Above the Cybrex Ring World, at the Starport anchorage.
Space was silent. Nearly a hundred small sub-light fishing boats were packed into the anchorage, arrayed in a neat square around the Starport.
Three enormous spindle-shaped warships quietly basked in the golden star's light, docked in the shipyards on either side of the Starport for emergency upgrades. Their newly installed Nanite Armor actually had the texture of sandstone.
After Xi Yan's emergency corrections, Ning Zhiyuan remained unconvinced, but obediently used his authority to send the three atrociously outfitted corvettes in for upgrades.
Two days were only enough to refit the Galactic Throne's weapons and the armor of the other two corvettes, named the Left Guardian and the Right Protector Ship.
The Galactic Throne finally had flak cannons and a Red Laser Emitter. The two corvettes had also been fitted with Nanite Armor, retaining one slot for a Primary Deflector Shield.
Standing on the Galactic Throne's bridge, Ning Zhiyuan looked down at the messages Xi Yan had just sent.
{Xi Yan: Leave port and be ready to concentrate fire at any moment. Veronica's friendly forces will be coming out with you. Don't hit them.}
{Xi Yan: Also, I found time to write a detailed theory of space combat against small ships. Read it. Don't question it, just follow it.}
{Xi Yan: Uploaded file [Space Combat Theory.docx]}
{Ning Zhiyuan: Understood. [Handshake emoji] [Rose emoji]}
{Xi Yan: [Emoji: Senpai's smile]}
Ning Zhiyuan silently opened the document and read it carefully.
"Whoa, the Marshal really is a genius!"
After reading Xi Yan's Space Combat Theory, Ning Zhiyuan sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly issued orders.
The crew around him seemed to realize something as well. They all worked silently at their stations, and for a moment, the vast bridge was so quiet that a pin dropping could have been heard.
(Actually, the ship's interior had temporarily been evacuated into a vacuum, and they were communicating through headsets.)
In the silent cosmos, the three enormous corvettes quietly left the shipyards on either side, cruised slowly beyond the Starport at their lowest speed, and turned their bows around.
Their shadows soon swallowed most of the small ships.
{Transmission from the other sub-light ships: What are you doing?}
{Galactic Throne: General Ning has ordered a patrol.}
{Transmission disconnected}
Meanwhile, Veronica, down on the Ring World, also received a message from Xi Yan.
The gallant female general sprang to her feet and respectfully checked the message.
{Xi Yan: Command of your fleet is temporarily transferred to General Ning Zhiyuan. Follow General Ning Zhiyuan's flagship and await further instructions. If anything unexpected happens, you may open fire immediately.}
{Veronica: (Voice message) Yes, Marshal, sir!}
{Xi Yan: [Sweating emoji]}
Veronica closed her communications window with the Marshal and began handing over command of her fleet.
In the Starport anchorage, twenty warships much smaller than the corvettes fired up their engines, left their berths, and joined the three corvettes waiting in the distance.
{Transmission from Shoigu's and Gerasimov's fleets: You have patrol duty too?}
{Veronica's fleet: The general has given orders. We're going to put on a little show for you soon.}
{Shoigu's and Gerasimov's fleets: What kind of show?}
{Veronica's fleet: A good one. Anyway, just watch and you'll find out.}
{Veronica's fleet: Hehe.}
Inside the Starport, Alexei leaned forward in the command center, puzzled.
He was Shoigu's son and had been specifically left behind to hold the Starport.
He knew the Marshal would be attending tonight's banquet. Alexei was eager to get to know Xi Yan, who was around his own age.
But his father, Shoigu, had sternly refused.
Shoigu had always been a cautious man. He had deliberately left some personnel in the Starport to guard against Xi Yan suddenly turning on them and recklessly starting a civil war.
If Xi Yan dared lay a hand on them, Alexei could order the fleet to counterattack the Ring World from the Starport, providing a deterrent.
Alexei, however, dismissed the idea. As far as he was concerned, how could the Marshal ever do something like that?
It was not as though he had never met Xi Yan before. Back then, Xi Yan had been the very picture of a cheerful young man, and everyone firmly believed he would become a gentle ruler.
If he weren't the Marshal, perhaps we could become very good friends.
Alexei thought this, then continued watching the fleet outside the window.
Why go on patrol at a time like this?
And Ning Zhiyuan's and Veronica's fleets were leaving port together. What were they going to do?
He thought little of three corvettes and twenty Sublight Warships, but he needed to find out.
Wait...
Ning Zhiyuan, Veronica, leaving port at the same time...
Alexei's movements slowed as though someone had pressed a slow-motion button. An unpleasant suspicion formed in his mind.
He opened his communications interface and tried to contact Ning Zhiyuan, only to see a red exclamation mark.
Alexei's Adam's apple bobbed. With trembling hands, he opened Shoigu's communications window and placed a video call.
The alert sounded again and again. Staring at the unanswered holographic screen, he stiffly turned his head toward the distant Ring World.
He could make out nothing, yet he could see everything.
"No, he wouldn't. How could this be happening? Xi Yan, he... he..."
"Alexei!" A man in military uniform rushed into the room. Their eyes met, Alexei's panic colliding with the man's grave expression.
"General Gerasimov's vital signs have stopped," the man said tersely.
"Which means..."
Glancing at Ning Zhiyuan's fleet outside the Starport, Alexei took a deep breath, his lips trembling.
"All personnel, stand by. Prepare for com-"
Zing!
Out in distant space, the enormous corvette Galactic Throne blocked the Sun's light. The only light visible was a searing red beam lancing down from the top of the Galactic Throne.
"Move!" the man roared. He grabbed Alexei's shoulder, dragged him out of the room, and shut the airtight door.
A second later, the red laser pierced the office, and all the air was sucked out in an instant.
"Why can their red laser shoot so far? Wasn't the Galactic Throne equipped with nuclear missiles?" the man shouted. Then he shook Alexei hard. "Snap out of it! You're the commander now!"
"Yes, I'm here!"
Alexei quickly came to his senses. He swayed and braced himself against the hot wall. The room on the other side was filled with molten metal.
"Quick, organize a counterattack! I'll command the battle myself!"
"I was careless just now and didn't dodge. They caught me with a sneak attack. So what if they have three corvettes? Those corvettes are huge and unwieldy. Just because they have a Hyperdrive, they think they can beat my small sub-light warships?"
"Yes, Commander! With both generals absent, you're the only one who can shoulder this responsibility!"
To avoid further attacks from the Galactic Throne, the two hurried away, heading deeper into the better-protected Starport to direct the battle.
"Ahem. No matter what, eighty ships against twenty-three-the advantage is mine!"
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