Ch.398Call Me Icarus. (4)

Surprisingly, when the detection range of the “Anatolia” class and Khabarovsk overlapped…

*Beep-beep-beep! Beep! Beep-beep!*

“Enemy fleet positions are being detected on radar in real-time!”

“Attack! Smash them to pieces!”

“Oh, sweet!”

A kind of two-way detection radar had activated, rendering the enemy ships’ stealth capabilities essentially useless.

As a result, our fleet could now track the enemy fleet’s position in real-time and switch to an all-out offensive.

“Begin Kraken attack! Crush them all!”

“Open fire!”

While the fleet was launching this massive counterattack, I decided to check on that damned Anchorage.

“Neranjara, what’s the status of the Anchorage-class?”

“Currently, it’s released its space anchor to avoid Anatolia’s charge and is retreating at full speed.”

“Hmm.”

“However, it’s still launching suppressive attacks with its own weapons and defense turrets as it retreats… What would you like us to do?”

‘These guys are so persistent.’

Two of the three harpoons were destroyed, leaving only one, yet they were still desperately trying to escape while firing missiles and beams to draw Anatolia’s aggro.

Finding this rather absurd, I decided to issue simple orders to Neranjara and the Superhumans there.

“Destroy the Anchorage’s propulsion system, then have the Superhumans board and capture the vessel before Anatolia rams and destroys it.”

“Understood, Commander.”

“Got it!”

———-

After that, the situation wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

The enemy’s stealth fleet seemed to realize they could no longer maintain their “stealth.”

Unlike before, when they would make small hit-and-run attacks with light vessels trying to grind down our ships, they now responded to our counterattack with an equally aggressive approach.

The problem was, as I mentioned earlier, that annoying fleet had received a “Round 10” buff, enhancing everything except durability by at least one level.

And when my fleet, which had invested everything in defense and evasion, faced them head-on…

“Commander.”

“Huuuuuuuuung.”

“I understand your mental anguish, but given the situation, I need to report.”

“Huuuuuuuuung.”

The Bayern-class, whose double armor structure was forcibly reduced to a single layer, literally had half of its ships “blown up” and would need to recuperate in the shipyard for days.

The Dreadnought, which had shouldered most of the fleet’s tanking in this battle, had managed to endure by deploying the “Fleet Barrier,” but once the barrier’s time limit expired, the damage it took before and after was so severe that it would need immediate repairs upon returning to base.

And that was only because it was a gacha ship, making it more durable than regular ships.

Among the regular-grade ships, the most durable battleships—numbers 1 and 2—suffered “minor” damage like tattered armor plates, half-destroyed propulsion systems, or popcorn-like main turrets, but nothing too serious.

However, the “Battleship No. 3” mentioned in the earlier communication was a different story. When the Superhumans aboard Neranjara launched an all-out assault, the Anchorage captain, realizing they were about to lose the ship, fired a harpoon in a last desperate move…

The battleship was pierced and dragged into a wormhole, crumpled like a tin can and exploded.

As for the cruiser-battleships, the two that took the most hits in the recent exchange…

“Well… Cruiser No. 3 was hit in its center by enemy heavy torpedoes, split in two, and exploded.”

“…Yeah.”

“Cruiser No. 4 is in a similar state, barely maintaining its hull shape after taking too many hits.”

“Hmmmmmm.”

‘That was a lucky shot with those heavy torpedoes…’

They were either sunk or severely damaged, making further action impossible.

But that was just the new damage from the recent exchange.

Cruisers No. 1 and 2, which had been bombarded earlier, had their outer armor plates turned into something resembling sponges.

Naturally, during such an intense battle, the small vessels, already reduced to less than 50%, were all consumed as meat shields.

But thanks to these sacrifices, the Kraken avoided having its vulnerable flanks and rear burned or blown up by beam cannons or missiles.

And fortunately, this prevented my precious capital ships—like Hresvelgr, which had been working tirelessly on fleet air defense from the beginning, or Ouroboros, which had been crippled by the Anchorage’s attack—from being exposed to insane firepower and exploding one after another.

Moreover, while we were making these efforts, the enemy fleet was completely annihilated due to their reckless attacks.

“Commander, we’re back!”

“We’ve completed the mission as ordered.”

“As you wished, our savior…”

—————————————–

<Event>

<Ship Capture Successful!>

<Details>

<You have successfully captured the ‘Anchorage-class Forced Salvage Ship’!>

<Result>

<The ‘Anchorage-class Forced Salvage Ship’ has been incorporated into the Commander’s fleet.>

—————————————–

In the end, though they turned someone else’s battleship into scrap metal, the Anchorage’s internal forces were completely wiped out, and it fell into my hands.

No matter how unorthodox this ship might be, it was clearly far more valuable than a “regular grade” vessel, so I found myself nodding in satisfaction, thinking this was quite a good outcome.

And while I was thinking that…

*Beep-beep-beep!*

“Um, Commander?”

“What is it, my precious Jessica?”

“The Anatolia monster that drove the Anchorage into a corner and assisted our boarding operation is leaving the event map.”

“Oh.”

—————————————–

<Event>

<Adios, Amigo>

<Details>

<The ‘Anatolia-class Giant Monster’ is a ship that is never used by Commanders.>

<Of course, this time it seems to have helped the Commander as thanks for being freed…>

<Perhaps considering its debt repaid, it’s coolly departing for its own nest.>

<Result>

<Your relationship with the ‘Anatolia-class Giant Monster’ has changed to ‘Neutral’.>

—————————————–

‘Well, that’s disappointing.’

The Anatolia-class, which had been used as a gimmick for this round, coolly exited, saying its job was done.

And as the Anatolia-class completely disappeared…

—————————————–

<Round 10 Cleared!>

<Battle Result: Victory>

<Enemy Fleet Annihilated>

<Would you like to proceed to the next round?>

<Y/N>

—————————————–

A status window message naturally appeared, announcing that I had completed Round 10 and asking if I wanted to proceed to the next round…

But having just experienced an enemy fleet that emerged in a way I never expected and screwed me over in ways I never anticipated in Round 10…

—————————————–

<Would you like to proceed to the next round?>

<Y/(N)>

—————————————–

‘Nope.’

I boldly pressed ‘N’ on that damned message, then made a gesture with both hands—not the middle finger, but a double “mountain” gesture—expressing intense rejection and declaring my retreat.

‘This is really too much; all my precious ships will be destroyed.’

Absolutely not happening.

And since things had come to this, I positioned my hands so they were visible alongside the message, then took a screenshot to post on the community forum.