The pirates on the bridge were not as obedient as Yang Ying's human forces. They were wild and untamed, figures who scoffed at all rules. Even though the boy was the Pirate King’s grandson, why would they willingly take orders from a mere teenager still in his awkward phase?

“Grandpa always said that humans are the worst of all creatures on Earth. You can trust a horse, you can trust a dog, but you can never trust a person; they will do anything just to survive.”

The boy snorted: “I’ve been studying ecology recently, and I found that almost all species on Earth can coexist peacefully with their environment. Even when a species without a natural predator causes irreversible damage, the environment eventually recovers, achieving a new balance. But there is one species—a single species—that is different from all flora and fauna, exceeding the limits of environmental restoration capacity. Once it arrives somewhere, it consumes all resources until only a desert remains. That species is humanity! The survival method of other creatures is to develop in harmony with nature, but humans destroy nature completely and then migrate to the next place to continue the destruction. The global climate catastrophe at the end of the twenty-first century is evidence! If they have nowhere left to migrate, humanity will self-destruct.”

After speaking at length, the boy concluded with an innocent smile: “See? The people in the three cities—Kussen, Bose, and Lehai—are just like that. They’ll do anything to survive. Let’s do the world a favor and let a few more of them die, so they can quickly be absolved of the sin of destroying the world.”

The pirates on the bridge exchanged glances. They had never heard of a death sentence being passed based on ecological analysis.

“That’s a reasonable argument, quite refreshing,” the Butler actually nodded in agreement, saying to the pirates on the bridge, “Activate the jamming signal!”

As soon as the words fell, the pirates immediately acted. Clearly, the Butler held considerable prestige among them.

The boy pursed his lips, affecting an air of complete indifference.

In the main control center of Kussen City, the bald man Gang was about to contact the Lehai Fleet when the main screen suddenly went dark. Then, the communications officers of the Kussen Corps erupted in clamor.

“Stop the noise! What happened? Tell me slowly!” Mayor Kussen roared.

A communications officer shouted in a panicked voice, “We’ve lost complete contact with the forward fleet, all at once! We’ve lost them!”

“What!” Mayor Kussen’s face instantly paled: “Restore contact immediately!”

“It’s irreparable; there’s interference. Their technology is more advanced than ours.” After trying for a while, seeing no effect, everyone gave up.

While they were in chaos, Yang Ying secretly contacted Randall to inquire about the situation.

“The jamming signal is coming from that mysterious fleet. It has no effect on the Observers, and the interference only blocks the long-range communication bands; short-range comms are unaffected. Ships can still communicate with each other,” Randall relayed the battle status from afar through the earpiece.

The Kussen Fleet informed the Lehai Fleet that the Lehai had been hijacked by the Boreson Royal Guard, and then sent a final communication demanding their surrender.

However, the Boreson Royal Guard aboard the Lehai didn't seem to care and continued flying toward the Bose Fleet.

A short while later, the bridge of the Lehai issued a statement declaring that Gang the Bald had been killed in Kussen, demanding that the Lehai Fleet withdraw from the battle sequence and stop acting as a shield for Kussen.

Evidently, the Boreson Royal Guard had realized that long-range communication was cut off, making them bold enough to spread lies without fear of immediate exposure.

At this moment, the failure of long-range communication caused panic within the Lehai Fleet. Coupled with the fact that the flagship Lehai was flying toward the enemy, several warships actually heeded the Boreson Royal Guard’s claim and withdrew from the combat sequence.

During this time, the Bose Fleet had not ceased its attack for a moment, causing Kussen and Lehai, respectively, to lose several small to medium-sized warships in the allied fleet. If the Lehai were added to the losses, Bose still had a chance to defeat the combined fleet due to the shifting balance of power.

To secure victory, Commander Baches ordered an attack on the Lehai, directing one Class Four main cannon and five or six Class Three main cannons toward it.

Because the distance was relatively short, one Class Four shot struck the stern armor of the Lehai, causing massive damage. The Class Three shots hit the outer edges of the propulsion units, narrowly missing complete destruction of the thrusters.

The Lehai immediately stopped moving and executed a rotation maneuver, intending to turn its main guns toward the Kussen Fleet.

Simultaneously, the Lehai contacted the Lehai Fleet again, claiming that Kussen’s purge of the Lehai Fleet had begun, and that if the Lehai sank, they would be next.

Since the Lehai Fleet commander was aboard the Lehai, the remaining fleet was rudderless and divided, reacting in various ways.

More than ten ships of the Lehai Fleet seemed to believe the message. They turned and accelerated, beginning to encircle the flank of the Kussen Fleet. The Kussen Fleet, while trying to explain, dispatched some warships to engage these Lehai vessels.

