Qin Beiwang paused, his gaze sweeping across the assembled officers.
"Our true focus from the beginning should have been here... Jump Point Z-78, along with Neva Star and Barak Starport which could potentially become enemy forward bases."
"Attacking Langkawi Star is meant to convince the enemy that we 'should' be there, thereby creating the timing and space for our next truly critical operation."
The officers suddenly understood.
The Commander's vision had already extended beyond their immediate target, reaching toward the possible arrival of Imperial reinforcements that could outnumber them several times over.
Attacking Langkawi served both practical purposes and represented the first strategic move in what might become the decisive battle for the Savannah Star System and the entire border situation.
Or rather, it was a diversion to lure the enemy into concentrating their main forces in the wrong direction.
"All forces, move out," Qin Beiwang issued his final command in an unquestionable tone.
"Let Langkawi Star become our next 'battle report' to Imperial Command Headquarters. And let them prepare the 'stage' in advance for our true opponents yet to come."
At this moment, everyone looked at Qin Beiwang with admiration in their eyes.
They hadn't expected a young commander of only twenty-two to possess such strategic foresight.
He hadn't just calculated how to defeat the retreating Obsidian forces, but had also factored in the Imperial high command's inevitable fury and retaliation, including the most likely routes and assembly points for reinforcements.
The attack on Langkawi appeared to be an overzealous pursuit of victory, but was actually a probe thrown into distant shadows - bait to lure the enemy into deploying their main forces in the wrong direction!
The fleet commanders who had previously doubted Qin Beiwang now regarded him with deep respect.
"In compliance with your orders!" they chorused.
Meanwhile, in the S-22 Sector.
The Bloodblade Fleet, urged on by Zane Barrett, finally arrived in the airspace that had just witnessed brutal combat.
There was no intense exchange of fire as expected, nor the grand spectacle of the Imperial Fleet encircling and annihilating enemy forces.
What appeared on sensors and observation windows was a heart-stilling dead silence and devastation.
Across the vast void floated countless metal wreckage of various sizes.
Warship fragments, torn armor plates, twisted gun barrels, and disintegrated engine components drifted like garbage casually tossed by an invisible giant hand, slowly tumbling and colliding.
Some larger wreckage still burned, spewing brief, eerie flames that flickered silently in the vacuum.
Frozen coolant, leaking fuel, and crew fluids formed thin, strangely colored crystalline clouds, like cold shrouds for the starships.
Further away, several completely lifeless hulks of Imperial warships were visible.
Their hulls were charred black and riddled with holes, some broken in two, others with internal structures fully exposed, resembling the corpses of giant beasts with their innards removed, casting menacing silhouettes in the dim starlight.
Occasionally, short circuits in incompletely damaged systems burst into faint electrical sparks before plunging back into darkness.
The entire region was enveloped in an absolute silence that spoke of survival after catastrophe. Only the faint hiss of background radiation and the occasional dull thud of debris collisions could be heard, which only served to accentuate the desolation and emptiness of this battlefield.
Barrett stood on the bridge of the Gorgon, the usual wild grin on his rugged face long gone.
In its place was a solemn expression, a mix of shock, gravity, and a trace of barely perceptible horror.
"It's... actually true," he muttered, his voice dry. When he had first received the news of Obsidian's crushing defeat, a sliver of doubt had lingered deep within him.
He had thought it might be an exaggerated excuse concocted by Lancaster to cover for his failure.
But now, witnessing firsthand the hellish remnants of the battlefield, feeling the high-energy radiation and desperate signals that had not yet fully dissipated, as reported by the sensors...
He had no choice but to believe it.
That Pluto Fleet, led by Qin Bei Wang, had truly dealt such a devastating blow to Obsidian, the renowned force of the Empire's border!
"A new fleet... defeated Obsidian?
And two 'Emperor-class' vessels..."
His adjutant stood beside him, murmuring in a daze as if his worldview had been shattered.
Barrett snapped back to attention, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
After the brief shock, the instincts and thought patterns of a radical faction commander kicked into high gear.
"Reply to Lancaster!" he said sternly to the communications officer.
"We reject the proposal to assemble at Morelos Star."
The adjutant was taken aback.
"Commander? We're not joining up with the Obsidian remnants?
They urgently need support and reorganization..."
"Join up?" Barrett cut him off, a near-cruel twist forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Join together and wait for that Qin kid to encircle us again?"
He strode over to the star chart and jabbed his finger heavily at the location representing Langkawi Star.
"We go here! Langkawi Star!"
"Why Langkawi?" the adjutant asked, even more confused.
"That's a logistics hub, but shouldn't our priority be to gather forces and prepare for retaliation?"
"Precisely because that kid is a complete, unorthodox madman!" Barrett growled, his eyes gleaming with a mix of exhilaration and wariness, as if he had encountered a kindred spirit.
"A madman who just defeated Obsidian—do you think he'd be satisfied with one victory and obediently retreat?
No! He'll want to win more! He'll push deeper, expanding his gains!
And what's the fastest way to expand gains?
Cut off the enemy's supply lines!"
He pointed at Langkawi Star.
"This is the bridgehead connecting Savannah to other Empire star systems. It's stockpiled with vast supplies and is one of the potential staging areas for follow-up reinforcements.
Striking here would yield tangible benefits, severely cripple our sustained combat capability, and sow panic!
If I were him, my next punch would land right here!"
"Moreover!" Barrett's voice lowered, carrying a hint of ruthlessness.
"Parts of our Bloodblade Sub-Level Fleet are still en route, and the Iron Curtain Fleet is also moving in that direction.
If that madman really heads for Langkawi, or ambushes our reinforcements along the way... the losses would be catastrophic!
We must get there first—either to defend Langkawi, or...
to settle things with him right there!"
The adjutant suddenly understood, but a chill also ran down his spine.
The commander was completely anticipating actions from the perspective of that enemy "madman" commander!
"Entire fleet, change course!
Target Langkawi Star!
Maximum navigation speed!"
Barrett no longer hesitated, issuing the sharp command.
He abandoned the plan to regroup with remaining forces, choosing instead to charge alone toward the key node where he believed the flames of war would reignite.
Opal Starfield Theater Command, Strategic Briefing Room.
The encrypted hyperspace communication had just finished decoding. When the complete preliminary combat loss report from the Obsidian Fleet appeared on the massive central screen, the previously busy yet orderly atmosphere in the room seemed to instantly vanish.
The room fell terrifyingly silent.
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