Vol 13 Chapter 3

SPACE 3. Sudden Attack (PART : 3)

Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

The continuous bursts of flashes! Roaring sounds occurred and the spaceship shook.

“Ugh, that monster!”

Hawk cursed from the bridge of a battleship that was shaking violently. A huge spaceship filled the screen in front of him. This was the unidentified carrier that had shockingly emerged from a black hole.

Right now the Rama, Aschulat and Galactic Federation fleets were gathered on the right side of the carrier. The person who proposed this was Hawk.

Right after Ark had been hit by the light ray.

‘There are 60 spaceships from the 3 powers presently gathered here. And we have a chance against the carrier with those type of numbers. But that’s only if the spaceships of the 3 powers becomes one fleet. If we each move separately then we’re going to be defeated.’

This was the conclusion that Hawk came to. And he opened up communication with the commanders of the Rama and Aschulat fleets.

“I am the Galactic Federation’s investigation team leader, Hawk.”

-Yes, you are Hawk one of the famous Seven Swords?

The first person to reply was the Rama warrior, the Red Slaughterer. And after that was the Aschulat commander.

–But you spoke so confidently about the investigation team. Is it okay to say such things? The investigation teams dispatched by the Galactic Federation and Rama are supposed to be a secret.

The leader of the Aschulat fleet Anbis, who resembled ET, looked at Hawk and said.

“Stop the futile psychological war. Everyone knows that the fleets gathered here are the investigation teams from the 3 powers. There is no reason to hide this. No, we shouldn’t hide it. So I’ll preside over our talk.”

–What do you want to say?

“Haven’t you guessed? The reason why we’re having his communication.”

-…..To become allies?

The Red Slaughterer who had been listening quietly said coldly. Hawk nodded.

“We have the same purpose and the same enemy. And you must be aware that each of us acting separately can’t take care of that carrier. Now we have to join hands to deal with that carrier. That is my answer.”

–Join hands?

“We have to get through that bombardment.”

–Yes, it is impossible. We can’t overpower that carrier’s shield, armour and gun. It is disadvantageous because there are still dozens of Hornets. The only way we can overcome such a situation is in hand to hand combat.

It was like the Red Slaughterer said. They had inferior forces so they only way that could win was to bring the commander down. No matter how strong the enemy was, if the commander was killed then they would collapse like a castle of sand.

The only way was to plunge through the enemy’s defences to defeat the commander in hand to hand combat. The problem was that the enemy worship wasn’t a conventional battleship.

They couldn’t damage the armour even when using their main guns. They had to infiltrate the enemy ship but it would take a lot of firepower to just scratch the hard armour. However, the concentrated attacks from the 3 fleets would be enough to penetrate even the thickest armour.

–You haven’t spoken about the most important thing.

“What?”

–Compensation. Now that the investigation team isn’t a secret, I’ll speak too. The antimatter energy wavelength comes from that carrier. That means the existence of antimatter is somewhere on that carrier. It seems unlikely that it can be split among all of us. So what will be done?

“Then the alliance will just last until we reach the carrier. Is anymore explanation necessary?”

–No, it’s enough.

The Red Slaughterer laughed and replied. In other words, they would join together until they reached the carrier and after that it was up to their own discretion. Whoever took control of the antimatter first would have it belong to them!

–I’ll cooperate. Only until the carrier.

But the combat power of the carrier was beyond imagination. 20 minutes passed since the 3 fleets joined together but they still failed to break through the carrier’s armour. The shield stopped the attacks and the interception defense was incomparable to the GEM of a regular spaceship.

A truly impregnable fortress! Whenever the 3 powers fleet approached, dozens of Hornets would come shooting like bees. Thus the fleet of the 3 powers failed to approach closer than dozens of kilometres.

‘But……’

Even if it was a high performance GEM, it wouldn’t be able to stop all attacks. The 3 powers fleet didn’t stop and continue firing their main guns for 30 minutes. Thanks to the overwhelming attacks, the carrier’s armour turned tattered.

“We’re close! Concentrate your strength! It will be out victory if we penetrate the armour! Don’t stop attacking!”

Flash! Flash! Flash!

10 flashes were shot out at Hawk’s call! A couple were intercepted with the GEM but three or four rays directly hit the carrier. At the same time, parts of the armour turned red. But the carrier wasn’t just passively being attacked.

“The carrier has launched an attack! Neutron bullets!”

“Damn! Have the lead ships intercept it with the GEM system! The spaceships to the rear will evade!”

