"By the plan laid before, I have formed the interstellar warships the Owl Dragon delivered us into a new legion fleet upon a scale of 10,000 hulls. Our crews, through the training materials, have wholly mastered these Owl Dragon-line warships' style of fighting." Tilia set out with a grave face what she had been preparing this while.
Ten thousand Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships?
Susan beside her drew her brows slightly together.
"Very good. I order you to lead this new fleet at once, hasten to the front-line field, and go to the relief of the fighting there!" The Holy Angel King gave the order on the instant.
"Wait!" The angel Susan spoke up of her own accord at this point. "My lady, though I do not understand this business and have no right to interfere in it. Yet I hold that to send 10,000 interstellar warships of the Owl Dragon line, arranged in such haste, to an important front-line field, is truly unfitting.
"And they are but 10,000 hulls.
"Understand that upon the front-line fields now there may be several million hulls fighting to the death! The interstellar warships the two sides lose in a single day alone far surpass that number."
One could see that this angel Susan did not trust the combat capacity of Owl Dragon-line warships.
The angel Tilia beside her retorted without ceremony, "Susan, you do not in the least understand what Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships can do in battle. This time I witnessed with my own eyes the terrible capacity of the Owl Dragon Legion in the face of the interstellar hive-race. Which is why I was willing to take these 10,000 hulls from the Owl Dragon's lord at a price of 10 trillion star coins!"
"What? 10 trillion star coins!" Hearing the figure for procuring these 10,000 hulls, the angel Susan was startled outright.
Understand that the cost of raising an ordinary angel legion of 30,000 hulls comes nowhere near 10 trillion.
"10 trillion star coins? What manner of starships has that Owl Dragon lord cheated you with!" the angel Susan said in some anger.
The angel Tilia's brows drew together; at Susan's scolding her again and again she grew somewhat angry too. "Susan, you are far too stubborn in your prejudice!"
"Prejudice? Very well then — let me see what interstellar warships this legion fleet of yours holds!" the angel Susan said with a cold laugh.
The angel Tilia said nothing, but raised a hand, and a data panel appeared before Susan.
Upon it were the models of those 10,000 hulls, and the numbers in service.
Among them four T4 classes, 136 hulls in all.
The T4 Skull-King-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyer; the T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escort; the T4 Vermilion-Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser — and even one T4 Hell-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship!
The rest were T3-grade: the T3 Emperor-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship, the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship, the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser, the T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Armored Interstellar Destroyer, the T3 Triceratops-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Escort.
And 300 T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships!
By the time her eyes reached this point the angel Susan had begun to frown slightly.
But she saw upon the lowest line that there were even T2-grade interstellar warships.
A thousand T2 Lion-King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships!
"Have you truly gone mad? Within these 10,000 hulls there are even a thousand T2 warships!" the angel Susan questioned Tilia in her anger.
The angel Tilia raised her head and said with confidence, "You do not understand these warships, and you have no right to question me. The fighting power of these ships is not to be judged by their grade alone. It is to be judged by their showing upon a field. I am willing to pledge it upon my standing as an Angel Guard: these 10,000 interstellar warships from the Owl Dragon will assuredly show their worth upon a field!"
Which words came to setting her head upon it.
"Enough; I knew of this business before. And of this batch of warships worth 10 trillion,[1] a part is what the Owl Dragon's lord gave in compensation for those of our angel legion fleets lost fighting the interstellar hive-race at his side," the Holy Angel King said levelly.
Hearing the Angel King speak, the angel Susan could say no more.
She cast a glance at Tilia; she understood now why the thing Tilia had been at this month past had been kept so close.
Had it been let out, there would have been no lack of attacks upon it like her own.
"Tilia, because of this fleet's particular character. I shall not set you any detailed task of battle; you may choose what task to carry out by the field's requirement. You need only report it to the command system and have its leave." The Holy Angel King granted the angel Tilia a further right besides.
The angel Tilia saluted again. "Let my lady set her mind at rest. I shall assuredly bring out the worth of these 10,000 Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships!"
So saying, the angel Tilia's figure of light began to disperse.
And at the last she did not forget to glance at the angel Susan beside her, with a thread of challenge in her eyes.
As though to say: watch, then. I shall prove what these 10,000 warships are worth.
At which the angel Susan only gave a cold snort.
As she saw it, these 10,000 Owl Dragon-line warships could raise no wave whatever upon the fierce front-line fields.
In ten days or a fortnight, by her guess, word would come from the front that this fleet was annihilated, or cut down on a large scale.
A pity only for that 10 trillion star coins!
…………
The T4 Hell-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship · bridge.
The angel Tilia opened her eyes and clenched her fist; though she held her own temper to be good, at Susan's questioning her so again and again.
The best temper could not bear it.
"My lady, what did the lord Angel King say?" An adjutant beside her, marking the ill look upon Tilia's face, inquired with care.
"The lord Angel King has granted us the power to go and fight upon the front-line field, and we may choose our own tasks of battle besides," the angel Tilia said, her voice low.
"Excellent! We have trained a month; at last we may take these warships onto a field!" The adjutant was past all containing, her eyes alight.
The interstellar warriors serving aboard these 10,000 Owl Dragon-line hulls were in the main angel warriors who had gone across and fought upon the Owl Dragon's side before.
They had seen the Owl Dragon Legion fight with their own eyes, and so of course had some understanding of what these warships could do.
And in the stage of training that understanding had grown deeper still.
They knew very well that these Owl Dragon-line warships far surpass their own Angel-line ships.
"Just so. It is our turn." Through the viewport the angel Tilia looked out at those 10,000 Owl Dragon-line warships hanging there, the Holy Angel King's blazon upon their hulls.
And behind that blazon there was a small new device besides.
An angel holding a dragon-headed scepter!
Which was this legion fleet's name.
The Holy Dragon Angel Legion!