The chain of consequences produced by the Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought's first battle was fermenting across every battlefield of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth.
And the first to bear the brunt, and to be most affected, was naturally the Black Tiger Star Region theater.
"What? The Holy Radiance Empire is withdrawing its whole force?" Princess Leona was shocked.
"Yes; this is word we have just received. Some of the Holy Radiance expeditionary fleets have already reached our star gates, and heedless of our attempts to stop them have demanded by force the use of those gates, threatening that if they are not permitted to use them they will seize them by force of arms. Certain gates, in dread of the Holy Radiance expeditionary fleets' strength, have been obliged to let them use them. By the pattern of the gates' use, it appears these Holy Radiance expeditionary forces are attempting to withdraw from our Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth," a subordinate reported.
"Report! Latest word from the forward theater encircling the Black Tiger Star Region's First Star System. In the direction of our attack, the enemy's fleet numbers have increased on a large scale. And Owl Dragon Legion interstellar warships have appeared besides, inflicting enormous casualties upon us! At the same time our forward tribal commanders have discovered that our allies, the Holy Radiance expeditionary force, have not launched the attack together with us as agreed. Which has directly led certain tribal legion commanders to abandon their attack plans as well. The forward positions are now in utter disorder!" A staff officer responsible for the front reported it hurriedly.
Hearing all this, Leona's head swelled to twice its size.
Why?
Why should an operation she had reckoned so simple have become such a shambles?
When she had fought battles before, had they not all been very simple?
Just which link in it had gone wrong?
"Get me the Holy Radiance expeditionary force's supreme commander, Consul Ernest, at once!" Leona said with a darkened face.
"That… Your Highness, we were just now thinking to try contacting Consul Ernest, but… there has been no word whatever from that side; he simply cannot be reached," the subordinate said helplessly.
Leona cursed in fury, "That faithless swine! Earlier he seized upon some trifling fault to delay operations deliberately. And now he withdraws his army openly and shamelessly. What does he mean by it! What does their Holy Radiance Empire mean by it! Pass my order: blockade the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's borders at once; every star gate is forbidden to the Holy Radiance Empire's use. If they wish to use them, let their Consul contact me—"
At this hour Leona's feelings had somewhat slipped their reins.
The subordinate was taken aback, and looked at Princess Leona with great care. "Are… are you truly to convey this order?"
"What? Will even you not obey my orders! Go, at once!" Leona shrieked it hysterically.
"Stop!"
A voice came through suddenly.
A video window sprang open, and opposite was Princess Blanche.
"Have you gone mad! Do you know what result this order of yours would produce? We are at present at war with the Owl Dragon Legion and the rebel army; and if, on account of this order of yours, we go to war with the Holy Radiance expeditionary force besides. Do you think we have not trouble enough already!" Blanche upbraided her without the least ceremony, taking no account whatever of the fact that the other was her own half-sister.
"Then are we simply to let the Holy Radiance Empire break its word and betray its faith! How great a loss their conduct has caused us!" Leona could not swallow the grievance.
Blanche at this point had on the contrary grown calm, and said in a low voice, "The most important thing now is to establish clearly why the Holy Radiance expeditionary force has suddenly withdrawn. And besides that, to reduce the losses this situation causes our forward legion fleets. Hand down the order at once: every forward combat fleet upon every field is to cancel its original combat orders and withdraw at once to safe ground."
Leona bit lightly at her red lips. The vengeance plan she had prepared with such care had now come to nothing.
She was in truth exceedingly unwilling.
But what Blanche said was indeed the best choice.
"If the Holy Radiance Empire's side does not give me a reasonable explanation. Then I shall assuredly, with my own hands, make those Holy Radiance expeditionary forces pay the price for this conduct!" Leona said it with iron conviction.
Then Leona looked to her sister. "But that fellow Ernest simply cannot be reached now. I suspect the fellow is doing it on purpose!"
"If you cannot reach that Consul Ernest, do you not know to contact their senior officers? Have we spent all those relations-building funds for nothing?" Blanche threw Leona a rolled eye. "Mark me: do not let your head run hot the moment such a thing happens. Any order you hand down, you must clearly know the consequences it will produce!"
Leona gave a cold snort. "Enough. Have your people find out quickly just what the situation is."
Nor did Blanche dwell further upon the matter; now was no time to pursue it.
A dozen minutes and more later.
Blanche's side obtained the information she wanted.
"Well? What in the world is the situation with the Holy Radiance expeditionary force?" Leona saw the darkness of Blanche's face.
It was the first time she had seen this sister of hers, famed always for her coolness, wear such a look.
Blanche's gaze was somewhat complicated, and she said in a low voice, "Through certain private channels I contacted the senior officers of the Holy Radiance expeditionary force; those senior officers all refused contact with us upon one pretext or another. Happily… I did get one important piece of intelligence let slip by a senior officer with whom we have frequent dealings. Upon the battlefield of the Holy Radiance expeditionary force against the Owl Dragon forward base, the Sacred Wing Legion… was annihilated entire. And thereafter eight Holy Radiance legion fleets were destroyed to the last ship."
"The Sacred Wing Legion fleet? Is that not one of the Holy Radiance Empire's Ten Great Sacred-Light Legions? How could it be annihilated entire so suddenly? And eight legion fleets besides? That is 25,000 interstellar warships… how are they suddenly gone? Can it be that the Owl Dragon Legion assembled several legion fleets and struck at the Sacred Wing Legion there?" Leona knit her brows and asked.
"Apart from reinforcing the Owl Dragon forward base with one legion fleet, the Owl Dragon Legion sent no support to any other field. The Sacred Wing Legion and those eight legion fleets I spoke of just now were all of them annihilated by one interstellar warship."
What Blanche said left Leona blank for a good long while.
It was some time before she took it in, and said in surprise, "One?"
She doubted whether she had heard it rightly.
"Just so. One interstellar warship."
"Impossible. How could that be? How could one interstellar warship destroy a Sacred Wing Legion and eight legion fleets — unless that were a—"
"That was a T5-grade interstellar warship." Blanche spoke the words.
Leona's expression went blank in an instant.
And just at this moment, the communications on both Leona's and Blanche's sides stirred at once.
The two of them opened them and looked.
At this moment the faces of these two sisters were for the first time so wholly in accord — both wearing a look of shocked astonishment.
As though unwilling to believe what their own eyes saw.