Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 356: Fortress. {4}

And so began the next phase of the battle... a dance unlike any other. On one side, the Musician Captain, leading his fleet like a maestro, weaving plans and strikes with precision and style.

His movements were calm, measured, and elegant… but full of deadly intent. On the other side stood Ys, the embodiment of chaos and instinct. Her control wasn't cold or calculated. It was raw, passionate, and wild.

She didn't move pieces on a board; she became her units, driving them with ferocity and hunger. Every fighter she touched became a storm. Every moment she commanded, the enemy bent beneath her will.

The battlefield transformed into a true ballet of war.

Tactics versus Instinct.

Discipline versus Frenzy.

Order versus Madness.

And at the center of it all, two commanders clashed, not face-to-face, but through the music of destruction, the rhythm of war.

The next act of this symphony had begun.

For a while, Ys had been holding her ground. With her sharp instincts and direct control over her soldiers, she had kept a fragile balance in the skies.

The dogfight between the swarms of fighters raged on, and thanks to her guidance, her Khryssari skydancers had managed to keep up with the enemy's skilled pilots. But that balance didn't last.

Everything changed the moment the enemy frigates joined the battle.

These frigates weren't meant to take on other large ships, but they were covered in anti-fighter turrets. Against other warships, they would have been nearly useless, but against fast, flying targets like Ys' skydancers, they were deadly.

The skies that were once chaotic but manageable had now become a storm of death. Khryssari units began falling from the air, their graceful dances interrupted by violent explosions.

"Captain, the enemy is losing ground," one of the officers on the enemy command ship reported while watching a large 3D holographic display showing the entire battlefield.

Tiny lights flickered across the screen, representing fighters and bombers in motion. "It's only a matter of time before our fighters punch a hole through their defenses. Once that happens, the bombers can fly right through and hit their fleet."

The Musician Captain, standing with calm elegance beside the display, slowly shook his head. His baton rested lightly between his fingers as his sharp eyes scanned the screen.

"Not necessarily," he replied in a quiet, thoughtful tone. "It still feels like our opponent isn't taking us seriously… like she's playing with us. This new dance partner is no amateur. No… she's an old soul. A veteran of the masquerades. We must not underestimate her. Keep moving forward, but with caution."

Meanwhile, back on Ys' flagship, a mischievous smile curled across her lips. Her beautiful face, usually calm and composed, now carried a sly, devilish expression.

"Hehe～ it seems our partner has started to smell something funny," she whispered softly to herself. "But sadly for them… it's already too late. The little mouse is inside the house."

Just as she finished speaking, two enormous shapes began to appear behind the enemy fleet.

They had been hidden using advanced stealth systems and warp tech, and now they emerged in full view, massive Khryssari carriers, the very ones her mother had secretly sent ahead of time, just in case things got serious.

"Captain! We've detected an unknown signal... two large ships just appeared behind us!" an officer shouted in alarm.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

The captain's eyes narrowed. He tilted his head slightly, his mind already racing.{What? Reinforcements from the planet below? That doesn't make sense… All their remaining ships are already in the battle.....}

Then his eyes widened in shock. Something about the shape… the energy signature… he recognized it.

"No…" he whispered. "Those aren't reinforcements. They're predators."

Back on her ship, Ys narrowed her glowing eyes. She was no longer smiling; now she was focused. Through her mental link, she spoke to her troops without words, and the air seemed to hum around her.

"Go, my little ones," she said in a voice like a song, yet filled with deadly intent. "Show them the true strength of a Khryssari Princess!"

And with that command, the two carriers opened their launch bays, and the sky behind the enemy fleet darkened. A storm had arrived.

Hundreds of Swarmling-Class Fighters poured out in perfect formation, flying like a swarm of furious hornets. These were not the usual skydancers. These were the real weapons of the Khryssari.

Each Swarmling-Class Fighter looked like a giant hornet, with sleek, curved bodies and glowing eyes.

Twin forward-pointing stingers sat at the front, weapon mounts for their bio-Stinger Cannons. These cannons weren't made of metal or steel; they were living weapons, organic and pulsing with deadly energy. They fired rapid bursts of concentrated bio-energy, glowing with a fierce violet hue.

Faster, stronger, and far more aggressive than the smaller skydancers, the Hornets moved with deadly purpose.

