Xyrin Empire

Chapter 231: Chapter 231 After the Battle Chapter 231: Chapter 231 After the Battle The enemy retreated.

After consuming nearly eighty percent of their cannon fodder troops and even losing their trump card, the enemy’s commander certainly knew that their ambush had failed. Therefore, after the Eternal Level enemy warship merely carried out its duty with a perfunctory attack on us, all of the enemy forces began a large-scale retreat. Our Xyrin fighters and rapid-assault Interceptors intercepted some of the lesser foes, but the enemy’s main flagship—the Eternal Level—managed to execute a high-speed space jump right under our noses, a fact that especially infuriated us even after a great victory.

Upon reflection, this attack we encountered was indeed perilous. Had it not been for Little Baobao somehow being able to enter the slot of the locked mainframe, just half an hour later, our energy would have been utterly depleted. Without even needing the main cannon of the Eternal Level ship, the sheer number of cannon fodder alone could have enveloped our now useless Xyrin fleet in a tight wrap. But it appears I still have a good rapport with the Goddess of Fortune—unknowingly, even a bewildered little girl like Little Baobao could hit her stride at the crucial moment, a truly unexpected and delightful turn of events.

As for the mysterious dark Pandora, Qianqian and I have maintained silence for the time being, simply stating that an enigmatic Nameless invader attacked Bubbles but was jointly eliminated by both of us, husband and wife. It’s not that we wanted to hide it from others, but considering the gravity of this matter, especially its likely significant impact on Pandora, I decided to speak with Pandora first before revealing everything, to prepare her psychologically. My intuition tells me that a startling truth is gradually surfacing, and if not handled properly, it could inflict a wound on Pandora that she may never recover from.

The enemy’s defeat was a tremendous morale booster for the representatives of all races. These strong beings from various tribes are no strangers to the trials of brutal war or newcomers to worldly experiences. However, they simply couldn’t imagine a superspace battle of such a grand scale, where even Dragons and High Order Demons were merely cannon fodder. The war model of this world remains that of the cold weapons era of close ground combat. Though the concept of aerial combat exists here due to Magic Power, how could the aerial battles of this world compare to the combat of a Super Civilization like the Xyrin Apostles, which had already entered the stage of cosmic warfare? The immense display of firepower and the routine aerial units (for the residents of Azeroth… after all, to us, creatures like Stone-statue Ghosts and Frost Dragons hardly seem standard…) being annihilated en masse as though they were sent through a meat grinder has undoubtedly shaken these natives accustomed to conventional battles. As the belief that “the power of God is invincible” deepens, it’s likely that the Azeroth’s concept of war will change significantly.

However, compared to those tribal representatives who were excitedly celebrating the great victory, our side was pleased but hardly in a mood for revelry.

Yes, it was a victory, a great one at that, but luck played far too big a part in this success. One might say that without Little Baobao’s extraordinary performance, the Xyrin fleet, drained of all its energy, would have faced certain destruction at the hands of an Eternal-class Giant Ship. We can’t always rely on the whims of the fickle Goddess of Fortune for victories— who knows what kind of predicament we might find ourselves in next time?

I have no doubt that, given the opportunity, the commander of the Fallen Apostles would surely set another deadly ambush for us. Our movements are still under the enemy’s control. Even though Visca, that deranged individual, showed an inexplicably close affection for Qianqian and me, I wasn’t naïve enough to believe she would genuinely help us. On the contrary, to “reclaim” all that belonged to her, she’s likely more determined than ever to annihilate Pandora and her army. Since the enemy had intercepted us over the Endless Sea, they would have every reason to launch the next ambush, so our future situation is really not optimistic.

Moreover, even with this victory, we paid a price. Creatures like Stone-statue Ghosts and Skeletal Griffins may be cannon fodder, but the low-level Xyrin War Puppets are not much better than fodder. Despite the rapid troop production of the Xyrin Mainframe Technology, when faced with the undead hordes amassed by the Witch Demon King and the Burning Legion over who knows how long, our army was still at a numerical disadvantage. In this battle, we lost nearly fifty percent of our War Puppets, over two thousand fighters crashed, two Escort Ships, and one main battle-type Destroyer turned to ash in the self-destruction of Ghost Giant Winged Birds. Not to mention, there were numerous other damaged combat aircraft and spaceships. As for the powerful Avengers that were sent out last, since they were one-use weapons, all were destroyed. Such losses might seem insignificant compared to the nearly one hundred thousand Undead Cannon Fodder we’d eliminated, but they made me realize the fact that against the standard troops of the Otherworld, the Xyrin Apostles were not invincible.

After this ordeal, the Xyrin Technicians redesigned the Central Machine Room, allowing the dimension exchange system previously controlled only by the Xyrin Host to be managed externally. Of course, this control was limited to Leader Level Xyrin Apostles, and many defense systems were added to the Central Machine Room, with a whole squad of Elite Level Xyrin Soldiers stationed as guards. To be honest, deploying defense troops within the parallel dimension of the Central Machine Room was something new to Sandora. Before this, the parallel dimensions were considered the safest spaces by the Xyrin Apostles, with no enemy ever breaching them, so no one contemplated the need for defense units. This abnormal invasion left the technicians deeply embarrassed, as they have yet to determine how the enemy had penetrated the heavily locked space and dimension barriers of the machine room. Since technical solutions remain elusive, we had no choice but to resort to the simple solution of stationing guards.

After the battle, although Sandora and the others hadn’t personally gone to the battlefield to slay enemies, directing and coordinating from the rear had everyone exhausted, especially since one of the two top military commanders was a complete idiot when it came to warfare (…guess who? Okay… It was me…). As the supreme commander, Sandora, along with her sister acting as the temporary strategist, felt particularly worn out. After quickly reporting the situation in the central machine room and making necessary arrangements, everyone went back to their rooms to rest, and I walked alone to Pandora’s room.

Like her personality, Pandora’s room embodied the military intelligence mindset through and through: “efficient, simple, practical” was her highest principle in arranging her own space. In her bedroom, you wouldn’t find anything that would identify with a normal little girl. A huge tactical map almost covered the entire wall facing the door; on the right side of the map hung an equally massive Xyrin Military Emblem. Under the emblem, there was a set of sturdy and functional desk and chair. On the desk, aside from a large pile of documents, one could hardly see anything else. To the left of the tactical map, against the wall, stood a…

…a child-sized small single bed…

Pfft…

There’s nothing strange about a child-sized single bed, but why do I feel the urge to laugh upon seeing one in a place that resembled some military headquarters?

To prevent a certain Little Loli, who held a great grudge against her own lack of growth, from going berserk, I wisely chose to hold back my laughter. But honestly… I was nearly out of breath… Perhaps it is unexpected to everyone that even though Pandora always seemed to be in a subtle standoff with Little Baobao, in fact, these two little ones always ended up together. Little Baobao wanted to find someone “big” like her to play with simply, and Pandora… Pfft… This little one purely because Little Baobao was one of the few people who could give her a feeling of superiority in height!

“Brother?”

As my thoughts drifted away again, Pandora’s curious voice pulled me back to reality. I looked down in response to the sound and met a pair of grey, misty eyes.

For some reason, I suddenly thought of those blood-red feline pupils filled with madness.

I shook my head, pushing aside the image of Visca from my mind, and then patted Pandora’s little head, saying, “Pandora, brother has some things he’d like to ask you.”