In the end, this interstellar battle lasted five hours.
The Dragon-Tiger Legion carried out, front to back, two interstellar-missile bombardments, and annihilated in all near 30,000 interstellar warships of the three Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth tribes' legion fleets.
Among them, one T4 Dragon-Knight-class Heavy Interstellar Cruiser destroyed, and one T4 Butcher-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer whose hull took damage in the course of the breakout — though it did, in the end, sail clear of the battlefield, it would, by all estimates, be in for a major overhaul once back in port.
"The enemy interstellar-warship masses have already withdrawn a great distance; our pursuing interstellar fleet has begun to pull back. In this battle, our Dragon-Tiger Legion lost 1,300-odd interstellar warships, including three T3 Blizzards. Besides, 600-odd interstellar warships took moderate-to-heavy damage, including 13 T3 Blizzards. Personnel losses come to near 500,000." Midai'er reported the battle's data to Charlotte.
"We lost that many?" Charlotte knit her brows slightly.
Midai'er said in some surprise: "Is that a lot? Our loss-ratio against the enemy came to better than 20 to one!"
20 to one — what a notion that was.
It took the enemy 20 interstellar warships to trade for one of theirs.
Which meant that, going by this figure alone, for the enemy to wish to wipe out the Dragon-Tiger Legion, they'd need to send 600,000 interstellar warships.
Of course, an interstellar battlefield was no simple sum in arithmetic, no plain matter of one-plus-one-equals-two; there were a great many more factors and problems to weigh besides.
But at the least it showed that the Dragon-Tiger Legion possessed a formidable capacity to overcome the strong with the weak.
Charlotte came, all at once, to her senses.
She'd grown used to that combat mode of the Owl Dragon Legion, where, in wholly annihilating an enemy fleet, one's own interstellar-warship losses would not run past two digits.
And so, at so many interstellar warships lost all at once, she'd of all things, for a moment, not reacted.
Midai'er went on, her face all excitement: "In under five hours, near 30,000 enemy interstellar warships annihilated, and a T4-grade interstellar warship among them. In the whole of our revolutionary army's history, this is a war-record the like of which has never once come to pass!"
Hearing Midai'er's words, Charlotte recalled the deeds of her days serving in the revolutionary army.
Back then, to command even 3,000 interstellar warships was already reckoned rather remarkable.
The combat expenditure of a single battle had to be reckoned to the last coin.
How could it be as now — upwards of 100 million star coins' worth of interstellar missiles flung out as though it were nothing.
At this point, a video window popped up.
"Charlotte, you fought it beautifully. This victory is of immense help to the revolutionary army's present situation! A great many of the revolutionary army's leaders are getting in touch with me, wanting to meet you face to face. You are now the revolutionary army's fresh new banner!" Chief Ted's excitement could be read clear upon his face.
He gestured and gesticulated, for all the world as though it were he himself who'd just commanded the battle and won.
"It's indeed time to have a good talk with them. Father, I'll trouble you to convey my meaning for me. First, all the revolutionary army's interstellar warships are to make ready for a long voyage; of the resources on the local base planets, what can be carried off, carry off; what can't, deal with on the spot. Then muster all the revolutionary army's leaders — I want to hold a council. The meeting place will be arranged in the conference room of our T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser," Charlotte said gravely.
"Very well; I'll go and arrange it." Chief Ted, at this moment, made his daughter wholly his center of gravity: whatever his daughter said, so it was.
Charlotte fixed her eyes on the revolutionary army's base far off; what she was to do next was to consolidate the strength of the revolutionary army — taking advantage of now, while her own prestige stood at its highest.
The matter the Commander had charged her with, she must, without fail, bring to a perfect completion!
Half an hour later.
Shuttle-craft of every varied make sailed, one after another, into the hangar of the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser.
Though the shuttle-craft came to several dozen in number, within the hangar of a T4-grade interstellar warship such as this, it still looked exceedingly empty and vast.
The overwhelming majority of these shuttle-craft were of no small 'age,' and, with improper upkeep besides, looked in appearance for all the world as though they'd been fished out of a rubbish-heap.
They were, after all, revolutionary-army shuttle-craft; proper maintenance and care were hard to come by.
Set against the fittings and furnishings within the hangar of the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser, these shuttle-craft were, quite simply, two different worlds.
"So this is the inside of a T4-grade interstellar warship?" Xin'er lifted her head, looking at this enormous hangar; the space in it — never mind parking shuttle-craft, even parking T1-grade and some light T2-grade interstellar warships would be no problem at all.
"It seems no small number have come this time." The Black Fox matron stepped down from the shuttle-craft and looked about.
She saw no few familiar old faces.
The leading figures within the revolutionary army — and even persons of standing from the various tribes great and small — had all turned up.
"Is that a mecha? Could it be a T3-grade combat mecha?" The shuttle-craft the Pig-Head commander had parked lay, as it happened, at the hangar's edge; as he stepped down, he chanced to see several white combat mecha parked in a corner of the hangar.
Curious, he made to stretch out a hand and stroke the frame of this white combat mecha.
But the next second, the machine-cannon of the white combat mecha before him swung round to bear upon his pig-head, that black, gaping muzzle giving one a taste of dread.
"All invited persons of the revolutionary army, please come with me; General Charlotte is already awaiting you all in the conference room. And please, all of you, refrain from touching any of the ship's weapons or related apparatus, or from going to any other compartment without leave." Midai'er stepped up to lead the party, and began to guide the company of revolutionary-army figures out of the hangar.
The Pig-Head commander gulped, and, with a sheepish laugh at the huge white mecha before him, raised both his hands high and backed away, step by step.
Only then did that machine-cannon slowly lower, as though nothing at all had just happened.
"Don't go touching and gawking about the place. This is a T4-grade interstellar warship. If old Bull here had an interstellar warship like this, and you, pig-head, dared to fiddle about inside it, I'd make you into pig-head char-siu." The Bull-Head commander walked over and gave the Pig-Head commander's pig-head a slap.
Displeased as the Pig-Head commander was in his heart at the arrogance of this warship's crew, he'd not, at this moment, go looking to bring trouble on himself.
Honestly and obediently he followed the company, making for the conference room.
Leaving the hangar, passing through the corridor, the company boarded a set of hover-lifts and moved within the starship.
A minute later, the hover-lifts halted at a compartment-section.
Though they could go to no other compartment, even a bare minute's journey had left them shaken by the interior structure of this giant ship.
Warhammer, too, had T4-grade interstellar warships — but those were of a workmanship wholly unlike this.
Set against it, Warhammer's T4 interstellar warships were, in truth, just too ugly to look at.
The company was led by Midai'er into the conference room — a fan-shaped conference room that could, as need arose, seat upward of 1,000 people, its floor-plan freely reconfigurable.
This time, though, only a small-scale meeting layout had been arranged; for the several dozen of the revolutionary army, it was more than ample.
Once everyone was seated, only then did Charlotte arrive, unhurried and late.
The sound of military boots striking the ground; the crisp, upright military uniform; the thoroughly dashing figure.
Though the scar was gone from her face now, and her gaze was no longer so cold as before — the Charlotte of now had, all the more, an air about her hard to put into words, that left those revolutionary-army leaders in their seats feeling they dared not meet her eyes.
"Everyone — it's been a long time." Charlotte swept a glance round the meeting-hall, and slowly began to speak.