Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!-Chapter 157: Mission Rewritten

We only had a short window to launch a surprise attack. Thankfully, all ships were already prepared—just as I had instructed them earlier.

Without missing a beat, all turrets turned—locked—toward the single Leviathan-class ship within our sights. It was one of the Shadowless Hawks' vessels, and not just any regular unit. Judging by its configuration, it most likely housed someone of high status—possibly even a vice leader or a senior officer.

"FIRE!"

But honestly, that part didn't really matter.

On my command, every turret roared to life at once, unleashing a blazing light show that illuminated the dark void of space.

The Leviathan-class ship's shields struggled desperately as they absorbed the incoming firepower, but predictably, they didn't last very long. After all, this was a combined assault from 183 ships. No ship, no matter how advanced, could stand up to that kind of barrage indefinitely.

The shields collapsed in mere seconds, and then the hull was exposed.

Lasers bored deep into its body, gamma rays fried what remained of the onboard systems, and kinetic rounds detonated across the reinforced plating. In an instant, the warship turned into metallic Swiss cheese—before erupting into a blinding, yet brief, explosion.

"Enemy decimated!" Nyssra reported, scanning the aftermath and confirming the results multiple times to be sure.

I gave a small nod, smiling slightly but not daring to relax just yet. "Good. Ready the turrets again. Stay sharp, everyone—no letting your guards down."

We watched silently as the two battered Voltherian ships continued moving forward, the spatial portal behind them flickering, then beginning to collapse.

Just as the warp portal folded in on itself completely, a new comms signal pinged our console.

{You saved us back there. Thank you, soldier.}

It was the voice of an old man—likely one of the ship captains. His tone carried genuine gratitude, but also cautious suspicion.

{Can I know the name of our benefactor? Your fleet doesn't match any registered battalion IDs. Which division are you from?}

"Oh, we're not part of the Military," I answered plainly, offering a friendly smile. "We're a mercenary troupe—the Rolling Clowns—at your service," I replied.

Of course, this wasn't a lie... at least, not exactly. According to our falsified data, which I made just earlier, that's who we were. If someone with any decent hacking or info-gathering skills looked deeper, they'd probably uncover the illusion I'd hastily put in place.

Just like Nyssra did when she covered our tracks before, I had done the same this time—although admittedly, much rougher and rushed due to the situation.

If they dug too deep, they'd definitely discover that it was all a forged identity.

{A mercenary troupe?!} the old man repeated, surprised but seemingly relieved. {Even better! With that kind of firepower... Then, may we, the Voltherian Military, hire your troupe immediately?!}

"..."

They must've been severely pushed to the brink by the Shadowless Hawks—desperate enough to gamble everything on a bunch of strangers who just happened to cross paths.

"Sorry, sir, but we're already on assignment," I replied, shaking my head gently. "And we're actually in a rush—our current package is time-sensitive, so we really can't afford any delays."

{... I see. I understand.}

The old man let out a heavy sigh. His face showed deep disappointment, and I felt a stab of guilt.

If he knew what we were really up to—how it might complicate their situation even more—I didn't want to imagine his reaction. I quickly forced the thought away.

"Then, we'll be on our way. Please, take care of yourselves."

Just as I was about to cut the connection, the old captain spoke up again with a hesitant tone.

{You... won't be asking for compensation?}

Oh! Right...! If we were truly mercenaries, we wouldn't just help someone for free. Mercenaries are notorious for demanding payment upfront—some even threaten their clients before lifting a finger. And here we were, having just "saved" these guys without saying a word about payment.

"Just think of it as your lucky day—warping right into our path," I said with a smirk. "If you'd ended up somewhere else, we wouldn't have even noticed you, let alone stepped in."

Knowing that lingering too long might stir up suspicion or scrutiny, I offered a quick, slightly awkward salute before wrapping things up.

"Well, time's short and we're already behind schedule. We've got to go. Farewell."

I turned to Eva, and without needing to say anything, she immediately understood. She resumed the navigation sequence, coordinated all ships in our fleet, and re-engaged the jump drives.

The military ships simply watched as we disappeared into the distance.

Soon after, we entered hyperspace and left the scene behind.

After a while, I finally let out a long, exhausted sigh and slumped back into my chair.

"Fuck... That really caught me off guard," I muttered, half-laughing.

