The sounds of revelry gradually subsided.
Everyone looked at him.
Chen Song stood there, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"The battle is over, the celebration is done..."
He paused, then continued.
"Time to get down to business."
He turned and gave an order to the communications officer.
"Send a message to the Joint Staff Department..."
He paused, enunciating each word clearly.
"The Army Breaker Fleet and the General Slayer Fleet have annihilated the Erebus Direct-Command Combined Fleet at the N-12 Jump Point."
"Over 24,000 enemy warships sunk, along with 160,000 civilian-converted military starships."
"Enemy Fleet Commander, General Rockwell, confirmed killed."
"One armor plate seized from the enemy flagship Eternal Night, serial number verified."
"End of report."
The communications officer snapped to attention.
"Yes!"
His fingers danced rapidly across the control console, encrypting and sending the message.
Chen Song stood there, gazing out the window at the overwhelming expanse of wreckage.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Rockwell..."
He murmured.
"Rest in peace."
However, at that very moment.
An alarm sound suddenly blared.
It was sharp and piercing, like a drill boring into everyone's eardrums.
The celebratory atmosphere on the bridge instantly froze solid.
The sensor supervisor jerked his head up, staring at his screen, pupils contracting slightly.
His voice cut through the alarm, carrying a hint of tension.
"Report! High-energy reaction detected!"
He paused, quickly scanning the data.
"Suspected to be a fleet!"
The smile vanished from Chen Song's face in an instant.
He stood up abruptly, strode to the command console, and fixed his gaze on the tactical screen.
On the screen, a cluster of blue dots was slowly materializing.
Not many.
Less than three hundred.
But at this time, in this location.
Any unidentified fleet was a threat.
His voice exploded across the bridge, carrying an undeniable decisiveness.
"Prepare for combat!"
The order was swiftly relayed.
Destroyers and reconnaissance ships activated simultaneously, peeling away from the fleet formation and heading towards the area of the high-energy reaction.
Their tail flames drew blue streaks across the void, like a pack of hounds lunging towards prey.
The atmosphere on the bridge grew extremely tense.
The communications officer's fingers hovered over the control console, ready to receive any incoming messages from the front.
A few seconds.
Over ten seconds.
Half a minute.
Each second felt like a century.
Then the communications officer's eyes widened suddenly.
He stared fixedly at the newly decoded information on his screen, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Reporting, Commander!"
He looked up, enunciating each word clearly.
"Communication received from the forward reconnaissance ships!"
"Identity verification..."
He paused, his voice suddenly rising.
"Confirmed!"
"It's our..."
"Pluto Fleet!"
The bridge fell silent for a second.
Then it was as if someone had flipped a switch.
Everyone's expression changed in that instant.
"The Pluto Fleet?"
A staff officer shot to his feet, his chair sliding back half a meter.
"They're back?"
Another officer's mouth hung open, speechless for a long moment.
"Didn't they say they were going to ambush the Imperial Fleet at the S-22 and Z-78 warp points?"
Someone murmured, their voice tinged with disappointment.
"Could it be they failed?"
Chen Song stood there, staring at the screen, motionless.
On the screen, those blue dots were slowly approaching.
Over two hundred warships.
Battered and scarred.
Chen Song's lips twitched.
He chuckled and cursed.
"You little rascal..."
"I gave you the fattest piece of meat to chew on. If the battle report doesn't satisfy me...
don't blame me for turning my back on you!"
"When that time comes, even if you bring out your Marshal father, I'll still give you a good scolding!"
After saying this, Chen Song took a deep breath.
He gave the order to the communications officer.
"Three signal flares."
"Fire."
The communications officer was taken aback.
"Commander?"
Chen Song looked out the window at the approaching blue dots, his voice steady yet forceful.
"To welcome our heroes home."
The matter of the ambush could be discussed later.
The fact that they had managed to return alive from the Imperial Hinterland, the Bushman Star System, was in itself an extraordinary feat.
For such a brave commander, Chen Song had never been stingy with his respect.
The communications officer's eyes lit up.
He stood at attention.
"Yes!"
His fingers danced rapidly across the control console.
The next moment.
The signal flare launch tubes of the flagship, City-Crusher, opened simultaneously.
Three signal flares shot out one after another.
They streaked through the void, trailing long tail flames, soaring toward higher airspace.
The first one exploded.
A white light, like the first light of dawn, illuminated the surrounding starry sky.
The second one exploded.
A blue light, deep as the ocean, intertwined with the white.
The third one exploded.
A golden light, dazzling like the sun, merged with the white and blue.
The three-colored lights intertwined and spread across the void, like a vast painting unfurling before the approaching fleet.
On the bridge, everyone stood up.
At the same time.
Kunlun Mountain - Modified Battleship, bridge.
Qin Bei Wang stared out the window at the three signal flares exploding in sequence, his brow twitching slightly.
Zhuang Zhixuan was the first to react.
Her eyes widened, her mouth agape, unable to speak for a long moment.
Then her voice erupted on the bridge, filled with barely contained excitement.
"Commander! This is the Three-Luminaries Salute!"
Qin Bei Wang turned to look at her.
Zhuang Zhixuan pointed at the three-colored lights outside the window, her words coming faster and faster.
"White represents peace, blue represents a clear navigation route, welcoming the return. Gold represents glory!"
She paused, her voice suddenly rising.
"Together, they form the Three-Luminaries Salute!"
"It's a ceremony used in the Federal military, where a lower-ranking fleet welcomes a higher-ranking fleet!"
"And it's the highest protocol, only used when the higher-ranking fleet has made significant contributions!"
The bridge fell silent instantly.
Everyone's gaze fixed on the three-colored lights.
A Joint Fleet.
Had performed the Three-Luminaries Salute for their mother-class fleet, which now numbered only over two hundred starships.
A staff officer murmured.
"A Joint Fleet... saluting us with the Three-Luminaries?"
Someone nearby chimed in, disbelief in their voice.
"If this gets out... won't we be ridiculed to death?"
"A lower-ranking fleet welcoming a higher-ranking one?"
"But we're a mother-class fleet..."
Low murmurs filled the bridge.
Some exchanged glances.
Some unconsciously swallowed hard.
Some couldn't help but steal a glance at Qin Bei Wang.
He remained standing before the command console.
His hands clasped behind his back.
Heads held high.
Gaze calmly fixed on the tricolored light outside the window.
Accepting this tribute from the Joint Fleet with composure.
The Bridge fell silent for a second.
Then.
Someone gently straightened their collar.
Someone unconsciously smoothed the hem of their uniform.
Someone straightened their back, putting away the earlier look of surprise.
One after another.
Everyone stood at attention.
Posture ramrod straight.
Heads held high.
Like a pride of proud lions.