Galactic Star Calendar, year 3036, early August.
After some few days' truce and refitting,
the Owl Dragon Legion, the Machine Race legion fleets, and the Angel Race legion fleets were made ready once more, and prepared to loose a new round of attack.
The Dragon Emperor · the bridge.
"Upon the quarter of the Angel Race's line, the Angel Race has moved up one million interstellar warships and made ready to attack; and upon this quarter besides are our own Owl Dragon Fifth Legion, Thirteenth Legion and Fourteenth Legion, above ninety thousand interstellar warships." Lilith marked this position of attack upon the star chart.
Lilith then pointed her finger at another quarter, and said, "Upon the quarter of the Machine Race's line, the Machine Race has sent up one million interstellar warships and made ready to attack; And upon this quarter besides are our own Owl Dragon First Legion, Third Legion, Fourth Legion, Sixth Legion, Seventh Legion, Eighth Legion, Tenth Legion, Eleventh Legion and Twelfth Legion; Two hundred and fifty thousand interstellar warships lie at this position of operations, and this is the main axis of attack to come. Upon the Demon Race's southern line there is a part of the Demon Race revolutionary army, together with our own Owl Dragon Second Legion and Ninth Legion; the fighting power of this part is not strong, and it is chiefly to harry the field from the flank. Beyond this, the Owl Dragon Fifteenth Legion and the Owl Dragon Sixteenth Legion remain as the reserve fleet."
Zhao Chen fixed his eyes upon the interstellar holo-table.
Upon it three lines of attack could be seen.
They fell out exactly as the north of the Demon Race's territory, which is to say the Angel Race's line; the west of the Demon Race's territory, which is to say the Machine Race's line; and the south of the Demon Race's territory, which is the line of the Demon Race revolutionary army.
"The military strength upon the Demon Race's side stands thus. Upon the Angel Race's quarter the Demon Race has one million interstellar warships; upon the Machine Race's quarter, two million interstellar warships; and upon the quarter of the Demon Race's southern territory, five hundred thousand interstellar warships. So it stands upon the face of it. The enemy has seen too that our main axis is the Machine Race's quarter, and has therefore set heavy troops upon it!" said Lilith.
Three million five hundred thousand interstellar warships: this is the whole of the Demon Race's strength now, upon the face of it.
"As to those hidden starship industrial bases of the Demon Race's, how many have been found?" Zhao Chen asked this crucial question once more.
"Up to now we have found five in all. There are two yet that have not been found," said Lilith.
Five?
The system mission gave notice of seven; and where in the end have the other two been hidden?
Zhao Chen fixed his eyes upon the coordinates of those five starship industrial bases marked out upon the holo-table.
They answer almost exactly to the guess of that model of data Zhao Chen made before.
But of the remaining two there is still no clue whatever, and this is very strange.
Yet at present the war is come already to its second stage; and though these last two starship industrial bases be not found, there is no help for it.
Of seven starship industrial bases, five destroyed.
Though two remain, the Demon Race will assuredly be past all remedy.
"Charlotte, is the plan for taking these five starship industrial bases drawn up already?" Zhao Chen looked at the Charlotte beside him.
Charlotte nodded and said, "It is all of it drawn up. Zhao Waner's Interstellar Stealth-Bomber Special Fleet will act in concert; and we will use our T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships besides, and arrange for certain Owl Dragon legions to raid these positions direct. We will assuredly break these five starship industrial bases at the very first moment of the second-phase offensive."
"Very good! Thus everything of ours is made ready."
Zhao Chen, his gaze like a torch, fixed his eyes upon the Demon Race's territory upon the holo-table. "Pass down my order: carry out the second-stage plan of reduction against the Demon Race!"
"Yes!"
Charlotte and Lilith at once gave down their several orders.
The Owl Dragon Legion, the Angel Race legion fleets, and the Machine Race legion fleets received the order to attack at very nearly the same moment!
The Demon Race's southern territory.
The Owl Dragon Second Legion · the flagship's bridge.
Commander Chitong looked at the order come down from the Dragon Emperor before her, the Commander's own signature upon it besides.
Chitong at once got in touch with the Owl Dragon Ninth Legion, and at the same time gave down orders to the Demon Race revolutionary army's side.
Begin, and press the attack onward!
Take the form of guerrilla war to harry the Demon Race's flank, and draw the more of the Demon Race's territorial star systems into the ranks of the revolutionary army.
Set the back yard of the Demon King's great host alight!
"Demon Race, the sky is due to change!" Chitong said it, cutting the nail and slicing the iron.
The forward line upon the Machine Race's side.
The Machine Race legion fleets · the flagship's bridge.
Ah-Yin upon her side had received the order to attack come down from the Dragon Emperor as well; by the agreement made before, these one million Machine Race interstellar warships would in this stretch of time take the Owl Dragon lord's orders, and carry out the combat tasks the Owl Dragon lord laid out.
Those combat tasks Ah-Yin had looked over too.
There was no fault in them whatever: the Owl Dragon lord uses the Machine Race legion fleets altogether as his own legion fleets, and not as cannon fodder for the field.
"All legion fleets, by the plan of operations. Attack!" Ah-Yin's cold voice sounded. "These Demon Race fleets that dared give offense to the mechanical royal court. Shall pay the price of what they have done!"
Who says that mechanical life cannot bear a grudge.
Ah-Yin now hates the Demon Race legion fleets as they are; and even without Zhao Chen's proposal and arrangement.
So long as the Machine Race had strength enough, Ah-Yin would have demanded a round of vengeance loosed upon the Demon Race, and that for one end only, to wash out the former disgrace!
She had been ridden down and pounded in the face by an interstellar power she had once looked down upon.
Mechanical life cannot bear that either!
The Angel Race's line.
The Holy Dragon Angel Legion's flagship · the bridge.
"My lords, the two Angel Sovereigns, the Owl Dragon lord has given down the order to attack along the whole line!" The angel Tilia looked at the holographic projections of the two Angel Sovereigns before her.
"Attack! Attack! I will break into the Demon Race's royal capital; I will crush that Demon King's head with my own hands. And pass sentence upon that bitch's head besides!" The War Angel King roared it, and within both his eyes was a fighting spirit that rose to heaven.
Only it was a pity that, by the agreement made before the war, the supreme command upon the Angel Race legion fleets' side this time was not his.
The Holy Angel Queen's fair eyes looked at the angel Tilia. "Tilia, you are the supreme commander of this military operation. These one million Angel Race interstellar warships will all take your orders. Tilia, go and end this thousand-year war."
The angel Tilia made her salute to the two Angel Sovereigns, and then looked at the angel legion fleets marked out one by one upon the holo-table, and at the Holy Dragon Angel Legion she leads herself.
"Attack! The time is come to end this thousand-year war!"
Outside one of the Demon Race's hidden starship industrial bases.
Zhao Waner sat within the captain's chair; she heard the warning tone of a communication, and that tone was a particular one, set by her expressly for her elder brother's orders.
She opened her eyes.
And said slowly, "Owl Dragon Interstellar Stealth-Bomber Special Fleet, the operation begins!"