A dozen-odd hours later.
Lilith's holographic image appeared here at the bridge's secretarial department.
"Get this portion of the post-battle data tallied as soon as you may. Then see whether the starship wreckage upon this field can be carried back by the interstellar transports that came with us alone. If they are not enough, get in contact with the Warhammer side at once and have them send across the interstellar transports required, and carry all this starship wreckage back. …………"
Though it was only a holographic image, Lilith, in directing the work, was as exacting as ever.
Having arranged all this, one secretary looked at Lilith in curiosity and asked, "My lady Lilith, why do you not come in person? After an important campaign of this kind, it has always been you who saw to summarizing this data yourself."
Lilith's eyes flickered a moment; then she said, "I have other matters to see to just now; and this is to train your own capacities besides. Hereafter our Owl Dragon Legion will face more and more wars, and it is not possible that everything should be supervised by me in person. You must have the capacity to hold a post alone! Do these things properly. I shall come across by and by."
With that, Lilith closed her own holographic image.
Through the whole of it, she had not once looked toward where the Commander's sofa stood — a thing that would assuredly never have happened before.
"Hoo…" Lilith looked round her own room, and lay down upon the bed in weary languor.
Had her body allowed it, she would of course have wished to go back to the bridge and take charge of the work in person.
But her body's state now would not allow it at all!
She felt as though the very bones of her frame had come apart.
At the thought of what had happened, Lilith buried her face straight into the quilt; she had never for a moment imagined that the thing should end as it did.
But at the same time, Lilith felt a sweetness within her still, and a fullness.
Beep beep beep beep.
And just at this moment, a communication window sprang open outright.
And caught Lilith exactly as she lay with the quilt over her.
The authority to open a video communication with no request first belonged, naturally, to Zhao Chen, as Commander.
"Lilith…"
Hearing that familiar voice, Lilith, who had been lost in her own reverie, went stiff at once; she moved her eyes slowly out from under the quilt, and saw Commander Zhao Chen in the video window.
Which left Lilith, ever the clearest-headed of women, at a loss what to do.
Her whole head was empty.
Zhao Chen had noticed the oddness of Lilith's feeling now as well; he coughed several times. "Cough, cough, cough — what I meant to say was… that if your body is unwell. You may rest a good while longer; the business here I shall see to myself."
"Mm…" Lilith answered him with a small sound.
Thereafter, the air being awkward, neither Zhao Chen nor Lilith knew what to say.
At the last, the video communication ended.
Zhao Chen looked at the blank video window with a bitter smile.
Some hours went by.
A figure appeared upon the bridge.
Lilith, in the secretary's cut of uniform, walked slowly onto the bridge, the air about her the same as ever.
But to those who saw her, there was a thread of something unlike.
Certain of the keener observers very soon discovered it.
It was Secretary Lilith's pace!
Bear in mind that except when she was at the Commander's side, Secretary Lilith's pace had always been quick, and she went about her business like a driving wind.
She would never walk as she did now, in small slow steps.
"You—" Zhao Chen, seeing Lilith appear, was somewhat taken aback.
He had supposed Lilith would rest a good while longer.
"Commander, I shall return to my post first. Once the post-battle data tallies are out, I shall come and report to you." Having said it, Lilith walked off toward her own secretarial department.
The look upon her face and the tone of her voice were as though everything that had happened before were so much illusion.
Zhao Chen watched Lilith at her work over in the bridge's secretarial quarter; apart from the bodily discomfort she showed from time to time, and the very plain fact that she moved about as little as she could, there was in the main no difference at all from her working manner of before.
Some hours later.
Lilith came before Zhao Chen once more. "Commander, the summary of the post-battle data tallies for this campaign has been drawn up; the detailed data will still want some time."
"Give me the summary directly; if there is any important data afterward, tell me then."
Having said it, Zhao Chen looked at Lilith's legs, and could not help adding a word besides. "That is… would you not sit down to report to me?"
And pointed at the empty place upon the sofa beside him.
Had anyone else heard this, they would have supposed only that the Commander was showing concern for a subordinate.
But Lilith understood very well the meaning hidden in it.
She bit lightly at her red lips and said in a low voice, "There is no need, Commander. I shall report standing, as I am."
With that, Lilith began her report upon this campaign.
This campaign had lasted three days.
Above 300,000 enemy interstellar warships annihilated, including two T5 Blade-of-Terror-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers and 30,000 T4-grade interstellar warships.
Enemy dead were projected above 500 million.
Enemy ships surrendered and taken numbered above 6,000, and the number of demon soldiers surrendered reached near 10 million.
These 10 million demon soldier prisoners of war had all been confined aboard interstellar transports, and would hereafter be arranged into Zhao Chen's star regions to open new ground, or to work as miners upon ore-planets.
The Owl Dragon Legion had committed to this field eight legion fleets, two special fleets, and 14 T5 interstellar warships — near 25,000 interstellar warships.
Above 6,000 interstellar warships destroyed outright, gravely damaged interstellar warships reaching 5,000, and near 3 million crew fallen.
The war's consumption came to near 1.3 trillion star coins.
Of which half came from interstellar missiles, reaching 800 billion star coins.
The special fleet under the wolf-girl Baixue alone had, first and last, carried out five rounds of covering fire-strike in this war!
A thoroughly exhilarating fight, one might say.
Reckoning in the loss data from Chitong's and Su Lan's side besides.
Then in this whole campaign the Owl Dragon Legion lost 10,000 interstellar warships, with near 5 million crew fallen, and a war consumption of 1.5 trillion star coins.
The loss of the whole Owl Dragon Legion — a loss rate above 30%!
At hearing this figure, Zhao Chen's face grew a good deal heavier.
Set against the Demon Race fleet's losses, this exchange ratio came to about thirty-six to one.
Bear in mind that this was with the Owl Dragon Legion ambushing its opponent, and with interstellar missile ships to help.
Had there been none of that, and had it been a frontal engagement alone.
Zhao Chen could not imagine how many his own fleets would have lost.
And at the same time, he felt deeply the threat that came from the Demon Race.
This was but thirteen Demon Race fleets; who knew how many interstellar fleets the Demon Race would send across hereafter?
It was like a vast mountain pressing down upon Zhao Chen's head.
Leaving him with a feeling that he could not draw breath.