"Report. T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Escort, Ship No.021: star-shield energy spent, Paladin-class short-range interception defense missiles spent, portions of the hull under attack, average degree of damage 5%."
"Arrange for T4 Paladin No.021 to withdraw to the fleet's inner line."
"T4 Paladin 021, the Commander-in-Chief orders your ship to alter its present combat task and withdraw to the fleet's inner line."
"Report. T4 Skeleton-King-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyer, Ship No.09…"
Through the whole course of the action, the warships on Zhao Chen's side naturally took their 'wear' as well.
But Zhao Chen could withdraw these ships to the fleet's second line in good time, and have other warships take their places.
And as the Sacred Lancer Legion's warships grew fewer the longer it went on, the threat they posed to Zhao Chen's fleet naturally grew lower and lower.
For Zhao Chen's fleet this had turned wholly into a 'game' to be handled as they pleased.
"Report. The T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships have completed missile resupply, and can deliver a second round of fire!" a subordinate reported.
Zhao Chen looked at the Sacred Lancer Legion, drawing its last breaths; and just as he was about to give the order—
Saint Cana spoke up.
"My lord Commander-in-Chief, hold a moment. I have one request!"
Zhao Chen looked at her. "Speak."
"Please arrange for me to speak with the Sacred Lancer Legion, and to urge them to surrender!" Saint Cana asked it of him.
Zhao Chen looked at her in some surprise. "Do not forget that their commander means to kill you."
Saint Cana's expression did not change, and she said calmly, "I know their commander wishes to kill me. But that has nothing to do with the other soldiers! Those interstellar troops are only carrying out orders — some do not even know what it is they are doing. And even if they bear some guilt, it should be the Sacred Light that judges them. My lord Commander-in-Chief, I hope you will give me the chance. And besides, if the other side can be taken alive, we can come by more intelligence as well."
"I give you one minute only. And if they surrender, I can guarantee their lives are safe." With those words Zhao Chen granted Saint Cana's request.
On the one hand for the sake of 'bringing Saint Cana along'.
And on the other, naturally, because more prisoners taken would be all the better.
In any case, this one minute would change nothing.
"My thanks to my lord Commander-in-Chief." Saint Cana made him her courtesy in thanks.
And then began to raise the Sacred Lancer Legion's comm network.
What she used was not a private channel but the open one, so that every bridge among the warships opposite could receive it.
"I am Saint Cana, commander of the Sacred Angel Legion. I require here that every warship of the Sacred Lancer Legion shut down its engines and surrender, and I can guarantee your lives are safe. Do not make a resistance that serves nothing; what stands here is not your enemy. Nor should your lives be thrown away here for nothing!"
Saint Cana's voice naturally reached the ears of that Sacred Lancer Legion commander too, and her image appeared before him.
"So the base creature has thrown in with them!" the Sacred Lancer commander roared in fury; at this hour there was nothing left in him of his earlier calm.
"My lord Commander Heller, I know you too are watching me now, and hearing what I say. I do not know who it is behind you that set this on, why you were sent here, why I was to be attacked. But I know that conduct of this kind is a turning of your back upon the Sacred Light! Upon your own honor. Now stop what you are doing and accept the Sacred Light's judgment; there is still room for you to draw back. Do not, through your own folly, bring further pointless deaths upon the children of the Sacred Light! A Sacred-Light Legion should not suffer losses for a fight as meaningless as this!" This speech of Saint Cana's was aimed straight at this commander of the Sacred Lancer Legion — Heller!
Commander Heller laughed coldly, and now he too came onto the other side's comm channel, and his video image appeared before Saint Cana.
Seeing his image, Saint Cana felt a gladness within, supposing he had some willingness to treat with her.
"Saint Cana, it is you who have betrayed the Sacred Light! What I am doing now is for the empire, and for the Sacred Light! I shall not surrender, and you need not dream of getting anything you wish to know out of me!" Commander Heller said it with every vow he had.
"You—!" Saint Cana was angry past bearing; the chance she had gone to such trouble to win from Zhao Chen was about to be wasted by this stupid fellow.
"There will be no further speech between us, Saint Cana! Only wait to stand the empire's judgment! Ha ha ha ha!" Commander Heller cut the comm off, laughing loudly.
And once the video comm ended, the expression on Commander Heller's face vanished too, and he gave his subordinates an order at once. "Order the whole fleet to withdraw at full speed toward the empire immediately. And send a call for aid into the empire's borders."
"Yes!"
Commander Heller had grasped the enemy's strength; this battle could not possibly be fought further.
So flight alone was the finest choice.
The Sacred Lancer Legion's few hundred remaining warships began at once upon their flight.
"The hell — cowards! Don't run if you have the nerve. This young lady hasn't had her fill of fighting yet!" Xue Xiaoxiao watched the enemy fleet withdrawing, hands on her hips, in a posture of pure displeasure.
"By the look of it, your call to surrender has failed." Zhao Chen looked at Saint Cana.
The light went out of Saint Cana's eyes, and she said nothing more.
But just then a subordinate reported.
"Report — several enemy ships found to have shut down their engines, and are holding where they are!"
Hearing this report, there was a spark in Saint Cana's eyes.
Zhao Chen had not thought Saint Cana's call to surrender would have any effect at all.
"Have those surrendered warships hold where they are. Order the T3 Judicators to deliver a second round of missile fire upon the fleeing enemy fleet! The fleet is to continue the pursuit 10 minutes. And after 10 minutes, every warship excepting the interstellar battleship, the interstellar battlecruiser, the interstellar cruisers, and those escorts with star-shield energy above 30% is to break off pursuit and go to take control of that Qian family star-port. The warships named above are to continue the pursuit. The Sacred Lancer Legion is to be annihilated to the last, without fail!" Zhao Chen gave his final order.
Saint Cana looked at him in astonishment; she had not thought Zhao Chen truly meant to carry out the declaration he had made before — that he would annihilate the Sacred Lancer Legion entire.
Before this, hearing such a thing, Saint Cana would have taken it for child's play.
And now… Saint Cana had nothing to say.
And at the same time, the combat reports from Chu Xuan's side and Su Lan's reached Zhao Chen as well.
The action was in the main concluded; of the three Sacred Lancer fleets scarcely anything remained, and they were at the stage of sweeping up.
They had lost only a portion of their interstellar drones and fighters; of warships, not one had been lost.
"T4 warships against T3 warships. This is what one calls a strike from a higher dimension." Zhao Chen stretched himself.
This was a battle fought with the greatest comfort in the world.
And at the same time, Zhao Chen looked forward the more.
To what sort of scene it would be, when one day he had forged a fleet of 3,000 T4 warships to a hull.