This super great ship began to sail slowly out.
And in the course of it a hundred and more auxiliary craft guided her from alongside.
For with a fellow of such bulk, the least carelessness might have done vast damage to the Galaxy No. 1 Base.
Under this careful ordering,
in half an hour Zhao Chen and the rest saw at last the true face of this super interstellar warship.
The first feeling was that she was truly great!
Great past all precedent!
"I will warrant she is three hundred kilometers at the least!" Marshal Shen Bing swallowed beside them, and said it.
An interstellar warship three hundred kilometers long!
To stand upon such a hull would feel no different from standing upon the ground, a ground whose end the eye could not reach.
The whole body took a livery of red and black, as of a hunting demon.
"What is she called again?" Xue Xiaoxiao blinked, and looked at Zhao Chen.
"The Rakshasa-Hades." Zhao Chen spoke out her name.
And at the same time the brief particulars of this warship rose before his eyes.
【Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought
Ship type: Interstellar Dreadnought / flagship model
Technology grade: T6
Hull armor strength: 50,000,000–60,000,000 units
Star-shield energy value: 1 billion units
Cruising speed: 1,500 star-knots
Warp drive: grade-9.9 warp drive
Length: 312 kilometers
Mass: 353,000,000 tons
Complement: 1,000,000
Ship weapons: Dreadnought Cannon · Rakshasa mode (may deliver a lateral attack upon a region within a certain distance ahead; the attack is of the energy-weapon kind)
Dreadnought Cannon · Demon King mode (may attack a single point ahead; the attack is of the energy-weapon kind)
Rakshasa-Hades Field (may destroy outright the internal electronic equipment of all interstellar warships of T5 technology and below within the target region)
Spatial-jump engine (may perform a spatial jump)
Rakshasa-Hades Matrix module (the energy core system)
Nine hundred electromagnetic energy main cannon
One thousand squadrons of Rakshasa-Ghost drone swarms · hangar (three thousand Hades-Bird drones to a squadron)
Three thousand quasi-T6 Hades-Trooper-class unmanned medium interstellar interceptors】
Those about Zhao Chen were five-star marshals, four-star marshals and three-star generals.
So this T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought was no secret to them.
They all gathered round; not a few had known only that some T6 Hades was to be shown.
But the data of her performance had remained under seal.
This was the first time they had the good fortune to see it.
Hull armor strength, star-shield energy value, cruising speed, warp drive, all these base figures had risen greatly, which stood to reason.
A length of 312 kilometers, which bore out Marshal Shen Bing's guess of a moment before.
A complement of a million.
This is truly no interstellar warship, but an interstellar castle!
The eyes of them all began to gather upon her weapon modules.
The Dreadnought Cannon in Rakshasa mode and in Demon King mode, anyone who knew a little of the T5 Hades understood these two ways of attack well enough.
The former sweeps laterally, the latter strikes with precision upon a point.
Each has its own good and its own advantage.
The 【Rakshasa-Hades Field】 is much like the former 【Hades Field】, but its force is greatly raised.
Before, it merely interfered with the electronic equipment of a body of warships.
But now it destroys that equipment outright, which means that in such a war these warships have lost the greater part of their electronics before the fighting has begun, and have cut off their own arms.
How is one to fight so?
The spatial-jump engine needs no saying; by the look of it this is now one of the necessary qualities of a T6-grade flagship.
The 【Rakshasa-Hades Matrix module】 is this dreadnought's energy core, for the Rakshasa-Hades works chiefly upon energy.
Whether in sailing or in battle, all rests upon a mighty energy core.
To move such a beast, there must be a mighty heart.
Below that come her ordinary arms, the 【nine hundred electromagnetic energy main cannon】, which give the Rakshasa-Hades[1] very great fighting power even in ordinary battle.
The remaining two armaments make the Rakshasa-Hades more complete still.
【One thousand squadrons of Rakshasa-Ghost drone swarms · hangar (three thousand Hades-Bird drones to a squadron)】
A full 3,000,000 Rakshasa-Ghost drones, enough to give the Rakshasa-Hades a fair command of the interstellar air in battle.
