Chapter 3: Home-Field Advantage

The enemy ships bobbed as if they were atop the sea.

In a place like this, even maintaining formation was no easy task.

It was only natural.

It was because of the dark energy scattered throughout every corner of the universe.

To the eyes of an ordinary person, it was invisible, unfelt, and its interference was negligible.

However.

Ships made of dark matter for interstellar travel were different.

Dark matter was heavily influenced by dark energy.

That was why the universe was called a sea.

A sea surging with dark energy.

Even to my eyes, the faint flow was visible.

It wasn’t because this body was special.

It was the minimum requirement for becoming a crew member.

“Captain! They’ve entered our effective range.”

“Continue forward without acting rashly. No one is to fire until I give the command.”

My heart pounded.

My mind was still hazy, but I would welcome a dream like this anytime.

At this very moment, I felt like someone special.

Rumble!

The ship suddenly shook.

It was no big deal.

The waves were simply rough in this vicinity.

“Ugh!”

Despite that, everyone was startled.

That was how much tension they were under.

I was proud of them for not accidentally firing their weapons in surprise.

Tap, tap, tap!

I quickly swiveled the external cameras to check the situation.

It felt as though I were rolling my own eyeballs.

The ship’s main system synchronized with me, hammering the surrounding situation into my mind.

It felt as if the ship were my own body.

Then, a slightly alien way of thinking entered my head.

It was because the helmsman was also connected to the ship’s system.

I felt his will to move—the desire to go in a certain direction, at a certain speed.

It was too grand to call it a different ego; it felt more like an instinct.

It was similar to the principle of not having to consciously move your limbs when you walk.

My mind and the helmsman’s mind were shared.

“Captain. We’ve reached the target point!”

The First Officer’s voice trembled.

Now was the time for decision.

“All fleets. Full attack!”

I commanded, gripping the armrests tightly.

“Relay to all ships. Commencing attack. Deploy all weapons.”

Whirring!

My body felt hot.

My head spun for a moment.

The will of each gunner poured into the system.

Thud, thud, thud!

First, missiles were launched all at once.

Then, beams and lasers flew out.

Boom! Bang! Crash!!

Explosions erupted everywhere like fireworks.

There were only five of us, but since we were in the center of the enemy formation, we hit them even if we aimed blindly.

The flustered enemy ships began to flinch as they tried to dodge.

Thanks to that, their formation fell into disarray.

‘There’s an opening.’

I saw a path to survival.

“Deactivate all weapons!”

I cut off the power supply to the weapon systems.

The energy saved was redirected.

“Shields to maximum. Engine output to maximum. Exit the enemy lines immediately.”

“Orders received.”

As the ship accelerated, my body was thrown back.

“Whoa!”

Picol, who had been standing awkwardly to the side, fell flat on his back.

There was a gravity recalibrator, but it was momentarily neutralized by the sudden acceleration.

“What are you doing? Why are you just loitering there?”

“Hehe! I still managed to save the honey water!”

The fellow had protected the cup of honey water even as he fell.

I had forgotten the honey water existed because I was so tense.

My mouth watered instinctively.

“Give it here.”

I took the cup of honey water. Just then.

“Our ship has been scanned!”

Seeing as we were scanned immediately, those guys were indeed preparing to warp.

“Enemy marines. Short-range warp to our ship!”

“Ignore them and proceed at full speed! All helmsmen, lock your controls even if you die.”

Simultaneously with my shout.

Whirrr!

Transparent cubes emitting a mysterious light rolled around the situation room.

Then, they stopped in suitable empty spaces.

They used this method to avoid overlapping with objects.

Flash! Flash! Flash!!!

Enemies teleported in, emitting bursts of light.

There were only three of them.

Their race was the Rang.

Thud, thud, thud!

I heard the sound of someone pounding on the situation room door from the outside.

They had warped into the hallway as well.

Since there were more empty spaces than in the situation room, it must have been easier for them.

“Young Master! Stay behind me! I will protect you.”

Picol clenched his fists.

It wasn’t a very reliable sight.

“Sure.”

I rested my chin on my hand, elbow on the armrest.

It was a dream, after all.

Bang, bang, bang!

The First Officer stood up and fired her gun at the enemies.

Clang! Ping, ping!

The bullets were futilely blocked by shields.

Guns weren’t very good weapons in close-quarters combat.

“All personnel except the helmsman, attack!!”

The crew members drew their weapons and rushed toward the three enemies.

“We have the numbers!”

Since the enemies were holding shields, my subordinates held cold weapons instead of guns.

I still didn’t have much faith in them.

Still, since we had more people, maybe we could put up a fight?

Dash!

The dwarf who rushed in first.

Was it Corporal Dobby?

He was agile because of his small stature, but.

Slice!

His body was split left and right, becoming “free.”

My allies momentarily froze.

Slice!

Then, this time, the enemy rushed in first and took off a crew member’s head.

Everyone took a step back in fear.

They were no match at all.

The First Officer shouted.

“We win if we just stall for time! Everyone, attack!”

She was right.

Those who warped in couldn’t last long.

Their bracelets would automatically return them to their mothership once they reached a certain distance.

The distance from the enemy ships was steadily increasing.

They had to neutralize the situation room or the engine room before they got any further away.

Now it was a race against time.

“Grrrr!”

However, the three Rang laughed at us.

The marine mark was clear on their chests.

They were specialists in close-quarters combat.

The morale of my allies was completely broken.

‘Should I have stationed a combat squad in the situation room as well?’

But I soon shook my head.

Looking at the internal status map of the warship, enemies were also indicated in the engine room.

