The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2780 The Defeat of Orega
2779. The Demise of Orega

Thron has confirmed that Demetrius-Zarin's fleet is also in Orega's fleet formation, and in fact, during the previous battle on Metaron, he also realized that the enemy fleet's formation was almost certainly derived from the Imperial Naval Academy.

Based on what Phoenix said, Demetrius Zarin has definitely been taken over by Orega, so what happened is self-evident.

Seeing that Phoenix had already begun fighting Orega, Thron remained completely unmoved by this terrifying celestial phenomenon.

If it were anyone else, they might have seen this terrifying psionic energy, the tearing of the starry sky, and the crimson lightning, and then hesitated to move forward. But what Thron saw was that Orega was focused on dealing with Phoenix, so this was his chance to launch an attack.

Without even waiting to regroup after leaving hyperspace, Thrawn had already given the order for a full-scale attack.

All the Imperial warships charged madly toward the Fist of Orega's fleet, unleashing their full firepower from the very beginning, without even caring whether they were too far away to be evaded.

In reality, most of the warships of the Fist of Orega were modified warships of those space pirates, or second- or third-line warships retired from the Galactic Empire and the Kingdom of Dawn. Faced with these outdated models, the Imperial-class star destroyers, which had repeatedly suffered defeats at the hands of the Kingdom of Dawn's fleet on the battlefield, became an almost invincible force.

The heavy turbo-laser cannons were almost always accurate, and all the evasive trajectories of those old warships were completely predicted by the advanced fire control radar of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, and then hit them precisely.

Although the Imperial-class Star Destroyers are still equipped with the ancestral turrets that have been used for decades since the Republic era—the XX-9 twin-mounted heavy turbine laser cannons—their more powerful energy supply and more advanced fire control guidance allow these turrets to exert tremendous power.

One after another, the warships of the Fist of Orega were reduced to scorching wreckage in space amidst the intense barrage of fire. Almost every moment, warships were destroyed, and the flames of explosions rose and fell in waves.

Thrawn stood on the flagship's command platform, his gaze calmly sweeping across the battlefield hologram. After issuing the order for a full-scale assault, he began to continuously adjust the formation of his fleet during the assault, fine-tuning the spacing between ships and the angle of fire coverage to ensure that each salvo could achieve cross-suppression.

The remaining fleet of the Fist of Orega was quickly and completely divided and surrounded. They were far inferior to the Imperial fleet in terms of both the number of troops and the quality of their warships. Coupled with Thrall's absolute tactical suppression, defeat was inevitable.

Raven had done everything in his power to command the fleet in resistance, but to no avail. He was completely unable to predict Thrawn's tactical adjustments and could only react passively to each move. In the end, when all else failed, he ordered the ships to form a dense defensive formation to prolong their lives.

His greatest reliance was originally Orega's mind control. Just like the battle that took place around the planet Metaron, as long as he found the core position of the Imperial fleet's formation and asked Orega to take control of the Imperial warships in those positions, he could immediately disrupt the enemy's formation and create an opportunity for a counterattack.

But now, Orega is drawn to Phoenix. Enraged, he disregards the fleet's battle situation and unleashes his terrifying psionic energy, creating countless lightning strikes to attack Phoenix's Phoenix fighter.

Raven certainly wouldn't have any complaints about his master. At this moment, he remained calm. Orega had already eliminated all fear and anger from his heart. Even though the battle had collapsed, he still carried out his command in an orderly manner.

However, calmness cannot replace the disparity in strength at this moment, and the fleet of the Fist of Orega can no longer hold out.

The only reason they haven't been completely defeated yet is that those controlled by Orega are now wholeheartedly serving their master, even if it means fighting to the death.

It was this absolute loyalty that allowed the remaining warships to maintain their final formation even on the brink of destruction.

Seeing this situation, Orega became even angrier. He roared loudly, and the lightning in the cosmic sky became even more powerful.

Phoenix was going all out. Even though the Phoenix fighters were incredibly small against the Divine Will-class destroyer and couldn't cause any truly fatal damage, he didn't abandon the giant ship to attack other targets. Instead, he continued his relentless attack.

The two Protoss heroes were now fighting with all their might, their eyes only on each other.

