"Immediately!"
Jiao Jinghui commanded the communications officer, his voice regaining its usual steadiness yet carrying an undeniable force.
"Transmit this intelligence, exactly as is, simultaneously to the Command core briefing room! Priority: Highest, Red Channel! Notify the confidential secretary, and request that Chief of Staff Wen Shiheng and Commander Wen Tingtao review it at once!"
"Yes, Director!"
The communications officer responded loudly, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he sent this intelligence—enough to cause an earthquake within the Theater Command—towards the center of power.
Jiao Jinghui remained standing where he was, his gaze once again sweeping over the line on the screen that read, "Cumulative combat achievements equivalent to annihilating more than two complete Imperial Graded Fleets." An indescribable emotion welled up within him.
Doubt and worry were now replaced by a sense of awe bordering on pride.
Qin Bei Wang and his Pluto Fleet had not only survived the Imperial encirclement and suppression but had also accomplished a reversal so brilliant and unbelievable that it was worthy of being recorded in Federal Military History.
The calm within the Command was about to be completely shattered by this report of victory from behind enemy lines and the Intelligence Department.
Core Briefing Room.
The intelligence summary from the FCB, marked "Red-Top Secret," was projected onto the central main screen.
Inside, a group of senior staff officers, led by Chief of Staff Wen Shiheng, had just finished reading it.
For a full minute, the briefing room was utterly silent, broken only by the faint hum of the equipment's cooling system.
The dead silence was finally shattered by the sharp screech of a chair leg scraping against the floor.
A colonel responsible for logistics assessment leaned back abruptly, the color draining from his face. His lips moved, but no coherent sound emerged.
"One... Imperial main force Graded Fleet..." another major general, specializing in enemy situation analysis, muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tracing over the designations of the Imperial fleets marked as "Heavily Damaged" or "Annihilated" on the screen.
Obsidian, Bloodblade (partial), Iron Curtain (partial)... finally stopping at "Megalodon – Annihilated."
"And four Sub-Level Fleets... Langkawi Star Military Port..." His voice grew softer, as if he himself could not digest this information.
"What they faced... was never one-to-one, not even two-to-one..." An older staff officer responsible for strategic simulations took a deep breath, his voice trembling. "Based on the timeline and combat achievements described in this intelligence... the Pluto Fleet, with the strength of a newly established fleet, operated deep within the Imperial-controlled Savannah Star System, successively engaged with at least three complete or largely intact Graded Fleets—Obsidian, Bloodblade, and Iron Curtain—and successfully inflicted heavy damage on them!"
He pointed at the areas on the star chart of the Savannah Star System where battles had erupted.
"Look here, and here... Not only did they weaken their opponents through mobile warfare, they even took the initiative to attack and eliminated the hard target of Langkawi Star! This requires intelligence of such precision and maneuvers of such boldness!"
"And then..." a younger staff officer picked up the thread, his tone filled with disbelief.
"When the Empire was clearly enraged and dispatched four classified fleets—Megalodon, Deep-sea Jellyfish, Sphinx, and Mermaid—to warp in as reinforcements, attempting to encircle and annihilate them in one fell swoop..."
He paused, his voice dropping to a near-whisper.
"They not only failed to retreat or evade... but instead... laid an ambush at Point Z-78, where the Imperial reinforcements had just warped in, and annihilated an entire fleet—the Megalodon Fleet!"
"This... this is simply..."
Someone tried to find the right words but realized any adjective would pale in comparison to this battle report.
Wen Shiheng remained silent, his hands clasped on the table, knuckles whitening from the pressure.
He scrutinized the briefing word by word, his mind replaying his earlier judgments of Qin Beiwang as "reckless" and "excessively risky," along with the concerns raised by the "Dawnbreak" plan.
Now, everything was clear.
Qin Beiwang's "recklessness" was based on a thorough grasp of the enemy situation and absolute confidence in his own capabilities.
His "risk" had yielded a glorious victory significant enough to alter the entire situation in the Savannah Star System and the border region.
It was not luck or chance.
It was tactical precision as sharp as a scalpel, strategic patience cold to the point of cruelty, and extraordinary courage to dance repeatedly on the edge of a blade.
A twenty-two-year-old commander, a fleet formed just months ago, deep within Imperial territory, had fought a textbook annihilation battle against overwhelming odds!
The brilliance of this achievement was enough to humble any seasoned Federation veteran.
Wen Tingtao stood before the massive star chart, his gaze sharp as a torch.
FCB intelligence and the Staff's assessment had completely dispelled his final reservations and conservative thinking.
What the Pluto Fleet had achieved in Savannah was not a fluke victory but a glorious battle worthy of being recorded in history.
"Orders!"
Wen Tingtao's voice boomed, resolute and echoing through the briefing room.
"First, upgrade the reinforcement sequence.
In addition to the Balrog, Snow Leopard, Divine Arrow, and Swift Cavalry fleets already dispatched.
The Theater Reserve Force—the Black Pupil Fleet, Black Scorpion Fleet, and Orchid Fleet—are to immediately cease all current tasks and enter the Highest Combat Readiness Status.
Within seventy-two hours, complete resupply and assembly, and deploy to the Elvira Star System!
Establish a Frontline Battle Group in Elvira, with its primary mission shifting to: ensuring the absolute security of the Elvira Star System and standing ready to advance at any time to provide direct fire support or cover the retreat of the Pluto Fleet!"
"Second, adjust the orders for the Balrog and the other three fleets.
Cancel the 'standby' directive. Command them: while ensuring the security of the rear course, advance toward the Savannah Star System in combat formation to rendezvous with the Pluto Fleet!"
"Third!"
Wen Tingtao turned to Communications Chief Jiao Jinghui, his tone solemn.
"Immediately draft an official battle report and commendation proposal to be submitted to the Federal Joint Staff in the name of the Theater Command."
He paused briefly, then dictated the key points clearly.
"Report and recommendations regarding the significant tactical victory achieved by our 'Pluto' Sub-fleet in the Savannah Star System."
"The content must clearly state: The 'Pluto' Sub-fleet, commanded by our Lieutenant Colonel Qin Beiwang, undaunted by a formidable enemy, took the initiative to strike deep into enemy-controlled territory within the Savannah Star System."
After continuous combat operations, we have successively routed and severely damaged multiple main sub-fleets of the Empire, including Obsidian, Bloodblade, and Iron Curtain. Furthermore, we successfully set an ambush in the Z-78 Region and annihilated the Empire's Megalodon-class Fleet.
The cumulative number of enemy vessels destroyed at various levels far exceeds the organization of two standard Imperial Graded Fleets, dealing a heavy blow to the enemy, greatly boosting the morale of our Theater, and reversing the strategic situation in the Savannah direction."
He paused, then delivered the most crucial part:
"In light of Lieutenant Colonel Qin Bei Wang's outstanding achievements and the exceptional command abilities and formidable combat strength demonstrated by his fleet,
to continue expanding our gains, consolidate our advantage in the Savannah region, and counter the Empire's potential fierce counterattack, the Theater Command formally recommends the following:"
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