The cluster of Provisional Masters, already reaching a more mature age, spared a few glances for the young energy of Blade, exchanging brief words before slowing down to chat with him.

Blade conversed with him for a few moments. He found that although the man was not young, his spirit remained very vibrant, making him seem incredibly enthusiastic and quite talkative.

Simultaneously, his combat experience showed itself to be profoundly seasoned.

This squadron had endured a major battle, leaving only a dozen or so fighters operational, yet none of them showed any inclination to retreat.

They continued the pursuit, flying past the destroyer formations of the Twelfth Fleet, then past the main battleship formations, and those centered around the Space City under their protection, finally arriving at one edge. On the radar, contact appeared—the signature of Fang Venom fighters.

The Fang Venom fighters that broke through to this position were reduced to just over a hundred, but Blade and the others knew well that the First Flight Wing under the Emperor's Fleet was the elite of the elite; after two-thirds were culled, those remaining were the most difficult adversaries to handle.

At this moment, the Psionic Swords of the Twelfth Fleet had already engaged the Fang Venom cluster. The Psionic Swords were outnumbered, with only about fifty fighters, yet they proactively attacked the superior numbers of the Fang Venom aircraft.

Blade observed on the radar that the hundred-plus Fang Venom fighters had completely dispersed into small-squadron formations, one covering the other, intermingling with the Psionic Swords. Signals blinked out intermittently, indicating a fighter had been destroyed.

Overall, the battle group was still closing in on the Space City.

The Provisional Master glanced toward the Psionic Sword group of the Twelfth Fleet, then suddenly let out an "Hah!" and exclaimed in surprise, "This squadron is actually being personally led by Master Yan!"

"Could that be Master Yan, the chief consultant for the Twelfth Fleet?" Blade’s mind stirred. The fact that even a Master-level expert was engaging in direct combat clearly showed how seriously the Unified Fleet command viewed the nuclear threat.

Looking closely at the radar, Blade didn't need much effort to distinguish Master Yan’s fighter. However, the very first sight of that aircraft startled him greatly.

It was a highly distinctive fast fighter, elegantly shaped, silver, overall fusiform—slender at the front and thicker at the rear—its surface covered in intricate, ice-blue mystical patterns. In terms of weapon placement, design philosophy, and armament style, it was fundamentally different from equipment produced on Earth.

It was like the difference between the Forbidden City and the Pyramids; this was something born from two entirely separate civilizations, possessing very little similarity.

The nose tip of this peculiar fighter could launch ten beams of ice-blue light simultaneously, striking ten different targets, akin to concentrating ten cannon barrels into one.

Its underbelly housed two launch ports. The golden, shuttle-shaped energy projectiles it emitted were incredibly fast and highly maneuverable. Functionally, they seemed to serve the same purpose as missiles, but these golden energy clusters could not be diverted by any decoy; once they locked onto a target, they would not stop until the target was destroyed.

Due to the demands of his profession, Blade was intimately familiar with the specifications of all current Earth weaponry. He was certain that among the equipment produced by all military enterprises belonging to Earth, no fighter of this style existed.

Moreover, the performance of this aircraft offered an overwhelming advantage compared to both the Fang Venom and the Psionic Swords, surpassing even his own flagship fighter by a significant margin.

"Could that be a fighter produced by aliens?" Blade inquired over the public channel, his attention completely captivated by that single aircraft. The presence of an alien fighter on an Earth battlefield opened up many possibilities for speculation.

Although the battle was already showing on the radar, they were still about three minutes away.

"Yes, this is your first time seeing a Master-level expert piloting a fighter, isn't it?" The Provisional Master, seeing they still had some time, laughed heartily and answered readily, "With Earth's current technological capabilities, we cannot forge combat gear that allows a Master to utilize their full strength. The fighter Master Yan is piloting was gifted by the Singerians."

"Gifted?" Blade never anticipated that answer, and his expression turned rather strange as he asked, "Why would the Singerians gift Master Yan a fighter?"

The Provisional Master figured this was hardly a secret and replied, "Of course, it's not just Master Yan. Every single Master-level expert has one, including the commander of the Holy Light Knights. As soon as one reaches the Master level, they receive a fighter gifted by the Singerians."

"Every Master has one? Does that mean the Singerians have many Masters?" Blade’s heart thumped heavily as he asked in astonishment.

"Certainly more than in the Solar System. It’s a matter of population base. The Singerians inhabit over a hundred habitable planets, so they naturally produce more Master-level experts," the Provisional Master chuckled. "However, the difficulty for a Singerian to become a Master is slightly higher than for an Earthling, so the Singerians place immense value on the treatment of their Masters. Since our diplomatic relationship with the Singerians is very friendly, our Psionic Masters also enjoy the same privileges as Singerian Masters."

