Chapter 329: ch

But he knew he had to make an escape, no matter what. He couldn’t waste a single moment, for whatever was coming was definitely on a scale he had never faced before.

Suddenly losing all his cool, calm composure, Zyth shouted like a madman at the pilot just a few steps ahead of him. He barked, “What are you idiots waiting for?! What we came here for can’t be achieved now. The so-called ’powerful and almighty’ Star Empire—and that Duke of the Star Race—have run away with their tails between their legs, leaving us on our own at the hands of those bright humans!”

While speaking, Zyth set his eyes on Jarkon for a moment, letting his hatred spill out. He didn’t care who was backing Jarkon or what benefits had been promised; he felt that whatever was happening now was partly Jarkon’s fault. Above all, he was away from his ship—his best and only way to escape this place.

Thinking of that, he couldn’t help but grow more furious. Yet he didn’t dwell on it—or rather, he couldn’t. He didn’t have the luxury of time as his ability and senses screamed louder and louder with every second wasted.

“Dammit!” he cursed. “Quickly, move toward my flagship, not toward the Star Battle Fortress! Have the fleet prepared for a warp jump immediately. Let the frontline handle the enemy’s attack to buy us as much time as possible!” He barked the orders at the pilot before opening a command channel to relay what he could at that moment.

Then came the voice of his Rear Admiral—his own right-hand man. “Co-commander, but… but? Wh—”

“What ’but’?! We don’t have time for that! If you want to live and fight again, you’d better follow my orders as you are supposed to—and with your utmost efficiency! We don’t have time, and I don’t want to die here. Nor do I want to face what is going to happen soon…”

“That… that… sigh. Okay, Commander. I’ll go and have it done per your orders immediately.” The Rear Admiral, bearing the full pressure of Zyth’s intensity, quickly accepted the command. He did not dare to question further or voice his confusion; he knew the Commander’s unique senses had come into play, and they warned of mortal danger.

But before he could go, Zyth, who clearly wasn’t done, added a few more words:

“One more thing: try to preserve our high-end firepower as much as possible. Also, alert the habitable zones in the Horn Star. Let those who can escape, escape. And those who can’t…” He finished with a few words full of cold killing intent.

The Rear Admiral gulped; his hesitation could be heard clearly over the comms. He recoiled at the Commander’s last few words—they were something he definitely had to hesitate over. What he was being ordered to do, in other words, was to start a mass slaughter of their own people living there, and he couldn’t help but question it.

“But… but, Commander! How could we do that against our own people? If we do that, aren’t we traitors to our own race?”

“What is this, huh?! Being a traitor and all—this isn’t something for you to decide. What you have to do is follow my orders and do as you are told, or do you want to be held in contempt at this moment? As for our people, their fates are sealed anyway. Who knows what those human bitches would do to them… so I would rather not hand the humans free resources. I’ll create as much chaos as I can and let them deal with it. At the very least, it gives us time to contemplate our next course of action and plan against these humans… for they can’t be allowed to live, or our race and clan’s very existence could be called into question!”

“This…” The Rear Admiral hesitated again.

Seeing that, Zyth frowned his brows. “What are you waiting for? Fine—I’ll take the blame for everything! Is that alright?!”

The Rear Admiral, still hesitating, finally nodded his head in acceptance. Seeing that, Zyth sneered at the man. He can’t be allowed to live anymore, Zyth thought. He has become useless. I’ll deal with him when I have the time.

“Then go ahead and be quick!” Zyth snapped.

He cut the communication and contacted other leading personnel across six of the Star Battle Fortresses. He ordered them to move toward the middle line to form a protective barrier for the retreating army, having them prepare their shielding systems—even the six-layered ones that could activate at a moment’s notice.

At the same time, a massive volley of attacks was continuously launched and fired upon the 4th Battle Fleet without stop, successfully halting the continuous push of the enemy fleet.

Meanwhile, as all this was happening onboard the small vessel, it raced toward one of the more distant Taurus-class dreadnought battleships with all its might. Jarkon was paying no attention to the hasty actions and orders taken by Zyth. He didn’t even notice the hatred Zyth had directed toward him, as he was far more focused on the plight he faced himself.

He felt irritated, frustrated, and infuriated among myriad emotions, though above all, he felt embarrassed—extremely embarrassed at this moment. The plan he had been cooking up had failed just like that. He hadn’t even been able to take a single step onto the Star Fleet flagship; forget that, he hadn’t even been able to get near the vessel at all.

Never mind taking a step on that ship or facing the Duke, whom he had come to know through their communications. He had truly felt he was close enough with him to be an equal.

But it wasn’t at all like what he thought. The moment the Duke felt the situation wasn’t in his favor, he chose to tuck his tail between his legs and run away with the others. He had left Jarkon and his clan here, at the mercy of an enemy that had been eating through their ranks from the very beginning.

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