Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 300 Besieged.

Meanwhile in the command bridge of Cleo's forces was a flurry of activity as holo screens flickered with data and alerts.

Cleo stood at the center with her expression grim as she monitored the situation. The scout drones and Aegis forces near the plateau were being destroyed at an alarming rate, and the source of the threat was becoming clearer with each passing moment.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Lilla's voice was tinged with concern as she and Ys turned their attention to Cleo.

Cleo didn't answer immediately. Instead, she summoned a series of holo screens, each displaying footage from the scout drones near the plateau. The images were chaotic and blurry, with flashes of movement, explosions, and the occasional glimpse of unidentified ships.

She cycled through the feeds until one of the screens finally provided a clear image. She enlarged it, her eyes narrowing as she studied the details.

"Oh, I recognize those kinds of ships," Ys said with her tone darkening. "Those are pirates." The holo screen displayed a fleet of small frigates and fighter ships; their jagged, patchwork designs were unmistakable.

They were approaching the plateau in a spread-out formation, a tactic designed to minimize the impact of orbital bombardment. But orbital strikes weren't an option at this point, since the pirates were already too close to the plateau.

"Everyone, get ready," Cleo ordered with her voice being sharp and commanding. "By the look of it, they're planning to assault the plateau. Prepare to move at a moment's notice."

As she spoke, her nanomachines began to materialize her power armor, the sleek, white, and golden plates forming around her body with practiced precision. Her focus remained on the holo screens with her mind racing as she analyzed the pirate fleet's movements.

Meanwhile, aboard the lead pirate frigate, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the tense command bridge of Cleo's forces. The pirate boss, a burly man with a few more than a bit pounds of fat and a patch over one eye, stood at the center of the bridge with his arms crossed as he surveyed the plateau through the reinforced window.

"Boss, are we really going to assault one of the forces here?" One of the pirates asked with his voice tinged with uncertainty. He was a scrawny man with a nervous twitch, clearly not convinced of the plan.

"Of course I'm sure!" The pirate boss shouted out while slamming his fist on the console. "Our patron just told me they're the weakest here and that they're not backed by a big force. Easy prey!" He grinned while revealing a row of gold-capped teeth.

"I see! The boss is always wise!" Another pirate chimed in with his tone dripping with sycophantic praise. He began rubbing the pirate boss's shoulders with his hands trembling slightly.

"Boss! The plateau is already in our main cannon's range! Should we shoot them already?" Another pirate asked, his excitement palpable as he rubbed his hands together.

The pirate boss let out a hearty laugh, his eyes fixed on the plateau as its energy shields flickered to life. "Hahah! See that, lads? They've spotted us! Who was the one that bought those camouflage upgrades? They're absolutely shit!" He spat on the ground, with his expression turning sour.

"Boss, it was you!" one of the pirates blurted out while laughing nervously. The room fell silent as the other pirates exchanged uneasy glances since everyone knew that it was one of those questions you shouldn't answer, even if you knew the answer. Your next chapter is on novelbuddy

"Oh, so it was you!" The pirate boss shouted out, his face turning red with anger. He drew his laser gun and fired several shots at the unfortunate pirate; his aim was erratic but eventually found its mark. The pirate crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

"Remind me next time not to listen to any of your suggestions," the pirate boss muttered while holstering his weapon. "What do you lads know about keeping a good fleet together to raid others? Tsk, this is what I get for being so nice to all of you!"

The remaining pirates quickly began showering him with praise, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of bootlicking.

"The boss is wise!"

"Yes, yes, what would we do without you, boss?"

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"You're the best boss!"

The pirate boss closed his eyes, basking in the adulation. But his moment of self-indulgence was short-lived. "Oh, right! What are you lads waiting for? Shoot! If I want something done right, I have to do it myself!"

He let out an exasperated sigh and stormed over to the main cannon while shoving the pirate operating it out of the way. He began adjusting the aim, his hands moving with surprising precision for someone so brash.

The other pirates exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of fear and resignation. They knew better than to argue when the boss was in one of his moods. As the pirate boss lined up the shot, the plateau's energy shields glowed brighter, a clear sign that Cleo's forces were preparing for the inevitable assault.

