Chapter 163: Overwhelming Firepower

Right after warping out via hyperdrive, we, along with the rest of the combined imperial fleet immediately engaged in battle with the crystal lifeforms. Our enemies were the crystal lifeform medium-type subspecies Guardian Crystals.

This battle was approved due to the critical information that ‘he’ provided, and there wasn’t even a speck of hesitation in the military’s actions. It was quite difficult to persuade the higher-ups to agree to form a crystal lifeform extermination fleet on the basis of uncertain information, but it was well worth the trouble.

Of course, I was careful not to reveal that the information came from him. Using the combined data from the info we got from him and the data brought back by the 3rd and 4th Recon fleets, I persuaded the rest of the captains and the commander of the forward base using with the greatest eloquence I could muster.

Frankly, I didn’t really have to reveal that my source only heard the information in passing in the form of rumors and that he’s actually a mercenary. I would be able to prevent them from finding out where I obtained the information by doing so.

“It looks like the first phase of engagement with the crystal lifeforms went quite well.”

The assembled Imperial corvettes immediately engaged the Guardian Crystals in battle just as planned. The mercenary ships soon joined the battle as well, and the mercenaries who possessed medium and large-type ships began unleashing long-range barrages as well. The rest of the imperial fleet also got ready to unleash their own barrage.

“Yes. It’s all thanks to your accurate analysis, Captain.”

“That’s right.”

In truth, it wasn’t really thanks to my so-called analysis, but the info that man provided instead. Oh well. I guess there’s no problem as long as we’re both satisfied with the outcome. If this operation succeeds, the credit for it will be entirely given to me after all.

『This is Krishna. We’re going to bypass the front line and hit the enemies from the flank. We will be using anti-ship reactive torpedoes to get their attention, so take care not to get caught up in the blast radius.』

He hailed the entire fleet via the open channel and provided us with his ship’s estimated time of arrival, position, and the anti-ship reactive torpedo’s predicted blast radius.

“He’s as reckless as always, isn’t he?”

“Like I said Captain, the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal isn’t just for show.”

That ship, the Krishna, headed at full speed for the crystal lifeform swarm from an angle and tore a gaping hole in their flank. It looks like he didn’t plan to merely cut through the swarm, but wanted to deal some substantial damage to them as well.

And furthermore, his ship’s charging speed was unreal. The fact that he hadn’t reduced the speed of his ship one bit as he flitted around the swarm more than proves how sublime his piloting skills were. Just what kind of training did he undergo, and what sort of hellish battlefields did he manage to survive through in order to obtain such skills?

“It’s a match with the projected data!”

“Let’s go ahead and crush the enemies while he is getting their attention. Commence synchronized bombardment.”

“Aye, aye, ma’am! Commencing synchronized bombardment!”

All imperial ships will consolidate and share the battlefield data in order to not leave any gaps during the attack, and we will be able to unleash a perfectly coordinated synchronized bombardment. Laser bombardment fired from numerous imperial ships lit up a portion of the normally dark void of outer space.

I slid past the Guardian Crystal that was turning to chase after us and hit it with a few rounds from the shotgun cannons at close proximity. I then destroyed the small-type crystal lifeforms that rushed over with the four heavy laser cannons. I cut a path through the section of space teeming with enemies.

The Guardian Crystals attacked us with light rays and projectiles haphazardly, but Krishna’s solid energy shields managed to easily shrug off their attacks.

“The shields are still stable.”

“Their light rays and projectiles aren’t as destructive as they look after all. The light projectiles pack enough punch, but they’re painfully slow, so you’ll be able to dodge them as long as you read their trajectories. The only thing that poses some danger is their full-body charge.”

“But there’s still a limit, right? Our shield capacity is steadily decreasing after all.”

“You two sure are composed even in this sort of situation……”

I couldn’t avert my eyes from the main monitor right now so I wasn’t able to confirm it, but from the sound of her voice, Mimi was pretty anxious right now. I get her, of course. If I made a mistake and took a head-on charge from a small-type, or if a Guardian Crystal manages to ram us from a bad angle, we’ll end up bouncing around the crystal lifeform swarm like a runaway pinball.

Once that happens, our shields would get depleted in mere moments, and there would be no other outcome except getting surrounded by countless crystal lifeforms and getting destroyed. Well, I have absolutely no intention of committing such a rookie mistake in the first place though.

“We’ve received a bombardment warning from the imperial fleet! Synchronized bombardment, incoming!”

After Mimi’s warning rang out, lots of powerful-looking laser projectiles and beams flooded the spot right behind Krishna. The Guardian Crystals that were exposed to such dense and powerful laser cannon fire emitted intense light right before melting down and exploding. As expected of military combat ships. The firepower of a military cruiser-class ship really was something else. You won’t be able to tank that no matter how many anti-laser countermeasures you had.

