A Beautiful Day Begins with Boarding (Part 2)

The void battle was going smoothly.

Though Kasgar was a nepotism hire, his command was clearly sharp and perceptive.

He managed to catch the charging gaps in the enemy ships' laser weapons, seized air superiority, and swiftly destroyed a large number of enemy vessels, securing victory in the void war.

By all logic, the battle should have ended there.

But no!

Kasgar, like a Hunter Lord who hadn't had his fill, insisted on personally boarding a good xenos vessel!

As the scanner showed the xenos ship his boarding party had taken getting closer and closer to the Portal, the fleet commander's heart tightened.

Under normal circumstances, if they feared the enemy ship escaping, they'd just blow out its engines.

But these Crystalline Aliens' ships seemed unusually constructed; even with their vessels coordinating with the boarding team's intel to scan the enemy ship, they still couldn't pinpoint the engine's location.

Emperor above!

Why did they have to board?!

Wouldn't it be better to just blast them to slag with Lances and Macro Cannons?

Was boarding really that fun, that Coooooool?

As a fleet commander, he absolutely despised such barbaric boarding tactics.

"Sir."

"Maybe Kasgar's thinking and actions are a bit unorthodox, but what he does always ends up being crucial."

"Like when he ordered the retreat to wait for the right moment, giving us the chance to ambush the xenos ships."

The fleet commander recognized the speaker.

Corleon.

A young woman with exceptional talent in ship piloting, now serving as an apprentice to this Lunar-class Cruiser's captain, stepping forward to persuade him.

"Let's hope so."

He could only manage a bitter smile.

"Over here!"

"Follow me!"

Kasgar slowly advanced with his boarding shield, blasting every Crystalline Alien that dared block his path into charred slag.

Though the shield was heavy, his light steps showed no sign of slowing.

As a Space Marine modified with greater resources, Kasgar didn't know exactly what made him different, but in reflexes and strength, he already far surpassed standard Space Marine levels.

Pure numerical power.

And boarding? It really was fun, really Cooooooool!

"Almost there. This door leads to the xenos ship's central area."

"Tavitz, prepare the Melt-Explosive Charges."

"Understood."

Kasgar's Tactical Squad stopped before a massive, thick crystal door.

Unlike the jagged crystal elsewhere on the ship, this door was perfectly smooth, faintly glowing, casting a soft light across the deck.

Based on prior scans and feedback from other boarding teams, all other areas of the xenos ship had been explored, but neither the engine nor the command room had been found.

This was the core area of the Dropship Xenos Vessel, the only region still uncharted.

Even Kasgar's prized Mechanical Spider couldn't find an entrance here.

By process of elimination, their final target had to be this.

The Melt-Explosive Charges were set, detonation in ten seconds.

Ten!

Nine!

Seeing the massive explosive pack attached to the door, everyone quickly retreated, seeking cover.

One!

With a dull blast, Kasgar calmly raised his shield and slowly advanced into the final room.

Its structure differed from the rest of the ship.

A towering dome made of pure, transparent material, cut as elegantly and intricately as a jeweled diamond.

And around this circular room, instead of various crystals, everything happening in outer space was visible.

As if seeing through all obstructions, it laid the entire void outside bare.

Gunships and warships roaring past, and a cruiser trying to ram them to stop them from crossing the Portal—

All in plain view.

At this moment, the massive Dalit Warp Gate, glowing with its shimmering light screen, was still pressing ever closer toward them.

They had to hurry.

Kasgar thought to himself.

In this final chamber, aside from the crystal door they had just blown apart, there were no other entrances or exits.

The empty circular hall seemed to span several hundred meters in radius, and at its very center, a particularly enormous crystal floated silently in midair.

Like those Crystalline Aliens, this was a construct formed from countless transparent and semi-transparent crystals, but its size compared to what they had encountered before was simply colossal.

Standing roughly a dozen meters tall, the Crystalline Construct hovered quietly at the heart of the room, pulsing faintly.

It didn't seem to react to the arrival of uninvited guests like Kasgar.

"Fire at the core together."

Kasgar commanded calmly.

These aliens were more troublesome than he had anticipated.

From the look of things, the warship appeared to be directly controlled by this giant crystal, leaving them no external interface.

Taking control without damaging the structure was nearly impossible.

But since they were already here, they couldn't just leave empty-handed.

Kasgar tried to draw his Explosive Gun alongside the other two and fired at the crystal's core.

Hum!

Hum, hum, hum!

Several searing rays shot out from three points, converging together at the core of the massive crystal.

Yet on the crystal's outer shell, only a few thin scorch marks remained.

As the controller of the warship, its defenses seemed far superior to those of the Crystalline Aliens.

Kasgar's attack failed to penetrate its defenses.

And as the Ignition beams proved ineffective, the crystal seemed to realize something, constantly shifting the shape of its own structure.

Until the next moment, the center of that massive thing, scorched by the Ignition pistol's rays, aimed directly at them.

"Dodge!!!"

Aqua's shout from behind filled the entire hall in an instant.

Whoosh!

As if those crystal walls didn't exist at all, a massive beam shot toward the Tactical Squad's original position, carving a brilliant trail through the void.

This laser... it was exactly the same as the light cannons fired by those Xenos Warships!

Damn it!

Kasgar, who had barely dodged in time, felt a wave of lingering fear.

This thing wasn't just their command and control system—it was also the laser weapon of the alien warship!

"Is everyone alright?"

Kasgar looked around anxiously.

It seemed their Tactical Squad was truly a hidden den of masters; Tavitz and Lucius were both experts.

Even if their reflexes weren't as sharp as Kasgar's or the Sword Saint Aqua's, they still managed to barely evade that heavy blow.

"Captain, what now?"

Tavitz stood up and asked.

"Wait for the right moment."

"When it fired that laser just now, it seemed to expose its core."