Systems Alliance Space — First Defense Line.
"It should be about time."
General Kisriev set down his cup and fixed his gaze on the star map before him. According to intelligence from the Inquisition, the Reaper fleet would reach human space today.
Setting his cup aside and looking at his adjutant's pale face beside him, Kisriev gave a quiet chuckle.
"Nervous?"
"O-of course, Commander — it's the Reapers...…"
The adjutant swallowed hard and gave a firm nod. Though none of them had encountered the Reapers directly until now, footage of the Reapers' attacks on the Turians and other species had reached every household in the Systems Alliance. They had all watched those terrifying warships break through the Citadel races' defenses and obliterate entire planets with seemingly casual ease.
Just thinking about facing that kind of enemy made almost everyone feel the pressure bearing down on them.
"Don't worry. We've been preparing for exactly this, haven't we? And the Inquisition is with us."
As he said this, Kisriev looked toward the fleet not far ahead. Even at this distance, the sight was striking — a dense cluster of cathedral-like warships rising and falling in sequence, giving the impression of an entire city of churches suspended in space. The Inquisition's warships were genuinely formidable. Even with all their preparations for the Reapers, the largest ships the Systems Alliance could produce were only around two thousand meters in length, and their firepower was nowhere near comparable to the Inquisition's — which couldn't be helped, since building larger warships demanded higher technology, and the Systems Alliance simply wasn't on the Inquisition's level in that regard.
Honestly, no matter how many times he saw it, it still felt absurdly excessive.
Looking at those golden, resplendent warships ahead, Kisriev smiled wryly. Strictly speaking, with no air resistance in space, warships could theoretically be built in any shape imaginable — but general practice still favored making them as compact and streamlined as possible. Smaller profiles were useful if landing became necessary, and a narrower hull was easier to maneuver through asteroid fields.
That said, in terms of sheer appearance, the Gothic cathedral aesthetic was undeniably striking.
And in terms of firepower, it was also considerably superior to their own fleet's.
Well — as a companion force, it was genuinely reassuring.
"Report!"
Just as Kisriev was lost in thought, an urgent shout broke through.
"Unknown fleet detected, bearing down on our position! Count: three thousand eight hundred!"
"———————!"
The atmosphere in the command room went taut in an instant. Kisriev's brow furrowed. It was fortunate the Systems Alliance had destroyed the outer Mass Relays early on, preventing the Reapers from freely hopping across star systems at will and forcing them to travel the long way — the benefit being that their position and trajectory could be tracked, which was exactly why the Systems Alliance fleet was waiting here.
"All hands, prepare for battle!"
Kisriev stared hard at the screen as he spoke. And then, from deep within the star-filled void, countless dark shapes emerged silently from the darkness like creatures rising from the deep ocean — starlight reflected off their metallic hulls in cold, inorganic gleams, and deep crimson eyes flickered in the dark like embers.
The sheer density of those shadows was enough to make a person tremble. It was like being in a submarine deep beneath the sea and watching an endless horde of abyssal monsters closing in. Even the battle-hardened Kisriev felt his expression freeze for a moment — he wasn't without experience fighting aliens, but these things before him weren't even alive. They were like a mass of animated metal, cold and inert, dragging everything they touched into death...…
At the same moment, fire erupted.
The Inquisition warships ahead launched their assault without hesitation. Volleys of fire burst from both flanks of their hulls and screamed forward, engulfing the Reaper warships in blossoming explosions. In the next instant, those squid-like Reaper vessels detonated under the Inquisition's fierce barrage, reduced to chunks of burning metal that tumbled and scattered through the void.
Yet the assault didn't shake the Reapers in the slightest. They continued their advance, utterly undeterred by the Inquisition's firepower — like emotionless puppets pressing ever forward.
But the Inquisition didn't care.
Beam after beam lanced out, the macro-cannon fire painting the battlefield in flashes of light as Reapers were blasted to pieces. In the opening exchanges, the Inquisition warships outranged the Reapers and eliminated a considerable number without difficulty — but the Reapers flooding in from behind came in waves, crashing forward in overwhelming force toward the defenders before them.
And yet even so, the Inquisition warships showed not the slightest sign of yielding or giving ground. They stood like a wall built from warships, planted squarely in the face of the Reaper tide.
And then the two sides crashed directly into each other.
Seeing this, Kisriev jolted sharply and came back to himself.
He wasn't here to watch!
"All hands, engage — targets are the Reapers — attack!!!"
Before long, at Kisriev's command, the Systems Alliance fleet surged into the battle alongside the Inquisition.
Compared to Kisriev who had already thrown himself into the fight, Duanmu Huai and his group...…were, genuinely, just there to watch.
"Go go go — blast every single one of them!"
Standing on the bridge and watching the fire flashing all around, Anne was jumping up and down with excitement. It was hard to blame her — after all, they had front-row seats to the whole spectacle. And though space carried no sound, watching those enormous metallic creatures detonate under a salvo of fire and send their shattered pieces spinning through the void in all directions — with fierce light blazing everywhere you looked — was genuinely enough to get the blood pumping. Anne was so excited she was half tempted to leap out there and fight herself — which of course was impossible.
No matter how powerful her magic was, Anne couldn't single-handedly take down a Reaper warship.
