Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship! Chapter 68: Too Late

From the Kariki Star System to Point Theta—around Sector 187 outside the Calut Star System—it would take us roughly 30 hours of straight-line travel. Of course, that’s in warp-speed estimates.

In short, as long as no "delays" happen, we should arrive at our destination in 30 hours.

"But of course, nothing would play out as easy as that..."

The ship shook violently as the Jump Drives abruptly shut down, forcefully dragging us out of hyperspace.

Once again—the 17th ti, in fact—we were interrupted mid-jump by a bunch of random space pirates.

I was honestly relieved that Eva’s usual "blessing" was back in full force, but still, the minor delays we suffered from every stop were starting to pile up into a mountain.

{Hyahha~! Turn off your shields and weapon systems and we’ll spare—!}

*BOOM!*

Yeah, no thanks.

At this point, I was already sick of hearing the sa damn lines repeated over and over again. I knew that in TSO, pirates were programd with limited pre-battle dialogue—but isn’t this pushing it too far now that this is a reality?

At least change it up a little, and add so flair to your threats before using them!

Well, pointing it out is useless.

With Brionac, one sweep and 70% of their fleet was annihilated.

While the remaining ships were left stunned by the suddenness of the attack, I used the remaining lasers to finish off their damaged vessels before wiping out the rest with another shot from the Brionac.

In just a few seconds, the entire fleet—over 30 pirates—was obliterated.

"Hmm... 16.34 seconds. Not bad, but you took longer than usual for this wave." Eva muttered with a bored expression.

After fending off wave after wave of pirates, and seeing Brionac’s OP-ness in action countless tis, the girls were no longer impressed.

I kinda missed those first few fights—when they still reacted with genuine awe and amazent—especially Cassandra...

Anyway, just like that, we continued on our way.

What was supposed to be a 30-hour journey ended up taking twice as long before we finally arrived at our destination.

The only silver lining was that, through our still-tapped connection, we confird that the Eclipse Sovereign and most of King yers’ fleet were stuck in the Primula System, continuing their pointless encirclent.

Thanks to our bluff, they wouldn’t be able to reach us in ti, even if they warped directly to Calut right this second.

"Radar Scan Complete!"

Just as we exited hyperspace travel—this ti, out of our own volition—Eva perford her usual scan, sweeping the area for potential threats.

"Within 0.5 AU, we detected about 1,577 mining ships within the Calut Asteroid Belt. There are five large freight ships and around 100 escort vessels," she reported systematically. "All of them are outside the 0.1 AU range of normal radars."

"Good. Then we should still be safe." I nodded.

The Range Falcon’s radar range wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t like we had the best in the universe either. Most ships, approximately 99% of them, only had a 0.1 AU detection radius, but there were edge cases—eccentric captains, players, or people crazy enough to install wide-range scanners like ours.

Still, it was better to be careful than to assu there weren’t any outliers present.

"Percy, activate stealth modules. Move at cruising speed. Set destination to Point Theta."

[Command received. Activating Stealth module... Complete. Setting new waypoint: (X:-1,212.5, Y:-3,602.7, Z:90,548.8). Moving at Cruising Speed of 500 m/s.]

Point Theta.

A seemingly random set of coordinates near the Calut Star System.

Back in the ga, players were only supposed to receive this location after Chapter 7—but we had no choice but to use it in advance.

Although it should be a place without prying eyes, I just pray no variables appear along the way...

---

"Reporting, Sire! Princess Cassandra’s life signal was detected near the Calut Star System!"

Inside the Eclipse Sovereign, one of the staff piloting the massive battleship snapped to attention, saluting toward King yers, who sat imposingly on his "throne."

"The signal lasted about five seconds before disappearing again, Sire!" He further clarified.

*THUD!*

King yers slamd his fist against the armrest of his throne, his lips curling into a chagrined frown.

"... Bastard...! You dare trick ?!!" His voice seethed with rage. "Command everyone to depart imdiately! Use Warp Crystals to move straight to where the signal was detected!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

The bridge erupted into chaos as officers scrambled to execute his command. King yers, however, felt lightheaded—not from exhaustion, but from the sheer fury and humiliation of being outplayed.

A re brat had fooled him. He had wasted not only his ti but also an astronomical amount of resources—Warp Crystals, no less!

Although the yers Royal Family was wealthy beyond asure, using thousands of Warp Crystals at once was equivalent to hundreds of trillions of Credits. It was a crippling expenditure—but in his mind, the Key was worth more than all of it combined.