“Wow. Their firepower is amazing.”

“There’s a reason why people in the business say that you have to absolutely avoid fighting military battleships and cruisers head-on. You’d probably be alright once you manage to stick to them at close proximity though.”

After that barrage, the aggro was transferred from us to the imperial military, and the Guardian’s attacks on Krishna turned more sporadic. I ain’t one to miss such an opening. I immediately fired the two remaining reactive torpedoes at the center of the clumped up Guardian Crystals, reversed heading, and jumped straight into the ‘hole’ that resulted from the imperial fleet’s bombardment earlier. We immediately got assaulted by strong Gs inside the cockpit due to the consecutive intense maneuvers I performed, but I was already used to it by now.

“Kuh…… The reactive torpedoes have exploded! The Guardian Crystals are coming after us again!”

“Yosh. Let’s take them for a ride.”

“It’s easier than before.”

The space in front of us ended up mostly devoid of enemies due to the imperial fleet’s bombardment. At this rate, it would be pretty easy to pull away and escape from the crystal lifeforms chasing after us from behind. In terms of speed, Krishna was overwhelmingly superior after all. It’s just a simple task of evading the occasional light projectiles coming at us from behind while flooring the accelerator.

“Another synchronized bombardment incoming.”

Once again, the unrivaled synchronized bombardment of the imperial military fleet landed on the space behind Krishna and hit the crystal lifeforms from the flank. Laser bombardment that was calculated precisely to the last detail unleashed an uncannily effective surgical strike that didn’t leave room for even one gap to appear. It tore through the enemies and a huge swathe of crystal lifeforms ended up getting destroyed helplessly. With this, all that remained were the few lucky survivors that managed to somehow avoid getting hit by the bombardment. A fierce dogfight with the imperial corvettes immediately ensued.

“We’ll join the fray and bag ourselves some more kills.”

“Yes!”

“Roger.”

Before long, we managed to completely annihilate all the crystal lifeforms that lurked in this section of space.

“Nice work, everyone. We’ll perform maintenance and ammo replenishment now.”

“I’ll leave it to you. Also, there are probably going to be other mercenary ships asking for repairs again later, so please take care of those guys too.”

“Understood. We’re going to get busy again.”

When we got off the ramp, I gave the mechanic sisters some instructions and headed for the dining room with Mimi and Elma in tow. We’ll take advantage of the downtime during maintenance to catch a break.

“Man, that was a bit hard.”

“Just ‘a bit’, huh.”

“Yeah, just a bit.”

“I think the only one who’d say that was just ‘a bit’ hard is Hiro though. At least, doing something like that is impossible for me.”

We ordered drinks from Tetsujin V and took a nice break. Ah, there’s nothing like cold juice after a huge battle. My current favorite was the lemon-flavored one. Mimi seemed to like banana flavor, and Elma liked grape. Well, it was 0% real fruit juice though! Wahahaha!

Eh? Why didn’t I drink the carbonated stuff I bought from Sierra III?

I wanna savor that stuff in a more quiet and calm moment. Those aren’t drinks suitable after going through an intense battle. Well, the main reason is that I only had a limited stock of them. They were more important to me than anti-ship reactive torpedoes.

While we were in the middle of our break, my portable data terminal’s ring tone echoed out. It looks like it’s a call from Major Serena. I operated my terminal and transferred the image feed to the dining room’s holo-display.

“Yes, hello. This is Hiro speaking.”

The image of Major Serena on the holo-display looked around the room and saw us taking it easy. She then opened her mouth to speak after a short pause.

『First, let me offer my congratulations. You’ve ended up becoming the top ace again.』

“Thank you. Your support bombardment was a real lifesaver too.”

『It’s all thanks to you backing us up well. Due to Krishna attracting the enemies earlier on during the battle, the damage to the advance guard was very minimal. Thank you very much for that.』

“Glad to hear it. So, what’s up?”

『Oh, nothing. I simply wanted to offer words of congratulations to the top ace. We will be hitting their main forces next. As soon as we finish maintenance and resupply the small ships, we’ll be heading out. Be sure to be ready.』

“Aye, aye, ma’am.”

When I saluted at her, Major Serena made a subtle smile and cut off the call.

“……I wonder what that was about?”

“No idea.”

“Hm…… Maybe she’s planning something?”

It can be said that all of us held a certain sense of wariness against Major Serena due to her previous actions. I tried going over the earlier conversation in my head, but couldn’t pick up on anything that seemed suspicious. It really seems that she only called to offer me congratulations for becoming the ace again.

“Well, let’s just honestly accept her compliments then.”

“Will it really be okay……?”

“Well, I don’t think she’s planning anything judging from that earlier conversation, so I guess it’s alright.”

Man. We really lack a certain level of trust in Major Serena huh. It’s an effect of her usual behavior anyway, so she can’t blame us for that.