With a flash of razor-sharp illusion, it was like pitting two-jin little Priest-level pilots against the Poison Fang fighter. Although the Poison Fang managed to dodge the illusion's attack, it couldn't evade the strike of the blade.

The canopy of the Poison Fang exploded open, and a High Ape Elite burst out, propelled by a single-soldier rocket, drawing a lightsaber as he ejected. Blade fired two uranium bursts at him, both deflected by the lightsaber.

Before he could press the attack, another Poison Fang fighter shook off two Illusions, launching two missiles with long flame trails directly toward Blade's Ghost fighter. Blade resorted to his old trick, splitting into four, ignoring the incoming missiles, and continued firing his beams.

The High Ape Elite, seeing four fighter jets firing beams at him simultaneously, was instantly aghast. He crossed his lightsaber over his chest, blocking two bursts, while simultaneously maximizing his rocket thrust and dodging sideways, narrowly avoiding a third beam.

Too bad for him—he had blocked an Illusion and dodged an Illusion. That fourth beam was the real one!

Blade couldn't help but marvel at the Ape’s terrible luck; out of four choices, he had actually picked the true target! The real beam pierced the Ape’s abdomen, leaving a fist-sized hole.

Blood was sucked out into space, but the Ape remained alive, sustained by his formidable vitality. With timely medical attention, this wound might have been reversible.

But why would Blade grant him such a small chance? Burst after burst of uranium fire hammered the Ape’s body, tearing him to shreds, ripping him into pieces.

Only then did he stop. "Three down!" Blade muttered inwardly, turning to face the second Poison Fang fighter.

The two missiles that struck earlier had hit an Illusion, dispersing it. However, this Poison Fang pilot, having witnessed the death of the High Ape Elite, had confirmed the location of the real Ghost fighter.

Fueled by vengeful rage for his comrade, he unleashed beam after beam upon Blade. "Trying it a few times yields the same result!" Blade softly uttered these words, once again splitting into three Illusions.

The Illusion that had been exposed earlier wasn't idle; Blade dispatched it to assist the Priest-class fighters. Though lacking his direct control, these Illusions were easily broken, but it was far better than letting them fade away uselessly when their duration expired.

Blade didn't know if the Ape inside the Poison Fang fighter was cursing him as despicable and shameless for repeatedly using the exact same tactic. But even if it meant being considered despicable and shameless, Blade accepted it; the Illusion technique was undeniably effective on the battlefield.

The Poison Fang fighter dared not test the authenticity of the uranium bursts firsthand; it could only distinguish the real from the fake by attacking and shattering the Illusions. This granted Blade a significant advantage.

Knowing he was in mortal danger if this continued, the Poison Fang pilot immediately called for support from surrounding Poison Fang fighters over the communications channel. Five Poison Fang fighters answered his call and joined the siege against the Ghost fighter.

Blade’s eyes flickered, absorbing the various data displayed on the panel at a speed impossible for ordinary humans. He firmly imprinted the locations of the enemy fighters on his radar.

One hand gripped the control stick tightly, while the other danced across the panel in a blur of motion, resembling the blossoming of lotus flowers. He temporarily abandoned his original target, turning instead to deal with the newcomers; they were weaker and easier to manage.

The ever-reliable Illusion technique was unleashed again, turning one fighter into an entire squadron, scattering the enemy's firepower. Meanwhile, he himself tumbled twice to dodge a beam, then squeezed the trigger, unleashing three consecutive beams that struck three Poison Fangs!

To conceal his true location, at least eight of the ten fighters fired simultaneously. At the same time, the missile lock system targeted the remaining two of the five fighters.

Blade lightly pressed the firing stud, and two missiles ignited their flame trails with a soft hiss, surging toward their respective targets! Furthermore, to prevent evasion, all ten Ghost fighters launched missiles concurrently, weaving their beams into a barrage, forming a cage that trapped the two fighters within, sealing off all avenues of escape—up, down, left, and right.

The two Poison Fangs knew escape was futile. The savage bloodline of the High Apes instilled a will to fight desperately in them.

They simultaneously chose to crash into the light-cage to avoid the missiles. This was within Blade’s expectations.

The uranium beam structure of the light-cage contained both real and illusory beams. Although the real ones accounted for only one-tenth of the total, that one-tenth was more than enough to destroy one fighter!

Thus, another Poison Fang was blasted into fragments. The other Poison Fang that slammed into the light-cage failed to evade the missiles and detonated into fragments several seconds later.

In a mere ten seconds, Blade had eliminated all five reinforcements summoned by the High Ape Elite! Although only their Poison Fang fighters were destroyed, the five pilots survived.

However, relying only on single-soldier rockets and lightsabers to stay alive amidst the chaotic melee of fighter jets was no easy feat. Blade ignored the Apes who were fated to die.

