Ch.438Icarus, Guardian of the Triangular Zone… (continued). (1)

But despite their surrender, some users were determined to seize my various high-grade ships and continued their relentless attacks.

One guy even pretended to surrender, insisting, “It’s my faction that surrendered, not me personally!” while deliberately self-destructing his battleship just to launch assault pods at me.

Meanwhile, perhaps because the Kraken was too bizarre, or because they had preconceptions about their superhumans potentially creating tentacle scenarios if they infiltrated it…

They didn’t attack the Kraken at all, instead focusing their assaults on the Hresvelgr or Ouroboros.

Of course, regardless of their attacks, it was merely the desperate struggle of one or two users…

*BOOM!!*

“So this is the famous missile battleship. We need to secure the bridge and engine room as quickly as possible.”

“Yes!”

“Everyone mo—”

*SLASH!*

“Oh my, they really came just as the Commander said.”

“Everyone, commence attack! We absolutely cannot let them take this ship!”

“Chaaaarge!”

—”Oh, we’re screwed.”

What the enemy users saw after breaking through the powerful anti-aircraft barrage was…

The Hresvelgr’s defense team including Ignis, Smeragi, and Lephan.

“Ha-ha! By the Commander’s orders! Capture this ship!”

“C-Captain! There’s a m-monster ahead!”

“Indeed, I never thought fools would dare try to capture Commander Icarus’s precious ship.”

“Seeing our Savior’s endless foresight, I, Partia, am truly impressed.”

—”What the hell is that?”

“Ora ora ora ora ora!!”

“Heavenly Crushing Fist!”

—”That’s copyright infringement, you idiots!”

‘Combat mode’ Partia waiting for enemies in Ouroboros’s assault bay, attacks that casually ignored Bendalof’s copyright…

Due to these extremely dangerous, evil, and vicious traps(?), they were instantly subdued.

And after this battle ended, I had to summon Partia and Bendalof to give them a stern warning never to do such things again.

==========

Anyway, except for some who showed disgraceful behavior until the end, the rest agreed to surrender to preserve their fleets.

In exchange for the safe withdrawal of the Yellow Turban fleet surrounded by our forces, they agreed to hand over two Level 1 strongholds they had just recaptured.

And with those three additional strongholds…

“Commander, Commander.”

“Hmm?”

“About the new strongholds we just acquired, their location is quite strategic, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Those strongholds now serve as a kind of sub-terminal!”

“Ohhh.”

The ‘stronghold route blockade’ that Spiralis had suffered from would no longer be a problem, as these three strongholds now served as alternative routes.

Thanks to this unexpected benefit, I felt my mood improving.

==========

The problem was that in addition to the strongholds, massive resources had to be paid as compensation to all allied users who participated in this war, including myself.

Except for ‘temporarily’ occupying Spiralis, they didn’t have any strongholds above Level 3, so perhaps that’s why…

Not long after, they showed an attitude of “we don’t care” claiming they had no resources.

The frustrating part was that this wasn’t just a simple bluff.

—————————————–

Title: Current Status of the Libertarian Army Who Told the Allied Forces to Go Screw Themselves.txt

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Image of chat logs showing people cursing about having all their stronghold resources taken as compensation], [Image of Yellow Turban fleets attacking each other, suggesting internal conflict]

I thought they were just saying “screw it” because the system doesn’t force payment in clan vs. clan conflicts

But it turns out they ACTUALLY don’t have resources to give

According to an internal leaker, the situation is a complete mess and they might collapse soon

[Image of internal chat battle between “Let’s pay resources and end this cleanly” vs “Why pay when there’s no forced collection? Just ignore them” factions]

But regardless of anything else, I’m certain these Yellow Turban bastards will never receive help from other clans or factions again

Comments:

-[What’s with those guys at the end saying they don’t have to pay compensation because it’s not forced?]

-˪[They seem to have left their real-world concepts in the real world when they immersed in the game]

-[Wow, legendary]

-[Who do they think will help them when they’re in crisis later?]

-˪[That’s exactly why the normal ones are fighting with the real idiots right now]

—————————————–

“What the hell.”

Incredibly, like the bandits they were…

Their internal opinions split like that, and then about 2-3 days later…

—————————————–

Title: Latest Update on the Yellow Turbans LOLOL.txt

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Image of Yellow Turban forces split into three factions]

It seems like just yesterday they were gloating about exceeding 10,000 members, but after winning the battle but losing the war against the Triangular Zone Allied Forces

Their internal forces have split into three distinct groups

[Image showing a clan called “Freedom Legion”]

First, about 3,000 people including the previously mentioned “normal ones,” executives, and those who were in charge of rear defense, formed a clan called “Freedom Legion” and left

This faction believes they should pay the compensation owed to the Triangular Zone Allied Forces

They originally had the most strongholds, but lost many Level 3 and other strongholds when they split off to form their clan

[Image showing the Nomadic faction]

This group includes 6,000 members who fought in the battle against the allied forces

They’re huge in size, but due to their recent disgraceful behavior, they’re becoming true plunderers

But they’re not really a faction—just nomads loosely gathered together

They’ve basically returned to their original central zone

[The Surrender Faction]

This is a group of users who were thoroughly defeated by Icarus or the allied forces

They’ve declared they’ll settle within Icarus’s territory and become a settled people

PS.

Note that all three factions have mixed membership compared to before

So someone who used to plunder might join the surrender faction

Or someone who split from Spiralis might become a nomad, etc.

Comments:

-[Triangular Pyramid Allied Forces, Triangular Zone Allied Forces, and now Triangular Region Allied Forces—why can’t they standardize the name?]

-˪[That’s because Icarus’s alliance never officially announced who they are]

-˪[Since they never revealed their name, everyone just calls them whatever they want]

-[Why is it so chaotic there? Wouldn’t it be better to just form a clan?]

-˪[They said they hate forming clans even if their heads explode]

-˪[But that’s how the Freedom Legion was born lolol]

—————————————–

—————————————–

Title: Breaking News) Yellow Turbans Declare They Will Become Civilized.txt

Author: News Boy

Content: [Image of a statement from former nomadic central users declaring they will become settled people]

So I was wondering where these thousand users would migrate to

It seems they’ve decided to settle in the area between Spiralis and the three strongholds that Icarus recently acquired

They plan to settle there, pay compensation, and essentially “return to farming”

Comments:

-[This is literally returning to farming]

-[Once space-roaming plunderers, now quietly living in the countryside?]

-˪[This is actually quite interesting]

-[Something, something, something indeed]

-[At this rate, Icarus really should become a proper clan leader lolol]

—————————————–

“Commander, about 1,000 commanders are contacting us asking to be let into your territory.”

“AAAAARRRRGGGHHH!”

Whether they were completely consumed by the nomadic concept or not, even while surrendering and asking to be accepted, they were still making “settled people” jokes.

I felt extremely conflicted emotions.

The problem was that since they weren’t a “clan” but a group of a thousand individual users, I would have to manually change each person’s “stance” from hostile-neutral to friendly-neutral or neutral—an extreme exercise in tedium.

Some were even saying, “Since things have come to this, why not become a real clan leader?”

With pressure coming from all directions, all I could do was let out an agonized scream.