The dense clusters of

fighter jets weaved through the floating rocks of varying sizes, soaring up and down like falcons darting through a dense forest at dusk.

Seeing Duke Hanfrey's escape pod's propulsion system destroyed, the situation was critically dangerous. The pilots of the Binart Empire became frantic with urgency. Safety flying protocols, instructors' teachings, and the aircraft's performance limits were all forgotten. Every fighter jet flew at maximum speed, ignoring the complexity and danger of the terrain.

Fiery explosions blossomed as errors in piloting led to asteroids' collisions, a shocking sight amidst the storm of fighter jets. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

However, nobody cared for these unfortunate pilots. Companions following behind merely adjusted their control sticks, allowing their jets to dart past the flashing fireballs like lightning, continuing towards the Central Combat Zone.

As an ancient empire, the Binart Empire is steeped in customs and long-standing traditions. In a sense, customs and traditions serve as an implicit law, more enduring than official laws, with broader influence and stronger power.

Every Narte who grows up in imperial countries where the nobility is the principal class has ingrained a sense of hierarchy into their bones. Like now, all the warriors understand what Hanfrey represents for the Binart Empire!

He is no ordinary noble.

He is an Imperial Admiral, a leading figure among the younger generation of the Empire's generals, the current head of the Hanfley Family, one of the four great families, and an Imperial Duke who commands a family planet, with hundreds of thousands of troops under his banners and two Royal Elephant-class fleets!

No one dares to imagine what consequences would arise should Hanfrey fall here.

It would be the most severe setback suffered by the Empire since the Karsdon great battle thirty years ago, an unacceptable disgrace and blow to the Imperial Nobles! Everyone present would face the wrath of the Royal Family and the noble class, as well as scrutiny from the Imperial Security Department and the Imperial Military Court!

"When the lord worries, the subject dies," this belief is one that every warrior of the Hanfrey Fleet has committed themselves to wholeheartedly. They are Hanfrey's retainers. In their minds, the Duke's life is a million times more valuable than their own! Even if they have to sacrifice the entire fleet for Hanfrey's survival, they wouldn't hesitate for a second.

The battle reached a climax as they approached the outskirts of the Central Combat Zone.

The first two hundred

jets clashed with a hundred , tightly locked in dogfights.

The two waves of foes collided like giant waves, rising into chaotic sprays at the moment of impact. Fighter jets maneuvered and weaved among the floating rocks, chasing and battling each other. Fireballs arose amidst asteroids shimmering with golden light. Invisible shockwaves stirred the permeating gas and dust, spreading quickly in interlaced circles.

The hastily returning

fleet didn't break through as effortlessly as expected. Without a properly formed formation, the 1,200-strong fighter fleet, stretched across nearly ten thousand kilometers, couldn't concentrate their combat power. Their jets, in the duel with the , clearly found themselves at a disadvantage. Anxiously trying to break through, they became easy targets for the cunning and fierce !

After assigning the task of attacking the escape pod to the Mecha Team led by Fatty, the three squadrons of

focused on intercepting the

fleet. Having destroyed the escape pod's tail propulsion, they had completed their task. The rest was up to those Mechanical Gods. All they could do was buy time and pray for the two unfortunate Binart mechas, hoping they wouldn't get beaten too badly.

The fighter jet clusters were engaged in a murderous dance, making that part of the airspace boil.

Meanwhile, the originally bustling center had turned silent.

When the Transformed Mecha pilots Kohen and Brid, piloting the , watched in a daze as the flocks of dancing jets flew away, only to see twenty blue mechas swagger up before them, their first reaction was bewilderment. Their second reaction was to laugh in angry disbelief!

Originally, with the escape pod's tail propulsion destroyed and facing the attack of an ever-growing number of space fighters, Kohen and Brid were struggling bitterly. Their mechas could traverse and charge through large and sluggishly maneuvering fleets but that didn't mean they were invincible in the equally agile swarms of fighter jets. Space fighter combat relies on agility and speed.

In the final tens of seconds, faced with adversaries nearly a hundred times their number, Kohen and Brid had relinquished broad attacks and retreated beside the escape pod, focusing on defense, awaiting the

fleet's rescue. Unexpectedly, those jets ceased their attack, running off to intercept the

fleet, leaving the attack on the escape pod to twenty mechas!

With only twenty mechas attempting to defeat them… Kohen and Brid laughed in unison. They thought, these idiots before them sure had an inflated opinion of themselves.

This will be the most significant error this troublesome Ragged Fleet commits during this battle!