Several Obsidian Cruisers and Destroyers blocking the trajectory had their shields torn apart like paper.
Their hulls were either pierced and vaporized by thick energy beams or shattered into countless fragments by dense missile barrages.
These valiant yet futile sacrifices blossomed into a series of brief, brutal fireballs in the void of space.
Some of the firepower that slipped through slammed violently against the shields of the two Emperor-class vessels!
Enough energy to instantly vaporize small and medium-sized starships erupted into furious ripples across the shields of the Unbreakable Bulwark and the Indomitable Dignity, the glare so intense it instantly overloaded observation equipment.
The shield generators groaned under the strain, energy readings plummeting, but... they held!
The two leviathans shuddered violently under the impact, their external armor plates scorched with terrifying marks.
Some secondary turrets and sensor arrays were destroyed in the aftermath, but their core hull structures remained largely intact. The command systems suffered no critical damage, and the primary weapon arrays were still operational!
"Shields down to forty-two percent!" the Damage Control Officer of the Indomitable Dignity reported hoarsely.
"Starboard Section Three armor melting! Point defense cannons reduced by thirty percent!" the Defense Officer of the Unbreakable Bulwark gritted out through clenched teeth.
Lancaster steadied himself amidst the violent shaking, his eyes locking onto the still-active identifier of the Indomitable Dignity.
A wave of relief washed over him.
Though the shield energy had plummeted, it hadn't been breached. His initial panic subsided, quickly replaced by towering rage and a sliver of lingering fear.
"That damned Qin Bei Wang!" he spat the name through gritted teeth.
"So this is where you were hiding!
All ships, immediate course correction!
Counterattack! Wipe out these rats crawling out of the gutters!
Contact Barrett! Tell him to accelerate at all costs! Encircle them!"
The Obsidian Fleet, the iron fist of the Empire's border, having suffered the heaviest and most unexpected blow since the war began, now demonstrated the quality of a veteran force.
After the initial chaos, each ship began struggling to turn, the wounded behemoths roaring as they swung their gun batteries toward the flanking Pluto Fleet.
The remaining Destroyers surged forward desperately, attempting to entangle the enemy and buy time for the main force to adjust.
The piercing alarms, the tremors of explosions, the flickering damage reports, and the devastating firepower illuminating the starscape outside the viewports composed the symphony of the bridge at this moment.
Lancaster, forcibly suppressing the shock and fury from the flank attack, was roaring orders for the entire fleet to turn, preparing for a final showdown with the Pluto Fleet's main force that had emerged from the nebula.
"Hard to port!
All turrets target enemy ships!
Missile salvo, suppress them! Concentrate shield energy to the damaged flank!"
Commands were issued in rapid succession.
The massive Obsidian Fleet, like an enraged giant beast, began to turn its bulky yet determined frame, aiming its battered but still deadly fangs at the threat on its flank.
Just at this chaotic, life-or-death moment, poised on a knife's edge...
"Commander!
Emergency communication!
From the L-7 Warp Point Observation Station!
Highest Priority!"
The Communications officer's near-screaming voice cut through all the noise.
Lancaster's heart clenched violently, gripped by an ominous chill far colder than the threat of a flanking assault.
"Put it through!"
A brief text message, marked with a significant time delay, was projected onto a corner of the main screen. Its contents hit everyone like a sledgehammer.
[Emergency Report from L-7 Observation Station: Large-scale stable warp signals detected, identified as Federation Fleet.
Confirmation: At least three Pluto Sub-fleet formations have completed warp emergence at the L-7 point.
Currently maneuvering at high speed into the interior of the Savannah Star System (estimated direction: S-22 Sector).
Transmission Time: 1 hour ago, Standard Time.]
"L-7… three fleets… an hour ago…"
Deputy Commander Colonel Sloan muttered the words, his face instantly draining of color.
A one-hour delay!
The straight-line distance from the L-7 Warp Point to the core of the S-22 Sector where they were now was nearly a billion kilometers!
Calculating based on a fleet's standard sub-light cruise speed, one hour was enough for the enemy to cover nearly half that distance!
This meant that while they were completely focused on the ambush and counter-ambush before them…
Three full Pluto fresh forces had already warped into Savannah from another jump point they had initially guarded so fiercely, and were now silently racing toward their rear!
Lancaster felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his scalp tingling with dread.
Over sixty menacing Pluto capital ships on their flank, and now, three complete enemy fleets were encircling them from behind?
This wasn't just running into an ambush… this was a pre-woven trap!
Their Obsidian Fleet was the "prey" being lured step by step into a dead end!
"We…"
Deputy Commander Sloan's voice trembled.
"We're surrounded…"
Before his words faded, another emergency communication came in, this time from the forward "Night Owl" reconnaissance ship squadron responsible for alert duty, which had been attempting to scout toward the carrier's direction.
The signal was filled with interference and the noise of explosions, clearly under heavy attack:
"Encountering enemy… it's the carrier!
The Fire Qilin!
Escorted by two 'Gale'-class high-speed cruisers!
Extremely close! They are actively advancing toward our main force!
Enemy fighter groups… too many!
We're being—"
The communication cut off abruptly amidst a violent explosion.
Almost simultaneously, the fleet's sensors captured brief, intense energy burst signals at their extreme range.
Those advanced T4 scout ships, under the saturation attack of T5 "Swift" fighter craft, had turned to cosmic dust before they could transmit much effective resistance or retreat information.
The Fire Qilin carrier wasn't hiding in the rear. It was actively pressing forward with its escorts!
Together with the fleet that had emerged from the nebula, it formed a vague pincer movement.
Lancaster finally understood completely.
Qin Bei Wang's target had never been those two bait forces of remnants.
What Qin Bei Wang wanted was to completely encircle and annihilate the main force of the Obsidian Fleet within the Savannah Star System!
The ambush force from the nebula was the first heavy blow aimed at their vitals.
The three fleets that warped in from L-7 were the noose about to tighten around their necks.
And the carrier to their front was the hound driving the prey, compressing their space to maneuver.
Hatred, fury, the desire to wash away disgrace—all were utterly extinguished in this moment by the icy reality and bone-chilling cold.
The veteran's survival instinct instantly took over.
"Retreat..."
Lancaster's voice was hoarse and urgent, yet carried undeniable resolve.
"Order the entire Fleet to immediately disengage from the Nebula enemy ships!
Abandon the current formation and Breakout toward... toward the flank!
Maximum Speed!"
"Contact Barrett!
Tell him to accelerate immediately and move closer to us, to open a Breakout Corridor for us!
"
The proud Obsidian, the Empire's sharpest combat blade on the border, upon discovering it had fallen into the center of an elaborately woven death trap.
Unhesitatingly chose the most difficult, yet possibly the only path to survival—retreat.