The Exiled Count Acquired the Space Fortress of a Super Advanced Civilization - CH 32

“Opportunity, I wonder.”

Admiral Ratheke asked, wrinkling his brow.

“I see. Interesting.”

Vetsia clapped his hands to show his approval.

This was a little surprising, since Settsu had thought that Vee would be the first one to get on board.

“Looking at the course of the last battle, there is no doubt that the striking power of the fortress still stands out in this vicinity. Considering that the Federation’s main force will also have to be on the lookout for the Imperial Fleet, we now have the most free and powerful force in the region.”

“You say that, Admiral Vezia, but in the very battle that preceded it, we were successfully evaded.”

“It’s obvious why that happened. The reason for this is obvious: they split the army in two.”

“What, you’re blaming us for insisting that there should be two halves?”

Admiral Sadat colored at Vetsia’s provocation.

“I’m not going to talk about liability, but if you want to, I can?”

Vetsia’s words had a strange thorn in them.

I’m not a thorny man by nature.

“Who says I want to? Your lexicon is somewhat misleading, isn’t it?”

“Quiet, please.”

Settsu raised his voice a little.

“It’s an operation we all decided on in advance. If you want to say responsibility, you can say it’s everyone’s responsibility, or you can say it’s the Imperial Fleet’s responsibility for retreating. If the Imperial Fleet had held on, we would have won.”

Settsu said, looking around slowly at all the faces. Sadat looked a little embarrassed. Rateki and Eirune also had a pitying look on their faces.

Vetsia’s expression matched his, but Settsu thought that it was only an apparent expression, based on his experience so far.

The first person who comes to mind when I say the Imperial Fleet is responsible is the father of the boy in front of me, who was killed in action. It would be very immature to bring that up here and whip him into shape.

We have to end this talk of responsibility.

“I’m sorry, Commander Azna, Admiral Sadat.”

Vetsia took the initiative in apologizing.

“Yes, I suppose I got a little too heated myself. My apologies.”

“I don’t seem to have any good ideas, myself included. Does Commander Azna have any ideas?”

Vetsia said.

(I knew you were going to take it like this.)

Settsu was impressed. If Settsu could come up with a plan in this fashion, it would be difficult for them to oppose it. They had set the stage because they expected Setsu to have a good idea.

“I have an idea.”

He got on top of the stage, which had been set up for him, and cut to the chase.

“Today’s battle was an attempt to destroy the Federation fleet’s forces in order to get them to retreat. Unfortunately, that failed, and we probably won’t be able to pursue the fleet at the fortress for the rest of the battle.”

If Settsu is the commander of the enemy, he will run away first unless he can come up with a special way to deal with them or there are circumstances that prevent him from running away. He wouldn’t try to deal with them with fleet forces.

We might be able to somehow destroy or occupy the fortress, but the damage would be too great.

“What to do then? It’s easy. Just target the ones that can’t escape.”

“Something you can’t escape?”

Everyone raised a question mark.

Vee was the only one who noticed anything, haha, and made a face at me.

“What the hell are we doing with something that is essential for a fleet of tens of thousands of ships to operate?”

Essential for the fleet to operate are water and food for the crew, anti-matter and propellant for the ship.

The list of other necessities is endless. Water and food are not so easy to run out of, since the ship can carry a large amount of them, but the larger the fleet, the more propellant is consumed. The only way to keep the formation in order is to use propellant.

If you take combat actions, the amount consumed will be even greater.

Even if we try to procure them within the independent countries, each of the independent countries has an average fleet of about 1,000 ships.

The infrastructure to maintain 100,000 combat ships does not exist within the independent nations.

“Transported from the Federation homeland.”

“That’s right. And in order for the fleet to properly reach the supplies, the supply points must be determined in advance. Naturally, a considerable amount of supplies will be accumulated there.”

“Ummm, but where?”

“I’ll take that from the Glorious Head.”

Settsu turned to Vee.

Vee nodded slowly and pondered.

“We’ve been scouting for a possible Federation system to consolidate our supplies. Our fleet has identified a star system that the Federation forces are using as a supply depot.”

“What a surprise!”

“If you know where it is, we can talk fast.”

“But they will have a defensive force. No, you are not an enemy of the fortress.”

“If we head there, won’t the Raze fleet be on the defensive?”

“Forty thousand is nothing to be afraid of, considering the battle ahead.”

“But they’ll be waiting, they might set some kind of trap.”

A discussion of ‘how to do it’ began among the admirals. It was a topic that Settsu had been waiting for, so he quickly interjected.

“There will be traps. There is a big difference between a fortress and a fleet in terms of durability and ability to deal with traps. So I’m thinking of heading to the supply depot with just the fortress.”

There was an uproar among the admirals.

“It’s not like I’m going alone. It’s …….”

Many words were swallowed.

“I’m not trying to avenge my enemies. I have no intention of throwing away my life.”

Settsu took the initiative to verbalize it.

I tried to deny it, but they would be more aware of this.

Perhaps it was the fact that Setsuko had covered up his big emotions, but he was now able to calmly analyze the situation.

“I’m also a crew member of a pirate ship, the Black Silver Glory. I like to keep the big catches to myself.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

I made a conscious effort to make it seem as if the unfortunate boy whose father had just been murdered was trying to be brave and strong.

“All right. But we can’t do nothing either. I want to do something.”

When Vezia offered to do so, Vee made a suggestion.

“If we do that, the Federals won’t be able to keep concentrating their forces. The transports will be coming from the rear one after another.”

“Hmm, so we’re going to be pirates too. Sounds like fun.”

Vetsia laughed. The other admirals seemed to be on board.

“I heard. We’re going in with one fortress?”

When Settsu returned to his private office after discussing the details of the mission, Kitty was relaxing in the reception room.

Oh, by the way, we had entered the fortress as if we were in the middle of a meeting.

“Yes, I do. You’ve got quick ears.”

“Just for the record, are you thinking something bad?”

“I’m not thinking anything weird, but I am thinking something bad.”

Settsu laughed as he sat down on the couch. I’m not desperate.

Seeing his smile, Kitty laughed as well.

“Well, that’s a relief. Can I come with you?”

“Come here?”

Not a pirate fleet, Settsu asked.

“Yeah. Fleet operations don’t really suit me. Reconnaissance would be useful.”

“Even if you say no……, I’m going to follow you.”

“Hmmm, you can’t leave your henchmen out in the cold.”

“All right. All right.”

Settsu complied.

A single ship would be able to be quickly contained within the fortress in case of emergency, and in some cases, it would be able to escape.

“That’s what I’m talking about. So, is the alcohol coming out yet?”

“Alcohol?

“Yes, after a hard day’s work, we have a drink. That’s what pirates do.”

“Mitski, get her ready.”

“Understood”

Mitsuki began to move quickly.

“Oh, Mitski, two for you, and one for Set.”

Kitty didn’t seem to have any intention of releasing Settsu for a while.

“I still have things to do, though.”

“If you’ve decided on a plan, you can leave it to Mitsuki. You’ll have to go with me today.”

“I understand.”

Settsu let out a sigh. He was glad that Kitty had taken the trouble to show up, even though he was the one who needed her company.