Zhao Chen walked down from the shuttle and looked at the Holy Temple Mount, seen now for the third time.
Because of the starship star gate route, Zhao Chen had come to the Angel Race this time with great convenience.
"If you please." A familiar face walked before Zhao Chen to show the way.
"If I remember rightly, you are an Angel Guard like Tilia?" Zhao Chen looked at this angel woman he had met a few times before.
"I am." As the angel Susan answered, her eyes were measuring Zhao Chen as well.
Through this stretch of time, with the Holy Dragon Angel Legion's battle images and the detailed analyses of its dazzling showings upon the field.
The excellent combat capacity of Owl Dragon-line warships had been laid the further open before them.
It must be owned that these Owl Dragon-line warships are truly very strong in battle.
That missile ship class is uncommonly fine too — a pity only that it truly burns money.
"How does Tilia fare of late?" Zhao Chen asked as he climbed the Holy Temple Mount.
"At present Tilia's Holy Dragon Angel Legion has just completed a task of battle, and is refitting at a starport, awaiting the next stage," the angel Susan answered.
"And how stand your front-line fields?" Zhao Chen asked.
"This last half month has been well enough; we have to some degree held down the Demon Race's attack." The angel Susan said it with her mouth, but no confidence whatever could be heard in her tone.
Very soon Zhao Chen had come up the Holy Temple Mount.
Past all expectation, this time the Holy Angel King did not await him within the hall, but stood upon the steps, waiting for him with a face full of smiles.
As Zhao Chen came up the last step.
The Holy Angel King made him a slight salute. "My lord of the Owl Dragon, we meet again."
Zhao Chen returned a military salute.
"It is long since we met; how has the lady Holy Angel King fared of late?"
At this homely question of Zhao Chen's the Holy Angel King was blank a moment, then said with a smile, "My own case will do well enough. But the War Angel King's, by my guess, is none too good. Come in with me."
The Holy Angel King walked before, and Zhao Chen followed.
The two walked into the Holy Temple.
Scarcely within it, he saw that familiar conference table set in the middle of the hall, and two Angel Kings standing before it.
"My lord of the Owl Dragon." This time the War Angel King greeted Zhao Chen of his own accord.
The Judgment Angel King beside him said nothing, but saluted Zhao Chen likewise.
Zhao Chen returned each salute and greeting.
"Be seated." The Holy Angel King pointed at the four chairs beside the table.
The three Angel Kings and Zhao Chen sat down together; the angel Susan stood behind the Holy Angel King.
Behind Zhao Chen came the sound of the Holy Temple's doors closing.
"Since the Owl Dragon's lord has come upon our invitation, let us speak straight to the point of our purpose in inviting him." The Holy Angel King opened it first.
"Say on." Zhao Chen knew perfectly well what they were at, but went through the forms all the same.
"Before this, the Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group, in compensation for our aiding your side in the interstellar hive-race campaign, provided us a batch of Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships."
Having said it, the Holy Angel King glanced at Zhao Chen's level and unchanging expression.
She paused and went on, "I considered that these Owl Dragon-line warships and the Angel-line warships in our service are, after all, two different lines. So I had Tilia form those 10,000 hulls expressly, after your Owl Dragon Legion's manner of fighting, into a Holy Dragon Angel Legion.
"This Holy Dragon Angel Legion's showing upon the field has been exceedingly fine.
"And now the Demon Race has opened its largest offensive against us, and no few of our warships stand at a loss we cannot make up.
"So we would ask the lord.
"Whether we may procure these Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships upon a large scale."
Hearing this out, Zhao Chen felt the eyes of all three Angel Kings fall upon him.
He said, with a show of surprise, "That is of course no trouble at all. I said before that for your side to procure finished Owl Dragon-line warships from us outright is the best choice of all. Our Owl Dragon-line warships are assuredly the finest choice!"
At Zhao Chen's words, the War Angel King said quietly, "In truth, our inviting you this time is to discuss procurement in great quantity, times of delivery, and… the matter of these delivery orders."
Here came the main piece.
Zhao Chen looked toward the War Angel King with a smile. "Set it out for me in detail, if you please."
The War Angel King raised a hand, and an electronic panel appeared.
Upon it stood class after class of Owl Dragon-line warship, and at the end of each its quoted price.
These were the price list Zhao Chen had attached when he handed Tilia those 10,000 hulls.
T4 Hell-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship — procurement price the hull: 4 trillion star coins.
Note: with each hull, ten matching batches of interstellar missiles are granted at the favorable procurement price of 300 billion star coins; later procurement reverts to the original price of 500 billion the batch.
T4 Skull-King-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyer — the hull: 80 billion star coins.
T4 Vermilion-Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser — the hull: 120 billion star coins.
T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escort — the hull: 40 billion star coins.
T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship — the hull: 5 billion star coins.
Note: a matching batch of interstellar missiles, procurement price: 1 billion star coins.
T3 Emperor-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship — the hull: 4 billion star coins.
T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship — the hull: 3 billion star coins.
T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser — the hull: 600 million star coins.
T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Armored Interstellar Destroyer — the hull: 200 million star coins.
T3 Triceratops-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Escort — the hull: 80 million star coins.
This price list was in fact one the Holy Angel King had given the War Angel King.
And that because the War Angel King had shown an enormous interest in those Owl Dragon-line warships.
But it must be said that at the sight of these quotations a basin of cold water had truly been poured over the War Angel King.
The price of a warship of the same grade was a good deal higher than what they paid for an Angel-line hull of their own.
Above all in the matter of procuring missiles for the missile ships — that is a consumption exceedingly terrible!
One saturating firepower strike of a T4 Hell-Angel, for instance, is worth 300 billion star coins — which would buy 500 of the T3 Blizzards upon that same list.
But no one can deny the T4 Hell-Angel's terrible power to hold down a field!