The new Blue Knight had plenty of mobility, but its size made that difficult to capitalize on, so dogfights where the situation constantly changed should be avoided as a rule.
“The other thing I can think of is that they have countermeasures for psychic powers in place,” Kiriha said. “They know that Sanae has Spirit Vision and that you pilot the Blue Knight. Camouflage for spiritual energy would help them a lot.”
Even if they felt only a small amount of spiritual energy, that didn’t mean that was true. Just as Yurika could use spells to hide mana, it wouldn’t be strange for the enemy to be able to hide their spiritual energy.
“We’re slower, so I’d like to be able to foresee their movements...but they won’t let me, huh,” Koutarou said. He preferred to use his psychic powers to read how the enemy would attack and prevent it. It was the best way for the Blue Knight to fight, so spiritual energy being camouflaged put him at a slight disadvantage.
“It is a little hard to get a grasp of the enemy’s goal,” Sanae-nee said. “If he is the enemy, he will show himself. He’s used this kind of obstruction before.”
If the enemy really was camouflaging their spiritual energy, she believed that it was the Gray Knight. Chaos was the power to make things vague, making it suitable to obstruct spiritual energy and mana.
“Another possibility is the Gray Knight depriving the crew of their free will. That would also lower their spiritual energy,” Kiriha said.
Spiritual energy fluctuated depending on a person’s emotions. As was clear when looking at Sanae, it could greatly elevate spiritual energy. On the contrary, there was next to no spiritual energy coming from someone who wasn’t thinking about anything. So if the Gray Knight was using magic or something to control the crew, they would move without thinking much at all, reducing their spiritual energy. Moreover, anyone who had their free will stolen would quietly follow orders without mixing in any personal opinions, making them quicker to take action. So Kiriha thought it was a possibility.
“Right...if they are only following orders, they won’t emit any spiritual energy,” Koutarou said with a nod.
While he’d borrowed his power from Sanae, he could use psychic powers as well, so he could understand what Kiriha was saying. He’d personally experienced more power when he was angry.
“There are plenty of other possibilities, but I think we can narrow it down to these three,” Kiriha concluded. “Or perhaps a mix of the three.”
She guessed that it was either a lack of crew, camouflage, or stolen free will, or alternatively, a combination of them. For example, stealing free will to increase action speed due to a lack of crew.
“It would appear it’s just like Kiriha is saying!” Theia said, opening fire. She was using a defensive anti-space-laser cannon.
An explosion rang out near the Blue Knight. Koutarou couldn’t hide his surprise. “Missiles?!” he exclaimed.
“They fired stealth missiles so that you wouldn’t pick up on it!” Theia shouted.
The enemy had responded to Koutarou’s request to surrender with missiles. With stealth missiles, as long as Koutarou and Sanae didn’t detect the launch, they could work as a surprise attack, especially since the Blue Knight was so large.
“How impudent!” Theia said.
The attack had failed because she had remained on guard and the Blue Knight had a wide suite of defensive equipment. Not only was it a flagship, but it also carried a lot of important people, so it was packed with defenses. The composite radar had detected the presence of the stealth missiles, and Theia had shot them down.
“Don’t you have any honor?!” Theia shouted as she shot down the missiles one after another. While it would have been okay if it was after the battle started, a surprise attack at the start went against what she felt was proper war etiquette.
“Ruth, I’m sure you’re busy, but keep an eye on the communications,” Kiriha said. “They might be keeping in touch with someone.”
“I understand,” Ruth said with a nod.
“And, Theia-dono, the enemy is desperate too. They don’t have the time to care about manners,” Kiriha continued.
After giving instructions to Ruth, she called out to Theia with a wry smile. The enemy had their backs to the wall. It was an important battle for them since their stronghold had been located, and an attack was incoming so they were doing everything they could to stall it. Moreover, they didn’t have the numbers to fight fair and square. They would use whatever means possible to occupy the region and stop the Imperial Army.
“I can understand their circumstances, but I have no sympathy for them,” Theia replied.
That was all the more reason for her to crush them. If the Imperial Army was stalled, the war would be prolonged, leading to a decline of Forthorthe.
“You are right,” Kiriha naturally agreed. “We have to win.”
A peaceful Forthorthe meant a peaceful People of the Earth. They were already bound by an inseparable connection, so defeat was not an option.
“Theiamillis-san, the secondary batteries are about to enter effective range,” Clan said.
Missile attacks weren’t very effective in space battles in Forthorthe, since they would be shot down by lasers like Theia had just done. Stealth missiles had almost hit them this time, but normally there were specialized ships with radars and sensors that would detect missiles ahead of time. It had only worked as a surprise attack this time because of the irregular situation, but the battle normally started when ships entered gun range.
“Good!” Theia said.
She shot down missiles with the lasers while taking aim at the enemy destroyer in the front of the enemy fleet with the secondary batteries. The reason the main cannon wasn’t being used was that it was an antimatter cannon. Because of its firepower, it wasn’t something they wanted to use unless the situation really demanded it. Moreover, the enlarged Blue Knight’s secondary batteries were as powerful as the main cannons of other battleships, not to mention it had a lot of them. Theia chose a laser cannon from among them. The laser was made of light, so it was pinpoint accurate and hit very quickly. Moreover, since they were in empty space, there was nothing to reduce its power or twist its trajectory. Because of that, space battles in Forthorthe almost always started with a firefight using lasers.
“You won’t be able to escape my aim with some simple evasive maneuvers!” Theia fearlessly said with a smile while pulling the trigger. The high-performing, stable, and powerful laser cannon that had also been on the old Blue Knight flew straight through space and hit her target.
“Direct hit! Enemy distortion field is down, but they have taken minimal damage!” Ruth reported.
“What?!” Theia’s eyes opened wide. She was surprised that the enemy ship had endured a direct hit from the laser bombardment. The laser might have lost some power from this distance, but it was hard to imagine that a direct hit would only be able to destroy the distortion field from within the effective firing range.
“It’s those missiles!” Clan exclaimed. “The warheads were fired with particles to diffuse lasers!”
The stealth missiles fired at the start had been for defense. The outcome would have been the same whether the missiles had been shot down or self-destructed. Particles had been scattered that lowered the power of lasers, allowing the enemy destroyer to endure the hit.
“The enemy knows how we, or rather how Forthorthe, fights in fleet battles. It would appear that this is no simple foe,” Kiriha noted while looking at the hologram with a sharp stare. As she said, it was apparent that they weren’t up against their average opponent.
They used stealth missiles to be sure to scatter the particles, and used that to close the distance, Kiriha thought. They are very good. Is it Grevanas? No, considering the lack of spiritual energy it’s probably...
She had a bad feeling about this. The new Blue Knight’s strengths were its large generators, its range, and its firepower. Theia made use of those strengths to attack the enemy from outside of their range. But the enemy had predicted that and taken measures against it. Moreover, the stealth missiles had ensured that the particles would be scattered near the Blue Knight. If the enemy blocked the first shot and got within range, the Blue Knight wouldn’t be able to one-sidedly attack. It was clear the enemy was commanded by someone who understood how to fight. They were no easy foe. Kiriha felt the commander was someone as intelligent as Grevanas.