60,000 interstellar warships, their warp-voyage broken off out of nowhere, the great majority of them not yet come to themselves—
—then suffered a dense bombardment of interstellar missiles numbering in the millions.
It caused an enormous loss of interstellar warships outright — the scene even surpassing that great campaign only just ended.
The several minutes' interstellar-missile bombardment ended.
On the interstellar holo-table before Zhao Chen, the figure of the enemy fleet's 60,000 interstellar warships was, in an instant, cut down by near half!
"Another 10 billion and more, spent." Zhao Chen leaned against the captain's chair, watching it all with indifference, and handed down a command: "Shrink the ring of encirclement; surround and slay the Princes'-faction interstellar warships. And have the little princess broadcast a passage on the open channel — have them shut down their starship engine-power; those who surrender may live."
"Yes."
The command was relayed.
Qin Xiaolei now had her own work too: on the open channel, she spoke without cease of the Princes' faction's present plight, urging those Princes'-faction interstellar warships to surrender.
The effect was rather good.
After all, the Princes'-faction interstellar warships had first met a Waterloo-like defeat in that earlier campaign, and now suffered an ambush.
Morale plummeted!
Add to that that the little princess herself was of imperial-house blood; her stepping forth to call for their surrender, and holding out some promises, was very much to the point.
Soon, some interstellar warships appeared on the battlefield that shut down their engines and surrendered.
At the same time, the ring of encirclement drew tighter and tighter.
The interstellar missile ships that had finished a round of interstellar-missile attack were receiving resupply from the interstellar supply ships, readying the next round of attack!
The besieged Princes'-faction die-hards could not, of course, do nothing at all; they at once began to organize a breakout.
Launching attack after attack on the ring of encirclement.
Though they were encircled, in warship numbers they still held the advantage.
Only, worse luck, the space their interstellar warships occupied was too cramped; add to that their command system being somewhat in disarray, and there were even cases of friendly fire and friendly collisions.
A tangled mess, one might call it.
"Report — several points of our line are in dire straits! The enemy's assault is stubborn!" Lilith reported.
"A cornered rabbit bites too; some fellows aren't about to sit and wait for death, naturally." Zhao Chen had foreseen this situation; he pointed at several key combat positions on the interstellar holo-table.
"Have Marshal Chu's Chu-family fleet and my sister's Imperial Princess Fleet-Group reinforce these places — whatever it takes, hold at least half an hour. Half an hour from now, I'll have these die-hards blown to ash and smoke!"
"Yes!"
A race-against-time battle of encirclement-and-annihilation and of breakout now broke out.
One side seeking by every means to break through; the other ringing them layer on layer, refusing to let even one interstellar warship slip out!
10 minutes…
The Owl-Dragon-line interstellar warships lost near 100 ships.
20 minutes…
Two of Chu Changhe's T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships were gravely crippled.
25 minutes…
The Princes' faction's interstellar warships still able to fight numbered under 20,000!
30 minutes!
"Report, Commander-in-Chief — the 50 T3 Judicators have finished interstellar-missile resupply and are ready to fire. Please instruct, Commander-in-Chief!" Baixue reported to Zhao Chen at the first moment.
"Fire!" Zhao Chen, staring at the 20,000-odd enemy ships within the ring, handed down the command coldly.
At the same time, he handed down another command: "Once the interstellar-missile bombardment ends, all fleets launch the general assault; wipe out every stubbornly resisting enemy ship!"
"Yes!"
The 50 T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships loosed interstellar missiles once more, dense past counting, concentrated on that one zone within the ring.
Because the bombardment zone was a size smaller than the previous round, the density of the bombardment grew the more terrifying.
A vast firelight kindled this stretch of pitch-black star-sky.
Some of the explosion-vortices even struck the nearer friendly interstellar warships.
"This scene — no matter how many times you watch it, it's a thrill." Chu Changhe, hands clasped behind his back, stood on the bridge, gazing at the hell-fire, sun-quenching scene before him.
Watching enemy interstellar warship after interstellar warship be swallowed by the interstellar missiles' explosions.
All who witnessed this — on the one hand marveled at how magnificent the sight was, and on the other stood in awe of Zhao Chen's terrifying strength.
No one would wish to become the enemy of so great a doomsday-weapon.
The mere thought bred despair and dread.
After this second round of interstellar-missile bombardment ended, the Owl Dragon Legion's interstellar warships, the Chu-family fleet, and the Imperial Princess Fleet-Group needed no command at all.
In tacit accord, they launched their attack at once.
Like a wolf-pack on the hunt, they began to slay those interstellar warships that had just survived the missiles' ruin.
Slaughter!
By this moment, this place had wholly become a battlefield of slaughter.
T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser · bridge.
Zhao Chen savored the scene, seated in the captain's chair.
"It's over." Zhao Chen stretched lazily, picked up a cup of fine wine at his side, and drained it in one draught.
This battle had wiped out a great mass of the Princes' faction's interstellar warships; add to that the slaying of numerous high commanders, and of Qin Ming.
The Princes' faction, near enough, would stir up no more waves.
Next was, over the coming few months, to gradually bring under control the various star systems and star regions across the Starlight Empire.
By the moment the Imperial Capital Star was wholly under control, this civil war would end, and the Princes' faction and all the rest would have been tossed into the dung-pit.
And Zhao Chen could go on being his easeful noble, and develop his interstellar territory in peace.
Thinking of his "retirement" life, Zhao Chen smiled till his face bloomed like a flower.
Beep.
A System prompt-tone rang out just then.
Quarterly Task
Task content: have the Owl Dragon Legion directly annihilate at least one hundred thousand interstellar warships of the Princes' faction
Task complete; task reward may be claimed
At the quarterly task's completion, Zhao Chen felt no surprise.
As of now, by rough reckoning, the count of Princes'-faction interstellar warships annihilated came to at least 200,000.
Though no small part of them had been wiped out by the Chu-family legion and the Imperial Princess Legion.
But however you cut it, the standard of 100,000 interstellar warships was in no doubt.
Zhao Chen turned a thought, and claimed the task reward.
Congratulations — obtained the "T4 Banshee-class Light Interstellar Stealth-Scout Ship" technical blueprint
Obtained a battlefield-auxiliary-type interstellar warship — not bad.
Next was to await word that the annual task's first item was complete.
That being — news of Qin Ming's death.
Time slipped by, bit by bit.
The Princes'-faction interstellar warships remaining within the ring grew fewer and fewer; large-scale clashes were near enough no longer to be seen.
Zhao Chen's brows now knit slightly.
"Report — the fighting is near enough over! Please instruct, Commander-in-Chief." Lilith requested his word — but for a long while she got no reply.
She raised her head and looked to the Commander-in-Chief, only to find not a trace of joy on him — his brows, instead, knit tight.
"Commander-in-Chief?"
"Qin Ming's not here!" Zhao Chen clenched his fist.