"World Tree" Offensive and Defensive Battle (Conclusion)

The signal flares ignited in the pitch-black space were spotted by the nearby warships, and the captains issued their orders upon seeing them.

"Fire the retreat signal flares!"

"Yes, sir!"

The tactical commanders replied.

The order was executed, and the warships launched the retreat flares.

As one warship followed suit by firing its own retreat flare, the other ships that saw them began to fire their own in succession.

Soon, the surviving warships of the Earth Alliance Forces along this front line were all launching signal flares.

On the front line, although the Moebius pilots could not establish communication with their warships, they were able to see the signal flares through their optical sensors.

Upon seeing the retreat signal, they did not hesitate to pilot their Moebius units toward their motherships.

In an instant, the front line of the Earth Alliance Forces began to pull back toward the World Tree International Space Station.

Inside the cockpit of the White Ginn, Felix watched the signal flares lighting up in space and, without a moment's hesitation, began to pursue the fleeing enemies relentlessly.

The Heavy Assault Machine Gun in the White Ginn's hand opened fire.

Bullets erupted from the muzzle.

They streaked across the silent vacuum of space, eventually striking the propulsion system of a Moebius.

The propulsion system was blown apart, and the Moebius instantly lost its ability to maintain acceleration; although the inertia of space allowed the Moebius to continue moving forward, it could no longer gain the speed necessary to outrun its pursuer.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The pilot raged helplessly inside the cockpit.

No amount of frantic maneuvering could change the reality of the situation.

The White Ginn, piloted by Felix, had already closed the distance to this Moebius, and with the Heavy Slash Blade gripped in its hand, he delivered a single strike that instantly blew the unit apart.

Having dealt with that Moebius, Felix maneuvered toward the other Moebius units and warships.

The glow of explosions appeared continuously along the White Ginn's flight path, each flash marking the destruction of another Moebius.

After continuing this offensive for some time, Felix, preparing to strike again, checked the energy status displayed on his screen.

The high-energy battery pack was showing signs of depletion.

If only it were nuclear-powered!

He sighed to himself.

Felix looked ahead, fired the remaining bullets in his magazine with the Heavy Assault Machine Gun, and piloted the White Ginn toward the Sebastian.

On the Sebastian, Yalik saw the returning MS and knew it was low on energy.

He issued an order.

"Open the hangar doors!"

The order was given, and the hangar doors of the Sebastian swung open.

Felix piloted the White Ginn back into the Hangar.

He stepped out of the cockpit and spoke to the members of the Maintenance Crew.

"Perform maintenance at maximum speed!"

"Understood!"

The head of the Maintenance Crew saluted and replied.

After hearing the response, Felix walked toward the MS Pilot Ready Room.

Not long after stepping into the ready room, he saw Heine walk in, followed by two other members.

Looking at the three of them and noting the absence of the other two, Felix had a guess in his heart.

Heine sat down beside Felix, his face heavy, and spoke with a hint of grief.

"Doren has been killed in action!"

"I understand."

Hearing the news of his subordinate's death, Felix was stunned for a moment, but he quickly suppressed the sorrow in his heart and replied to Heine in a calm tone.

After speaking, he reached out and patted Heine on the shoulder.

"Sacrifice is the norm in war! We must recognize this reality and accept it; only then can we continue to move forward."

Having offered this comfort, Felix continued.

"You are a veteran as well; you should understand this."

"I know."

Heine nodded earnestly in response.

Hearing Heine's reply, Felix looked toward the other two and offered them some words of comfort as well.

After offering this reassurance, Felix waited there for the MS maintenance to conclude.

The voice of Yalik rang out over the intercom in the ready room.

"Captain, please come to the bridge!"

Hearing this, Felix opened his eyes from his rest, glanced at Heine and the others, and immediately turned to head toward the bridge.

Inside the bridge.

Upon arriving, Felix saw the scene of the World Tree exploding displayed on the main screen.

"The Earth Alliance Forces detonated the World Tree themselves?"

He asked Yalik while looking at the screen.

Yalik stood up and saluted Alex, replying aloud.

"That's right! The Earth Alliance Forces detonated the World Tree themselves. They must have realized that with their current strength, it was impossible to continue guarding the World Tree, so they blew it up directly to prevent us from obtaining it."

"What is the status of the Earth Alliance Forces' units?"

Nodding slightly, Felix asked Yalik about the situation of the Earth Alliance Forces.

Yalik reported to Felix.

"The remaining units of the Earth Alliance Forces took advantage of our units returning for maintenance to gather their MA, and their warships are fleeing this battlefield at full speed.

The flagship just fired signal flares. According to the instructions we agreed upon, these three signal flares indicate that we are not to pursue."

"Since the commander-in-chief does not want us to continue the pursuit, we shall not pursue!"

Upon learning the commander-in-chief's intentions, Felix did not say anything further. He accepted this outcome quite easily, then turned to look at Yalik.

"Remember to notify me if anything comes up."

Having said that, Felix turned and walked out of the bridge.

Thirty minutes later, As the Neutron Jammer was deactivated, communication between the warships was restored. Felix, sitting in the captain's quarters, contacted the other two warships.

Being able to establish normal contact, Felix breathed a sigh of relief.

After exchanging a few words with the captains of those two warships, he switched the communication to Miles and Phipps.

"Phipps, Miles, what are the losses for the MS squads you two are leading?"

"Captain, our squad lost two MS, and two MS pilots sacrificed their lives in this battle."

Phipps was the first to speak up and report to Felix.

Following him, Miles also spoke.

"Captain, our situation is about the same; we lost two MS and two MS pilots sacrificed."

"The ones who sacrificed were all recruits, right?"

"The two who sacrificed in our squad were both recruits!"

"The ones who sacrificed in our squad were the same."

The two explained to Felix one after the other.

Upon learning this result, Felix was neither surprised nor shocked, as if this matter was within his expectations.

"This battle was somewhat special. Recruits naturally lack practical battlefield experience, and coupled with the unique nature of this engagement, they were even more inexperienced.

It is perfectly normal for such a situation to occur."

"Indeed! This battle was very special. At the very beginning, I didn't even adapt well, and I nearly lost my life once."

"My side was about the same as yours; I also nearly lost my life."