standing a little away from the insect-like figure with jointed legs, answering with a click of the jaw.

“That’s why I’m a little concerned.”

“Is this concern due to the 3rd and 4th fleets’ damages during the conquest operation?”

“Hmm…”

They weren’t the only ones who deployed to Earth.

The 1st Interstellar Navigation Fleet – Agrelada’s Wisdom.

The 3rd Interstellar Navigation Fleet – Boherok’s Wrath.

The 4th Interstellar Navigation Fleet – Libsletan’s Ingenuity.

A great naval force composed of a total of three fleets.

However, immediately after invading this small star, the 3rd and 4th fleets suffered significant damage.

Mechanical organisms and ferocious organic life forms, judged as local creatures, counterattacked.

Fortunately, Rigerda’s 1st Fleet avoided significant losses by retreating to orbit before encountering these organisms, but it was still a painful loss nonetheless.

“They lack patience…”

“Don’t worry, Admiral. They too are soldiers who received orders from His Majesty the Emperor to command the imperial fleet. They won’t tarnish the empire’s reputation.”

Tomban’s words made Rigerda pause for thought.

After a while, Rigerda slowly nodded.

“Hmm… that is true. I’ve grown impatient waiting here. Thank you, Tomban.”

“Not at all, wouldn’t anyone feel the same way?”

After a brief conversation with Tomban, Rigerda turned her gaze back to the universe.

It seemed like the conversation had ended, but deep within Rigerda’s mind, an undefined sense of unease was still creeping up.

“Hmm…”

While gazing at the universe and organizing her thoughts,

No matter how many contingencies she considered, there was no possibility of any threat to the fleet at 0%.

Thus, Rigerda shook her head and cast off the indefinable unease.

This is space.

The lifeforms on that planet cannot reach here.

How could there be a problem with them and the fleet, given this barrier?

Unless, of course, some omen of the empire’s destruction appears.