"Report. Our interstellar warships have completed the operations assigned and all rejoined the formation. On some of the slave planets not yet wholly cleared, our interstellar traders have arranged warships to stand guard; if there is any sign of the enemy we can support them at any time." Su Lan reported it all to Zhao Chen from the far side of the video window.
"You've all worked hard — so much done in so short a span. Have every warship stand down where it is for three hours, make good every article of combat stores, and prepare for the real operation to come," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes."
Zhao Chen looked round at Chu Xuan. "For want of time, we've struck only a few of the Qian family's slave planets so far — no more than a tenth of what the Qian family holds. Once our proper business is finished, I promise you: I'll bring every last subject of the Chu River Star Region back."
Chu Xuan was one who understood the larger picture as well; that Zhao Chen would do this much for a notion she had taken up on the spur of the moment was enough to content her.
"On behalf of the Chu family and the subjects of the Chu River Star Region, I thank you." Chu Xuan made him her courtesy.
"Then now, let's get to the proper business."
Zhao Chen raised a hand and opened the interstellar holo-table.
"By some of the information our deployed T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scout Ships have gathered— set together with the intelligence we had before, we know it in a good deal more detail. First: the Sacred Lancer Legion's coming to the Stellar Alliance this time is not merely to assassinate Saint Cana. To assassinate one person hardly calls for a legion fleet, after all." Zhao Chen let his eyes slide toward Saint Cana beside him.
Saint Cana folded her arms and said nothing.
"At the same time, I have learned that the Snow-Swallow Star Region in the Starlight Empire has sent a party of people, disguised as crew of the Qian family's slave transports, who are now on their way back to the Stellar Alliance. And the Sacred Lancer Legion's purpose in coming this time appears to be to carry out some transaction with that party. I suspect it is the transaction of some important technology." And with this said by Zhao Chen—
a keen light flashed in the depths of Saint Cana's eyes.
"You may rest easy. When it comes to it, whatever intelligence truly bears upon your Holy Radiance Empire I shall tell you. For we stand in a relation of cooperation now, after all." Zhao Chen laid a hand outright on Saint Cana's shoulder.
Hss.
How was this woman's skin so cold? Were the Sacred Spirit folk 'cold-blooded creatures'?
Saint Cana coldly slapped Zhao Chen's arm away.
"Then what is it you mean to do? Attack them outright?"
"Report. Our interstellar scout ships have found an important piece of intelligence. The Qian family is gathering, on a great scale, the slaves from the Chu River Star Region off all their slave planets, and moving them to one particular planet. By what we hear, they mean to put every one of these Chu River Star Region slaves to death!" the crewwoman reported.
"The Qian family!" Chu Xuan, on hearing this, went wide-eyed with fury.
Gu Xiaoxiao said straight out from beside her, "This is a trap!"
"There's no knowing how the Qian family came to learn of the Chu family's part in it. But since they've gone to such trouble to set us so large a trap— how can we not go? And if I've not guessed wrongly, the Qian family will have borrowed the Sacred Lancer Legion for a blade, and mean to cut us down with it." Zhao Chen laughed coldly, in open mockery.
"Commander-in-Chief." Chu Xuan looked at him.
Zhao Chen waved a broad hand. "Pass my order. Once the whole fleet has finished standing down, we shall go and attend this feast at Hongmen[1] of the Qian family's — and clear away the Sacred Lancer Legion while we're about it."
"Yes!" Chu Xuan clenched her fists.
That crew of Qian family thieves had dared, again and again, to run wild over the Chu family's head.
Trusting that the Chu family lay too far from the Stellar Alliance, and was at present caught in the Starlight Empire's civil war and unable to get free.
And with the Chu family itself locked in fierce fighting against the Qian family's own partner besides.
Which being so, the Chu family was naturally the Qian family's enemy.
Only Chu Xuan had not thought the Qian family would dare go so far. The Qian family was pressing hard at the very limit of what Chu Xuan would bear.
Having given his order, Zhao Chen looked at the Saint Cana beside him in mockery.
"Miss Saint Cana, hearing that my fleet is to fight the Sacred Lancer Legion — one of your Ten Great Sacred-Light Legions— as a comrade-in-arms, have you not the least stir of feeling about it?"
Saint Cana looked at him coldly. "The Sacred Lancer Legion is one of the Ten Great Sacred-Light Legions, true, but it is the weakest in strength of them, and has always clung to the Saint-Disciple family's leg. The other Sacred-Light Legions have never deigned to be spoken of in the same breath as the Sacred Lancer Legion. And if the Sacred Lancer Legion has truly done filthy things, then perhaps this is the Sacred Light's own chastisement upon them. Besides which: were your Owl Dragon Legion to come in full, then one Sacred Lancer Legion would naturally be no match for you. But by what I have understood these few days, what you have brought this time is no more than a few dozen warships. A few dozen warships, and you mean to deal with a Sacred Lancer Legion of 3,000. Not even the elite warships of my own Sacred Angel Legion would have such confidence as that. You are surely a little too full of yourself. The more so as what you are about to fight is a campaign! And not, as between you and me before, an open and aboveboard Sacred-War Duel. This is the Stellar Alliance, and anything at all may happen here. I would advise my lord the Owl Dragon Commander-in-Chief to be a little careful. I have no wish to die aboard another house's starship."
This woman had a fine pride about her.
Zhao Chen shook his head and said with a light laugh, "You may die in any other place you please — but the one place you will not die is aboard a warship of my Owl Dragon Legion. Never mind. When the Sacred Lancer Legion falls to the last of them, you at least will be here, a comrade-in-arms to see them off."
The Sacred Lancer Legion falling to the last of them?
Saint Cana could not keep from laughing. She granted that this man before her, and that Owl Dragon Legion in his hand, were very strong.
But to annihilate the Sacred Lancer Legion entire was a matter of no small difficulty.
Did he truly believe he could manage it?
He could hardly suppose he led a Saint-Disciple Legion.
Saint Cana did not believe this fellow Zhao Chen could bring the thing off.
Zhao Chen stretched himself and leaned back in the captain's chair.
He was the most at ease of anyone now; he need only have everything laid out, and wait quietly for this grand banquet to begin.
The Sacred Lancer Legion?
Very strong, is it?
Heh, heh, heh. Let us try it and see.
…………
A slave planet within the Qian family's territory.
Slave transport after slave transport was bringing batches of slaves from the Chu River Star Region here under escort.
Gathered into one 'concentration camp' after another.
This was Family Head Qian Feng's masterstroke.
There was no knowing why the Chu family's fleet should have come to the Stellar Alliance at all, nor why they should mount a rescue for the sake of these lowly commoners.
But since they had come for the sake of saving these commoners of the Chu River Star Region, then this stroke of Family Head Qian Feng's might well bring that Chu family fleet to his very door.
And not far from this place, three interstellar fleets of the Sacred Lancer Legion — 900 warships all told — lay hidden and waiting.
For this one end: that when the Chu family's fleet appeared, they should be surrounded and annihilated!
As for why it was not the whole 3,000 warships of the Sacred Lancer Legion—
that was because my lord the commander held that 900 warships were enough to sweep the Chu family's fleet away, and there was no call for his own hand in it.
The more so as he had a matter of greater importance to see to at the same time.
"You three are to assist the Qian family in destroying the enemy who comes. And mind: if Saint Cana is found, she may be killed outright." This Sacred Spirit commander, entirely at his ease aboard his own flagship—
gave his orders to the heads of the three fleets.
"Yes!" And the heads of the three fleets little knew that they had already become the dessert served before the meal at this feast at Hongmen.