Regret

On the S27 warship, all the surviving officers and soldiers were extremely busy.

Most of the soldiers fell victim to the shockwave from the energy strike, and many survivors needed to heal each other.

In addition, there are four other severely damaged areas on the ship, which now require the survivors to work together to repair.

Various screams and cries for help filled the air, along with the constant commotion of the warship's repair work.

Inside the command center, however, the atmosphere was completely different; for a moment, it was eerily quiet!

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss gripped his beard tightly, his other fist clenched and trembling uncontrollably.

The projection in front of him was filled with dense combat information and combat reports of past requisition missions of various ships, as if a review was being conducted.

The overall attack route for Line 3 was essentially determined by Lieutenant Colonel Weiss and Major Kaya after analysis.

The lieutenant commanders of the other two medium-sized ships were merely assisting him in completing this mission; Lieutenant Colonel Weiss naturally had no intention of actually communicating with them.

The Ship S27 naturally bears undeniable responsibility for this unexpected explosion.

"Kaya, have we... fallen into a trap?"

"Could their past displays of apprehension have been... all a form of seduction?!"

His voice was muffled, filled with regret and deep resentment.

In fact, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss did not take the damage to the entire fleet to heart.

After all, the three medium-sized ships had only suffered damage and had not lost their combat capability.

The core of this conscription mission is only himself. As long as he is still alive and the Ship S27 is still there, nothing else matters.

As for the smaller ships that were lost, he didn't care about them.

However, he found it hard to accept that he had been tricked by the Silver Mutual Aid Society this time, especially since he had willingly walked into their trap.

"Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, I think this is a good thing."

"Thank goodness for your wisdom in sending D15 as the vanguard to scout ahead; otherwise, the losses we would have suffered if we had gotten any closer would have been truly irreparable."

Major Kaya's expression was equally grim, but his response carried a hint of caution.

Seeing that Lieutenant Colonel Weiss didn't blame him and was more reflecting on his own actions, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The immediate priority was to help Lieutenant Colonel Weiss vent his frustrations and find an excuse.

"I believe the responsibility for this incident still lies with Ship D15. They spent a whole day on Planet E09 and didn't detect anything unusual."

"Before the army set off, I specifically contacted him in the army's name to confirm, and he told us it was perfectly safe!"

"Their ship bears undeniable responsibility for this!"

When Captain Isos was still in command, Kaya was naturally willing to defend him.

But now that the other party is dead, that relationship is naturally over, so it's perfect for them to take the blame.

At the same time, he thought of the Ship A73 of the Arcane Civilization Army.

"And then there's Ship A73. They were the ones who first investigated this route, but they didn't find anything unusual either!"

"I believe that these two ships should bear the responsibility for this defeat!"

"What about the combat report of Ship A73? Have you seen it?"

Upon hearing Kaya mention the Ship A73, even the indignant Lieutenant Colonel Weiss couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The sound grew increasingly muffled, clearly indicating they weren't prepared to let the Ship A73 go.

This made Major Kaya feel even more relaxed, and he quickly shifted his focus, hoping that Lieutenant Colonel Weiss wouldn't dwell on today's defeat.

At the same time, remembering how Major Qi had embarrassed him before, he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

"The report was submitted yesterday; I haven't looked at it yet, but it's probably just a bunch of excuses."

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss remained silent, but his movements became even more swift and efficient.

On the projection screen in front of him, the report submitted by Ship A73 was quickly displayed.

The report, once opened, was over forty pages long.

This made both of them frown. Their first reaction was that the other side was not very proactive in combat, but they were writing a lot of reports.

After patiently flipping through the pages for a while, a surprised and doubtful voice came from Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's mouth.

"Um...?"

For a moment, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's brows furrowed even more deeply.

Major Kaya behind him was also staring wide-eyed at the projection screen, looking on in disbelief.

Nothing more; the report's contents were exactly the same as what was said at the meeting that day.

