Fantasy Galaxy: Why Are There Goblins and Orcs in Space?

Chapter 12 : Furious Particle Bullet

The giant monster was advancing on a trajectory approaching the fourth planet. Pandemonium erupted across both the Goblin Race and the Orc fleet, and a deluge of transmissions crackled back and forth.

「Captain Bōburo. That monster is a Threat Level 8 Armored Artillery Anemone.」

The Armored Artillery Anemone was a colossal monster capable of growing to over three kilometers in total length. Worse, the armor sheathing its entire body like a turtle's shell deflected every weapon the Orc Race and Goblin Race possessed, while bombardment tentacles extending from the gaps in that shell fired plasma projectiles.

This Armored Artillery Anemone was a living battleship. The Orc fleet was the first to decide on retreat. When scores of vessels fled toward the side opposite the star, the Armored Artillery Anemone - driven by its instinct to chase fleeing prey - gave pursuit.

The Goblin fleet's officers and soldiers breathed a collective sigh of relief, but within that fleet, the second-class scouting vessel Gyogaru received an order: 'Monitor the Armored Artillery Anemone's movements.' Captain Bōburo issued the command to pursue the Armored Artillery Anemone, displeasure written across his face.

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「Zen, thish is bad. The Orc fleet is heading our way.」

Hearing Sario's words, I leaned in toward the radar detector's monitor. It showed a mass of vessels and one enormous presence bearing down on our position.

「What's the big one behind them?」

「Probably a giant monshter. This could be our chance.」

「How so?」

「If the Orc fleet fleesh into Transition-Space, the giant monshter might generate a Trans-Space-Time Jump Field to chashe them…… If we slip into that field, we might be able to reach a nearby star system.」

I nodded.

「Will we be okay without cutting the radar?」

「The Orc fleet is blashting radar waves everywhere. Ours will be lost in the noise. And even if they did notice, nobody's coming to investigate in this situation.」

「Fair point. But why hasn't the Orc fleet escaped into Transition-Space already?」

「Diving into a Trans-Space-Time Jump Field in a region with shtrong shtellar gravity is dangerous. They'll probably generate the Trans-Space-Time Jump Field once they've put a bit more distance from the star.」

「Makes sense.」

「This isn't the time to sit around watching. We're launching the shmall shpacecraft.」

I headed to the battle room and began flying the small spacecraft on a course that would arc around the Orc fleet and bring us in behind the giant monster.

I used Tenshiryoku Drive to accelerate the small spacecraft. The Orc fleet had probably noticed our small spacecraft, but they didn't look to have the luxury of bothering with us.

As we drew closer to the giant monster, terror seized me hard enough to make my legs tremble. From a turtle-like hulk roughly three kilometers long, countless tentacle-like appendages jutted outward, writhing and undulating - grotesque. The only relief was that the giant monster showed no interest in our small spacecraft.

When the small spacecraft swung around behind the giant monster, a new problem arose. The scouting vessel Gyogaru was flying nearby. On the bright side, it diluted my fear of the giant monster.

「That's the scouting vessel Gyogaru. What's it doing here?」

「Probably monitoring the Orc fleet and the giant monshter's movements. This is bad - Gyogaru intendsh to attack!」

The scouting vessel Gyogaru opened fire with its laser cannon. Sario burned propellant in a frantic series of course corrections for the small spacecraft.

「Zen, return fire!」

Sario's voice blared from the speaker, almost a scream. Hearing it, I recalled the image of Berta, Rieto, and Dimasu in their final moments.

「Let's give them hell.」

I settled back into the battle room's seat and fixed my eyes on the scouting vessel Gyogaru. Varubo, the scouting unit's former commander, should be aboard that ship. Him alone, I would never forgive.

I opened the Power Conduit's Control Gate to Release Level T and drew in Bosoru particles and Tenshiryoku. I wanted to use Release Level 1, but I still couldn't control Tenshiryoku beyond Release Level T. Tenshiryoku Drive was the exception, thanks to the Acceleration Force Field Circuit.

The distance to the scouting vessel Gyogaru was roughly forty kilometers. At this range, landing a particle bullet would be difficult.

I shaped Bosoru particles into a particle bullet and fired it toward Gyogaru using Tenshiryoku. The particle bullet streaked forward trailing a pale yellow glow - and sailed past the scouting vessel, missing by over a hundred meters.

A laser lanced back in retaliation, slicing past the side of the small spacecraft. If that had connected, Sario and I would both be dead. Fear welled up, but I summoned the memory of Berta and the others and drowned that fear in rage, forcing myself to focus on the fight.

「Aim carefully!」

I heard Sario's voice. Easy for him to say - the distance was too great. Another laser barrage streaked from the scouting vessel. This time, the beam passed right next to me.

Lasers were invisible to the naked eye, but ever since Zorofiēnu had bestowed the High-Dimensional Access Method upon me, I'd become able to sense the presence of high-energy phenomena.

I unleashed particle bullet after particle bullet at the scouting vessel. Gyogaru returned fire, but whether due to poor targeting system performance or otherwise, nothing hit. Apparently frustrated, the scouting vessel began closing the distance.

「Sario, if a full-blown battle breaks out here, won't it draw the giant monster's attention?」

I voiced the concern nagging at me.

「No, the Orc fleet and the giant monshter should be shtarting their own fight any moment now. We'll be fine.」

Hearing that, I locked my gaze on the scouting vessel. Laser cannon fire kept hammering at us all the while. But the small spacecraft's constant, jittering course corrections kept them from connecting.

I extended my right arm, shaped my hand into a finger gun, took careful aim at the scouting vessel, and fired a particle bullet. Another miss. In response, the scouting vessel launched a high-speed missile.

This was bad. I waited for the high-speed missile to close in, let it come just close enough, then fired a particle bullet straight at it. By sheer luck, the particle bullet struck home and the high-speed missile detonated.

Captain Bōburo, his expensive high-speed missile intercepted, seemed to fly into a rage. He recklessly decided to move in close and finish us with the laser cannon. I watched the approaching scouting vessel and drew a deep breath.

The resolve to avenge Berta and the others swelled inside me until it filled every corner of my mind. In that moment, fury toward the Goblin Race overwhelmed everything else, and I felt no fear at all.

Rage became the trigger. My mind surged with heightened focus, concentration sharpening to a razor's edge. The scouting vessel Gyogaru's form snapped into vivid clarity, and I took aim and fired a particle bullet. Even so, the distance between us remained considerable, and landing a hit still required luck.

Luck, it seemed, was on my side. The particle bullet struck the scouting vessel near the stern. Fired with only the Tenshiryoku of Release Level T, the particle bullet's explosive force was limited. The blast dented part of the engine and knocked it out of commission - nothing more - but unable to accelerate, the ship began falling behind.

「Sario, can I slow down?」

「No! Shtay with the giant monster!」

「Damn it.」

I glared at the scouting vessel as it drifted steadily farther away, and gave up the chase.