Tu tu tu tung! Tu tu tu tung! Tu tu tu tung!

There was a chain of explosions. A nuclear storm occurred in the area where the fleet was gathered and the spaceships shook violently. Some battleships had smoke pouring from it while others were involved in the storm and exploded.

“A number of ally ships have been damaged! Kaien has been sunk! Two Rama and Aschulat ships have been sunk as well!”

“But those guys have been hit as well! Fleet, fire your main guns!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

And the counterattack of the fleet continued! The flashes hit the carrier in the same area and a ringing sound spread out.

‘This sound? There is a crack somewhere in the armour! It has finally reached its limit!’

“Harley, now! Charge the Dark Knight’s main gun and advance!”

“But there is too much enemy gunfire!”

“Ignore the Hornets’ bullets! It will be decided with this! If we rush the carrier then the Hornets won’t be a problem!”

“Understood! Death Knight, full acceleration! Charge!”

The Dark Knight rushed forward while spewing flames. Suddenly one of the ships in the rear rushed forward at a tremendous speed. The ship glided across the battlefield that was full of lasers, light rays and battleships!

“What? That battleship?”

Hawk burst out with confusion at the appearance of the battlefield. Harley watched a message appear on the dashboard before turning and shouting.

“The identification code is R-02788. Eh? T-that is the battle ship Silver Star! Ark’s spaceship!”

-What? That is Ark’s ship?

The Red Slaughterer on the screen stood up and shouted.

————————————————————————–

“How wonderful!”

Ark whistled.

He looked out the window at the lasers passing by. The battlefield spread out in front of the Silver Star. The reason the Silver Star could cross the battlefield was due to the Shape Decomposition Fusion.

Approximately 10 minutes ago.

It occurred when he hacked the Rama’s battleship to separate the engine. The seal for the 10th room containing the Shape Decomposition Fusion facility was released and the Rama spaceship turned into a piece of metal. And once the metal touched the upper part of the ship!

The Silver Star’s operating system is adjusted according to the new engine!

The power turned off and when it turned back on, that message appeared. The Silver Star transformed after combining with the Rama spaceship. The Silver Star’s streamlined body had something like a big luggage on top of it.

However the outward appearance didn’t matter.

Hull: Medium- 4th Grade            Classification: Battleship

Firepower: 35,000

Speed: B                                             Turning: A+30%

Shield: C +30%                                 Energy Efficiency: B+30%

Hull Armour Durability: 70%

4 Guns: Bullets for Manual Shooting- 70%, Condensation Energy Particle Cannon Charge Rate- 100%

* Special: <Optical Scanners x 15>, <Chaff x 5>, <Auxiliary Engine>

* Skill: <Photon Movement>, <Warp Sail>

At the same time, the Silver Star’s information window changed!

The rating increased and all features rose by 30% once the Rama spaceship was incorporated. Two additional guns were added and the firepower increased by 1,000. But Ark was happiest about the auxiliary engine! The engine of the Rama spaceship was registered as the Silver Star’s auxiliary engine.

It was a prize that Ark couldn’t imagine! Jackpot! Lotto!

“Kuahahaha! Who has the unlucky genes?”

Endorphins overflowed in Ark’s brain like a waterfall. The back of his head tightened.

‘Right now the 3 powers are cooperating in order to attack the carrier. Their plan is to concentrate attacks on one spot and penetrate the armour. Looking at the situation, it seems like they might actually succeed. Then there is no reason to hesitate. Once the 3 powers enter the interior, it will become a speed competition. The one who occupies it first will become the winner. Then it will be beneficial to enter first!’

If the 3 powers fleet was going to win then he didn’t need to hesitate. Ark activated the auxiliary engine and caught up to the rear of the ship. Then the Dark Knight rushed forward once there was a crack in the carrier’s armour.

At that moment Ark instinctively shouted.

“Now! Tori, accelerate the Silver Star!”

And he breached through the nuclear storm caused by the neutron bullets! He pushed through the fleet’s formation. Once he reached within dozens of kilometres of the carrier, there was a shower of intense gun fire from the ship. It was the Hornets who caught up to the Silver Star!

However the 3 powers fleet had immediately rushed after the Silver Star. As well as…..

“The enemy’s bullet trajectory prediction data has been uploaded!”

Hegel shouted while fiddling with the dashboard. Dozens of dots appeared on the screen with numbers next to them.

Once again, the Silver Star didn’t have a defense system like the GEM to intercept an enemy attack. Despite that, the reason why Ark didn’t mount a GEM system on the ship was due to Hegel.

