Not a single one of the over twenty thousand Imperial regular army ships escaped.
Total annihilation.
Chen Song's laughter gradually subsided, but the smile on his face did not fade in the slightest.
He turned around and excitedly said to his adjutant beside him.
"Quick! Search for me!"
He stretched out his hand, pointing at the wreckage outside the window.
"See if there are any armor plates bearing the flagship's identification number!"
The adjutant was momentarily stunned.
"Flagship identification number?"
Chen Song nodded, the light in his eyes growing even brighter.
"The other side is definitely a big fish!"
The adjutant, itching with curiosity from his words, couldn't help but ask.
"Commander, how do you know it's a big fish?"
Chen Song looked at him and chuckled.
That smile carried a cunning unique to seasoned veterans.
"You wouldn't know this."
He drew out his tone, as if giving the adjutant a lesson.
"The enemy fought to the death without retreating…"
He paused, then pointed a finger toward the window.
"That's definitely a noble within the Empire of middling status."
"These people care the most about reputation."
The adjutant listened, stunned and bewildered.
"Nobles?"
Chen Song nodded.
"Yes, nobles."
"They care deeply about their noble status.
They can lose, they can die, but they absolutely cannot flee without a fight."
"That would disgrace their ancestors."
The adjutant nodded thoughtfully.
Chen Song continued.
"And…"
His smile deepened.
"Just now, the Quantum Directional Harmonic Instrument detected quantum communications being transmitted and received by the enemy in multiple directions."
He paused, enunciating each word clearly.
"Such frequency is definitely not something a low-level fleet could possess."
The adjutant's eyes lit up.
"So…"
Chen Song patted his shoulder.
"So, the other side is definitely a big fish."
"Perhaps…"
His gaze fell on the wreckage outside the window, on the drifting debris.
"It's the leader of the Erebus Fleet."
The adjutant gasped sharply.
The leader of the Erebus Fleet?
That would be General Rockwell?
He abruptly turned around and shouted to the communications officer.
"Quick! Dispatch reconnaissance ships!"
"Search the wreckage area!"
"Look for armor plates with identification numbers!"
The communications officer stood at attention.
"Yes!"
The order was swiftly relayed.
Hundreds of reconnaissance ships detached from the fleet formation and headed toward the overwhelming expanse of wreckage.
Chen Song stood on the bridge, staring at the backs of those reconnaissance ships, the smile at the corner of his mouth never fading.
He murmured.
"Rockwell…"
"If you really died here…"
"I'll buy you a drink."
The adjutant beside him, hearing this, couldn't help but laugh.
"Commander, how can a dead man drink?"
Chen Song glanced at him.
"Can't it be placed on the offering table?"
The adjutant was stunned for a moment, then laughed even harder.
The laughter on the bridge grew louder than before.
After the reconnaissance ships' diligent search, they soon found an armor plate with an identification number, suspected to be from the flagship Eternal Night.
The moment the reconnaissance ships transmitted the image back, the entire bridge fell silent.
That massive armor plate floated alone amidst the wreckage.
Its edges were jagged, as if torn from the hull by some immense force.
The surface was covered in scorched, blackened burns, with several areas deformed from laser melting.
But that line of identification remained clearly visible.
S-DF-BN-001
Chen Song stared fixedly at that line of characters, not blinking.
His lips moved slightly, reading out each letter one by one.
"S—Sequence Fleet."
"DF—Direct Fleet, Directly Subordinate Fleet."
"BN—Black Night, Eternal Night."
"001—"
He paused, his voice suddenly rising sharply.
"Flagship!"
The bridge fell silent for another second.
Then Chen Song slammed his hand on the command console, springing up from his seat.
"This is it!"
His voice exploded across the bridge, brimming with irrepressible excitement.
"This is it!"
"We really annihilated the flagship of the Erebus Fleet..."
He pointed at the armor plate on the screen, enunciating each word deliberately.
"Eternal Night!"
The bridge instantly erupted with deafening cheers.
"We won!"
"We won!"
"We took out the flagship!"
The officers who had been calmly operating with expressionless faces moments ago now seemed like different people.
Some jumped up from their seats, waving their fists.
Some embraced each other, vigorously patting each other's shoulders.
Some leaned back in their chairs, heads tilted back, breathing heavily with reddened eyes.
The adjutant grinned from ear to ear, moving close to Chen Song.
"Commander! It really is the flagship!"
Chen Song slapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
"Obviously!
I just said it, that one was definitely a big fish!"
The communications officer nearby stood up, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Directly Subordinate Fleet!
That was the Directly Subordinate Fleet of the Erebus Fleet!"
"A Sequence Fleet of over a hundred thousand starships, the Directly Subordinate Fleet is their core!"
"We took out the core!"
Another voice chimed in.
"And we took out the flagship!"
"Eternal Night!"
"That old bastard Rockwell must have been on board!"
"Hahahaha!"
The laughter rose in waves.
Chen Song stood there, watching his subordinates who were nearly delirious with excitement, unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth.
But he did not join the revelry.
He simply stood there, gazing at the armor plate with its identification number on the screen.
S-DF-BN-001.
Those letters and numbers, in his eyes, shone brighter than any medal.
The adjutant leaned in closer, lowering his voice.
"Commander, this time we took out over twenty thousand ships of the Imperial regular army, plus those hundred thousand or so civilian-converted military ships..."
He paused, then continued.
"This battle record, placed in Federation history, isn't actually particularly outstanding."
Chen Song nodded.
"I know."
The adjutant went on.
"But..."
His voice carried a hint of excitement.
"Eliminating a Sequence Fleet's Directly Subordinate Fleet, and taking out its flagship..."
"That's a different story."
Chen Song smiled.
Of course he knew it was different.
A Sequence Fleet, over a hundred thousand starships.
The Directly Subordinate Fleet is its core, its elite, its backbone.
To destroy a Sequence Fleet's Directly Subordinate Fleet on the frontline battlefield.
Difficult.
Extremely difficult.
They wouldn't give you that chance.
They would hide the Directly Subordinate Fleet in the safest place, protected by their most elite forces.
Even if you breach the outer defensive line, they will prioritize covering the retreat of the Directly Subordinate Fleet.
To capture it, to destroy it—
requires the right timing, favorable terrain, and human harmony.
It requires luck, strength, and...
the enemy Commander's willingness to "cooperate with you."
Chen Song took a deep breath.
His gaze shifted away from the screen, sweeping over his subordinates celebrating wildly on the Bridge.
Those young faces were flushed red at this moment.
In their Eyes, the light of excitement flickered.
He suddenly felt that this moment was worth more than any medal.
He spoke.
His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear it.
"Alright."
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