Ch.113The Final Week. (4)

Of course, regardless of all that.

“Argh, users invading during the final days of the event!”

“We really seem to have bad luck.”

I thought our luck was terrible since the reward point acquisition would end in just 4-5 days.

But even so, abandoning the resource zone to avoid damage in this situation…

It could provide an opening for all sorts of troublemakers to invade the resource zone later and try to mess with me.

Whether I liked it or not, I decided this fight couldn’t be avoided, so I immediately dispatched my entire fleet to intercept the incoming intruder.

But not long after setting out so gallantly…

Before my fleet could even reach the resource zone, all sorts of situation messages flooded my screen.

—————————————-

<Resource Zone #3 has been invaded!>

<Battle Results>

<Destroyers 3 ships – 1 sunk, 2 heavily damaged>

<Resource Mining Ships 4 ships – 2 sunk, 1 captured, 1 moderately damaged>

<Information on enemy fleet: Fleet of approximately 100 ships including more than 10 cruisers>

<Defeat>

—————————————-

“Ah.”

To be handed a defeat before even engaging in a proper battle.

And judging by the “Information” section, which reveals details based on how long and properly we fought…

The lack of proper information showed just how swift and thorough the enemy’s surprise attack had been.

Seeing this message at the command center, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong, Commander?”

“No, it’s just that whoever came this time… doesn’t seem to be some random amateur.”

Unlike my first PVP encounter with a newbie who had good equipment but wasted it pathetically…

Or unlike that person who ignorantly pushed into my base…

The one who invaded now was not only fully prepared for proper user “looting”…

But was also a genuine veteran who had played the game long enough to make such preparations.

“So is this what you often call a ‘veteran player,’ Commander?”

“Yes, I suppose that’s what we’re dealing with.”

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that based on the information I’d gathered about the vast surrounding area through Marian’s pirate fleet…

Someone prepared enough for dedicated looting while simultaneously sending a large fleet of over 100 ships…

At least at the time I received that information, such a person didn’t exist in this vicinity.

Thanks to this, I could tell that the opponent wasn’t just like a swarm of locusts stripping every visible base.

Rather, they were a predator-type looter hunting for the tastiest prey.

And to find such prey, they had sent a fleet on an extremely long-distance expedition from far beyond the territory where the pirate alliance had been operating.

Once I reached this conclusion, I could also deduce what kind of fleet composition the opponent might have.

“Wait a minute… did you say the enemy fleet has more than 10 cruisers?”

“Yes, though that’s just the minimum estimate.”

“Then since it’s a long-distance expedition with difficult supply and repair conditions, they wouldn’t use heavily armored ships like heavy cruisers.”

“Huh?”

“They probably organized their fleet around light cruisers to maximize the mobility of the entire fleet…”

After saying that, I pressed my fingers against my throbbing temples.

“Sigh… this is going to be damn tough.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve completely figured out what the enemy fleet composition is likely to be.”

“Isn’t that good news? Is there some other problem?”

“Problems? Plenty. Their style is completely opposite to our fleet.”

While I had also optimized my fleet composition to minimize damage in both PVP and PVE…

That person focused on mobility—the so-called “evasion tank” style—unlike me.

I relied thoroughly on artillery battles to grind down opponents from a distance.

Meanwhile, I tanked enemy attacks with cheap, easy-to-produce regular patrol ships (non-upgraded).

If their fleet’s evasion rate was lower than our hit rate, we would win overwhelmingly.

But if it was the opposite?

Then our fleet wouldn’t be able to hit them from a distance.

And once we allowed the enemy fleet to get close, we would clearly be torn apart.

Recently, Griyanar had helped by attaching giant monster eyeballs (+5% accuracy) to our ships’ firing radars with the help of monsters.

But even so, it still felt somewhat insufficient.

At this point, I organized my thoughts and decided to give Berial instructions about our next actions through the still-connected communication channel.

“Are you listening, Berial?”

-“Yes, Commander.”

“When you make contact with the enemy fleet, avoid direct combat rather than confronting them head-on.”

-“Avoid, sir?”

“Yes, specifically try to lure that fleet near our base… so Leonard’s fleet waiting at the base can launch a joint attack.”

-“Understood, Commander.”

Unlike other users, we had what could truly be called a trump card at this point.

So just like in our previous battle, I decided to adopt a strategy of gradually luring their fleet to be torn apart by Leonard.

==========

But contrary to my expectations, even as the battle with this guy entered its third day…

The opponent showed absolutely no intention of falling for our bait.

“Commander, Berial has sent an additional report.”

“…”

-“The enemy fleet is also avoiding direct confrontation with us, and continues to move between resource zones, repeating looting and attacks.”

Did that damn bastard notice something from the appearance of our fleet?

They just kept making the rounds to our resource zones like they were on a concert tour.

“Commander, another resource zone was just attacked.”

“…”

“That makes five resource zones rendered useless, so our daily resource acquisition rate has dropped significantly.”

I thought that at this rate, we might dry up and die from having all our resources stripped before even getting to the reward points.

So I decided to stop avoiding combat with the enemy and commit to a proper battle.

“Use one destroyer as the flagship, and first send out small fleets with 10 small ships each to lure them.”

-“Yes, Commander.”

“When they’re lured toward our fleet, respond with long-range artillery fire as we always do, understood?”

-“Yes, understood.”

-“Yes, Commander♡”

The problem was when the enemy actually encountered our fleet…

-BWAAAANG!!!

-KWANG!

-“Commander! The enemy fleet has fired a battleship-class beam cannon!”

“…Damn it, so that’s their angle.”

I could only now realize that the opponent’s concept wasn’t simply a cavalry-like fleet invested solely in mobility.

It was a mobile-artillery fleet that completely abandoned defense and invested thoroughly in firepower and mobility.

And with such a combination, since I didn’t have tanking-type heavy cruisers or anything similar…

The patrol ships I had deployed for tanking were instantly annihilated by the opponent’s firepower, eliminating my tanking force.

As a result, the moment my cruisers became exposed to enemy firepower…

-KWAAANG!

-PUNG!

-“Argh!”

They were thoroughly demonstrating what a perfect counter looked like against my stationary fleet that relied on concentrated fire.

“Damn it, Berial!”

-“Yes, Commander!”

“Retreat immediately and reorganize the fleet!”

-“Understood!”

As a result, I suffered considerably more damage than expected in this preliminary battle fought without proper information.

And among the losses…

“Aaaaargh, my 170,120 points!”

“C-calm down, Commander.”

It included the sinking of a newly purchased <Kanhel-class Light Cruiser> that I had bought from the event shop after much deliberation.

‘Oh my god.’

Because the opponent’s forces were stronger than expected, and because I had grown careless from my continuous victories until now…

I had taken a proper beating, and I felt my mental state rapidly deteriorating to the point of nearly breaking down.

But that didn’t last long…

Eventually managing to get a grip on my mental state, I judged that the enemy would likely be celebrating their advantageous victory in the fleet battle.

So I decided to steel myself and try to catch them in a moment of carelessness, which they were sure to have, and pay them back.