Chapter 298: Fatal Predicament

Translator: SFBaka

"You're not gonna scream 'No, no!' like usual, Mimi?"

I gracefully avoided the crystal lifeforms coming at us from all directions. Er, actually, 'graceful' might not be the proper description, since what I was doing was basically firing the main and attitude control thrusters in short and controlled full-power bursts. So it was more of zipping and jerking all over the place than anything.

"This is already my third time you know......"

I was concentrating on the battle, so I couldn't see what kind of expression Mimi had on currently, but she did sound rather calm despite our situation. Well, it's not like I was having it easy myself.

This was a crystal lifeform swarm that had enough numbers to cause massive damage to an imperial military fleet depending on the situation after all. If we clashed with them head-on, Krishna, which was a small-class ship, wouldn't stand a chance. It would be game over if I made even just one mistake since they would quickly assimilate and absorb Krishna.

Under such circumstances, the Black Lotus and the mercenaries escorting her finally made their escape via FTL jump earlier. I was able to anticipate this situation before we jumped out to normal space, so we were able to devise a plan of action beforehand. But if I hadn't, then we would have faced the same fate as the invading Vereverem Federation fleet back in the Termaine system.

"You're moving too much! I can't get a good lock!"

"Hahaha, you don't really need to lock on to them y'know. Just fire away and you'd eventually hit something."

"Stop joking around and just get us out of here already! The shield cells aren't gonna last forever!"

"I'll do my best milady."

Just like Elma said, since Black Lotus and the rest had already made their escape, there was no need for Krishna to stick around either. If we were facing just a small swarm of crystal lifeforms, we could choose to try and eliminate them in order to get a reward from the military. But since we're facing a swarm of possibly more than 500 small, medium, and large-types, it would be an extremely tall order for Krishna to take them all on alone. I'm not saying it's impossible, but going on a killing marathon for five to six hours without breaking concentration even once was just too damn tedious.

So why were we still here, you ask? It's simply because escaping while surrounded by numerous enemies from all sides was difficult, even for me. Right now, Krishna was akin to being stuck in the middle of a maze of murderous - or perhaps ravenous - crystal lifeforms. Moreover, the structure of the maze changes incessantly, making it even more difficult to find an exit.

"Well, help will come over eventually, so it's fine if we don't rush it."

"That might be the case, but this situation is really bad for the heart you know......"

As I listened to Mimi's anxious grumbling, I fired the shot-cannons to crush several small-type crystal lifeforms in front of us and slid Krishna through the small gap that opened up in order to avoid being boxed in.

As for reinforcements, I detonated a total of four anti-ship reactive torpedo warheads, so that ought to get some attention. Also, Black Lotus and the other mercenaries who escaped from this place will make a report to the nearest star system garrison base, so them coming is mostly a given. The local star system forces should be paying close attention to hyperlane entrances as well.

『You look like you're having a hard time, big boy...... You want some help?』

As I continued avoiding the attacks of the crystal lifeforms while hoping for reinforcements to arrive soon, I heard a familiar-sounding voice laced with playful malice. It was undoubtedly the voice of the Crimson Lance's leader, Captain Marie.

"I'm not sure where you're watching us from, but ever heard of the saying 'playing with fire will get you burned'?"

『Oh? Well, this is surprising. Are you worried about little old me?』

"That's right. I'm pretty nice to beautiful women."

I'm lying through my teeth, of course. It would be really dangerous if an attack comes flying across and agitates the crystal lifeforms after all. Well, I won't complain if they seriously did take on at least half of this damn swarm, even though that's just wishful thinking.

『Hahaha, you don't really mean that at all, don't you? Being treated like this is quite refreshing, actually.』

I suddenly felt an incredibly unpleasant premonition, and I quickly activated Krishna's side-thrusters to bump into the nearest crystal lifeform. The inertial control system wasn't able to fully mitigate the sudden acceleration, and as my neck was about to snap to the side, the repulsive force caused by the ship's energy shield bumping into the crystal lifeform caused it to snap right back. It was pretty rough and reckless, but I confirmed that my judgment had been correct when a bright multi-colored streak of light pierced through the spot Krishna was located in previously.

『Oh? Sorry about that. We tried to give you some support but nearly caused a friendly fire incident because there are just too many crystal lifeforms.』

"This damn b*tch......"

"W-What was that just now!?"

"The power output was at least equal to a cruiser's main cannon. It might even rival a battleship's."

That attack was probably from the large cannon protruding from the bow of that crimson ship that somewhat resembled Krishna. I see. So the concept was combining high mobility and firepower as well. Slapping a weapon equal to a battleship's main cannon on a fast and maneuverable small-class ship huh? It's basically something like that, I guess.

I'm not sure how powerful that cannon really is, how far its range goes, and how mobile the ship itself is, but depending on how it's handled, it should prove to be a pretty strong ship. But since they went to the trouble of building a fleet around it and assigning dedicated escorts to accompany it, the ship's maneuverability and dogfighting capability shouldn't be too high.

But even if I knew that I still had my hands tied in this situation! Goddammit!

"How's the shield?"

"It didn't go down, but a shield cell got drained."

"Dammit!"

The shield cells were modules used to rapidly recharge a depleting energy shield. You had to use them before the shield completely went down, so if you miss the timing, it could really bite you in the rear. That made them quite difficult to use properly. Naturally, they're consumables, and the number that can be equipped onto a ship is also limited. I checked the indicator for the remaining cells at the corner of my field of view. There were only three left.

"Ah, but due to that earlier attack, a hole has opened up in the encirclement!"

"We can't use it. We'd just be targeted the moment we jump into that opening."

The lock-on alarm didn't go off. They must be sniping us manually. Sh*t. There won't be any trace of an attack if they aim at us manually without getting a lock-on. Even if we got sniped, they can just pass it off as 'an accident caused by a stray shot'.

Moreover, the sensors weren't functioning properly because we're surrounded by crystal lifeforms. Even if we can triangulate the rough direction of the shot, we wouldn't be able to find the enemy's current position and how far they actually were from us. Seriously, man. Sniping us using a cannon that can penetrate a wall of murderous alien creatures. That woman's seriously bad news.

『Nn, what should I do, I wonder? I want to perform some support fire, but it would be bad if we accidentally hit you instead, right? Our sensors aren't working properly either. They're being blocked by that wall of crystal lifeforms. Dear, oh dear.』

"Just how shameless can you get!?"

『Nfufu...... Alrighty then. We're gonna perform support fire again, so make sure you dodge properly, m'kay?』

Marie's voice that no longer hid her cruelty and malice echoed out from the comms. It caused shivers to go down my spine. This is bad. This truly was a fatal predicament.