Seeing that he couldn't catch Phoenix, Olega turned around and left the bridge, opened the ship's loading platform, and flew out.

His body, wreathed in crimson flames, erupted with terrifying psionic energy, propelling him into the air. He stood atop the bow of the Divine Will-class destroyer, raising his hands, and a dense barrage of terrifying lightning bolts rained down from the sky. The area around the warship practically became a forbidden zone!
At this moment, Phoenix, piloting his Phoenix fighter, had been bombing the Divine Will-class destroyer for a long time, and the fighter's energy was almost exhausted, but he still showed no intention of stopping.

Thoron, who never overlooks any battlefield detail, also noticed that the Phoenix fighters' attack frequency was constantly increasing. He immediately ordered a concentrated barrage of firepower to bombard the Divine Will-class ship!
Raindrop-like turbine laser beams rained down on the warship's shields, creating countless ripples of energy.

The Divine Will-class destroyer, which had suffered heavy losses from previous fierce battles, could not withstand the pressure and its deflector shields shattered instantly!
Phoenix seized the opportunity and rammed into the fighter jet along with himself!
Orega showed no mercy, raising his hand and unleashing a barrage of lightning bolts that sent the Phoenix fighter teetering precariously amidst the chaos.

When the fighter jet was several kilometers away from Orega, a bolt of lightning finally struck accurately! The fighter jet's psionic shield shattered instantly, and the entire aircraft turned into a fireball, but it still continued to charge forward with its momentum.

Just as it approached Orega, the wreckage and flames of the fighter jet were instantly sliced ​​apart by a sword shadow. This sword shadow, like a bolt of lightning, even pierced through the sky and slashed down at Orega!
Even a powerful figure like Orega wouldn't dare to directly confront this sword; it seemed as if the universe itself had been cleaved in two! Orega didn't dare hesitate for a moment, hastily gathering spiritual energy to form a barrier in front of him.

The psionic blade slashed down directly, the pure energy colliding without any fancy moves, creating a terrifying shock.

Phoenix didn't give Orega a chance to use his abilities. Two light blades popped out from the gauntlets on his wrists and slashed at Orega like a storm.

Orega was forced to unleash even more lightning, his body transforming into smoke as he moved elusively across the battlefield, desperate to escape Phoenix's entanglement as quickly as possible.

Lightning bolts rained down from the sky, and Phoenix tumbled and leaped through the lightning, wielding his light blades, severing even the lightning and tearing apart space itself!

Thron was also watching the battle in this direction, and when he discovered that Orega and Phoenix were fighting to the death on the Divine Will-class destroyer, he immediately realized that this would be a crucial moment that would determine the outcome of the battle.

"Open fire at full power on the enemy's Divine Will-class destroyer!" Soron decisively issued the order.

Dense turbine laser beams rained down once more, bombarding the already weakened Divine Will-class destroyer. Shields were completely destroyed, armor layers crumbled, and the entire warship was engulfed in the flames of the explosion. However, this attack did not affect Orega and Phoenix. When Thrawn ordered the firing, he also instructed that the artillery fire avoid the core area of ​​their battle to prevent accidental injury to Phoenix.

The battle between the two had reached a fever pitch, with each collision of light blades and lightning creating terrifying ripples in the void.

Orega was nearly insane; his power was far from returning to its peak. Although the lightning that filled the sky suppressed Phoenix, it was unable to deliver a fatal blow to the temple guardian for the time being.

Phoenix's light blade sliced ​​through lightning and cleaved through the starry sky, his struggle unwavering despite the daunting task. He knew that as long as he held on, the scales of victory would eventually tip, and the fleet that Orega had painstakingly built and controlled would be utterly annihilated.
Without the protection of the fleet, it's as if Orega's wings have been clipped.

"Aruu nal adan!! (Those who stand in my way shall fall!)" Phoenix roared, crossing his arms and slashing, the light blades bursting with intense light, forcefully cleaving a massive bolt of lightning in two. His armor was already shattered, but he paid no heed, charging directly towards Orega!
"All the Kalais must die!!" Orega's roar echoed in the void as he condensed an unprecedentedly powerful energy sphere, which he then rammed directly into Phoenix.

