After saying these words, he seemed to have all his strength drained in an instant, supporting himself on the edge of the command console as he slowly sat down.
The communications officer froze for a second, then quickly turned around and sent the encrypted message.
The bridge fell into silence once more.
Flagship of the Marbas Joint Fleet.
Admiral Scott stood before the main communication screen, his face terrifyingly grim.
The brief yet heavy request from the Blood Locust Fleet now hovered in the center of the screen in cold white text.
His fingers unconsciously tapped heavily on the edge of the control console, each strike producing a dull, heavy thud.
"New strategic-level gravitational weapon?"
He slowly repeated the key phrase from the report, his voice low, as if chewing on a mouthful of ice shards.
"A harassment unit that rashly warped in, not even reaching the scale of a Duke-class Fleet.
Carrying the Federation's most advanced classified weapon, parading right under our noses?"
He abruptly looked up, his gaze fixed on Admiral Armstrong on the other end of the screen.
Admiral Armstrong's brow was tightly furrowed.
His eyes were filled with an almost unbelievable gravity.
"This defies logic, Scott.
A weapon like this would undoubtedly be a highly confidential strategic asset of the Federation, typically deployed only with the most elite core fleets or in absolutely secure rear testing grounds.
To bring it out so brazenly, deep into enemy territory—if we were to sink it and capture the wreckage..."
He didn't finish, but the implication was clear.
The Federation would not take such a risk.
Unless...
Scott had no patience to hear him out.
He slammed his fist heavily against the edge of the control console, the alloy panel emitting a teeth-grating groan.
"I don't care if it defies logic!"
His voice suddenly rose, carrying a barely suppressed fury.
"All I know right now is that I dispatched a fully equipped public-class fleet, three thousand warships.
And an enemy harassment fleet of mother-class scale, with less than three hundred starships, has wiped out eighty percent of them with some inexplicable weapon!"
His chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot.
"I have never fought such a disgraceful battle in my life!
Admiral Armstrong, tell me, what other way is there to wash away this shame besides with the wreckage of the enemy?"
Armstrong opened his mouth but ultimately offered no rebuttal.
Scott turned sharply toward the communications officer, his voice like a heavy hammer striking an anvil.
"Send a reply to the Blood Locust Fleet!"
The communications officer straightened his back, fingers poised over the send key.
Scott spoke word by word, each syllable seeming to be squeezed from between his teeth.
"General Knight and all personnel of the Blood Locust Fleet, hear my command!"
He paused, his eyes gleaming with a blade-like cold light.
"I don't care if you have seven hundred ships left, three hundred, or even just one Destroyer!
Even if only the last gun remains, the last soldier still breathing, you must clamp down on that Federation Fleet and hold them tight!
Annihilate them!"
His voice suddenly turned icy.
"If you fail to complete this mission, do not bother returning to face me.
The Imperial Navy has no place for such incompetent soldiers.
Find yourselves a black hole, or any star, and jump in to self-destruct.
That would be more honorable than returning to face a court-martial."
As his words fell, the bridge fell deathly silent.
Soon, General Knight received the reply.
Seeing the content of the reply...
The forced calm on his face shattered like ice struck by a heavy hammer, instantly cracking into fine fissures.
His complexion shifted from ashen to dark, then from dark to a sickly, deathly pallor.
His fingers gripping the edge of the control console clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, the veins on the back of his hand bulging like earthworms.
No one on the Bridge dared to make a sound.
The Adjutant cautiously glanced at the content of the order, then quickly averted his gaze as if scalded, lowering his head to stare at the tips of his own boots.
Silence.
A dead silence lasting ten full seconds.
Then General Knight released the control console.
He slowly straightened up, taking a deep breath.
That breath lingered in his chest for a long time before emerging in a hoarse, icy voice, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat.
General Knight gave the order, enunciating each word clearly.
"Entire fleet, full-speed pursuit."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the wreckage of the Blood Locust Fleet's fallen, still slowly tumbling beyond the Viewport.
"Avenge our fallen brothers..."
His voice was soft, as light as a sigh.
But everyone heard it clearly.
No one responded.
No one shouted slogans of unwavering loyalty.
The only reply was an oppressive, heavy silence steeped in despair.
A few seconds later, the low hum of engines starting up echoed within the surviving Empire vessels.
Twelve hundred battered Starships, their morale at rock bottom.
Like cattle being driven, they gradually accelerated.
Skirting around that death zone where eerie gravitational ripples still lingered and starlight remained slightly distorted.
Chasing after the distant, blurred speck of light that was the Federation fleet wake.
Their pursuit seemed more like a march to the execution ground.
At the same moment.
At the edge of the gravitational shadow of a Gas Giant Planet, on the outskirts of the Stargate Defense Perimeter.
A massive, irregular celestial body with a cold metallic luster was silently sliding out from the shadow at the edge of the gas giant planet dense atmosphere.
Its size was enormous, like a fortress!
Its surface emitted no active detection signals, no engine exhaust flames, no energy signatures easily detectable by conventional sensors.
But it was accelerating.
Utilizing the powerful Gravity Slingshot Effect of multiple gas giants, its speed had quietly climbed to the level of a stellar carrier at full-speed assault.
And it was still steadily increasing.
It had no navigation lights.
No identification signal.
No markings to indicate which faction it belonged to.
It was just... a meteorite.
A celestial body as common as dust in the cosmos, found everywhere in stellar systems.
Except, its current flight path, after countless precise corrections and calculations.
Was now set on a nearly perfect trajectory that could not be easily altered, pointing straight at the Stargate.
Inside the meteoroid interior, within the sealed control room.
The space was cramped, packed like a tin can.
Six engineers sat in three rows, facing temporarily set-up control consoles with exposed cables secured by adhesive tape.
The only Viewport was no larger than a palm, showing a metallic gray outside.
That was the rock layer disguising the meteorite's surface.
Zhuang Liqun stood at the front, hands clasped behind his back.
His Eyes never left the tactical star chart.
"Report."
The engineer in the front row spoke without turning his head, his voice steady.
"Ten minutes until we escape Loba Star's gravitational capture range."
He paused, his fingers swiftly sliding across the touchscreen.
"Ten Slingshot Acceleration maneuvers completed.
Current speed: 180,000 kilometers per second."
Zhuang Liqun gave a slight nod.
The engineer continued.
"The final acceleration provided by Loba Star's orbital revolution will be fully converted upon exiting its gravitational sphere.
At that point, our speed can increase to 190,000 kilometers per second."
He paused, glancing sideways at the propulsion system monitoring interface in the tail section.
"All sixty Fusion Engines in the tail section are currently in cold start standby state.
If activated at full power, they can push our speed to..."
He looked up.
"Close to 200,000 kilometers per second."