As soon as the words fell, eight emerald green guiding lasers shot straight out from within the atmosphere of the Capital Star.
Piercing through the clouds, they carved eight straight, stable light tracks in the pitch-black space.
Like an aerial navigation route tailor-made for the Kunlun Mountain - Modified.
The Kunlun Mountain - Modified slowly detached from the formation of the Pluto Fleet, its engines emitting a soft, pale blue flame.
Under the precise control of the helmsman, it steadily approached the defense perimeter of the Capital Star.
Not long after, the helmsman reported again, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness.
"Report, Commander. Optimal entry angle reached.
Bow pitch adjusted to twelve degrees, deceleration plates deployed to sixty percent, thruster output reduced to ninety percent!
Heat shield temperature readings normal, no abnormal wear detected.
All external sensors have been fully retracted to avoid damage during atmospheric entry. Ready to break through the atmosphere!"
Qin Beiwang nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over every officer and crew member on the bridge, his voice steady and firm.
"All personnel, prepare for impact! Activate body protection light screens!"
After speaking, he turned and sat back in his command seat, placing his hands naturally on the armrests.
The next moment, the surface of the command seat slowly emitted a faint blue energy glow.
In just a few moments, a thin, translucent pale blue light screen formed over his body.
An invisible restraining force instantly pressed him firmly into the seat, providing a buffer for the impending atmospheric impact.
The other officers and crew on the bridge acted simultaneously, returning to their respective stations.
Almost at the same time, all seats released pale blue light screens, firmly enveloping each person.
The edges of the light screens rippled with subtle energy waves, silently resisting the impending impact.
Qin Beiwang glanced down at the light screen covering his body, then looked up through the viewport at the increasingly close atmosphere of the Capital Star.
Confirming that all personnel were ready, he hesitated no longer and issued the order in a deep voice.
"Break through the atmosphere!"
The helmsman's gaze sharpened as he replied loudly.
"Yes, Commander!
Initiating atmospheric breakthrough procedure!"
The moment the Kunlun Mountain - Modified crossed the orbital defense perimeter of the Capital Star, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded on the bridge.
The originally soft white ship lights instantly switched to a conspicuous red, flashing rhythmically to alert all personnel to the atmospheric entry warning state.
The helmsman steadily controlled the warship, crashing directly into the edge of the atmosphere at a speed of thirty thousand kilometers per second.
The bow was the first to violently friction with the dense air, producing the first faint glimmer of white light.
The light was initially a faint orange-red, like the glow of dawn.
But in just three seconds, the orange-red rapidly faded, transforming into a blinding incandescent white.
The entire front of the warship seemed to be ignited.
The flames did not spread outward but clung tightly to the surface of the hull, flowing rapidly along its contours.
The next second, the vibration arrived as expected.
This was no ordinary turbulence, but an impact akin to being held from below by a giant's hand and shaken violently.
The ship's body emitted a low metallic groan, and the decks trembled slightly.
Yet, everyone was securely held in their seats by the pale blue protective light screens covering their bodies, unaffected in the slightest.
Outside the viewport, the blinding white light enveloping the hull suddenly split open, and the first grayish-white cloud swept past the right side of the window.
Then came the second, the third—more and more clouds wrapped around the warship.
As the altitude continued to drop, the flames on the hull's surface gradually faded away.
The ship's vibrations also shifted from violent impacts to gentle swaying, eventually stabilizing.
The helmsman stared intently at the screen, reporting in a steady tone.
"Altitude forty thousand meters, speed reduced to Mach 4. Heat shield separation normal. Outer armor temperature beginning to drop."
Everyone's gaze turned toward the viewport, where the sky outside was slowly changing color.
From the purplish-black of outer space, it gradually transitioned to deep blue, then indigo.
Until, in an instant, it became a piercing, pure blue.
It was the blue sky of the home planet—visible only from within the atmosphere.
Below, an endless expanse of clouds spread out, fluffy and soft, like a vast, boundless white continent.
The helmsman continued adjusting the warship's attitude and reported again.
"Altitude twenty thousand meters, speed Mach 2. Landing gear bay pressurization initiated. All parameters normal."
Triumph Square on the Capital Star was already packed with people who had traveled from all over. From the Central Viewing Stand to the outer Floating Observation Platforms, everywhere was a sea of bobbing heads.
Federation Flags hung high on both sides of the square, and the air was thick with anticipation and reverence.
Security robots and honor guards stood in orderly rows along the pathways, maintaining order, but they couldn't suppress the growing cheers of the crowd.
Just then, a deep, resonant roar echoed from the depths of the sky.
The sound wasn't sharp, but it carried immense penetrating power, overwhelming the noise of the crowd.
Immediately after, a series of crisp, rapid cracking sounds rang out high above, like thick layers of ice shattering under immense force.
The crowd fell silent instantly, everyone looking up in unison.
The once clear, expansive white clouds suddenly darkened.
The central area was completely covered by a massive shadow, as if a floating steel fortress were pressing down from above the clouds.
The clouds no longer drifted calmly but twisted and churned violently.
The center visibly collapsed downward, forming a huge, irregular oval-shaped depression.
Clouds at the edges of the depression were torn apart by powerful air currents, surging upward.
The people on the ground were utterly awestruck by the sight, gasps of amazement rising one after another.
A Young Man tightly gripped the colored flag in his hand and exclaimed, "My God! I've never seen anything like this!"
Beside him, a gray-haired Veteran gazed solemnly at the depression in the clouds and said softly, "This is a warship breaking directly through the troposphere. Only a flagship laden with honor is entitled to land this way."
Someone nearby immediately chimed in, their voice filled with reverence. "It's been a full thirty years since a warship last landed on the Capital Star—the last time was The Adjudicator during the Hailan Campaign. The general who receives such an honor must have achieved Military Merit that turned the tide of war."
Camera flashes lit up continuously among the crowd. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the sky that was splitting open, waiting for the moment the flagship would truly appear.
In the next instant, the dark underside of the ship broke through the clouds first, appearing in everyone's line of sight.
The massive hull of the Kunlun Mountain - Modified slowly emerged from the clouds, its metal shell still bearing the mottled scars left by the campaign.
The Federation Star Emblems on both sides of the hull gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight. Its immense size brought an overwhelming sense of visual pressure, instantly silencing the entire Triumph Square.
At the same time, the towering holographic screens surrounding Triumph Square lit up in unison.
There was no stirring music, no dazzling visuals—only the images of fallen officers and crew members slowly flashing across the screens.
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