The pirate boss stood proudly at the helm of his frigate with his finger hovering dramatically over the firing button of the main cannon. With a triumphant grin, he slammed his hand down and shouted,

"Anddd fire!" The cannon roared to life, its thunderous blast shaking the entire ship. The projectile streaked through the air with a blazing trail of energy cutting across the sky... only to veer wildly off course, missing the plateau's energy shield entirely and disappearing into the distance.

The bridge fell silent. The pirates exchanged uneasy glances, their faces being a mix of confusion and secondhand embarrassment. Finally, one of them broke the silence, his voice trembling with forced enthusiasm.

"That's the signal! What are you all waiting for? This was clearly the boss's signal for all the others to open fire!" he shouted into the communicator, his words were clearly a desperate attempt to salvage the situation.

The other pirates quickly caught on, their voices rising in a chorus of exaggerated praise.

"O-Oh... as expected of the boss!"

"The boss's strategies are always mighty!"

"The boss's way of doing stuff is always hard to understand for lowlifes like us, after all!"

The pirate boss, oblivious to the awkwardness, puffed out his chest and nodded approvingly. "Exactly! You lads finally get it. Now, let's show them what we're made of!"

Meanwhile, on the plateau, Cleo watched the unfolding chaos with a furrowed brow. Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of the pirate boss's "strategy."

She had prepared for a calculated assault, her defenses primed to absorb the first volley of attacks and her energy shield reinforced to withstand the initial barrage. But the first shot had missed entirely, throwing her calculations into disarray.

"How is that possible? Did I really miscalculate it? No, there's no chance I was wrong with the data!" Cleo muttered with her voice tinged with frustration. For the first time in a long while, she felt genuinely confused.

"Could it be that the pirate boss is someone even more dangerous than I realized? ... This could be bad! I have to make a new strategy!"

Her mind spun with possibilities, each more dire than the last. She couldn't fathom that the pirate boss's first shot was simply a result of terrible aim. To her, it had to be part of a larger, more insidious plan and this was just a feint designed to throw her off guard.

The fact that the energy she had poured into reinforcing the shield had gone to waste only deepened her suspicion. This pirate boss, she concluded, was a master tactician, someone far more dangerous than she had initially thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the rest of the pirate fleet opened fire. This time, their shots were on target, and to Cleo's horror, the projectiles passed through the energy shield as if it weren't even there.

The plateau's defenses were breached, and the impact of the phase-shift projectiles sent shockwaves through the ground, damaging structures and scattering her forces.

{How is this possible? How does a pirate have phase-shift projectiles!? This pirate boss is too dangerous! We have to eliminate him here!!} Cleo's mind raced with her earlier confusion replaced by a cold, calculating determination.

The phase-shift projectiles were a game-changer. These advanced weapons utilized a unique material that could temporarily shift its phase, allowing it to bypass energy shields entirely.

To Cleo, this wasn't just a sign of the pirates technological prowess... it was proof that their leader was a formidable adversary, someone who had access to resources far beyond the reach of ordinary raiders.

"All units, prioritize the pirate boss's frigate!" Cleo shouted into the communicator with her voice being sharp and commanding. "He's the key to their operation. Take him down, and the rest will fall!"

As her forces scrambled to respond, Cleo couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. The pirate boss's erratic behavior, the missed shot, the phase-shift projectiles... it all pointed to a deeper, more dangerous threat.

But what she didn't realize was that the true danger lay not in the pirate boss's intellect, but in his sheer unpredictability. While she was busy preparing for a master tactician, she was actually dealing with a bumbling fool whose incompetence was, ironically, his greatest weapon.

The battle raged on, the plateau's defenses straining under the relentless assault. Cleo's forces fought valiantly, but the phase-shift projectiles continued to wreak havoc, bypassing their shields and striking at their heart.

And all the while, the pirate boss stood on his frigate, blissfully unaware of the chaos he had unleashed, his gold-capped teeth gleaming as he laughed at the destruction below.

"That's how it's done, lads!" he smirked while slapping the back of the nearest pirate. "Now, let's finish this and claim our prize!"

Little did he know, his "brilliant" strategy had turned him into the most dangerous man on the battlefield... not because of his skill, but because of his sheer, unrelenting incompetence.

And Cleo, for all her intelligence and preparation, was about to learn a hard lesson: sometimes, the most unpredictable enemy is the one who doesn't even know what they're doing.