Ailinko knew that the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force had a small-scale Sourcewave communicator, so she wasn't surprised that they had received the news before the Empire.
She studied the imperial fleet sweeping majestically across the screen and pointed to one especially imposing, ostentatious behemoth. "That one's the Titan, right?"
"That's the Mountain God Gandalang, King Sorein's flagship. He never returned to the Celestial Domain. He's been at the Gate of Glory the whole time, waiting for the next development." Michiel Kent recognized the ship at a glance.
Ailinko pointed with interest at an aircraft carrier with an excessively flamboyant, lavish paint job. "That's a dragonship, right? I think I've seen a few before."
"Yes, a specialized carrier belonging to the Starrealm Knights. It can't carry fighters, but it can carry dragons and knights." Kent felt his scalp tingle. To be fair, the fleet wasn't especially large, but its capital ships made up nearly a third of its strength. Besides one Titan and two dragonships, it had five heavy armored carriers and fourteen battlecruisers—a vast host, like a great pack of steel leviathans roaming the starry river.
"I see. The Imperial forces stopped their offensive because they were waiting for these reinforcements," Ailinko said.
"Judging by the timing, this fleet should have left the Gate of Glory and entered the New World at the end of July. How could something this big have happened without us hearing a thing? The intelligence department is simply, simply..." Kent shook his head.
"Too negligent?" Yang Xiyi said with a smile.
Kent nodded ruefully. He'd actually wanted to say something like, "The National Governance Commission and the intelligence department are all a bunch of idiots," but decided against it, since that would ruin his image as a mature, steady young gentleman of the student council.
"Heh.