The balance of the battle had shifted once more.

And now, it was Ys who led the dance.

"Ku... kuku... HAHAHAHA!" The musician captain laughed loudly, his voice echoing through the bridge like a madman's performance reaching its climax.

"Well done, my dance partner! I wasn't expecting such a devilish hand on my ass!" His eyes gleamed with excitement as the battlefield twisted into something far more dangerous and thrilling.

"This! This is how a masquerade should be! Masks hiding truths, bold moves, mystery wrapped in elegance! We are not here to fight! we are here to perform!" The joy in his voice was clear.

He wasn't just amused; he was completely captivated. His heart was pounding, and his blood was rushing. Battles like this were rare for someone like him.

Despite his flamboyant and theatrical personality, the musician captain wasn't just some eccentric fool. He was one of Nexum Dynamics top elites, an experienced warrior who had commanded fleets in hundreds of skirmishes, wars, and large-scale operations.

He was a rare talent, a true genius of war with real victories to his name. So why had someone like him ended up watching over a lonely border sector?

Because of his love for women.

More specifically, married women.

His uncontrollable obsession had caused multiple scandals with the wives of important executives, and though his talent was undeniable, the higher-ups couldn't tolerate the chaos he brought to their personal lives.

As punishment, they banished him to the outer edges of their territory, hoping he'd rot in boredom. But today? Today was a glorious exception.

"Transmit my orders!" he shouted, flinging off his captain's cloak with a wild grin. His bare chest showed a complex tattoo of music notes wrapped around a skull.

This was another of his habits... the more thrilled he got in battle, the more clothing he tossed aside. A weird quirk, but somehow fitting for someone like him.

"Switch the fleet into anti-fighter formation! Begin all defensive measures right now!"

As his orders echoed through the ship, his fleet quickly reacted. Large warships adjusted their positions and began activating special anti-air protocols.

Cluster bombs were launched into the air, each one breaking apart mid-flight into thousands of small, deadly bomblets designed to scatter and destroy anything flying too close.

These were the defensive fleet's trump cards against fighter swarms and they were especially dangerous to Ys' bio-mechanical hornet fighters.

At the same time, the first waves of Khryssari Wraith-Class fighters, with their twin bio-Stinger Cannons blazing, had already started to swarm around the larger ships.

They tore through exposed hulls, blasting turrets and engines, but now they had to maneuver carefully to avoid the deadly clouds of cluster munitions filling the air.

Meanwhile, Ys, watching the battle unfold through her own displays, wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead. Though she looked calm and confident, her body was beginning to feel heavy.

"Little Lilla, now's your chance!" Ys said through the secure video line, her expression still playful, but her voice carried fatigue. "Their long-range firepower has been cut down by at least thirty percent. Push forward now, or we'll lose the window I created!"

Though she was a princess of the Khryssari and powerful in her own right, Ys was still only a Tier 3 powerhouse.

To keep up with the pace of the battle, she had been personally controlling her fighters through the swarm link.. forcing her to channel a huge amount of mental energy into each unit. It was taking a toll on her, and she knew she couldn't keep it up for much longer.

"Understood!" Lilla responded immediately. Her voice rang with purpose as she stood tall in the center of her flagship's command chamber. The light of the main screen reflected off her armor and crown. "All vessels, hear me now!"

She raised her hand and made the sacred sign of her religion, her fingers forming the symbol of the White Goddess.

"In the name of the White Goddess, I command you! full frontal assault! Advance with all your strength!"

Her voice was powerful, full of divine conviction, and it sent a wave of courage through her fleet. Moments later, engines roared to life. The entire human fleet re-formed into an attack formation and surged forward like a wall of steel and fire.

Dozens of hulking destroyers powered ahead, backed by cruisers and support ships. Artillery platforms began to fire volley after volley as the formation moved steadily toward the now-vulnerable enemy lines.

The real battle for space supremacy had just begun.

Meanwhile, down on the surface of the Blood Clan's homeworld, an entirely different kind of battle was raging, one that shook the very ground beneath their feet.

Unlike the massive fleets clashing in the skies above, this conflict was smaller in scale, with fewer soldiers involved. But what it lacked in size, it more than made up for in raw power.