NOVEL NEXT Chapter 215
The golden fleet of the Ustansha Empire Army, floating in the sky.
The alien admiral aboard the command bridge looked at the screen before loudly issuing an order.
“FIRE!”
KU-GONG, KWAH!
PA-JJIJ-JJIK!
The sound of electric currents surged as a high-output beam fired from the large beam cannon hurtled toward the Invader ground forces. A barrage of artillery shells struck the ground a beat after.
The ground cloaked in fierce flames, dust, and smoke.
As the shockwave spread around, a thundering “KUNG” came from within the dust cloud as a large legged war machine with thick limbs emerged.
A massive war machine with six legs, a thick armored body, and large gun turrets resembling some kind of insect or animal.
The red sensor flickered and the elevation of the gun adjusted towards the Ustansha Empire Army’s golden fleet.
“Confirmed, initiate bombardment.”
Electric sparks crackled as a plasma bombardment was fired into the sky.
In an instant, the attack flew toward the fleet, striking their barriers and eliciting flames.
“Keep firing! BOMBARDMENT!”
“Orders: concentrate firepower.”
The continued exchange of fire.
Amidst the intense battlefield, the flagship of the Guard Fleet stood back, silently observing the situation.
“Hmm…”
“Is something troubling you, Commander?”
The question came from the Deputy Commander, who was also his adjutant and the second-in-command of the Guard.
“The absence of the black-winged enemy troubles me. What could they be doing that keeps them from appearing?”
“An enemy with that kind of power probably has some limitations, correct?”
“Hmm.”
The Commander nodded in agreement.
Great power usually demands a great price.
Moreover, the enemy possesses the absurd ability to summon troops freely.
Even the Guard Commander found it impossible to believe the enemy lacked any restriction, but an unsettling feeling continued to nag inside him.
‘Somehow, I feel like I’m missing something…’
The Commander glanced at the Deputy Commander as this thought crossed his mind.
“Is there still an image of the enemy?”
“Yes, I will display it on the screen.”
An image appeared on the bridge screen: a black robot with dark wings.
An image of the enemy confirmed many times.
Though the Commander knew it was foolish to question something that remained unresolved regarding the enemy, there was still a nagging, inexplicable aspect that couldn’t be overlooked.
“Why did they take the shape of a native organism?”
Even the mechanical native organisms used the same style of weapons, but only small-scale ones.
There was no reason, as far as the Commander saw, for such a large-scale war machine to be made into this particular form.
…
The bridge of the Argonaut.
As the doors opened, a person dressed in a uniform similar to ours, a Bogeoni, approached me.
“Edu, you’re going to attack those alien guys?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Hey, you should’ve told me. I used to be part of that outfit, you know.”
Saying this, Bogeoni grinned like a mischievous child plotting something naughty.
Of course, I hadn’t forgotten that Bogeoni was an alien who served in the Empire Army.
But, considering Bogeoni had served there for no more than a few decades and must have made many connections during that time, turning him against the Empire and making him fight those he knew seemed a bit morally wrong to me.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
The question carried many implications.
“Of course, I’m fine. Why, are you being considerate of me?”
“Then why not, right?”
“All right, you’re still too kind.”
Smiling and tapping my body, Bogeoni replied.
“You don’t have to worry about that. The friends I know are in the second-line maintenance units, and I can always contact them.”
“Can you actually contact them? Is that okay?”
Surprised at this revelation, I double-checked with Bogeoni, but his reaction was nonchalant.
“It’s perfectly fine. There’s a guy who handles equipment well, and I use the communication devices he made for me. Oh, haven’t I mentioned this to you before?”
“Yeah, this is the first I’m hearing about it.”
“Guess I must’ve forgotten. Anyway, it’s fine. In fact, I think with the right words, I might be able to bring them over to our side.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, the Empire army isn’t made up solely of idiots who blindly follow the Emperor or the hierarchical structure. It’s filled with aliens, you know.”
Hmm, that was true.
Thinking about it, even a country like this, firmly rooted in militarism, class structure, and the belief of superiority, must have some dissatisfied people.
“If that’s the case, Bogeoni, will you try and negotiate?”
“Negotiate?”
“Yeah. If we can recruit your alien friends as allies, then it won’t put you in a difficult position, and it’ll be helpful for us too. Everyone wins, right? I’ll make sure you’re treated fairly.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
“Good.”
“Alright, just a moment.”
With that, Bogeoni pulled out a round object from inside his clothing and placed it in his ear.
He quietly listened for a while.
Shortly thereafter, a hologram appeared before Bogeoni, revealing an alien standing against a backdrop that resembled a warehouse.
The alien resembled a fish, with goldfish-like bulging eyes and a roundish face.
[Oh, Bogeoni, it’s been a while since you’ve contacted me. What’s up?]
“Hello, Seol. I’m calling because I have something important to say.”
[Important? Are you about to talk nonsense about humans again?]
Seol chuckled lightly.
After briefly pondering the response, Bogeoni abruptly picked me up and placed me in front of the hologram.
Seol’s body instantly froze.
[Eh? Uh… Uh?!]
The alien, who would’ve made the perfect reaction for an internet broadcast, continued blinking repeatedly and slowly raised a hand.
[Um, hold on, Bogeoni. Is this the planet’s native organism?]
“Yeah, it’s a human.”
[Y-YOU! Where are you now?! Surely, you weren’t serious about surrendering?! Is everything alright?! No, this isn’t the time. Where are you located?! COB! SLUCK! MAEME! SISL! Hurry up and get over here!]
Startled by what he was seeing, Seol began firing off rapid questions.
Soon after, four more alien faces appeared via hologram.
[What’s going on – huh?]
[Huh?!]
[Oh.]
[This is incredible.]
The different aliens reacted in various ways.
