Galactic Star Calendar 3034, 10 June · about 15:00.
The Starlight Empire looked quiet enough, and the great majority of its people never imagined that some hours from now a fierce battle would break out.
Nor, indeed, did either of the two sides launching this great campaign of the Starlight Empire imagine it.
Because by pure chance both sides had settled upon one and the same hour.
And because that coincidence occurred, a great many military dispositions on both sides, ordinary in themselves, were thrown at a stroke into disorder.
The Grey Moon Star Region.
Half the Owl Dragon Legion's warships were gathered here at this hour.
"How long to the hour of action?" Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair, looking at several video windows before him.
"Five hours yet," Lilith answered beside him.
"Five hours…" Zhao Chen mused a moment, and then asked, "Has every legion fleet reached its designated position?"
Chu Xuan reported it from the data. "The Chu family's fleet-group, the North Wind Star Region's fleet-group and the Princess Royal Fleet-Group have completed 90% of their warship concentration! The Owl Dragon First, Second and Third Legions are all of them ready. The Owl Dragon Fourth Legion stands to at any moment! And the Owl Dragon Interstellar Missile-Ship Special Fleet and the Owl Dragon Interstellar Stealth-Bomber Special Fleet are fully concentrated as well!"
Zhao Chen looked at the Charlotte standing beside him. "By the look of it, everything goes smoothly."
Charlotte nodded, and at the same time looked with lit eyes at the interstellar holo-table given over to the whole map of the Starlight Empire, whereon the position of every legion fleet was plainly marked, and their numbers with them.
"And the number of fleets we hold in hand is truly nothing like what it was. Who could have thought that after the last civil war, in the space of half a year, these legion fleets should not have fallen away in strength but risen a great deal instead."
Zhao Chen looked at the scale of those fleet-groups.
The Chu family's fleet-group: 20 legion fleets, 60,000 warships all told.
The North Wind Star Region's fleet-group: 10 legion fleets, 30,000 warships all told.
The Princess Royal Fleet-Group: 50 legion fleets, 150,000 warships all told.
The scale of these three fleet-groups alone came to an astonishing 240,000 warships!
More, indeed, than at the time of the first civil war.
And all of it rested upon that terrifying industrial manufacturing power under Zhao Chen's hand.
The Northern Goose Group went on producing warships without pause every month, furnishing warships to these 'clients'.
So that Zhao Chen had now, plainly, become the great creditor of all three powers.
Zhao Ruyue had quietly mentioned to Zhao Chen that the debt the little Princess Qin Xiaolei now owed him had come to three years of the Starlight Empire's total revenue.
Which is to say that even once Qin Xiaolei held the Starlight Empire's authority again, the whole empire would have to go without food or drink and pay Zhao Chen back for better than three years.
The mere thought of it could not but make Zhao Chen laugh.
Though the great bulk of these debts had been set off against extraction rights over certain important mining resources within the Starlight Empire's borders.
Let Zhao Chen only put Qin Xiaolei in her place, and Zhao Chen would become the mightiest power in the Starlight Empire — with none beside him!
"Had I a scale of warships like this in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth too, how would those undying old creatures dare shout at me!" Charlotte muttered.
"The fighting over in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth has come now to a brief balance; your revolutionary army holds a stretch of occupied ground, and plays the rival stage against the Commonwealth's tribes. In strength you fall short of those great tribes, granted — but you have succeeded in making disorder in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth. By my forecast, the output value of every sort of goods in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth will fall at the least 30% in this year alone," Zhao Chen said.
The light went out of Charlotte's eyes somewhat; in truth she had no wish to see her own homeland swept by the fires of war.
Zhao Chen saw what was in Charlotte's mind, and raised a hand and stroked her head. "The pain is a temporary thing; nothing is built until something is broken! The Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's old and outworn system wants a thorough campaign to overturn it. Your revolutionary army's strength falls short, true — but don't forget you have me. I have my plan for what follows ready. Once the Starlight Empire's civil war ends and we have refitted a while, I shall lend you the Owl Dragon Legion. And then you can show forth the full majesty of the White Tiger war-goddess in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth!"
"What White Tiger war-goddess… that's all their nonsense…" Charlotte's cheeks flushed slightly.
The White Tiger war-goddess was Charlotte's title now among the Warhammer revolutionary army; for the Dragon-Tiger Legion under Charlotte had won extraordinary successes again and again, which had naturally raised this former general of the White Tigers—
at one stride into the revolutionary army's true leading figure!
"Mm… and then I mean to make the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth a place as happy and glad as our Owl Dragon System!" Charlotte said it with every vow she had.
"It will be so," said Zhao Chen.
And the time went by, little by little, through all this.
When there were 10 minutes left to 20:00 hours—
Zhao Chen and the whole company were watching the clock.
Waiting on the order to open the attack!
And what they had not imagined was that on the other side, another body of people were watching the clock at this very hour as well.
Galactic Star Calendar 3034, 10 June, 20:00.
This hour would become a particular mark in the Starlight Empire's history.
Because of a coincidence of timing, a whole series of battle plans would go forward in directions nobody expected!
Owl Dragon First Legion · flagship.
Charlotte stood with her head up and her chest out, gathered and ready; and behind her Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair for all the world as though asleep.
Lilith and Chu Xuan, the two secretary-officers, were both somewhat tense — and in Chu Xuan's tense eyes there was a trace of excitement besides.
Owl Dragon Second Legion · flagship.
Commander Chitong ran her eye once more over the whole interstellar holo-table, then shut her eyes; and in her mind there seemed to rise already the whole series of actions that might follow.
Owl Dragon Third Legion · flagship.
Shen Bing drew a deep breath and settled her feelings; she took an old-fashioned pocket watch from her pocket, and opened it, and within were two photographs.
One of her grandmother, and the other of a man.
The man who had brought her into this wide world.
For this man's sake — they must win!
Owl Dragon Fourth Legion · flagship.
Su Lan stood at the command platform on the bridge of her flagship, the T4 Fallen-Angel; she was not used to sitting in a captain's chair, and liked to stand here, as though she stood within the holo-table itself.
She raised both hands, as she had before, making ready to conduct the drone swarms and the fighters into their sortie.
Only that this time, her performance was 3,000 Owl Dragon warships!
The Chu family's fleet-group · flagship · Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship.
Chu Changhe leaned back comfortably in the captain's chair, brought out a pipe, lit it for himself, and blew out a ring of smoke.
"This feeling of being carried along by somebody else… truly comfortable… I only hope that wretched boy gets his work done quickly; this old man is waiting to retire and hold a great-grandchild… Ah, just so — their marriage wants some hurrying along too."
The Princess Royal Fleet-Group · flagship.
The Princess Qin Xiaolei sat in the captain's chair, hands folded together before her breast, for all the world as though she were praying.
Zhao Ruyue laid a hand on Qin Xiaolei's shoulder; she could feel Her Highness trembling.
She bent down and said softly at Qin Xiaolei's ear, "You need only think how you will govern this empire. The rest we will settle for you. Any enemy standing in your way, we will destroy for you."
The time came to 20:00 on 10 June.
Zhao Chen, who had seemed on the point of dozing, opened his eyes at this hour, like a crouching dragon spreading its wings!
"Begin the 'Starry Purgatory' plan of battle!"
"Execute the 'Dragon-Slaying' plan of battle!"