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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 252
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As Si-Hyun Yujin's transport ship barely cleared the atmosphere, an urgent report arrived from the flagship.
“The Star Union fleet has already arrived?”
She had known about the incoming fleet through satellites positioned at the outskirts of the Star System. However, she didn’t expect them to arrive this quickly.
Moreover, the enemies had brought with them a Warp Finder, a device capable of tracking faster-than-light movements. It was as if they had come to track down someone specific.
“Could it be that they've discovered the location of JAX-01?”
The MegaCorp and Star Union were officially at war. To the cyborgs, Si-Hyun’s faction was just another enemy of the Star Union. The fact that a regular fleet had come to such an isolated location with a Warp Finder could only mean one thing.
‘…This isn’t good.’
As long as the Warp Finder was present, the flagship was as good as on borrowed time. Even if they tried to escape via faster-than-light travel, the enemy would immediately follow.
Her thoughts momentarily drifted to the ‘artifacts’ stored in the transport ship.
The weapon ‘Abyssal Destroyer,’ used by Beomho, her former mentor, to annihilate an Outspeiser, along with the Crystal Battery that provided it with immense energy.
‘If I use that, I could break through without much difficulty.’
The urge to use the weapon welled up inside her, but she shook her head.
She still didn't fully understand the enemy’s objectives or the current battle situation. There was no need to use the weapon until she had gathered more information.
“Any other notable details?”
“Uh, well…”
At Si-Hyun’s question, her subordinate hesitated before replying.
“According to communications from the flagship, they’re currently engaged in combat with a group of creatures presumed to be Gallagons!”
“Gallagons?”
The subordinate’s answer was far beyond her expectations.
‘Why Gallagons?’
“The Gallagons are attacking the fleet, so the flagship is currently just observing without engaging.”
“…Hmm.”
She had struggled with the Gallagons when she first set foot on the planet, as they appeared regularly. In fact, their presence was a significant reason for her delayed entry into the volcano. She had deliberately kept changing her travel route to avoid the Gallagons.
‘I don’t know how, but…’
The unpredictable movements of these creatures had actually turned into an advantage for her.
“For now, we’ll take advantage of this situation. Return to the flagship carefully, and avoid getting caught in the battle.”
“Understood.”
Beyond the reinforced glass of the transport ship, she could see the twinkling of starlight.
Some of those twinkles weren’t stars.
---
‘What is that?’
I had just taken out the fourth Warp Finder. As I discarded the now useless chunk of metal into space, an unfamiliar ship caught my eye.
An oval-shaped vessel floated alone at a considerable distance from the battlefield. Judging by its design, it wasn’t a Star Union ship but rather a MegaCorp vessel.
‘Why is a Megacorp ship here… ah.’
Seeing the ship, something came to mind.
Before I captured Odd Grad, when I raided the Hellside Hornet’s nest, there was a time I devoured a human. The one who had fused with a human-faced creature mentioned that he had come here following Si-Hyun Yujin.
‘That must be her ship.’
Since Si-Hyun Yujin had died by my hand, that vessel likely belonged to the forces that followed her.
‘What should I do?’
It had been 20 minutes since the battle began. One Warp Finder still remained.
The time I initially set for myself was 25 minutes. Although I’d like to learn more about the situation from the crew of that ship, I didn’t have the luxury to spend time on side tasks.
‘If there’s time left, I’ll deal with it.’
I tore my gaze away from the vessel and pursued the retreating fleet.
The XAX-5-class high-speed battleship carrying the last Warp Finder seemed determined to buy time, desperately fleeing.
‘As expected of a high-speed battleship, it’s pretty fast.’
It was just barely slower than Adhai. I prepared to finish it off with a psychic breath, but then the Gallagons began to move.
In the distance, the red-winged Adhai relentlessly pursued the battleship. The other Gallagons didn't follow but instead scattered in all directions.
Upon closer observation, it became clear that the Gallagons were spreading out, gradually closing in on the path the battleship was taking.
‘They’re herding it.’
Just as they did when fighting a formidable foe like the Skywhale, the Gallagons were engaging in a coordinated hunt against the battleship.
‘Then I should help out too.’
Instead of targeting the battleship, I aimed my psychic breath at the patrol ships blocking Adhai's path. Focused on their immediate targets, the fleet of patrol ships fell to my breath, sinking into space.
Adhai, as if anticipating my attack, skillfully maneuvered to avoid the violet flames. She weaved through the debris of the burning patrol ships and accelerated even more.
The crimson-winged dragon streaked through the night sky like a comet, drawing closer to the battleship. Her form, now a beam of light, approached the vessel in an instant.
Anti-Psychic Disruptors (APD) spewed from the battleship, emitting waves that neutralized psychic power. However, Adhai's speed was far too great, and the waves failed to reach her.
She deftly dodged through the wave fields, unleashing a barrage of psychic breath. Each blast struck the ship's hull, forcing the battleship to retreat.
Adhai was pushing back a vessel hundreds, no, thousands of times her size. It was like watching David take down Goliath with a slingshot.
Meanwhile, the Gallagons surrounding the area steadily closed the distance.
The battleship carrying the Warp Finder desperately tried to escape, but the Gallagons had already drawn in close.
Then, in unison, all the Gallagons unleashed their dragon's breath upon the battleship. Even with the formidable defense of the Star Union's ships, it was impossible to withstand the combined attack from multiple Gallagons, all at least at the level of a White Gallagon.
‘This is the end.’
The final Warp Finder was destroyed. Now, nothing stood in the way of our escape.
Just as I was about to instruct everyone to return to PS-111’s ship, my secondary organs detected a powerful surge of energy.
‘!’
My head instinctively turned to the source of the energy.
