Occasionally, they would go to the Interstellar Colosseum to watch robot melees.
Or race star cars at breakneck speeds on the track.
Or party with the Twelve Young Masters at exclusive clubs.
Stripped of the halo of a Vice Admiral, Qin Bei Wang remained the carefree and unrestrained young man he had always been.
Meanwhile, the entire process of the Pluto Fleet's triumphant return, Qin Bei Wang's medal conferment, and the commendations for the officers and soldiers—
was filmed by the Federation Interstellar News Department into a documentary titled The Youngest General in the World.
It was subsequently used as core promotional material, broadcasted extensively across interstellar channels and holographic platforms throughout the Federation.
The documentary faithfully captured the hardships of the campaign and the bravery of the Pluto Fleet.
As the documentary spread, the name Qin Bei Wang became increasingly familiar to more and more Federation citizens, turning him into a hero in the hearts of countless young people.
Not long after, this promotional video also made its way into the Ferry Empire.
In the command room of the Opal War Zone Command, General Strauss frowned deeply, his gaze fixed intently on the Federation documentary playing on the screen.
In the video, alongside the grand imagery of the Pluto Fleet's triumphant return, there were detailed textual explanations.
It clearly depicted how Qin Bei Wang led the Pluto Fleet, using meteorites as cover to infiltrate the Imperial Hinterland and destroy the Stargate.
And how, on the return journey, they set an ambush using the wreckage of Imperial warships, annihilating fifty thousand enemy vessels in one fell swoop.
Since this video was recorded by Imperial intelligence personnel from a Federation website,
the corners of the screen still displayed numerous real-time comments from Federation netizens.
"Well done!
As expected, Imperial soldiers are all fools—no one even checked such a large meteorite.
Truly living up to the name of the decaying Empire!"
"It feels like they won so easily, just like the VR games I play, with the opponents just standing there dumbfounded.
Maybe I'll actually witness the fall of the Empire in my lifetime!"
"Is the opposing commander a pig? Starting a fight first and still getting their base destroyed.
Do they even know how to play? If not, they should step down!"
...
Strauss was already on the verge of collapse due to the devastating defeat of the campaign and the annihilation of three Sequence Fleets.
After learning the truth behind the Pluto Fleet's tactics, he had long been seething with rage.
Now, seeing these mocking comments was like lighting a fuse, causing him to explode instantly.
He slammed his fist onto the control console, his face turning ashen.
Strauss trembled with anger, pointing at the comments on the screen and cursing loudly.
"The Federation Fleet deceives me, Qin Bei Wang steals from me, and now even these despicable commoners dare to insult me!"
Before his words faded, he violently swept his right hand across the desk, sending all the operational documents and intelligence reports crashing to the floor.
Papers scattered everywhere, rustling loudly, further intensifying the oppressive atmosphere in the office.
His chest heaved violently, his anger unabated, and he gritted his teeth as he continued to curse.
"Those parasites in the Patrol Team and Monitoring Stations are utterly useless!
If they hadn't been lazy and negligent, slacking off on their duties,
how could the Pluto Fleet have slipped into the Imperial Hinterland under the cover of meteorites?
They would never have had the chance to destroy the Stargate, costing us over three Sequence Fleets!"
At this point, Strauss suddenly turned his head.
His gaze locked firmly on Admiral Bradley, the Chief of Staff, standing nearby.
His eyes were filled with malice as he spoke viciously.
"Investigate!
Pull out every single Monitoring Station and patrol Fleet responsible for monitoring along the path of that Meteorite!
Isn't the Angel Fleet missing?
Then assign all these useless fools to the search teams and send them into the black hole to search.
If they can't find any trace of the Angel Fleet, none of them are to return!"
Bradley's expression remained calm, without the slightest ripple.
He gave a slight nod and replied in a respectful yet utterly emotionless tone.
"Yes, my Commander!"
For these subordinates who had failed at a critical moment and caused such a disaster, he felt not an ounce of sympathy.
He simply believed this was the punishment they deserved.
His mind was already calculating how to quickly compile the list and execute the order.
Even after venting his rage, Strauss still could not calm down.
He stared at Qin Bei Wang's figure on the screen and began to shriek hysterically.
"Qin Bei Wang, Qin Bei Wang, Qin Bei Wang..."
His voice rose continuously, growing sharper and sharper.
Until it finally cracked, becoming as hoarse as a broken gong.
"I will never let you go!"
This shout drained all his strength.
The prolonged screaming caused him to fall into a brief state of hypoxia.
His vision went dark, his body swayed, and he nearly stumbled and fell.
Fortunately, Bradley beside him was quick.
He stepped forward in time, firmly supporting Strauss's arm, preventing him from collapsing.
After recovering for a while, Strauss gradually calmed down, shedding his earlier hysteria and regaining some rationality.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his throbbing temples.
Then he looked up at Bradley, his tone carrying a trace of weariness yet concealing a sense of urgency as he asked.
"Bradley, how is the request for reinforcements to the General Staff Headquarters?
Have they given any reply?"
After speaking, he added, his voice full of concern.
"Now that our Opal Sector War Zone has lost three Sequence Fleets, our force comparison with the Federation is at a severe disadvantage.
Given this situation, in as little as three months, or at most half a year, the Federation will definitely take the initiative and launch an attack!
That old fox Wen Tingtao won't let such a golden opportunity slip by!"
However, in response to Strauss's inquiry, Bradley only slowly shook his head, offering no further explanation.
Yet, this silence spoke volumes.
Seeing his gesture, Strauss showed no surprise on his face, as if he had already anticipated this outcome.
He let out a long sigh, his tone filled with helplessness and resentment.
"The Empire will sooner or later be dragged down by those deadwood in the Supreme Command Council!"
Similar to the Federation's military structure, above the Fleets, the Ferry Empire's military hierarchy is also divided into three levels.
These are the Theater Command, the General Staff Headquarters, and finally, the Supreme Command Council.
But unlike the Federation, where promotion is based on Military Merit and seniority, entering the Supreme Command Council in the Empire relies neither on Military Merit nor seniority, but on bloodline and surname.
Within the Empire, there has always been an unwritten rule: members who are not from a Count's family are not permitted to enter the Supreme Command Council.
Even if you have Illustrious Military Achievements and profound seniority, you ultimately cannot step into the core of power.
Even for a family like Strauss's, which holds the title of Count, his peak is only that of a General.
No matter how many battles he wins or how many enemy ships he annihilates.
In the end, his fate was merely to hold the military rank of General, offering counsel to those fellows in the Supreme Command Council from the General Staff Headquarters.
Even their meticulously planned strategies could be overturned by a group of individuals who knew nothing about military affairs.
Suddenly, Strauss let out a loud laugh.
"Enough, enough. Four star systems lost.
Three Sequence Fleets gone, along with the newly developed Portable Stargate!
My time as Theater Commander-in-Chief has come to an end.
These are no longer matters for me to worry about!
By now, they're probably discussing who will take my place!"
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!