Xiao Hui heard the shouts of her comrades, and she also saw the enemy’s warship’s cannons opening fire on her, unleashing a barrage of bullets that could obliterate her fighter jet and her along with it.
Xiao Hui looked up at a photo stuck in the gap next to her.
It was the only photo she had ever taken, and it featured her little sister.
“Little sister… I'm sorry, sister broke her promise. Sister can't take you to eat delicious food… You have to take care of yourself while sister is gone.”
Boom boom boom
The ensuing explosions seemed to come from right next to Xiao Hui's ears.
But, unexpectedly, her fighter jet was completely unscathed.
The Grey Wolf fighter jet she was piloting emerged from the smoke.
“I… I’m still alive!” Xiao Hui cried in joy.
On the other side, Tang Yuan witnessed everything.
Just a moment ago, when that fighter jet was about to be destroyed, the surrounding four fighters, including the one Tang Yuan was piloting, automatically fired their cannons and laser beams.
They managed to block all the incoming attacks just as the bullets were about to engulf the Grey Wolf fighter jet.
“This… This… This is incredible!” Tang Yuan exclaimed in awe, recalling the last part of the voice message from earlier.
Dragon Network Strategic Core
Could this be the effect of that thing?
The same situation gradually occurred in other fighters as the battle intensified.
Thanks to this system, those starships were constantly escaping death by a hair’s breadth.
As the battle continued, the combat prowess of these starships became increasingly apparent.
In the fourth minute of the battle.
A Hunter-class interstellar warship was destroyed outright, its ammunition bay exploding and turning the entire ship into a firework in the star river.
In the seventh minute of the battle, all the drones released by the Yvork fleet were eliminated.
These drones were like moths to a flame against the Qing Yuan starships, unable to inflict any harm.
In the ninth minute of the battle, the second Hunter-class interstellar warship was destroyed, and the two remaining Hunter-class interstellar warships were heavily damaged and no longer capable of carrying out air defense tasks.
At this point, the battlefield had essentially become a gladiatorial arena for these starships.
In the thirteenth minute, a Short Sword-class interstellar destroyer was destroyed, the final straw that broke the Yvork's mental defenses.
“Captain, we… we…”
At this moment, the eyes of all the Yvork soldiers on the flagship's bridge were focused on their captain.
Starships were being destroyed one after another, instilling a sense of fear in their hearts toward these starships.
The Yvork captain clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot.
“Retreat… retreat… retreat!”
Finally, the Yvork captain gave the order to retreat.
In the fifteenth minute, the Yvork fleet began to retreat.
The Qing Yuan starship fleet didn't just retreat, but pursued them for a while, making sure the Yvork fleet wouldn't return before stopping the chase.
During the ten minutes of the pursuit, they destroyed another Hunter-class interstellar warship and a Short Sword-class interstellar destroyer, and heavily damaged two Short Sword-class interstellar destroyers.
“The enemy has retreated.” Qi Bing opened communication, uttering her first words.
Her palms were covered in sweat.
It was too nerve-wracking, too crazy.
She had never experienced such a thrilling battle in her life.
She immediately connected to the communication channel with Tang Yuan, the deputy captain.
“I…”
“Let’s talk about everything once we’re back. We've almost run out of ammunition and energy; return to the ship as soon as possible.” A slightly low voice came from the other end, belonging to Tang Yuan, the deputy captain.
Qi Bing didn't speak. She knew that her old comrade-in-arms must have the same question as her at this moment.
And this question could only be answered when they returned to Qing Yuan.
That man!
…
Qing Yuan
Secretary Officer Qiao Rongrong looked at the time. It had been almost twenty minutes since the fighter fleet had departed, and they should have already engaged in combat with the Yvork fleet's starships by now.
At this moment, every second felt like an eternity to her.
A communication call came in.
Qiao Rongrong picked up the communicator, and a voice came from the other end.
“Secretary Officer, the task you assigned us has been completed. The cargo has been delivered.”
“I understand.”
Qiao Rongrong hung up the call. She didn't have the time to care about these things at the moment. All she could think about was the battle taking place in the distance.
To avoid being detected by enemy ships, they had maintained radio silence.
They didn't know what was happening out there.
They were both hopeful and fearful.
They hoped to see their fighters return, but they also feared the appearance of the Yvork fleet's starships.
Some of the female soldiers who had faith were already praying silently.
It was unclear how long it had been—twenty minutes, half an hour, or even an hour.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed.
“Look, something's approaching from ahead!”
Secretary Officer Qiao Rongrong immediately looked into the distance, and indeed, black dots were approaching.
“Secretary Officer, should we activate the radar and communication?” a nervous female soldier asked.
Secretary Officer Qiao Rongrong bit her lip, and said in a low voice: “Continue to maintain radio silence and radar silence. At the same time, have all combat units prepare for battle.”
“But… what if it’s Deputy Captain…”
“They know our location, even if they don’t open communication they’ll come back. Carry out my orders.” Secretary Officer Qiao Rongrong said seriously.
She was prepared for both scenarios.
If it was the enemy fleet, she was ready to fight to the death; if it was our fighters returning, they would welcome them as heroes.
All the female soldiers were nervous to the point of being fidgety.
As those black dots got closer.
Finally, they saw clearly.
“It's our fighters, not enemy drones!” someone exclaimed.
Secretary Officer Qiao Rongrong immediately gave the order: “Relay my orders, activate the radar and communication. Also, have the hangar prepare to retrieve the fighters!”
“Yes!”
At this moment, all the female soldiers on the Qing Yuan were buzzing with excitement.
Their heroes were returning.
“One… five… ten… twenty…” Qiao Rongrong heard a female soldier next to her counting.
“What are you counting?”
“I'm counting how many fighters are coming back.”
These words caught the attention of everyone on the bridge.
“How many?” Qiao Rongrong held her breath, her fists already clenched without her knowing.
A few seconds later.
The female soldier looked incredulous: “One hundred and eighteen fighters… the radar shows one hundred and eighteen fighters… not a single one missing!”
The bridge was in an uproar.