And the 【three thousand quasi-T6 Hades-Trooper-class unmanned medium interstellar interceptors】 give the Rakshasa-Hades a fleet of her very own besides.
These three thousand quasi-T6 Hades-Trooper interceptors can upon the field press the enemy well, interfere with him, and intercept him.
And being unmanned interstellar interceptors, what they do best is to swarm up all at once in a short time.
And paired with the Rakshasa-Hades's own mighty output, these quasi-T6 Hades-Troopers may lean upon the weight of the great one behind them and press down any enemy at all.
Her own super weapons, and good ordinary weapons besides, and interstellar drones, and unmanned interstellar warships.
Such a T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought is simply an elite squadron in herself!
It left even Zhao Chen looking forward to how she would show upon the field.
All of a sudden, at some point, a pair of hands had taken hold of Zhao Chen's leg.
"My lord Emperor!" Xue Xiaoxiao gazed at Zhao Chen with great limpid eyes.
The look of it, one who did not know might take it in error that Zhao Chen had done Xue Xiaoxiao some wrong that gods and men alike would rage at.
"Here! What are you about! Stand up at once!" Zhao Chen tried at once to shake Xue Xiaoxiao off.
But Xue Xiaoxiao would not let go at all; she clung fast to Zhao Chen's leg with her face pressed against it.
And then said, with the air of one shameless: "My lord Emperor. I, Xue Xiaoxiao, have never in all my life begged anything of anyone. This once I truly beg you. Let me be captain of the Rakshasa-Hades! I cannot be without the Rakshasa-Hades, as a fish cannot be without the sea. My heart tells me already that the Rakshasa-Hades is calling me! She needs me too! The Rakshasa-Hades and I shall be together life after life! No one may part us!"
Zhao Chen looked with a black face at Xue Xiaoxiao, who had all the air of one who would not rise until she had her way.
"Why do I feel as though I have heard all this somewhere before?"
"Have you? I do not care! Only say yes!" Xue Xiaoxiao went on gazing at him with great limpid eyes.
This time Zhao Chen made no courtesies, but hauled Xue Xiaoxiao up outright by the scruff of her neck: "This time there is truly nothing to discuss. This Rakshasa-Hades will serve as the flagship of the Reverse Scale ace fleet group. You had best wait for the next one!"
In that instant Xue Xiaoxiao was as one thunderstruck; she rushed to the porthole and looked at the Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought in the sea of stars far off.
"Rakshasa-Hades… Rakshasa-Hades… How am I to live without you?"
After this small interlude of Xue Xiaoxiao's,
Charlotte began formally to take over this T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought as her own flagship, and as the flagship of the Reverse Scale ace fleet group.
Zhao Chen and Lilith came to the bridge of Charlotte's flagship as well.
He looked at this bridge, altogether unlike the Hades's bridge of before.
Zhao Chen walked to Charlotte's side and asked with a smile: "How is it, then, are you content with this ship?"
"A T6 flagship. Who would not be content?" Charlotte walked up to the captain's chair, looked at it, and then looked round the whole bridge.
Upon the bridge now were only the most basic crew and the trials personnel.
"Of the crew who served aboard the Hades before, if sister wishes it. Half of them may be called back; the other half hold leading posts aboard other starships now, and can no longer return. But as to personnel, I have drawn up a fitting list already. Sister need only choose from within it whom she thinks fit." So Lilith had made everything ready for Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded in satisfaction.
To pick a million crew herself would likely have taken a very long time.
But with Lilith, the empire's highest secretary-officer, to help her here, many things were made simple.
"I give you one month. Before the beginning of March this Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought must have fighting power enough," Zhao Chen said, looking at Charlotte.
"Half a month will serve," Charlotte said confidently.
Zhao Chen gave a slight smile, and then turned the subject: "Since the Hades is now upgraded and remade into a T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought. Then next comes the time to remake the Dragon Emperor."
Lilith nodded, and drew out a building schedule by itself, projected in hologram before the two of them.
