The crew members were sprawled about, too disoriented to answer. Illya, growing angrier, strode to the light screen. One look, and her delicate eyebrows shot up in fury. "Wasn't the order to intercept Tang Men's relief fleet? What is the meaning of this?"
Just then, a broadcast crackled from the escort ship ahead: "Enemy vessels sighted ahead! All hands, maintain formation!"
Illya snarled, "The fleet in front—destroy them! If you can't destroy them, you must hold them!"
But they couldn't be stopped.
On the screen, two columns of battleships cleaved into her fleet like sharp knives. Wherever they passed, sparks and thick smoke billowed, stray shots zipped through the void, debris scattered everywhere—a massacre in motion.
A flicker of unwillingness crossed Illya’s eyes, but those two lines of battleships cared for nothing else. Their rapid-fire projectile cannons, paired with devastating Starburst Missiles, blasted a path straight through. Before Tang Wen and his group could even bail out, they saw salvation arriving. They decisively tucked themselves right behind their saviors, smashing through the encirclement with brute force, and leaped toward another star system.
Illya was not reconciled. She ordered, "Pursue!"
And so, a space chase commenced.
Ahead sailed the relief battleships, in the middle was Tang Wen's Marauder ship, and trailing them was Illya's Shenji Fleet. Viewed on the light screen, they looked like one long, cumbersome string of flies.
Yet, even when they had tried to box Tang Wen in, they failed; a high-speed chase was even less likely to succeed.
Amidst the haze of cannon fire and smoke, the captain of the Marauder gradually sensed something amiss. "That isn't our relief squadron. Should we keep following them?"
Tang Wen's face was grim. "That's the Angelic Dominion. The formation they used to break out just now was steeped in An Junlie's style."
Forceful, like a dagger thrust!
A wave of embarrassment washed over everyone's faces. They all knew Tang Wen despised An Junlie the most; being rescued by him felt like the ultimate humiliation of his life.
Tang Wen shot them a sidelong glance and instructed Blan, "Connect me to An Junlie."
Blan raised an eyebrow in surprise and was about to speak when he caught the slight tightening at the corner of Tang Wen’s eye, betraying a hint of suppressed anger. He immediately obeyed.
The communication linked, and on the light screen materialized An Junlie, standing tall and handsome in his dress uniform.
The corner of Tang Wen’s eye reddened. He spoke with forced pique, "What about Ziye? Did you find her?"
An Junlie’s expression was remarkably calm. "I found her. Once we shake off the pursuit, we can go find her."
Tang Wen paused for a brief moment. "Tell them to pose as scientists studying anomalous space."
This statement carried a deep historical resonance. Anomalous Space was one of the most common and troublesome phenomena in the cosmos. To date, the longest anyone had been trapped by an anomalous space in recorded space history was 159 days. One individual survived five months trapped within such a void, miraculously alive, and subsequently conducted a thorough study of the phenomenon, becoming a legend in the process.
An Junlie offered no objection. Immediately, the Marauder ship served as bait, while the battleships took the primary offensive role, aiming to intercept Illya's Shenji Fleet. The captain of the Shenji Fleet, being highly experienced in void navigation, understood the inherent dangers of the fringe sectors, and he was certainly aware of An Junlie’s legendary victory over Caru.
He dared not claim he was superior to An Junlie.
Even if he were stronger, engaging in this sector would yield no advantage. He wisely signaled Illya to agree to a temporary truce.
Illya had no choice but to concede.
The flies had finally retreated, yet Tang Wen didn't press An Junlie further. He simply sat within the Marauder, quietly watching where An Junlie would go to find Ziye.
Tang Wen had never fully trusted An Junlie's
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