"Deploy Divisions One, Two, and Three of the fighter command immediately! Hold Divisions Four, Five, and Six for now—but have them ready, waiting in their cockpits. They could be deployed at any moment, and I don't want any delay. Got it?" Crown said, looking toward a particular vice admiral.

He gave a formal salute, accepted the command, and quickly walked away.

Satisfied, Crown issued additional orders. "Maintain the pressure on the hegemony fleet! This should have already sent shockwaves through their command—they should be confused right now…"

"Fuel that confusion even more… and victory will be ours before long."

"Yes, Commander!!" voices echoed across the command bridge and throughout the fleet…

Nodding, Crown watched as squadron after squadron launched from the battle carriers at the rear lines, surging forward into the fight…

On the other side, the hegemony pilots—who had been brimming with confidence—now stared in disbelief. Just moments ago, they had been certain the battle was theirs, watching thousands of missiles carrying devastating payloads rush toward the enemy. No matter how strong the defenses were, some would get through… and that would have been enough to shake the enemy.

But who could have imagined…

Not only did things not go as expected—what happened was the complete opposite.

With far fewer missiles of their own, the enemy had neutralized more than half of the barrage as if it were nothing… and what remained was being picked apart by point-defense systems and mech squadrons.

Fear began to creep in.

And it only grew stronger as they saw waves of fighter-class vessels racing toward them at terrifying speed.

"Wh-what…? H-how is this possible?"

"N-no… are they really human?"

"W-what were those missiles? They exploded and created some kind of destructive field in open space…"

"C-can we even harm them? If we attack now… what if they still have those weapons? Wouldn't that just be walking to our deaths…?" someone said cautiously, their voice trembling—sending a ripple of unease through every pilot.

"W-we should fall back to the fleet… r-right?" another added.

Only to hear a furious voice—

"Anyone who dares to fall back will be shot down by our own fleet!"

Pact, who had been listening through the channel, cursed under his breath.

"B-but, Commander… what can we even do?" the leader of the fighter legion spoke in a desperate tone. "That kind of defense… it's not something we can break through. And if they launch another barrage like that, we won't even know what hit us before we turn to space dust…"

Others echoed his thoughts over the channel. One even added, "They're right, Commander… instead of staying, we should escape while we still have the chance…"

Pact's body trembled hearing this—but he steadied himself, forcing calm into his voice, not wanting to agitate them further.

"There's still hope!" he said firmly. "All you need to do is take down those mechs and those fighter-class vessels they've deployed. Even if you can't destroy their ships, that alone is enough to put pressure on them…"

"And not only that—the three Elders have already pushed past the human leader. Before long, there's a real chance they'll take him down. And once they do, the human fleet will be helpless against us—ready to be crushed…"

"And when that happens… we all gain merit. Rewards. The kind of items you've all seen in the shops but couldn't afford…" he added, throwing in bait when he felt his words alone weren't enough.

Hearing this, their eyes lit up with longing.

They nodded.

"We'll do our best, Commander…"

And just like that, the hesitant and fearful fighter pilots of the hegemony fleet felt a surge of strength and rushed ahead—hoping to make quick work of the enemy mechs and fighters, then return before things worsened… all while counting on the three Elders to finish their part soon.

Not knowing… that it was all a lie Pact had fed them.

Before long, the fighter squadrons of both sides collided.

The Void Fleet, with its superior technology and firepower, began cutting through them with ease—supported steadily by their fleet from behind…

The hegemony fighters were quickly forced onto the defensive, then surrounded and picked off one after another by the Void Fleet's divisions.

Time passed…

Within half an hour, most of the hegemony fighter squadrons had been wiped out. A few broke ranks entirely, abandoning the battlefield and fleeing wherever they could…

All this while, the Fourth Battle Fleet maintained relentless fire, steadily increasing pressure on the hegemony fleet.

Pact watched as his losses climbed.

He tried different tactics—again and again—but every move collapsed almost as soon as he made it.

Now, he was barely holding on.

His fleet huddled behind hundreds of gigantic mechanical octopuses, which formed a layered defensive barrier in front of their ships—shielding them from the intense fire of the Fourth Battle Fleet…

All while continuing to launch attacks from within the shell they had created—like a cornered force trying to survive under constant bombardment.

