Ch.233The Final Blow Makes a Masterpiece…! (5)

The problem was where Hreasvelgr had appeared.

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-[Oh shit]

-[Hreasvelgr is coming through the asteroid belt next to us](Menaldu)

-[Oh](Laura)

-[It just brute-forced its way through](Antares)

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Surprisingly, it was emerging from between the asteroid field—a place they had initially chosen for the terrain, thinking that the “large ships” possessed by Icarus and the opposing users could never pass through.

Of course, due to colliding with various obstacles and asteroids filling the asteroid field, Hreasvelgr’s armor plates were crumpled and dented in places like thin aluminum foil.

At least a third of the VLS launch tubes appeared to have been hit by meteorites or asteroids, with their armored covers completely blown off, exposing the missile launchers inside.

Or conversely, some covers were deeply dented as if a meteorite had told them “Be quiet!”

Naturally, given the state of the armored covers, other parts of Hreasvelgr—wings, external antennas, and so on—were twisted and shattered in various ways, giving it the appearance of a ghost ship at first glance.

But what was important was that despite its terrible external appearance…

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-[Is that thing charging straight at us?](Laura)

-[Oh](Menaldu)

-[Oh](Indefatigable)

-[Ah](Antares)

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As it emitted an intensely bright light from its rear propulsion engines and charged at full speed toward the center of the fleet, Melon and Monalisa, like with the Kraken earlier, showed bewildered reactions, indicating they needed to somehow intercept Hreasvelgr’s apparent ramming attempt.

Of course, unlike those two, the others showed reactions suggesting there was no need to rush.

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-[It looks like it’s trying to ram into our fleet like the Kraken did. Isn’t that dangerous?](Monalisa)

-[Hreasvelgr’s armor is weaker than a normal battleship’s, so we can focus our attacks on that weakness.](Laura)

-[I see](Monalisa)

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Indeed, as they said, and as could be seen from its appearance, the Hreasvelgr itself was ultimately designed to safely launch missile swarms from extreme distances.

Attempting close combat in such a damaged state?

Since the time it would take for particle beams to reach Hreasvelgr’s hull was clearly faster than the time for missiles to be launched and hit enemy ships, they were merely shocked by the visual of a “large battleship mindlessly breaking through an asteroid field to charge at them.”

Believing Hreasvelgr’s charge itself wasn’t a major problem, they quickly calmed down and began focusing more on other ships than on Hreasvelgr.

In fact, as mentioned above, Hreasvelgr’s external condition, looking like a ghost ship or decommissioned vessel, further fueled their assumptions.

Of course, they couldn’t completely ignore it, since while Hreasvelgr might have weak armor, its mass was certainly not low.

To avoid a hit-and-run from that mindless charge, they changed the positions of the fleet units that had been placed in front of the Kraken, while simultaneously deploying two or three ships separately to prepare an interception formation against the massive Hreasvelgr.

But while they were busy preparing…

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-[…But why is something flashing over there?](Monalisa)

-[What’s flashing?](Laura)

-[My adjutant says there are red lights flashing inside the launch tubes and various other parts on Hreasvelgr](Monalisa)

-[What](Laura)

-[Shit, we’re screwed. It’s a suicide attack](Menaldu)

-[LOLOLOLOLOLOL This is ridiculous]

-[This is why I said not to teabag too excessively](Indefatigable)

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The red somethings glowing brilliantly inside Hreasvelgr’s “launch tubes” that Monalisa’s adjutant happened to discover…

When they saw the “strategic missiles that had reached critical state and entered self-destruct mode” and various missile warheads, they were horrified to realize that Hreasvelgr wasn’t simply charging in anger, but that the ship itself had transformed into a massive bomb intended to blow up the center of their fleet.

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-[Intercept it quickly](Betelgeuse)

-[What? You’re back now?](Laura)

-[Ignore that and hurry]

-[If that hits our fleet, we’re 100% done for](Betelgeuse)

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And in the midst of this, Betelgeuse, who had been silent due to “poor condition(?)”, returned and immediately gave instructions.

While everyone was shocked by Icarus’s decision to use valuable strategic resources as a suicide bomb to destroy their fleet, they tried to respond to Hreasvelgr’s suicide charge according to Betelgeuse’s orders.

But they faced a serious problem…

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-[No ships available]

-[The three ships currently in interception formation firing their cannons are all we have to spare](Indefatigable)

-[Wow, really?]

-[We’re screwed](Betelgeuse)

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That was right.

With most of their naval forces concentrated on the front where at least eight users were approaching, and with no reserves available, it was nearly impossible to stop Hreasvelgr—five times their size—with just the firepower of two cruisers and one destroyer.

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-[No matter how much we hit it, the damage isn’t reaching the vital parts](Laura)

-[Can’t we just hit the launch tubes?](Monalisa)

-[If you can precisely target warheads inside the covers of a massive battleship charging at 6.5km per second, be my guest](Menaldu)

-[No choice then, I’ll try to block it with a destroyer by ramming](Laura)

-[What about the cruisers?](Monalisa)

-<Icarus’s Kraken-class assault carrier has sunk Laura’s standard-grade cruiser!>

-<Icarus’s Pashtra has sunk Menaldu’s standard-grade cruiser!>

-[Ah shit](Menaldu)

-[…We need to stop the Kraken](Laura)

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In the end, as a last resort, Laura tried to block Hreasvelgr by sending the destroyer in interception formation on a collision course.

Unfortunately, the size difference was too great.

Despite the destroyer launching three medium torpedoes and ramming at full speed, Hreasvelgr’s anti-air defense systems, which were still operational, intercepted all the torpedoes.

The destroyer was simply crushed like a smashed can, making the rankers, including Betelgeuse, realize once again that teabagging should be done in moderation, as they were about to fall victim to Icarus’s wicked(?) strategy with their eyes wide open.

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-[Hmm, I guess teabagging should be done in moderation](Betelgeuse)

-[They say even a cornered mouse will bite a cat, why did you do that?](Indefatigable)

-[Why? Well… because it was fun](Betelgeuse)

-[What](Menaldu)

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But just as they were half-resigned to their fate…

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-[Remember me!!!!!!](Melon)

-[???](Betelgeuse)

-[What’s he doing with a battleship, wait a second](Antares)

-<Melon’s standard-grade battleship has self-destructed with Icarus’s Hreasvelgr-class strategic missile platform battleship.>

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Melon, who had shown little presence in battle except for occasional comments in the chat, despite his superhumans barely defending the engine room and bridge—and even that bridge was visibly under attack by enemy superhumans fighting their way in from outside the windows—suddenly accelerated his damaged battleship at full speed and rammed it into Hreasvelgr, causing a magnificent explosion.

The rankers decided to stand and give a standing ovation for the excellent choice made by someone they had been consciously or unconsciously ignoring until now.

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-[I’ll remember you!](Indefatigable)

-[I’ll remember you!](Menaldu)

-[You were terrible, Melon, absolutely terrible!!](Betelgeuse)

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