Inside Avila's flagship.
"How is it? Have they replied?"
"Not yet. After all, they probably haven't encountered anything like this before, so they're likely still a little confused!"
"That makes sense. Notify me immediately when there's news!"
"Yes, Commander Avila!"
Time passed quickly. More than ten minutes went by, and just as Avila was beginning to think the plan had failed—
"Commander, their reply has arrived!"
"What did they say?"
"They require our fleets that have already arrived to immediately shut down their weapon systems, then proceed to the location they designated and assemble according to their orders. Any fleets arriving afterward must do the same!"
"They only want us to shut down our weapon systems? Nothing else?"
"Yes. Also, the assembly location they sent is much closer to their defensive formation than to the channel entrance—nearly half the distance!"
"Hahahaha, I didn't expect it to actually work! Looks like you were right. The older and more powerful a civilization is, the less likely it is to suspect a false surrender. They might not even have such a concept!"
Looking at the three-dimensional battlefield simulation opened by his adjutant, along with the flashing circle along the route, Avila broke into a wide grin and laughed.
"As long as we pretend to comply and send all the later fleets there as well, then in just a few hours, nearly 300 billion warships from our fleet can complete their assembly right under their noses!"
"At that distance...!"
"Even if they realize by then that we're faking our surrender, they won't have time to make any effective response."
"One wave. Just one wave, and we'll be able to wipe out their entire fleet!"
"Notify the frontline fleets. Follow their demands immediately, and don't reveal any flaws!"
After a fierce round of analysis, Avila