Back on the flagship of the Fourth Battle Fleet, a report came in.

"Commander Crown! All weapon systems have cooled down and are charged to their peak. Ready to fire—awaiting your orders…"

Crown nodded upon hearing this and gave her command coldly. "Good. Lock onto the enemy octopus shields. Use the battleships' main weapon systems, along with secondary systems—and the main weapons of the lower-class battleships as well…"

"That should be more than enough to take down the already damaged mechanical shields of the hegemony fleet…"

"As you command, Commander." The responsible personnel nodded and passed the order throughout the fleet.

Across the formation, the main weapon systems of the ships lit up, energy surging through their calibers—ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Watching this, Crown spoke one word, her voice sharp and final.

"Fire."

Just like that, thousands upon thousands of weapon systems fired—beams of energy and projectile shots racing toward the hegemony fleet.

They struck the blue shields created by the mechanical octopuses, and massive spheres of multicolored explosions bloomed across the void.

The already dim shields began to ripple… the ripples growing stronger and more unstable with every hit… and soon, cracks began to form.

Inside the hegemony fleet's battle fortress, alarms blared.

Everyone heard the announcement—and fear spread instantly.

"[Octopus shields at 10… 9 percent of total strength]""[6 percent]""[3 percent]""[1 percent]"

Crack—

A sharp, shattering sound echoed like breaking glass.

A sharp, shattering sound echoed like breaking glass.

The blue shield collapsed in on itself. The mechanical octopuses were torn apart under the pressure, exploding in catastrophic blasts that sent shockwaves through the fleet and the fortress behind them—causing their own shields to ripple violently.

"NO!!" Pact roared, watching his so-called turtle shell fall apart.

Back on the flagship, a report came in.

"Lady Crown, the hegemony fleet's octopus defenses have fallen!"

Crown nodded, showing little reaction, and gave her next order calmly.

"Target their fortress with the flagship—Oblivion-class dreadnought."

"The other two will take down the remaining smaller fortresses quickly."

"The rest of the fleet—cycle your weapons and eliminate what remains of the hegemony forces."

The personnel responded at once. "As you command, Lady Crown."

"Hm." Crown hummed softly.

Quickly, the crew reported after calibrating the weapons and setting the targets—something Crown could have done herself, as she was the AI of the ship. But she let the process play out.

More than that… she liked this feeling—giving orders, being in command…

Inside, she was almost giddy, praising herself. Crown, you're talented… created for this. Hehe, perfect. At least I can make up for my dumb master's lack of intelligence…

While she danced with excitement internally, on the outside she remained cold and composed.

She nodded once and gave the order."Fire."

The flagship's main weapon began to glow—crimson, dense with destructive energy, powerful enough to make even the void seem to tremble…

Then— BOOOOOOOOM

A massive beam of energy tore forward, racing toward the hegemony fleet. Its target— The fortress Exterminator.

Inside the fortress, alarms blared as systems detected the incoming surge.

"[High destructive energy detected]""[Fortress Exterminator locked by enemy flagship main weapon]"

"What the hell?!" Pact cursed, a hint of dread creeping in. "Activate shields at full power! Switch to overclock mode!"

He didn't stop there. "Is the main superweapon ready?!"

The fortress AI responded at once—

"Yes."

"Good—fire it at the enemy flagship, now!" Pact urged.

"As you command," the Exterminator's AI replied.

In the next instant, the fortress's main weapon discharged—a thick beam of blue energy—firing at almost the exact same moment as the Fourth Battle Fleet flagship.

Two overwhelming beams of light tore through space and collided.

For a brief moment, they held—

Then, without resistance, the fortress's attack was overpowered… driven back, forced toward its origin as if it had never stood a chance.

"Shit!" Pact cursed—

Just as the dark crimson beam slammed into the fortress shield. The shield shattered almost instantly under the pressure.

And then the beam struck the fortress directly. A dark red sun seemed to rise from its surface.

The impact sent violent shockwaves throughout the entire structure. Pact—and everyone else—lost their footing, crashing hard onto the floor as the fortress trembled under the force.