Just as victory seemed within reach, the close-range surprise attack by three hundred bandit warplanes threw the Feiyu Fleet into chaos, dragging its flagship to the brink of danger. When I quickly deployed the Sicman Plum Blossom Defense Formation to break the enemy's assault and regain control, who could have predicted that the carrier fleet had already become someone else's target!

Even when the main cannons fired in unison, I never lost confidence.

Because I understand that the Binart Empire, forged by thirty years of toil under a mysterious guide, had surpassed the Feiyang Republic by far.

This Imperial Power-class carrier was never just a sitting duck without its energy shield. The super armor covering its entire body and its internally unique structure is enough to withstand a saturated attack from a B-class fleet.

Those dozens of raiding warships won't understand any of this. After their salvo, all they can do is launch a final desperate assault with their energy gun towers or missile fish, waiting for the fate of failure to descend. For they are out of time, and the returning Feiyu Fighter cluster is only a little over a minute away from here.

But unexpectedly, I miscalculated once again.

As time ran short, the ships used their bizarre ramming beaks to directly hit the Feiyu.

The armor I was so proud of was no match for these ramming beaks... This was simply maddening. Could it be that the disheveled, almost falling apart ships had an interior structure that was stronger than the Feiyu?!

On the screen, a large section of the ship's hull cracked and separated. Dozens of soldiers were instantly swallowed by the universe. Listening to their screams and wails, Hanfrey knew that everyone outside the defense cabin had already lost their chance of survival. It wouldn't take long before they all died in despair!

The situation had changed again by this point. The carrier was nearly destroyed, communication was cut off, and dozens of broken ships surrounded and blocked the area completely.

This means the rest of the fleet is unaware of my fate. The vanguard fighter clusters no longer have a rescue target. Even if they arrive immediately, they cannot break through the blockade of the dozens of dilapidated ships.

The Binart Fleet, without its Commander and in disarray, must be terrified.

How could Douglas let such an opportunity slip by?

Once the panic sets in, once the scattered fleet becomes even more disorganized, and once the Feiyang Fleet makes sweeping strategic insertions and divisions, causing the tide of defeat to escalate—knowing I'm alive or having divine intervention wouldn't reverse the defeat.

Fortunately, I still held a trump card: two Judgement Mechas capable of battling warships!

As long as the rest of the fleet knows I'm alive, and with the cover of the Mechas to break through the blockade of those dilapidated ships into the protection zone of the fighter cluster, this battle cannot be lost!

Yet... Hanfrey's gaze flickered, and unease filled his heart.

He didn't know what peculiar move the opponent might make when he played his last card! Everything that had happened so far had dealt a severe blow to his confidence.

"Duke..." a soft voice whispered in his ear.

Hanfrey turned his head. Two Mech Knights, their enormous silver-white metal heads, quietly stood by the Mecha with its cockpit already open, their strange and ugly faces showing somewhat impatient, icy smiles.

"We must go!"

Mech Knight Kohen slightly bowed.

"Rest assured, sir," the other Mech Knight Brid leaned against the Mecha, looking at his hand, said lightly, "No one can stop you with us here."

Hanfrey took a deep breath. Events had reached a point where he could no longer hesitate.

The path he could take had always been just this one.

"I am well aware of your strength. Then," Hanfrey nodded, smiling gently, "I leave it to you."

*********************************************************************************************

"Trying to flee."

Bai Jun swung the control stick, the fighter deftly turned, and as the electronic visor's reticle aligned, he pressed the energy cannon fire button hard.

Two white energy cannon light chains burst forth. The Thunderbolt fighter, zigzagging and rolling ahead, its red energy shield could not hold any longer and completely broke down. The fragmented fighter was soon transformed into a fiery red meteor.

The Dragon Warrior darted past the fireball, rolling in the glow of the red light, with a 180-degree tail swing, turned and dived after another Thunderbolt being pursued relentless by a bandit warplane.

"Whoa!" As Bai Jun's fighter ascended to parallel altitude with his Thunderbolt-pursuing companion, he hooted and gestured at his grumpy-looking companion.

"Get lost, this one's mine!" his companion's playful scolding came through the comm channel.

Bai Jun ignored him completely, yanking the control stick as the fighter's wings sharply tilted, locking onto the fleeing enemy plane. Seconds later, another Thunderbolt was reduced to scattering pieces under the energy cannon.

Breathing a snort, Bai Jun gently patted the wooden-textured surface of his fighter's control panel as a Knight would lovingly pat his steed.

As a Saleria pilot, Bai Jun had never imagined one day piloting a fifth-and-a-half generation Gladiator would so thoroughly outmatch a seventh-generation Thunderbolt—this fighter was simply amazing! Was it really modified from my Gladiator?