145 Imperial Civil War Arc 3: Counterattack

side: Lorenzo

"This attack, kept up like this... we can destroy the Nahyume heading toward our star system."

Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) gazed straight ahead, relieved at the steady decline of the Nahyume fleet.

At first, the combat power difference between us and the Nahyume was even.

We were mimicking Akira's tactics—using the Dimensional Radar to track the Nahyume's movements, waiting with fortress ships for their mothership-class vessels to warp out, then blasting them with Fortress Cannons.

But this time, the Nahyume were coming in small mothership-class units, warping in one by one.

As a result, there were far more small motherships. Compared to how many we could destroy by surprise, the number that survived was vastly greater.

Firing the Fortress Cannon leaves the fortress ship short on energy for dimensional jumps—warping out for a while.

That meant fleet battles had to be fought between搭载 ships, and Lorenzo—the Seventh Prince's fleet—was taking serious hits.

But after repeating these engagements many times, the number of small motherships dwindled, and the situation shifted.

Meaning we could now destroy small motherships without launching their搭载 ships at all—fleet battle odds improved dramatically.

The retreat from Neahym was just a matter of time.

"Dimensional Radar detected! Enemy is warping out!"

The operator's shout sent chaos through the fortress ship's command center.

"Idiot! Why wasn't this picked up sooner?!"

Shouts of rage flew back and forth.

"Dimensional Radar narrows its range during detailed scans. Right now, it was focused on the front-side Near-Hymn.

But the enemy reinforcements came from the three o'clock direction—straight from the side."

Everyone fell silent. That direction was where the Leonardo system lay.

"So that's how it is... The enemy was the Near-Hymn heading toward the Leonardo system!

No idea how they pulled it off, but Leonardo—the Fifth Prince—must've shoved the Near-Hymn right at us!"

Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) made a perfectly accurate assessment, and his subordinates nodded in agreement.

"Can we perform a dimensional jump—warp?"

"Yes."

"Good. Before the enemy deploys their ships, stow ours and retreat. Move fast!"

The Near-Hymn force facing Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) had now merged with the force previously heading toward the Leonardo system. The odds were now one to one and a half—Lorenzo against Near-Hymn.

Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) began withdrawing from the current sector.

"Back to the old tactics again... looks like it's unavoidable..."

Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) had been holding off Near-Hymn with hit-and-run strikes—firing Fortress Cannons from long range, then vanishing via dimensional jump (warp).

But with reinforcements arriving, the enemy's numbers—both in light cruisers and their deployed vessels—were overwhelming him.

He couldn’t keep escaping through warp jumps forever.

He was already only three light-years away from the Rasty system.

"Request reinforcements to the command center. If we keep this up, Near-Hymn will break through into my star system..."

Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) bit his lip.

The taste of blood spread across his mouth.

"Damn you, Leonardo (Fifth Prince)—what kind of game are you playing? Can’t you see the empire’s in danger?!"

Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) gritted his teeth. His body trembled with rage toward Leonardo (Fifth Prince).

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side: Cox Viscount’s Elimination Fleet

At that moment, Cox Viscount’s elimination fleet arrived at the Rasty system.

The Dimensional Jump Gate wasn’t sealed. The entire fleet surged through it straight into the system.

Cox Viscount, entrusted with a fleet of fifty thousand ships, had grown complacent.

With fifty thousand ships and the system’s fortress satellite—its combined strength—he believed Leonardo (Fifth Prince)'s fleet of thirty-six thousand ships, unable to use capital warships, was nothing to worry about.

He thought he could sandwich Leonardo (Fifth Prince) between the still-functional fortress satellite and his own fleet now plunging into the system.

But beyond the Dimensional Jump Gate, a cylindrical spatial corridor had opened—positioned to align Leonardo (Fifth Prince)'s fleet with the fortress satellite and lock in the line of fire from the Fortress Cannon.

“C-can’t… dodge…!”

That was Viscount Cox’s last word.

The fortress satellite had fallen into Leonardo (Fifth Prince)'s hands.

The Fortress Cannon had already locked onto Cox’s fleet as it emerged through the Dimensional Jump Gate.

The cannon fired at an angle, deliberately avoiding the Gate.

Its center was Cox’s ornate, gilded pocket battleship.

Cox’s flagship was surrounded by command staff vessels, all gathered in formation—every high-ranking officer aboard, caught in the kill zone.

Left behind were only the knight-baron’s warship and a few unmanned vessels.

The command structure collapses. Kiril, senior knight, notices the dimensional comms are jammed. Decides to pull back, consolidating the unmanned vessels under his control.

Moves toward the transfer face of the Dimensional Jump Gate, using the unmanned ships as shields—anticipating being shot from behind.

“…Have to survive. Have to report this defeat…”

Kiril, acting on his own judgment, exits the battlefield.

But then he sees something unbelievable.

The unmanned ships brought by the extermination force are attacking their own manned vessels.

Kiril is bombarded by fire from the unmanned ships.

Fortunately, the ones under his command remain under control.

He uses them as shields, cutting through the crisis.

But the Dimensional Jump Gate feels farther away than ever.

“Faster. Faster!”

His frustration made his evasion monotonous. The upper knight took a direct hit on the port side of his Personal Ship.

Gut-wrenching deceleration.

"Just a little more... "

With the last of his strength, the upper knight fired off a communication pod.

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ｓｉｄｅ：Neural Space Secret Conference Room (Akira, Kyle)

"This is the final report from the Lasty Star System Expeditionary Force."

I (Akira) had been summoned to the neural space secret conference room via an emergency call from Kyle (First Prince).

I'd been called by Kyle (First Prince) after receiving the report of Cox Count's defeat from the communication pod launched by the upper knight, Kiril.

"The Fortress Satellite has been seized by Leonardo (the Fifth Prince). Count Cox is dead. The unmanned fleet has had its command taken—now attacking its own side..."

"Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?"

Kyle (the First Prince) looks at me.

"Could it be that Leonardo (the Fifth Prince) can use Erosion Bullets?"

"Shouldn’t be possible... but..."

"At the very least, he’s got a way to reassert control over the unmanned ships."

Kyle (the First Prince) spreads his arms, shakes his head, and makes a 'don’t know' gesture.

Five thousand of the fifty-thousand-strong expeditionary force were obliterated—along with Count Cox—by the Fortress Cannon’s bombardment.

After that, the unmanned fleet’s command was seized, and they launched coordinated attacks centered on manned vessels with squad-level authority.

"So, roughly forty thousand unmanned ships have now fallen under Leonardo (the Fifth Prince)'s control."

"Which means his fleet has now swelled to over seventy thousand."

Except for the odd case where it’s tucked safely aboard the flagship, the number’s beyond anything I could handle solo.

“What now?”

I turn to Kyle (the First Prince), asking about the next move.

“Until we figure out how the drones’ command structure works, throwing more drones at them is a bad idea.

And fielding a fleet of over a hundred thousand manned ships? Not happening right now.

Guess we should hit them with Niahyūmu after all.”

“Lorenzo (the Seventh Prince) just sent a call for reinforcements. Might be worth it…”

“Yeah, you’ll rendezvous with Lorenzo’s fleet and help wipe out the remnants of either Niahyūmu or Leonardo (the Fifth Prince). Play the fisherman’s game.”

“Got it. I’ll keep you posted as things unfold.”

I pulled up the avatar and launched my Personal Ship toward Lorenzo’s (Seventh Prince) fleet.

I initiated a dimensional leap (warp) to rendezvous with Lorenzo (Seventh Prince).

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Added and revised edits to compensate for shortcomings.