He turned his gaze back to the Poison Fang fighter piloted by the initial High Ape Elite. Following that massive slaughter, the High Ape Elite had been terrified into submission.

During that period, he had only managed to eliminate two Illusions, but the reinforcements he summoned had been entirely wiped out—this was truly... After his backup was annihilated, he finally discerned some clues, managed to separate the real from the illusion, and was about to strike when he saw Blade once again employing the Illusion technique, splitting the Ghost fighter into four.

The High Ape Elite could only curse the term "monster" before turning to flee. Blade pursued, taking another minute or so to eliminate the Ape who had lost the will to fight.

"Only one left!" As Blade redirected his gaze to the radar, his eyes darted swiftly, searching the entire small battle cluster for the presence of the last High Ape Elite, only to find he was gone. "My apologies, I took care of the rest," the Quasi-Master’s voice came over the communications channel.

He seemed to have guessed what Blade was thinking. "You truly are formidable; eliminating five High Apes seems to be a trivial matter for you.

It's been a long time since I've seen such a talented young man—no, I've never seen anyone like you in my entire life. You have an immense future ahead of you." While speaking, he continued to hunt the remaining Poison Fang fighters.

Yes, hunt—just like a rabbit and a hunter. Blade smiled faintly.

"Thank you for your kind words. It seems I'll have to move up to the next formation and eliminate the fifth High Ape Elite there." He flipped his craft and began hunting the Poison Fang fighters himself.

About three minutes later, all the Poison Fangs were cleaned up. Only a few had managed to escape.

Due to the urgency of time and limited manpower, no one was dispatched to pursue them. The Priest-class fighters suffered heavy losses in this brief encounter, losing an entire wing, half of which were destroyed during the initial phase when the numbers were most skewed.

Although the losses were substantial, they were not unexpected. This rear-guard unit of Poison Fang fighters belonged to the elite of the Emperor Fleet's forces—members of the First Flight Wing, possessing combat capabilities that were, on average, equal to the Priests.

Frankly, if it weren't for the presence of a Quasi-Master and Blade within the Priest fighter group, and their success in eliminating those five High Apes, whether the Priests could have defeated this rear-guard force remained an unknown. Fortunately, after ten fighters were destroyed, the Priest pilots managed to eject.

In the ensuing chaos, three Priests perished, and two were severely wounded. The remaining five Priests held out safely until the battle concluded.

The dozen or so High Apes still attempting to escape using single-soldier rockets on the battlefield were quickly mopped up by the group. Then, the Quasi-Master dispatched one fighter to transport the seriously wounded back before reforming the team and continuing the pursuit.

As for the five intact Priests, they all activated their distress beacons, awaiting rescue. The three thousand Dragon One-class fighters following behind would secure them.

The area was clear of enemies now, so aside from the mild boredom of waiting, they had nothing to complain about. The death of the three Priests, though mournful, was a common occurrence in war.

Moreover, the Priests were among the most philosophical groups of humans regarding life; they did not cling to it obsessively. "Huh?

They aren't slowing down," Blade noticed on the radar. The group of Poison Fang fighters ahead had already passed the deceleration zone but showed no signs of slowing.

If this continued, even if they started decelerating now, it would be too late. Upon reaching the space station, their speed would far exceed the threshold required for launching an effective attack.

One moment they would be outside the missile range, and the next, the space station would zip past them in a blur. After all, missiles used by fighters don't possess the tens of thousands of kilometers range of cruise missiles; an airborne missile hitting a target beyond one hundred kilometers was already pushing the limits of conventional dogfighting ranges.

By the time Blade noticed this situation, the Poison Fang fighters had already barreled past the Destroyer Squadron. The five thousand Night Owl fighters couldn't stop them all, managing to destroy fewer than fifty.

The remaining hundred-plus pierced their defensive line. Only after passing through the Destroyer Squadron did the speed of the Poison Fang fighters finally begin to decrease.

"I understand now. They intend to attack from the far side of the space station.

Our side is well-protected by the Twelfth Fleet, but this leaves the other side exposed. Based on the acceleration performance calculations, even if the Destroyer Squadron immediately turns back, it will be too late to return to the space station's vicinity.

The Poison Fangs will have two minutes to launch their nuclear payload," the Quasi-Master's astonished voice crackled over the comms. "Meaning, we are the only ones who can handle this?" Blade had already deactivated the Blade Emperor form, returning to his normal appearance.

"No, we are not alone. The final line of defense before them is composed of the Priests from the Twelfth Fleet.

Even if the Poison Fang fighters punch through, my colleagues will intercept them again right before the space station," the Quasi-Master stated. Soon, Blade and the others also passed through the Destroyer Squadron.

"Now, we should slow down," the Quasi-Master advised.