When General Mergash's personally led fleet arrived at the burning battlefield, they found two allied warships that had completely lost their momentum, stranded and helpless. They looked like two grievously wounded beasts that had exhausted all their strength, left with no choice but to wait for death.
In truth, simply staying in place without being swept away and torn apart by cosmic radiation or caught and dragged off by the star's gravity—and keeping their basic life-support systems running—had already consumed the last of the two dreadnoughts' power and energy.
Now, though, both Flame Dragons were covered in blazing wounds. Pillars of fire, often over a kilometer high, shot into the starry sky, as if trying to outshine the two silver-white suns.
Two Aegis-class ships and three Apocalypse Hawks were doing everything they could to rescue the comrades trapped inside the massive vessels. But they had only so many people and so much specialized equipment. They looked more like helpless young beasts whimpering beside their grievously wounded mothers. The sight was unbearably tragic.
"General An Guo has completely lost combat capability. Given the damage, it'll take at least eighteen months of major repairs before she can return to service. The Titanium City is in somewhat better shape, but all her main guns are gone, and her bridge has been destroyed. Lieutenant General Cyril and his entire staff are dead." The chief of staff's mouth twitched.
General Mergash nodded silently. Beside him, Viscount Nepote, a Starrealm Knight, let out a long sigh, his grief plain to see.
"Lieutenant General Cyril... gone just like that."
Lieutenant General Cyril had been deputy commander of the interception fleet. He was also a well-trained psyker and held the title of Starrealm Knight. Yet he had been silently vaporized by the bombardment before he could show what