When the Sacred Wing commander heard this report, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Thereafter he grew tense, and rose straight to his feet. "Pass my order: all interstellar warships to first-grade combat status, all gun muzzles sighted upon the distorted airspace ahead. And order every Holy Radiance legion fleet in the vicinity to close upon our Sacred Wing Legion fleet's position at once!"
Having conveyed this train of orders.
The Sacred Wing commander pointed at the subordinate responsible for the radar system. "Find out for me at once whether this spatial anomaly matches that rumored T4-grade special interstellar warship of the Owl Dragon Legion's, the one that can jump a fleet!"
Concerning the Owl Dragon Legion's T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ship, that was by now an open secret.
Everyone knew the Owl Dragon Legion possessed this instrument of slaughter.
Which was why their combat style had all along been exceedingly cautious: the distance between fleet and fleet was never too great, so as to guard against a surprise strike.
Every important strategic position was held at high alert; and the moment an attack occurred, the corresponding tactical response would be made at the first instant.
So that at the appearance of a spatial anomaly once again.
What came first into the Sacred Wing commander's mind was this lightning-war method of the Owl Dragon Legion's.
But this time it can only be said that he had it half right.
Within the distorted space there appeared, slowly, the shape of a colossus.
The Sacred Wing commander's eyes went wide, and he looked at that black shadow in the image in disbelief.
If that were an interstellar warship… he had never seen so vast an interstellar warship in his life.
Gazing at it from afar, it was for all the world like a mysterious island afloat.
By the eye alone, if it… truly were an interstellar warship, then its hull length assuredly exceeded 100 kilometers!
Because this T4 Retribution-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship of his, observed at this distance, was only a tenth of that colossus before him!
As small as an infant beside a grown man.
The black shadow, blurred and indistinct at first, began by degrees to grow clear.
That was indeed the outline of an interstellar warship!
The hull's color was black in the main, with certain areas in gold; and to look at it a single moment gave one a feeling of nobility and majesty past all measure.
And at the same time gave those who saw it a feeling, unwilled, of wishing to bow themselves to the ground.
"Open fire! Open fire! All Sacred Wing interstellar warships, sight upon the airspace ahead — open fire! Open fire!" After a brief moment of blankness, the Sacred Wing commander roared it in a voice gone hysterical.
The staff officer, the adjutant, the crew beside him were all frightened out of their wits.
It was the first time they had seen their own commander so lose his composure.
But at this no one had any doubt whatever.
Because they had all seen that behemoth out of deep space; and though they did not know what manner of interstellar warship it might be—
still… even the proud Sacred-Spirit people felt, at this moment, nothing toward the deep-space behemoth before them but a terror they could not master.
And now only their interstellar warships firing without cease could, by that means, cover over that terror of theirs.
Even the T4 Retribution-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship beneath the Sacred Wing commander locked upon that airspace.
Happily the airspace in which this colossus had appeared lay just within the Sacred Wing Legion's range; they need only fire.
A white pillar of light shot out from the bow-gun position of the T4 Retribution-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship.
And went screaming toward that deep-space behemoth in the distance.
The Sacred Wing commander clenched his fists; he was praying, praying without cease.
By the earlier data analysis of that T4 interstellar jump ship of the Owl Dragon Legion's, at the first instant of completing an interstellar jump, an interstellar warship's own star shield is not yet open — which is also the moment of their greatest frailty.
So this present moment was a fine chance to attack that unidentified interstellar warship opposite.
Upon the covering firepower strike of the whole fleet of the Sacred Wing Legion, one of the Sacred-Light Legions, 3,000 interstellar warships.
Presumably that unidentified giant interstellar warship opposite could be crippled.
Such was the thought in the Sacred Wing commander's heart.
But very soon this vision of his was shattered.
Shattered by an enormous transparent curtain of light.
A star shield!
This interstellar warship had, astonishingly, started up its star shield already.
And under the attack of the Sacred Wing Legion fleet's 3,000 interstellar warships, it did not stir in the least.
Even the strongest attack of the T4 Retribution-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship's bow gun stopped dead upon that curtain of light, wholly unable to produce any visible effect.
"This… this… what in the world is this monster…" the Sacred Wing commander said, trembling.
——————
"Report. The Hades has completed its spatial fold-jump. Every module aboard is operating normally, with no fault of any kind."
"Report. The Hades's star-shield defense system is under attack…"
"Report. Radar has scanned enemy ship targets within attack range; confirmed by database search. They belong to the Sacred Wing Legion, one of the Holy Radiance Empire's Ten Great Legions. It holds 3,000 interstellar warships, of which 30 are T4-grade and the rest all T3-grade. The flagship is a T4 Retribution-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship."
Message after message was gathered in, and a figure with her hair in twin tails sorted through them, unhurried, upon the command platform.
Zhao Chen sat upon the couch, looking at the good order of every department within the bridge.
He was exceedingly satisfied.
"Dean Xiong Xiangxiang, you have had no small labor of it. Upon those materials alone that I furnished you, with no physical interstellar warship to train on, you have in so short a time trained up the qualified crew this interstellar warship requires." Zhao Chen looked to Dean Xiong Xiangxiang, come along with them this time.
Xiong Xiangxiang was the Goddess Academy-class starship's dean, and at the same time responsible for the recruitment, training and related business of this Owl Dragon body.
Considering earlier that this interstellar warship was about to enter service, and considering the battlefield at hand.
If one waited until the interstellar warship had rolled off the line and entered service before training its crew, that would take far too much time.
So Zhao Chen, upon the materials in his own hands, had given them to Xiong Xiangxiang and set her to find a way of training qualified crew even under such conditions.
And he had never thought Dean Xiong Xiangxiang would truly accomplish it.
Truly a most conscientious and dutiful…
"It is what I ought to do, and my honor besides." Xiong Xiangxiang looked at this interstellar warship with feeling; to witness this interstellar warship in a real battle with her own eyes felt to her like a dream.
"Crunch, crunch… hic~"
At this point a not very fitting sound rose beside them.
Zhao Chen turned his head, and saw just in time a figure squatting in the corner, clutching a bag of potato chips half her own height.
And beside her stood an oversized bottle of cola besides.
She grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into her mouth, then poured herself a great mouthful of cola, and afterward gave a most contented "howl at the heavens."
And then, looking at her own greasy fingers, she put them into her mouth one by one and licked them clean.
Because this was this starship's first showing, and its maiden voyage, and its first real battle besides.
So that, apart from the crew, the relevant manufacturing personnel had come aboard as well, to record the relevant data in real time.
And she was the one responsible for that side of it: chief technical engineer Annie.
"Commander-in-Chief, the Hades has entered combat status; please instruct." The twin-tailed captain ahead turned her head and looked to Commander-in-Chief Zhao Chen in excitement.
Xue Xiaoxiao.
She was the captain temporarily transferred to this interstellar warship.
Still, the business at hand was what mattered.
Zhao Chen drew back his thoughts and looked at the Sacred-Light Legion in the distance.
It was time to let this behemoth wake!
"Xue Xiaoxiao, I order you to command this Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought and begin operations. Target for annihilation: the Sacred Wing Legion."
"Yes — I guarantee the mission will be completed." Xue Xiaoxiao stared excitedly at the prey in the distance, making ready to show off her 'new toy' properly.
Xue Xiaoxiao handed down her first order: "Start up the 'Hades Strategic Core Program'!"
"Hades Strategic Core Program starting up… 10… 9…"