Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Cult and Star Union
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Cult and Star Union.
A race that advanced its civilization through psionic powers, and a mechanical race born from mechanical engineering pushed to its limits.
They shared not a single similarity at first glance, yet in this moment, they looked eerily alike.
Because they were both pouring every ounce of their strength into slaughtering one another.
Torpedoes shaped like slender, elongated ovals—reminiscent of pointed thermometers—swarmed in chaotic swirls. Piloted by androids, they moved in tight schools, just like schools of fish darting through the ocean depths.
The Cult ships struck back at the torpedoes hurtling toward their prey. The vessels shifted from a rhombus formation into a hexagonal one, unleashing blasts of violet psionic power.
Like fishermen casting nets to haul in their catch, the psionic webs ensnared the torpedoes in an instant. Powerful explosions ripped through them one after another.
Massive fireworks bloomed silently amid the chaos as the mechanical fleet swung wide, closing in on the Cult warships. The Cults, far from complacent, swiftly intercepted the incoming cyborg vessels.
And there I was, right in the heart of the battlefield.
Dodging remote-controlled torpedoes and razor-thin beams of psionic heat rays, that is.
'Right!'
My loyal secretary—my auxiliary organ—warned me of the danger. Linked directly to the ship, I wrenched the hull aside, evading the torpedo screaming in from the right.
Four cyborg warships had me in their sights.
'Activate Psychic Cannon.'
Maintaining my speed, I fired up the psychic cannons from the escort ships I'd used earlier against the Star Union fleet. Six of them spat violet fury toward the enemy.
The cyborg ship glued to my tail clearly hadn't expected six barrels; it couldn't dodge in time and went down in flames. The remaining three evaded my barrage, each in their own way.
'Not bad skills. Except for that one.'
Two peeled off with clever maneuvers, but the third slowed deliberately, slipping outside my firing arc. A solid tactic if it were just me—but this battlefield was crawling with blind fire from all directions.
Sure enough, a stray heat ray lanced in from somewhere and punched straight through the dawdling cyborg ship. Flames erupted from the gaping hole in its hull, followed by chain reactions that reduced it to oxidized slag.
'Good. Things are going smoothly.'
Pitting the two forces against each other had been my plan all along, but plunging into this brutal melee so quickly? That was an unexpected windfall.
'At this rate, I can move to the next phase without a hitch.'
My ultimate goal was to shake off their pursuit and slip out of this star system unscathed.
I could bail while they tore into each other, but there was one hitch: if the fight ended and the chase resumed, I'd be right back in the fire.
After the insane damage I'd inflicted, Star Union wouldn't let me off the hook. Not until they were dead certain I was dead.
So I planned to show them exactly that.
The ship I'd already abandoned—with me and the kids long gone—going up in a fireball.
'Just a bit longer, until the right moment hits.'
I yanked the hurtling ship sharply upward. Any standard craft would've groaned under the strain, but this one was practically an extension of my body.
My abrupt maneuver threw the trailing torpedoes off; they lost lock and plowed into nearby ships or floating debris.
The cyborgs tried to follow suit, but they were far too sluggish. I looped behind them in a wide arc, unleashing my psychic cannons once more.
Short bursts of psionic energy, looking for all the world like bullets, slammed into the mechanical hull. The ship, struck by all six rounds simultaneously, shattered into four pieces. Androids and cyborgs spilled out into the void, flailing helplessly.
True to Star Union's faint camaraderie, no vessels broke formation to rescue them. The last cyborg ship ignored its dying comrades in the weightless expanse and unleashed a fresh salvo of torpedoes at me.
Point-blank range made it impossible to evade them all. I wrenched the ascending ship into a brutal dive, plummeting back downward.
As the torpedoes closed for the kill, I canted the hull at an angle. They streaked past, close enough to feel the paper-thin margin for error.
The torpedoes banked hard to pursue, but I wasn't about to let that slide. Five psychic cannons were already locked on.
Violet flames bloomed, and the torpedoes vanished.
'One shot left for you.'
The final cannon was reserved for the cyborg ship itself. The violet energy round smashed into its flank. Purple and crimson flames erupted from the impact site, and the vessel lurched violently.
Another Cult ship delivered the killing blow from afar—a heat ray that swept the enemy clean away.
"Game skills don't fade, huh."
"Of course. How many fights like this have I been through?"
In the game, I'd clashed with fleets dozens, hundreds of times. I'd bled pixels against rankers more than a few times, too.
'Come to think of it, I've got more fleet combat experience than anything.'
Besides factions like Mega Corp and Space Dogs that encouraged mercenaries and ship handling, even Star Union and Outspacers ran massive armadas in the late game. Cult was a bit different—their unique quest system let individuals grow insanely strong.
