Provocation and Retreat

Countless beams of energy poured onto the planet's energy shield.

Some exploded on the shield, some were completely annihilated, and only a very few were able to penetrate the energy shield and attack the ground.

The Central Army's destroyers are quite capable in close-range attacks on planets.

At least all of these attacks that could penetrate the energy shield originated from the Ship D15.

Even if it can penetrate the shield, the attack power will inevitably be reduced, making it only barely usable in ground combat and unsuitable as a primary means of attack.

After about half an hour of bombing, the two groups emerged in a beam of light, light.

One group, with solemn expressions, stood quietly behind the black-haired captain at the front.

His eyes kept glancing at the larger group of soldiers beside him.

This large group of sergeants was also led by a captain.

The captain had blond hair, a sinister look in his eyes, and a sinister smile on his lips.

Behind him were two captains and a dozen or so lieutenants and second lieutenants working together.

As for the soldiers he led, the overall feeling was different.

The ranks were somewhat disorganized, and many soldiers wore very distinctive clothing, giving off a carefree and irresponsible vibe.

His gaze swept over the Arcane Civilization Army beside him, a hint of disdain on his face.

"Lister!"

The captain who led D15 on the landing shouted at that moment.

He slightly turned his head, his eyes casually scanning the black-haired captain leading the group not far away.

Seeing that he remained unmoved, she raised her voice even higher, giving him a commanding tone to come forward.

"Captain Lister! At your command!"

Only then did the black-haired captain slightly turn his body and take two steps forward.

He stared at the other person calmly, making no further move.

At the scene, the eyes of over a thousand soldiers were focused on the two captains.

The sergeants on the Ship A73 mostly tightened their weapons and equipment, their faces growing increasingly solemn, creating a tense atmosphere.

In contrast, the sergeants on the nearby Ship D15 mostly wore smirks, as if they were waiting to see a good show.

"Is this the attitude of your Civilization Army —obeying orders?"

"Heh! Just a bunch of ragtag troops! They're not up to par!"

Despite the mockery, Lister remained calm and unmoved.

Including the sergeants behind him, those who have survived to this day are already the elite of the Ship A73.

He didn't show anything because of this low-level mockery, but his eyes subtly turned cold.

Seeing this, the captain leading the opposing team, realizing he was getting bored, immediately issued a direct order.

"Captain Lister, take your men and lead the first wave of attack. Try to lure the enemy out to fight on the outside."

Lister did not respond to this dirty work of the first wave of attack.

Instead, as the captain in charge grew increasingly impatient, he turned sideways and slowly walked back to the front of his own group.

Although he didn't say a word, this action alone made the captain leading the other side quite wary.

He had anticipated all sorts of reactions from Lister, but he never expected that the other party would dare to completely ignore him!

You have to understand that the authority to command operations is now within their Ship D15. Even though he is separated by a layer, the other side should theoretically obey his orders.

To his surprise, they showed no respect whatsoever and completely disobeyed his orders.

Not only the captain leading the group, but also the officers behind him and a large group of the Central Army soldiers looked grim.

"Captain Lister, are you insisting that our Ship D15 issue formal operational orders to your vessel?!"

The captain was now speaking through gritted teeth, and an aura of murderous pressure emanated from him, pressing down on Lister and his soldiers.

His strength is considerable, at the fourteenth rank, with A-level combat power. No wonder he was able to become the Landing Operations Department of the Central Army.

Hehe~!

"If you could actually issue military orders to my ship, I might actually consider it."

As Lister replied, a slight chuckle crept onto his face.

That faint sense of disdain was a great mockery to the opposing captain.

Even a captain in the Central Army needs to issue military orders to the subordinate warships of the Civilization Army through the ship's command headquarters in order to effectively command the enemy in such specific combat arrangements.

Even if this military order were to be issued, it wouldn't be a glorious thing; rather, it would be evidence of his own incompetence.

"You...!"

The captain's cheek muscles twitched uncontrollably, fine lines suddenly appeared at the corners of his eyes, and the anger in his eyes seemed to scorch the air itself.

