Liang Guan, who was just moments ago surrounding Feng Mo from both sides, now found himself in a panic, about to experience what it felt like to be the one encircled.
Gone was his earlier composure and confidence. Glancing at the approaching Storm Fleet and then at the T4 Lynx's energy shields, which were down to just 27%, he gritted his teeth and commanded, "Retreat! If you value your lives, follow my orders. Remove the engine restrictions. Activate maximum speed mode on the T4 Lynx and retreat immediately! Abandon the rest; we're leaving!"
His adjutant hesitated, biting his lip, and spoke up, "Commander, those are our fellow soldiers. Abandoning them seems... too cruel."
Before the adjutant could finish, Liang Guan shot him dead with a laser pistol. His eyes took on a bloodthirsty gleam as he scanned the room, daring anyone to meet his gaze. Not a single person did. He barked, "Execute the order. Full-speed retreat!"
"Yes, sir!"
What followed was a laughable scene in Feng Mo's eyes: the enemy flagship suddenly accelerated and fled. A T4-class starship moving at maximum speed was not something the T3-class warships could hope to chase.
But Feng Mo didn't care. He knew that the T4 Lynx wouldn't escape for long.
With the flagship gone, the enemy fleet plunged into chaos. Feng Mo immediately issued his commands:
"Both T3 Boxers, continue firing missiles at the enemy ships. Unleash a full bombardment. Storm and the T3 Mantises, target and eliminate specific enemy ships. The rest of our fleet, encircle and wipe out the enemy. Don't let a single one escape. These are our spoils of war."
"And remember, this is an extermination battle. Leave no survivors!"
Feng Mo's ruthless order resonated throughout the fleet. Having personally recruited and trained the Storm Fleet over the past two years, he felt every loss deeply. With one-fifth of his crew either dead or severely injured in this battle, it wasn't just a matter of vengeance but of survival.
In the harsh reality of interstellar warfare, mercy was a luxury no one could afford. The crew felt no resentment toward Feng Mo's command. Instead, they were filled with a sense of victorious fervor and the satisfaction of avenging their fallen comrades.
Feng Mo knew that if he had been the one to lose, his entire fleet would have been mercilessly slaughtered. That was the rule of the interstellar era.
With their flagship gone, the enemy fleet disintegrated into chaos, scattering in all directions. The Storm Alliance Fleet began a massacre. The T3 Boxers carried out relentless missile strikes, while the Storm and the T3 Mantises picked off fleeing ships with brutal efficiency. The Mantises, known for their speed, excelled at such pursuits. No T3-class ship could outrun them.
The pursuit and slaughter lasted two hours, turning the battle into a relentless chase. From the initial head-on clash to this one-sided pursuit, the entire engagement spanned three and a half hours before it finally ended.
With the battle concluded, Feng Mo ordered his crew to begin salvaging operations. Not even a single piece of wreckage was to be left behind. Every fragment was a resource that could be recycled and used to build new ships.
The spoils were so plentiful that the Storm Fleet's tractor beams weren't enough. Feng Mo borrowed the Chu family's fleet to help tow the debris back to the Storm Star System.
When it was all over, the Elf Queen gazed at Feng Mo with unconcealed admiration. She leaned lazily in her chair, her legs rubbing together as if she were a pool of water, her mind clearly adrift with fantasies.
An hour later, the cleanup was complete. Laika gave the Elf Queen an odd glance before reporting to Feng Mo:
"Commander, we achieved a resounding victory. We destroyed nearly 1,300 enemy warships. However, we suffered significant losses: 136 of our own ships were destroyed, including eight T2 Black Bears and one T3 Mantis. The Storm took heavy damage, and we've lost over 20,000 crew members."
Feng Mo nodded gravely, the weight of the casualties heavy on his heart. "Laika, take note of these points. First: Upon returning, have Elisa construct a monument on the Storm Star System. Call it the Martyrs' Memorial, and inscribe the names of all fallen crew members."
"Second: The Storm Star System will provide pensions and financial support to the families of fallen crew members. We will also pay annual bereavement allowances."
"Third: In future battles, make sure to recover the bodies of our fallen comrades and give them proper burials. Announce these three points to the entire fleet."
"Yes, sir!" Laika acknowledged and relayed Feng Mo's orders to the rest of the fleet.
With that settled, Feng Mo turned to the Elf Queen and said, "Kailan, we're short on personnel in the Storm Fleet. I need you to deploy the reserve fleet from the Elf homeworld to guard the Bi Xi territories. It'll be tough for a while, but once the Storm Fleet is reinforced, we'll rotate with the Elf Fleet."
"As you command, my Lord!" Kailan replied eagerly, happy to be of use. The Elf Queen knew that this young man before her, only twenty-three years old, was now the undisputed ruler of this small star system.
Feng Mo, seeing her obedience, didn't rush to take advantage of the situation. Fine wine must be savored slowly, and a man with ambitions wouldn't let himself be tied down by fleeting pleasures.
Meanwhile, at the border between the Storm Star System and the U3 Star System, the T4 Lynx was racing at full speed. On the bridge, Liang Guan looked exhausted. His new adjutant, noticing this, handed him an energy drink and tried to reassure him.
"Commander, this loss isn't your fault. First, blame the Bi Xi clan's faulty intel. Who could have expected that damned Storm Fleet to have reinforcements? Second, we must have had a mole leaking our plans."
"Third, those other fleets either fled or ignored orders during the battle. Now that they're dead, it's all on you to explain things to the higher-ups."
The adjutant knew his role well: anticipate the commander's needs and soothe his worries. Liang Guan's greatest concern was how to report this disaster to the Bai family.
Maintaining a T3 fleet wasn't cheap. Even without construction costs, annual expenses for maintenance, fuel, and supplies could run into the millions of star coins. Building a small T3 fleet could easily cost over ten million star coins, and now all that investment was lost. Liang Guan would soon face the Bai family's wrath.
The adjutant's suggestion was clear: blame the defeat on faulty intel and an imaginary traitor. Then, use clever words to distance himself from the failure and regain the Bai family's trust. Even if full trust was impossible, it might save his life.
But Liang Guan knew that earning back the Bai family's trust would be difficult. He needed a more convincing story, perhaps claiming that the reinforcements were from the Tianqi Yue clan or the Huiyao Chu clan.
Ironically, he had no idea that his fabricated explanation would turn out to be true. Yet whether he could even make it back to deliver his excuses remained uncertain.
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