Hegel’s special racial skill was ‘trajectory prediction.’ However there were limits to this ability. Hegel’s ability wasn’t lacking. When using the skill, the limitation was due to the computer that was a required equipment.

If Hegel used a Nymphe then he could only calculate 2~3 trajectories at a time. It was only possible to predict the trajectory. If the Silver Star’s computer was used, that ability was boosted 10 times but there was still a limit.

But that changed after the Rama spaceship was integrated. The Rama spaceship had the same main computer as the Silver Star. And that computer was absorbed by the Silver Star during the Shape Decomposition Fusion. Therefore the Silver Star’s computer changed into a dual core CPU!

The operation speed was vastly amplified. And Hegel’s trajectory predictions were also amplified.

-Route 2: Hit probability 21%

-Route 3: Hit probability 47%….

Dots with numbers next to them floated on the screen. It was the estimated probability that he would be hit if he continued with his present speed and course. He was able to grasp the situation thanks to those probable routes. He instantly responded the moment the words left Hegel’s mouth.

“Maintain our present speed and break through the bombardment using route 5!”

Pepepeng! Pepepeng! Pepepeng!

The Silver Star flew in a complicated orbit.

Ark had selected the route where the hit probability was 5%. They wouldn’t be hit by the carrier’s guns unless a large mistake was made. It was difficult to predict the Hornet’s shooting and a fair number of bullets hit the Silver Star but he couldn’t ignore that level.

“…..We penetrated!”

They pierced through the bombardment and approached the front of the carrier. Ark looked at the tattered armour and yelled.

“Drop 5 optical scanners! Spread them in 100 metre intervals and make them collide with the armour!”

Tong! Tong! Tick! Tong! Tong!

The optical scanners collided with the armour and an echo was heard. This was the reason he made the scanners collide. Once again, Ark had looked for mechanical parts in a swamp while on Nephalim. At that time he learnt the Metallurgy skill. He could figure out the status of the metal from the sound.

‘There is a different sound coming from the part that the third scanner bumped. There must be a crack in that area. This is the weak spot!’

“Silver Star main gun, Thunderbolt launch!”

Kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

At the same time, a pillar of blue light shot out! The moment the blue pillar touched it, the armour shone with a red light. And the smoke dissipated to reveal a huge crack hundreds of metres large! The Silver Star then disappeared into the crack.

————————————————————————–

Bang!

There was a resounding clap. The area turned red and the crack became increasingly larger. Smoke quickly spread as the black battleship entered inside.

“We have entered the interior!”

“Turning the battleship! Prepare the ship’s guns!”

The battleship caused a large gust as it turned. Once it turned 180 degrees, it saw dozens of small flying objects approach the gaping crack. They were the small fighters, the Hornets.

Once again, the small size of the Hornets meant it had the advantage in speed and mobility. They couldn’t deal fatal blows but the damage would pile up and couldn’t be ignored. The combat difference was like the sky and earth but they were a formidable opponent. But that was only when the Hornets were flying around the battleships in a wide space. The Hornets coming to the crack were exposed….

“Fire!”

Tung! Tung! Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

A shower of ammunition was fired towards the crack. The Hornets headed towards the battleship continuously exploded.

“The Hornets have been shot down! I don’t detect any other risk factors in the area.”

“Have the crew convert the battleship to defense mode and stay alert!”

The person giving the order was Hawk. And the battleship that entered the interior was the Death Knight. They were in the Hornet’s hangar.

He finally managed to penetrate the armour after 1 hour and entered the interior. Even the Hornets chasing him was shot down! But Hawk’s face couldn’t hide how unpleasant he was feeling.

He had no choice.

“Ark….!”

Hawk growled as he looked at another battleship. It was Ark’s battleship that came ahead of the Death Knight, the Silver Star. He didn’t know how Ark survived but the Silver Star had managed to beat him here. Now that wasn’t Hawk’s concern.

“…..Making a fool of me!”

Once again, he convinced the Rama and Aschulat to work together and the armour being destroyed was 99% due to Hawk. Yet the person who entered inside first was Ark. After the signal was given, he sneaked in unseen and dealt the remaining 0.01% before entering.

Of course, there wasn’t a large meaning to that. There was an achievement for entering first but there was no guarantee Ark would become the final winner. But there was a feud between them so Hawk felt like his anger was exploding

“That cheeky bastard, I won’t let you go!”

Hawk led his subordinates outside the ship. However there was no one in the vicinity of the Silver Star.