A silent explosion erupted instantly, and Phoenix's body was blasted away like a bullet.

At this moment, Orega, whose heart was blinded by hatred, calmed down a bit. He looked around and found that the entire battle had completely collapsed. Apart from the Imperial-class Star Destroyers he controlled, most of the other miscellaneous warships on the battlefield had been destroyed.

The Divine Will-class destroyer beneath my feet is also beginning to disintegrate and break apart under the continuous attacks.

He immediately raised his hand and tore open the void, flashing inside.

Almost simultaneously, a violent explosion erupted inside the Divine Will-class destroyer. The horrific secondary explosion instantly destroyed the warship's internal structure, followed by even more explosions. The colossal ship, over 2200 meters long, tumbled and spun amidst the flames and explosions, finally breaking into three pieces, which were then reduced to countless burning fragments that scattered in all directions in an even more intense explosion.

Thrawn stared at the embers of the explosion and ordered all warships to concentrate their firepower and annihilate the remaining Imperial-class star destroyers.

But at that moment, the senior referee Antilis Tremaine, who was standing beside him, kept staring in the direction where Orega and Phoenix had just fought. He suddenly said, "I think we can send a squadron of fighters over there. Maybe we can capture that warrior named Phoenix."

After a moment's thought, Thron said, "Send a shuttle over there, rescue him onto the spaceship, and then let him leave."

Tremaine fell silent, and after a while, he nodded quietly.

……

At this moment, on another Imperial-class Star Destroyer of the Fist of Orega, Commander Colonel Raven was doing his best to direct the battle, but he was powerless to save the completely collapsed fleet and could only put up a desperate resistance.

The void behind him was torn open, and Orega floated out. However, it was clear that he was also in a sorry state. The crimson flames on his body had dimmed considerably, and his black armor within the flames was also badly damaged. Obviously, he had suffered considerable injuries while fighting Phoenix under heavy fire.

After all, compared to the agile and fast Phoenix, the massive Orega was more likely to be hit by artillery fire.

“My lord, our defeat is inevitable. I suggest we retreat as soon as possible,” Colonel Raven said, turning around.

"Then let's leave," Orega said nonchalantly. "I can have as many fleets like this as I want. Just don't break my toy."

“Yes! I will ensure the safety of that Galaxy Spear shell,” Raven replied.

He continued to command the fleet in battle, and this time with his master's approval, he began to adjust his formation, no longer stubbornly defending, but trying to create distance and retreat.

However, it was too late. Thrawn commanded the fleet to pursue relentlessly, and countless turbo lasers and missiles pierced the starry sky, exploding into blinding flashes of fire within the Fist of Orega fleet.

Fighter squadrons swarmed towards the scattered enemy ships like bees, providing cover for TIE bombers to launch proton torpedoes, inflicting fatal damage on the enemy ships.

Although Raven remained remarkably calm, he was now gripped by despair. He finally realized that he couldn't even run away anymore!
A barrage of artillery fire began to rain down on their warship, countless energy ripples spread across the deflector shields, and piercing alarms blared incessantly, alerting the warship to the intense attack it was under.

"Activate the hyperspace engine as soon as possible," Raven said to the navigator.

"No, sir! The battle situation here is too complex to perform hyperspace calculations!" the navigator shouted.

“If that’s the case, then we won’t be able to evacuate,” Raven concluded calmly.

At that moment, Orega's voice rang in their minds, "I'll take care of the navigation, just give me some time."

Raven nodded. "In that case, I will definitely complete the mission."

As he spoke, he turned to Demetrius Zarin on the other side and said, "Marshal Zarin, Thrawn's primary target should be you. You should switch to another Star Destroyer and lead the other warships to launch an attack on Thrawn's flagship. That should draw the attention of the Imperial fleet."

Demetrius Zarin was Raven's sponsor in completing his studies, his mentor in his military career, and his direct superior. At the same time, there was a huge class gap between them, like that between a naval captain and an imperial marshal. However, when Raven asked him to be bait and die, Zarin agreed without hesitation.

As he walked toward the door, he said, "There's no time to lose. I'll set off immediately and announce my location on the public channel."