Charlotte stood beside Zhao Chen; she raised a hand, and a panel of data appeared before her.
She set it out to Zhao Chen. "After the several campaigns before this, we have at present two hundred thousand interstellar warships remaining.
"Of which those that hold above seven parts in ten of their fighting strength are but a hundred thousand-odd.
"And I have reckoned up the military stores in our hands at present.
"They can answer for no more than ten days of high-intensity fighting for a hundred thousand warships.
"Fight longer than that, and the consumption upon the field thereafter must be governed, or there will be breaks in the supply."
The Owl Dragon Legion's way of war has always consumed exceedingly; before every war a very great quantity of war stores must be made ready, and every time they are not enough.
Which is a thing that vexes Zhao Chen and leaves him helpless besides.
"Are a hundred thousand enough?" Zhao Chen asked.
Charlotte nodded. "By the plan of battle we have drawn up beforehand, to complete our object a hundred thousand and ten days are enough.
"These hundred thousand warships I shall form anew into three legions of battle, the First, the Second and the Third, with two special operations fleets going along besides, and the Owl Dragon Guard Fleet.
"The remaining Owl Dragon warships will withdraw at once, return by the road they came, and end this task of battle."
Zhao Chen nodded, and agreed to these dispositions Charlotte had set out.
"But there is one small difficulty: the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships we may yet use can answer only for the spatial jump of these hundred thousand warships in the next stage of the plan.
"Which is to say that once we have thrown these hundred thousand warships across to the Angel Race, there will for a short time be no T4 Lucent-class Jump Ship left to call upon!" Charlotte looked gravely at Commander Zhao Chen.
The meaning within which is that there is a risk in it.
"Whatever one does carries risk; but there are some things we must do.
"Go forward by the plan you have laid," Zhao Chen said, his voice low.
For certain things certain people have done, a price must be paid!
"Yes!"
Charlotte and Lilith began to carry out this plan of battle, and the Dragon Emperor's artificial intelligence, the Little Dragon Girl, gave her assistance.
Very soon the three provisional mixed legion fleets stood ready in all things.
And with the shining light of T4 Lucent-class Jump Ship after Jump Ship, sheet upon sheet of Owl Dragon warships vanished without a trace.
Where there had been a hundred thousand warships within this sea of stars, in the turn of an instant it was empty.
And those several interstellar stealth scouts left behind went soundlessly into their hidden state, to carry out their own task of watching.
…………
A burning star gate stands out sharply within the star-vault, like a torch within the dark.
About the burning star gate lie wrecked interstellar warships too; and set against these wrecks about the gate, there are further wrecks in greater number further out.
The two differ not only in number, but are wholly unlike in shape besides.
One may tell them at a glance.
One sheet of them is Owl Dragon-line warships, and one sheet angel-line warships.
And not far off there hangs besides a body of angel-line warships painted black within the pitch-black universe.
Black paint upon angel-line warships is very nearly never seen; most are painted chiefly in white.
All at once!
Rings of light appeared within a stretch of the star-vault not far off.
Interstellar warship after warship came through.
Every one of them Owl Dragon-line warships; and counting them close, thirteen thousand — of which ten thousand are warships of the fighting kind, and the remaining three thousand of the auxiliary kind, some interstellar industrial ships and some transports.
"The mixed Owl Dragon Third Legion's First Fleet has completed the spatial jump!" the secretary officer reported to Commander Shen Bing before her.
Commander Shen Bing now serves for the time as commander of the mixed Owl Dragon Third Legion.
And has charge besides, chiefly, of one task the Commander has set down.
To clear away the Angel Race rebels who assaulted their Owl Dragon star gate, and to find means within the shortest time to repair or rebuild a star gate.
And so restore the star-gate lane joining the Angel Race to the Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group.
For though the Judgment Angel King destroyed only the one star gate upon the Angel Race's side, and there is a star gate yet within the nearer Machine Race territory.
Yet there is after all a stretch of distance between, and the sailing takes time.
And if this star gate can be rebuilt, that would save time greatly.
And at such a juncture of great war as this, time is exceedingly precious!
And so Shen Bing leads ten thousand warships herself to carry out this task, with a body of auxiliary warships brought along besides.
"Reporting — a hostile object is found upon the starship radar.
"It may be made certain that it is the Blade-of-Judgment Legion under the Judgment Angel King, holding near ten thousand interstellar warships!" Her subordinate reported another word to her.
The cast within Shen Bing's eyes began to alter.
She of course knows besides what has happened within Angel Race territory.
The Owl Dragon star gate wrecked, and the fleet garrisoning it fighting to the death until annihilated to the last ship; and the fleet of interstellar transports belonging to the Northern Goose Group assaulted, and every soul of them lost!
Which is as good as a slap upon the Owl Dragon's face!
"The Blade of Judgment." Shen Bing said the name coldly, her eyes upon the data panel and what stood there upon this Blade of Judgment.
This is one of the two angel guard legions under the Judgment Angel King, and belongs among the picked legions.
But because what it has always had charge of are tasks of assassination, of assault, of intelligence and of the governing of territory, the scale of the fleet is not great.
Ten thousand warships only — but its fighting strength is not to be made light of.
From which one may see well enough how much the Judgment Angel King set by this Owl Dragon star gate.
She meant to cut the link between the Owl Dragon and the Angel Race here, and keep the Owl Dragon from carrying interstellar fleets and strategic stores across by this star-gate lane without cease.
It may be called a thing plotted long beforehand.
"You wreck my star gate; today I butcher this fleet of yours!" Shen Bing without a word more ordered the whole host to make ready for battle.
To take the star gate back, whether by repair or by rebuilding.
This Blade-of-Judgment Legion must first be destroyed, or the other side will assuredly not shut its eyes to it.
Which is why the Blade-of-Judgment Legion, its task of wrecking the star gate complete, has not gone from here for all that.
It is guarding against the Owl Dragon's leaning upon their mighty industrial power to build a star gate here anew.
For the building of a star gate cannot be done in any place at random.
Though the Owl Dragon-line star gate need take no thought of any double-star system, yet a district of fairly steady space must be chosen for all that.
Every district where a star gate is built comes of survey and of long feeling out.
So that if it is to be rebuilt, to rebuild it upon the old site saves the most time.
The Blade-of-Judgment Legion opposite had by this time made ready for battle likewise.
At the moment these Owl Dragon-line warships appeared, they knew that this battle could not be avoided!