“Commander-in-Chief, where exactly are we now?” Following the successful spatial jump, the captains of the remaining five warships showed a profound shift in their attitude toward Zhong Yun.

Due to the utmost secrecy of this mission, the provisional Operations Department had only informed these captains that they were embarking on a confidential assignment, without detailing the objective.

Upon seeing that their commanding officer was merely a youth under twenty, the captains of the other five warships genuinely suspected the provisional Operations Department had suffered a severe mental lapse—there was no other explanation for such an absurd decision.

Even in a centralized imperial state, a twenty-year-old fleet commander was unheard of.

Were they treating warfare like a child’s game? What were those bureaucrats thinking? A potent urge rose in them to return and rip open the skulls of those officials to see what was inside.

Yet, bound by the innate discipline of soldiers to obey orders, they suppressed their doubts. However, should this young man issue reckless commands, they would not hesitate to exercise the power they held.

In Davo, the fleet executing missions possessed methods akin to the Hongxian Federation’s “provisional ballot” system, designed to limit the authority of the commander.

As soon as they departed, this excessively young commander transmitted a flight path chart, stating they were to proceed along it.

If not for the extremely detailed markings on this stellar chart, the five captains would likely have objected immediately. Space was fraught with unknown dangers, demanding the utmost caution during cosmic navigation.

And the established routes, explored through the lives of countless individuals, offered the maximum guarantee for navigational safety.

Only reckless adventurers, with their lives hanging by a thread, dared stray onto unknown vectors. To do so during wartime was undeniably gambling with the lives of every soldier.

But Zhong Yun had provided a meticulous star chart, suggesting no immediate issues. They assumed this chart had been issued by the provisional Operations Department, so they offered no resistance.

It wasn't until thirty minutes before the spatial jump that they received the order to prepare. The five captains were instantly thrown into an uproar.

They were captains with decades of space navigation experience. They could locate every known jump point within Davo territory with their eyes closed. How could there be a jump point here?

Still, they said nothing, following Zhong Yun’s orders and commanding their crews to prepare.

Davo’s military law was notoriously strict. Having served for many years, they would not allow minor lapses to become grounds for accusation. Though a few harbored a desire to watch him fail,

it was primarily because Zhong Yun’s youth prevented them from trusting him.

Their skepticism was understandable; even if this youth were a genius, at his age, he should be attending university at best.

Even after graduating at the top of a premier military academy, one would start as a cadet crewman. Even with powerful connections, reaching general rank would take at least a decade.

The prime example was Yang Bingchang’s eldest son, Yang Yunlong; it took him nine years to rise from the academy to Major General, and he commanded only a destroyer.

The knowledge and experience required of a competent captain were far beyond what a youth could possess; this required accumulation over decades, sometimes lifetimes.

If they knew that the main control room of the Mars, including Liu Yunqi, housed only five people, what would their reaction be?

Upon entering the proximity of the jump point, several captains felt he was talking nonsense. They had traversed countless jump points and were intimately familiar with their appearance.

The area before them was placid, exhibiting none of the vortex-like signature characteristic of a spatial jump point, shaped like an eye.

Then they watched the Mars sail forward, and the space immediately rippled, causing the entire Mars to vanish as if plucked from existence.

They had never witnessed such an eerie phenomenon, leaving them utterly dumbfounded.

A moment later, they received a signal from the Mars: safe passage achieved, proceed with the jump.

The five captains fell silent. After a brief pause, following the prearranged sequence, one warship charged forward. The space once again shimmered, engulfing the vessel.

Once all the warships had passed through, a cheer erupted from everyone. Having an extra spatial jump point within their territory meant everything; every person understood the significance.

It was from that moment that they stopped underestimating their young commander.

“The coordinates here are…”

Zhong Yun announced the location, waiting for them to recalibrate.

“These coordinates…” Several technicians deeply familiar with positional data felt their hearts leap when they saw them. Upon inputting them into the main optical brain and viewing the position displayed on the star chart, everyone was stunned.

Silence. The atmosphere in the main control rooms of the five warships fell utterly still.

Zhong Yun’s resonant voice shattered the calm, “Target: enemy provisional base. Counterattack commences.”

With that command, the official signal for Davo’s counteroffensive was sounded.

“Counterattack—” In every warship’s control room, everyone echoed the phrase, their impassioned cries nearly piercing the hull and reaching out into space beyond.

