"Sir, this is the red pirate signal coming from the edge of the Paiji Star."
Marco reported that as technical director, he was also eligible to participate in the operational meeting hosted by Iongra Speer.
Upon hearing the news, the fleet commander of the Black Legion was stunned for a moment, and then said:
"Are they still around? This is interesting. Where is the Empire?"
"Remote surveyors are scanning over 30 ships moored in high orbit over the Pains, and thermal responses from reactors and sensors indicate a mix of capital ships and heavy transports."
Kranon the Heartless leaned his hands on the shiny metal edge, a faint sneer flashing across his lips.
"Does this still require the use of instruments? You can see it with your eyes."
"The eye can't be that precise."
Hearing these words, the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel, 'Cold Steel' Capac Tari, shook his head.
He was a soldier who served in the later stages of the Great Expedition. His eyes were silver, and the smoke-gray lenses were deeply embedded in the scarred eye sockets. During the Battle of Farr, he was severely injured by sharp fragments formed by the explosion of the ship's cabin. It caused severe nerve damage, turning his face into a cold, mysterious mask, but he never cared, only being proud of the scars from his service.
After receiving support, Marco continued his report.
"...We also detected an unusually large reactor signal, consistent with the Dark Angels' monolithic fortress."
Iongraspeer nodded.
"A scary thing, but it has passed its prime. I just didn't expect that the Dark Angels would open their lair, and they would lose so miserably before."
Then, he looked seriously at the hologram above the table and the real-time updated data.
The Death Star was at the center of the hologram, and small red icons dotted the world as new battle groups of the Black Legion approached, marking the size and location of enemy ships in orbit.
Several of these icons are particularly obvious, primarily the Dark Angels' Stone Fortress, the Astral Knights' Eternal Loyalty, and the White Templars' Heart of Light, while other icons are grouped based on their size and reactor emissions.
Currently, the picture shows that no less than 10 cruiser-sized spots are parked on the Pisces Star, surrounding another 10 transport ships. There are also double-digit small warships cruising and patrolling on the outside.
Heller Renaud stood to the left of Ion Grasper, barely concealing the worry on his face.
There is no doubt that the enemy has twice as many capital ships as they do. Although for now, the Black Legion still enjoys the advantage of surprise, no one can tell how long this situation will last.
Not just him, the entire dark hall was filled with tension and uneasiness——
In fact, most of the people in the Black Legion have lost confidence due to previous failures. If reinforcements had not arrived, they would have fled long ago.
Heller-Reno then tried to put aside his sense of foreboding by focusing on tactics.
"My lord, the enemy outnumbers us."
Eingra Speer glanced at the other party sideways and said sarcastically:
“I can do math in my head, man, I think I can count to thirty on my own.”
Heller Renault twisted his shoulders uncomfortably.
"Yes, of course, I'm not attacking the obvious, I'm just curious about your strategy-"
"Take it easy, brother."
However, Eingra Speer chuckled and patted Heller on the shoulder.
"I got you."
He pointed to the fleet group above the Pai Shang star.
"Our mission is not to defeat them. Even an Ogryn knows this is impossible. We can't even gnaw boulders, let alone other warships."
As he spoke, he turned to glance at Kranon.
"We just need to get reinforcements on the ground."
Kranon snorted softly and said hoarsely:
"The other side is not an idiot and will let you walk onto the track with such swagger."
"So we have to count on it."
Aingra Speer pointed to an inconspicuous weak signal near the planet.
That's the Red Pirates' fleet.
"I'm curious."
Capak Tali suddenly said:
"How did they manage to stay so close without being noticed?"
"What's the name of the leader of the Red Pirates this time? I don't remember, but that guy has two skills in psychic powers, and he also has a group of Thousand Sons wizards under his command."
"wizard."
Kranon spat directly onto the ground.
"It's all disgusting stuff."
"Anyway, their methods are useful to us, that's all."
As he spoke, he clicked on the control panel.
"This is the battle plan. I also sent it to the Red Pirates. If we execute it according to the plan, there is a high probability that we can-"
Just as he was talking, the bridge alarm suddenly sounded.
"Sir! They have discovered us. The patrol fleet has already approached and is preparing to engage in battle. Based on the current course and speed, the contact time will be forty-five minutes."
Marco straightened up and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Sir, what are your orders?"
They have fired their bows and there is no turning back, but now they are still some distance away from the Pavilion Star, and the battle group still has the time and ability to withdraw from the system.
If they choose to move forward, they will be irrevocably committed to the fight.
Iongraspeer didn't hesitate.
"Execute the attack plan, send the signal, maintain speed, and once the patrol comes into range, engage immediately. We will launch the first strike, and the Red Pirates will wait for instructions."
Marco bowed to Eingraspeer, turned around, and issued a series of orders to the command staff.
Iongraspel turned his attention back to the hologram. After looking at it for a while, he turned to Kranon and said:
"Brother, you have to prepare for orbital landing. I predict that we will pass through the low orbit of the star Pavilion in three hours."
"I see."
Kranon finished speaking and began relaying orders through his channel.
At this point, the image above the collector updated again, this time depicting the approximate locations of the three patrol squadrons.
Ahead of them, three squadrons, displayed in bright red, slowly formed into a rough crescent-shaped formation, like a pair of encircling arms, toward the oncoming Black Legion fleet.
Numerical data in blue and red colors describe how the distance, course and speed of the two armies change with a steady increase in speed.
Iongraspeer studied these glowing data particles carefully, arms crossed, expression distant and deep.
Suddenly, Heller Renault saw a ghostly smile flash across the face of the fleet commander, and felt uneasy.
At that moment, he wanted to know what the picture was in the other person's mind, because he knew this guy too well. He was good at everything, but sometimes he was easily overconfident!
But now he can't do anything but pray that the dark power can protect them this time.
