Legacy of the Void Fleet

Reading that, Baku narrowed his eyes and instantly understood what was happening.

”A saturated bombardment... They’re using it as a smokescreen to cover their escape,” Baku muttered with a grunt of displeasure.

”Think you can escape just like that? Not a chance! Not while I’m here!”

SWOOSH!!

With that, Baku pushed the control levers of his mech forward, engaging its thrusters.

”Direct all shield power to the front!” he ordered the mech’s intelligent system.

As he dodged the incoming attacks, he either deflected the ones he couldn’t avoid with his spear or took them down using his back-mounted cannon system.

BANG! BANG!

”Lieutenant!”

Suddenly, a voice came through the communication channel, ringing directly inside Baku’s cockpit. It belonged to none other than Second Lieutenant Anu.

”Second Lieutenant, take charge of the squadron immediately! Break through the screen created by the pirates! I’m going to stop them!” Baku spoke without waiting for her to say anything, all while focusing on dodging the incoming attacks as he drew closer and closer to the Bull Fang.

Second Lieutenant Anu didn’t say anything further. Hearing his orders, she immediately responded over the common channel.

”Yes, Lieutenant!”

At the same time, inside the Bull Fang, Colt had already begun breaking into a cold sweat. His smokescreen wasn’t having nearly the effect he’d expected.

Instead, he watched in disbelief as an enemy mech rushed straight through the barrage of attacks without slowing down or stopping!

”Take it down! Take that mech down for me, dammit!” Colt roared at the top of his lungs, directing his fury at the weapons operators. ”What kind of useless fools are you?! You can’t even take down a single mech for me?!”

He was practically going mad at this point!

The pirate weapons operators did their best to lock onto Baku’s mech with the assistance of the onboard AI targeting system.

To ensure they could finally take Baku down, they even redirected several of their secondary weapons toward his mech.

The weapons mounted along the dorsal section of the Bull Fang rotated toward Baku and began to roar!

BANG! BANG!

[Warning! High-powered attacks detected approaching from the front!]

Baku’s Scythe-class mech detection system quickly picked up the powerful incoming attacks and immediately warned him.

”Hmph!”

Baku snorted and slowly released his grip on the controls. As a result, his mech’s forward speed began to decrease within seconds.

He then adjusted its stance.

[Raging Spear Style: Raging Spear Starfall!]

Mana began leaking from his body, permeating the cockpit before spreading throughout the mech. It surged toward the spear, coating it in radiant white energy.

BOOM!!

With a massive fluctuation of energy that caused even space itself to ripple, Baku’s mech, now completely coated in radiant energy, shot straight toward the Bull Fang without even bothering to dodge.

Whatever attack came into contact with even the slightest edge of the radiant energy was instantly destroyed and neutralized.

At the same time, aboard the Bull Fang, Colt was left utterly dumbfounded.

”B-Battle Technique?! Using it with a m-mech? H-how is this possible?!”

Colt felt as though his entire understanding of reality had just crumbled before his eyes. He was capable of using Battle Techniques himself, as were many others, but never had he seen a pilot combine one with a mech!

It was simply considered an impossibility throughout the entire galaxy. And yet, right before his very eyes, exactly that was happening.

Colt didn’t have much time to think about this, however, as...

BANG!!! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Baku’s Scythe-class mech collided head-on with the Bull Fang’s shields. But unlike the previous time, the shields were already on their last legs. Combined with the immense boost provided by his Battle Technique, Baku’s attack was enough to tear through the Bull Fang’s remaining shield integrity.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE! BANG! BANG!

The Bull Fang’s shields crackled like an eggshell under the tremendous impact. With a series of small explosions, they shattered into countless fragments.

[Raging Spear Style: Raging Spear Starfall!]

The Battle Technique had lost little, if any, of its power. Its attack continued unabated, slamming directly into the Bull Fang’s largely unharmed hull armor.

BOOOOOOM!!

A massive explosion erupted at the point of impact. The thick armor around the collision area buckled inward, melting and collapsing under the tremendous force. The entire Bull Fang trembled even more violently as a result.

[CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT] — CATASTROPHIC HULL BREACH DETECTED

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Unidentified object impact detected. External shielding has been breached, and the projectile has penetrated the hull, causing catastrophic structural damage to the dorsal section.

