After that dense-packed storm of explosions upon one side of the T5 Leviathan-Shaman's hull.
Zhao Wan'er clenched her fist and waited upon the result.
It must succeed!
"My lady, the movement of the hive fleets about us seems a good deal slowed?" A subordinate with an eye for such things marked the change at this moment.
Zhao Wan'er looked across; the change was not great, but looked at closely, the hive fleets about them were indeed no longer so fierce in their attack — attacking still, but plainly nothing so efficient as before.
Before, they might have used encirclement and the like.
Now it was more a swarming rush from the front.
"Reporting — the life-fluctuation of the target Leviathan-Shaman-class Hive Mothership is vanishing!" The petty officer who had been watching the target cried it out in her excitement.
At a stroke the whole bridge broke into cheering.
And the heart Zhao Wan'er had held hanging all this while was at last set down.
She let out a long breath, but soon recovered her calm, and said coldly, "We are still upon a field; go on doing what we are to do!"
At their Commander's words the rejoicing company upon the bridge grew quiet again and went on with the tasks at their several posts.
But upon their faces one could plainly see joy, and a confidence and pride besides.
They had done it!
They had truly done it!
"Leave some scout drones to go on watching the target's case. All other starships, carry out the withdrawal plan at once." Zhao Wan'er gave the orders that followed, gravely.
Though the killing was accomplished, that did not mean these starships of theirs were safe.
Here there were several million hive hulls still.
Even without a T5 Leviathan-Shaman, should they stay here, they would be devoured bit by bit by those millions.
Still more when Zhao Wan'er's special fleet had at present, apart from certain weapons of passive defense, spent very nearly all its main armament in that one round of attack.
Not to withdraw was to stay here as a living target.
At Zhao Wan'er's order, one stealth bomber after another began putting out charges of every sort to cover the retreat.
Smoke bombs, and optical decoy bombs.
The former could make smoke to shut off sight and cover the stealth bombers' shapes; in the course of which the bombers could enter stealth again and withdraw from this field.
The latter could counterfeit the appearance of starships and draw the hive fleets' attack.
Upon the other side the 15 T5s had at this time received Zhao Wan'er's word that the plan had succeeded.
Xue Xiaoxiao waved a fist in her excitement.
"Captain, this is the withdrawal route Commander Zhao has sent; we are to break out of the swarm's encirclement as fast as we can and join with them, and withdraw together!" a subordinate reported.
Xue Xiaoxiao cast an eye over the route, nodded her understanding, and began charging her subordinates.
The bow cannon of the T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought, silent all this while, began at this moment to shine with particle light in black and gold.
The Sword of Hades!
An instant later a terrible black-gold beam of energy pierced straight through the swarm, as a beam of light pierces the night.
And set against starships that carry star-shields, the Sword of Hades came far the more readily to hand against these Hive Motherships.
Very soon the black-gold beam began to move slowly, sweeping a fan-shaped district in the direction of their breakout.
And cleared away every Hive Mothership and hive combat unit within that district outright.
"Begin the breakout!"
At the moment the Sword of Hades ceased, Xue Xiaoxiao led these 15 T5s in withdrawing.
Fifteen T5 interstellar warships, meaning to go at any cost whatever.
Hive Motherships of T4 grade and below alone could hardly bar them.
Beneath that terrible gunfire the 15 T5s broke clear of this stretch of the star-heavens before the swarm here could close again.
And in this very moment, through the enlarged distant image at her viewport.
Xue Xiaoxiao saw Zhao Wan'er's work.
Half the carcass of a T5 Leviathan-Shaman-class Hive Mothership, floating in the space at a distance.
Along one side of this giant body lay ruin upon ruin, wreck and rubble.
Though its life-signs were gone, merely to look at it so was to feel still the terrible air born in this giant beast.
Which could be felt too in that the Hive Motherships and hive creatures about it dared not go up and feed upon it.
Had a T4- or T3-grade Hive Mothership been killed, the motherships and hive units about it would have fallen upon it like piranha smelling blood, and eaten their own comrade's flesh into their bellies without ceremony.
Whereas this T5 Leviathan-Shaman had fallen here, and not one Hive Mothership or hive combat unit dared come near.
Perhaps after some stretch of time they would presume upon it.
Which was proof enough of the terrible standing a T5 Hive Mothership holds among the hive-race.
…………
A small fleet upon patrol in the star-heavens behind the field.
"Reporting — the scout drones we sent out have found what seems to be a worm-way jump point across from us!" a subordinate reported to the fleet captain.
At this news the fleet captain's expression grew grave at once.
"Send word to the legion fleet at once; and we shall approach and look with the highest vigilance. Have every care for those hive fleets! Should any hive fleet be found, withdraw at once! We are a patrol fleet, not a battle fleet," the fleet captain said in reminder.
For before this it had happened that certain patrol fleets, having found a worm-way jump point, wished to make certain of it in detail, met hive fleets, and were at the last annihilated to the last of their 30 ships.
After which the commanders above had laid it down: once a worm-way jump point is found, investigate what can be investigated; at any danger, withdraw at once.
One need only send the coordinates to the legion fleet, and the legion fleet would afterward send a battle fleet to destroy it.
Though the several patrol fleets, to make certain their intelligence should be trusted, would generally try to take a picture of the jump point as sure proof.
Because it had happened too that someone had taken a hive fleet on the move for a jump point, and sent a battle fleet upon a fruitless errand.
Though the hive fleet was destroyed all the same.
Yet destroying a hive fleet and destroying a worm-way jump point are two wholly different tasks.
Where intelligence is wrong, the whole efficiency of the fighting suffers greatly.
For at present the number of combat starships that could be moved upon the whole field was growing straitened.
Very soon this patrol fleet's captain saw that worm-way jump point in the distance.
"It may be settled that it is a worm-way jump point." The fleet captain let out a breath.
But the next second he saw a thing past belief: that jump point had begun to wither at a rate the eye could follow.
"This… what has happened here…"