Over ten more ships maintained their position, helping Kussen attack the Bose Fleet.

The remaining Lehai ships broke off and retreated to safety, exposing the Kussen Fleet, which had been shielded by a hundred ships, leaving them vulnerable.

The Bose Fleet saw its opportunity and unleashed a furious barrage from all main cannons toward the Kussen Fleet.

They were now in a final frenzy, pinning all hope of victory or defeat on this single assault. All reserve fighters were deployed, recomposing a force of about a hundred, and charging toward the Kussen Fleet.

The Kussen Fleet sent out the more than one hundred and fifty fighters remaining from the previous dogfight to intercept them, holding back the reserves.

Meanwhile, the Lehai took several hits at close range to its port side, suffering severe damage, including the destruction of one Class Four main cannon. However, even a starved camel is larger than a horse; the Lehai still had two of its three Class Four main cannons operational.

Yang Ying listened to Randall’s real-time report, his face thoughtful.

The people in the main control center assumed Yang Ying was completely in control. In contrast, the representative from Kussen City was pacing like an ant on a hot pan, feeling his face flush with embarrassment.

At this moment, Christina walked in, having heard what was happening. She went directly to Yang Ying and asked, “Is there any way you can help us contact the distant fleet?”

Yang Ying shook his head. Although the Protoss Observers could act as relays, they could not be allowed near the Kussen personnel, not even an inkling, for security reasons. That technology was far more advanced than Human technology!

“If even Commander Yang has no solution, I suppose we can only wait,” Christina sat next to Yang Ying, folded her hands over her chest, closed her eyes, and softly recited a prayer.

Yang Ying continued to monitor the battlefield situation through his earpiece.

At this point, the Lehai’s turn was more than halfway complete. Both Class Four cannons were moments away from firing on the Kussen flagship. Commander Baches ordered the reserve fighter squadrons to launch.

Over fifty fighters flew out from the bellies of various warships, streaking directly toward the Lehai.

However, the Lehai could not rely on its own fighters for defense. Even if the Lehai pilots were willing to sortie their fighters, the Bose military would not feel secure letting them leave their control.

As for having the Bose personnel pilot them, they couldn't. Boarding a warship didn't mean one knew how to fly a fighter, and even if they did, the Lehai and Bose fighters used two different models; mastering a different model would take several hours.

The Kussen fighters approached the Lehai. By then, the Lehai had just finished turning, its main guns aimed at the Kussen flagship. However, it was simultaneously enduring a barrage of piercing cannon fire, causing severe hull vibrations that drastically reduced its accuracy. It fired one shot, missing the target by several kilometers.

The fighters swarmed in, peppering the Lehai like stinging bees. At the same time, the Lehai opened its missile launch bays, unleashing a massive wave of surface-to-air missiles that locked onto the fighters’ tails.

Although the fighters weaved desperately to evade the missile pursuit, half of them were destroyed by a single volley.

The remaining fighters continued their attack, focusing their fire on the Lehai’s rear propulsion units.

The stern of the Lehai housed four large exhaust ports and eight smaller ones. The remaining twenty-odd fighters, braving the cannon fire and missiles, poured all their carried munitions into these vents.

Great fireballs erupted from the exhaust ports, spreading along the stern and then engulfing the entire hull before the whole warship was reduced to cosmic dust in a violent explosion.

However, only a handful of fighters remained out of the fifty that launched. The survivors, carrying the bearing of heroes, returned to their respective ships.

Seeing the Lehai sink, the Lehai Fleet contacted the Kussen flagship to express dissatisfaction with the sinking of their vessel. However, they did not adopt an overtly hostile posture. The Lehai’s strange behavior, like the disappearance of their fleet commander, had also sown seeds of doubt.

Persuaded by the highest-ranking officer remaining among them, the scattered Lehai Fleet regrouped. They then entered a state of observation.

The Kussen Fleet, having attacked under the cover of the Lehai Fleet at the start of the battle, had suffered the fewest losses among the three cities. Even with Lehai’s withdrawal, the overall strength of the remaining Bose forces was still less than Kussen’s. Commander Baches met the challenge calmly, gradually turning the advantage into victory.

About half an hour later, Bose’s final desperate fervor dissipated. The intense fighting had inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, but the Kussen Fleet managed to hold on, relying on the initial advantage it had accumulated.

As the last Bose warship sank, Kussen’s ground troops landed in Bose City. The outcome of this tripartite war was no longer in doubt.

“The Bose Fleet is annihilated. Lehai suffered greater losses early on, Kussen suffered greater losses later. The two cities are about equal now. It looks like Bose will be the final sacrifice this time.”

The boy stretched languidly in the command seat. He commanded, “Lift the jamming signal. Let’s go back.”