Emergency Ejection

Shin nosuke took hold of the steering yoke, replacing Milena. He put on the glass monitor.

"Markus, I'm taking control!"

"Understood. Sorry, Seira, but we'll take over communications and radar control here."

Seira removed her hands from the operator's control panel.

"Y-yes, of course!"

Now, Yatagarasu was under the control of just Shin nosuke and Markus.

"From Yatagarasu to all ships. We are currently under attack by Imperial vessels, the Sacred Rimuria Empire Fleet. Escort ships, maintain position on the right flank of the Villet convoy and continue defense. Maintain course, Villet convoy!"

"Tsukikage, understood."

"Fubuki, understood."

"Elephant A3, understood. Please take care."

Meanwhile, enemy attacks continued to pour in.

For now, we're managing with the energy shield, but that won't last much longer.

"Markus, I'm entrusting you with shield control."

"Understood. Concentrating the energy shield on the starboard side. Shield output at 80 percent."

Sinnosuke, steering the Yatagarasu while coordinating seamlessly with Markus, who responded in perfect sync.

Milena watched them with a worried expression.

(What did I do wrong...?)

As attacks focused on the Yatagarasu, Milena judged the situation too dangerous and attempted to steer the ship to starboard. At that moment, Shinosuke suddenly seized control from Milena with an unusually sharp voice.

For most spacecraft, including the Yatagarasu, the front armor is the thickest, and energy shields are most effective when deployed at the front.

Although Shinnosuke had stopped her before she could maneuver the Yatagarasu, Milena herself had judged that taking the attack head-on with the front shield was the best course of action in that situation.

Yet, considering Shinnosuke's immediate reaction afterward, her judgment must have been wrong—and she had put the ship in danger.

Otherwise, Shinnosuke wouldn't have shouted like that.

Was Milena perhaps becoming a little too confident in her navigation skills, complacent from familiarity?

Confidence and arrogance are different.

Milena, who had always taken pride in her self-confidence, understood this well and had consistently held herself to high standards.

Had she, in that moment, overlooked something due to her own familiarity—and perhaps a touch of arrogance?

Her gaze naturally drifted downward.

"Milena, about your decision just now..."

At that moment, Shinnosuke called out to Milena.

"Huh, yes!"

Milena, who had been looking down, stiffened and straightened her spine.

"There was no mistake in your decision—aligning the ship directly with the enemy's attack to minimize the hit area, and taking the assault head-on with the front shield."

Shinnosuke kept his gaze fixed on the monitor on the port side, not once looking at Milena.

"But my judgment back then was wrong, wasn't it? That's why, Shinnosuke-sama... "

"Yeah, it was the timing that was wrong."

"Timing?"

"When an enemy attack is focusing on your own ship, trying to turn around can sometimes draw even more concentrated fire. If you move to dodge the attack, the enemy won't miss the opportunity. That's why, in that situation, you shouldn't hesitate or be afraid—maintain your course and posture, and turn at the moment the attack weakens."

"Experience over strategy, huh..."

Shinnosuke speaks of the rules for surviving in battle—and what Milena utterly lacks is experience.

"Well, it's not exactly a doctrine, but executing a rapid turn amid concentrated fire is like a flagrant taboo. Attempting it usually gets you hit."

Even as he explains, attacks from the imperial fleet continue, yet Shinnosuke appears remarkably relaxed amidst the barrage.

At that moment, the situation shifted.

"Movement detected in the target fleet. Ships previously dispersed are now gathering. Likely planning a renewed assault."

Apparently frustrated by Shinno's unyielding defense.

Dozens of Holy Lemurian Empire warships are converging.

They probably intend to launch a concentrated attack in close formation.

Shinno made his decision.

"Initiate jamming. When signaled, each ship must cut off communications and radar completely—no exceptions. Otherwise, the jamming will seriously damage your systems! Tsukikage and Fubuki, keep the fire-control data link active. I'll handle attack coordination. After communications are severed, follow my beacon signal and rapidly disengage from this sector."

Meanwhile, Marks identifies the fleet's assembly point.

"Marked the expected集结 point. Emitting jamming at 80 percent output, directed toward the same sector."

"Understood. Prepare ships—5, 4, 3, 2, now!"

"Jamming initiated!"

Immediately after Yatagarasu activated the jamming, the imperial fleet's movements began to falter.

Communication and radar systems were disrupted—clearly causing chaos.

"Marks, now!"

"Understood. Fire the main and rapid-fire cannons of each ship toward the designated space, as a distraction."

With data link control over Tsukikage and Fubuki's fire control, Marks coordinated a simultaneous barrage toward the Imperial fleet's assembly point.

Although the fleet had not yet fully gathered, no ships were lost to the barrage, but the fleet fell into further disarray.

"Good, now's our chance. Villet convoy, retreat at full speed from this combat zone. Escort squadron, protect the convoy. The imperial fleet will regroup at once—hurry!"

Taking advantage of the chaos, the convoy escaped from the combat zone.