Him and their stars.

Chapter 1953 Struggle
Time quickly came to October 834, 10 Common Calendar, which was also the fifth day after the battle that was later called the "Ghost War".

The imperial reinforcement fleet from Chenxiao Castle finally arrived at the Xiaguan system in the Xumoe star zone.

Prior to this, all the Imperial fleets had withdrawn from the nebula, out of the range of the communication debuff delay. Generals and admirals of the squadrons said that although the physical distance had lengthened, the spiritual distance had shortened, which was truly a gift from the spirit of the universe.

Of course, once the new commander arrives at the scene, a military meeting has to be held immediately, and this is where the biggest problem besides the gift comes from.

On the bridge of the Imperial Army's Titan ship, the Glorious Conqueror, Duke Barion sat at the head seat at the long black table, staring at the data report floating in the center of the table.

The light from the screen shone on the old duke's face, blurring his facial lines and all his expressions.

The generals present were frozen in their seats, like the dead, frozen planets in the outer ring of the galaxy.

After a long while, the Duke finally sighed indifferently and tapped the tabletop with his fingers. It was just the touch of his fingers against the wooden table, but it made a crisp sound like the collision of metal and marble.

The spines of all the participants immediately straightened as if by conditioned reflex.

Although most of them were remote projections and were light years away, they could still feel the tremendous pressure.

This was especially true for Lieutenant General Jaeger Sobek, who sat on the right hand side of the Duke. He always felt that although the Duke's face was blurry, his eyes always seemed to sweep over him silently, and cold sweat oozed from the back of his neck.

He silently lowered the clarity of his projection and strategically leaned his back against the chair.

He still felt that someone as harmless as himself should just sit in the corner.

Fortunately, Duke Barryen only sighed gently and said, "Everyone, although it is very regrettable, things have developed to this point. Of course, we can only admit that our army has indeed been defeated. This is my responsibility. I will apologize to the Privy Council and the Grand Marshal's Office."

So far, in this battle, which is considered a "ghost war" by the Imperial Army staff, the Imperial Army has lost 17 warships and suffered twice as many casualties. The seriously injured even include the aircraft carrier Xiaguan and the flagship battlecruiser Rampart Guardian of the Neyali fleet.

Even with such losses, the Imperial Army didn't even see clearly who the enemy was.

This was undoubtedly a miserable failure.

Since it was going to fail, they naturally had to consider who would take the blame. On this issue, the generals who were the executors on the scene and the decision maker in the rear, Duke Barryn, had to take the blame. It was hard to say who was more responsible.

If it was a greasy old politician with flexible body and outstanding skills, he would have passed the buck with lightning speed by now.

However, the Duke at this time did show the responsibility of a Tirello noble elite. Judging from his attitude, he was indeed ready to take all the responsibilities.

The Duke had shown such a great attitude, what else could the others do? Of course, they could only be moved. Everyone said that the Duke was too polite, the glory was everyone's, and the failure was shared by everyone. All the generals in the Outer Ring War Zone Marching Base Camp were a united whole.

Therefore, although it was a summary meeting after a failed battle, the scene was immediately filled with a high-spirited atmosphere.

Lieutenant General Sobaek also breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his tense back a little.

He glanced at the scene and did not find the figure of his colleague with golden and silver pupils among the attendees, and he could not help but feel sad. When his eyes swept over Brigadier General Athlone who was sitting at the end of the long table, he could not help but feel a little angry.

Even a famous general like Miss Olivia who is both civil and military is gone, but you, an old man who is slippery and reckless, are still alive and well. If the Galactic Empire is really blessed by the Spirit of the Universe and the Dragon God of the Dawn, aren't they too partial?

In this bizarre "Ghost Battle", Commodore Athlone's squadron was supposed to act as bait, but it became the final victim.

When the ghostly "Leviathan" traveled through the starry sky and arrived at the TR39 galaxy, the Athlone fleet was still busy reporting safety to the surrounding starry sky.

However, probably because this experienced brigadier general was very clear about his situation, the entire fleet had been arranged in a loose cruising formation. It seemed to be in line with the average quality of the local security fleet, and of course it was also suitable for a dispersed escape.