The next moment, the killing intent emanating from him surged once more, as if he intended to subdue Lister and the others.

Unfortunately, Lister was completely unmoved by his murderous intent.

His knuckles slowly rested on the silver-black hilt of the sword at his waist.

In an instant, a killing intent dozens of times stronger than the opponent's surged into the sky.

The killing intent that solidified instantly dispersed the killing intent on the other party, and a gray mist-like giant faintly appeared behind him, like a god of death.

A surge of bloodlust erupted at that moment, and an immense killing intent instantly descended upon the soldiers of the Central Army, causing fear to rise from the depths of their hearts.

Suddenly, Lister's figure vanished from the spot.

When they reappeared, they were already in front of the opposing captain.

"So fast!"

Their eyes met, and feeling the extreme pressure emanating from the other, the captain's resentful gaze immediately cleared.

The mockery and anger on his face vanished, and his attitude immediately softened.

Until Lister slowly spoke again.

"I think..."

"You don't want to become the next Titus, do you?"

The intense killing intent made his very soul tremble. The seemingly bladeless knife in his opponent's hand now appeared sharper, chilling him to the bone.

It was only then that the captain realized the other person's identity.

Overlord Tier hegemon, and indeed Overlord Tier!

Titus's death was not what he had originally thought, that it was due to Titus's own carelessness.

In addition, Lister was lucky that day, which allowed him to kill him.

In retrospect, he had underestimated the other party.

The difference between Titus and Lister was a qualitative one in terms of true strength.

This disparity now applies to him as well.

Even though his own rank was two ranks higher than Lister's, the other party still gave him a sense of fear of facing death, as if he could be killed with a single blow.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard.

Hearing what the other person said, and then thinking about their prior criminal record.

They were truly ruthless when they were killing people; they didn't care at all about their status as members of the Central Army.

For a moment, the captain's eyes showed even greater fear.

Especially now, in wartime, such a conflict between two ships is not as serious as in peacetime.

Even though Captain Isos had given him a signal before he came down, he couldn't help but back down now, no longer daring to provoke or make things difficult for Lister, after all, his own life was more important.

"Captain Lister, don't act rashly."

"Captain Lacey was just confused! He didn't mean to force your troops to fight."

At that moment, a captain stepped out from beside them. He looked somewhat familiar and began to smooth things over.

This person was none other than Captain Boke who had previously presented him with various pieces of evidence against Captain Titus.

Lister had noticed the other side earlier, and his face showed no sign of watching the show with amusement, but rather a sense of helplessness at the provocation and assignments they had received.

Lister, however, did not blame Captain Boke for this.

After all, the person in charge right now was clearly Captain Lacey, and as the captain of the logistics department, he obviously couldn't get a word in edgewise.

That was also a way of giving the other party face, or rather, Lister didn't really intend to cause another big fuss, fearing that Lieutenant Colonel Weiss of the main fleet would target him even more.

His imposing aura immediately subsided.

"Whew!"

Captain Lacey breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cough cough~!"

The soldiers of the Central Army behind him also emerged from the suffocating sense of terror, and coughing could be heard from all sides.

"Captain Lacey, didn't you tell me privately before that you wanted to thank Captain Lister?"

After Captain Boke gave him a subtle, suggestive look, Captain Lacey quickly realized what was going on and lowered her voice as much as possible.

Oh! Yes, yes!

"Captain Lister, actually... actually... Titus and I didn't get along to begin with, but thankfully you intervened that time."

"Now that Captain Boke is the minister, I'm no longer hampered in the logistics department, all thanks to you!"

"Please don't mind what happened just now. I did it... it was also requested by my superiors."

Captain Lacey, who doesn't seem like someone who would easily give in, is actually quick-witted and even faster at changing her tune.

Especially after truly recognizing the disparity in strength between the two sides, and the ruthless attitude of Lister, they became exceptionally pragmatic.

He truly lived up to his reputation as an officer of the Central Army; not only did he have a clear understanding of the situation, but he also didn't care about his colleagues at all, and even shifted some of his hatred onto his superiors.

"I will lead the main combat operations."

You can arrange your own troops.