They had waited for this day for far too long. They were finally setting foot on this lost territory once more.

Invaders, we are here.

After the Hongxian Federation seized Davo’s first resource planet, they established a base there to serve as a supply transfer hub. The Federation invested massive resources into building this base because of the nearby spatial jump point.

To prevent any Davo forces from emerging from that jump point, they left a substantial garrison waiting in high alert. Of course, as long as the Davo military hadn't lost its mind, they wouldn't attempt a sortie from that jump point.

Just as the Federation, upon capturing the point, had not jumped directly into Davo's heartland, because doing so was tantamount to suicide. These spatial jump points were small, accommodating only one warship per jump, and required a ten-minute cooldown between successive jumps.

In that ten-minute interval, any warship that jumped ahead would already have been blasted to smithereens by the waiting artillery.

Subsequently, for every resource planet they conquered, they established a small base—both as a transfer point and a means to replenish their own consumption from the planet’s resources.

Zhong Yun’s objective was precisely these small bases. Since they had been occupied for a short time, the enemy's defenses would certainly not be formidable.

The Hongxian Federation personnel never anticipated that Davo forces would suddenly descend from the sky for a surprise attack. By the time they reacted and prepared to retaliate, it was already too late.

The battle lasted only half an hour. This relatively large base was annihilated by the Davo forces, burning with the fire of vengeance; every single Hongxian Federation soldier was killed, not one left alive. They reclaimed the entire resource planet and rescued a large number of captives.

These captives were the original inhabitants of the resource planet, forced by the Hongxian military to perform intensive labor, extracting the planet's resources to fuel the Federation’s war effort.

Zhong Yun felt a headache concerning these rescued civilians. Rationally, he should abandon them to fend for themselves.

Their limited strength meant that leaving a detachment to garrison the planet would only disperse their forces, leading to their eventual defeat one by one by the enemy.

But if he truly abandoned them, Zhong Yun could imagine the ensuing scenario.

This "Rescue Team" had embarked with the determination to die fighting for their nation and to liberate their people caught in the war. The core members were not soldiers but representatives from various factions, driven by a noble ideal.

If that ideal were shattered, what fighting spirit would remain?

After deliberation with the other five captains, Zhong Yun finally made the decisive call to bring the civilians aboard. They numbered less than fifty thousand in total, manageable enough for a cramped passage.

They destroyed most of the equipment on the resource planet, confiscated the remaining Hongxian Federation supplies, and destroyed what they could not carry, before heading for the enemy’s next base.

There was still disagreement regarding the next target. Some argued they should quickly turn back to strike the enemy’s main force, executing a pincer movement with Davo’s main army to annihilate the invaders.

However, following Zhong Yun's original plan, they were to proceed in the opposite direction to demolish the enemy’s largest base. Without resupply, the enemy main force would soon face collapse. Furthermore, based on Little Zero’s projections, Davo’s main army could hold out for some time longer.

Ultimately, Zhong Yun persuaded the others to press toward the enemy’s primary logistical hub. The simple reason the other five captains were convinced was that they had been utterly shaken by the sheer power of the Mars. Once capability was demonstrated, words carried weight.

Acquiring extensive intelligence from the enemy’s computers ensured their plan proceeded smoothly.

After consecutively destroying seven enemy bases, Zhong Yun and his fleet finally encountered a major prize: a massive supply convoy sailing directly toward them.

The Mars detected them first. Zhong Yun immediately notified the other five warships. Although the other five captains' vessels had not yet registered any enemy presence, they did not doubt the veracity of the intelligence.

The Mars, with its formidable performance, had conquered all skepticism. They had already experienced the Mars’s detection capabilities firsthand.

“What is the scale of the supply fleet?” one captain inquired calmly.

“The enemy comprises fifty-seven vessels in total: thirty transport ships of three-quarter tonnage class similar to the Mars, twenty-six destroyers, and one mothership of the Wushan-class,” Zhong Yun reported.

Unconcealed elation flashed in the eyes of the five captains. In unison, they stated, “Please issue the order.”

Zhong Yun steadied his own surging excitement and turned to look at his three companions beside him; their slight tremors revealed that they shared his profound agitation.

“Give the order,” Chen Wen murmured softly.

“Give the order,” Zhang Xiao ground out through clenched teeth.

“Give the order,” Tian Hai’s round face adopted an unprecedented severity.