Him and their stars.

Chapter 2078 The New Headmaster's Return Home
Lieutenant General Ostana Vizig Bal of the Holy Galactic Empire stopped thoughtfully the moment she stepped into the hall of the bridge.

She raised her head, gazing at the high sky beyond the dome, at the cosmic abyss dotted with countless bright points of light, where the infinitely extending space and dimensions formed a surging power that pressed down upon her.

The universe seems to constantly demonstrate its eternal greatness through its very existence. It also constantly reminds humanity, and all intelligent beings who have created civilization, that they are small and fragile in the face of the vastness of nature.

However, for someone like Ostana, who is used to walking in the vastness of the world, these occasional emotional fluctuations do not pose any problem.

The slightest emotional letdown was almost immediately extinguished by the unwavering fortress of reason and knowledge.

Humanity is inherently a follower of the stars and a voyager of the deep cosmos. If they didn't even have the ambition to explore, adapt to, and conquer nature, they wouldn't have been qualified to venture into the universe in the first place.

Now, isn't the Dawn Angel ship she's on proof of this?

This colossal man-made structure, exceeding 20000 meters in length and boasting a smooth, streamlined hull, glided effortlessly through the vast expanse of space. Like an iron fortress, the warship sped along at near-light speed, its vibrant points of light stretched into almost imperceptible beams of light against the endless cosmos.

Thus, the infinite universe seemed to transform into a smooth and calmly flowing stream.

Like all Imperial capital ships, the bridge of the Dawn Angel is also a huge hemispherical structure. The spherical part looks like a transparent dome glass, but it is actually a whole screen that can clearly see the outer space, but can also project hundreds of complete tactical images and three-dimensional star maps.

That is exactly the case now.

The Chief of Staff would then be able to see a series of operational star maps projected onto the dome.

This includes the entire galaxy, the Femo region, all of Terra, and of course, the Imperial homeland.

In particular, the star map of the inner empire region includes most of the star systems from Shengyuan to the central star sector. This is also the most detailed star map on the dome, clearly marking everything from various shipping lanes, fortresses, small bases, turret clusters, minefields, and monitoring arrays, to various fleets and garrisons, and even armed merchant ships temporarily mobilized to carry out monitoring and patrol missions.

The golden icons representing the empire's military power shone brilliantly on the star map, so magnificent they seemed more like stars in the night sky.
A strange scent subtly stimulated Ostana's senses. She knew it was the scent of adrenaline secreted by humans when they entered a state of combat readiness, and it didn't originate from the soldiers on this warship.

In fact, as the most elite and battle-hardened force in the Galactic Empire, the crew of the Dawn Angel had naturally been on duty for a long time.

They were busy operating and moving back and forth in front of countless screens of all sizes, on control panels, statistical displays, communication interfaces, and instrument screens. However, although the scene was efficient and effective, there was no intense or anxious atmosphere. They were more like people on a high-precision assembly line in a large factory than on a battlefield.

As the most elite soldiers of the Imperial Army, they naturally knew how to adjust their state, how not to get overly excited, how to maintain an efficient yet calm mindset while marching, and how to conserve their courage and energy. This is actually a kind of "graceful and slow movement".

Therefore, the so-called source of adrenaline burning has only one source.

Lieutenant General Ostana Bar felt that she was quite confident in her energy and physical strength, but compared to her lord's sun-like spiritual structure, she seemed very fragile and weak.

In the shogunate of King Brunhilde of Sulyuka, perhaps only a perfect knight like Giafi could be 100% in sync with the rhythm.

It's a pity that Giafil, who is skilled in both literature and martial arts, is capable in both military and political affairs, and is also very beautiful, is still living as the de facto ruler of the Cherk people in Katun.

Clearly, this is a prelude to Miss Ji being put to great use, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, her entry into the Privy Council in the future is a matter of course.

How enviable!
Future imperial ministers are like this; they just need to follow the established procedures and be good regional officials or commanders. But for a "close advisor" like Ostana, there are many more things to consider.

By the way, when we say that King Brunhilde of Suliuka's mental state is like the sun, it doesn't mean that she can warm people's hearts and heal all things. Rather, it means that her true mental state is as excited as a star, burning at all times, and even occasionally boiling vigorously, like a high-energy storm across a wide galaxy.