“Hey, it’s been a while, everyone.”
[You moron! This isn’t the time to say ‘It’s been a while’! Where are you?!]
The sharp-featured alien yelled at Bogeoni.
“Edu, what kind of ship are we on again?”
“The flagship of the Human Liberation Special Taskforce Fleet, the Argonaut.”
“Argonaut.”
With Bogeoni calmly explaining, the faces of the alien friends showed increasing signs of confusion.
As everyone hesitated, Seil carefully spoke up.
[Uh, are you…one of the higher-ups?…]
“Probably?”
…
Silence spread among the aliens after my response.
“Hey, don’t be scared. Is Edu someone who would eat you? And Edu is different from those trash.”
[Is…that right?]
“Trust me, have I ever lied to you?”
[Lied all the time.]
[Trustworthiness…somewhat questionable.]
[Not worth responding.]
Negative responses emerged from among the aliens.
“Hey! At least I haven’t lied about important things! Right?”
[That’s true. So, what’s this thing you’re calling about?]
Seil’s question.
“I have an offer to make.”
[An offer?]
“You guys have some gripes with the Empire, right? So, how about we take this chance to give them a beating?”
[We… to give the Empire?]
“Yeah, there’s something you guys can do. If it works out well, Edu here will take care of your convenience as a reward.”
“I’ll treat you well.”
I waved my hand gently.
[Ah, yes.]
At my gesture, Seil reflexively bowed his head.
“So, Bogeoni, what exactly do you want us to do?”
“Edu, what do you think would be good?”
“Hmm, maybe something like this?”
I told Bogeoni a few things that could be helpful on our side, and he selected and passed them on to the aliens.
[Haha… seriously? You’re asking us to do that?]
“Not possible?”
[Of course it is, let’s do it immediately.]
…
A shadow fell over the ground.
A large-scale logistics fleet composed of numerous transport ships and many battle cruisers slowly advanced toward the front lines.
At the forefront of the fleet was a warship assigned the flagship duties.
In the command bridge, where soldiers didn’t even properly man their posts, two aliens lounged about comfortably.
“How’s the condition of the ship? Haven’t the lower-class workers been slacking off, have they?”
“Fortunately, it’s in very good condition. It seems that the stern orders of the captain have been effective.”
“Harrumph, lower-class fools just don’t listen to reason.”
“Agreed.”
The two aliens freely criticized, without any consideration for their own kind, as thoughts of superiority and elitism swirled in their minds.
“There’s also an issue with the admirals. Do we really need this kind of fleet for just supply missions?”
“My thoughts exactly. Squandering such a large force is not an action worthy of an excellent commander.”
“Exactly, that’s exactly what I mean!”
Continuing to criticize their subordinates and the command structure, these two aliens bolstered their sense of self-worth.
“Tsk, I’m bored.”
“This is our army’s occupied territory, right? Who could possibly dare challenge the great Ustansha Empire?”
“That’s true. Still, we must not be too complacent and miss opportunities to achieve glory, thus we should increase the fleet’s speed.”
“Understood, sir.”
The passage of time flowed slowly.
Then, sudden changes arrived.
SCREEEEEECH-
“Huh? What’s that sound-”
KU-UNG! KWAAH!
“AHHHH!”
The ship violently shook.
Bursts of smoke and flames erupted on all sides while the barriers, which had been maintained at a low level, were torn apart.
“What, what is it? What’s happening?”
“I, I don’t know!”
WHEE-WHEE!
Alarm sounds echoed within the ship.
After a while, frightened-looking soldiers rushed into the command bridge as the captain barked orders.
“You fools! Aren’t you late!”
“Begging your pardon!”
“Enough with the excuses, hurry up and assess the situation!”
“Yes, yes!!”
Agitated alien soldiers moved into action on the order.
After a moment, the radar operator increased his volume.
“Si, ships on our side have been captured by the natives! They’re using our own ships against us!”
“Captured ships? Harrumph, are they from the interstellar navigation group then?”
“Seems like that. What should we do?”
“Their numbers?”
“Many warships and a few cruisers have been confirmed, plus one unidentified white-colored ship.”
The enemy’s details appeared on the screen.
As the radar operator stated, five battleships, three cruisers, and one strange white ship could be seen.
In comparison, our side boasts a large fleet with nine battleships and more than double the number of cruisers.
The alien captain’s features distorted strangely as he wore the confident smile of one who had already won.
“Fools, they don’t even understand the power disparity? Counterattack and destroy them! Rotate the fleet! Put the barriers into combat mode and prepare to fire!”
“Yes, sir! Fleet rotation starting! Increase barriers to combat power and ready fire!”
The massive Empire fleet began to rotate.
All the gun turrets were aimed at the approaching white ship and the captured battle cruisers.
“FIRE!”
“Open fire from all ships!!”
The thunderous command.
However, expected cannon fire did not shake the heavens.
A short silence.
“…Hmm?”
“What are they doing?! Begin the bombardment!”
The first mate, sensing the delay, urged the soldiers.
But no response came.
“What exactly are you doing?!”
The increasingly anxious captain’s shout.
At that moment, another soldier shouted in a pale voice.
“Lieutenant! Captain! It’s bad!”
“What’s wrong?”
“W, we cannot use the weapon control system! The ship’s armaments are unusable!”
The captain sprang to his feet upon hearing this exclamation.
“What, what’s the meaning of this?! I didn’t just get the ship repaired yesterday?!”
“Don’t know!”
“What could possibly…!”
The captain and first mate in utter shock.
Then, the flagship’s screen crackled as an alien image appeared.
“Hello, can you hear me?”
A diminutive figure with shiny long fur.
The native species who looked at them smirked and slowly began to speak.
“Those ships look really nice, don’t they?”