"We are now clear of the battlefield. Where we are now, even if we drop our cloak, the Holy Dragon Angel Legion's interstellar warships will not find us on radar. We can go into warp and leave this place at once," the captain reported to Her Highness, her Angel Queen.
"Then let us go." The voice of Renee, the Judgment Angel Queen, did not waver in the least.
It was as if she cared not at all for the fleet of starships that had followed her for years, which she had abandoned on the battlefield not far off.
In truth, from the moment those 30,000 ships of the Holy Dragon Angel Legion appeared, she had known this battle was lost beyond any doubt.
And so she had chosen, clean and decisive, to be the brave man who severs his own wrist.
She had cut loose 3,000 interstellar warships outright, chosen a reserve flagship of her own with cloaking capability, quietly transferred to it by shuttle, and fled the battlefield.
The captain nodded and began to pass on the orders.
This interstellar warship began to make ready for warp.
But the captain's face was still somewhat sorrowful, as though her heart could hardly bear it.
"What, you think I did wrong?" The Judgment Angel Queen, seated in the captain's chair, had noticed the captain's look, and asked it lightly.
"Your subordinate would not dare." The captain bowed her head at once.
The Judgment Angel Queen did not rebuke the captain; instead she spoke as though to herself. "It is not we who abandoned them. It is the Holy Dragon Angel Legion, and the Owl Dragon Empire behind it, who have persecuted them, and we will carry this blood feud in our hearts. When the Great Existence descends, we will settle these blood debts with them, bit by bit, to the last. The blood of these comrades who followed us will never have been shed for nothing."
Had Zhao Chen been here at this moment to hear this woman's words, he would surely have spat in her face.
She could truly talk black into white.
It was plainly she who had abandoned those 3,000 interstellar warships to seek her own safety.
Yet of all things she had flung the blame straight onto the Holy Dragon Angel Legion, and onto the Owl Dragon Empire.
Zhao Chen would say: that pot I will not carry.
Hsss-hsss-hsss-hsss.
Just then, a blurred video window appeared before the Judgment Angel Queen.
At the same moment, the radar system sounded its alarm.
"Reporting, our radar has suddenly detected a great many Owl Dragon-series interstellar warships around us. By the starship database's identification, it should be the Owl Dragon Empire's newly raised Shadow Hunter ace fleet group; several T5 Netherworld-Wolf-King-class Medium Interstellar Stealth Bombers have appeared! Radar shows the enemy's fire-control radar has locked on to us. Every weapon launcher on the enemy ships has locked on to our ship, and they may fire at any moment. If these T5 Netherworld-Wolf-King-class Medium Interstellar Stealth Bombers open fire together, by our starship system's calculation, our chance… of withstanding it and surviving… is under 0.24%…" The captain's face had gone deathly pale.
But the Judgment Angel Queen's look was very calm.
She looked at the woman officer across the video window, youthful of face but very stern of eye.
"Zhao Waner, the Emperor's own younger sister. Who would have thought I could bring the Empire's Emperor's own younger sister to deal with me in person," the Judgment Angel Queen said, in a mocking tone.
"I had not meant to take a hand. But a certain cunning rat has tried to escape again, and naturally I cannot let that pass. No one gets away with their life from under the noses of our Shadow Hunter ace fleet group!" Zhao Waner snorted coldly.
When it came to starship stealth, and counter-stealth.
The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire could be said to be the master of the trade.
Zhao Waner knew this way of fighting better still, and understood its strengths and weaknesses clearly.
Before, because the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's territory was so vast, it had not been possible to set counter-stealth equipment and interstellar stealth scout ships in every star system.
That was how these stealthed enemy interstellar warships had been able to slip about within the Empire's borders without a sound.
Had these rats never shown themselves, Zhao Waner truly could not have been sure of catching them.
But the moment one of these rats poked its head up, Zhao Waner would become the hunter and drag out every rat hiding in the dark.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha, it seems those two fellows wanted to be rid of me themselves. That is why they sent the Holy Dragon Angel Legion. Otherwise, had it been Miss Zhao Waner's Shadow Hunter ace fleet group, my 30,000 interstellar warships[1] would have been no match for you at all." The Judgment Angel Queen seemed to be talking of someone else's business; these 3,000 interstellar warships being encircled and destroyed had nothing whatever to do with her.
"Enough talk. If you were not still of some value, my interstellar torpedoes would have blasted you into angel scraps long since," Zhao Waner said with disdain.
She went on: "Give up your resistance and surrender."
Just then, the captain at the Judgment Angel Queen's side came up to her Angel Queen and said quietly, "Your Highness, we will cover you. Take a shuttle and escape!"
"There is no escaping. Once this Shadow Hunter ace fleet group of the Owl Dragon Empire has marked us, I cannot possibly get away." The Judgment Angel Queen did not keep her voice down, so Zhao Waner on the other side could hear it too.
She raised both hands high and said to Zhao Waner across from her, "I surrender."
In that instant, everyone present was stunned.
Whether the captain beside the Judgment Angel Queen, or the bridge petty officers,
or Zhao Waner on the other side,
all were astonished.
Not one of them had imagined that the Judgment Angel Queen would truly surrender.
Zhao Waner, too, had only meant to go through the formalities just now.
And the fellow had truly surrendered?
"You… truly surrender?" Zhao Waner eyed her, suspicious and wary.
The Judgment Angel Queen kept both hands raised the whole time, a light, mocking laugh in her voice. "Of course. What, you will not accept my surrender?"
What on earth was this woman up to?
Zhao Waner knit her brows.
This turn past all expectation left her, of all things, not knowing for the moment how to deal with it.
"Do not be afraid. I simply do not wish to die. I have no other thought. Though I have surrendered, that does not mean I accept my defeat in my heart. As I see it, you cannot possibly withstand the descent of the Great Existence. All you are doing now is struggling to no purpose, and adding to the sins upon you. Even if my action has failed, it is only a trifle of no account. I want to live, to live and see you pay the price for your own folly. To see the Great Existence descend upon this universe and bring it true cleansing and true faith! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…" The Judgment Angel Queen laughed aloud, laughed like one possessed.
Zhao Waner clenched her fists; was she to be afraid of a madwoman like this?
"Pass my order: prepare to take over the enemy ship. Mind this, the whole takeover is to be carried out safely and without error, and the target is not to be taken lightly. In the arrest, there is to be no eye contact of any kind with her, and no physical contact that is not necessary. Arrest her and escort her to the very highest standard!" Zhao Waner got in touch with the interstellar Marines.
One of their jobs was to take over interstellar warships that surrendered.