‘What? These guys surely…..’

“Hawk-nim, I can see Ark’s subordinates.”

Harley pointed towards the opposite end of the hanger where two people could be seen. Hawk recognized them from Muratio Star. The hamster called Tori and the Kusan called Ellain.

“Where is Ark?!”

Hawk exclaimed as he reached them. Tori who was sitting down fiddling with something stood up with a surprised expression. He then looked at Hawk and hid something behind his back.

“H-Hawk-nim! Hyung-nim isn’t here.”

“Where are you hiding?”

“Huh? Hiding? What? I have nothing…..”

“Harley.

Harley came forward as Hawk glanced at him. And placed his pistol on Tori’s forehead without hesitation.

“Hawk-nim, what are you doing now?”

Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok! Cheolkeok!

Ellain came forward with his sword but the 40 troops behind Hawk simultaneously lifted their guns. Hawk looked at Ellain and smirked.

“Don’t provoke me. I’m not feeling good right now. Hey hamster, answer me. What are you hiding?”

“Nothing is being hidden!”

Ellain exclaimed towards Hawk.

“If you’re not hiding anything then there is no reason you can’t show it.”

“No, I’m not going to show anything to a person suddenly threatening us with a gun. I am a Kusan warrior and Ark’s honourable subordinate! Do you think I fear death? Tori, it isn’t necessary for you to say anything!”

Ellain shouted even with dozens of guns pointed at him. Tori clenched his fists firmly before showing it towards Hawk.

“This! This is it! Save me!”

“Tori, you!”

“Damn! I’m different from a Kusan warrior! I’m just a hamster! I’m a hamster scared of death!”

“This guy is my favourite among Ark’s subordinates.”

Hawk smiled at Tori.

The thing Tori was hiding was a Nymphe. No, to be exact it was a 3D image rising above the Nymphe. The device was connected to a terminal in the hanger and showed the internal structure of the carrier. There was a red dot on the upper part of the structure in a section that looked like the bridge.

“Ark has left already.”

“Yes! Yes! He went with the rest of the team as soon as he entered the structure!”

“You bastard, what are you babbling on about?”

“So what? Should I go to the toilet in this situation? And he is Hawk, the head of the investigation team! Hyung-nim is a member. We’re on the same side so what’s wrong with talking about it?”

“Same side?”

Hawk frowned and muttered.

“Hawk-nim, what are you doing now?”

A sharp voice was suddenly heard from behind him. When he turned around, Irina was approaching with 20 soldiers. It wasn’t just Irina.

This hanger contained 100 Hornets, the Silver Star and the Death Knight battleships but there were two other empty hangars. A considerable number of Hornets still remained outside. The Hornets had gathered around the crack in the armour to defend it against the 3 powers. Therefore it was easy for them to defeat the Hornets and enter the hangar. Hawk surveyed them before shaking his head.

“Nothing. Just an exchange of information.”

“You say that while aiming a gun at your ally?”

“You are misconstruing it. It is different from my viewpoint.”

–Ark left first?

At that moment 150 soldiers approached from the right side. The soldiers holding swords, guns and RPGs were from the Rama clan. And leading them was the Rama warrior, the Red Slaughterer. Hawk nodded as the Red Slaughterer approached.

“That’s right.”

-Yes, as expected from Ark.

A faint smile was on the Red Slaughterer’s face.

–Hawk, it isn’t okay. Perhaps the alliance is already broken?

“Why, do you want to try it here?”

–It is possible.

Wiiing! Wiiing!

The Red Slaughterer’s eyes narrowed as he replied.

Then there was a mechanical sound as 20 flying objects entered the hangar. The aliens resembling ET were riding flying objects that look like bikes but had a section where the passenger could fly in a standing position. These flying objects were called Valkyrie.

It was the Aschulat’s representative strike weapon. 150 armoured Aschulats moved away from the Valkyries. And they looked at the Rama and Galactic Federation troops on the other side of the passage.

–This isn’t the time to be playing around.

“I agree. Should we move together?”

-There isn’t only one path to the destination so there is no need to take that risk.

The Red Slaughterer said as he turned away. And he led his men into a nearby passage.

“Harley, we’re going as well. Check the necessary equipment and gather the troops.”

Hawk commanded his subordinates with narrowed eyes.

‘There is a reason Ark didn’t wait for the other team members. He intends to obtain the antimatter information and get the reward himself. His intention is to monopolize the antimatter information. But it is impossible. What is he going to do with just 10 people? Furthermore, his independent actions will make him look greedy in the eyes of the other team members. I assure you. You won’t be able to get it. I won’t tolerate it.’

