Under Lieutenant Colonel Kojima's urging and Colonel Rhea's indifferent thanks, Xiao Ran and his people did not remain on Earth even for a single night. Once El-Elf had compiled and submitted the battle report, they boarded a Transport Aircraft and returned directly to space.
Recently, the Federation had repeatedly sent Xiao Ran to various places to complete difficult combat missions. But given Earth's current situation, there were only a few matters that truly troubled the Federation. Moreover, some battles involved Federal Army secrets, making Xiao Ran's special Freedom Fleet unsuitable for participation.
After every operation, unless necessary, Xiao Ran would stay at the mission site for no more than one night to rest before returning to space. His habit of leaving after every fight and only coming when there was a fight to be had might not have been entirely appropriate, but from the standpoint of his fleet, it was quite the correct choice.
After all, his fleet bore the name of a cooperative fleet, so it was inconvenient for them to remain at another unit's base for too long. Furthermore, the fleet had no designated defense sector and was not required to carry out routine patrols within the Federation's sphere of influence in space. Other than orders from the Federal High-level—or General Revil—Xiao Ran's fleet did not need to participate in any routine assignments. Ordinary members of the fleet might not have felt much difference while serving aboard the ships.
But for Xiao Ran and the others, whenever they had no mission, they were free to act entirely as they wished, unbound by the usual rules of the Federal Army. After a mission, whether Xiao Ran wanted to stay for several days or leave immediately without wasting another minute depended solely on his personal wishes. No one else had