No small number of noble forces within the Starlight Empire were, one and all, shaken by the unexpected turn this broadcast interstellar campaign had taken — and then suddenly discovered that the live channel had, of all things, cut out.
"What's the meaning of this! How is it gone!" The Su old governor of the Purple Perilla Star Region, seeing the snow-white window, stamped his feet in his impatience.
The Su family scions beside him at once set to searching out the relevant broadcast signals.
But they'd find one and it'd cut off, find one and it'd cut off.
So much so that, for a stretch of time, even the related network searches concerning this campaign within the Starlight Empire were being blocked.
It was for all the world as though some unseen great hand were keeping everyone from learning about this interstellar campaign.
"By the look of it, the Prince Faction is truly in a panic," the Su old governor said in a low, grave voice.
"The Owl Dragon Legion suddenly brought out 3,000 and more T3-grade interstellar warships, and caught the Third Prince's fleet utterly off guard. And, moreover… there are, besides, so many interstellar missile ships; by the look of it, the odds bode grim for the Third Prince's fleet this time," a Su family scion muttered in a small voice, "Originally, the Prince Faction meant, by way of this campaign, to set up its own prestige. For, after all, a crown unstained by blood will make no one tremble in fear. But the Prince Faction could never in ten thousand years have imagined that this campaign would outstrip the expectations of very nearly everyone. Were the Third Prince's fleet, under the eyes of the watching multitude, to be gravely crippled — or even… then the prestige the Prince Faction has only just built up would be shaken. In all likelihood, the Prince Faction will try every means to intercept these broadcast signals, and press the impact of this wave down to the lowest it can."
The Su old governor gave a cold snort.
"There's no wall in this world that lets no wind through. And this campaign is not being broadcast only by the interstellar media the Prince Faction holds in hand. This time, the Prince Faction has truly, thoroughly, taken a great tumble here at the Owl Dragon Legion."
"Found them! Found them! I borrowed a black-market dark-web comm channel, and found a few broadcast signals." A Su family scion called up several broadcast images.
That interstellar battlefield's scene appeared once more before the eyes of all.
At this very moment, of the Third Prince fleet's 20,000 interstellar warships, upward of two-thirds of the area was already blanketed by interstellar missiles.
The dust born of the explosions shrouded this whole stretch of interstellar warships — and this interstellar dust could not, even, disperse for a good while, for all the world like a bank of fog!
And at the same time, the interstellar media caught the scene of the surrounding Owl Dragon fleet beginning, slowly, to press in upon the field.
First was a black, teeming mass of interstellar fighters and interstellar drones making ready for a second wave of the strike.
And after that, the whole further run of T3 interstellar warships had formed an encircling ring.
"This Zhao Chen truly is one beyond all imagining," the Su old governor said in a grave murmur.
"Perhaps letting Su Lan become the 'hostage' in his hand is not, after all, a bad thing."
"It's all thanks to your sage wisdom, old patriarch, that we did not this time dispatch reinforcements to aid the Third Prince's fleet; otherwise… our position now would be rather awkward." a Su family scion flattered.
Back when the Third Prince's fleet set out on campaign, no small number of the Su family scions had counseled dispatching the Su family fleet to lend support, the better to draw the tie with the Prince Faction closer.
For, after all, the Third Prince and the Su family now stood in a relation of marriage-kin.
But the Su old governor had pressed down every such opinion, and ordered that not a single Su family warship be permitted to leave the Purple Perilla Star Region.
"Su Lan's father — where is he now?" the Su old governor suddenly spoke up and inquired.
"Su Qiang… on account of that earlier matter, has been dismissed from his post…" No sooner had the Su family scion begun to speak than the Su old governor shot him a sidelong glare.
The Su family scion said at once, "No! He's recuperating! We hold that Su Qiang's body is worn out and in need of rest; and when he judges his own health fit, he may return to his post at any time."
The Su old governor said with narrowed eyes, "Hereafter, the interstellar-trade work bearing on the North Wind Star Region can all be handed over to Su Qiang to take charge of."
Hearing this, the Su family scions round about were all quite astonished.
It meant that Su Qiang's standing would draw nearer to the very core of the Su family's power.
Everyone could not help but sigh over it: this fellow Su Qiang had, in truth, sired a fine daughter.
The Su old governor went on fixing his eyes upon the broadcast feed, and muttered, "Now we'll see just what step this Zhao Chen means to go to."
…
The T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser No. 1 ship · the bridge.
"Report — of this round of the T3 Judicators' saturation firepower strike, 27% of the interstellar missiles were intercepted. Enemy warships directly destroyed number upward of 10,000, including 500 T3-grade interstellar warships and one T4-grade interstellar warship. Of the remaining 10,000 and more interstellar warships, 5,000 have hulls damaged to varying degrees; the T3-grade interstellar warships have basically had their star-shield energy spent to exhaustion, their combat power short of 50% of their peak. Interstellar warships that truly possess full combat capability now number under 5,000," Secretary Lilith reported to Zhao Chen the combat result under this round of 6 billion-star-coins' firepower bombardment.
Zhao Chen fixed his eyes on the boxes before him representing the Third Prince fleet's five T4 flagships; one of them had already turned gray.
These five were, respectively, two T4 Starlight Emperor-class Medium Carrier Starships and three T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships.
And the one that had been destroyed was, precisely, a T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship!
Though the Chu family and the Prince Faction were now on hostile terms — before that, the Chu family had, each year, still sold the royal house a portion of the T4 Boreas.
Though the T4 Boreas's technology was held in the Chu family's hands, the royal house's standing was, after all, still what it was; they hadn't demanded your technology of you, but when they came to buy from you, you could hardly refuse to sell.
And so, each year, some 10 or so would be sold.
And now, these T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships had, naturally, fallen into the Prince Faction's hands.
This was, too, the reason the Third Prince could lead T4 Boreas here to attack Zhao Chen.
"T4-grade interstellar warships truly are quite able to take a beating. How many interstellar missiles were aimed at that T4 Boreas just now?" Zhao Chen inquired.
"By Baixue's reckoning, annihilating a single T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship requires at least 200,000 T3-grade interstellar missiles. In fact, the count Baixue actually planned and aimed at this T4 Boreas came to 250,000. For, after all, this is a T4-grade interstellar warship, possessed of an all-around star-shield defense system. And it is, in itself, a battleship besides, with a very high armor-defense strength. Even now, destroyed and stripped of its combat power, its main hull frame is, in all likelihood, still intact," Charlotte said at his side.
Zhao Chen nodded.
This was, precisely, the mightiness of being a whole technological grade apart.
The generation-gap in technology was a truly terrifying thing.
"Report — the enemy's two T4 Starlight Emperors are beginning to deploy interstellar fighters and interstellar drones. They're about to join battle with our T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starships' interstellar-fighter swarms and interstellar-drone swarms!" Secretary Lilith reported.
This was an interstellar air-battle.
The two sides' interstellar fighters would contest the interstellar command of the skies.
Zhao Chen looked at the carrier starship's radar — the radar display-screen given expressly to detecting friendly and enemy interstellar fighters and interstellar drones.
Upon it were clearly marked out the positions of both sides' interstellar fighters and interstellar drones, divided into the two colors, red and blue.
It was for all the world like two flocks of birds about to come crashing head-on into each other.
This would be an interstellar air-battle, in the truest sense of the word, that the Owl Dragon Legion faced!