"Pass my order. Have the Qian family's fleet open the attack first, and our three fleets will close in from three points and annihilate the 19 warships opposite!" The Fifth Fleet's commander gave the order without hesitation.
"I hold that we ought to report this… if by any chance—" The Tenth Fleet's commander had not finished.
When the Fifth Fleet's commander cut him off, and rebuked him. "Do not forget that in this operation I am the highest command. You will obey my orders! And I remind you of one thing: do you know why, though I came to the Sacred Lancers later than you, I am commander of the Fifth Fleet— while you are no more than commander of the Tenth? Because you are too timid! I truly cannot think how you contrived to get into the Sacred Lancer Legion at all. Now you need only carry out my orders, Mister Commander of the Tenth Fleet!"
Faced with the other's cold mockery, the Tenth Fleet's commander was uneasy still, but could only yield to the fact of it.
He looked at those 19 ship-markers on the radar, and there was a disquiet in his breast all the same.
As though something terrible were about to happen.
…………
The T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser, Ship No.2 · bridge.
Chu Xuan was aboard here at this hour, this being one of those 19 warships the enemy had found.
She looked at the enemy fleet's strength as the T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scout Ship had scanned it out.
On the Qian family's side, 300 warships.
Of T3-grade warships, a bare three.
And all the rest T2-grade.
And looking then at the Sacred Lancer Legion's side, three fleets under the Sacred Lancer Legion's banner.
900 warships.
Of which only three were T4 Divine-Envoy-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers, and the remaining 900-odd all T3-grade.
In numbers, Chu Xuan's side naturally stood at an absolute disadvantage.
But in the number of T4 warships, Chu Xuan's side had six times what the other had!
"Chu Xuan, carry out the operation as I have laid it down. A batch of interstellar transports will arrive in five hours; and then you need only see to taking every slave off that planet." Commander-in-Chief Zhao Chen's window appeared beside her.
"Yes." Chu Xuan nodded.
Standing beside Chu Xuan was this ship's captain.
Chu Xuan had only been placed here for the time being, to carry out the relevant part of the operation.
"Captain, the fighting to come is in your hands." Chu Xuan looked at this flagship's captain and asked it of her with great seriousness.
Because this operation was chiefly for the sake of rescuing the plundered people of the Chu River Star Region.
The captain smiled slightly. "Secretary-Officer Chu, you may rest quite easy. Never mind that the other side has above 1,000 warships; before our Owl Dragon-line warships that is simply no matter at all. You've never seen our Owl Dragon Legion fight before. Today you may sit here and wait for the play with an easy mind. And once we have destroyed the enemy's fleet entire, you may go and fetch those trapped people of the Chu River Star Region without a care!"
Leaning on these warships, and facing an enemy dozens of times her own number, there was some worry in Chu Xuan's breast all the same.
These were T4 warships, true, but… the gap in numbers was truly too great.
…………
Over on the other side, Zhao Chen closed the comm window.
"You have actually sent those dozen-odd warships to meet the Sacred Lancer Legion's 900!" Saint Cana looked at Zhao Chen in astonishment.
She had truly not thought Zhao Chen would make so absurd a battle disposition.
She had supposed that before this operation Zhao Chen would bring his Owl Dragon Legion up.
But to this hour, apart from those bare few warships, she had seen no Owl Dragon warships on any scale whatever.
"For dealing with those small fry, it's enough. Our main dish is over here." Zhao Chen looked with a light laugh at the reconnaissance picture relayed back by a T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scout Ship.
It showed the space about a certain star-port, into which interstellar transports were putting in on a great scale.
And besides these, the rest of the Sacred Lancer Legion's fleets were all of them here.
This was the main event.
"How many warships do you actually have in hand?" Saint Cana asked with knitted brows.
Zhao Chen counted it off on his fingers. "10… 20… 30… 42 combat-type interstellar warships."
The corner of Saint Cana's mouth twitched without stopping; she looked at this man before her in disbelief, and pointed at that star-port in the picture, and at those Sacred Lancer Legion fleets. "Are you making a joke of me? 42 warships! And you mean to attack the Sacred Lancer Legion opposite? The Sacred Lancer Legion is not strong, granted, but it is a Sacred-Light Legion for all that, and there are 2,000 warships in that place! And you tell me you mean to attack them with 42 warships!"
Having said it, Saint Cana felt she was talking in her sleep herself, and put a hand over her face. "Heavens, you are simply a madman. How did I ever come to work with you!"
"Let me correct what you've said. I don't mean to attack them."
Zhao Chen showed a mocking smile. "I mean to annihilate them."
And in that moment Saint Cana looked at Zhao Chen with the eyes with which one looks at a fool.
Zhao Chen shrugged, and asked her back, "And besides — the Sacred-Light Legions… are they strong?"
Saint Cana put a hand over her face; her feelings were in great motion just now.
She drew several deep breaths, and looked at Zhao Chen in earnest. "You were making a joke of me just now, were you not. In truth, a little while yet and your Owl Dragon Legion will arrive and take part in this operation."
"If thinking so gives you any comfort— then you may think so." Zhao Chen shrugged, indifferent.
Saint Cana stared at him with narrowed eyes, and grew the surer of her own notion: this fellow's talk of 42 warships just now had certainly been in mockery of her!
What a joke.
42 warships, to wipe out a Sacred-Light Legion?
Unless this fellow were some prodigy of luck sheltered under the Sacred Light itself.
Zhao Chen took no further notice of Saint Cana, but glanced at the time.
The hour of his own operation ran 15 minutes behind Chu Xuan's.
By now, Chu Xuan's side ought to be moving.
…………
Beyond the reach of the Qian family's radar, out in the dark of the cosmos, an enormous carrier starship hung at station.
The Qian family's people had never imagined that what the enemy had put out this time was not 19 warships, but 20.
Only that this last warship lay berthed at a station too far off — beyond their reconnaissance range.
And with a T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scout Ship nearby charged with shielding her besides, so that the Qian family had never discovered this terrifying colossus lying hidden there.
Su Lan stood at the bridge's command platform and raised a hand, for all the world like a musician about to sound the overture.
"The operation begins. Launch every interstellar drone and interstellar fighter!"
The order went down.
And every hangar hatch upon this T4 Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship's frame opened at once!
Interstellar drone after interstellar drone was put out, thick past counting.
And interstellar fighters came swarming out in a great mass!
The density of their numbers was as terrifying as a swarm of bees!