DE: Chapter 1 Part 3 – Union Fleet VS Mercenary Fleet + Elves (1)

Headquarters of Smile Dog, Flagship Gruff

The Smile Dog’s headquarters and the flagship were staying nearby a Warp space station, which was located a bit further away from the planet Bennett.

After being safely retrieved by a transportation aircraft dispatched from the headquarters, I managed to return there to report the situation.

“And that’s it? You’re saying that you’re the only one who managed to escape and came back here. You really.”

“I didn’t want to either. It’s the result of my flexible response, Chairman. Besides, if you look at it another way, it was the people of the Union who caused this mess in the first place, right?”

In the Chairman’s office, which was decorated luxuriously from every corner, I was briefly explaining what had occurred between the Union and the Elves. Although the Chairman didn’t seem to trust my words, he listened patiently.

Incidentally, the Chairman is well-known for his thirst for money. He even looks like your typical money obsessed fat, old man.

The mercenary company Smile Dog has suffered a fair amount of damage from this incident. Therefore, their retreat wouldn’t be worth it unless they receive a reasonable amount of compensation from the Union. Furthermore, Smile Dog wasn’t the only one who was distrustful towards Union.

“If what you said is true, then leave it to that. We have to discuss the details with the Union anyway. And the fact that the Union has been involved in a riot with the Elves is worrying.”

“Personally, I’d recommend you to just take the compensation and run away, Mr. Chairman. Well, I don’t think they’ll hire us anymore.”

“Then hurry up and prepare the units. We’ll probably have to fight with the Union. And I’m certain that other mercenary companies will do the same.”

“Is that because of the Elves’ involvement?”

“…Just hurry up and make preparations!”

“Understood. Well then, I’ll be off.”

I left the luxurious office of the Chairman, filled with many items collected by the Chairman as a hobby. But looking at those bizarre things, I would honestly like to question his sense of choice.

“Well, I wonder what’s going to happen next. Even if a war were to break out, it would probably be in about three days at the earliest? Good grief, I sound like a pacifist in spite of myself.”

But that’s not what a guy who fell in love with a humanoid weapon at first sight and became a mercenary would say. Moreover, after finding out my gift, I realized that it would be more useful on the battlefield than in an ordinary career.

I headed to the hangar to work on adjustment on my aircraft.

For the mercenary company Smile Dog, the prime AW weapon is the ZC-04 Zargan. Because it is highly productive, inexpensive, and has easier maintenance.

Not only does it have better performance than is necessary for an AW, it is also a famous weapon used by various forces throughout history and around the world.

Although it was possible to customize your Zargan to any color or design you like, the one I operated didn’t have it. Because that way I wouldn’t become the enemy’s target unnecessarily.

Besides, I destroyed my Zargan more than often, so a normal one is better for me.

The feud between the Union company and mercenary companies, which I thought would occur in three days, took place five days later. Both the Union fleet and the mercenary fleet faced each other, while orbiting around the planet Bennett.

It was a standoff between the Union fleet and the mercenary fleet. The ratio of forces was 2 to 1, with the Union fleet outnumbering the mercenaries. In addition, the Union fleet was superior in terms of the quality of its fleet, experienced fighters, and advanced AWs. On the other hand, the mercenaries were a hodgepodge of various forces.

Additionally, the Union company was a well-known mid-tier company in this vast universe.

Therefore, there were quite a few similar companies that supported the Union company and sent their forces.

In contrast, although the Smile Dog would like to call themselves a mercenary company, in the end, we were just a bunch of thugs gathered together with our broken skills. It was obvious which side was the winner just considering these facts.

That was why the Chairman casually reached out to his fellow company owners.

Perhaps, if the battle situation turned out in our favor, we might receive one or two reinforcements from other mercenary companies. But even so, the mercenary fleet was still at a disadvantage.

However, this would have only happened if there weren’t an Elf fleet among our mercenary fleet.

“Listen carefully, everyone. This battle is to make the Union Company admit their incompetence. They have taken part in something that has violated the treaty, and now they want to force us to clean up after them.”

The Chairman gave a brief explanation of the situation over the communication device.

Well, to put it simply, the Union Company was trying to capture Elves and traffic them. They used the mercenary companies as a decoy to make the deal go smoothly. However, the Elves are no fools, so they easily found out who the mastermind was and that led to the current situation.

The only thing that made this situation most unprofitable to us was that we, the mercenary companies, had to play the role of decoys without knowing the true story. And above all, the Union Company used us as a bait without our permission. That was why people from other mercenary companies agreed to send reinforcement, because they were people who value reputation over profit.

In case you’re wondering, our Chairman was counting the money until the very end. But trust me, I don’t dislike that part about him!

After the brief explanation from the Chairman, the order was given to stand in position to prepare for battle. And finally, the fleets started firing at each other. Apparently, there were hardly any strategy meetings between the mercenary companies and the Elves. If anything, they only discussed where they would be stationed and that was it.

Flagship Gruff, first brigade.

Smile Dog’s fleet was centered around the flagship Gruff, which was a battleship itself, equipped with five destroyers and five frigates stationed in front. The other mercenary companies were positioned in a similar way.

And the Elf fleet, consisting of one battleship and six cruisers, was unexpectedly placed in the center of the mercenary fleets.

They must have made some sort of plan, but it was unclear at the moment. They were always secretive and elusive, so it was probably best to leave them alone. Forcing ourselves to get involved with them and then withdrawing from the battlefield would be disadvantageous for us.

In contrast, the Union fleet had their battleships stationed on the right and left wings, with a super battleship as their flagship in the center. Furthermore, they also overwhelmed us in terms of the number of cruisers and destroyers.

“Chairman, the battle will begin soon.”

“Hmph. Let’s show them what happens when they make us, a mercenary company, their enemy.”

“Understood. Prepare to fire master cannons.”

“Preparing to fire master cannons.”

Each fleet’s master cannons aimed at the target.

“Energy shields functioning normally.”

“Master cannon energy charge 60, 68, 78.”

“Energy transmission is normal for each cannon.”

“Preparing to launch the aircraft.”

And thus, the time for the battle to commence arrived.

“Target Union fleet, destroyer squadron at the front-line.”

[Target Mercenary fleet, destroyer squadron at the front-line.]

Whether it was an unexpected coincidence, we were aiming at each other’s front-line destroyer squadron at the same time. Perhaps both of us thought the same thing; if we could reduce each other’s fighting power even by one, it would be to our advantage.

“Master cannon energy charge complete.”

The master cannons mounted on the battleships and cruisers aimed at their targets.

“Attack, commence!”

[Firing, commence!]

High-power beams shot from the master cannons at the command of both the enemy and ally captains.

Finally, the fleet battle between the Union Company and the Mercenary Company has begun.