Cloud had been waiting for the Beast Country's follow-up attack, but strangely, after losing ++, they retracted their claws and never reappeared.

A month passed like this.

Since the Beast Country wasn't attacking, Zhong Yun decided to strike first. That day, he gathered everyone again. "I plan to attack the Beast Country."

Zhong Yun's words startled everyone; for a moment, they thought he had gone mad.

From Chang Dong, the Beast's brother-in-law and one of the core figures in the Beast Country's leadership, they had learned about the nation's military strength: three hundred "Baron-class" warships (comparable to the Mist Mountain-class), one super-battleship larger than the "Viscount-class" (which Zhong Yun and his team suspected was a Satellite-class), and three million regular mecha warriors. For a country with only one hundred million people, this military might was pushed to its absolute limit.

And what about their side? Only one Mercury-class ship, two captured "Mist Mountain-class" warships, a mere hundred and fifty half-trained mecha pilots, and a population of eight thousand. The disparity was astronomical; they should have been grateful the Beast Country wasn't bothering them, yet Zhong Yun proposed provoking them actively.

"I object," one of the engineers declared loudly. After a month of interaction, he found that although Zhong Yun was young, he was receptive to opinions. Having worked here for a while, he had developed a sense of belonging to the collective, which emboldened him to speak up. "What we need most right now is to develop the base and accumulate strength. We finally have a period of peaceful development; we should focus on construction rather than engaging in a battle we have no certainty of winning."

Zhong Yun pursed his lips and looked at the others. "What are your thoughts?"

"I think Engineer Liweis's words are very reasonable," Zhorge said.

"Instead of passive defense, we should take the offensive. Our forces now have combat capability; it’s time to deploy," Twenty-One countered.

Ming Yunyu, who had remained silent, looked at him with bright eyes. "Captain, you must have your reasons for making such a decision. Could you share them so we can hear?"

Zhong Yun explained, "I made this decision based on three considerations. First, as Twenty-One mentioned, rather than passive defense, we should strike first, drawing the battlefield into enemy territory instead of fighting on our own ground. Second, after this period of rigorous training, Tiange and the others can now command warships. Sending them onto the battlefield to hone their skills will rapidly improve their strength. Third, and most importantly, Chang Dong told me that the Beast Country's military is always swift and decisive. Losing two warships should have elicited some reaction; the only explanation is that they are in trouble and currently unable to focus on us. This is the best time for us to strike."

These three reasons were logical and difficult to refute.

"But what about the base construction?" Ming Yunyu inquired.

"Base work will proceed as normal. We won't go too far; if there's an alert, we can rush back immediately," Zhong Yun had already made comprehensive preparations. "Don't worry, we won't clash head-on with them; we'll conduct raids and perhaps capture some personnel and warships to alleviate our labor shortage."

With Zhong Yun explaining this far, no one else dared to argue. Although a few engineers still grumbled internally, Zhong Yun was the one issuing the orders; they could only obey.

Once everything was prepared, Zhong Yun led Chu Tiange and the others out. The Mercury-class ship was followed by two "Mist Mountain-class" warships, flying toward the Beast Country. Bai Yuwan and Twenty-One stayed behind to guard the base with the one hundred and fifty mecha pilots. Defenses around the base had been preliminarily established, relying on surrounding defense turrets, which could hold off an attack for a period.

Zhong Yun set the strategic objective for this operation as guerrilla warfare: weakening the Beast Country's strength while simultaneously bolstering their own, and achieving the goal of training Chu Tiange and the others. During the prior base construction period, Zhong Yun had not been idle; he had dispatched "Bugbee Two" and "Bugbee Three" to map out the rough star chart of the Beast Country.

The first target was a transit station closest to their base. After nearby mining ships finished extracting resources, they would temporarily deposit the minerals here before specialized transport ships carried them back to the homeland. Situated on the edge of the Beast Country, this location was a prime target for harassment and had the highest probability of attack. The Beast Country had stationed two "Mist Mountain-class" warships to defend this transit station, indicating its strategic importance.