Being their enemy meant I had no choice but to fight fleets. I remembered grinding for new traits tailored to space battles.
'Space combat's a whole different beast from ground wars.'
Trait that shone on terra firma often turned useless in the void.
'Even I'm feeling it now.'
A ton of my physical traits were dead weight up here, same for parasite and nest ones.
With more space fights ahead, I needed to stockpile vacuum-optimized traits beyond just Nightmare Horizon.
'Plenty of work left to do.'
The dragon's nest would yield traits perfect for space combat.
Galleron-infested planets teemed with all sorts of beasts and predators. Plenty had spaceflight capabilities, so I'd prioritize hunting them down for traits upon arrival.
As those thoughts swirled, Adhai reached out to me.
The kid was begging to head out. Watching the ships explode nonstop outside must've fired it up.
Adhai was small and nimble for a Galleron hatchling— it'd hold its own out there—but this was too risky. One slip-up, and there'd be no coming back.
'Can't afford to return before switching ships.'
It could sense the psionic pulses from me and Number 26, so it'd track me to a new vessel easy enough. The problem was keeping the enemy in the dark about me ditching this one.
If they spotted Adhai boarding another ship, they'd get suspicious.
I soothed Adhai's drooping wings and kept the ship dancing through the fray.
Star Union vessels finally closed the gap with the Cult, shifting the battle's tide. The Imperial Mothership's black hole rounds were sealed away—too much risk of friendly fire.
The cyborg ships fired torpedoes at point-blank range or slammed straight into Cult hulls.
Ramming tactics in the space age? Primitive as hell, but damn effective against Cult if you prepped right.
Cult ships owed their stellar defenses to psionic shields. Neutralize those...?
The cyborg prows were coated pure white with APD drones—the gear designed to counter psionic power.
Slap a swarm of those on a Cult hull and ram—you could nullify the shield at the impact point, temporarily.
After that? Child's play.
'Cult hulls just aren't as tough as Star Union's.'
Every collision flashed violet before fading. Shieldless Cult ships got shredded by those thorn-like gun batteries.
Cult vessels visibly panicked, but none fired recklessly—fearing they'd hit their own. Unlike the cyborgs with zero fucks for allies.
While carrier craft harassed to keep them pinned, the other Cult ships peeled away fast. Those who couldn't? Reduced to cosmic dust by the cyborgs.
The Imperial Mothership finally surged forward, unable to stomach watching its kin die.
I slipped back, blending into the retreating Cult rearguard.
That diamond-shaped masterpiece of destruction bristled with hundreds of psychic cannons. A storm of violet energy rounds rained down on the cyborgs.
Even if the front was shielded by APDs, flanks and rear were wide open. Ships hammered by dozens of rounds exploded into wreckage.
A few reckless cyborgs tried ramming the flagship itself.
'Idiots.'
Its shields were tougher, and the armor underneath was no joke. These tactics wouldn't scratch it.
As predicted, every attempt fizzled. A few more ships lunged but aborted at the last second.
'Commander's reining them in.'
The cyborg fleet splintered, swarming in from multiple vectors to hit the Cult rearguard. Prioritizing escorts over the mothership.
Frothing-mad cyborgs charging relentlessly; Cults pulling back for a long-range slugfest.
Looked dead even, but it wasn't. The cyborgs hadn't unleashed their trump cards yet.
'About time to switch rides.'
The moment a cyborg rammed me would be my window.
I ditched pure evasion and went aggressive, blasting anything in range—Cult or cyborg, didn't matter.
After shredding a handful, I felt the cyborgs finally clock me. That's when Number 26 pinged me.
Number 26 meant the precise scan beaming my way from their flagship. By now, they'd pieced it together.
A cyborg who'd been beaming them weird messages was aboard this bio-ship. And that this vessel was the root of their nightmare.
A subtle wave swept over my form—scan complete.
The enemy fire ramped up viciously after that. Ten ships now dogged me exclusively.
'That's it, I'm right here—come ram me already.'
I dodged by hairsbreadths on purpose, taunting them. The cyborgs were pissed; they blew past harassing Cult fighters to stay on my tail.
And finally, the moment arrived. A cyborg ship hurtled toward me from the distance.
'Less than two minutes left.'
I hustled our position to a spot away from the reactor—everyone except the cyborg I'd been clutching, McKay.
"W-Wait... take me w—with—"
His final shout vanished, buried in writhing walls of flesh.
Relocation complete, I swiftly disengaged Nightmare Horizon. My metal-fused body peeled free and dropped to the deck. I triggered Organic Evolution without hesitation.
The special state I shifted into this time was...
'Cunning Prey!'
The trait kicked in, and my body shrank at breakneck speed.
At the same instant, the ship rocked violently.