Bifurcation Point

"Nightmare has apparently sunk the enemy flagship. As planned, Nightmare should have withdrawn from the front lines."

Allenbar nodded in response to the operations controller's report.

Even though radar and other equipment had been rebooted, tracking the stealth vessel Nightmare remained difficult.

There was no choice but to assume Nightmare had carried out the operation according to the pre-established procedure.

"Very well. What is the status of air superiority?"

"Enemy fleet seems unable to launch aircraft due to jamming, so we've secured air superiority. M19 Fleet has already begun its penetration."

"Frontline fleet should be suffering from the jamming as well. Be prepared for unexpected counterattacks or unforeseen developments."

"Understood. I'll ensure the orders are carried out thoroughly."

For now, there's no sign of any counterattack from the enemy fleet.

The operation is progressing extremely smoothly, but precisely because of this, being prepared for any eventuality is a given.

[Assault Landing Ship Bison]

The assault landing ship Bison of Task Force M19 led the fleet's advance toward the enemy's vanguard squadron.

The mission assigned to Task Force M19 was to forcibly board the enemy's shield—ships from the former Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, which also served as suicide and explosive fleets—disable their explosive devices, protect the troops and vessel, and safely evacuate them to a secure zone.

On the Bison’s bridge, Lieutenant Commander Bosch sat silently, sipping tea.

Seeing their captain's demeanor, the crew members kept their voices low.

"Hey... Captain, aren't you in a bad mood or something?"

The navigation officer, seated next to the female communications specialist, replies quietly.

"He's definitely in a bad mood. He doesn't say anything to us, and he's still giving orders like usual, so there's no real issue—but there's no doubt he's upset. It's because of that last mission, wasn't it? The escort ship, Buffalo, was sunk. Right after that, a new assault landing ship was assigned, and Lieutenant Commander Hainen and the entire Buffalo crew were transferred over. And to make matters worse, that ship is the cutting-edge assault landing vessel 'Pia'—no wonder the captain's not happy."

"Oh, I see what's going on."

Following closely beside Bison was Pia, the newest flagship to succeed Buffalo as Bison's sister ship.

A state-of-the-art assault landing vessel, freshly deployed.

"I won't let something like this ruin my mood."

The two junior officers stiffened as Bosch suddenly butted into the conversation.

"Sir! Sorry, sir!"

The two junior officers tense up at being interrupted during a mission with trivial chatter, but Lieutenant Bosch would never reprimand them for something so minor.

"I simply adore this bison, you know. No matter how advanced it is, I wouldn't be swayed by another ship. What bothers me is Lieutenant Hainen, who's been given a pyre and is acting a bit too full of himself, trying to one-up me. Well, I'm a grown-up, so I don't bother with such petty games..."

Saying this, Lieutenant Bosch leisurely sipped her tea, savoring its aroma.

"...Isn't that the same thing, though?"

"Same here."

The two voices lowered even further.

"That's why I can hear you."

"Ah, sorry!"

[Flagship Astraeus]

"Task Force M19 has entered. Meanwhile, Task Force 9 has cut through between the enemy's vanguard and main fleet. Complete division of the enemy fleet achieved."

The enemy fleet still hasn't launched a proper counterattack.

The situation is now clearly one-sided.

At this point, the operation is a great success.

"Our fleet advances. Launch a full-scale attack on the enemy main force. Capture enemy ships that surrender and take their crew as prisoners, but destroy any vessel that resists or attempts to flee. We must not allow any information to reach the empire."

The first battle of the Succubus Operation was a great success, but the operation is far from over—this information must not be allowed to reach the empire.

The Acneria Fleet sees this battle as a turning point, aiming to bring the war to a conclusion.

[Within the asteroid belt beyond the combat zone]

"This operation centers on special vessels equipped with electronic warfare capabilities, disrupting enemy systems. Unlike conventional jamming, it employs an entirely different system, and to date, our forces have no effective countermeasure. Under these conditions, not only are our shield fleets useless, but our allied fleets are helpless as well."

On the bridge of a ship concealed within the asteroid belt, observing the battle, Colonel Zackburn remarks.

"This looks like a losing situation emerging. Even though your brother Elran and sister Ezharia were spurred on to establish the grand Holy Rimlria Empire, it seems they'll end up making history as a remarkably short-lived nation."

Black Rose Fleet Commander Bellosa, speaking of it as if it were a trivial matter from the captain's seat.

"Even if we've managed to gather some information, wouldn't it be useful to take this back and prepare a countermeasure?"

Bellosa shook her head dismissively at Zakkbern's words.

There's no need for that. I haven't received any orders from either Elder Brother Elran or Sister Ezelia, so there's no obligation to inform you that I'm not being ordered to do anything. I'm just here to watch the battle because it looks interesting.

Is that so? Well, what were your impressions after seeing it?

"Turns out it was more interesting than I expected. I'm glad that guy seems energetic....Well, we don't have time to idle around here, so let's head back to join the fleet and proceed as planned."

"Understood."

Hidden within the asteroid belt, the flagship of the Black Rose Fleet, the Black Rose, turned around and departed toward the region where the Black Rose Fleet was waiting.

"Alright, things are about to get busy..."