"That is a Fourth-Level existence, the scourge of our Fleet!" The voice of a high-ranking official vibrated in his mind, shattered by a mental curse, causing him to cry out.

"Silence!" The Fleet Commander raised his hand and cast a mental spell, plunging the man into sleep.

The Commander-in-Chief's expression shifted several times. He activated the communication system and issued an order: "In my name as Commander-in-Chief, I order the escort fleet to immediately enter maximum combat readiness, reconfigure into a wedge formation, and engage the enemy!"

The escort fleet, comprising a total of two hundred thousand warships, adopted a formation facing the Mind-Worm Vaeda. As a considerable distance still separated them, beyond the effective range of the main cannons, the escort fleet accelerated to full speed toward Vaeda's location.

"With the two million dragons and five hundred thousand Devourers I brought, facing two hundred thousand warships plus two hundred thousand life-support vessels, our chances of victory are slim, but that is when you are fully operational. Now, weakened by my suicide units, engaging my forces will only deepen your internal injuries."

Vaeda was utterly confident against the Haisen Fleet. Facing the two hundred thousand warships of the escort fleet, it neither dodged nor retreated, waiting for them to arrive right where it stood.

Upon learning the situation, the Commander-in-Chief breathed a sigh of relief. He sneered, "Although the opponent is a Fourth-Level entity, it is far too arrogant. No Fourth-Level entity has ever managed to challenge ten thousand ships; not even Emperor Salyan of Loa could achieve that. We only need one-tenth of the escort fleet's main cannons to fire simultaneously, and we will severely cripple the enemy!"

"Do not underestimate the opponent," the Fleet Commander advised. "That is a Fourth-Level existence. Those who reach that level are never simple figures. There must be a trap involved; you must proceed with caution."

"I understand," the Commander-in-Chief nodded. "I will proceed to the command vessel. Leave the battle to me."

"Go then," the Fleet Commander said. The Commander-in-Chief turned and departed the high-level conference room.

"Is it truly fine to leave the entire battle to him? He made such a huge oversight earlier." The tone of one high-ranking official clearly carried mistrust.

"If I left it to you, would you do any better?" the Fleet Commander asked displeasedly. "That previous lapse was because the enemy was too powerful. Is a Fourth-Level existence easy to deal with? Rather than undermining the Commander-in-Chief here, it is better to give him one hundred percent support. If you object, you may take an escape pod and leave!"

The high-ranking official flushed with shame, lowered his head, and remained silent.

At that moment, a Haisen officer burst in, shouting, "Suicide bombers have been detected on this vessel! Evacuate immediately!"

"What!" The assembled high-ranking officials instantly became restless.

"Silence! Silence!" The Fleet Commander shouted twice, managing to calm them slightly.

One official muttered to himself, "If we knew that tens of thousands of ships had been infected by those mysterious organisms, how could they possibly have missed our flagship?" Just then, more soldiers rushed in. They were the bodyguard units assigned to protect the senior personnel; none of them had ever left the flagship, thus none were suspected of being infected.

They had entered to facilitate the evacuation of the high-ranking figures.

"Hurry! When the suicide bombers were discovered, they had already infiltrated close to the core sectors. We cannot hold them back for long," said one bodyguard leader.

As if to confirm his words, several violent explosions echoed, and all the high-ranking officials felt the deck shudder violently.

"The Grand Advisor was killed by them! What are we waiting for? Let's retreat now!" exclaimed one panicked official, his legs trembling, addressing the group.

"Yes, immediately."

"Stop wasting time!" others chorused in agreement.

The Fleet Commander frowned. He was quite dissatisfied with the performance of these high-ranking officials in a moment of crisis; only a few maintained composure and serenity. However, he knew this was not the time to dwell on it. These senior officials were the commanders of the Fleet, not soldiers charging the front lines. Dealing with the suicide bombers was not their role; retreat was mandatory.

The bodyguard contingent led them away through a secondary door of the high-level conference room, which was only a few steps from the nearest escape pods. Once the senior staff were aboard the lifeboats, the hatches sealed, and the pods detached from the flagship, heading for the reserve flagship, where no sign of suicide bombers had yet been detected.

Shortly after their departure, the high-level conference room was overrun by a continuous stream of suicide bombers. These infected individuals were not mindless like zombies; they retained clear thinking. They remained fully proficient in all skills mastered before infection, and furthermore, having been modified by insectoid spores, they possessed the Hymenoptera's combat instincts. These infected Haisen soldiers exhibited vastly improved reaction times, combat intuition, and a heightened sense of sacrifice, multiplying their combat effectiveness. Various weapons in their hands were wielded with greater lethality.

