Leona made her tactical dispositions and her local tactical adjustments without a moment's pause.
The beads of sweat ran down her forehead without cease.
In this hour she was spending her every capacity to lessen the fleets' losses as far as might be.
Only so could the guilt within her be eased at all.
And upon the interstellar holo-table.
Each time one of those scattered small defensive positions was drowned in the enemy fleet's red, it meant that the friendly interstellar warships of that small position had been annihilated to the last!
Even the several great defensive positions were having their space compressed without cease, and shrinking by degrees.
Within the defensive positions, the interstellar warships pulled back from the forward field after grievous damage grew ever more numerous.
In this hour Leona felt as though a great mountain pressed upon her until she could not draw breath.
She thought back to that man.
The man who had once brought humiliation upon her.
The man who had once trodden her underfoot within the dueling ground.
The man she had once wished past all measure to defeat.
Who would have thought that the one Leona most wished to see at this hour should be he!
"I cannot hold much longer. I beg you. Come quickly."
Leona gasped for breath. Command at so high a pitch had already worn her out; and with this pressure besides, whether it came from without or was of her own bringing.
All of it gave her a sense of dizziness, of tottering on the brink.
And perhaps in answer to Leona.
Bracing herself on the edge of the command console and holding herself up by main force, Leona seemed to hear someone beside her calling out in glad surprise.
Calling what?
By the shape of the mouth.
Rein… force… ments…
In this moment the sound that had gone from her came back into Leona's ears.
"Princess! Our reinforcements have come! In the direction of coordinate **, an Owl Dragon Legion fleet has appeared — and our own Dragon-folk fleets!" the adjutant cried in excitement.
Leona looked at once to the interstellar holo-table, and sure enough, at one edge of the field, a cluster of new interstellar warship signals had appeared.
"Can you call me up the deep-space picture in that direction!" Leona asked urgently.
The adjutant very soon called up several somewhat blurred images.
They came from other interstellar warships that held good positions, taken with deep-space telescopes.
"They are our T4 Armored-Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Frigates!"
Those beside her cheered and leapt, pointing at the Dragon-folk interstellar warships in the picture.
But the greater part of Leona's gaze fell upon the Owl Dragon Legion's interstellar warships.
T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleships. T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruisers…
And at the same time, these interstellar warships had already opened an attack upon the Demon Race fleet's rear.
Assaulted suddenly from behind, the Demon Race fleet did not react in the first instant, and suffered no few losses by it.
"This number?" But Leona very soon perceived that something was wrong, for the Owl Dragon Legion's numbers were not quite right.
3,000 interstellar warships only.
She had studied the materials upon the Owl Dragon Legion; this was the establishment of a single Owl Dragon legion fleet.
Could this be the reinforcement?
But upon 3,000 interstellar warships alone, how could they possibly be a match for the hundred thousand and more Demon Race interstellar warships before her?
And just as Leona stood puzzled past unraveling, she learned the answer.
She saw, behind that Owl Dragon Legion fleet, halo upon halo of light appearing, and thereafter interstellar warship after interstellar warship darting out for all the world as though from empty air.
10… 100… 1,000… 3,000… 5,000… 10,000…
The halos grew ever more numerous!
The excitement in Leona's heart went past her control; she felt indeed an impulse to weep.
………………
Owl Dragon First Legion · flagship.
"Report. Upon the coordinate position we sent back. The Owl Dragon Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Legions have all completed the interstellar jump!" the subordinate reported to Charlotte.
Charlotte looked at the interstellar holo-table before her.
Her plan had been for her Owl Dragon First Legion to feel out the battlefield's position in detail first, and then, seeing the actual state of the field, determine which operational plan was to be executed.
And so at the outset there had been only the Owl Dragon First Legion.
Once she had settled all the battlefield data, she sent out the detailed coordinate signal.
Upon this detailed coordinate signal, the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships could lay their interstellar jump lanes more exactly, and bring the following fleets without the least error to a safe jump position behind the Owl Dragon First Legion.
But this was very far from the end of it.
"Tell Blanche to connect me to Leona opposite." Charlotte spoke.
Very soon Blanche's side had Leona on the line.
Without waiting for Leona to speak.
Charlotte said gravely, "Commander Leona, I require your fleets' cooperation now. Kindly clear the area within the compass of coordinate **! The faster the better!"
So saying, Charlotte sent Leona a star chart outright.
Leona looked at the star chart. This coordinate position lay precisely within the defensive position she herself held.
To the eye it was as though, in the middle of the circle of Leona's defensive position, another small circle had been drawn.
"Kindly ask nothing. This is an order!" Charlotte said sternly.
Leona felt that mighty force of presence about Charlotte, and straightened her body without willing it. "Rest easy. I guarantee the task done."
So saying, Leona began to make her dispositions.
Under Leona's direction and disposition the area within the defensive position was very soon cleared.
This decision, however, left no few of them with doubts in their hearts.
The space within the defensive position had been compressed by the enemy to a very narrow compass to begin with, and now so large a space was to be cleared besides.
Which brought exceedingly great pressure upon their interstellar warships in the other sectors!
"We have completed the task you laid upon us. Might I ask whether there are further instructions?" Leona looked at Charlotte.
"Next, you need only stand by where you are." Charlotte, having said it, withdrew from the communication channel.
And left a somewhat dumbfounded Leona behind.
Leona looked at that emptied area in the distance, and seemed to think of something…
"This is the Owl Dragon First Legion flagship. I am Charlotte. The target area is clear; the space jump may proceed. I repeat: the target area is clear; the space jump may proceed."
——
Elsewhere, in a soundless deep space
T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought · bridge.
Zhao Chen listened to Charlotte's report upon the communication channel.
And this starship's space-jump program had long since stood by, gathered and ready.
It awaited only the order of this commander-in-chief of theirs.
Acting Captain Xue Xiaoxiao looked to Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen nodded slightly.
"Target airspace is clear. Begin the space jump. All battle stations, make ready at the highest level of combat readiness." Xue Xiaoxiao gave the order at once.
The starship's navigator at once began the last few steps of the operation, and called out!
"The space jump has begun!"