Ch.74Strike First for Victory, But the End Won’t Be Pretty (1)

Rewinding time slightly from when Icarus heard the unexpected news of a user’s invasion.

About 4 days ago.

“As humans, shouldn’t we choose Earth as our homeland?”

“I think you’re absolutely right, Commander.”

Commander Pierre, after thoroughly browsing through the gallery, was feeling quite satisfied with his choice of the Earth Federation—the faction most users selected due to its newbie-friendly reputation.

It made sense, given the reassuring hexagonal formation of their territory, and compared to the overly avant-garde ship designs of the Xenovia Empire, the bizarrely shaped Space Monsters, or the messy Pirate Alliance, the Earth Federation had a genuinely “normal” appearance.

The gallery’s frequent criticism about the faction’s “lack of distinctive visual features” meant absolutely nothing to Pierre.

Besides, since joining the Earth Federation, his liaison officer occasionally showed him the majestic “Jormungand-class Super Dreadnought” and “Yggdrasil-class Super Carrier,” proudly calling them the Federation’s crown jewels.

These ships perfectly satisfied the “big ships, big guns” fantasy common in science fiction, making Pierre excited about the day he might command such magnificent vessels himself.

However, his happy life didn’t last long. After everyone had settled into their factions, he accidentally learned about users in his vicinity from another Earth Federation member.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“C-Commander.”

“Why is there someone from another faction near my base, and why is it the RANK 3 player?!”

“Perhaps you should calm down first, Commander!”

Pierre’s mental stability was crumbling upon discovering that the nearest user was not only from a completely different faction (Space Monsters) but also ranked 3rd overall.

While there were currently no conflicts between factions, everyone tacitly understood that faction warfare was inevitable someday.

When that happened, it seemed perfectly reasonable to fear that this rank 3 Space Monster faction member would target him first, being an Earth Federation member in close proximity.

But Pierre didn’t spend much time simply paralyzed by fear. As expected, all commanders had adjutants beside them to bolster their mental fortitude in such situations.

“Commander, please calm down… Why not ask for opinions in the gallery or chat?”

“Ah… yes, you’re right! I can ask others how to overcome this situation!”

Following his adjutant Maya’s suggestion, Pierre immediately posted a whiny message on the gallery about his current predicament.

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Title: I’m screwed guys, there’s a ranker living right next to me

Author: Pierre

Content: [Reconnaissance ship’s long-distance fleet image], [Ranking confirmation image]

And they’re from a completely different faction than mine

What should I do?

If rank 3 attacks me, how do I defend against that?

—————————————-

“Phew, is this enough?”

“Excellent, Commander.”

The post quickly accumulated many comments…

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Comments:

-[Why be scared just because they’re a ranker?]

-[Isn’t this the guy who lost to a newbie in fleet power recently?]

-[Right, I think his name was Icarus?]

-[This calls for a preventive war, for real]

-[Don’t be scared, strike first. First strike has always been the answer]

-[You crazy bastards, what nonsense are you telling a newbie?]

… … … … … …

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Though there were various opinions mixed in, most people were telling him not to be needlessly intimidated just because the other player was a ranker.

Encouraged by this, Pierre pulled himself together and immediately sent reconnaissance corvettes configured for scouting into Icarus’s territory.

Of course, since they were cheaply set up for reconnaissance with terrible durability, he dispatched several ships expecting some would be destroyed. The results were surprising.

“Maya, doesn’t his fleet seem unusually small?”

“It does indeed, Commander.”

Despite having an overwhelmingly higher rank compared to Pierre, the fleet discovered in Icarus’s territory seemed inadequate for someone ranked 3rd.

To be more precise, it wasn’t just the “number” that was small…

“Hmm… but why do I only see ‘Overseer-class Cruisers’ among his gacha ships and nothing else?”

“Perhaps… he’s hiding his main fleet at his base as his primary force?”

“Hmm, that’s a reasonable theory.”

Except for the mentioned Overseer-class, none of the “gacha” ships typically used as the backbone of users’ fleets were visible. Everything else was basic production ships.

Pierre himself had at least three S-class or higher ships from gacha pulls, including his flagship “Balthazar-class Light Cruiser,” which ranked in the upper SS-tier.

The enemy fleet looked so pathetic without the Overseer-class that it actually made Pierre somewhat suspicious.

But after continuing reconnaissance of the surrounding area, losing about three corvettes in the process, Pierre finally reached a conclusion.

“This guy, for whatever reason, hasn’t built enough fleet docks, so his fleet size is small.”

“Is that so, Commander?”

“Yes, and the lack of gacha ships… it’s not that he’s keeping his main force on standby, he’s just had bad luck, I’m sure of it.”

“Commander, isn’t that last part a bit of a stretch?”

“…I-is it?”

When Maya challenged his logic from a common-sense perspective, Pierre hesitated momentarily.

But that didn’t last long. After searching for information about Icarus in the gallery, Pierre reassured the worried Maya with a loud voice.

“No problem! This guy’s ship gacha completely bombed, and even the Overseer-class was acquired from someone else!”

“I see.”

With his intuition confirmed, Pierre’s previously terrified demeanor vanished completely. Now overflowing with self-confidence, he began issuing orders to Maya.

“Maya! Mobilize the fleet and everyone else right now!”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Now’s our chance, with the clear difference in fleet size! It seems he prioritized base development over fleet expansion!”

“Understood, Commander.”

“Let’s go!!!”

Of course, contrary to his bold words, Pierre’s fleet was also spread out protecting resource zones in various areas.

Additionally, he had dispatched some “Superhumans” for training purposes.

After gathering his scattered fleet and Superhumans, and making thorough preparations, Pierre’s invasion of Icarus’s territory finally began three days later.

==========

And now, in the present.

Inside Icarus’s base command center…

—————————————-

<Warning!>

<Approaching fleet detected>

<Fleet identification: Commander ‘Pierre’s fleet>

—————————————-

“Oh crap.”

“What should we do, Commander?”

I was peacefully completing daily quests and upgrading my base, gradually accumulating gacha currency, when this user decided to invade without any declaration of war or warning.

Feeling extremely annoyed, I hurriedly began preparing a response.

“Jessica! Get Ignis, Berial, and Pashtra assigned to the fleet immediately!”

“Yes!”

“And before that, send an advance guard of 5 destroyers and 20 escort ships to buy time until the main force can deploy!”

“Understood!”