Chapter 251:

Chapter 251:

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Captain Valtazei of the 8th Fleet, previously part of the Redtail Fleet but now temporarily assigned to the scouting unit, was currently very excited.

Was it because of the impending battle? Or perhaps the fact that this was a massive operation involving four elite fleets?

No, none of those reasons applied. Valtazei was a veteran soldier who had fought through countless battles. He wasn't some rookie who’d get worked up over something like this.

The real reason for his excitement was that the Great Elder himself was participating in this battle.

There were very few instances where the highest authority of the Star Union personally stepped onto the battlefield. Even among the elite cyborgs more exceptional than Valtazei, there were almost no cases of them having fought alongside the Great Elder.

But today, Valtazei had the honor of treading the battlefield alongside that magnificent leader.

‘Today is truly a glorious day.’

「The planetary encirclement is being deployed.」

“Good. Activate the Warp Finder first, and power up the system monitoring radar for the star system. Report any abnormalities immediately.”

「Confirmed.」

Despite the thrill surging within him, his rational mind remained ice-cold. Failure was not an option, especially since this battle had the Great Elder himself involved.

With his consciousness linked to the ship’s computer, he began his duties as part of the scouting fleet.

As he processed the data being transmitted through the cables and issued commands, something caught his eye.

On the 3D map of the star system, two unfamiliar red markers had appeared.

‘What’s this?’

He wondered if he was seeing things, but no—one marker remained stationary, distanced from the target planet.

And the other one was...

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! All units, prepare for battle!”

「Confirmed. Orders relayed.」

A crimson light rapidly approached the ship that had been initiating the encirclement.

Soon, that light began to split into many fragments.

---

[ZZZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ (Avoid unnecessary attacks.)]

「Concern」「Unnecessary」「Comrades」「Strong」

Beside me, Adhai radiated a wave of pride through her telepathic signal. The other Gallagons following behind us emitted a wave of agreement, scattering their thoughts in harmony.

[ZZZ ZZ (Focus only on the targets.)]

「Yes.」

「Ham Ort」「Remembers」

I was currently cutting through the vacuum of space, flying with fifteen Gallagons.

This was the same lineup that fought against Pyra Eleven: Adhai, now empowered by the Red Gallagon’s strength; Ham Ort, the Black Gallagon; and thirteen White Gallagons, all following my lead.

And at the end of my trajectory, there were the enemy ships.

Thirty-three massive vessels, accompanied by numerous patrol ships protecting their perimeters. Their numbers were large enough to be considered a regular fleet rather than just a scouting unit.

The moment they spotted us, the enemy quickly formed a battle formation.

Among the dark expanse of space, dotted with starlight, flickers of light began to shine. Torpedoes and drones launched by the enemy raced toward us.

The Gallagons, including Adhai, instinctively moved behind me without needing any instructions. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to conceal all fifteen Gallagons with my body, but that was only in my usual state.

The body I now used in this zero-gravity environment was far larger than normal.

After hunting down the Ice Horror in the past, I had acquired a fusion trait related to my body called "Bone Beast." This fusion trait allowed me to transform into a giant beast for 60 minutes.

Back when I fought against Jason, combining the Bone Beast with the special state of "King of Monsters" from the Organic Evolution trait had allowed my body to grow to nearly 300 meters in length.

Of course, my current form wasn’t that large. The cooldown of the Organic Evolution trait hadn’t ended, so I couldn’t use it yet.

‘Still, an 80-meter-long body is more than big enough.’

The other vessels tried to scatter and encircle the two dragons, but they wouldn’t be granted such an easy victory. The 13 white dragons, vassals of the 'Daughter of the Great Meteor,' unleashed their psychic breaths to keep the enemies at bay.

“They’re fighting well.”

The destroyer Ham Ort just destroyed also contained a Warp Finder. That makes two down.

“Three left...”

At that moment, a torpedo far larger than any fired before shot toward me.

I quickly wrapped my tentacles around the debris of a nearby destroyer and hurled it to intercept the incoming torpedo. While the AI-guided projectile was clever, it hadn't expected me to use the Star Union’s own ship as a shield. The powerful explosion rippled through the void, shaking the empty black space.

“Well, that worked out nicely.”

Beyond the explosion, a series of enemy ships came into view. A massive vessel, larger than a destroyer, was aiming at me while being escorted by corvettes.

The ship that attacked me was one of the XAX-5-class battleships containing a Warp Finder.

Sensing my gaze, the enemy, now fully reloaded, fired another volley of torpedoes in my direction.

The torpedoes, massive and terrifying even at a glance, sped towards me. Even I would sustain considerable damage if one of those hit.

"If I hadn’t used Bone Beast, that is."

Just before impact, I rammed the torpedo with my head carapace. The immense force and flames engulfed my body.

---

“H-Ha... hahaha! We did it! We killed that damn monster!”

Valtazei cheered as he watched the explosion through the battleship cameras mounted on the outer wall.

He had been horrified earlier when he saw the 'Operational Target' throwing a destroyer at his comrades. Even as a veteran soldier, he'd never seen such a monstrous display.

Especially when that creature had fixed its gaze on them after fending off the first attack, he had felt a chill run down his spine.

But none of that mattered now. The beast was finished, having been struck by the battleship's primary torpedoes.

“All remaining ships, maintain the Warp Finder and—those other monsters too—”

「Warning: ‘Operational Target’ confirmed alive.」

“What?!”

Valtazei’s eyes widened at the ship's computer's urgent report. Real-time video feeds transmitted via cables directly to his eyes.

“No... no way?!”

From the black flames, long, slender arms emerged. Each time the membranes attached to the arms fluttered, the flames and smoke swayed violently.

Then, the elongated snout and large horns of the creature's head became faintly visible. Despite taking a direct hit from the torpedo, it appeared unscathed, save for some minor damage to its head.

Its eyes, dull like a dead fish, stared back at Valtazei—eyes of a demon.

“R-Reload the main guns! Kill it now!”

「Acknowledged.」

As Valtazei shouted, the 'Operational Target' moved again. Its black wings, absorbing all light, unfurled, and the creature’s form grew rapidly larger. It approached with such speed that it seemed to magnify in an instant.

The Corvettes and destroyers assigned to protect Valtazei moved to intercept, hoping to buy some time.

Unfortunately, this was a fatal mistake. Six tentacles shot out from the creature’s back, seizing the approaching corvettes. It swung them like blunt weapons, smashing the others that dared approach.

The destroyers attempted to keep their distance while firing, but it was futile. From the cluster of tentacles around the creature's neck, purple heat rays shot forth, obliterating the destroyers.

“I... I need to retreat...!”

Valtazei's orders were to stall until the main fleet arrived. But they still needed more time to get here.

“Fire the main cannon, then retreat at full speed—”

Before he could finish his command, the entire ship shook violently. It was a force that one might only expect from a direct hit by another battleship's main cannon.

Thrown forward in his chair, Valtazei looked up just in time to see the creature's head. It was pressing its face against the ship's camera, its jaws gaping wide.

“N-No! Please—!”

His overwhelming fear didn’t last long.

The purple flames melted the entire bridge and Valtazei’s frail, cybernetic body with it.