When the pupa-like Leviathan arrived at the battlefield, and when the first round of attacks set three cruisers on fire, the Athlone fleet fled without any resistance, with the ships fleeing in all directions. Their escape was so perfect that there was not even any collision, and it was hard to say that it was staged.

For more than an hour, these ships from the Xumoe Local Guard Fleet did only one thing - escape! Escape! They fled in all directions without hesitation!

They didn't even have time to record a complete attack video of the terrifying hunter, nor could they clearly tell what weapons the enemy used. They only knew to flee towards the outskirts of the galaxy.

By the time the three Barbarossa dreadnoughts of Sobek's fleet arrived at the battlefield, most of the warships of Athlone's fleet had survived, and he himself was unharmed.

As for the ghost, perhaps he felt that the victory was already glorious, so he left the battlefield in a swagger.

"No wonder! That monster must have been afraid of the general's might, so it fled! Woo woo woo woo, General, you saved us all! You are my second parent!" Brigadier General Athlone reported.

"I am incompetent. I can only save half of your warships. Woohoo, this is all the fault of the ambush! General, he failed to arrive on time. This is all their fault! They must want to kill me and our local guard fleet. But why did it turn out like this? Don't local guard fleets have human rights? You must be discerning!"

Brigadier General Athlone looked very aggrieved. He had been keeping safe the whole time, reminding his allies of his position at all times. When the enemy appeared, even though he was running away, he was the first to sound the alarm.

The fleet lurking in the Elanway Fortress should have arrived long ago, but it was dragging its feet. There was no other explanation except that they wanted to kill their friendly forces.

From this perspective, it is not unreasonable for him to start doubting.

However, after learning that the ambush fleet was also attacked by the "ghost" and suffered heavy losses, Brigadier General Athlone was shocked, but even showed a little joy.

"…So, this shouldn't be the fault of me, the bait, right? Commander Sobek, I also worked diligently to the end, and persisted much longer than the main force of Alanwei. I will be your subordinate from now on. When I come before the Duke, you must speak a fair word for me!"

Sobaek suddenly felt that he was being made the stupidest fool by risking his life to set out from Black Pass 12 and travel day and night to rescue just this kind of people.

At this moment, his subtle gratitude towards his "benefactor" disappeared with the changes in the sunlight.

Of course, at this time, his personal likes and dislikes were not a big deal. The real problem was that after the "Ghost War", only half of the Athlone fleet was left, and it was difficult for it to play the role of fleet support, which made Sobek feel very insecure.

He was eager to get new fleet reinforcements, but such matters would have the final say by the new marching admiral.

Sobek glanced at Duke Barion again and began to consider how to speak. He said that although he was not good at speaking, he did need reinforcements, and this was also responsible for everyone's safety.

Duke Barryn didn't seem to notice the gazes from his surroundings and his deputy, and simply said, "Well, judging from the previous battle reports, this 'ghost' initially hid in the Elanway system. It launched a sneak attack when the two fleets began to separate."

The Chief of Staff said, "I have to say that the timing was almost perfect, but that's not the most surprising thing. This ghost has been in Elanway from the beginning. He even knew about the existence of the remaining orbital factory area, and he has been waiting there."

The Duke still tapped the table subconsciously with his fingers: "My plan has been approved by the Privy Council and the Grand Marshal's Office. The gravity well between the Alanway system and the TR channel is a military secret of the empire. This system was discovered by the last Duke of Fir, Lord Alanway. The subsequent development was also carried out secretly by the Duke of Fir. After Lord Alanway passed away, it was directly handed over to Her Majesty Ivenya. This system is the private property of the royal family. Before this week, even the Prime Minister's Office did not know of its existence."

The Chief of Staff added: "Before this month, not even the Generalissimo knew about it."

"...But this ghost can hide here and wait for a long time. Could it be a ghost from six hundred years ago?" Duke Barian thought he had told a joke and immediately laughed.

The people present either felt embarrassed or horrified, and no one could laugh.

