Chapter 283: Ch

He paused, then added,

“Exclude any battleships where our teams are currently operating. Those are off-limits. All other enemy vessels may be engaged at the captains’ discretion. I grant them that freedom.”

Once again, Eclipse was surprised by this directive. Ezra’s previous stance had been relaxed. He had wanted those ships preserved so that, after refurbishment and upgrades to Void Fleet standards, they could be inducted into his forces and left behind to defend this system while the main fleet moved on to other star systems.

But the orders he was giving now were completely different.

Before she could even raise her voice to ask why he was taking a different approach, what had changed, Ezra dropped another bombshell.

His voice was cold and authoritative as he issued the command, one that not only surprised her further but made her eyes widen at the implication.

“Begin charging the Eclipse’s main gun,” he said. “It’s time we deal some serious damage to that star fortress. It’s becoming a nuisance now.”

This time, she was prepared. She raised her voice immediately.

“What happened, Grand Admiral?” Eclipse asked. “Weren’t we supposed to preserve the ships in the central line, including the star fortress? Then why—”

She couldn’t finish. Ezra spoke, cutting her off and forcing her to swallow the rest of her words.

“That’s because an incident has occurred,” he said. “Grand Admiral Kael’s fleet ran into trouble during their first engagement. They encountered a massive enemy force, a combined fleet of the Minotaur clans and an additional but powerful race known as the Star Race. Their total fleet strength exceeds twenty thousand ships.”

His expression hardened a bit . “According to immediate reports from Grand Admiral Ryn, this Star Race possesses fearsome strength. Not enough to threaten us directly, but enough to become a serious headache. They are an advanced Tier One state, close to Tier One super-state capability.”

He continued without pause.

“Worse, they somehow managed to send messages to other systems. This operation is no longer secret. Wherever we go now, the Minotaur will likely be aware of our movements. They may already be pooling their strength, perhaps even gathering support from other races.”

He stopped and looked at her with a meaningful gaze, one that clearly said she could infer the rest herself.

She could, after all. She was more than capable of it as a transcendent AI, possessing a processing capacity no human could ever reach. Even those in the Genesis Law Realm, above the Genesis Condensation Realm, or even a great realm beyond that, could not hope to achieve it.

In just a few seconds of silence, Eclipse processed the data she had been given, simulating countless scenarios. One by one, the situation unfolded before her like a slow, inevitable film, giving her a general sense of how events would proceed. And though she couldn’t find any outcome that posed a real danger to the fleet, what she discovered was more than enough to tell her that the path to taking over the Minotaur Clan would no longer be easy.

“This will be more than a simple roadblock,” she said at last. “No… I’m certain of it. Backup may already be on the way. Most likely not for the Minotaurs themselves, but for the Star Race and their allied forces, the very ones the Minotaurs have struck deals with, even if they are receiving nothing more than scraps.”

She lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Given what I know of the so-called Holy Region, where Earth lies and which has become our foundation space, I understand the value such a place represents once it has recovered to its original state. Because of that, I’m certain of one thing: the Star Race wouldn’t be foolish enough to seize such an opportunity alone. Nor would anyone else. A mere Tier One state doesn’t have the power to swallow something this vast by itself.”

Ezra also nodded at this .

“My thoughts exactly, Eclipse,” he said. “Because of this, we no longer have the luxury of time, nor the element of surprise. Not that we truly need it, but having it would still work in our favor. It would allow us to take down the Minotaur forces more easily. In the upcoming battles across other star systems, we can’t afford either. It’s a loss, but we can’t hold back anymore.”

He spoke with burning excitement before reining it in as he continued. “From the look of things, we can’t divide our forces to secure every captured system anymore. We’ll have to leave this one to battle droids and patrol units to maintain control and monitor Minotaur movements, while we advance as a single fleet. That way, our strength remains concentrated and doesn’t get depleted, and we can still ensure our own safety if anything happens.”

He paused briefly, then continued with a sly grin.

“Additionally, we’ll divert resources to deploy construction bots. Planetary defenses will need to be built immediately. If another enemy tries to reclaim this system, they’ll be walking into a threat that will also be their last when the time comes.”

He sighed and rubbed his temples. “What a headache. I thought this would be simple, but complexity always greets us at the worst moment.”

Lowering his hand, he issued his final orders. “Prepare the fleet for action. Dispatch several units from the mech divisions along with a handful of battleships, support frigates, and destroyers to the planets. Neutralize any remaining Minotaur forces quickly.”

“And deploy scavenger bots, mining bots, industrial units, and construction teams. Begin building the defensive network for this system immediately.”

“As you command, my Grand Admiral,” Eclipse replied. This time, she asked nothing further nor she had anything to ask as well.

She accepted his orders without hesitation and immediately began coordinating the entire fleet, executing every directive with rapid precision.

On both the left and right flanks of the First Battle Fleet, Admiral Michel and Jasmin received their respective orders. Like Eclipse, both were surprised. Almost at the same moment, each of them asked the same question, separately from their own ships.

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