Under normal circumstances, the two warships patrolled in shifts, with one always docked in the port. However, when Zhong Yun arrived near this transit station, he found both warships maintaining a tight perimeter nearby, which deepened his suspicion: something must have happened in the Beast Country for these warships to be so tense.

As Zhong Yun’s fleet approached within fifty thousand kilometers, they were detected. The two Beast Country warships immediately moved to intercept—even though one enemy vessel appeared so massive it seemed invincible. The name "Beast Country" was well-deserved; their military was indeed ferocious. Even facing a vastly superior enemy, they showed no sign of retreat.

Watching the two warships charging relentlessly toward the Mercury-class, Zhong Yun felt a surge of profound interest in the person named "Beast." How had he trained his army to be so utterly fearless of death?

He didn't ponder this for long; the enemy soon entered the firing range of the Mercury-class. Zhong Yun’s expression turned serious, and he let out a low shout, "Fire!"

A laser beam shot out, turning one enemy vessel eight thousand kilometers away into a dazzling ball of fire. The remaining warship seemed utterly devoid of fear, showing no reaction to its comrade's destruction, continuing its unwavering flight toward the behemoth Mercury-class.

"Now, it's time to test the results of your training," Zhong Yun said, resting his chin on his hand, watching the main screen, waiting quietly.

The Mercury-class slowed down, and behind it, two warships—commanded by Chu Tiange and Wang Xiao'er, respectively—veered off toward the charging enemy vessel. Under these conditions, there was no room for trickery in the combat; it was a pure test of firepower and hull thickness. A two-against-one engagement between similarly classed warships meant Chu Tiange and the other won without suspense. However, Wang Xiao'er’s ship sustained significant damage, while Chu Tiange's remained unscathed. The enemy understood the principle of cutting off one finger rather than severing ten, focusing their assault on Wang Xiao’er to inflict hull damage.

This kind of direct, bayonet-to-the-hilt combat tested a warship commander’s psychological fortitude the most. When the enemy charged, even a moment of hesitation could lead to defeat and death. Those who haven't experienced battle can never truly grasp the suffocating pressure at the brink of life and death; even extensive theoretical knowledge is useless at such a moment. It boiled down to sheer nerve.

Zhong Yun was quite satisfied with Chu Tiange's performance; they could be considered qualified.

After neutralizing the two warships, Zhong Yun’s forces took control of the transit station. He left the stored minerals untouched but seized all the personnel and a type of hard currency metal in one sweep. Then, they proceeded to the next target. En route, they encountered no less than ten patrols of smaller warships, all of which were handled by Chu Tiange's team. The mining ships, meanwhile, were all taken as captives by Zhong Yun.

Before the main forces, alerted by the attack, could arrive, the Mercury-class returned laden with spoils. The haul was substantial, netting a huge amount of hard currency metal and tens of thousands of captured personnel, mostly miners.

Zhong Yun ordered these captives to be confined. After emptying the Mercury-class, they flew toward the Beast Country again. During his return trip, he had interrogated the prisoners and learned that the Beast Country had erupted into a full-scale war with its arch-rival, the Azure Stone Country. This explained why the Beast wasn't sending heavy forces to rescue his brother-in-law—he was stretched too thin. The Azure Stone Country was slightly stronger than the Beast Country, and they had committed almost their entire military to this war, leaving them little capacity to worry about Zhong Yun’s small group.

Upon hearing this news, Zhong Yun certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity to strike while the iron was hot.

The Mercury-class, accompanied by the two "Mist Mountain-class" warships, ** penetrated the Beast Country's territory, meeting only light resistance until they reached the Beast Country's main stronghold. Almost all citizens of the Beast Country resided on this planet, which housed the nation's most crucial factories—this was the very root of the Beast Country.

The Beast took extreme measures to secure his home base, fearing a surprise takeover. He had arranged a massive defense force: one hundred "Mist Mountain-class" warships, backed by over one hundred thousand mecha, capable of defending the entire planet as an impregnable fortress. On the planet's perimeter, in addition to the one hundred warships, there were a dozen fortress-like structures orbiting like satellites, clearly designed to be resilient and difficult to penetrate. During wartime, all Beast Country warships were kept fully operational, ready to engage within minutes of an alert.

