The state of the field went on changing without cease.
The demon legion fleets' side too had marked how firm the defenses of this military base the Owl Dragon Legion held were.
Which slowed the demon legion fleets' rate of attack; they would even draw certain gravely damaged demon fleets back from the front line to refit in the rear, and send fresh legion fleets up in their place.
An arrangement which could both raise the efficiency of the attack and lessen the casualties to their own fleets.
The twentieth hour of the war.
The Owl Dragon Legion's side had by now lost above 10,000 interstellar warships; the demon legions' side had lost 100,000.
Over long fighting, the intensity of the Owl Dragon Legion's firepower output had plainly weakened a good deal from what it was at the outset.
Which had left ripples in the original line of defense.
Marshal Red Demon quickly found two districts to break through, and ordered the demon legion fleets in those districts to attack at any cost whatever; at the same time he swiftly sent two elite fleets straight at the two breakthrough districts.
"The demon legions are getting serious at last!" the high-order angel Berkeley said with some excitement.
Through the near 20 hours of fighting before, apart from the astonishment at the outset, the war had grown by degrees to look all calm winds and level waves.
"In these two districts the demon legions have gathered two elite fleets. Each holds three T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers and 10,000 T4 interstellar warships. This is a design to seize the opening and tear the Owl Dragon Legion's military-base line at one stroke! Though… this opening does not seem so very good," the high-order angel Jessie muttered.
The angel Tilia said levelly, "That is because Marshal Red Demon has grown anxious."
The two high-order angels looked at her in surprise.
"In a day he has lost near 100,000 interstellar warships, and his offensive has yet no result whatever to show. Understand that in the see-saw fighting against the Angel Race, a loss of such a degree would as often as not be 10 days' worth! Still more when here it is not the Owl Dragon Legion alone, but ourselves besides, eyeing them as a tiger eyes his meat. Were you Marshal Red Demon, what would you do?" the angel Tilia returned.
"Marshal Red Demon is unwilling to go on like this! Out of dread of our presence their nerves have been drawn tight all along. And if this case continued, then though they should widen their advantage by degrees, long fighting would lower their capacity to fight; and should we attack at that hour. For the demon legions that would be beyond doubt the worst case of all! So Marshal Red Demon, though he knows well this is not the best opening, is unwilling to wait longer. He must set up his advantage upon the field as fast as may be. And so, even should we support the field, he can hold the initiative!" the high-order angel Berkeley said in his analysis.
The angel Tilia narrowed her eyes and looked toward that Owl Dragon Military Base. "What I am thinking now is this. Could it be… that the lord's asking us to send legion fleets in support was never a hope that we should be of any great help upon the field. But merely a borrowing of our weight. Or even… could it be a manner of putting us on our guard?"
The angel Tilia was considering a great deal in this moment.
At her words the two high-order angels too were blank a good while.
If it were truly as the angel Tilia said.
"Then this Owl Dragon lord is really… too…" The high-order angel Berkeley was at a loss for words of a sudden.
He called to mind that quite ordinary, unremarkable, mild and courteous man — and felt of a sudden a chill down his back.
Behind that smiling face something seemed to lie hidden.
"Let us not think of these things for now. Since that Marshal Red Demon cannot hold in from playing his stroke, that lord will assuredly be making ready to bring out his own trump."
Sure enough.
Upon the interstellar war sand table two high-energy fluctuations appeared; and at the same time, within the images taken, there appeared two Owl Dragon interstellar warships upon no record whatever.
"Those should be the T5 interstellar warships the Owl Dragon Legion has newest in service. By the shapes of the classes, they should be a carrier starship and an interstellar battleship," said the high-order angel Jessie.
The high-order angel Berkeley said in astonishment, "How many powers has this Owl Dragon, in the end? By the intelligence we had before, was it not said the Owl Dragon Legion had three T5 classes already in service? And now two more. That is above twice our Angel Race's!"
"It seems that on the grading of the Owl Dragon's strength we must report to the three lords the Angel Kings again when we go back," the angel Tilia said gravely.
And what these three high-order angels watched next was the first showing of those two Owl Dragon T5 interstellar warships.
The T5 Fire-Qilin-class Heavy Carrier Starship · bridge.
A handsome figure stood upon the command platform in the middle of the bridge, holographic projections circling all about her; of data panels of every size there were fifty if there were not a hundred!
The Owl Dragon Fourth Legion's commander, Su Lan — and at the same time the commander of the strongest comprehensive carrier-starship combat capacity in the Owl Dragon Legion.
The Owl Dragon Fourth Legion she led had already the Commander's leave to develop expressly toward a carrier-starship system of battle.
And it was for this that the first T5 Fire-Qilin-class Heavy Carrier Starship had been handed straight to the Owl Dragon Fourth Legion, and become Commander Su Lan's flagship!
Set against the earlier T4 Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship.
This T5 Fire-Qilin-class Heavy Carrier Starship was of course the harder to work, for the flying units it carried were some tens of times the former's.
"Open every flight deck and hangar hatch. Make ready to begin putting out the interstellar fighters and interstellar drones. The logistics departments make ready too, and enter a state of readiness!" Commander Su Lan's voice rang through the whole bridge.
The next second, this vast carrier starship formally began its first showing.
Along the carrier starship's back appeared many flight decks, and interstellar fighters came flying out like the heavenly maiden scattering flowers.
But because the interstellar fighters were truly so many in number, as often as not an echelon would sortie as soon as it had finished gathering.
Were one to wait until every interstellar fighter had lifted, it would want 10 minutes.
For the number of crewed interstellar fighters upon this carrier starship alone reached 1,320,000!
Though the design of this carrier starship had taken sortie speed into account so far as it might, there was no helping how vast the number was!
At the same time many openings appeared upon the carrier starship's belly and flanks, and within them interstellar drones hung slung in dense array.
As the indicator lights upon the interstellar drones lit, these drones came sweeping out like a swarm of bees, in an array to set a man shivering to see it.