Evil Pirate Shinosuke 2

"Alright, let's go. From here on, I won't hold back—nor will I slack off. The real trial begins now. I'm not letting you rest anymore."

"Alright! Let's do this. I'll show them the true meaning of hell!"

Shinosuke and his crew, fully transformed into villains.

The evil pirates' mission has just begun.

Beetle and A884 had reached a point about one day away from their final destination, but were now under fierce assault by space pirates.

"Damn it, they've suddenly intensified!"

"Direct hit incoming from port side!"

"Damn it! Can't dodge it!"

"...Sinking judgment. Temporary suspension. Resuming simulation in 30 minutes."

"Damn it, how many times is this now!"

"Three times in just eight hours. Six failures including the escort target. I can't seem to handle the pirate attacks anymore."

Andy and the others continued preparing for the simulation's restart.

The target location was still far off.

At that moment, on the bridge of the escort target A884, Ira was clearly frustrated.

"Seriously, how much longer is this going to go on? Not being able to do anything is just stressful!"

Since the onset of Shinnosuke's relentless assault, A884 had endured multiple attacks, suffering two navigation failure judgments and one sinking judgment, yet the frustration compounded by helplessness made Ira increasingly irritable.

"I wonder if I can hold out until the end..."

Ira had suddenly uttered something ominous.

Having received the sinking judgment on Beetle and temporarily halted as planned, Shinosuke and the others had moved away from Beetle, but immediately regrouped and prepared for the next attack.

"Those guys probably feel completely helpless and frustrated, don't they?"

Zany said this with a cheerful tone, clearly enjoying the situation.

"That's right. We've completely crushed them. But the battle isn't over yet. No matter how broken their spirit becomes, let's keep going. The next few hours will be their ultimate test....And for Sera, it's her final trial."

Shin nosuke, having finished resupplying the combat vessel, once again set out to launch an assault.

Having rested and regained their strength during the lull in attacks over the nearby space, Andy and the others were quickly worn down again by the renewed onslaught.

"Here they come again! The attacks won't stop until we reach our objective! Prepare yourselves!"

Elen shouts, but Andy and Seira both understand.

This is exactly what they expected: a real combat scenario where the space pirates are making their final stand.

"I've suspected as much. Those three are holding back a bit, but they're definitely preparing for a real attack. If you're serious about becoming a护卫 ship crew member, you should be able to handle something like this. Even when I was a护卫 ship crew member, I never experienced an assault this intense. So even though they're holding back, it's still far more aggressive than regular space pirates. Compared to this, the average space pirates out there are nothing to worry about."

Having some experience, Andy understood the intent behind Shinnosuke and the others.

"Yeah, I agree with that."

"So this is the loving whip from our seniors!"

"That's right! So no matter how many times we get hit, we'll see it through to the end!"

Andy and the others truly made up their minds.

Three of them—Andy, using Dag's shield ship to block the path, and Zanny with the Pirate Killer, and Shinnosuke in his combat shuttle—launched a wave attack.

"Stinger from the Pirate Killer! I'm targeting the escortee. The escort vessel is in your hands!"

"Understood!"

Shinnosuke quickly closed the distance to the Beetle and slipped beneath it.

The Beetle had no firepower below—perfect blind spot.

"Damn it, he slipped underneath! Rotate the hull 90 degrees—tilt it sideways!"

Andy gritted his teeth, sharply turning the steering wheel.

"90 degrees? Shouldn't it be 180?"

"The enemy is a lightweight fighter. Since it'll quickly circle around again, keep attitude adjustments to a minimum."

He tilted the hull sideways and laid down a curtain of anti-airfire.

The curtain remained thin, but deliberately spread over a wide area.

As expected, the enemy craft tried to slip underneath again, but he quickly righted the hull and responded.

Though thin, the curtain was enough to keep the fighter from approaching recklessly—this was sufficient.

"Enemy fast boat is heading toward A884!"

"Understood. Use the main cannon to obstruct its path. A884, when the enemy fast boat turns, escape at maximum speed."

"Understood, but another enemy vessel is blocking my path."

"It's fine—those enemy ships are slow. A884 can outrun them."

"Got it. But can Beetle alone hold off three vessels?"