When the Commander-in-Chief arrived at the command vessel, he learned of the flagship's fall to the suicide bombers. This news was like frost settling on snow for morale; had the high-ranking officials not escaped safely from the flagship, morale might have completely collapsed.

Facing his deputy who came seeking instructions, the Commander-in-Chief moved his lips slightly and said, "We are now being attacked from both inside and out. We are drowning in complex matters. We cannot concern ourselves with the safety of the high-ranking officials—I trust the Esteemed Fleet Commander will secure our rear. What we must do is concentrate entirely on annihilating the enemy."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!" the deputy replied loudly, his voice rallying those around him, filling them with fighting spirit.

Arriving on the bridge of the command vessel—a semicircular, tiered room, high at the rear and sloping down toward the front—the Commander-in-Chief stood on the highest level and asked his deputy, "How far are we from the enemy's colossal mothership?"

"Approximately six hundred light-seconds away, still well beyond the range of direct fire. However, our beyond-visual-range optical acquisition equipment has already provided us with optical imagery of the enemy's giant mothership," the deputy reported.

"Good. Display it for me on the main screen," the Commander-in-Chief commanded.

"Yes." A staff officer below manipulated the controls on a console, executing the Commander-in-Chief's order. On the large screen at the front of the bridge, a dark silhouette appeared, indistinct against the vast, empty expanse of space. Due to various delays during signal transmission and interference from the cosmic microwave background radiation, the image flickered slightly, displaying jagged edges.

"Can you sharpen it?" the deputy asked.

"I am working to filter out all background interference. Image correction... Yes, complete!" the staff officer announced.

The image suddenly clarified, revealing a gigantic insectoid monstrosity that was actively emitting dark specks outward.

"What is this?" The Commander-in-Chief frowned. "I have never seen anything like it. Is this the enemy's mothership? Why does it look like a living creature? Is it related to the space-borers? Regardless, the target we must destroy is before us, but the crucial question remains: where exactly is the enemy's Fourth-Level entity?"

He did not yet realize that the colossal insectoid beast before him was precisely the Fourth-Level entity he was so concerned about—the Mind-Worm Vaeda.

"Warning!" a staff officer cried out in a strained voice. "The enemy's forces are closing in—numbering over a million. According to scanner results, they are biological entities!"

"Open the main cannon ports! Prepare to engage!" A cold glint flashed in the Commander-in-Chief's eyes.

At that moment, the several staff officers on the lowest tier showed looks of shock. They had just managed to shout a warning before the entire bridge was suddenly illuminated, followed by violent, booming tremors that shook several staff officers off balance.

"We've been hit?" The Commander-in-Chief stood as if rooted to the ground, seemingly unshakable even standing on turbulent waves.

"Yes, the thrusters were struck! The attack was launched by... Escort Fleet Cruiser Number Sixty-Three." A staff officer reported loudly.

"Hmph. Number Sixty-Three? It must have been completely controlled by suicide bombers."

"More than that! There's Fifty-Four, Forty-One... and many others! Over twelve hundred warships have turned! They have deployed their carrier-borne aircraft units and are now launching attacks against other vessels!"

"Annihilate every warship under the control of the suicide bombers," the Commander-in-Chief ordered. "Also, issue this decree: it is clear the enemy intends to destroy us in this battle—this is a fight for survival! If any ship captain finds themselves unable to repel an assault by suicide bombers, they must activate the ship's self-destruction sequence rather than allow the vessel to fall into the hands of the infected!"

He paused, then continued, "Further instructions: Any vessel showing signs of suicide bomber infiltration must be immediately reported and logged. If any erratic movement is observed, other warships are to sink them instantly!"

"Ah!" The staff officers hesitated, feeling the Commander-in-Chief's decision was somewhat ruthless. After all, these were comrades fighting alongside them; they were being ordered to fire upon and destroy their own allies.

"Why are you still standing there!" the Commander-in-Chief snapped. "I know what you are thinking. I have already made myself perfectly clear: this is a life-or-death struggle. Any hesitation will bring disaster upon everyone. We cannot contend with a force led by a Fourth-Level entity while harboring internal threats. We must suppress unstable elements with swift and decisive force."

"Yes," the staff officers replied weakly.

"I will not explain a second time." The Commander-in-Chief noticed their demeanor and expressed his displeasure, shouting, "We are already in the battlefield! Any hesitation in executing orders brings calamity upon all of us. I will note this as a first offense, to be observed, but if it happens again, I will show no further leniency."

"Yes!" This reply carried a bit more conviction.

"The enemy's biological legion is approaching!" a staff officer reported.

"Deploy the carrier-borne air wing to intercept!" the Commander-in-Chief ordered. "But ensure every pilot is checked before deployment. If their eyes show any sign of being blood-red, they are to be executed immediately."