“Let’s go!”

Hawk led his soldiers through the central passage. And just as they turned a corner in the wide passage.

Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Pepeng!

A shower of bullets was waiting! They were the defense line waiting for any enemies. Gunfire could also be heard from other passages. The Rama and Aschulat had also encountered the enemy.

Now the situation was simpler. The person who penetrated through the enemy first would obtain the antimatter.

Weeeeeeng!

A siren rang out.

-Emergency! Emergency! Information all crew members of the Uranus! There are a number of enemies invading through the right hangar! They are currently going along passages 2, 5, 8! All combatants within the ship should arm themselves and move to the relevant passage to annihilate the enemy! I’ll say it again! Emergency! Emergency! Currently a number of enemies are invading the Uranus! Quickly arm yourselves…..

An urgent voice could be heard through the loudspeaker. The interior was as noisy as a bee hive. The crew poured out of their cabins and accessed the bulletproof armour, machine guns and RPGs from the armouries scattered all over the place. The war between the soldiers of ‘X’ and the 3 powers’ had started.

And at that moment Ark….

‘As expected.’

He had a sullen smile.

————————————————————————–

Let’s take a moment and revert to when Ark entered the hangar.

The enemy protecting the hangar were quickly killed by the Silver Star’s weapons. There was just one problem. He had no idea where everything was.

‘Naturally the quest will require me to go to the bridge.’

However the carrier that Ark entered was hundreds of kilometres large. He couldn’t imagine how many combatants there would be. There was a hole in the armour so naturally the inside would be in a state of emergency. Taking a few people through that many troops to the bridge would be suicide.

Then there was only one method.

“We have to attack with the investigation team members.”

“Yes, but….”

Rapid made an uncomfortable expression at Ark’s words. Attack along with the investigation team. If Ark fought with them then it would be a comfortable battle. However, the problem was that Hawk was the leader.

Hawk had disliked Ark since the first time they met. And he declared that Ark was his enemy on Muratio Star. If he joined the investigation team then he would need to take orders from Hawk. He was Ark’s enemy. In such a situation, it wouldn’t be strange for Ark to be shot in the back and lose any more achievements.

“Then there would be no meaning in overcoming danger to come in first. And there is no guarantee we can get information about antimatter even if we join the team. The Rama and Aschulat are also aiming for it. There is a 1/3rd probability that the Galactic Federation will acquire the antimatter information. The odds are low even if Hawk is the leader.”

“So? What now?”

“We need to collect something to increase our chances.”

“Collect something?”

“Yes, that is….”

————————————————————————–

‘…..Here!’

Ark laughed as he placed his eye against a small hole. It was a hole in a large circular square that revealed the other side. Before there was only 20 soldiers but now many were rushing in like bees.

There was an obvious reason why. Ark was overlooking an armoury. It was a place where the crew turned themselves into soldiers. Ark came here for one reason!

‘There are a large number of combatants on the carrier. In other words, there will be many weapons stockpiled. And a fair number of the crew are operating the Hornets or have been shot down. So there should be spare weapons!’

Ark’s purpose was those weapons!

The 3 powers came in → advance to the bridge → encounter the enemy en route → swarm to the battlefield→  armoury will become vacant → gulp everything up!

This was Ark’s plan. The probability of acquiring 1,000 won would increase to 10,000 won. It wasn’t difficult to find the armoury. Ark hid in the vents with his team members while the crew swarmed out due to the emergency situation. They followed some soldiers and easily reached the armoury.

Ark bragged to the team with a conceited expression.

“How about it? Didn’t I tell you?”

“You really are…..”

Rapid shook his head with disgust.

“Your brain is thinking about such cheap tricks in a situation like this?”

“Cheap tricks? This is strategy, strategy.”

“Strategy? Aren’t you just stealing?”

“Isn’t it just seizing weapons from the enemy Why do you have to call me a thief?”

Ark murmured while pouting.

“Damn, if you’re going to seize weapons then shouldn’t you do it quickly? Right now all the enemies guarding it has gone away. We should start.”

“No, right now I’m dying from choking on dust!”

Slayer and Kaya complained from behind him. Ark and his team had come here via the ventilation. Ark was used to it from his days on R-14 but his team members felt like they were dying. Of course, Ark had no intention of lying in the pipes forever.

Ark smiled and nodded.

“Okay, let’s get started!”