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“Contact the base and have Kevin analyze exactly what kind of fleet has appeared before us.” Liliya understood clearly that knowing yourself and knowing your enemy guaranteed victory in a hundred battles. Now that she had a sufficient grasp of their own forces, the crucial element was identifying the opposition.

Kevin, as the commander of the Terran command center, had been integrated with a supercomputer through engineering modifications, granting him immense computational and processing power capable of handling all manner of complex intelligence.

Through contact with the base, Liliya quickly obtained precise data on the force blocking their path, gaining a rough understanding of their firepower and troop strength.

Just as Yang Ying had predicted, the force blocking the road ahead belonged to allies contacted by the Shark Pirate Group—or perhaps ‘vassals’ was a more fitting term than ‘allies.’

This medium-sized pirate contingent was named Thompson, named after its founder, Old Thompson, and now inherited by his son, Little Thompson. They maintained deep business ties with the Shark Pirates, but due to their limited strength, they had always remained subordinate. Coincidentally passing by Gray Port this time, they had been pressed into service by San Yan to block the road.

Liliya finished analyzing the data. “How much longer until the Ghost Fighters return?”

“Ten minutes,” the communications officer instantly replied.

After calculating various data points, the observer suggested, “Captain, we will encounter the enemy in just five minutes. Should we slow down and wait for the Ghost Fighters to rendezvous with us?”

“Slow to twenty V. Also, send a message to the first and second Ghost Fighter squadrons: instruct them not to return to rendezvous, but to circle directly behind the enemy fleet and initiate their attack.” Liliya displayed considerable confidence; the tactics for defeating the enemy were already forming in her mind.

“Understood!” The communications officer relayed the order to the Ghost Fighter squadrons.

Then Liliya stood up. “Gentlemen, we will rely on our existing three Valkyries and one squadron of Ghost Fighters to draw the enemy’s fire. I have confidence in us; do you have confidence in yourselves?”

“Yes!”

The Valkyrie was a crucial heavy armored frigate for the Terrans, and the armor plating for their flight units had already been upgraded one level at the armory, giving them superior defensive capabilities compared to zero-level armor. Dealing with the pirates’ old-model cannon fire was absolutely no problem.

“Broadcast to the fleet: bring the sisters to combat readiness, and have the Ghost Fighters prepare their escort duties. Also, please request coordination from the Officer and Azure Bird for our operations.” Liliya rapidly issued a string of orders, and under her command, the entire fleet operated like a finely tuned machine.

Yang Ying instructed the communications officer to hail the Azure Bird’s freighter, and shortly thereafter, Azure Bird’s avatar appeared on the screen.

“What matter requires my attention, esteemed leader?” Azure Bird’s tone always conveyed a sense of suspicion to Yang Ying, as if Azure Bird trusted no one at all.

“It’s like this: a medium-sized pirate group is blocking our path ahead. We can handle them, but we will require your assistance with…” Yang Ying explained the necessary points of cooperation.

“We will coordinate with your side’s movements.” Azure Bird immediately terminated the communication.

Yang Ying turned to glance at Liliya, catching her looking back at the same moment. She gave a slight nod, as if to say, Leave it all to me.

The deceleration of Yang Ying’s fleet clearly provoked the opposing Thompson Pirate Group, who accelerated to charge forward. The leader, Little Thompson, was aboard one of their medium-class warships.

“How many do they have?” Little Thompson, with his golden hair and magnetic voice, looked every bit the playboy.

“According to radar, three small warships and twelve fighters,” replied an elderly pirate with white hair serving under him.

“Tch, so few people dare to challenge me!” Little Thompson said dismissively.

“Little Thompson, the Sharks requested that we proceed with caution; they already suffered significant losses against that fleet.” The white-haired man seemed dissatisfied with the leader’s demeanor and reminded him in a rather firm tone.

“Stop your pointless rambling, old man. The Sharks saying that is just an excuse for them to exploit us small fry. Perhaps they only lost one or two fighters, and now they’re telling us they took heavy losses,” Little Thompson retorted, even more annoyed by the elder’s presumption of authority.

He who ignores the old man’s advice suffers the consequences, the white-haired man thought grimly, offering no rebuttal.

The two sides gradually closed to firing range.

“Relay the order: set the targeting lock for the enemy flagship on the Laser Cannons, prepare for a full broadside.” Liliya issued the command.

The signature weapon of the Valkyrie was the HAL missile, which launched eight at a time, capable of covering a vast area. However, as a true warship, it was naturally not equipped with such a singular weapon; the high-energy Laser Cannon for long-range attack was also one of the Valkyrie’s main armaments.

The gunner nervously finished calibrating. “Laser Cannons are ready.”

The communications officer also reported, “Vessel Two and Vessel Three’s Laser Cannons are also prepared.”

“Fire!” Liliya maintained her cool posture, giving the attack order in a voice utterly devoid of inflection.

“Fire!” the gunner and the communications officer repeated simultaneously.

Three columnar beams shot out from the Valkyries’ bows, aimed at the leading flagship of the Thompson Pirate Group.

On the flagship, Little Thompson felt a violent jolt beneath his feet, nearly throwing him to the deck.

“We’ve been hit!” the white-haired pirate shouted.

“Return fire! Quickly, return fire! Lock the Laser Cannons and launch all our carrier-based aircraft!” Little Thompson felt that these few small ships actually dared to attack his medium-class fleet—it was an act of supreme audacity.

The medium-class warships, after all, had a size advantage; the three laser blasts from the Valkyries were not enough to destroy it. Seeing this outcome, Liliya’s expression did not change in the slightest. “Laser Cannons, prepare again.”

The gunner and the communications officer shouted in unison, “Ready!”

“Fire!”

Instantly, another three beams struck the pirate flagship, this time successfully knocking Little Thompson onto the deck.

“How can their firepower be this intense?” the white-haired pirate mused. “Could they be a new type? I’ve lived most of my life and never seen small escort ships with this configuration.”

Despite absorbing six shots, the pirate flagship was far from being destroyed.

“Captain, the enemy’s carrier-based aircraft are approaching us,” the observer alerted Liliya after catching the enemy’s approach on the radar.

“Have the Ghost Fighters prepare their defense, ready the HAL missiles, and notify me when the enemy planes enter range. Do not stop the Laser Cannons; fire them as soon as they reach full energy,” Liliya continuously issued orders to address the battlefield situation, and the efficient command system ensured perfect execution.

Soon.

“Enemy aircraft closing in, now within HAL missile range.”

“Missiles away!”

HAL missiles were intelligent munitions; by altering their dispersion trajectory, they could both avoid friendly units and inflict maximum damage upon the target.

The three Valkyries launched twenty-four missiles, enveloping nearly ten pirate fighters within the attack zone. The pirate craft were fortunate their formation was relatively dispersed, allowing most to evade the missile rain.

As for the pirate fighters caught within the firing envelope, they were naturally annihilated in a plume of fire and dust.