The Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion, under the ceaseless ramming of Shen Bing's interstellar frigates, was routed and no longer an army. The T2 interstellar warships, for all the world like crispy-skinned chicken, were torn to shreds easily and effortlessly. And the none-too-many T3 interstellar warships, under the assault of the T3 Phantom Assassin-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bombers commanded by Zhao Wan'er, suffered a great swath of dead and wounded all the more. Indeed, even the flagship of the Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion was captured and taken under the enemy's control.
All of this, seen by the remaining interstellar warships of the two Mole Tribe legion fleets off to the side, near enough drained their morale away in a single instant. Originally, on account of their own flagships being destroyed, they'd already given birth to fear within. Now, all the more, they had no desire to go on fighting. The Mole Tribe's two legion fleets began to appear in a situation of rout and flight.
"Reporting, Commander — the enemy Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion's flagship is now under our control," Lilith reported.
"Very good." Zhao Chen looked at the data beneath the interstellar holo-table before him. Up to now, the enemy's interstellar-warship count had already plummeted to under 3,000, and a mere under 10 T3 interstellar warships were left.
"We can proceed with accepting surrenders now; as for those who stubbornly refuse to surrender — annihilate them, every one! This work I'll leave to Charlotte's T3 Blizzards; relying on their high sailing speed, they can pursue those fleeing interstellar warships. This time, we're to wipe out these invading enemies, one and all — not a single ship is to be let escape!" Zhao Chen said in earnest. In this battle, Zhao Chen meant to let the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth know that in the Reef Star Region there was such a force — one that could, indeed, swiftly and wholly annihilate three of your legion fleets!
"Yes!" the deputy captain Chitong conveyed the Commander's order at his side.
This ambush battle, too, could count as having reached a stopping point. It needed only an hour or two to clear away the remaining, leftover interstellar warships and sweep the battlefield.
At the last —
Zhao Chen's Owl Dragon Legion, with a mere under 500 interstellar warships of its own, had captured 1,000 interstellar warships, half of which were auxiliary-type interstellar warships. Having no combat power to begin with, when the battle turned against them and they were pursued, they'd been the fastest to surrender.
"Lord Commander, this is the list of the interstellar warships we've captured. One T3 interstellar warship, and the remaining thousand-odd all T2 interstellar warships. And I've counted only the interstellar warships able to navigate normally; those with problems in their ship engines, their hulls gravely damaged, unable to navigate normally, I've not reckoned in. The prisoners aboard those ships have, too, been transferred to the other captured starships," Lilith reported.
Zhao Chen nodded with satisfaction. Though this place wasn't far from the Reef Star Region, to make the journey hauling along those gravely damaged interstellar warships would, all the same, be quite troublesome.
"As for the remaining interstellar-battlefield cleanup work, in accordance with your instruction: sweep the interstellar battlefield swiftly, and apart from some comparatively high-value starship-wreckage components, take none of the rest. It's estimated that six hours from now, we can set out to return to the Reef Star Region." Lilith had arranged everything most properly.
"Very good. Ah, right — I hear that Black Wolf commander wants to see me?" Zhao Chen said teasingly.
"Yes; that T3 War Elephant-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship we captured is the Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion's flagship. When we took over this interstellar warship, half the crew aboard it either killed themselves or resisted to the death — but they were all put down by us. Strange to say, that Black Wolf commander, on the contrary, surrendered very honestly. He merely put forth one request — that he hoped he might see the commander who defeated their interstellar legion fleet," Lilith said.
"This request can be granted. And, besides, invite two onlookers along." Zhao Chen waved a hand, having Lilith go arrange it.
10 minutes later.
Within the meeting room of the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
The Black Wolf commander sat in a chair, looking at the empty surroundings all about him; he was somewhat taken aback by his own treatment. He was not controlled by a restraint-suit — indeed, not even handcuffs. That enemy commander dared come see him thus; could it be he wasn't the least worried that he might assassinate him? For one must know, he was a beast-folk — and a beast-folk's bodily combat power was, in close combat, an existence among the stronger of the vast majority of interstellar races. Still, it had to be said, this carrier starship's hull design truly was very advanced. Too extravagant, though. Not at all like the coarse, rough-hewn style of their Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth.
At this point, the meeting room's great door opened automatically. That Chitong woman who'd brought him here earlier walked in front, staring coldly at him. And after her, two familiar faces appeared before him.
"We meet again, Wolf Wind." The white-furred woman general walking in front looked with her lovely eyes at this "acquaintance" before her.
The Black Wolf commander abruptly stood up, looking at the two before him in disbelief. "Charlotte? Baixue? How is it you'd appear here — didn't the two of you both die in battle in that earlier campaign to suppress the rebel army!"
Charlotte said nothing further, silently withdrawing to one side. The wolf-girl Baixue, for her part, looked at the Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, in mockery. "So it turns out that interstellar legion fleet was yours. Had I known, I'd have arranged for my interstellar missile ships to greet our old friend with a few more rounds. Back when I was still with the rebel army, your interstellar fleet's firepower in dealing with us was quite ferocious indeed."
"This interstellar fleet is yours?" The Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, could scarcely believe it; if this powerful, terrifying interstellar fleet truly belonged to the rebel army, then to the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth it was, beyond doubt, an enormous threat.
"No — these interstellar warships don't belong to us. Rather, it should be said that we, and these interstellar warships, all belong to him," Charlotte said silently, and thereupon her gaze turned toward a man in a military greatcoat who was, only at this moment, walking in.
The Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, looked at this pretty-boy of a man — a human, of all things.
"Charlotte, what do you mean by these words? This pretty-boy is your commander?"
The Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, had not yet finished speaking when his abdomen took a heavy blow of a fist. Charlotte coldly withdrew her fist. "If you dare speak any more words insulting our Commander, I'll pull out those wolf-fangs of yours one by one."
The Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, felt a tremor in his heart; he did know the fearsome name of this white-tiger rebel-army general — she was one who truly dared say and dared do. Of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's regular-army high-ranking generals who'd died at her hand, if there weren't 10, there were five.
"Who are you? Why did you assail us!" The Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, stared at the man before him.
"Who I am is of no import; you need only know that you've been defeated by us. And as for why? Because you attempted to lay your hands upon a place you had no business touching," Zhao Chen said with a teasing laugh.
"You're from the Reef Star Region!" The Black Wolf commander, Wolf Wind, at once caught on; he called to mind the news that pro-Warhammer-faction pack in the Reef Star Region had reported to him earlier. That in the Reef Star Region there'd appeared a band of interstellar fleet of unknown origin, supporting the Snake-folk. And that it had beaten back the 60,000-interstellar-warship coalition of their Warhammer faction and the Starlight faction. At the time he hadn't paid it any mind, thinking the Reef Star Region was nothing but a poor and remote backwater, all of it fish-fleet interstellar warships, no cause for fear. Who could ever have imagined the other party would, of all things, ambush him directly right here.