Ch.107107. Lochist Pirates

When one hears the term “mercenary,” an uninformed layperson might wonder:

Why would a massive corporation like Nano-Tech hire a mere mercenary as security?

It’s not strange to think that an individual’s strength would be powerless in fleet-to-fleet combat, but… that notion has become practically obsolete in this era.

The reason is simple: the primary attack method of the various rabble targeting these space cargo ships involves physically ramming the vessel and then directly deploying combat troops inside.

Unless we’re talking about a renowned fleet in space, the combat ships escorting relatively unimportant cargo vessels are mostly refurbished, aging military escort vessels.

Therefore, when space pirates charge en masse with their junk ships, it’s impossible for outdated escort vessels to shoot them all down. Moreover, the recent dramatic advancement in shield technology has ushered in an era where defensive capabilities overwhelm firepower.

That’s why space pirates have been running rampant lately, but these recently empowered space scum aren’t limited to human pirates alone.

First, space pirates belonging to the libertarian organization “Outlaws,” composed of various species, appear throughout nearly the entire universe. It’s also common for deserting naval fleets or vessels from certain nations to simply switch their business to piracy.

Direct attacks from separatist forces that have declared independence from the Human Federation are not uncommon, and the navies of alien species hostile to humans or pirate groups from alien nations are also among the enemies targeting Human Federation vessels.

And “they” exist as well.

Anyway, most vessels operated by these enemies of the Human Federation are typically numerous but qualitatively inferior, so as mentioned earlier, boarding is their primary tactic.

Thousands of small spacecraft—junk ships with the highest-output shields they can acquire—charge forward with sacrifice as a premise. They use ramming spikes mounted on their sterns to tear through shields and enter the interior. Then, shielded pirates infiltrate and slaughter crew members who aren’t combat-oriented psychic users as they advance.

Naturally, inside the vessel, both pirates and defenders primarily engage in close-quarters combat using melee weapons that cause minimal collateral damage while ensuring lethality, rather than long-range weapons with high firepower that could cause massive explosions if missed.

In such an environment, he has established himself as a capable talent who receives many recruitment offers due to his powerful close-combat abilities as a mercenary, allowing him to make a decent living even when working alone without much effort.

A Grade 3 mercenary possesses enough combat power to slice through carrier-based aircraft in fleet battles.

“Nngh…”

But even such a monster—a psychic-specialized mercenary who minimized implants in his body—still has a physical body subject to gallbladder issues and stiffness.

That’s why he—John Feller—was stretching his stiff body and tossing a nearly finished cigarette butt into an ashtray as he was about to return to his quarters when…

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

As the loud siren blared from all directions, information and instructions from the ship’s command center appeared as a holographic interface through the terminal implants in his eyes and brain.

[Space pirates approaching]

[Presumed to be Locist pirates]

[Grade 3 Mercenary John Feller, please move quickly to sector H-13.]

“What, Locists again?”

While complaining about the Locist pirates attacking for the seventh time during this voyage, John quickly moved his legs to cover the distance of several hundred meters.

And when he arrived at his designated area, H-13—the 13th cargo hold—the first thing that caught John’s eye was—

“Shoot! Shoot! Fire!”

“■■■■!!!”

“■■■!”

A makeshift small spacecraft that had broken through the outer wall—so shoddily constructed from scrap metal that one might wonder if it was just welded junk—and two groups engaged in fierce combat near the spacecraft.

Needless to say, those wearing white crew uniforms and firing ship-internal laser rifles were this cargo ship’s crew members, while the ragged Locists advancing behind shields that absorbed the lasers while firing shotguns were the pirates who had infiltrated the ship.

Locists. An alien species named after the English word “locust,” they are this era’s despised species with the appearance of insect-humans resembling locusts, as their name suggests.

They are a refugee species whose mother planet was devastated by a Doomsday-class Hive Ship from the monster fleet, scattering them across space. They adapted too well to the space environment, and in modern times, they are essentially enjoying a golden age as pirates, more powerful than when their mother planet existed.

With thick, sturdy exoskeletons made of chitin in an ergonomic structure, a simple body structure that can survive even with just the upper body remaining, and a large build of about 2.4 meters, Locists possess high close-combat capabilities. In pure hand-to-hand combat, it’s extremely difficult for an ordinary armed human to defeat them.

In particular, that chitin exterior can withstand laser rifles that, despite being low-powered for ship-internal combat, can still put neat holes in a human body. This gives Locist pirates an overwhelming advantage in such close-quarters ship combat.

Well, the leadership knew this fact, which is why he was hired as security for this cargo ship.

“Hup!”

CRACK!!!

The moment the Locist pirates entered his sight, John activated his psychic power—telekinesis—to crush several Locist pirates who were about to stab crew members with bayonets attached to their shotguns.

He immediately leaped between the crew members and Locists where shotgun pellets and lasers were flying, deploying a shield to protect the crew while drawing the greatsword from his back and swinging it a few times with ease.

SLASH!

His psychic weapon, the greatsword, bisected a Locist wearing reinforced armor—and even deploying a psychic shield—more easily than cutting an apple with a knife. Only then did the other Locists notice his intrusion, all activating their shields while firing shotguns wildly and thrusting forward with their bayonets.

These Locists, entrusted with the critical mission of directly assaulting the cargo ship carrying their target cargo, were considered elites within the pirate group—imitating one of the former Locist Empire’s military branches, the Locist Heavy Armor Troops.

They wore homemade powered suits created by welding additional armor plates onto outdated but reliable reinforced exoskeletons. Their so-called “shotguns” fired nearly 20mm caliber shotgun shells, with the recoil absorbed by their powered suits. Moreover, these pirates each carried personal psychic shield generators.

In summary, in such confined spaces, they were practically walking tanks with perfect counters to lightly armed infantry due to their defense and firepower—

WHOOSH—SLASH!

“That makes 16 of them, still… about 40 more left.”

But even such Locist pirates were no different from ordinary infantry before a Grade 3 mercenary who could slice through an active tank with a single greatsword.

By the standards of Earth in the third millennium, a Grade 3 mercenary would undoubtedly establish himself as a proud member of high-ranking hunters.

Moreover, humanity in the current eleventh millennium has generally seen an increase in average psychic ability levels through the process of surviving in this hellish galaxy, making defeat unimaginable.

The heavy single-edged greatsword, surrounded by psychic energy on its blade to enhance its destructive power, cuts through anything in a single stroke regardless of defense attempts, while easily blocking their shotgun fire with a thin shield covering his skin.

Thus, about four minutes after his arrival, all 60 elite Locist pirates who had assaulted the ship were dismembered and scattered across the floor.

However, John absolutely did not believe these were all of the pirates’ forces.

Given the Locists’ characteristic of laying 60-70 eggs at once, it was common for thousands to tens of thousands of pirates to appear, so he judged that numerous Locist pirates had likely infiltrated other parts of the ship just like here.

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

“…Don’t mention it.”

As he absently watched the bodies of humans and Locists being sorted on the floor while receiving thanks from the crew members whose lives he had saved, an interface similar to the previous one appeared before his eyes.

“…?!!!”

And it contained information that was sufficiently shocking, in a negative sense, even for a Grade 3 mercenary who had grown through countless battles.

[Locists annihilated, currently mopping up remnants.]

[Monster fleet approaching]

[Massive Hive Ship present]

[Estimated to be small invasion fleet]

[Grade 3 Mercenary John, maintain position]

“They” were approaching the ship John was on.