“I know how you feel,” the captain told them. “Our enemies are the Blue Knight and the princesses. But I want you to fight calmly. This is a critical juncture for our cause, and our allies are fighting even now!”
The soldiers were shaken up, but the captain’s mention of their allies still fighting moved them. They valued their allies more than anything. That was thanks to Ralgwin’s influence. He would never abandon his subordinates. Even in situations like these, his popularity supported the troops.
“We’ll buy as much time as we can for the people on the surface!” The crew recovered and responded, getting back to work. Their job was to delay the Blue Knight for as long as possible. They didn’t think they could win, but until the Imperial Army’s fortress fell, the Liberation Army wouldn’t be able to suppress the region. So their job was to buy enough time for the ground forces to accomplish that.
“Captain, the Blue Knight is charging in!” the operator announced.
“Get ready to intercept! Wait, what is that?!” the captain exclaimed.
The approaching ship’s appearance was bizarre. It was pushing an asteroid with its massive arm and using it as a shield as it charged.
“How are we supposed to fight that?!” the captain shouted.
Humanoid-shaped battleships were said to be weak, but that wasn’t the case here. The Blue Knight made full use of its size to grab an asteroid as a shield to cover its approach. Such a fighting method deviated from that of a normal fleet battle. The captain had never seen it before, nor had he been taught anything like it in the military academy. His earlier resolve crumbled.
Old or new, Koutarou didn’t think of the Blue Knight as a battleship. That was probably because he used his armor to pilot it, so he viewed it more as a giant robot. When he passed by an asteroid, it seemed natural to use it for cover, like one would hide behind rocks in a shoot-out.
“There are times I think that man is a genius,” Clan muttered in exasperation.
The new ship, which she had packed with all kinds of technology, was pushing a rock in front of it. That sort of idea had never occurred to her. There had been suggestions to give the ship a large shield, but that had ultimately ended up becoming the active distortion field. Yet now, the Blue Knight wasn’t even using a shield but a rock. It had arms and thrusters in its legs, making it suitable for carrying something. Moreover, Ruth was controlling the distortion field from the operator’s seat, supporting the joint as well as using the distortion field to accelerate and decelerate the asteroid, allowing for the Blue Knight to push one of considerable mass. Even so, Clan couldn’t help but want to curse at the idea of using something so basic.
“He’s just an idiot, surely,” Theia said bluntly. “There’s a fine line between genius and stupidity.”
She was sniping from behind the rock. Though she felt it was effective, she was unhappy that it lacked any semblance of elegance. The asteroid was blocking most enemy attacks. Some lucky hits landed, but they couldn’t take down the Blue Knight’s distortion field. Still, the price for its sturdy defense was how lame it was. Theia didn’t think royalty should be hiding behind a rock and taking potshots. But it was producing results, as she succeeded in shooting down another ship.
“I like this asteroid plan!” Sanae added her opinion. “Go, asteroid! Burn away the original sin of humanity!”
In an episode of her favorite anime, Hyper Dimension Yamato Nadeshiko, an asteroid was dropped on Earth, rendering it uninhabitable. Sanae had gotten excited when she remembered that.
“We’re not burning anything away,” Koutarou said. He knew the anime she was thinking about, so he looked at her with a hint of disappointment. In fact, they’d even had the AI calculate their movements to ensure that the asteroid wouldn’t be caught in the gravity well of any planets.
“I know,” Sanae said. “If you really did that, we’d be over.” She knew that Koutarou would never do such a thing, nor was it something she actually desired. She was just happy that the situation was similar to an anime episode.
“Regardless of our circumstances, the enemy is shaken,” Kiriha said. “I am glad you are on our side, Koutarou.”
The asteroid actually had another interesting effect aside from just being used as a shield. The enemy had been in a close formation to intercept the ship, figuring that by focusing their fire, they might be able to defeat the Blue Knight. The asteroid had destroyed that plan. Not only did the rock get in the way, but also it forced the ships to spread out and go around it. That meant their firepower was spread out, and based on their movements, Kiriha could tell that they were confused.
“Satomi Koutarou, keep the asteroid between us and most of the scattered enemies,” she said.
“Got it!” Koutarou replied with a nod.
Kiriha wanted to make full use of the confusion. Having scattered, the enemy’s formation was uneven. The denser part of the formation was the more dangerous one, so the most effective way to use the asteroid was to block those ships.
“All that’s left is for Theia-dono to shoot down the enemies that appear from the shadow of the asteroid,” Kiriha noted.
“The fact that this asteroid is surprisingly useful bothers me...” Theia grumbled.
Six enemy ships remained. Three of them were still in a position behind the asteroid where they couldn’t be seen, while the remaining three were gradually emerging. That would create a series of one-on-one battles that the Blue Knight could push through with its firepower. At least, that was the image in Theia’s mind.
“But they should know that as well,” Clan said. “They’ve sent out a bunch of fighters.”
The enemy did what they could to respond to the bizarre situation. Though initially confused, they started calming down as time passed. By sending out fighters, they were making up for the uneven formation.
“So, it’s finally our time.” Nefilforan had been equally confused by the situation, but with the enemy taking a familiar action, she was finally able to come around. She sent out fighters from her Hidden Leaves to intercept the enemy. The Blue Knight had a clear weak spot, so it was her time to shine.
The Imperial Army had been thrown into confusion by the asteroid being pushed toward them, but as time passed, they became capable of rational thought again. The captain had ordered the fighters to be sent out.
“I can’t say I have any experience with this situation. This is a surprise,” he muttered as he looked at the deploying fighters. His name was Dalize. He had joined the Imperial Army at a young age and risen through the ranks thanks to his talents. He had already been a vice captain when he met Ralgwin, whom he looked up to, and continued fighting at his side. There had been all kinds of battles, from aliens from outer space to simple pirates. As a result, the captain had been promoted to the position he now held. But not a single one of those enemies had used an asteroid. Dalize was finally starting to understand what it meant to fight the Blue Knight.
“An enemy you can’t read is hard to deal with,” the vice captain said. “It’s amazing His Excellency, Ralgwin, was able to fight against this.”
They had lost two ships while gripped by confusion. When calmly assessing their situation, it was clear how excellent Ralgwin was.
“Let’s believe we can do the same,” the captain replied. “This war might be over if we can’t hold our ground.”
He understood the situation perfectly. With the location of their stronghold having been leaked to the Imperial Army, everything would be decided based on whether they could pass through the junction they were at. Without this area, the Imperial Army couldn’t reach the stronghold. It might be possible if they took a detour, but by then it would have been moved. So the enemy had no choice but to attack from the front, which means it all depended on how long the Blue Knight could be stalled and whether the fortress could be taken down. They were currently doing a very dangerous tightrope walk. But they continued in spite of that.
The vice captain voiced his concerns. “But can we really do it with our current forces? We are up against the Blue Knight.”