Most of the people who followed Duanmu Huai had experienced space combat before, and they watched the battlefield with excitement and curiosity. Only Mary stood frozen where she was, hands and feet cold, too afraid to move an inch. Though she had seen things like this in films and on television, actually being here made the experience entirely different.
There was none of the booming explosions or the crackle of beam weapons you heard in movies. Standing behind the window and looking out at the battle gave it almost the quality of a silent black-and-white film. Yet every time fire bloomed and one of those terrible metallic creatures detonated not far away, the oppressive weight of it pressed down on Mary far more heavily than anything a cinema had ever made her feel.
The Reaper offensive came in continuous waves, and the Inquisition and the Systems Alliance held firm — after all, everyone knew that if the Reapers broke through the defensive line and landed on any planet, it would be catastrophe. So no matter what, they had to hold here and stop the Reapers cold.
Of course, strictly speaking the Reapers outnumbered the combined Inquisition and Systems Alliance fleet, but Duanmu Huai had planned for this. Beyond the main fleet at the center of the engagement, he had deliberately held back three detachment fleets specifically to prevent the Reapers from feinting on one front while slipping around behind them.
And indeed, the Reapers did attempt exactly that — they launched a fierce assault against the Inquisition and Systems Alliance combined force, and while the defenders were fully occupied, split off a separate fleet to try to sweep around and strike from behind. Fortunately it was detected by Inquisition patrol ships and intercepted in time.
Which only confirmed that these Reapers were genuinely cunning.
In truth, only the Inquisition's main fleet and the Systems Alliance First and Third Fleets were engaged here. The Fifth and Seventh Fleets had not joined the battle — they were patrolling the various human star systems as defensive forces. After all, there was no telling what schemes the Reapers might have in reserve.
If you got too absorbed pushing into enemy territory only to turn around and find your base crystal had been taken out, there'd be nowhere to even cry about it.
Of course, the Systems Alliance could only afford to do this because the Inquisition fleet was powerful enough to hold the Reapers on its own. Any other race trying the same approach would just be handing the Reapers an opportunity to divide and conquer.
But the battle did not end quickly.
The reason, again, was simple — the Reapers simply had too many ships.
"Mr. Duanmu, this is going to be alright, isn't it."
Watching the battle unfold, even the previously elated Anne was starting to look worried — though mostly because she had worn herself out cheering.
"Mm...…it is a bit of a headache. I didn't expect there to be this many."
In the game, because there had been more players than locusts, the number of Reapers had never been a real concern for Duanmu Huai. But looking at it now, it was obviously a serious problem. From the start of the battle to this point, they had destroyed tens of thousands of Reapers, and yet more continued pouring in — looking for all the world like they intended to grind the defenders down through sheer attrition. It was starting to feel like fighting a Swarm.
The Systems Alliance First Fleet was nearly broken. Some warships had even been forced to withdraw from the engagement because they'd exhausted their ammunition...…which couldn't be helped — even the Systems Alliance probably hadn't anticipated the battle would be this grueling.
"Ugh...…I'm so frustrated, I want to go out there and fight!!!"
Anne was on the verge of literally jumping, and Guleya grabbed her helplessly.
"Anne, calm down — you wouldn't be able to help much out there."
"I know, I know, but it's just so infuriating. This is nothing like fighting in person — being stuck on the sidelines watching and doing nothing...…"
At that, Anne puffed out her cheeks and complained. She wasn't wrong — if this were ground combat, Anne and Guleya could lob a single fireball and take out entire swaths of enemies. But in space, there was essentially no role for them to play. On top of that, the enemy was the Reapers — not ordinary foes — so Duanmu Huai hadn't been planning any boarding actions. Which meant all they could do was watch.
Which was, to put it mildly, not fun.
Watching fleet combat was exciting enough, but if you couldn't join in, there was only so much satisfaction in it.
"Mr. Duanmu, give me a warship — I want to fight too! A charge! Just a straight charge — directly behind enemy lines!"
Was she planning some kind of banzai rush?
Hearing Anne's demands, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.
"Alright, if you're tired of watching, go sleep. This battle isn't going to be over anytime soon."
"What? You want me to sleep through this? Aren't you worried about waking up and finding ourselves blown to pieces?"
Not only Anne — even Mary was thinking the same thing. The fighting outside was total chaos. There was no sound, but who could possibly sleep under these conditions?
"Can't be helped. The Inquisition's fleet is currently outnumbered by the Reapers — all we can do is rely on firepower and durability."
"Hmm...…but sleeping here...…"
"————————!!"
But Anne's words were cut off as a Reaper not far ahead suddenly spread its claws wide, and a blinding red energy beam came lancing directly toward the warship they were on — only for it to vanish harmlessly into the void shield. In the next instant, a full macro-cannon broadside from their side reduced that metallic squid-creature to scattered fragments.
"...…I think I'll keep watching a little longer."
"If any of you are tired, you could always rest over at the Venus Island?"
"Hm? But Mr. Duanmu, you won't be going."
"I certainly can't leave."
After all, the Inquisition's warships were all controlled by puppets, and the puppets were under Duanmu Huai's command. In a sense, Duanmu Huai was currently brain-piloting a real-time strategy game — if he stepped away, the entire fleet would collapse.
This wasn't a game. You couldn't just press Esc to pause.
"Haah...…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Anne let out a helpless sigh.
"Fine. I'll stay here too then."
(End of Chapter)