If You Shout 'First Strike Wins,' It Won't End Well (3)
Given that the chaos was unfolding across the entire border region, Pierre judged that his current battle with Icarus was not the sort of spectacle likely to draw much outside attention.
So he immediately committed his main force to smash the patrol fleet that had raided the resource zone, then set off in pursuit of the resource fleet that had fled in the aftermath — intending to sever Icarus's supply line and, through a decisive fleet engagement, shatter the enemy's combat power entirely. The plan was drawn up and put into motion at once.
And roughly thirty minutes later—
"Commander, the enemy commander's resource fleet has been sighted ahead."
"Ah, finally."
Having at last located Icarus's resource fleet — which had been running for all it was worth — Pierre immediately gave chase.
He pursued them for a long stretch, methodically sinking every transport that lagged behind one by one, his fleet pressing steadily forward — until, a short while later:
"Oh… so the main force has finally decided to show itself."
"It's hard to confirm at this range, but they appear to have committed at least… twenty cruiser-class vessels."
Confronted at last by what looked to be Icarus's main fleet, Pierre brought his own force — which had been charging ahead without a second thought — to a full stop.
And by any reasonable measure, that was the correct call. Unlike his own formation, which had been arranged purely for chasing a thoroughly routed resource fleet, Icarus's ships were already deployed in a configuration clearly suited for a proper fleet battle. Charging straight in, no matter how superior his numbers, would almost certainly cost him dearly.
So Pierre positioned his fleet well beyond even the maximum railgun range of his longest-reaching ships — the Valtazar-class — and began reorganizing his formation for a serious contest of strength.
As he reshuffled the lines, he checked the fleet's morale as well.
> Current Fleet Morale: MAXIMUM
> Fleet Attack Power: +10%
> Forced Battlefield Retreat Probability: 5%
Aside from picking off a few more patrol ships along the way, there had been no real fighting to speak of. Perhaps it was simply the product of a one-sided hunt from start to finish — but Pierre felt genuine satisfaction at the buff that came with maxed-out morale.
The moment the redeployment finished, he intended to open fire immediately…
And right then—
— "Powerful energy signature detected ahead!"
"Huh?"
— "Battleship-class main battery fire! Evade! Evade!"
The urgent transmission had barely registered when—
— BWOOOOOOOM!
— ZIIIIING!
Beams of light — equal to, or perhaps even more powerful than, the battleship barrages he had watched months ago through gallery videos and chat streams — came screaming in. And then Pierre watched three of his precious cruisers vanish in an instant, not merely crippled but outright sunk.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
"C-Commander? Please, calm yourself!"
Like a baby tooth that had been wobbling for ages and finally tore free, his once-solid mental fortitude shattered on the spot.
And Icarus, who had opened the engagement by sinking three of Pierre's cruisers, was not done.
— "How do you like that, Commander?"
"Oh…"
— "This is the fruit of the love between you and me♡"
— "Fifty seconds until the Overseer's main battery recharges, Commander."
Icarus could only stare in amazement. The Overseer-class main guns — delivering battleship-grade firepower with a standard shot, not even an overcharged one — were impressive enough. But Pashtura, through steady leveling, Griyanaar's totem support, and a full suite of disposable enhancement gear, was putting out firepower that surpassed a battleship and approached dreadnought-class main battery levels.
You've grown beautifully, Pashtura.
Maybe it was all the pirates, monsters, space canfrangs, and Earth Federation patrols she'd been pulverizing. Every time a particle beam materialized in midair and fired, destroyers — and even cruisers — went down in a single hit. The sight was deeply satisfying.
And with the Overseer's main guns continuing to fire and pile on the pressure, the enemy — who had been reorganizing for a straight-up slugfest — was suddenly scrambling under outrange bombardment.
But that didn't last long.
"Commander, the enemy fleet is starting to charge!"
"Ah. Better than I expected."
Unlike the complete newbie he'd faced last time, this one wasn't about to keep retreating and eating hits. He was willing to take some damage and crush them under sheer overwhelming numbers — and he was making that will very clear.
"Jessica, tell Pashtura and Griyanaar to fall back."
"Yes, Commander."
"And have the rest of the fleet pour on full return fire for thirty seconds, then withdraw."
"Understood."
To survive a numerical disparity of roughly one to three, I pulled the fleet back the instant the volley ended, working hard to open the distance.
Meanwhile, at the same moment, inside Pierre's base command center—
"We're winning after all! AAAAAH!"
Having barely clawed his mental state back together, Pierre broke into a frenzied dance at the sight of Icarus's retreating fleet.
"Maya! Center on the Valtazar and the rest of them and chase them down!"
"Yes, Commander!"
"Have the torpedo boats swing around and launch! Shatter their flanks!"
Of course, that "dance" was really just furious micro-control as he manipulated the fleet in real time.
"I'd heard the Overseer had the strongest firepower among cruiser-class ships, but that was beyond anything I expected."
"You're telling me. How does one ship sink three… no, six vessels by itself?"
"Even so, it couldn't do that in a pure stock state. That ranker must have slapped on enhancement gear and a support unit."
Having roughly finished the fleet deployment as he spoke, Pierre dropped heavily into his command chair, sweat pouring off him. But for all the exhaustion in his posture, his eyes were bright and glittering.
"Whew… still, at this rate we should win without much trouble, right?"
"Correct, Commander. If the Kitakar-class torpedo cruisers and the torpedo boats land their surprise attack…"
"Their escort fleet gets annihilated. Then we take the remaining Overseer-class alone, bring in patrol ships and escorts, and send in our Superhumans to subdue it. Done."
— Clap!
"And once that happens, I get my hands on a man's ultimate romance — the big-gun half of big-ship-big-gun doctrine."
"I-Is that so?"
For Pierre, a devoted big-ship-big-gun enthusiast, the Overseer's opening barrage — the one that had vaporized three cruisers in an instant — had both hastily welded his crumbling mental state back together and set his blood boiling.
"Come to think of it, we still don't have a single heavy cruiser."
"That's correct, but…"
"So that covers the 'big ship' part too, doesn't it?"
"…Y-yeeees."
Watching her commander's feverish excitement, Maya felt a quiet unease — but by every visible measure, Icarus's fleet was at a crushing disadvantage across the board.
— KRA-BOOM! BANG!
— "Commander, we are now in contact with the enemy vanguard and commencing combat."