The Duke held back his laughter with a little embarrassment. "This strange insect species appeared in the Battle of Dantie City. We have dealt with it many times. However, it has shown unprecedented abilities until today. Lurking, invisibility, high speed, and ultra-long-range bombardment, whether these are the unique abilities of the king of alien species or universal abilities, we need to make a proof immediately. This is no ordinary Leviathan. Even if the most powerful king of the virtual world descended to the world, it would not make me so nervous. Everyone, we..."

At this time, a voice interrupted the Duke a little abruptly. "It is not a Leviathan, nor is it even a biological warship as we initially inferred."

Duke Barian turned his head and looked at Lieutenant General Neyali, who was sitting in the first seat below him on his left.

The Duke did not speak, but the Chief of Staff said dissatisfiedly: "Our research on the captured Zerg No. 1 has proved the possibility of biological warships. This is not a fantasy. The Farfuer dragons and the Eredar elves had this technology back then."

"...I am not talking about Zerg No. 1, but the ghost from five days ago." said Lieutenant General Neyali.

"Your Excellency, do you think it is not the Zerg King we are looking for?"

The lieutenant general nodded.

"What's the reason?"

"..."

"Your Excellency's intuition?"

The Duke raised his hand to signal the Chief of Staff to stop talking, and looked directly at Lieutenant General Neyali without saying a word.

The latter lowered his head, as if he couldn't bear the pressure released by the other's eyes. However, he still said clearly: "I still think that what we saw is a disguise, and we need to conduct more in-depth verification. That kind of attack is somewhat similar to the arc cannon that our laboratory is demonstrating. It is difficult for me to imagine that the body of a living creature can release such power."

Sobek thought this made sense, and he admired Lieutenant General Neyali. He felt that if it were him, it would be difficult for him to stick to his own opinion in such an atmosphere.

The Chief of Staff shouted sternly: "Lieutenant General, don't speak nonsense! Human power is boundless! You know, your words just now are clearly an offense to all extraordinary people!"

Sobak rolled his eyes in his mind. I am the extraordinary one, I don't feel offended, but you are a "mortal", why are you reacting so strongly?
"This is disrespectful to His Majesty the Emperor! His Majesty the Emperor is omnipotent! General, don't you admit this?" another general shouted.

It's no use accusing someone of something like this. Could the idea of ​​taking advantage of the situation be any more obvious? Sobek frowned, anger gradually brewing on his face.

Facing the accusations from the crowd, Lieutenant General Neyali lowered his head, seemingly not daring to say anything more.

Sobek looked at his colleague with sympathy, and felt that he still needed to say something fair. He secretly looked at the Viscountess who was sitting at the back of the long table opposite him, and saw that she also shook her head slightly at him.

You see, Miss Serlu couldn't stand it anymore.

Sobaek made up his mind and coughed forcefully. After attracting everyone's attention, he was about to speak when he realized that he had just lowered the resolution of his image.

In this way, everyone probably can't see their own faces clearly. This is very impolite in a remote meeting.

He hurriedly reached out to fiddle with the terminal, but accidentally bumped into the teacup on the table. Then he heard a crisp explosion, and the sound of broken glass was transmitted to everyone's ears along with the power of the source wave.

What a shame!
Sobek coughed again and was about to say something, but he saw the chief of staff in front of him had already forced an awkward smile: "...Uh, this, I am indeed a little excited."

"That's...right. Ahaha, me too."

"After all, the military situation is urgent, and everyone is a little anxious."

"Yes, calm down. You all need to calm down."

"Yes, yes, yes, no personal attacks."

In short, all the people who were talking quickly shut up, and the atmosphere on the scene immediately became warmer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Jaeger Sobek always felt that something was wrong with this development, but after all, the situation and atmosphere had eased. At least his goal had been achieved.

Look, Miss Sellu's expression suddenly became moved again.

As for Brigadier General Athlone in the corner, the way this guy looked at him was filled with blatant admiration, as if he had "finally met a wise leader after wandering for half a lifetime".

It's a disappointment just by looking at it! Sobek thought, if he could apply for an escort fleet from the Duke, it would be better to kick this old guy out.