"How did you end up in such a sorry state?"
Leon saw a long gash across the abdomen of He Kai's mech. He had clearly not escaped danger unscathed.
He Kai merely smiled in satisfaction and said indifferently, "I'm alive. That's enough."
"Yeah! War is too cruel." Leon wholeheartedly agreed. Fortunately, it was all over.
At least for the short term, none of them would have to face death again.
Why were battle-hardened veterans so revered?
Because surviving a hundred battles was itself a miracle. There was no such thing as luck.
For He Kai, this was a rebirth.
Before the war ended, it had been a massive boulder weighing him down.
After the war ended, it became the booster that would send him soaring.
They both knew it was time to reap the rewards.
Especially now that Leon had gained an opportunity to break through the ceiling, He Kai would naturally benefit as well.
Neither of them needed to personally handle the cleanup, so they soon returned to the command carrier.
Only after returning did they realize that the war had been even more brutal than they had imagined.
A great many warships had been blown apart. Several Space Carriers were covered in scars, and sparks still flickered from parts of some of them as engineering ships raced to make repairs.
Count Simon met Leon and asked about the battle and Divine Grace, then complained to them, "Two carriers need to be towed back for a complete rebuild. And earlier, to suppress the fortress's firepower, a large number of warships pushed into dangerous zones. The losses were severe.
"The Blue Star Federation Military Government's will to fight has surpassed all expectations. I'm afraid we won't have any peace in the days ahead, either."
The fortress before them could control