"Starfighter swarm and interstellar-drone swarm, lock the enemy's interstellar air-combat formation and destroy them all!"
"Interstellar missile ships, hold in place, take on missile resupply from the interstellar supply ships, and make ready for the next launch task!"
"15 T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers, lead the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruisers and T3 Wind-Eagle-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers. Mount harrying strikes on the enemy fleet's formation!"
"Escort ships, keep readying to carry out interception — stand ready to intercept the enemy's next attack and cut the harm to our fleet!"
"Remaining warships, carry on with the original combat tasks; the moment the enemy fleet enters firing range, engage on your own target-search!"
Chitong handed down her orders in one string.
The whole Owl Dragon Legion now surged into motion.
Swathe upon swathe of starfighters and interstellar drones raced forth.
The interstellar air-battle between the Sacred Angel Legion and the Owl Dragon Legion broke out straightaway!
The Sacred Angel Legion's T3 Archangel-class Medium Carrier Starships were strong, true — a pity only that the Owl Dragon Legion's T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starships were stronger!
And because they were heavy carriers, their count of starfighters and interstellar drones was near three times the Sacred Angel Legion's!
Add to that that the starfighters and drones themselves outclassed the enemy's in performance.
The moment this interstellar air-battle began, it was a one-sided slaughter!
At the same time.
15 crimson interstellar behemoths led their assault fleet out first; relying on terrific speed, like several crimson dragon-serpents, they launched their onslaught!
Because the Sacred Angel Legion had likewise sent out an assault fleet — formed of T4 Sacred-Lucent-class Light Interstellar Cruisers and other battlecruisers and cruisers — the two met head-on first.
In this clash, the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers, as the ringleaders, bore the brunt and struck first!
They showed, straight off, what the speed of an interstellar cruiser truly meant!
Weapon modules running full-bore, they set to locking onto enemy ships — circling, penetrating, harrying without cease.
Their prime targets were those three T4 Sacred-Lucent-class Light Interstellar Cruisers.
A pity only — too many monks, too little gruel.
The T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers simply couldn't spread themselves to cover it all.
More often than not it was three T4 Vermilion Birds circling a single T4 Sacred-Lucent-class Light Interstellar Cruiser and pounding it wildly.
As for the lesser fry beneath — those, naturally, were fry against fry.
The T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruisers might no longer be first-rate warships in the Owl Dragon Legion now, but they remained main-force warships.
After all, these were the meritorious warships that had commanded the Owl Dragon Legion for a stretch.
That terrible combat power told the T3 Light-Cone-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers across the way, straight out, which was the true interstellar battlecruiser!
Ever seen a light battlecruiser chasing a medium battlecruiser and thrashing it?
You hadn't before — but now it was happening.
Right before Saint Cana and the others' eyes.
And as though to avenge the destroyers and escort ships bullied in the second battle—
—these battlecruisers and cruisers of the Owl Dragon Legion killed like things gone mad.
For all the world as though crowing: so it was you lot bullying my little brothers just now?
As if anyone else were short of battlecruisers and cruisers.
Feel up to a round with us?
The situation slid steadily out of control.
By rights, on this battlefield there should have been Sacred Angel Legion starfighters and drones giving fire support.
But…
"Damn it, where are our starfighters? Where's our interstellar-drone swarm? We need support!" the captain of one T4 Sacred-Lucent-class Light Interstellar Cruiser howled without let-up over the command channel.
His warship was now suffering the attacks of three enemy T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers, its star-shield barely holding.
It was for all the world like three big brutes chasing this pale-faced pretty-boy and roughing him up, tearing at his clothes.
At this rate, he'd likely soon fall into the tiger's maw.
His calls for aid drew no reply at all.
Soon, he too grasped what was happening.
Through his deep-space telescope he saw, in the distant stars, small fireball after small fireball of explosion.
That was the interstellar air-battle's field, and those exploding small fireballs were, the great majority, their own Sacred Angel Legion's starfighters and drones.
A slaughter!
A naked slaughter!
Under such circumstances, these starfighters and drones, far from supporting anyone, could scarcely save themselves.
And behind, the Sacred Angel Legion's main fleet too saw the plight of its assault fleet.
They wanted to rush up and help — but their speed simply couldn't keep pace.
They could only wait until they'd closed in, and then give fire support.
A few minutes later.
The assault fleet that had meant to raid the Owl Dragon Legion was, at this moment, in utter shambles.
Of the three T4 Sacred-Lucent-class Light Interstellar Cruisers, one was destroyed, one crippled, and one had near nothing left of its star-shield energy.
The cruisers and battlecruisers had, moreover, lost over half their number!
Had the Sacred Angel Legion not arrived in time behind them, these warships would likely, one and all, have fallen here.
And those battlecruisers and cruisers of the Owl Dragon Legion didn't cling to the fight either; early on they withdrew to the battlefield's two flanks and set to harrying without pause, no longer meeting the hard head-on.
The losses in that fighting, too, were near enough negligible.
"Report! The enemy fleet's position has entered the heavy-cannon range of our T3 Divine-Spear-class Medium Interstellar Combined-Firepower Ships!"
"Report! Our main fleet host is about to enter firing range, and can attack the enemy ships!"
Two reports came.
The acting commander clenched his fists; he'd already suffered two setbacks.
Now was his chance to save the situation.
Use the heavy cannon to tear open the enemy's formation defense, then have the follow-up fleet charge in for the kill.
That way, relying on their many T4-grade warships, they'd still have the strength for a fight.
After all, they still had 25 T4 Divine-Envoy-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers here!
"Use the heavy cannon! Fire!"
At the acting commander's order, the many heavy cannon aboard the T3 Divine-Spear-class Medium Interstellar Combined-Firepower Ships took aim and loosed terrible energy beam after energy beam.
At this moment, all of the Sacred Angel Legion pinned their hopes on this one attack.
The T3 Divine-Spear-class Medium Interstellar Combined-Firepower Ship's heavy cannon were its key firepower output; their power could match even 70% of a battleship main gun's!
And the crux was that they could fire in salvo — an effect of no small measure!
It was one of the Sacred Angel Legion's trump moves on the interstellar battlefield.
A pity only that this time this trump would take a fall.
Just as those heavy-cannon beams looked about to strike the warships at the front of the enemy fleet.
Suddenly, beam after beam shot forth at terrific speed from within the Owl Dragon Legion fleet, intercepting the great majority of the heavy-cannon beams true and sure; halo after halo of explosion spread out between the two fleets.
At the same time, a vast light-screen shrouded the Owl Dragon Legion fleet!
Saint Cana shot to her feet, disbelief all over both her eyes.
Under the Sacred Angel Legion's heavy-cannon salvo, the Owl Dragon Legion had, of all things, weathered the round without a single warship damaged.
In this moment, it was the Owl Dragon Legion that seemed sheltered by the Sacred Light.