The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

Meanwhile, in the Starfall Divine Realm, on its edge.

The hunter fleet of the Fallen Leaf Court had just completed its ninth jump, and the entire formation bounced out of the subspace channel.

Looking around, purple arcs of electricity, remnants of spatial rifts, still lingered on the hulls of every Starship.

It crackled and popped for several seconds before finally dissipating.

Inside the bridge of the flagship [Death Star], the ticking sounds of various devices rose and fell.

The navigator was checking the coordinate deviation, the communications officer was adjusting the encrypted frequency band, and the dot representing the destination on the holographic star map was getting closer and closer.

Logically speaking, Richard, as a Star Hunter, should be happy at times like this.

After all, the secret realm of the Blazing Sun Divine Kingdom was not far from them, and the divine object like the Heart of the Blazing Sun was practically within their grasp.

However, the truth is quite the opposite.

Instead of showing any excitement, his brows were furrowed like a pretzel.

On the holographic communication screen to the left of his command console, a woman's face was being projected. The woman had sharp features, high cheekbones, and short, silver-gray hair that clung to her scalp.

Rosa Koch.

One of the six inspectors of the Fallen Leaf Court, responsible for the Court's intelligence network.

"Richard, I think I've made myself very clear!"

"Several major families in Ashmertine have made their moves. The private armed forces of Lucia, Seger, and Ozheimer have all left port two standard days ago."

"The entire direction points towards the Starfall Rift Abyss."

"Especially the Lucia family, which is personally led by Anya Lucia!"

"Her Libra Hub's direct fleet is almost at full strength. Preliminary estimates put the number of warships at over 120, including at least six heavy destroyers."

"Plus her own combat strength..."

Rosa paused here, as if carefully choosing her words: "If you encounter her in the Starfall Rift, your squadron won't stand a chance."

Richard did not refute this assessment.

He's definitely not good enough.

Although the Star Hunters of the Fallen Leaf Court are highly skilled individually, their fleet size is limited to thirty-seven ships, which is less than a fraction of the size of the other side's fleet.

Not to mention Anya Lucia, who is one of the top five high-level combatants among the new generation of the Ashmerktin family.

If the two of them were to go head-to-head, they would really whip him like a top.

Richard's expression darkened further: "Damn it, how did these guys react so quickly?"

"We bought an intelligence blackout service from Deep Space Eye. Those guys swore they'd buy us seven standard days."

"Seven days! How much did those intelligence brokers charge us? 3.7 billion star coins, and from the time we bought the information until now, it's only been four days and seventeen hours!"

"Four days! Those people have already assembled and left port?"

"This is procrastination? This is procrastination?"

As he said this, he slammed his fist on the edge of the control panel, causing the data panel next to him to bounce.

On the other end of the communication screen, Rosa's expression remained unchanged.

She was used to Richard's temper; she had seen much bigger scenes than this.

After he finished cursing, she calmly said, "It's simple, the information was leaked."

"Leaked? How was it leaked?"

Upon hearing this, Richard's expression stiffened slightly.

"Something happened at the Deep Space Eye. The liaison officer who was in charge of blocking our intelligence was arrested three days ago."

"Who caught him?"

"The Ashmerkham enforcement team's charges are unrelated to us; they're involved in the trafficking of weapons and contraband. Apparently, they had a batch of controlled-grade space folding devices in their possession, which led to a report."

"After the law enforcement fleet took him away, they got him to talk in less than six hours of interrogation. In order to get a reduced sentence, he confessed to all the contracts he had on the run."

"Our intelligence-blocking agreement is naturally included."

Upon hearing this, Richard's expression froze completely. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out three words: "Damn it."

To be honest, this is just incredibly unlucky.

Not only did they lose 3.7 billion Star Coins, but they also exposed their whereabouts completely.

Everyone else on the bridge wisely kept their heads down and went about their work, pretending not to hear the inspector cursing.

The navigator only glanced at it briefly before quickly turning his head back.

Richard took a deep breath and forced down his anger.

At this point, cursing won't solve anything.

He needs information and judgment.

"Where is Anya Lucia's squadron located now?"

Thinking of this, Richard asked another question, feeling annoyed.

Rosa pulled up a data file and scanned it twice: "According to our informants at the Thermos relay station, the Lucia family's fleet passed the sixth jump node eleven hours ago."

"If they maintain their current speed, they will reach the outer edge of Starfall Rift in as little as thirty standard hours."

Thirty standard hours?

Upon hearing this news, Richard's eyelids twitched, and he quickly did some mental calculations.

His own formation will need two more jumps and a period of sub-light speed cruise to get from its current position to the Starfall Rift, which is conservatively estimated to take 26 to 28 standard hours.

In other words, both sides will arrive at almost the same time.

"What about Segel and Oppenheimer?"

Thinking of this, he pressed for an answer.

"Slower than Lucia. The Seger family's fleet is still stuck at the third jump node; their flagship engine has malfunctioned and is undergoing emergency repairs."

"Ozheimer's side is even slower. They only left port three days ago. Given the warp speed of their ragtag fleet, it will take them at least five to six more days to reach the edge of the Starfall Rift."

"So, in the short term, the only real threat is Anya Lucia, but that one is enough to give you a hard time."

Richard didn't reply. He released the command console and paced a few steps on the bridge.

The boots pounded on the metal floor, as if trying to crush it.

Anya Lucia. Governor of the Libra Nexus, and the most outstanding descendant of the Lucia family in this generation.

He had never directly confronted this woman.

But the archives of the Kuye Garden contain a thick stack of information about her.

He was an extremely decisive person.

They make quick decisions, act decisively, and never hesitate.

Most importantly, the Libra fleet under her command was far better equipped than the average Ashmerkrin fleet.

In other words, they were practically their family's private army.

After all, the Libra Hub itself is Ashmerkrin's largest military trade node.

Shipyards, armories, and ammunition supply lines are all located on her territory. The fleet, armed directly from her own military factories, must be incredibly well-equipped.