71: He didn't understand.

(A compensatory update as promised)

(Apologies for only now finding the wetware to post this)

...at the Ursa Major V12.22 Node Space Station, occupied by the Cosmic Army.

inside a relatively intact dock area.

8,000 elite Marines wearing powered armor were lined up,

orderly entering the Landing Ships with dark hulls.

This was all the regular Marine Corps troops that this Cosmic Army fleet could muster.

"Thump thump thump thump—"

"Beep beep—"

The powered armor struck the floor, emitting crisp collision sounds,

mixing with the continuous whistle blasts,

weaving into a movement filled with iron and fire—

"Your mission is to capture the enemy's battlecruiser!"

"The Vassal Army will open the enemy defenses for you!"

"The Marshal is watching you!"

In the headphones, the accompanying Political Commissar was giving the final mobilization speech;

among the Marines who had already secured themselves in their seats,

several photos of the Marshal of the Cloud Consortium—Dietrich Claude—were being passed around from person to person.

A soldier who hadn't yet closed his visor didn't react quickly enough,

and a photo was thrust into his hand.

When he saw clearly who was on it,

the young soldier immediately trembled greatly,

and then his face twisted, and he burst into loud, dramatic tears:

"Ah↑♦♦↓——!!"

"Marshal!!!!!!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah————!!"

When he was almost done crying,

he quickly seized the opportunity while the accompanying Political Commissar wasn't looking his way,

and swiftly shoved the photo to another guy beside him who hadn't had time to put on his helmet yet.

Instantly,

the twisted expression transferred to the face of the other unlucky soul... "It seems the Commander on the other side is a bit anxious,"

Under the impact of a large number of Boarding Craft,

Xi Hai's defensive firepower had indeed dropped significantly.

On the one hand, this was due to the consideration of luring the enemy deeper,

and on the other hand, the Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) of the 30 kalilein ships were severely overheated.

Fortunately,

after numerous unmanned FG300s were rammed and cut apart by the landing craft,

it seemed that

the enemy Commander finally believed that their defenses had been almost completely breached—

Behind the still overwhelming swarm of Boarding Craft,

17 cruisers, over eight hundred meters long, slowly emerged,

—Xi Hai remembered those cruisers,

they were the only type of warship the enemy had whose frontal armor could withstand a direct hit from the CAS066 main cannon.

And in the middle of them,

10 Landing Ships, much larger than the Boarding Craft seen earlier, were being heavily protected.

The enemy seemed to have pushed all their chips onto the table.

If that's the case,

now it's a matter of who survives!

After confirming the situation, Xi Hai decisively ordered:

"The enemy has deployed their remaining cruisers to act as shields,"

"This is likely their final counterattack!"

"Focus all fire on the Landing Ships and cruisers in the rear!"

"Ignore those Boarding Craft!"

Instantly,

the missile bays of the lancer ships sprang open,

the torpedo bays of the 066s activated,

heavy cannons and CIWS reloaded,

the fleet, which moments ago had appeared sluggish in its firepower,

suddenly erupted with astonishing energy—

—

"Hold the line!"

"This is the enemy's dying counterattack, a final flash of brilliance!"

"The Vassal Army will shield you from the shells!"

"Remember whose soldiers you are!"

"The Marshal, like the sun, shines eternally!"

"He will forever watch over you, protecting you to be invincible and unstoppable!"

—Under that overwhelming firepower, like cannon fire against mosquitos,

a massive number of Boarding Craft rushed forward to intercept the shells,

instantly exploding mid-air and disintegrating into space debris.

The accompanying Political Commissar watched the dense hail of shells, missiles, and torpedoes flying past the window,

and immediately opened the command channel,

starting to boost morale.

Suddenly,

an extremely intense inertial force was felt—

the charging fleet had maximized its engine output—

like a javelin hurled by an Ancient God,

facing the incoming storm of fire,

it fiercely charged towards the target—the four CAS066s protected at the center of the fleet... "Hurry up!"

"You bunch of idiots!"

The damage caused by the torpedo Misfire,

was not limited to the external structure of the space station.

The ammunition feeding structures supporting the launchers were also severely twisted and deformed.

Currently, 9527, along with a large group of "Amnesty Soldiers" around him,

were busy securing the outermost components of the ammunition feeder,

in order to eliminate the risk of a Chain Detonation.

Sharp fragments occasionally drifted through the air.

Several deformed exoskeletons—belonging to Cosmic Army personnel on duty before the Chain Detonation—

were quietly wedged between heavy objects.

Just now, 9527 saw two unlucky souls nearby,

their Protective Suits had been ripped open,

the agony of decompression made them twist and convulse incessantly,

the vacuum prevented their screams from being heard,

that scene,

looked bizarre and desperate.

He also saw that

the Iron Man supervising nearby did nothing,

merely pretending not to see it—

No,

although he couldn't see the face,

a subconscious feeling told 9527 that,

beneath the steel, a gloating smile was definitely plastered on that face.

Through the shattered dome,

outside,

was the starry sky he had yearned for half his life—

but he couldn't feel even a trace of beauty.

It seemed that

this starry sky was just like the steel crevices where he used to live—

they both devoured people.

Shaking his head,

he threw those strange thoughts out of his mind.

Instead of thinking about this, he should work faster.

9527 lifted the large can-like object that had just been issued to him,

aimed it at the crack beneath his feet, and pressed down hard.

Milky white foam squeezed out,

solidifying instantly the moment it touched the gap,

reflecting a metallic sheen.

Just as 9527 was about to look for the next breach,

a hand suddenly clapped his shoulder.

He jumped in surprise and quickly turned around.

Behind him was a familiar figure—

his former neighbor, 10086.

Among the people around them,

he was the only one who not only wouldn't mock his dream,

but would also argue fiercely with him about what the outside looked like—

—his only friend.

[What a coincidence!]

[I knew it was you!]

—Judging by the shape of his mouth, he seemed to be saying this.

However, he quickly realized there was no sound here,

so he punched 9527 on the shoulder.

9527 quickly understood his friend's meaning,

and returned the punch with a smile.

10086 grinned widely,

pointed toward the sky, his eyes triumphant,

his lips moving with exaggerated movements—

[See, I told you,]

[The starry sky is...]

Suddenly, a flash of white light streaked past—

[Pfft—!!]

The simple helmet visor of the Protective Suit was obscured,

so 9527 didn't clearly see how the figure in front of him collapsed.

A noisy sound came through the thing called "headphones,"

"The person who actively initiated physical conflict has been executed,"

"Work properly,"

"Do not be distracted."

"????????????????????"

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

9527 listened blankly.

He didn't understand.

How could his friend—who had been joking with him just a second ago—

suddenly be lying down?

He felt something inside him shatter,

just like his dream of gazing at the stars,

completely broken.

His rigid steps slowly moved forward,

but 9527's gaze, which was growing dull,

was fixed on the Exoskeleton wedged beside the heavy object on the ground,

and—

that gun.