Pursued by three small ships, they faced an attack from Committee Member Bowen, one of the seven members of the Silver Mutual Aid Society Committee.

However, compared to the meeting that day when everyone thought it was Captain Boren's lie or joke, now all the supporting evidence in this report has been presented.

It's all true, without a single fabricated excuse!

What surprised them even more was that the Ship A73 Lister actually underwent three evolutions during this mission and truly became a 'Quasi-Hegemon'.

Even within the Central Army, the emergence of Quasi-Hegemon would be big news!

What followed was even more bizarre, and for a time, even Lieutenant Colonel Weiss found it increasingly unbelievable!

As a newly promoted Quasi-Hegemon, to slay Committee Member Bowen and three warships with a single strike is simply a fantasy.

However, after these contents were submitted as a substantive report, including all the supporting information and coordinates of the warship being slashed, he had no choice but to believe it.

At this moment, the meetings of the previous two days kept replaying in my mind.

The meeting seemed to have been led astray by Major Isos, and coupled with his own underlying distrust of the Civilization Army, he didn't really take Captain Boren's words seriously.

Now, a faint sense of regret is rising in my heart.

As Lieutenant Colonel Weiss continued reading, his emotions grew increasingly agitated!

The main focus is on the last page of the report, which includes an analysis of the anomalies on Planet E09.

"The planet's terrain features are unusual... According to our ship's analysis, there are some anomalies on this planet. Please take note, Captain."

"This...!"

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss looked at the contents of the report, and for a moment, words caught in his throat, and he was unable to speak.

The feeling of regret in my heart suddenly intensified!

Originally, I wanted to take advantage of my dissatisfaction to vent my anger on the Ship A73.

Little did he know that the enemy fleet was not what he had imagined, and he had to pay a much higher price on this side route.

They even reported the anomalies on Planet E09, but... they didn't pay any attention!

Or perhaps they never truly trusted the other party, and made some hasty and arbitrary judgments, leading to today's significant losses!

"Lieutenant Colonel Weiss! The report from Ship A73 is my dereliction of duty!"

"It's my fault for not checking the report in time. I'm just reminding you!"

Major Kaya, who was standing nearby, quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

The report was delivered yesterday, just before the final offensive.

Logically speaking, compiling and organizing all this information should be the job of him, the deputy commander.

However, due to his negligence, or at least his lack of attention, this crucial report was overlooked.

Sigh!

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss sighed deeply and spoke slowly.

"This isn't your fault! I'm in the same boat as you; it's just that we don't trust each other!"

"Indeed, no Hegemon should be underestimated! Even those in the martial arts field!"

Comparatively speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss was more understanding of his own people.

At least the deputy captain and deputy commander on their own ship were very understanding of each other in this matter.

He knew that Kaya's emotions were the same as his own; he didn't take the Ship A73 seriously at all.

Moreover, even if this report had actually been placed in front of him yesterday, based on unsubstantiated suspicion, they wouldn't have paid attention to the warning in the report from Ship A73.

Now, while Lieutenant Colonel Weiss is reflecting on his mistakes and regrets, he attributes all the results and misjudgments regarding the Ship A73 to Lister, believing that his failure to value this Hegemon future leader led to this series of consequences.

Major Kaya calmed down again, when he suddenly heard someone urgently reporting to him.

After taking a few steps back and patiently listening to the report transmitted through the chip in his ear, he immediately snapped back to Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's side.

"Sir! Something terrible has happened!"

"According to the radar chief's report, a large number of warships are approaching from the star system ahead."

"I heard that it's Marquez himself leading the team."

"Heh~!"

In response to the enemy's counterattack, Lieutenant Colonel Weiss calmed down and nodded with a hint of disdain.

"I knew they wouldn't let it go so easily."

"It's perfect timing! I was just worried they wouldn't show up!"

"I want to see what this 'former Quasi-Hegemon's has to rely on to think he can take us down in one fell swoop?"