The two interstellar fleets of the Pig King commander and the Giant Ape commander crossed past, off to the side of those 7,000 enemy interstellar warships charged with the interception.
Neither side seemed to pay the other any mind.
The Pig King commander and the Giant Ape commander never looked back, never lost so much as a second's delay.
"Golden Eagle, he…" the Giant Ape commander looked, somewhat torn, at the Pig King commander in the video window opposite; his own handheld terminal kept flashing to remind him someone was requesting comms.
One needn't guess who, at a moment like this, would be reaching for them in such urgency.
"This whole situation is the battle-result of that fool eagle's mishandling — fighting a meteor-cluster action without proper command. Had he sent some scout ships or interstellar recon craft ahead to feel out the situation, would he have thrown away 10,000-odd interstellar warships for nothing? This battle, whatever its outcome, will need someone to bear the responsibility," the Pig King commander said coldly.
The Giant Ape commander was at a loss for words, and said no more; he only stared at the patches of high-speed-moving red markers appearing on his starship radar — the interstellar missiles, detected in transit, bearing down upon the Golden Eagle commander's fleet-group.
The chief reason the Giant Ape commander had agreed to this counsel of abandoning a comrade was, in the end, the sight of those interstellar missile ships.
There'd already been one round of interstellar-missile bombardment; not an hour had passed, and here came a second round of it?
Who knew how many interstellar missiles that pack of fellows opposite still had!
Rather than let their own interstellar warships be thrown away here for nothing, better to let that luckless fellow Golden Eagle bear it all alone.
"Report — we've picked up a video comm being broadcast over that stretch of rebel-army space. The message names the identity of the commander of that suspicious fleet. She calls herself the commander of the Dragon-Tiger Legion fleet — Charlotte!" a crew member reported abruptly.
Charlotte!
At this name, both commanders' faces changed.
This name, half a year ago, had shaken the whole Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth.
This famed rebel-army general, dead these several years, had not only come back from the dead, she'd blown up the Black Wolf Tribe's home star and its star-port fortress besides.
That very event had led directly to this half-year-later encirclement operation against the rebel army.
But who'd have thought that here, of all places, this Charlotte would appear once more — and bring with her, of all things, a full 30,000 interstellar warships.
So vast an interstellar legion fleet, and combat power so strong besides.
The two commanders had already made the leap: the upper echelons of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth would be shaken by this.
And within it, too, lay a great riddle.
Just who had helped Charlotte set her banners in order again — just who had given Charlotte so many interstellar warships!
Just what power was helping the rebel army from behind!
The Pig King commander fell silent a moment, then said: "Leave behind some unmanned scout craft to go on watching and recording this battlefield. And keep all the intelligence data of this battle — above all, on those Dragon-Tiger Legion interstellar warships. Gather all this intelligence, and send the whole of it to the Warhammer imperial star!"
"Yes!"
The Pig King commander looked at the holographic image: the Golden Eagle commander's interstellar fleet-group had already begun to take the sky-covering bombardment of interstellar missiles.
Bloom upon bloom of exploding fire kindled this stretch of the star-universe.
This bombardment was more resplendent still — for this time it was a saturation firepower-strike!
Wholly unlike the staged strike at the meteor cluster before.
This was a single, giant fireworks display!
The Golden Eagle commander, in the very midst of it, understood clearly, too, that he was the piece that had been thrown away.
"Curse them — this pack of damnable curs!" The Golden Eagle commander roared hysterically, eyes glaring round.
Were that damnable pig-head before him at this moment, he'd have pecked the damnable fat pig to death with his beak!
"I cannot die here! I cannot die here. Pass my order — muster the T3 interstellar warships at once; cover my breakout!" the Golden Eagle commander ordered in a panic.
He knew these interstellar warships of his could no longer be brought out; if he wasted more time here, then once the missile bombardment ended, not only would there be those 7,000 blockers ahead, but the 20,000-odd interstellar warships at the rear would, by his reckoning, come giving chase besides.
And then he'd truly have become a sandwich-biscuit.
The Golden Eagle commander's T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser, under the cover of 30-odd T3 interstellar warships, began to attempt a breakout.
But most unluckily — three streaks of red lightning were threading through the very gaps of the interstellar-missile bombardment, closing at exceedingly high speed upon this T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser.
Within the missile-bombardment zone there were, in fact, some traversable lanes; this data all three T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers held.
And it was by this route-map that the three T4 Vermilion Birds could thread through it like three crimson gods of war.
And at this moment, they'd all locked onto a single target.
The three T4 Vermilion Birds, from three directions, launched a driving-assault attack upon the Golden Eagle commander's T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser.
Though there were 30-odd T3 interstellar warships guarding it round about — nothing to be done, the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser's firepower was simply too terrifying.
These T3-grade interstellar warships couldn't bar the way at all!
One after another they were destroyed by the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers.
"Bar their way! Bar their way for me, quick! Fire! Attack them! Don't stop! Hit them for me!" the Golden Eagle commander's words were, by now, somewhat incoherent; he watched the three T4 interstellar cruisers on the interstellar holo-table draw nearer and nearer to his flagship.
It was as though he saw three red-haired fiends — and his heart quailed something fierce.
The ship-cannons of this T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser were firing too — secondary cannons, main cannons, its small complement of interstellar missiles, the bow cannon and all — pouring out everything it had in attack.
Only a pity — this was but a quasi-T4-grade interstellar warship.
And the ones opposite were three genuine, full-weight T4 interstellar cruisers.
The few remaining T3 Warhammer interstellar warships tried to block, with their own hulls, the line of attack of these three T4 interstellar cruisers, to buy their flagship time.
"Interstellar missiles — launch." Charlotte, aboard her own flagship, gave the order.
The interstellar missiles fitted to the three T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers began to launch.
The number wasn't great — each ship carried only 200 Vermilion Bird-type interstellar missiles — but for attacking these mere T3 interstellar warships, it was more than enough.
Under the attack of Vermilion Bird-type interstellar missile after interstellar missile, Warhammer T3-grade interstellar warship after interstellar warship was destroyed, becoming bloom upon bloom of exploding 'flowers.'
"Report — the three Vermilion Bird-class thermal cluster-laser bow cannons have locked onto the target!" Midai'er said in excitement.
"Order the other two Vermilion Bird ships — open fire!" Charlotte, staring at the T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser opposite, gave the order coldly.
The three Vermilion Bird-class thermal cluster-laser bow cannons fitted to the three T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers each loosed three beams of crimson-red light.
Within the starry sky, nine crimson beams, from three directions, struck and pierced through the hull of that T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser all at once.
For all the world like a soldier upon a battlefield, his body shot through by nine arrow-shafts.