Zhong Yun scouted the defensive deployment and frowned immediately: one hundred warships attacking simultaneously—the Mercury-class might not be able to withstand that. He calculated rapidly and made his decision. He ordered Chu Tiange and the others to withdraw first; at this juncture, they would be of little use.

"Commander, this is too dangerous," Chu Tiange sensed what Zhong Yun was planning and quickly tried to dissuade him.

"Don't worry, if the situation turns bad, I will retreat immediately. They can't catch the Mercury-class," Zhong Yun assured him.

"Commander, we shouldn't take this risk. Their forces are too strong," Wang Xiao'er also advised. Neither believed Zhong Yun could succeed.

"You need say no more," Zhong Yun stated firmly. "This is an order."

Zhong Yun used his authority to press them, and they reluctantly departed.

The Mercury-class moved forward slowly under stealth mode, engines completely off, relying solely on inertia. The Beast Country's military had no idea that danger was silently approaching.

Above the planet, eighty warships were distributed across various sectors, patrolling in intersecting patterns; the remaining twenty were currently charging up. Today, as usual, the commander left in charge of the planet was the Beast's own brother—Mantis. He had fought alongside his brother since childhood, possessing ferocious combat skills second only to the Beast himself, and was instrumental in the Beast Country's rise.

Lately, Mantis had been troubled. The opponent was the powerful Azure Stone Country, causing public panic, with many citizens preparing to flee the Beast Country for safer nations. To retain them, Mantis had exhausted every measure, eventually sealing the ports to prevent anyone from leaving. While this temporarily stabilized the situation, it was not a long-term solution; a military defeat could trigger widespread unrest, potentially leading to the complete fragmentation of the Beast Country.

Domestic issues were already giving him headaches, and on top of that were those pesky thieves who abducted Chang Dong—they hadn't stopped causing trouble. He considered himself fortunate they hadn't provoked him further. Today, he received a report: a gigantic warship, leading two smaller vessels, had raided Transit Station Thirteen, penetrated national borders, killed the Tenth Security Squad, and abducted numerous mining ships. This infuriated him to no end.

Mantis snarled, swearing that once this war was won, he would personally lead the army to annihilate those pirates.

Just then, the entire command center suddenly blared with alarms, piercing sirens echoing across the planet.

Enemy attack!

Mantis was stunned. His first reaction was that the Azure Stone Country forces had broken through. He frantically contacted all warships, demanding an explanation. In moments, countless reports flooded in. As he processed the messages, his face turned pale.

A gigantic warship had suddenly appeared three thousand kilometers away and launched an attack on the unprepared fleet, instantly destroying ten warships. Destroying ten ships with a single volley—what did that imply? It meant his warships had absolutely no resistance to the enemy's firepower.

"Viscount-class!" Mantis roared internally. Only a "Viscount-class" vessel could possess such destructive power.

"Organize a counterattack immediately!" Mantis reacted instantly. No matter how powerful the enemy warship was, it was only one. Facing the combined fire of ninety "Baron-class" warships at such close range, victory was far from certain. However, he couldn't fathom where such a "Viscount-class" warship originated. In this sector, aside from the one owned by the Beast Country and the Azure Stone Country each, no other nation was known to possess one.

Suddenly, he remembered those pirates who had been vexing him, recalling the report about the immense vessel. Could that not have been a transport ship? Could it have been...? He gasped, sucking in a sharp breath.

The twenty ships that were charging immediately set off, racing toward the Mercury-class. What Mantis realized, all the ship commanders realized too: facing a "Viscount-class" warship, the only chance of victory lay in closing the distance quickly and relying on sheer numbers. If the enemy established range, they would only be targets for long-range bombardment.

After firing its initial volley and destroying ten warships, the enemy ship began to change direction. The warships closest to it opened fire first. The initial few shots struck the enemy vessel, but then a circle of silver-white light enveloped the ship, blocking all incoming fire.

Watching the spectacle, Mantis's face turned ghastly white. He slumped back, muttering, "How is this possible? An Earl-class warship..."

P: Only one chapter today.