The main control room of the Hongxian Federation flagship was utterly silent; everyone had stopped working—everything that could be done had been done, and now all they could do was wait.

The distance between them and that egg-shaped spacecraft was shrinking steadily, and everyone waited for the exact moment it would enter firing range. The air felt so tense it was nearly suffocating.

As time crawled by, second by agonizing second in that suffocating atmosphere...

Aboard the Mars, Zhong Yun watched the main cannon’s energy gauge creep forward like a turtle, sweat beading on his palms, his heart a mix of tension and elation. The gauge was nearly full, and the pursuers behind them were closing in fast.

The crew aboard the two Davo warships trailing them were equally anxious, pushing their vessels forward with desperate effort. Unfortunately, no matter how much they urged the engines, once the ships reached maximum velocity, they couldn’t push any further. They could only watch, frustrated, as the two vessels ahead pulled further and further away.

“They’re in range—”

A trembling voice suddenly broke the deathly silence of the main control room, thick with suppressed excitement.

The Supreme Commander didn't even look at the young staff officer who had lost control; his hands gripping the armrests trembled slightly. Though his face remained outwardly calm, the fierce killing intent glinting in his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

“Main cannon is ready,” an operator reported, anticipation shining in his eyes.

Everyone in the main control room looked expectantly toward the Supreme Commander seated at the command console.

He remained seated, unmoved. “Supreme Commander…” Unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere, the First Officer finally spoke up.

The Supreme Commander’s gaze was locked onto the main screen. Another minute passed—a minute that felt eternal. Everyone in the room, including the Chief of Staff, felt an intense, agonizing impatience, but none dared interrupt him.

Finally, the Commander’s pupils constricted. He spoke. “Lower the first blast shield of the main cannon port.”

The taut strings holding everyone’s nerves finally slackened. They immediately returned to their posts, busy once more. The staff officers instantly grasped the Commander’s intention. The main cannon port had three protective shields relative to the main hull; the port itself was a comparative weak point, hence the triple redundancy.

Lowering the first shield was a measure to deflect the enemy's eerie deep-blue cannon fire. Based on the Supreme Commander’s conjecture, the instability in their main cannon’s energy was most likely caused by that very deep-blue beam.

“Target: enemy vessel's stern assembly. Prepare to—Fire.”

At his command, the main cannons of both warships unleashed their volley. The forward shield of the cannon port, fragile as a sheet of paper, was instantly vaporized. Two colossal pale-yellow beams, each trailing a long ethereal tail, shot toward the Mars.

“Couldn't hold it in, could you?” Zhong Yun smirked slightly, barking a command: “Turn!”

In truth, the command was redundant. The instant the enemy’s main cannons fired, the Mars was already maneuvering. With full power engaged, it finally displayed its true, devastating thrust capability.

In the main control room of the Hongxian Federation flagship, the officers and staff staring intently at the massive screen suddenly went utterly ashen. Shock and disbelief were etched onto every face.

The Mars executed an upward pull maneuver with unbelievable speed. The two main cannon blasts, trailing their long wakes, grazed the Mars's wingtips and vanished into the vast depths of space.

It dodged them?

Everyone felt a dizzying sense of unreality, wondering if it was merely an illusion.

The massive cannon barrel on the now-reoriented Mars, its blue energy aura coalescing, told them in no uncertain terms that it had not been an illusion.

“Evasive maneuvers—” The Supreme Commander’s face was already deathly pale, his voice distorted by immense terror.

So, this entire thing had been a trap set by the enemy. In his haste for revenge, he had walked right into it, simultaneously leading the Federation’s elite fleet to its doom here.

The enemy clearly possessed acceleration far superior to their warships, yet they had deliberately maintained a slightly slower speed, dangling just ahead, solely to buy time for their main cannon energy to fully charge.

He had naively assumed the enemy wouldn't dare engage them head-on. They simply wanted victory with minimal cost.

Alas, he realized it far too late. In that moment, he felt overwhelming regret: I am a criminal to my nation.

That was his final thought.

“Go to hell, invaders,” Zhong Yun whispered softly, his eyes devoid of pity.

The two main cannon beams fired simultaneously, crossing over a thousand kilometers in an instant, piercing both massive warships clean through.

In space, two brilliant, dazzling blossoms of light erupted once more, as tragically beautiful as the most spectacular fireworks in the night sky.

The soldiers aboard the remaining two Davo warships watched those two immense “fireworks,” their cheers completely silenced.

Just when they thought the spaceship was facing certain doom, it suddenly executed a sharp reversal, and two beams of light obliterated the two enemy vessels that had been harassing them so brutally, the feat accomplished as easily as a sneeze.

This sudden, staggering reversal rattled even their hardened nerves, causing a momentary lapse in comprehension. In the blink of an eye, the arrogant hunters had become the prey in someone else’s sights. It was a true test of their psychological endurance.

“What are you waiting for? Clean up the battlefield!” Zhang Haokun was the first to react, his massive voice snapping everyone back to reality.

Cleaning up the battlefield meant dealing with the surviving enemy fighters and mechs. Without the support of their capital ships' firepower, they were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.

Of course, Zhong Yun had no intention of wading into that fray. Without the protection of mechs or fighters, if he carelessly allowed even one mech to breach the Mars's hull, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Furthermore, after firing six main cannon blasts in succession, the Mars had consumed nearly a quarter of its energy reserves. Zhong Yun was currently smarting over the expense. After quickly calculating, the paltry funds in Xiao Ling’s account were only enough to recharge the Mars once.

He needed to find a new source of income, or the sheer cost of energy recharging would drive him to distraction.

Zhong Yun rubbed his head, thinking that upon returning, he must collect every ‘Black Mandrake’ specimen older than a century and process them into Su Xuan Beads. That way, not only could he pay back the two hundred billion credits owed to the Omie National Management Company next year, but he’d have more than enough to recharge energy repeatedly, and even set aside some funds to help his father.

He chided himself for having forgotten this entirely while preoccupied with romance.

As he pondered how to secure funds, the battle outside was drawing to a close. Perhaps realizing all hope was lost, the remaining Hongxian Federation mechs and armor engaged in suicidal attacks, throwing caution to the wind, causing significant trouble for the Davo forces.

But this was ultimately a fleeting display. The Hongxian Federation forces were too few, and having lost the protection of their mothership, the Davo army quickly adapted to their tactics, using the support of their warship's light cannons to rapidly break them apart and segment their formations.

When the final mech was destroyed, deafening cheers erupted from the Davo warships. All the warriors shrieked, jumped, and wept uncontrollably…

Here, they had annihilated nearly two hundred thousand enemies.

Here, they had sacrificed nearly fifty thousand outstanding soldiers.

They had every reason to cheer, and every reason to weep.

P: Feeling dizzy, I managed to scrawl out two thousand characters. That’s all for today, apologies.