Within the silent universe.
A million interstellar warships came sweeping on in mighty array, like a black cloud.
And that military base standing in their way was like one stubborn stone beneath a vast wave, as though a single fall of it would grind the thing to powder.
Just as the demon legion fleets were about to enter the range at which the two sides could exchange fire.
The demon legion fleets' interstellar warships halted.
The Dragon Emperor · bridge.
Zhao Chen had supposed this halt of the enemy's might mean some declaration before the battle, or a call for his surrender.
But he never thought it was merely a halt.
After a halt of 10 minutes, the demon legion fleets in the first rank at the front went straight into the charge.
And once the rank ahead had charged out some distance, the second rank charged in its turn.
And the angles of the charges were somewhat different each time.
Sometimes crossing, sometimes like fish scales, sometimes like waves.
Taken broadly, this kept the demon legions from massing a great quantity of fleets within any one region, while at the same time letting them support one another.
Which made Zhao Chen's eyes light up.
"Interesting," Zhao Chen muttered.
By the look of it, the enemy's Marshal Red Demon had made some study of the Owl Dragon Legion's tactics.
He knew that one of the Owl Dragon Legion fleets' three axe-strokes was the firepower bombardment of the interstellar missile ships.
That stroke was something of a rogue's trick.
And by this manner of attack Marshal Red Demon could greatly lessen the casualties to his demon legion fleets.
The General Staff within the Dragon Emperor's bridge now began to work.
And at the same time the Dragon-Emperor Super War Artificial Intelligence with which the Dragon Emperor was fitted began to work as well.
"My lord Commander, we shall next change from our original blanket firepower strike to precise small-compass firepower strike groups upon particular regions. Striking above all at the T4-grade main-battle interstellar warships within the enemy's fleets. Letting the T3-grade demon interstellar warships come in, to be destroyed by the other interstellar warships upon the line. Which can greatly reduce the rate at which our interstellar missile ships are spent." A soft and gentle voice came from behind Zhao Chen.
There stood behind him a woman dressed in a very punk fashion, and at her eyes was a curved frame wrapping the front of her face, upon which streams of data could be seen running.
Which in truth served no great purpose; Zhao Chen had asked her about it.
The answer she gave was: to look impressive.
"There is no need to set out the state of the battle to me here; you need only help the General Staff," said Zhao Chen.
"Little Dragon Girl's keeping the Commander company here does not hinder Little Princess's computing power from helping the elder sisters of the General Staff at all. Little Dragon Girl's appearing here to explain the fighting to the Commander uses only 0.00000— ever so many zeros —1 of her computing power." This punk small girl, who styled herself Little Dragon Girl, laughed a tinkling laugh.
Zhao Chen covered his face somewhat helplessly.
This Little Dragon Girl was in fact the Dragon-Emperor Super War Artificial Intelligence.
She belonged to the topmost order of artificial-intelligence programs — which is to say, the name tells it, she possessed an intelligence of her own.
In the former age, for Zhao Chen to have made such a top-order artificial intelligence would have broken the former Galactic Alliance's ordinances.
Only that this restriction now, of course, no one dared set before Zhao Chen.
Still less when Zhao Chen's cloning technology had crossed that red line long since.
And this Little Dragon Girl behind Zhao Chen was but a virtual holographic image, with no body to her.
As for why she liked to stand behind Zhao Chen in this fashion.
The reason was… she liked it.
This artificial intelligence named Little Dragon Girl was excellent in every way.
She could not only analyze the state of a field and give the best plan of handling.
She could help Lilith with a great deal besides; the secretariat was hooked into her already.
Her one shortcoming was… she was a chatterbox.
And above all liked to fasten upon Zhao Chen and chatter.
"Commander, our first round of interstellar missiles has fired; the target is…"
"An enemy T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser has come out, and will shortly enter the compass of our firepower…"
"Reporting — the enemy's interstellar fighters have come out. Hee hee hee, that they should dare contest interstellar air command with us; sister Su Lan will teach them a proper lesson!"
"The head-on clash upon the front line will come in five minutes, but our interstellar warships will grind them to powder! Little sister Xiaoxiao's great cannon must be past all bearing with hunger by now!"
Zhao Chen sat upon the sofa with his face unchanged, and then tapped lightly upon his own ear.
In an instant the surroundings grew a good deal quieter.
He had expressly set up a small program that could screen out Little Dragon Girl's speech within his own hearing.
Though it would tell of itself whether a speech was important, and if so would remind Zhao Chen.
And at this moment Zhao Chen sighed within.
Ah… so quiet is as good as this.
Zhao Chen leaned back upon the sofa, drank a mouthful of the beverage set ready beside him, laid both hands upon his belly, and fixed both eyes upon every stir of grass and wind on the war sand table.
Because of the vast disparity in the two sides' interstellar warships, this was fated to be a long-drawn battle.
And the angel legions, as onlookers, watched this clash between an enemy they knew and an ally they did not.
"Is this the interstellar missile offensive the Owl Dragon Legion prides itself upon? Truly as though the things cost nothing." The high-order angel Jessie cried it out.
That even a high-order angel of the deep-rooted Angel Race should marvel at this manner of fighting — one may judge from it how vast the consumption was.
The high-order angel Berkeley, who had all along thought little of the Owl Dragon Legion, was silent at this moment; he watched the changes upon the field with his whole attention.
He had supposed this Owl Dragon Military Base would come to a crisis within the first several hours of the fighting.
But in the turn of an eye.
Five hours had passed.
This Owl Dragon Military Base stood as firm as a wall of iron; facing the attack of a million demon interstellar warships, there was no trouble in it whatever.
Not even the first line of battle had been broken through.
And in five hours the demon legion fleets had already paid a loss of near 30,000 interstellar warships!
Whereas the Owl Dragon Legion's losses in those five hours might not pass 2,000!
Though the number of damaged interstellar warships was astonishing — above 5,000.
But these damaged Owl Dragon interstellar warships had every one withdrawn from the line at the first moment, and gone into the military ports to be repaired.
And as often as not, within several hours, an interstellar warship not too gravely damaged could return to the field!
"Unbelievable coordination upon the field, and dispatch upon the field; the dispatch of the whole line is as though it were one person. Have you seen it — even in a local action of a bare few tens of warships, at the least change they can make the best arrangement at the first moment. Every damaged interstellar warship that quits its fighting position has another come up at once to fill it. And they can always find the position of the demon legions' elite fleets, and give them a firepower strike!" The high-order angel Berkeley could not help exclaiming.
"The good part of the play is not yet on," the angel Tilia said levelly at this point.
"What?" The two high-order angels looked at her in puzzlement.
"The demon legions' T5 interstellar warships have not entered the head-on field; they are all seeking their chance. And by the intelligence I have, the Owl Dragon Legion has several T5 interstellar warships in service, and they too have been long in appearing upon the head-on field. Those are the two sides' trump cards."
The angel Tilia fixed her eyes upon this campaign, and felt her own blood begin to run hot.