The Red Demon's Fourth Expeditionary Campaign against the Owl Dragon.
Ten days from first to last.
From the deadlock of the first day, to the rout of the second.
Fallen from heaven straight into hell.
And thereafter, eight days together, all three demon legions were in flight, contriving every means to get away.
This pursuit was fought a full week and more!
The truth was that the quarry was too many!
Even at the moment the demon legion fleet group broke, the number of their interstellar warships was above 800,000.
In such a case, though the Owl Dragon Legion and the angel legions gave chase without slackening and would not loose their bite, they annihilated at the last but a further 600,000 demon interstellar warships.
Two hundred thousand demon interstellar warships fled into the demon lane still.
Because of a want of military stores, and supply lines drawn too long, the pursuit was ended.
And so at the last this campaign came to its end.
Closing with the annihilation of 800,000 interstellar warships of the demon legion fleet group.
The Owl Dragon Military Base.
"In this campaign we have lost near 15,000 interstellar warships, a loss rate of 23 percent; and beyond this a great quantity of interstellar warships have taken damage of varying degree. The T5 interstellar warships all stand well; at most the T5 Hades and the T5 Holy Redeemer, their star-shields being spent, took some attack upon the hull armor — the damage is not grave, and a little repair when we are home will answer. In lives lost, near 5 million in all. The rear has received all the life-information, and the relevant procedures are in train. In this campaign we have put in and spent 6 trillion units of star coins in combat materiel; what was made ready was 5 trillion, and the 1 trillion beyond it was drawn from the Warhammer in an emergency." Lilith set out these field reports before Zhao Chen.
Before Zhao Chen could speak.
A figure sprawled straight over the back of the sofa, swung both legs, and pointed at herself with a laugh. "All this data I put in order! Without my help, resting on the secretariat alone, it would have wanted five times the time at the least."
So saying, Little Dragon Girl looked at Zhao Chen expectantly.
"You have done well," Zhao Chen said in praise.
At Zhao Chen's praise, Little Dragon Girl laughed and went on. "And there was the allotment of logistics and supply besides. I reckoned out long ago that our military stores would not answer, and told sister Lilith beforehand, and had sister Lilith contact the Warhammer. The movement of the Warhammer's military stores I reckoned out too, for through the sharing of data I knew perfectly well how much store lay at which starport and which planetary warehouse. I can draw up the best plan in the shortest time! And there is… and there is…"
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth twitched slightly; this artificial intelligence was excellent everywhere, save that her mouth was far too much.
He truly wished to seal it up.
"Reporting — the three angel legion commanders ask to see you," Secretary Nancy said from beside them.
Thanks be to our three angel lords!
Zhao Chen rose without a word. "Set them in the conference room; I shall see them there. Dragon Girl, though the war is over now there is a great deal still that wants your charge; stay upon the bridge and go on assisting everyone."
So saying, Zhao Chen shot out of the bridge in a streak.
"Very good, Commander!" Dragon Girl stood straight and made a military salute after the fashion of the other crew.
…………
The three high-order angels, having come aboard, rode a hovering elevator, passing swiftly along the ship's inner ways.
"This interstellar warship is truly particular. It should be the rare interstellar command ship," the high-order angel Jessie said in her analysis.
"An interstellar command ship? Has the Owl Dragon truly researched out a class expressly for command?" The high-order angel Berkeley was somewhat astonished.
Over on the Angel Race's side the habit was still to use a main-battle interstellar warship as flagship — and where the highest commander was, there was the center of command.
"It is only a pity we cannot come to a detailed understanding of this command ship's performance," the high-order angel said with some regret.
The other Owl Dragon combat-type interstellar warships could be analyzed from the data parameters upon the field.
But this command ship's particular performance left them without any intelligence parameters whatever, and nothing to analyze.
This command ship had even surpassed that T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought to become the most mysterious interstellar warship in the Owl Dragon Legion.
Very soon the hovering elevator carried them to their destination.
And here the Owl Dragon's Commander was waiting for them, early as it was.
"My friends — I never thought you would come in person." Zhao Chen came forward warmly, and first embraced the angel Tilia.
And then, before the angel Tilia could come to herself, embraced the high-order angel Jessie beside her.
"How do you do, how do you do."
The angel Jessie was blank a good while, and had not even caught up with what was happening.
Was this Commander not far too warm?
The high-order angel Berkeley, seeing this, spread his arms without thinking.
Whereupon Zhao Chen merely came forward and shook his hand with a smile.
"Let us go in and talk." Zhao Chen walked into the conference room first.
The three high-order angels, somewhat at a loss, were blank a moment, and followed him in.
"What is it the three of you would see me about?" Zhao Chen inquired with a smile.
Looking at that face of Zhao Chen's, all smiles, the three high-order angels were somewhat at a loss; the smile left them feeling something of a chill down the back.
"Ahem… it is about the agreement under which we supported your side before…" The angel Tilia had not finished.
When Zhao Chen cut in first. "You mean the consumption of your military stores. There is no trouble in it; say on. How much is it?"
"By our reckoning, in this campaign to the present, our consumption of military stores stands at 300 billion star coins."
"Three hundred billion star coins? As cheap as that." Zhao Chen exclaimed it.
Cheap?
The angel Tilia did not take the meaning at the first moment.
But it was truly Zhao Chen's honest thought.
Sixty-odd thousand Owl Dragon interstellar warships had burned 6 trillion star coins outright fighting this battle.
While 400,000 angel legion hulls had spent, in fighting it, a bare 300 billion.
That was truly cheap indeed.
"Then this 300 billion, by our agreement before. We shall set off against the military purchase agreements to come." Zhao Chen took this compensation of 300 billion upon himself outright and openhandedly.
It was not, after all, money paid directly.
The angel Tilia had never thought Zhao Chen would be so openhanded.
The two sides talked a while longer of the campaign; and that high-order angel Berkeley had a great deal to say this time, and his words were full of praise for the Owl Dragon interstellar warships.
Beep beep beep — System prompt: the quarterly mission has updated.
Zhao Chen's expression checked.
"Commander Zhao? What is it?" The angel Tilia marked the change in Zhao Chen, and inquired.
"It is nothing. Go on, if you please." Zhao Chen's face did not alter, but at the same time he had already opened the System interface.
The quarterly mission, a month late, had refreshed at this moment.
Which left Zhao Chen with a very uneasy feeling.
Quarterly mission refreshed: in 100 hours, the Swarm Surge will open.