Though the Old Imperial Fleet's First Fighter Wing's nuclear warheads failed to reach their target, the Allied Fleet remained highly vigilant. All Esper pilots were dispatched to intercept near the Space City, slightly affecting the main front.

It could be said that Commander Gang's strategy of dispersing pressure had achieved its tactical objective.

"Yo, that fellow Alexander," Commander Gang sneered, his eyes narrowing, emitting a dangerous glint. "Well done, though it plays right into my hands."

He slammed a fist on the armrest: "Besides withdrawing all the Espers, what else did Alexander do?"

An Ape Staff Officer replied, "Nothing else, sir, but the Twelfth Fleet guarding the Space City has already deployed three thousand fighters to intercept."

"One to ten?" Commander Gang's expression was deep as water, as if he didn't care about the disproportionate ratio. "If it were a dogfight, perhaps the First Fighter Wing could be wiped out, but to stop the nuclear deployment, this ratio is still a bit short."

"But they haven't withdrawn the forces here, my lord," the Vice-Captain pointed at the massive battle group and the swarm of fighters surrounding their fleet.

"It doesn't matter. Once the nuclear bombs are deployed, the destroyed Space City will force Alexander to make the correct choice," Commander Gang said with a cold laugh.

Bang!

With a soft sound, Blade turned to look. The engine behind the fighter jet erupted in a burst of sparks and flamed out.

"It was that guy from before!"

Just a short while ago, Blade had emerged from an intense battle, eliminating a Vicious Fang fighter piloted by a High-Grade Ape. Although he himself was uninjured, during one close engagement, the rear engine section of the Ghost fighter had been hit once by the enemy's beam.

The engine hadn't malfunctioned at the time, so Blade hadn't paid much attention. He hadn't expected the flameout to occur shortly after flying clear of the main combat group.

Fortunately, the Ghost fighter was equipped with a silent flight engine for stealth mode. Blade switched to the smaller engine and continued flying forward.

About ten minutes later, Blade gradually approached the twenty-plus Esper fighters.

Simultaneously, the interception force dispatched by the Twelfth Fleet appeared ahead of the First Fighter Wing.

The two aircraft groups, vastly different in size—nearly ten times the difference—encountered each other!

The interceptor group simultaneously launched missiles and drill cannons. A torrential downpour of firepower headed toward the three hundred-plus Vicious Fang fighters.

In that instant, the Vicious Fang group executed dazzling evasive maneuvers, slicing diagonally into the formation of the intercepting fighters.

Beams and missiles pounded toward the Vicious Fang fighters, yet the Vicious Fangs ignored them, making no attempt to counterattack. Even when struck, they paid no heed.

Blade realized they were focusing all their energy on evasion, harboring no intent to attack.

Deep within the Vicious Fang formation:

"Break through! Once we pass their line, they won't be able to catch us," said the commander of the Vicious Fang group, a Quasi-Master Grade High-Grade Ape.

"Yes, my lord!"

Space fighters' speeds far exceed those within an atmosphere. If sufficient acceleration distance is available, speeds of several hundred kilometers per second are not difficult to achieve.

After punching through the interceptor group, the Vicious Fang fighters endured only three waves of attacks before breaking through the blockade.

Although one-third of the Vicious Fang fighters were shot down, the remaining two hundred-plus fighters had successfully bypassed the interception and were speeding toward the Twelfth Fleet.

"Turn back! Turn back immediately!" the commander of the interceptor group shouted loudly.

The three thousand fighters executed a 180-degree turn, pushing their thrusters to maximum output.

However, acceleration takes time. Their acceleration capability was inherently inferior to the Vicious Fangs. Having missed this opportunity, closing the gap again would likely only be possible if the Vicious Fang fighters voluntarily reduced speed.

"There don't seem to be any Esper fighters in these three thousand craft."

Blade observed via radar that the interception force deployed by the Twelfth Fleet consisted entirely of three thousand Dragon-I model fighters. There wasn't a single Esper fighter, nor even a Night Owl fighter.

All main fleets reserve two types of fighters; clearly, the Twelfth Fleet had its own strategy.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

"The Dragon series fighters have heavier firepower. Looking at these three thousand, the Twelfth Fleet must have deployed all their Dragon-II models, reserving the Night Owls for close-quarters defense, perhaps?" Blade smiled slightly. "It seems the commander of the Twelfth Fleet is also a thoughtful individual."

Space is not like a terrestrial battlefield where the ground offers a reference frame. Space is about relative velocity. At this moment, the Vicious Fang fighters' speed relative to the Space City was roughly several hundred kilometers per second. At this velocity, combat is impossible; the target would instantly zip past, perhaps not even visible.

This is a hundred times faster than a sniper bullet. If an object were thrown at this speed on Earth, it could potentially fly out of the solar system!

For the Vicious Fang fighters to launch nuclear bombs at the Space City, they would need to decelerate. Only then could the Night Owl fighters provide defensive coverage.

As for this wave of Dragon-series fighters, their purpose was likely just to use overwhelming firepower to weed out a portion of the Vicious Fang fighters.