"Don't worry. I'll follow right behind! Go ahead and move forward!"

While maintaining a broad field of view and issuing commands, Andy was suddenly interrupted when he heard Seira's voice, causing her to instinctively pause her terminal operations.

"…Ah, second condition."

"Eh? What was that? Seira, did you say something?"

"No, nothing at all."

Andy glanced at Seira with a brief look of suspicion, but there was no time to dwell on trivial matters.

"Obstruct the enemy's path. Main cannon—three consecutive shots!"

Andy fired the main cannon toward the space directly ahead of the Pirate Killer's trajectory.

The target was dodged as soon as it was locked on.

The goal wasn't to hit, but to obstruct its path.

Precisely as planned, the Pirate Killer, having had its course disrupted, reversed and increased distance from A884.

"Good. Next, that ship blocking A884's path—main cannon, fire!"

Immediately afterward, he fired the main cannon at the shield ship.

The shield ship is stationary, so it can't avoid a hit, but since it's outside effective range, even a direct hit won't sink it, and dodging is easy enough.

As expected, the shield ship effortlessly evaded the bombardment.

"Now's our chance! Get out of here!"

"Understood. I'm going ahead!"

Seizing the brief opening, Ira successfully disengaged her A884 from the combat zone.

Zany and Dug fell right into Andy's trap.

Both had anticipated Andy's move, but decided to deliberately fall into his trap.

It seemed reckless, but given that ordinary space pirates would hesitate out of fear of damage, it was a sound decision.

『Pirate Killer has broken away from the shield ship. The shield ship can't catch up.』

Hearing Dug's transmission, Zany smirked.

"We're nearing the target point. The training will be over soon. But I'm not letting this end so easily. Shinosuke, you can go ahead and do as you please from here?"

"Please, be my guest. Once I've dealt with the escort vessel, I'll follow right behind."

Zany pushed the throttle lever forward and accelerated after the A884.

Andy's Beetle had been declared sunk for the fifth time in this simulated exercise by Shinosuke's combat vessel, but since he managed to evade the escort target, the scenario had not yet concluded.

"If Ira-san can just reach the objective point safely..."

"Yes. We could use a successful outcome, at least this time."

Even if we start chasing now, Beetles' legs can't keep up with the pirate combat vessels, high-speed missile boats, or even the escort target A884.

"Still, let's give it our all until the very end! We'll pursue at maximum speed!"

"Then let's go."

Not being able to catch up doesn't mean we should give up.

Andi pursued Ira and the others at maximum speed.

Ira's escort frigate, the A884-class frigate, while not as fast as Zany's high-speed missile boat, still boasts excellent speed performance.

Having escaped the combat zone, Ira heads straight toward the target location at maximum velocity.

"Since you've gone to the trouble of clearing the way, I'll let you get away."

The current situation should be the final scenario; Beetle, left behind, will be sunk.

However, if the escorted target A884 reaches its destination, the escort mission will be a success.

I'd like to let Andy and the others have the final moment of glory, and since Ira herself had been acting as a simulated escort target during this training, she was also under stress—so she didn't hold back, sending the ship flying without hesitation.

The bridge continues to ring with alarms.

Zanny's Pirate Killer had caught up, as expected, but the escort target A884 was not permitted to retaliate.

All she could do was evade until the training ended.

"Ugh, I'm so annoyed all the way to the end! I'd rather be on the pirate side!"

Ira complained, dodging the attack from behind.

"Aira-san, damage has exceeded twenty percent. Once it surpasses forty percent, we'll be deemed non-navigable."

There was no need to wait for Lina's report.

According to Aira's calculations, they should reach their destination with around thirty-four percent damage.

If they managed to escape, Aira's team would win.

"Let's just keep running and get away!"

This work has finally surpassed my representative piece—(though it's somewhat embarrassing to say so, but it's still considered my representative work)—"Freedom of Career Choice: The Man Who Chose to Become a Necromancer."

I owe this to everyone who read this work and gave it their evaluation.

Thank you.

I did consider making this work my representative piece, based on your feedback, but since "The Man Who Chose to Become a Necromancer" is my first work and the origin of everything, I’ve decided to keep it as my representative piece to never forget my初心.

I’d be delighted if you continue to enjoy my novels in the future.