Right now, she's burning like this.

...So isn't this a form of provocation? Ostana thought.

Brunhilde, the face of the Dawn Royal Family and the Holy Galactic Empire, the chosen emperor of Suliuka, the marshal of the empire, and the newly appointed Grand Privy Councilor without even a formal handover ceremony, sat upright in his command chair, which resembled a throne, his domineering eyes fixed on the golden star map on the screen.

Ostana passed through the soundproofing field that had already been deployed and approached her lord: "Are you looking at men... oops, I mean, at the stars, Your Highness?"

At least half a minute after the Chief of Staff's greeting, Brunhilde turned her gaze back with an annoyance.

Although she was reclining in her chair with a relaxed posture, her unparalleled beauty was hard to replicate. At first glance, she looked more like a giant dragon that was lying in wait, observing from the shadows, ready to suddenly flap its wings at any moment.

The military uniform, predominantly black with gold dragon patterns and gemstone stars indicating her status and rank, still clung neatly and taut to her slender and athletic limbs. Her sharp and imposing presence and elegant beauty were once again combined into a highly aggressive sculptural aesthetic.

Those golden eyes were as bright as the rising sun at dawn, burning with a flame that would never be extinguished.

"Hmm! Lots of stars... Hey, who can see stars while traveling at near-light speed?"

“Then let’s look at the male… no, the enemy.” Ostana nodded seriously, her hands moving with practiced ease.

The projected star map, occupying the left half of the command platform, zoomed in and out once more, its golden cursor flashing incessantly, filling all the interconnected transportation nodes on the map. The single red dot seemed on the verge of being submerged, as fragile as a flickering candle flame.

However, Brunhilde shook his head in dissatisfaction: "I've said it before, it's too unintuitive. Shouldn't the friend and foe icons on the star map use the most obvious color contrast? They're all warm colors, you might mistake them for allies if you're not careful."

"Isn't that so?" The Chief of Staff wanted to say, and so she actually said it: "Just 18 months ago, we certainly were." Brunhilde stared at her strategist, her eyes, which were bright and clear like the rising sun, suddenly sharpened.

"Well, what I mean is, wouldn't gold appear elegant? It's an imperial tradition. Of course, as the Privy Council Chief Minister who hasn't officially taken office yet, you can certainly use this aspect in your first reform decree."

Brunhilde continued to stare at her chief of staff, her gaze sharp and even becoming increasingly menacing. Again, she was immune to this level of sarcasm; she only wanted to hear something meaningful.

Ostana shrugged and adjusted the star map again. The single red cursor then appeared as if by magic, a dozen or so star systems away from its original location.

"This is the location of Yu Lian's fleet. He has already arrived in the Forging Steel System."

"The error is too great! What is the monitoring array doing? This is Imperial territory, the Inner Ring sector." Brunhilde laughed instead of getting angry, his laughter radiating a surging murderous intent: "If it were just a mere Wraith, that would be somewhat forgivable. But now, that thing has clearly rendezvoused with its New World fleet. Even if Wraiths have special capabilities, shouldn't the monitoring departments and patrol forces of the Inner Ring sector bear full responsibility?"

“Yes, they should not only be held responsible, but they should also be killed.” Ostana certainly agreed with her lord completely, but still said, “However, it is precisely because it is the inner ring that they lost their composure like this.”

Brunhilde immediately understood what the Chief of Staff meant: "The last time we heard the sounds of war in the Inner Ring sector was during... the Civil War. Three hundred years have passed, enough time for them to be complacent and idle?"

“That’s human nature. The best sons and daughters of the Empire with ambition and courage all go to the Imperial Guard, while the less capable ones slaughter natives and suppress slaves in the border lords and outer star sectors to give the Empire room to expand. The local troops left in the inner ring are all defective. It’s not just the patrol and surveillance departments, but the garrison departments as well.” Ostana continued reporting with a subtle, ambiguous smile: “We just received news that the Forged Steel system has fallen.”

Shouldn't this matter be reported immediately? Brunhilde sighed, his sigh revealing a hint of weariness: "There should be twenty or thirty thousand guards there."

The Chief of Staff said, "But in fact, it didn't even last two hours. The Skyfire Starforge was also severely damaged. It will probably be next year before it is fully restored. As a result, all our battlecruisers and above will not have their main guns replaced next year."