The previously empty void now contained a blue sun.
It resembled a sun, but it was actually a massive concentration of energy—enough to tear apart space and forcibly transport objects.
‘Faster-than-light travel!’
Moments later, the blue sun disappeared, as if obscured by clouds.
In its place appeared a fleet. A fleet far larger than the one we had been fighting until now.
[ZZ ZZZ (Everyone fall back!)]
I withdrew, along with the Gallagons, avoiding the sudden appearance of enemies. The surviving reconnaissance fleet ships flew toward the newly arrived Star Union fleet.
‘How?’
While PS-111 had missed the approach of the reconnaissance unit, the arrival of this massive fleet was an entirely different issue.
Faster-than-light travel requires an immense amount of energy. That’s why tracking equipment, like the Warp Finder, can effectively detect such movements. Under normal circumstances, PS-111 would never have missed hundreds of ships moving simultaneously.
‘…Have they developed new technology?’
Even in simulations, control of space battles often hinged on who could arrive via faster-than-light travel first. Those who arrived earlier had the advantage of monitoring where and when their enemies would appear.
It seemed the Grand Sovereign had recognized this weakness and had invested significant effort into improving their capabilities.
And now, the results of those efforts were right before us.
At that moment, a support ship controlled by PS-111 approached, and a telepathic wave from the Mother of the Sky reached me.
?It looks like they've applied stealth technology that hides faster-than-light travel energy!?
[ZZ ZZZ (It seems so.)]
?PS-111 believes that not the entire fleet has arrived yet. This is the 5th Elite Fleet. The 2nd, 8th, and 9th Fleets haven't arrived.?
Now that I looked closer, the fleet wasn’t as large as it should be if all four elite fleets had gathered. Had they all arrived, there would have been hundreds of battleships, but their numbers didn't seem to reach that scale yet.
‘Furthermore…’
I calmly observed the enemy fleet shifting its formation. Some of the ships bore significant damage to their outer hulls, as if they had been sliced cleanly by a blade. These were marks left behind by issues encountered during faster-than-light travel.
‘It seems the technology isn’t perfect yet.’
The reason they rushed in so urgently despite the side effects wasn't hard to guess.
The Grand Sovereign’s plan was clear: to jump in sequence and prevent our escape, effectively trapping us.
[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (How many Warp Finders are there?)]
?…At least ten. Some of the ships are equipped with strong cloaking devices, making it impossible to get an accurate count.?
Engaging in battle without knowing the exact number of Warp Finders was tantamount to suicide. Yet running away wasn’t a great option either.
Just like the Gallagons had done, they would surely use their numerical advantage to chase us down.
‘A checkmate, is it?’
I glanced back at the Gallagons and the ships behind me.
‘There's only one option.’
The primary target the enemy, or rather, the Grand Sovereign's player, sought was obvious.
‘Their goal is me. In that case…’
[ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (Everyone, return to the ship.)]
?Elder??
[ZZZZ Z ZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (Don't worry. I have a good plan.)]
I sent a reassuring wave to Adhai, who looked concerned, and called out to the Mother of the Sky.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (You know where to go to advance the deification stage, right?)]
?What? Don’t tell me you're…?
[ZZZ ZZ (Meet me there.)]
?Are you insane? You plan to act as bait??
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t just bait.
I intended to fight them off and then execute a faster-than-light jump toward the territory of the Cult or the Megacorp. That way, we could recreate a situation similar to when the Cult and Star Union clashed previously.
‘It’s true that we’ll be vulnerable during the jump preparation phase, but it’ll be fine.’
Thanks to my transformation into the "Bone Beast", my defensive capabilities have increased exponentially. It’s already been proven that the enemy torpedoes can't inflict fatal damage on me. Additionally, the energy required for the jump can be substituted with the near-infinite supply of psychic power, pumped by my "Dragon's Heart" trait.
The only real concern is the Grand Sovereign.
My fate hinges on whatever weapon he brings.
‘I've never been one to gamble.’
Still, it's better than losing everything in a fight with them.
Leaving everyone behind, I flew forward.
Since arriving in this world, I've constantly faced choices.
Some led to positive outcomes, while others didn’t. Looking back, I’ve always had a mix of good and bad decisions.
But I’ve never regretted them.
Because I’m still alive. And I don't know how many more wrong choices I might make.
But even then, I’ll keep living. Just as I have until now.
As I flew forward with those thoughts, a red star soared alongside me.
‘Adhai?’ freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
It wasn’t just her. Other Gallagons had chosen not to return to the hangar and instead followed me.
The same was true for PS-111's ship. Rather than preparing for faster-than-light travel, the colossal battleship floated above me, its turrets extending outward.
?If the big baby keeps saying bad things, she'll get scolded!?
Number 26’s telepathic wave reached me from the ship.
?Adhai??Kin??Will not abandon?
I sensed the telepathic wave Adhai sent as she flew beside me.
?It’s so like you Morphback, always trying to fight alone,? Mother of the Sky grumbled from aboard the ship.
?PS-111 told me to relay a message: it’ll locate the Warp Finders as quickly as possible, so hold on.?
I was left speechless by their words.
Was my heart full? No.
Fighting alone here would’ve been a perfectly reasonable choice. I’ve always fought alone and emerged victorious.
But as I watched those following me, another thought emerged.
I’ve always won on my own, so if I fought alongside them, wouldn’t it be even easier?
An Amorph, a Sea Demon, a host of Gallagons, a colossal battleship, and a Wolf Ranker.
With this force, we might stand a chance against over a hundred state-of-the-art enemy ships.
[ZZZ ZZZZZ (Start with torpedoes and breath attacks.)]
In the end, after a thoroughly rational thought process, my chosen path was to fight together.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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