The news that Warhammer's three legion fleets had been wholly annihilated was, of the Reef Star Region, first known by the pro-Warhammer-faction supporter forces.
Originally, by the time settled upon in the last comm with the Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion's commander, the three Warhammer interstellar legion fleets ought long since to have arrived at the star systems of the Reef Star Region's pro-Warhammer supporters. But wait as they might, left and right, until a full 10 hours past the appointed time had gone by, they still saw no sign of the Warhammer interstellar fleet. And on the comm-contact side, too, there was no news whatsoever.
Left with no choice, the pro-Warhammer faction's leaders could only get in contact with the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's side directly — but the news they got was that the three Warhammer interstellar legions lending aid to the Reef Star Region had set out at the scheduled time, and early on, at that. Since there was no problem with the time of departure, then they ought long since to have reached their destination? And now, for over 10 hours, there'd been not a trace of them — so there was but one possibility. And that was that something had befallen these three Warhammer interstellar legions en route.
The pro-Warhammer faction at once dispatched their own interstellar fleets to search. And in the end, they caught a faint starship signal within a stretch of interstellar fringe space. By the time they arrived at that area, they were aghast at the scene before them.
Everywhere was the wreckage of interstellar warships — very nearly all of them Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth interstellar warships.
When this news made its way back to the Reef Star Region, the pro-Warhammer faction's upper echelons were, one and all, unable to believe it. Those were, after all, three of Warhammer's legion fleets — genuine, true-to-the-mark regular army. Utterly unlike those fish-fleets of theirs in the Reef Star Region! And they'd been wholly wiped out in so short a span of time, of all things.
"This is some of the battle data from among the interstellar-warship wreckage we searched at the scene. The attacker… the attacker is… that interstellar fleet in league with the Snake-folk!" a subordinate reported.
"How could this be!" one of the pro-Warhammer faction's force-leaders doubted this claim.
The subordinate said in a low, grave voice, "This is the conclusion all the evidence we've gathered points to; and among the data of those interstellar-warship wrecks there are some data-images. Among them, footage captured of some of the interstellar warships. Back when we besieged the Snake-folk's Snake-Sovereign Fortress, those were, precisely, the interstellar warships that powerful interstellar fleet possessed. And the single most important piece of evidence… over half the Warhammer interstellar-warship wreckage bears very plain traces of having suffered interstellar-missile bombardment. And that of the large-scale interstellar-missile-bombardment kind!"
Large-scale interstellar-missile bombardment.
Hearing this piece of evidence, the pro-Warhammer upper echelons present all fell silent. It made them think of the terrifying experience of that battle at the Snake-Sovereign Fortress back then — an experience that, up to now, they could not forget. Those terrifying interstellar missile ships, sending interstellar missiles like a very meteor shower assailing them. Just to think of it now was to feel a lingering dread.
"The conclusion we've finally arrived at is this. This interstellar fleet supporting the Snake-folk, by who-knows-what channel, came by the warp-navigation routes of those three Warhammer interstellar legions. It set up an ambush ahead of time upon the route-path, deploying a great quantity of warp interceptors. And in the end, it successfully intercepted the three Warhammer interstellar legions hastening toward the Reef Star Region; and before the Warhammer interstellar legions could even react, it heavily struck the three Warhammer interstellar legions with a great quantity of interstellar missiles, causing enormous losses and chaos. After that, it was a matter of arranging its other interstellar warships to reap the battlefield step by step. The tactics should be much the same as those we faced at the Snake-Sovereign Fortress before." the subordinate set forth the results of the analysis.
At this, all present had no doubts any longer. Listening to these words, it was for all the world as though they were witnessing, with their own eyes, the terrifying scene of that fearsome interstellar fleet wholly annihilating three Warhammer interstellar legions.
"That interstellar fleet truly is very strong — powerful interstellar missile ships, and terrifying interstellar battleships and interstellar battlecruisers. Even their interstellar frigates are… are not normal!" One of the upper-echelon figures present, who'd had a close-quarters clash with that interstellar fleet and had, by sheer luck, survived, had his eyes filled with nothing but terror.
Another, younger upper-echelon figure suddenly said in excitement, "But we needn't be so downcast; this might well be a piece of good news. Once we tell the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth the news that its three legion fleets were ambushed and wholly annihilated, the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth will surely be enraged. And then, they'll surely, for the sake of revenge, dispatch even more interstellar legion fleets over here!" He looked happily at the assembled folk around him, wishing to gain a look of approval from everyone's expressions.
But everyone was very calm.
"I… is there something wrong with what I said?" At this point he'd not yet realized just where his problem lay.
An elder spoke up. "As for this matter, the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth will indeed be sorely vexed — but more than likely, it won't send additional interstellar legions."
"Why?"
The elder went on to explain. "First, the combat power that mysterious interstellar fleet cooperating with the Snake-folk possesses — able to wholly annihilate three Warhammer interstellar legions, close to 10,000 interstellar warships. Though this may have owed to the advantage of the ambush, it has, too, displayed the combat power their fleet possesses. To try to defeat an interstellar fleet of this kind, you'd need, at the least, to dispatch three to five times the interstellar legion fleets. That's, at the least count, 10 Warhammer interstellar legions — at least 30,000 interstellar warships! Warhammer's present situation we've all looked into before: they belong to a commonwealth system, and each tribe is, in fact, an existence like unto a small kingdom, uniting together only in matters of some great interest. And do you think that, for the sake of this one Reef Star Region of ours, the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth would, amid all its many pressing affairs, scrape together another 10 Warhammer interstellar legions? Even if the Black Wolf Tribe, which came off the loser this time, has such a heart, they won't take action right now. Beast-folk may be blunt and straightforward, but they, too, know the ratio of the return against the outlay! It's plain enough that the Reef Star Region's interests are no match for the outlay of sending reinforcements. With that much effort, they'd do better to go seize some other masterless star systems!"
The expressions of everyone at the meeting were none of them good.
The young man only now caught on; dumbfounded, he said, "Then… then what are we to do?" That powerful interstellar fleet could wholly annihilate three Warhammer interstellar legions; and these fish-fleet interstellar warships of theirs had only numbers to them — to truly go head-to-head with the others, there was no telling how grievous a toll of casualties they'd have to pay.
"That pro-Starlight-Empire bunch has already made the choice for us, hasn't it?" the elder said.
The young man's gaze was complex; he opened his mouth several times, but in the end said nothing more.
"All right; everyone, go back and organize things. Within one week, take away every last thing that can be taken. I'll get in contact with the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's side, in hopes that they can arrange a decent star system for us. As for the matter of the Reef Star Region… let's speak of that another day. We can only await the chance for revenge and a counterstrike," the elder said.
At the last!
Under the deliberations of these pro-Warhammer-faction interstellar forces, they chose to give up the Reef Star Region. For, after all, the enemy's battle of wholly annihilating the Warhammer interstellar legions had truly left their hearts wary — indeed, even terrified.