153 Imperial Civil War Chapter 11: Assault on Neahyume
side: Lorenzo
Lorenzo (Seventh Prince)'s fortress ship was crippled and couldn’t move.
Emergency repairs might get it functional, but the Fortress Cannon, Dimensional Warp Drive, Dimensional Radar, and Anti-Dominance Signal Countermeasure Device were all beyond repair.
Lorenzo (Seventh Prince)'s fleet consisted of four ships, all in the same state—defense weapons intact, but essentially useless except as supply bases for the fleet.
Imperial warships had their railgun maximum ammo limited to prevent rebellion, unlike frontline vessels.
Particle Beam Cannons had no ammo limits, but suffered from moderate range and reduced effectiveness against barriers—a significant drawback.
Thus, railguns remained the primary weapon of choice, prized for their one-shot precision.
The limited ammo supply meant they had to return to supply bases for resupply—annoying, but unavoidable.
Compared to that, the ships dispatched by the imperial regular forces were directly under the Emperor’s command, so their railguns had a slightly higher maximum ammunition capacity.
There was risk of rebellion among the regular fleet, but if it happened, the Emperor’s authority could neutralize it instantly—so no real concern was felt.
That’s why unmanned ships, which were so prevalent, were the worst possible match for enemies like the ones carrying out hijackings this time.
Right now, the regular fleet’s fortress ships were just beginning to stabilize the front and push back the erosion at Neihyūmu.
Five ships total—only one of which had its fortress cannon destroyed, leaving four operational fortress cannons still in service.
Even now, with the situation dire, we were forced to consider a dimensional jump—warp—retreat, which meant deliberately refraining from firing.
The only vessels we could still move were the space ships mounted on the fortress ships.
Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) and Leonardo, along with the regular army’s Neihyūmu eradication force, had already advanced all the ships carried aboard the fortress ship toward the battlefield.
“Successfully taken control of the unmanned ships formerly under the Cox baron’s command!”
“Good. Now we can throw the enemy into chaos from within. Issue the attack order to the unmanned ships!”
That was the moment the balance of power tipped in Lorenzo’s (Seventh Prince) favor.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
ｓｉｄｅ：Akira
Lorenzo (Seventh Prince)'s commandeered former Cox Viscount's unmanned fleet was launching an assault on the Neahyume fleet.
The Neahyume ships, previously frozen in place, began moving with renewed vigor as a counterforce emerged within their ranks.
"What the hell is that odd movement?"
I felt something off about the Neahyume ships' motion.
Their actions after being attacked were smooth—no hesitation—but before that, they’d seemed neither friend nor foe.
Like they’d been hypnotized, just... blank.
Right now, on this battlefield, the Anti-Dominance Signal Countermeasure Device was active, breaking the forced control over unmanned ships.
Likewise, Neahyume’s control might be weakening.
"So the domination over unmanned ships and Neahyume both rely on the same principle.
And that movement... could it just be simple defensive instinct?"
I sent a transmission to Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) to put a hunch into action.
‘Hey, Lorenzo (Seventh Prince), looks like you’re still in one piece.’
He answered as if he’d been waiting for me to speak.
‘Akira, you’re alive after all. I figured something like this would happen.’
‘Nah, this time it was close. My Personal Ship just vanished, you know?’
‘Haha, don’t act surprised. You’ve got that trick up your sleeve already.’
Not a single bit of trust there…
‘Anyway, that unmanned ship we reclaimed from the enemy—could you pause the assault on Neahyume for a bit?’
‘Got it… “Cease fire. No problem.” How’s that?’
Lorenzo (Seventh Prince) carried out my request without a single question.
Halting an attack mid-battle—no matter how automated the ships, the collateral could be catastrophic.
And yet he trusted me without a word, just followed along. That’s… honestly kind of touching.
“Thank you, Lorenzo (Seventh Prince).”
I didn’t send it through comms—just said it quietly—and turned my attention back to Nyahyūm’s movements.
The unmanned fleet, having halted its attack, was now motionless. Nyahyūm’s assault had stopped too.
Just as I’d predicted—Nyahyūm had been fighting purely on defense instinct.
None of the Nyahyūm ships were moving under their own will.
It looked like they were just… waiting. For some order.
‘As you can see, Nyahyūm doesn’t move unless provoked.’
‘Akira, good catch. What’s the mechanism behind this?’
‘Probably some higher-level commander above Nyahyūm.
The Anti-Dominance Signal Countermeasure Device is disrupting their orders—so they’re just stuck waiting.’
‘No way. Nyahyūm’s supposed to be a collective consciousness. They’re all the same, right!?’
Judging by this state of waiting, we should assume there are classes even among the Niahyūm.
There might be a difference between a queen bee and a worker bee, after all.
"Then, let's send the unmanned vessel toward Leonardo's fleet—the Fifth Prince's fleet."
I remembered those two black ships then.
The two black ships that led the way when guiding the Naihyūm toward the Leonardo system and colliding them with Lorenzo’s (Seventh Prince) fleet—they were at the front again.
The two black ships that tampered even with the contents of the Dimensional Radar during the final battle at the Rasty system.
The only thing tying Leonardo (Fifth Prince)’s fleet to Neahyume is those two black ships.
"Leonardo, looks like there's a more dangerous opponent than you, Lorenzo—the black two ships, watch out!"
The moment I warned them, the two black ships launched from Leonardo’s (Prince’s) side fortress vessel.
‘Long time no see, Akira. You really are cursed, aren’t you? You should’ve just died back then.’
That voice— I knew it. Unmistakably, the Prince’s voice.
But then… who’s in the adjacent Personal Ship?
It has to be the Personal Ship that rescued the Prince. But its combat power— carrying its own G-Bullets and Dimensional Radar—isn’t normal.
‘Prince. You’re alive!’
‘Obviously. Do you think I’d let him die?’
That voice— it was Sister Karen.
We’ll be updating every two days, three times a week— the timing is vague, so let’s pin it down.
Updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 0 to 7 AM.