"The Dragon Emperor may enter dock for her remaking at any time. It is looked for that the upgrading will be finished before the middle of the year. At the same time the other two T6 flagships will go into their course of production and building. The T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship and the T6 Gluttonous Demon King Starship, barring accident, these two T6 flagships may likewise be finished about the middle of the year." Lilith had had her arrangements long since.
Zhao Chen nodded in satisfaction.
"In a few days more the T6 Southern Heaven Gate Starship will also be finished. After that come her trials and training; she may be put into the order of battle at about the same time as the Rakshasa-Hades." Lilith added a word besides.
The Owl Dragon Empire's fleets were now growing at an astonishing speed.
"And how stands our supply of resources and raw materials at present? Can it meet our tasks of production and building?" Zhao Chen asked.
"At present it can meet them all. On the average now, each month we can supply the production of 1,000 T5 interstellar warships, 200,000 T4 interstellar warships and 1,000,000 T3 interstellar warships. To build these warships requires a monthly supply of 400 trillion star coins' worth of raw-material resources. And that is without the raw materials needed for other building tasks; our building tasks at present consume on the average about 900 trillion star coins' worth of raw materials each month. A great part of the reason the consumption is so vast is that we must build a great many auxiliary-type interstellar warships and starship works. And there is the investment and building at each important star-system hub under the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire besides."
900 trillion star coins consumed in a single month.
Before this, that would have been an astronomical figure for the Owl Dragon.
The great arms order Zhao Chen signed with the Angel Race before came to little more than 1,000 trillion star coins at one stroke, and now the Owl Dragon consumed as much in a month.
"The consumption is very great. But our earnings at present are no small thing either. By the decrees the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has promulgated, after all, each territory below must hand over a sum every month. The Angel Race's territory, for instance, has a monthly yield of near 50 trillion star coins at present, and by the agreement must hand over 30% of it each month, which is 15 trillion star coins. And do not make light of that 15 trillion; set against a thousand trillion it may look small. But it must be known that this is income that costs us nothing at all. And what we get from the Angel Race is far more than this. We have opened interstellar trade with the Angel Race in full: we sell them grain, we sell them starships, and we sell them goods out of other star regions. In this line those interstellar companies under the Owl Dragon can earn money too. The Northern Goose Group, for instance. The Northern Goose Group's monthly yield now rises by the power of ten; its yield can even match a small interstellar kingdom's. In short, since we took over the Machine Race's territory. The mining trades of the several interstellar groups we manage directly can furnish us at least 500 trillion star coins' worth of raw-material yield each month. Besides which, the first phase of ten Dyson Spheres is finished, and already gives us a steady energy output worth 30 trillion star coins. We purpose to build more Dyson Spheres hereafter, and to realize a Dyson Sphere energy-forest plan. Which is to say that upon the Dyson Sphere system alone we may be supplied at least 1,000 trillion star coins' worth of energy each month! …" Lilith set out a great deal to Zhao Chen, until his head was somewhat heavy with it.
He looked over the statement, upon which the income stood set out simply.
Dyson Spheres: 30 trillion star coins a month.
Imperial territorial taxes: 50 trillion star coins a month.
Eden Grain Trade Group: 60 trillion star coins' profit a month.
Northern Goose Group: 30 trillion star coins' profit a month.
…
Reckoned all together: 1,030 trillion star coins in all.
A profit, barely.
And that was thanks to Lilith, who had ordered it all here.
"If no outside force intervenes. We shall upgrade the several industries within the Owl Dragon Empire. It is looked for that our profit will rise hereafter at 30% each month." Lilith spoke another piece of stirring news.
Which meant beyond doubt that the Owl Dragon Empire now rode a swiftly climbing rocket.
"In short, the economy is wholly in your charge. I shall not inquire into it. I require only that our building plans be not delayed. Bring the First, Second and Third fleet groups to full establishment as soon as may be. And then found the Fourth and Fifth fleet groups as early as you can. Only warships enough, and strong enough, will give us a chance of surviving the great war to come." Zhao Chen looked at Lilith and said it.
Lilith nodded heavily.