"Whoosh..." The moment Elder Fatis appeared, his face was grim.
Klaist's heart stirred. He glanced at the communications officer behind him. "Grand Elder, I..."
"You still know that I'm the Grand Elder..." Fatis's cold tone made Klaist sigh inwardly. He already understood that his unauthorized attempt to probe the Zerg's wormhole defenses without first sending a request to Fatis had been reported by the communications officer. As for why it had been the communications officer rather than the fleet captain who had reported it, Klaist naturally understood. The vanguard fleet's captain was absolutely loyal to his elder sister, the Elf Queen, and would never report him to Fatis behind his back. The only one who could silently notify Fatis right under his nose was the officer specifically in charge of communications.
"Klaist, since you already knew that the Zerg had occupied the wormhole, you should have reported it immediately instead of leading your troops in a direct assault. Do you realize that what you did not only alerted the enemy, but also needlessly cost us a large number of warships? As a powerful expert accompanying the army, taking command of the fleet was already an overreach of your authority. Now, by disregarding the lives of the soldiers and causing heavy casualties, do you admit your guilt?"
The Grand Elder's voice was stern and severe, but Klaist sneered inwardly.
"Grand Elder, in this assault, I destroyed seven Zerg cruiser-class warships and four destroyer-class ships, while also determining the strength of the Zerg defenses on the other side of the wormhole. What we lost were merely seven understrength cruisers. Such losses hardly qualify as the enormous losses you described..." Klaist's voice remained even, but anyone could hear that the two were at odds.
The Grand Elder's furious expression abruptly turned to astonishment.