Who would've thought the military would flee and accidentally warp right into our exact trajectory? That's like dropping a needle off the Eiffel Tower and having it land straight into a pincushion lying on the ground.

"We shot down a ship from that pirate group earlier, didn't we...?" Nyssra turned toward me, a trace of concern in her voice. "Would it hinder our task or anything...?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"Dunno..."

To be honest, I have no clear idea.

We did take them down, but only after they entered the warp portal. The number of witnesses should be small enough to ignore—and even in the worst-case scenario, I had already deployed a fake wall of information to shield our real data.

They shouldn't be able to trace the destruction of that Leviathan-class ship back to us at all!

...At least, that's assuming everything went smoothly.

"Rather, we should be nearing our destination by now." I shook my head, dragging my thoughts back to the main objective. "We need to decide which infiltration plan to go with."

We had prepared several detailed plans for various scenarios. The real issue wasn't the quality of the plans, but choosing which one would suit the actual circumstances best.

"Let's see..."

I brought up the star map and checked our current position. We were just an hour away from the border now—faster than originally projected, but a welcome advantage.

"Once we reach the border, we'll activate stealth functions and proceed the covert route."

Zooming in on the border, I pointed at a scatter of stations arranged in a broken line.

"To minimize risk, we'll avoid direct contact with the border stations. Since we already have the passkey ready, we shouldn't trigger any of their defense protocols while slipping through."

I traced a path on the star map—from the border to the fifth planet, then the third, and finally, the first.

"After that, we'll head for planet A1-01 and retrieve a VIP, then circle back to secure the Primula on A1-03." I concluded, turning to Nyssra for confirmation. "Sound good?"

"You..."

But the moment I finished, she stared at me, visibly stunned.

Of course, what I just laid out wasn't part of any of the original plans we created. I didn't blame her for the reaction—the VIP Rescue segment was something I had just added on the fly.

Nyssra bit her lip and lowered her head, shaking it slowly.

"I appreciate the thought, but it's too dangerous." She said quietly, her tone lined with disappointment and sorrow. "We should stick to the original plan—"

"But what if the elders grow desperate? What if they use your mother as a bargaining chip?" I interrupted, narrowing my gaze to read her response.

"That..." Nyssra faltered.

Right.

If her mother were taken hostage, Nyssra would be forced to comply and hand over the Primula even if we managed to secure it. That's precisely why this impromptu VIP Rescue might become the keystone of our mission.

The success or failure of the entire Heist Plan could depend on it.

After a long, contemplative pause, Nyssra finally gave a slow, firm nod.

"Alright, I get it." She murmured, resignation and determination mixing in her voice. "Arthur, Eva... Please help me save my mother!"

A grin crept across my lips as I saw that flicker of fire return to her eyes. "Leave it to us!" I replied, slamming my armored fist against my chestplate.

"Yeah," Eva chimed in. "Leave it to Arthur. He's got a knack for saving things."

"...That was a compliment, right?" I asked, a suspicious eyebrow raised.

Eva only shrugged, grinning mischievously. "Could be."

Even though the danger hadn't lessened in the slightest, the mood on the Black Halberd's bridge had shifted to something lighter.

And just like that, time slipped by.

As we neared the border—and before we entered visible detection range—I activated the stealth and camouflage modules on every ship in our fleet. This layered combination would conceal us from both active and passive sensors, and even visual monitoring through standard or enhanced imaging.

Not even thermographic lenses could detect us now. It was a perfect setup for silent infiltration and covert travel.

The only drawback? We couldn't initiate a Hyperspace Jump while either module was active. So we had to cross the border at subluminal cruise speeds.

Like patient sea turtles crawling across shifting sands, we crept forward, slipping unnoticed past the border control. A brief green pulse blinked on the bridge's main screen as we crossed the threshold—a signal that "something" had validated our passkeys and permitted us safe passage.

"I thought they'd at least do a secondary verification on the passkeys..." I muttered, still uneasy at how smoothly it had gone.

"The passkeys are verified by automated drones spread across different checkpoints," Nyssra explained. "There's no manual intervention possible. And crossing without alarms is better than flying in, guns blazing."

"Well... just saying." I replied with a shrug.

Our entire fleet continued forward, cloaked and silent as a whisper in a hurricane.

Once we were well beyond the detection radius of the border stations—with a generous safety buffer—we didn't waste a single second.

"Now! Fire up the Jump Drives!" I barked. "We've got an Empress to save!"