Ch.235The Final Blow Makes a Masterpiece…! (7)

—————————————-

<Global Chat>

-[Woaaah](Raksha)

-[Yo](Melon)

—————————————-

Though Raksha had been dominating with his one-man army performance, he suddenly found himself relegated to observer status after what was essentially friendly fire.

The problem was that even with Raksha eliminated, the battle situation had already deteriorated too far to be reversed.

The damage Raksha’s destroyer had inflicted while rampaging through the fleet’s interior before exploding wasn’t something that could be repaired in a short time.

“Nyaa, there are too many enemies!”

“Tch, everyone retreat! We must either capture that carrier or render it useless!”

Meanwhile, most of Icarus’s superhuman strike team had been defeated or pushed back, forcing them into a siege battle after being cornered in the Anomalocaris and a few other ships.

While they deployed their own superhumans to contain the strike teams, the All-Star team, having barely reorganized their additional ships in the rear, began a full-scale offensive with every available combat unit…

Between Raksha’s funeral-worthy “epic control of the deceased” that had disrupted their formation and the blind spots that had formed in each ship’s attack direction, Icarus’s team faced not only reinforced opposition but also the overwhelming difference in ship “performance” that separated rankers from merely high-ranking users…

—————————————-

-<Choo-Choo’s standard-grade light cruiser has been sunk by Antares’s Texas-class medium cruiser!>

-<Ryzengan’s Guardian-class defense cruiser has been sunk by Betelgeuse’s Odin-class battleship!>

-<Pampakampam’s Oracle-class medium battleship has been sunk by Arcadia’s Hood-class battle cruiser!>

-<Pampakampam’s standard-grade aircraft carrier has been sunk by Laura’s standard-grade medium cruiser!>

-[Arggghhhh](Pampakampam)

-[We’re melting, FFS](Ryzengan)

-[Get it together, more incoming]

-[Ah shit](Elance)

-<Elance’s Chow-class medium cruiser has been sunk by Antares’s Griffin-class medium battleship!>

—————————————-

They were literally being ground up like meat in a mincer.

Of course, being among the top-tier users themselves, they were putting up a fight…

—————————————-

-<Menaldo’s standard-grade medium cruiser has been sunk by Ryzengan’s Bessarabia-class battle cruiser!>

-<Laura’s Ukulele-class destroyer has been sunk by Elance’s Meteor-class medium cruiser!>

-<Betelgeuse’s standard-grade light aircraft carrier has been sunk by Choo-Choo’s Bessarabia-class battle cruiser!>

-[Damn it](Menaldo)

-[Their resistance is quite strong](Laura)

—————————————-

Even as they were being torn apart, they were somehow managing to chip away at the All-Star team’s forces, showing their determination to resist.

Of course, with the “Kraken” assault and “Hresvelgr” self-destruction having failed, their chances of victory were slim…

-BOOM!

—————————————-

-[Damn, engine hit again](Monalisa)

-<Monalisa’s standard-grade light cruiser has been sunk by Elance’s Meteor-class medium cruiser!>

-[Ah](Monalisa)

-[Still can’t catch that damn stealth ship?](Betelgeuse)

-[Seraphias and the other electronic warfare cruisers couldn’t track it at all. Not even sure if it’s actually a stealth ship](Antares)

-[Tsk](Betelgeuse)

—————————————-

The reason Icarus’s team wasn’t suffering a one-sided massacre despite their desperate situation was obvious.

Unlike its previous lack of presence, the “Neranjara” had been providing support by lodging “spatial torpedoes” into the engines, anti-air systems, or bridges of the All-Star team’s ships, crippling them.

And inside that Neranjara-class spatial submersible ship…

“Everything’s gone to hell.”

…was our Icarus, who had relocated there after sacrificing the Hresvelgr-class as a suicide bomb.

==========

At the same time, within the atmosphere of the massive gas giant that the All-Star team had dismissed as merely “natural terrain”…

As evidenced by the periscope buoy protruding and emitting strange spatial waves in all directions, the previously inconspicuous Neranjara-class spatial submersible ship had been watching the situation while submerged in subspace with only its buoy exposed.

And naturally, inside the submersible were myself and Jessica, who had abandoned the Hresvelgr and transferred here.

However, unlike the large and beautiful bridge of the Hresvelgr, perhaps due to the “spatial submersible” characteristic, the bridge inside the hull had absolutely no observation windows.

Instead, I was calmly organizing my thoughts while watching a screen displaying footage from the periscope buoy floating on the surface between subspace and reality.

We’re screwed… that’s what I was thinking.

After careful consideration, I could state with firm conviction:

“Jessica, we’re completely fucked.”

“Commander, you already have a dick attached to you.”

“…Hmm.”

To think she would counter my brilliant joke like that.

Making a mental note to use her response appropriately later, I turned my attention back to the screen and continued our conversation.

“Our side can’t win, right?”

“No, even if this Neranjara-class we’re on is exceptional… it can’t single-handedly destroy at least 70% of the remaining enemy ships.”

“So it’s a firepower issue in the end.”

“That’s right.”

Unlike when I was using it as a support vessel from another ship, after boarding and operating it myself, I could truly understand why the Neranjara-class, despite its ridiculous survivability, wasn’t considered an absurdly overpowered ship.

One of the Neranjara’s supposedly overpowered features—its “spatial torpedoes” that emerge from subspace only seconds before impact—had surprisingly poor firepower.

To put it in perspective, the Neranjara could fire a maximum of about 8 “spatial torpedoes” at once, but even with all 8 hitting their target, they could barely sink a single destroyer.

Of course, regardless of that, perhaps because the Neranjara-class hadn’t scored any “kills” in this battle and only provided support, Jessica was puffing her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“Still, it’s a bit disappointing. With better execution, the Neranjara could have sunk 2-3 ships.”

But I raised a finger and clicked my tongue at her.

“Jessica, Jessica, the Neranjara-class is truly an important joker card.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

“Think about it. Have I ever allowed the Neranjara-class to be damaged in battle since I started operating it here until now?”

“Ah, I see.”

If I ever face another player in PVP in the future, that’s when the Neranjara-class would deliver a sur-prise by shoving spatial torpedoes into the back of their head.

Why would I need to reveal my precious secret weapon to other rankers?

After all, everyone has their own secret weapon that others don’t know about.

“Considering that, rather than exposing the Neranjara-class when the event is almost over… you know?”

“I understand, Commander.”

“Besides, Jessica, you know the Neranjara-class can’t do much more even if it wanted to, right?”

“I was just saying.”

Moreover, there was another critical reason why the Neranjara-class couldn’t contribute anymore…

“Commander, all remaining spatial torpedoes have been depleted in the last salvo.”

“Yes, I know.”

Since our resources were completely depleted, I had transferred all weapons except the “spatial torpedoes” from the Neranjara-class to the Hresvelgr and other ships.

As the bridge NPC reported, our Neranjara-class, having used up all its spatial torpedoes, could now do nothing except submerge in subspace.

So I sat here in a safe place, watching the battle situation, and after seeing our allies rapidly pushed back once the Neranjara’s support ceased, I quietly opened the chat window and suggested that we had fought hard enough and should surrender cleanly.