"Look, quick — our fleet's begun its charge. Hmph. A paltry defensive position of 100-odd escort ships and destroyers — how could it hold off our battlecruisers and cruisers? I'd wager that in a moment their defensive position will be smashed straight to pieces!" the adjutant sneered at her side.
Saint Cana said nothing.
In theory that was so, true.
But for some reason, looking at those hundred Owl Dragon warships in their defensive posture, she had a feeling of unease.
Could it be… that even with so vast a gap in ship types, that man's fleet could still work a miracle?
Soon, the answer would be revealed.
The Sacred Angel fleet in its charging formation soon met the outermost 20 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts.
These 20 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts didn't flinch in the least; the firepower net woven by their close-in guns intercepted the enemy's attacks without pause.
Even so, a great many attacks landed on the hulls of these 20 T3 Triceratops.
But astonishingly, such attacks failed to form effective damage on the T3 Triceratops' hulls in any short span.
Still, to this point, Saint Cana and the others only marveled that the Owl Dragon Legion's escort ships had quite fine defensive power; they hadn't yet grasped where these ships were truly terrifying.
Owl Dragon fleet · flagship · T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyer, ship one · the bridge.
Shen Bing stood here at this moment; she had laid out a detailed battle plan, and though this duel looked a vast mismatch of strength—
—she believed, still, that she had a chance at victory.
And that chance lay on the battlefield she'd now arranged.
"Pass my order — first echelon Triceratops, full-speed advance! Second defensive echelon, make ready for battle!" Shen Bing gave the command.
At this, the 20 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts that had been taking the attacks suddenly opened their engines full-bore; in an exceedingly short span these 20 T3 Triceratops reached a truly astonishing speed.
A speed that even matched, near enough, the T3 Light-Cone-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers across the way.
This sight left everyone dumbfounded.
"What are they trying to do!" the Sacred Spirit adjutant surged forward several steps, his pale-gold pupils full of astonishment.
Saint Cana said nothing, only stared hard at those 20 escort ships charging like warriors at the Sacred Angel fleet.
Perhaps a thought rose in countless minds at this moment: were they trying to hurl these 20 T3 escort ships like eggs against a rock?
Were Shen Bing before them now, she would surely say:
Who's the egg and who's the rock — give it a try and you'll know.
Then an astonishing sight appeared.
Though under the wild bombardment of the Sacred Angel fleet's 90 warships some of the T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts even had flame streaming from their bows, still they rammed into the Sacred Angel fleet.
Fireworks bloomed in that instant!
The people of the Sacred Spirit race were dumbfounded.
What had they just seen?
They didn't dare believe their own eyes!
They saw the three ramming-horns on the head of one of those so-called T3 Triceratops-class Heavy Interstellar Escorts drive straight through and cave in the entire bow of a T3 Light-Cone-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser coming head-on.
Then the forward fifth of that T3 Light-Cone-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser's hull caved wholly inward; and next, perhaps because the impact brought the once-fast-moving battleship to a sudden halt—
—the terrible force generated tore a huge crack open at the hull's rear too.
This…
T3 Light-Cone-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser was rammed to wreck just like that…
This scene played out again and again on other Sacred Angel fleet warships.
For all the world like a comet striking a comet.
By the combat-loss figures, to this point the two sides had merely traded blow for blow.
For those 20 T3 Triceratops were now gravely damaged too; their destruction was only a matter of time.
But this threw the Sacred Angel fleet's original attack rhythm into disorder outright — because the warships ahead were forced to slow, the warships behind had to slow their speed too.
And then a still more terrible sight played out.
Seizing the moment the Sacred Angel fleet's attack rhythm was broken, the 30 T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers and 30 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts—
—launched their attack!
These 60 warships showed an unbelievable speed.
And charged at the Sacred Angel fleet.
At this the Sacred Angel fleet's commander too sensed something amiss, and at once ordered his own warships to make ready for battle.
Now the truly savage fighting broke out in earnest.
The Owl Dragon fleet's T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers, facing the enemy's T3 Light-Cone-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers, showed not the least fear, meeting the hard head-on, grappling face to face.
Like madmen — though their hulls took attack, though their hull armor was smashed to pieces, they fought to the very last moment.
The other 30 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts, for their part, carried on their fine tradition — ramming without cease!
Ram one and you break even; ram two and you're ahead!
It was with just such a creed that a battle everyone had thought would be a charge-versus-defense curb-stomp turned, willy-nilly, into a scorching melee.
The whole scene was a tangled mess!
Saint Cana's face was quite ugly now, uglier even than during the first battle.
Even she, now, realized this Sacred-War Duel had developed beyond her expectations.
The adjutant who'd been crowing and hollering at her back a moment ago now hadn't a word to say — even his breathing had gone much smaller, for all the world as though drawing breath itself were a crime.
The adjutant stared in disbelief at the second battlefield's broadcast window, on which was marked, besides, the count of warships remaining on either side.
Sacred Angel fleet (79 ships)
Owl Dragon fleet (81 ships)
……
Sacred Angel fleet (71 ships)
Owl Dragon fleet (70 ships)
……
Sacred Angel fleet (64 ships)
Owl Dragon fleet (64 ships)
One could put it thus!
The two sides were now locked in a fierce deadlock.
No one had dreamed that such a small-scale hundred-ship battle would be fought so savagely.
And what was more, likely… most likely it would still be their Sacred Angel Legion that lost.
Why?
Bear in mind — at the crystal's position behind them, there were still 20 T3 Triceratops-class Heavy Interstellar Escorts that hadn't so much as moved!
Saint Cana's gaze was lost; her mind was in a snarl.
She simply hadn't foreseen such a result.
What was going on here?
Was her Sacred Angel Legion too weak?
Blow after blow had even set her to doubting herself.
And just at this moment, a magnetic male voice sounded.
"This second battle, we, the Owl Dragon Legion, concede. Let's end this fight."
The whole company of Sacred Angel NCOs was dumbfounded; none of them grasped what was happening.
A battle they'd been on the verge of losing — how was it the other side had, of all things, conceded?
"We won? Hahaha, we won! By the look of it, that man across the way was frightened by our Sacred Angel fleet's terrible combat power!" the adjutant sprang out now, glad.
But the very next second, the always composed Saint Cana slapped him full across the face; the adjutant went flying outright and crashed hard into the wall.
Clutching his cheek, he looked in disbelief at the Commander, at a loss for why she'd struck him.
They… they'd plainly won the second battle.
"He could plainly have won. The reason he conceded— —is that he didn't want to watch his own crew throw their lives away for nothing!" Saint Cana's expression was complicated; in this moment she had none of that earlier bright, resplendent air.
"The one who truly lost… is us!"