Commander Gang received the latest intelligence. With a "whoosh," he stood up from his command chair, his eyes radiating a chilling cold light. He stood for two seconds, saying nothing...

Soon, Blade caught up with the Esper fighter group. After announcing himself, he joined their ranks.

Within this group, the weakest combatant was a Lower-Grade Esper. In the Esper Temple, the task of an apprentice is learning; they are never sent to the battlefield until they become Lower-Grade Espers.

"Colonel Blade, did you know? If you kill five Upper-Grade High Apes, the Esper Temple will issue you a souvenir. A very nice one!" the commander of this group, a Quasi-Master, remarked with a smile after learning Blade had already downed two Upper-Grade High Apes.

"Mmm, I will work hard," Blade replied with a smile. Every fighter was equipped with a combat recorder that logged the pilot's achievements. The Ghost fighter and the dedicated Esper fighters also had such recorders.

Soon, they caught up with the Vicious Fang fighter group.

"Fire."

Blade and the other Espers unleashed their weapons. Hammer shots and missiles slammed into the Vicious Fang formation.

After the first volley, over a dozen Vicious Fangs were destroyed. Immediately, over fifty fighters peeled off from the Vicious Fang group, executing a 180-degree turn to meet Blade and his comrades.

"Engage!"

The Esper group instantly dispersed, preparing to engage in close-quarters combat with the Vicious Fang fighters.

By this time, the Vicious Fang group had approached the range where deceleration was mandatory. If they didn't slow down now, it would be too late when they neared the Space City.

Blade glanced at the radar and saw that the Twelfth Fleet's destroyer squadron had appeared ahead of the Vicious Fang group—a fleet composed of over a hundred destroyers and frigates blocking the Vicious Fangs. Appearing alongside them were over five thousand Night Owl fighters!

"It seems the victor is decided. A mere three hundred fighters attempting a surprise attack on the Space City, even if piloted entirely by High-Grade Apes, has little chance," an Esper commented.

"Don't get distracted! Pay attention to your opponents; they weren't sent here to be cannon fodder!" the Quasi-Master warned him.

Of those fifty-plus Vicious Fang fighters holding the rear, at least five were piloted by Upper-Grade High Apes, with more than ten being Middle-Grade High Apes. Blade felt the pressure immediately upon contact.

"Good, you came," Blade weaved his fighter left and right under the net of beams and missiles, locking onto a target.

Missiles occasionally exploded near him, their shockwaves hitting the Ghost fighter, causing it to shake violently or lightly.

Blade remained unfazed, aimed his enemy, and fired a beam, blowing the target apart. The High-Grade Ape in the cockpit, wearing an environmental combat suit, ejected using a personal rocket and simultaneously drew a crimson lightsaber to fend off the surrounding beams.

Blade was prepared for the pilot's escape. Espers and High-Grade Apes were not creatures who meekly waited in their cockpits to die.

That pilot was only a Lower-Grade High Ape. Blade kept pulling the trigger, continuously firing Uranium beams at him, with angles becoming increasingly tricky. After more than a dozen beams, he shattered the initial saber defense and killed the High-Grade Ape.

Suddenly, Blade felt a surge of warning. He looked at the radar and saw a Vicious Fang fighter rushing toward him from below his Ghost fighter. Blade frowned, controlling his craft to immediately flash sideways.

A beam sliced past where he had just been, barely grazing the edge of his wing.

Dodging once wasn't enough. Blade pulled the fighter up again, ascending. Another Vicious Fang fighter approached from the right, and two beams shot past beneath his belly.

The Vicious Fang below fired two more missiles and simultaneously unleashed a barrage of beams at him.

"What accuracy!" Blade executed a roll and directional change with extremely precise control, dodging wave after wave of attacks in the nick of time, but he was temporarily unable to retaliate.

"The accuracy of this Uranium Cannon is exceptional. It seems the pilots in these two Vicious Fangs are both Upper-Grade High Apes!" Blade's heart hammered, the hot blood in his veins beginning to surge. He pressed a button on the fighter's control panel, and the cockpit glass instantly turned pitch black, obscuring the outside view.

Then, with a thought, the structure of his muscle organs quietly shifted, and the biological armor began to cover his entire body, transforming him into the Blade Emperor form. He only retracted his bone wings, keeping them from protruding externally.

"If I take you down, that makes four High-Grade Apes added to my tally!" He flicked his finger, creating a phantasm. One Ghost fighter instantly split into four. Blade, accompanied by one illusion, charged toward one Vicious Fang, while the other two illusions rushed toward the second.

The two Vicious Fangs couldn't distinguish the illusion from reality and had to treat both as real targets.

The illusion accompanying Blade fired first, launching two missiles and simultaneously engaging the Vicious Fang with a lock-on cannon.

The Vicious Fang fighter rolled to evade the beam but was caught by Blade, who seized the opportunity and scored a direct hit!

Blade, in his Emperor state, was far superior to his normal condition. Not only were his combat instincts fully enhanced, but his bodily coordination was completely renewed. Every movement was devoid of any wasted effort.

Ultimately, a fighter's movement is less agile than the physical body. Although the enemies were Upper-Grade High Apes, Blade had already seen through the maneuvers of that fighter.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.