Yang Ying had also paid attention to the situation with the aliens, and the Singerians were the first extraterrestrial race humanity had contacted. Diplomatic relations between the two dated back three hundred years. The Singerians had helped humanity develop the Moon and Mars, assisted in building the Space Cities and major orbital installations in the Solar System, and even helped humanity improve medical and military technology. It could be said that the influence of the Singerians was ubiquitous within human society.

Blade pondered, "To be honest, I’m very curious about the Singerians, but I don't know where to begin asking."

"The relationship between the Singerians and humanity is a topic that could fill an entire day. If you truly want to know, once you’ve eliminated five High-Level Apes, you can petition the Elder Council for Singerian data. The internal archives of the Psionic Temple are far more comprehensive than anything you'll find publicly," the Provisional Master enthusiastically pointed Blade toward a path.

"Good, I will remember that. Thank you," Blade said sincerely, genuinely pleased to encounter such a warm-hearted person in the heat of battle.

"It’s nothing," the Provisional Master laughed twice, his voice turning serious. "We are approaching. Be vigilant. Don't let your guard down just because you’ve already eliminated a few High-Level Apes."

"Understood," Blade replied. Although he still harbored many questions, on the battlefield, the mission came first. He quickly set aside his internal queries and focused his attention on the Fang Venom fighters directly ahead.

Due to the inertia of space, although the Fang Venom formation had been disrupted, they were still stubbornly closing in on the Space City. Since the Space City was massive, maneuvering took too long, making evasion impossible.

Blade targeted a Fang Venom fighter charging toward him, pulled the trigger, and the Uranium Cannon fired a continuous burst, sending beams precisely toward the target.

The Fang Venom fighter targeted by Blade reacted quickly, immediately attempting to evade sideways.

Blade rocked the control stick, and the trajectory of the Uranium beams followed the Fang Venom, quickly catching up and slicing it cleanly in half at the waist.

"One down, two..." Blade muttered softly. Destroying this Fang Venom brought him little joy. He noticed that ever since fighting high-level opponents, engaging these weaker adversaries had lost its appeal.

However, he didn't view this change as negative. Defeating the weak was not a measure of skill; only defeating opponents equal to or stronger than oneself earned the right to satisfaction.

Feeling satisfaction from bullying the weak was not the mentality of the strong.

It was just that Blade did not use this realization to select his opponents. He remembered he was currently in a war zone amidst a nuclear crisis, not a time for him to leisurely pick and choose his targets.

After blowing up another Fang Venom grunt, Blade decided to attack the closest ones while simultaneously searching for an opponent that could truly capture his attention.

The most conspicuous fighter in the group was Master Yan's silver, fusiform machine. Dealing with the Fang Venom fighters was like chopping vegetables; every move resulted in a kill.

Under the combined assault, the number of Fang Venom fighters was decreasing at a considerable rate, and soon the two sides were equal in number.

At this juncture, Blade noticed another signal appear on the radar—an allied force of about twenty fighters flying toward the battle, identifiable as the 'I' formation fighters of the Holy Light Knights.

"Good, things are turning in our favor," someone remarked over the public channel.

Blade’s mind flickered. The attrition of the Fang Venom fighters appeared smooth, but the Emperor was, after all, an Ape Master; his intelligence was guaranteed. Why would he send his elite of the elite to be slaughtered like this?

"Don't lower your guard. Everything so far seems too easy. The battlefield changes in an instant. Until every last Fang Venom is eliminated, we cannot guarantee victory. Everyone focus!" A stern and authoritative unfamiliar voice suddenly cut into the communication channel.

"Yes!" The voice was answered by a long chorus of high-spirited affirmations.

The unfamiliarity didn't matter; even when speaking on the public channel, the communication system recorded the speaker. Blade checked the communicator log and identified the speaker as Master Yan from the fusiform fighter.

No wonder the voice carried such authority—it was a Master-level expert.

As the battle group drew closer to the Space City, they were not far from missile range. The Psionic Swords, the Holy Light Knights, and Blade all exerted their utmost strength, intercepting one Fang Venom fighter after another, paying the price of over twenty lost aircraft in the process.

During this intense engagement, Blade finally achieved his goal of eliminating his fifth High-Level Ape.

Amidst the chaos, his own Ghost fighter sustained some damage; its energy output had dropped by twenty percent, and he had exhausted all his missiles, leaving him only the Uranium Cannon to continue his attack.

Suddenly, one Fang Venom fighter broke away from the remaining dozen or so, its speed skyrocketing as it instantly shot out of the melee toward the Space City. Judging by its performance metrics, it was clearly a specialized Fang Venom.

In just a flash—so quickly that those with less acute senses might not even register it—Master Yan's fusiform fighter also surged forward with astonishing speed, breaking out of the main engagement to pursue the specialized Fang Venom. The tip of the fusiform craft lit up with an ice-blue glow, and instantly, ten beams struck the Fang Venom in a shotgun spread.