The T2 Hyena-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer · the bridge.
The captain surnamed Su sat in the captain's chair, both his hands gripping the armrests of it with a death-grip.
His expression was quite grave.
For at this moment, they were barring the advance path of upward of 100 T3 interstellar warships.
"Captain, the patriarch's latest order: our patrol fleet is to hold position — no moving!" the adjutant said, his expression complex.
The Su-surnamed captain was stunned; he asked in haste, "Then are we permitted to use weapons to attack?"
The adjutant bowed his head, and said in a small voice, "Unless the other side's interstellar warships first use weapons to attack, then… we're not permitted to attack first."
"And what if they just come ramming straight into us!" the Su-surnamed captain said in his anxiety.
The adjutant's expression was grim.
"There was… there was no instruction on that; only that we're to hold position."
The Su-surnamed captain was somewhat at a loss.
He knew… his patrol fleet had now become a pebble — the very stone the Su old governor was casting to feel out the road.
One shouldn't be fooled by his being surnamed Su as well.
Thanks to the old master's feat of branching and leafing out, the Su family's collateral lines were all the more flourishing; he was no more than a Su family scion of the most collateral-of-collateral lines.
Like anyone else — an existence one could cast aside at any moment one wished.
"Captain… surely this Owl Dragon fleet wouldn't be so brazen and reckless as to truly dare, on Su family ground, before the very face of the Su old governor, directly… ram our interstellar warships?" the adjutant inquired, his heart trembling with dread.
"Then that you'll have to go and ask that marquis called Zhao Chen." The Su-surnamed captain raised a hand and called up the starship's deep-space telescope image; one could see the Owl Dragon fleet's interstellar warships opposite, closing slowly in.
Above all that row of interstellar frigates topped with three big black horns.
"Report — the enemy fleet's distance to our fleet's position: five minutes' sailing distance remaining!" a crew member reported.
At this very moment, aboard the patrol fleet's interstellar warships, the great majority held their breath and stilled their spirits.
And it was not only they — even the Su family folk, and those interstellar media, were fixed upon this scene as well.
They all wanted to know whether this Owl Dragon lord truly had the nerve — whether he truly dared, at the very time of the Third Prince's fetching of the bride, kick up so grand a piece of theater.
"Report — the enemy fleet's distance to our fleet's position: three minutes' sailing distance remaining. There is a risk of collision!" a crew member reported, tense.
The Su-surnamed captain clenched his fist, and asked, "Do the Owl Dragon ships show any intent of decelerating?"
"Report — the Owl Dragon ships have not decelerated in the slightest," the adjutant said.
The Su-surnamed captain was silent a short moment, then said in a low, grave voice, "Relay my order: all non-essential combat personnel are to enter the escape pods at once, and await the abandon-ship order."
"Captain… for you to hand down such an order at a time like this — should the higher-ups lay blame…" the adjutant was somewhat worried.
The Su-surnamed captain was rather nettled.
"Blame? Isn't it just that they mean to use us to test out the Owl Dragon fleet's true strength and bluff? Then isn't setting these interstellar warships here enough for it? Must they have these crewmen of mine die here into the bargain, for nothing at all? Relay my order!"
"Yes."
"Report — the enemy fleet's distance to our fleet's position: one minute's sailing distance remaining."
At this very moment, the distance between the two sides' starships was already exceedingly close.
So much so that there was no need even for the deep-space telescope — any Su family starship that had a viewport could gaze, from that viewport, upon the hull-form of those three-big-black-horned interstellar frigates opposite.
The Su-surnamed captain closed his eyes, his hands gripping the captain's chair in a death-hold.
50 seconds.
40 seconds.
30 seconds.
The Su-surnamed captain suddenly cried out, "All crew, abandon ship at once!"
The adjutant gritted his teeth and immediately relayed the order.
In that instant, the escape pods aboard this Su family interstellar warship shot out for all the world like a heavenly maiden scattering blossoms.
And it was not only this one ship — the other few dozen interstellar warships of the Su family patrol fleet, too, saw this same scene played out.
For, after all, no one was willing to sit here, wide-eyed, and wait for death.
And at this very moment, watching the Owl Dragon interstellar warships, near enough now to touch, still showing not the least intent to decelerate, everyone could already guess the outcome.
At so close a distance, to decelerate now was already too late.
The Su old governor closed his eyes.
Those Su family scions around him could only watch, wide-eyed, as their Su family patrol fleet's interstellar warships were rammed head-on, straight into, by the oncoming Owl Dragon interstellar frigates!
Those big black ramming horns pierced clean through the hull armor of some of the Su family interstellar warships, and after the briefest of contacts, all the more, split them into four parts and five.
Some of them, still more, ground straight over the top of the Su family interstellar warships' hulls.
For a T3 interstellar warship to grind over a T2 interstellar warship was, quite simply, no matter at all.
The more so since these were, besides, Zhao Chen's T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy Assault Frigates.
The 30 interstellar warships of the Su family patrol fleet were, without a single exception, all destroyed.
Reduced to so much garnish upon the Owl Dragon fleet's path of advance.
Every last person who witnessed this scene fell silent.
No one had imagined that this Owl Dragon lord truly had this nerve.
Not only did he lean on the T3 interstellar missile ships to threaten a dignified Governor of the Purple Perilla Star Region — he'd gone and, before that very governor's face, ground the Su family's interstellar warships to bits.
This could no longer even be called slapping a face; this was, quite simply, taking a shit right on the Su family's face.
"Governor… what do we do now?" someone inquired the governor's meaning at this point.
The Su old governor opened his eyes; his gaze was deep and unfathomable, and one could make out nothing of his thoughts.
"His Highness the Third Prince — this girl-child has already been handed over to you. Count this as a matter of the heart between you young folk; we old fellows won't be getting mixed up in it." The Su old governor looked toward Qin Hu beside him.
The corner of Qin Hu's mouth twitched.
This old-crafty, deep-cunning old thing.
Washing his hands clean of all connection to it, at a time like this.
For everyone could see that the Owl Dragon fleet opposite meant to snatch someone away.
And that posture was set right out there for all to see: whoever bars my way, I ram; if you have the nerve, come and collide with me.
And if you dare to start a war, then weigh well whether your Su family starport and your Su family main star can withstand the interstellar-missile bombardment of these five T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships of mine!
Though a marriage-tie with the Prince Faction was a fine thing, were he to stick his own neck out first at a time like this, and run the risk of his own starport and main star being bombed — that risk, the Su old governor was not willing to run.
"Good. Very good." Qin Hu spat out these two characters, turned, and led his own people back to his T4 Starlight Emperor.
He, Qin Hu, naturally couldn't stand by and watch, wide-eyed, as his own betrothed was snatched away.
True, the interstellar warships directly under his own hand numbered only 300, the rest being but a rabble of shrimp-soldiers and crab-generals.
But he simply didn't believe that, once he started the fighting, the Su family folk would dare stand by and do nothing!
"Patriarch, this… are we truly not to intervene?" a Su family man inquired.
The Su old governor said, mild and unruffled, "We wait."
"Wait for what?" someone asked, puzzled.
"If those five T3 interstellar missile ships open fire, and it's aimed at the other interstellar fleets and at the Third Prince's fleet — then we intervene at that point," the Su old governor said.