That's obviously an exaggeration. Given the Empire's squirrel-like nature, they would definitely stockpile enough even the most expensive consumables. As long as it's not a high-intensity all-out war, it shouldn't affect the needs of the front lines... However, with the Alliance seemingly on the verge of war, this all-out war might not be too far off.

More importantly, that was, after all, the Skyfire Starforge, the Empire's largest and most advanced arsenal. The fact that even it was dismantled makes the signal sent to the entire universe seem quite mysterious.

Of course, ever since that person invaded the empire's homeland, such subtle signals have been appearing constantly, and the empire's leaders have become numb to them. They had no choice but to become numb; it was a kind of mental protection mechanism.

"Because the attack was too fast, Marshal Betaway was a step too slow. The remaining fleet is moving towards the Lianguang Channel. Judging from the current direction and speed, they will arrive at the Weifeng System in about six hours." The Chief of Staff sighed, "It's a real pity. He could have changed direction and gone to the Feilin Shipyard."

As is well known, the Felin Shipyard is one of the largest "private" shipyards in the empire, and one of the few private shipyards qualified to build warships, with King Werrent as its largest shareholder.

“Ostana, we are on our way to the king’s aid! What does this have to do with King Velent? Under the starlight, you’re becoming more and more like a corrupt official who only cares about his own interests.”

"..." The Chief of Staff smiled in a very formulaic way.

“If you’re going to say that this is speaking my mind, then you’re utterly despicable and should be fed to the dragons.” Brunhilde truly trusted the other party completely, but he couldn’t deny that he had indeed had countless thoughts of tearing the other party to pieces and feeding him to the dragons.

However, this situation is still quite delicate.

"Actually, what I was trying to say was that if Yu Lian were to attack Fei Lin, he would have to go through the Whirlwind Star System to enter the Central Star Sector. And Admiral Jaeger Sobek's fleet is heading in that direction. Perhaps they can actually complete the final blockade before the enemy."

She paused for a moment: "The Court of Justice has ceased its investigation of him and his subordinates. Your Highness, as the new head of the Privy Council, you can certainly demonstrate your authority by putting pressure on the Court of Justice. But will this undermine your political commitment? In fact, he and his subordinates do have loyalty issues."

“They don’t have a loyalty problem, they just have a problem with their ideology.” Brunhilde glanced at his chief aide and chuckled. “But so what? Aren’t we all like that?”

"I am not like that. Let me let you know that I have never read the entire 'Original' to this day. At most, I have occasionally heard you and the other sisters discuss it. Those treasonous words are so beautiful that I have completely forgotten them."

"..." This time, King Suruka gritted his teeth and took a full five seconds to compose himself, but the other party had already spoken again:

"Of course, the key point is that if Yu Lian attacks Breeze Shipyard, the next step will only be through Chenxiao Fortress. And King Werrent's fleet is already there. This may be a strategic mistake on his part. At least, that's what the Grand Marshal's Office believes."

As the chief of staff spoke, it became clear that the lord's expression seemed somewhat complicated.

"This isn't a mistake, is it?"

“Heh, that’s hard to say. If everything there were in sync with reality, Canchuan would have been captured long ago, and we wouldn’t have wasted so much time on Earth, in New Chang’an, in Lumina, and at Nantianmen.” Brunhilde waved his hand impatiently. “However, I have already informed King Wei of everything I know.”

Although King Suliuka was happy to see his relative suffer, he was not someone who cared much about family matters and could distinguish between what was important and what was urgent.

"We still need to strengthen the defenses of Chenxiao Fortress." She added, "The troops mobilized by the Central Star Sector... never mind, the Central government has no more troops to spare."

This is so novel! I never had this experience when I was fighting in the Civil War!

Brunhilde sighed and rubbed his forehead, but then the communications department suddenly sent a report—an unsolicited communication from the Kingdom of Kete.

Currently, the Dawn Angel, accompanied by a small patrol fleet, is naturally sailing within the territory of the Kingdom of Kete, preparing to pass through the territory of this satellite nation and return home in the shortest possible straight distance.

Now, we are not far from Bamiyan, the capital of the Big Cats, which has been burned to the ground.