Multiple internal compartments have sustained critical damage. Extensive hull ruptures detected across several sections. The primary power distribution network has suffered a complete failure.

At the same time, inside the ship, Colt and his crew, who had barely managed to hold on to nearby objects and avoid being thrown off their feet by the impact and the shockwave that swept through the vessel, were left shocked by the system alerts.

”Fuck! Fuck!! Status! Pull up the status report for me!” Colt immediately demanded, his face contorted with anger. ”And deploy my mech! I want to take that thing down and get it away from my ship!”

He lashed out once again.

”V-Vice Captain...” a pirate crew member reported, his voice trembling.

”Severe structural damage detected across the dorsal section! Multiple compartments have been compromised, with heavy casualties among the crew! Systems have already begun sealing off those sections!”

The pirate swallowed nervously before continuing.

”The main shield generators are down as well, an-”

Just as the pirate was about to continue, the lights and holographic screens throughout the bridge suddenly began to flicker.

Before anyone could even register what was happening, half the lights and systems abruptly went offline.

[ALERT! Primary power core compromised!]

[Propulsion systems offline!]

[Weapon systems offline!]

[Defensive systems offline!]

[Emergency power activated. Life support and artificial gravity remain operational.]

These few warning messages suddenly rang out across the bridge before the system fell completely silent.

Across the Bull Fang, all the roaring weapon systems and defensive point-defense cannons that had been firing relentlessly at Baku’s squadron and ships suddenly fell silent. Their barrels lowered, and the entire weapon network went dead.

Second Lieutenant Anu had just received a communication from Baku and immediately ordered everyone to charge in!

”The enemy’s weapon systems are compromised! Take this opportunity to destroy them and close in! Move!!”

With that, she pushed her Phantom Dagger forward, rushing toward the Bull Fang as she unleashed an attack with all six of its pulse cannons, directing their fire toward the Bull Fang’s weapon systems, which had now fallen silent.

Without any operational point-defense weapons to intercept the incoming attacks, every shot struck its intended target.

BANG! BOOM! BANG! BOOM! BOOM!

Quickly following behind her were the other members of the mech squadron, along with Baku’s own frigate, which launched its long-range attacks as well.

BANG! BOOM! BANG! BOOM!

Just like that, the Bull Fang’s dorsal, bow, port, and starboard sections were engulfed in a series of small and massive explosions.

Even the mechs Colt had dispatched to hunt down Baku were caught in the devastating barrage. Baku had already penetrated deeper into the ship, destroyed its power systems, and was now pushing through its internal structure toward the command bridge.

The enemy mechs were quickly overwhelmed and destroyed under the intense bombardment, which tore through the Bull Fang’s remaining external armor.

Colt’s face had turned completely pale. He clung desperately to a nearby support structure as the Bull Fang continued to shake, growing more violent with every passing moment.

Even though most of the Bull Fang’s systems had already gone offline, a few were still functioning on emergency power. They continued to flood the bridge with alerts and warnings about structural damage, compromised compartments, and countless other critical failures.

He had already given up!

With the Bull Fang damaged to this extent, its power supply destroyed, and all its weapon systems already taken down by the enemy, Colt had lost every last bit of hope he had held in his heart.

BANG! BOOM!!

Suddenly, the right-hand wall of the command bridge was blown apart, revealing part of a mech’s silhouette through the opening.

A moment later, it opened, and a figure clad in pale white armor jumped out, calmly stepping forward.

Seeing this, Colt’s eyes immediately lit up. He jumped to his feet and roared.

”Take that thing down for me! Capture him now!”

He shouted and urged the other crew members forward.

The pirates immediately drew their weapons, coating them in mana before rushing toward Baku.

However, Baku simply raised his energy weapons.

PEW! PEW! PEW!

Several pirates were shot down in an instant.

Then, disappearing from his position, he reappeared behind another pirate, his spear thrust straight through the man’s back.

Baku calmly raised his spear and pulled it free before disappearing once again.

And every time he vanished, another pirate lost their life in a different, brutal way.

Soon, none of them remained alive.

Only Colt was left, watching the entire scene unfold in utter horror, completely unable to move.