Chapter 578: The 50,000 Yen Cannon
Author's Preface
Writing space battles is surprisingly fun.
"Alright, you're the last participant, so here you go."
"...A deer?"
"Umm? No, I believe this is a gazelle."
Ooh, a gazelle! My savanna blood is pumping. Sure, things usually settle on a Thomson's Gazelle or a cheetah, but you just can't get an advantage against a lion, man... Giving them a roar that inflicts a minor flinch effect is way too unfair.
The "Disguise Helmets" that Love Board provided were all shaped like various animals, and in the blink of an eye, our mercenary corps underwent a massive transformation into an army of mechanical animals. Apparently, it was partly personal taste, or rather, getting dragged along with a grandchild's love for animals made him quite knowledgeable about them, so he figured he might as well... The peaceful atmosphere instantly froze over with his answer to the follow-up question: "They're 3,000 yen each." Just the suicide squad alone has an easy fifty to sixty people...
"Those helmets are equipped with a function to contact the captain of the grand flagship... in other words, me, via a secure frequency. However, overusing it will allow the enemy to trace the signal, so I ask that you only contact me when absolutely necessary. Additionally, since there were requests from about five people, I have prepared transport shuttles. Please be aware that while they possess decent speed and durability, they lack maneuverability, and their armaments are on the level of the previous era."
Nice. These aren't the ones you can get free-to-play; these are the premium transport shuttles you can only get by spending real money. Some guys around me were sneering, muttering things like, "Why would you ask for a transport shuttle? It's just a moving target..." but honestly, the fact that they asked for fighter jets when the entire premise is a boarding operation just makes me smile at how stupid they are. Are they planning on politely asking the enemy for docking permission or something?
"Hey, you."
"Hm?"
It seemed the voice was calling out to me. When I turned around, a massive man wearing a Rhinoceros helmet was staring down at me... He's huge. That avatar has to be at least two meters tall.
"It's you, right? The one who asked for a transport shuttle."
"Well, I guess... yeah. There are five shuttles, so I'm one of the five."
Getting a heavy roleplayer vibe from him, I responded casually instead of politely. The rhino man—whose player name was replaced with "Rhino-something" thanks to the needlessly high-performance helmet's effect—stroked his chin as if in deep thought, but then, as if making up his mind, he made a request.
"I'm running an extreme min-max build, ya see... Well, basically, I couldn't secure my own method of boarding the enemy."
"Ah, so you want a ride. But are you sure? I can't guarantee a zero percent chance of us being shot down and blown to pieces, you know."
"Whatever happens, happens. Part of me is just aiming for the compensation if we lose anyway."
Well, from a suicide squad pawn's perspective, chasing the dream while fully expecting to die and banking on the compensation regardless of whether Love Board wins or loses isn't exactly the wrong mindset.
"Sure. I'll let you on board Sunraku Airlines. And right now, the fare is absolutely free."
"Really~? Then I wanna come along too〜."
"Nuo!"
Popping their head out and squeezing between the gazelle and the rhino was a player wearing a reptilian helmet, rather than a mammalian one.
"Snake?"
"It's a Python〜."
"Ah...... And? You want to carpool too?"
"Yup, yup. I'm specialized in electronic warfare, y'see... I'm not really good at flying spaceships either〜."
"You hear that, Rhino-san? You okay with it?"
"Eh? Ah—I don't mind... at all!"
Let's just call it safe. After all, it is a female player, and the voice sounds somewhat feminine... but how do I put it... there's something weirdly "forced" about every little word and action... or rather, it feels like a stereotypical Okama... My evil detection radar is currently spelling out the characters for 'GIRL', but whatever. I'll keep my mouth shut...
It seems the players who requested the other transport shuttles also have people gathering around them to hitch a ride. Apparently, they figured that if someone went out of their way to request a transport shuttle, they must have a plan to win. While the Metal Animals were splitting up into their respective groups, two more people walked over to my side. It seems the others were avoiding my shuttle because they felt uneasy about a player who had just returned from a hiatus and didn't know what was going on, but since the other shuttles were full, these two had no choice but to come to me... or so they said.
"Are you really saying that to my face?"
"Well, it's the truth, ain't it...? Ah, I'm Wolf, nice to meetcha."
"Fox."
Wolf, Fox, Python, Rhino, Gazelle... Is a gazelle a cow? Or a goat? Well, whatever. Five people isn't a bad number for a single squad. Though honestly, I can't shake the feeling that splitting the suicide squad into just five groups is way too few.
Wouldn't it be better to have everyone in their own individual transport shuttles and launch a massive swarm distraction tactic?
"So, where are we crashing into? Aiming for the main base?"
"Nah, I'll be winging it."
I don't think we can aim for the main base right from the start. Since the enemy are whales too, I can't imagine they haven't prepared countermeasures against direct boarding tactics, even if it used to be limited to NPCs. Pre-update, the standard anti-boarding measure was using a shock pulse to stun the NPCs, but... if player-driven boarding means we're now dealing with enemy technology, then that is definitely going to come flying our way.
"Well then, is it time...?"
"Yo, we're counting on you, Pilot."
"Leave it to me. I'll slip right through a curtain of space debris if I have to."
◇
Moscow Mule Sector.
『This is the Supreme Flat-A Fleet, Cutting Board. Pardon the open frequency broadcast.』
『How polite of you. This is The Great Fleet of the Twin Hills, G-Cup Breast Meat... And here are the members of the Alliance who have lent their strength as our comrades in this battle.』
『Souda... Ahem! Cutting Board-san, please go easy on us today...』
『My, my, my heart is dancing like I'm a young man again.』
『A week at the longest, was it? It'll be fine if you can last three days...』
『No, no, we can't underestimate the Round-Trippers, Umitori-san. Besides, the Horizon of Love has *that* equipped, after all.』
"Round-Trippers" is a term referring to those capable of making round trips from other galaxies back to their home base, Earth. In other words, players who own ships capable of freely traversing not just between star systems, but entire galaxies... seasoned heavy whales.
In this battle, looking solely at the number of players, it's several dozen against four, putting The Great Fleet of the Twin Hills at a disadvantage. However, in terms of overall combat power, it was a six-to-four... or perhaps an even wider disparity in strength.
Which is precisely why,
『Now then, before we commence hostilities, one last time, Cutting Board-dono. Do you have any intention of surrendering?』
『Hahaha! What nonsense are you spouting?! We'll turn every last one of you into space dust... Like this!!!』
『What did you say!!?』
The tactic Cutting Board chose was to completely divert all power from not the grand flagship, but from the 3rd Ship "Great Wall" into an all-out, maximum-firepower preemptive strike using the Contraction Reproduction Demise Cannon.
Author's Afterword
Contraction Reproduction Demise Cannon
An ultimate weapon that Cutting Board secretly installed on the Great Wall, entirely separate from "that" equipped on the Horizon of Love. Firing a single shot costs a functional 50,000 yen in real money, has a one-week recast timer, and causes the equipped vessel to practically shut down, giving it plenty of massive drawbacks.
As for "that", it'll be revealed later.
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