Mob No. 117: [Ufufufu… Death to those who were rude to me and Master Arthur!]
And so, the mock battle began between our 30 members from the Ittsu branch of the Mercenary Guild, and 30 selected members from the 1st Fleet’s combat ship fleet.
Victory would be determined by one side being annihilated completely, or by the number remaining after 1 hour from the start.
The first battlefield was an asteroid belt.
Combat amidst ample cover like this is basically [shooting while hiding] and [ambushing after diverting the enemy’s attention].
It might be easier to understand if you imagine a gunfight across obstacles or inside buildings between humans.
With real beams, destroying the rocks would also be possible, allowing tactics utilizing that, but unfortunately it’s impossible with the mock battle equipment.
In real combat, entire asteroid belts could be turned to ashes by things like the main cannon of a super large combat craft or Gellhilde-san’s thick red beam, but since this is for small combat craft combat skill improvement, we could ignore such things.
By the way, when doing these kinds of mock battles, you install something called a Damage-Feedback-Field-System operation software which connects to barrier field generation devices attached to the ship’s hull, replace the beam weapons with training beam blasters called Fake Zappers, and replace solid ammunition like missiles with contact flash shells.
With all of this set up, when beams or missiles hit, the operation software calculates damage to the craft from the barrier information and reproduces aspects like the craft’s movement, speed, and usability of weapons.
Yet it doesn’t actually damage the craft at all, the system can be switched off anytime, allowing full mobility in emergencies – a much appreciated system.
Rossweisse-san had stubbornly refused to install something so confining, but Lambert’s [“You just have to not get hit right? Or are you planning to take hits?”] made her yell [“Of course I won’t get hit!”] and angrily yet obediently accept the installation.
And right after the battle began,
[Telling me to become your woman or sell my ship, how annoying!]
[Ufufufu… Death to those who were rude to me and Arthur!]
Rossweisse-san and Sayra-chan emitted inauspicious auras as they somehow rocketed through the asteroid belt at full speed, charging into the enemy group and promptly immobilizing any enemy craft they encountered.
By the way, from things I heard at banquets and such, the ones who tried to pick them and Arthur up were likely the sons and daughters of high ranking nobles who don’t go near the front lines, so they probably have little to do with this combat ship fleet heading straight for the front.
Clearly, they got the wrong people.
Seeing their intensity, I thought those two alone might be enough to annihilate the enemy, but predictably it wasn’t so simple.
Some who evaded their attacks came this way, so I lured some enemy craft while retreating, then the moment we passed a large asteroid, used [Feigned Destruction] to move to their blind spot from the asteroid’s shadow, attacking them from behind after they passed.
It’s a basic minor technique effective when the pursuer is excited or intent on chasing, but it probably wouldn’t work on a calm opponent or one who’s seen it before.
Luckily, two enemy craft passed me, allowing me to shoot one down from behind.
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I tried to get the other one as well but as expected, it didn’t go so smoothly and they evaded it cleanly.
With all the asteroids around, it’s hard to engage them directly in close combat, so I immediately chose to flee.
They’re likely on guard now, so the earlier method won’t work.
I have to either find a wider space to initiate close combat, or keep fleeing until they give up.
By the way, why has it turned into these sporadic battles? Initially the plan was for Dan-san, the one with the most experience, to take command, but some refused, saying
“Don’t need it. We’re bishop rank to begin with. No intention of following some knight rank’s command.”
And a couple went wild, so Dan-san himself also seemed to have given up overall command.
However, whether the remaining members would continue sporadic combat was another matter.
The enemy craft that had been tailing me after I passed an asteroid was suddenly immobilized.
The reason was because Levin and Moritz were hiding there, and as soon as the enemy craft passed the asteroid they had attacked it.
A tactic established by one person – if they even think “Maybe they’ll try it again alone?”, they tend to take the bait rather well.
Of course, once used, they’ll be on guard against this method with multiple people too.
But it still has some effect just making the opponent think [Maybe…?].
In fact, they didn’t pursue me when I moved.
It had been about 20 minutes since the battle began at this point. Thanks to the two angry women, we had a slight numerical advantage, but since the enemy could ambush just as easily, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Some of our side’s craft had been immobilized too, so even while staring at the radar and visually confirming as well, there was no telling when an ambush might come.
Just then, Dan-san sent a broadcast to all members.
[Winged Helmet is holding out in the widest space, so anyone who can, go back them up. Everyone else, keep fleeing by any means! And if you see someone tailing you, shoot them from even further behind! That’s likely the most efficient way to win! No guarantees though!]
Dan-san proposed a way to achieve victory despite the collapsed command, but
[We don’t need advice from some knight rank!]
It seems the complainers have no intention of acting on it.
I don’t particularly care about leaving those guys be, so I decided to head toward Rossweisse-san.
With Rossweisse-san’s performance, annihilating the enemy should be simple, so it must be Lambert piloting right now.
Rossweisse-san probably rampaged first, then passed the baton to Lambert.
The general perception is that Lambert pilots while Rossweisse-san handles information control.
And arriving on scene, the same sight from when I first met Rossweisse-san and Lambert of ally craft being chased around by several enemies was spread out before me.
The difference from that time is that it was Rossweisse-san back then, and now Lambert’s doing it.
Since he likely heard Dan-san’s talk, without saying anything specifically I attacked the enemy craft behind Lambert.
That didn’t let me take down them all of course, I only grazed one craft and the rear one got away.
And of course it didn’t simply flee, but counterattacked us as expected.
Lambert’s movements weren’t bad, but compared to Rossweisse-san, his reactions were slow and his maneuvers lacked flair.
To anyone not privy to the circumstances, it looked like he was clearly underestimating his opponent.
Seemingly angered by that, the enemy craft disregarded me and went for Lambert, with the one I had hit blocking my path.
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