As for the helm, we could buy time by locking it even if the helmsman died, but if the engine was physically destroyed, it was over.

Slice!

Just then, the First Officer rushed in with a dagger and slashed one of them.

“You damn Elf bitch!”

One of the Rang grabbed his slashed shoulder.

The First Officer seemed to have aimed for the enemy’s neck but appeared to have failed.

“We win if we hold out! Everyone, snap out of it!”

The First Officer shouted again, but morale did not return easily.

The enemies’ eyes gleamed.

Their playful laughter vanished.

Then, our eyes met.

‘This is a bit scary.’

Even though I knew it was a dream, my legs trembled, perhaps because of the murderous intent they were emitting.

“Let’s take down the Captain first.”

At those words, they glared at me.

Picol blocked their path.

“You bastards! Do you know who this person is?!”

“Just a piece of meat once he’s dead. Grrr.”

The largest one rushed toward me.

Picol extended his arms in an attempt to stop him. However.

Slice!

An axe flashed, and both of Picol’s arms flew into the air.

Just then.

Lurch!

The ship rocked violently.

It wasn’t the helmsman’s doing. It was the waves again.

As we picked up speed, we began to be heavily affected by the waves.

“Whoa?!”

I felt the ship tilt due to a sudden wave.

Stagger!

The posture of the giant Rang charging at me was completely broken.

Thrust!

At that moment, the First Officer plunged her dagger into the back of his neck.

It was quite a distance, but she had used the recoil of the ship’s tilting to leap forward in one go.

She might have been a bit dim-witted, but her combat ability was impressive.

‘I shouldn’t mess with her.’

Perhaps because she was an Elf, her movements were also very light.

I suppose she was a race that went all-in on agility.

“Look. They’re nothing! This is our territory. Attack, now!!”

The ship we were on gradually increased its speed, and it became even more affected by the waves.

The ship’s bobbing also became increasingly severe.

Waaaah!

The personnel in the situation room, having gained confidence, grit their teeth and rushed forward.

The two remaining Rang looked flustered.

“It… It’s useless!”

They tried to respond immediately, but.

Lurch!

The ship tilted again, and the enemies couldn’t maintain their balance properly.

Conversely, my subordinates approached naturally, as if magnets were attached to the soles of their feet.

Stab, stab, stab!!

They plunged their respective weapons into the enemies’ bodies.

It didn’t end with just one blow.

Thrust, thrust, thrust!

They appeared to be dead already, but the crew kept stabbing them with blades over and over.

It seemed to be out of sheer excitement.

“Stop!!”

The First Officer shouted.

Only then did the crew members snap out of it and look up.

Everyone was covered in blood.

Some had even cut their own hands on their weapons.

“Guard the entrance!!”

The sound of pounding on the door could still be heard.

It must be the ones who warped into the hallway trying to break in.

Thud, thud!

However, the sound of the pounding was weak compared to before.

I checked the hallway cameras.

The crew members wore bewildered expressions.

“What are those guys doing?”

They were flailing about as if they were dancing.

Some were kissing the floor, unable to even stand up.

They hadn’t adapted to the sea here.

“Captain. Let’s open the door and wipe them out.”

One of the crew members, who had been the most passive, said while huffing.

I didn’t know if it was because he had gained confidence or if it was for revenge for the dead crew members.

“Forget it.”

There were too many of them.

There was no particular gain in killing them.

We just had to stall for time like this.

“What’s the status of the other ships?”

“It seems to be similar to our ship.”

As the saying goes, even a mutt gets half the credit in its own yard.

The environment was too disadvantageous for the enemy to engage in close-quarters combat.

The wave patterns were different for each sea star. Of course, our allies were accustomed to these patterns.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

I asked Picol, who was rolling around on the floor.

He was in a state where he had lost both arms.

“This is nothing.”

He looked up at me with a smile.

True, Picol’s race had excellent regenerative abilities.

It didn’t matter if his limbs were cut off several times.

That was why he had confidently extended his arms toward the enemy.

Flash! Flash!

As time passed, the enemies in the hallway turned into light and disappeared.

Looking at the map, we were quite far from the enemy ships.

“Exited combat range! The operation was a success, Captain!”

Waaaah!!

The crew members raised their arms and cheered.

The First Officer turned her head to look at me.

“You are incredible. I didn’t know this would actually work.”

It had been half a gamble for me too, but I didn’t let it show.

“It was nothing.”

I simply downed the honey water in my hand with a calm expression.

It tasted damn good.

“Three ships completely destroyed. Two ships disabled.”

At the adjutant’s report, the commander-in-chief, Sagitta, wore an incredulous expression.

“Well, now.”

He never imagined they would break through like this.

He had expected them to attack recklessly to some extent.

Honestly, it hadn’t mattered.

Because the number of allied ships was overwhelmingly superior.

In fact, he had welcomed it.

He thought that if the scan was successful, the marines would take care of it.

He had carefully selected elites to bring along for this reconnaissance-in-force.

So, he had thought he could easily capture the enemy ships.

“82 men failed to return!”

It had been a very short time.

Nevertheless, the damage was considerable.

“Pursue them immediately! If I catch them, I’ll boil every last one of them into a stew.”

Sagitta ground his teeth.

It wasn’t that he was angry about being tricked by the opponent.

It was because his pride was wounded.

“Commander. If we do that, the operation might be disrupted. It might be better to give up on this route and withdraw.”

“I cannot give up on this route just because of those kinds of guys! Pursue them at once!”

Sagitta’s fleet began the pursuit.