"As long as I get the Key... Nobody can stop ... I can reclaim my rightful place!"

His obsession with the key—no, his lust for power—was evident in every fiber of his being. But nobody present dared to point it out.

"Warp Coordinates set! Waiting for the signal to initiate warp!"

Another soldier reported, saluting.

King yers’ golden eyes flickered, his voice a low growl. "Proceed with the Warp!"

"Warp Crystals activation confird! Warping in five seconds...!"

The entire fleet rumbled, releasing violent, purple sparks—a spectacle unique to Warp Crystal activation. Unlike electric arcs, these purple flashes weren’t charged, but instead visual manifestations of space itself distorting.

"Three! Two! One...!"

As the countdown echoed across the bridge, space twisted violently, warping into a dizzying spectacle.

Then, in an instant, the entire fleet vanished—as if it had never been there.

A heartbeat later, they re-erged, surrounding the Calut Star System from all sides.

"Scan the area! Find them imdiately!"

Without hesitation, the fleet’s officers scoured the system, searching for any trace of Cassandra. But seconds turned to minutes, and the truth beca undeniable.

"R-Report... We can’t find the Range Falcon in the vicinity!"

"Princess Cassandra’s signal has disappeared completely, Sire!"

"..."

King yers’ expression darkened, his rage boiling over. He had just wasted an incalculable amount of Warp Crystals—all to chase shadows!

His face twisted in fury.

"FIND THEM!!!" He roared. "Whatever it takes, FIND THAT BITCH AND BRING THE KEY!!!"

His veins bulged, his hands clenched into trembling fists.

He looked like he was about to rupture a blood vessel—or suffer a stroke.

"E-Ergency report...!"

The sudden outcry cut through the tension like a knife.

"P-Princess Cassandra’s signal... It’s been confird in Astoraxia just monts ago by our spies!"

King yers’ face went blank.

For a mont, his mind refused to process the information.

Then, his expression contorted, his features warping into sothing ugly—a grotesque mix of anger, frustration, and pure, unfiltered futility.

"YOU BITCH...!!!"

He lunged forward, his body shaking with rage—

—before collapsing.

His fury had overtaken him so completely that he had fainted on the spot.

---

"ACHOO!"

"Ew! Move away from , you walking virus!"

"*Sniff!* No shit, Sherlock... I bet soone’s badmouthing behind my back."

I scratched my itchy nose while scanning my surroundings. Behind us, the white hole had just spat out the Range Falcon—along with everything else that got dragged along with us.

Then, as if it had never existed, the white hole collapsed in on itself—disappearing entirely.

The wormhole we used was unstable, a one-ti-use anomaly that had now ceased to exist. A waste, honestly—but our survival was worth more than the secrecy of one lost wormhole.

"So this is Astoraxia Galaxy..."

Cassandra, who had been silent until now, muttered in disbelief.

But I understood her reaction.

Astoraxia was hundreds of light-years away from her ho galaxy, where the yers Star System was located. For Cassandra, this was the furthest she had ever been from ho. Everything felt new to her.

But of course, our hardships weren’t over just yet.

"First of all..."

I checked the radar, frowning at the countless blue dots surrounding the Range Falcon. A quick scan confird their affiliation—Astoria Standing Army.

Of course, that didn’t an they were friendly.

In fact, right now, every single blue dot on the Star Map has its weapon systems locked onto us.

But despite the heated situation, Eva didn’t look worried. Neither did Cassandra. They both trusted my identity, knowing they’d be safe as long as they left the talking to .

I cleared my throat, quickly accepting the video call with the fleet’s acting commander.

As soon as I saw the figure of the Fleet Commander—a familiar face back in the ga—my confidence rose. I shouldn’t have problems handling the situation, since I know how loyal the other party was to the Astoria Conglorate!

"Fleet Commander Miguel, you bastard!" I called his na in feigned anger. "Lower your goddamn weapons! Don’t you recognize who I am?! Do you wanna die?!"

I spoke in my best Gerard impression—arrogant, condescending, and completely standoffish.

From the other party, I expected an instant apology—maybe so boot-licking.

But Instead, what ca next made break into a cold sweat.

{Young Master Gerard… Under the President’s orders—for stealing the Range Falcon from the Army’s arsenal and using it without permission—you are now under arrest. Please do not resist.}

"..."

I could feel Eva and Cassandra’s quizzical gazes burning into the back of my head.

But even I had no idea how to react.

’Gerard, you bastard...! Making trouble for even after you left...!’

Cursing internally, I let out a long sigh, then slowly raised my arms in surrender.