The timeline shifted back three days earlier.
At the warfront between the Human Federation and the Huain civilization, Fleet Commander Ryan Haind, commander of the First Fleet and the third overall supreme commander of the war, studied the strategic points displayed on the tactical screen. His expression carried clear satisfaction.
As for the previous two supreme commanders? Both had already perished.
The first one, due to a catastrophic strategic blunder in the early stages of the war, had walked straight into the enemy's encirclement and died a martyr. The second had been far more cautious and steady, making no major mistakes, yet fate dealt him a cruel hand—he was assassinated in a covert strike by Huain agents.
On the surface, it looked as though the Federation's situation was precarious. But from another angle, it was not so bleak at all: the Huain had already lost five supreme commanders in this same conflict. Compared to that, humanity's setbacks seemed manageable.
The Federation currently possessed 5,471 colony worlds and a population exceeding 19 trillion. The Huain civilization controlled 3,255 colonies with a population of just over 13 trillion.
And now the casualty ratio between the two sides had gradually stabilized at approximately 1 Human : 1.3 Huain.
Victory for the Human Federation was already visible to the naked eye.
If nothing else, they could simply exhaust the enemy to death.
The greatest question left was: would the Huain stubbornly fight to the bitter end, and at what cost would the Federation ultimately claim the spoils?
To mitigate needless losses, Ryan had already deployed deep-cover operatives within Huain territory. These agents spread propaganda and planted rumors, sowing dissent in a civilization already tilting toward disadvantage.
In return, Ryan had promised them rewards—such as future self-governance or territorial autonomy. And the Huain collaborators did not doubt these promises. After all, a fractured Huain civilization benefited the Human Federation immensely. Their efforts had exceeded Ryan's initial expectations, proving surprisingly effective in stirring up chaos.
Now, as he watched the frontline creep forward once more, stray thoughts crossed his mind—mostly concerning postwar spoils and the distribution of power.
Victory was all but assured. The defeated Huain would inevitably pay vast reparations in both territory and resources. The question was how they would be divided.
As the military's representative and overall commander, Ryan would be among the key decision-makers. He needed to consider what to secure for himself.
Ordinary wealth and resources no longer interested him—his family already controlled more than a dozen star systems, each with a planetary governor. Such things were beneath him.
Instead, he pondered over titles and rank.
Military honors? A promotion? Perhaps even the office of Vice Chairman of the Federation… or Chairman itself?
The current leadership still had more than ten years left in their term. It was a difficult choice.
Thinking of this, Ryan couldn't help but smile faintly.
The troubles of victory, dull yet intoxicating, were a kind of happiness in themselves.
At that moment, an adjutant stepped up to report:
"Commander, there is a warp disturbance at the center of the battlefield!"
Ryan's expression instantly turned serious. As supreme commander, he knew full well there were no scheduled Federation reinforcements at this time.
"Is it Huain reinforcements?" he asked sharply.
Even with victory near at hand, his professional training forbade complacency.
The adjutant replied truthfully:
"According to the energy signature, it does not match Huain vessels. Instead, it appears to be another civilization. The fleet size is around ten ships."
Ryan exhaled lightly, his mind putting the pieces together. Most likely, this was just an unlucky alien fleet blundering into the wrong star system.
"Before they emerge, transmit a warning," Ryan ordered coolly.
"Tell them this is an active warzone. Neutral parties are forbidden entry. Expel them at once."
With that, he dismissed the matter.
Ten ships? Meaningless. This battlefield contained over a million warships.
If the strangers departed, all well and good. If not, their fate would simply be to add a few more wrecks to the graveyard.
The adjutant acknowledged the order and prepared to send the signal. But moments later, his expression faltered.
Something was wrong.
The approaching vessels were moving at impossible speed. In less than thirty seconds, they had nearly completed their transition out of warp space!
This was extraordinary. Normally, returning from hyperspace was delicate work. Even the Federation's finest vessels required lengthy preparations—tens of minutes, even hours. A single miscalculation could leave a ship trapped in the interdimensional rift, lost forever.
Yet these unidentified ships displayed none of those difficulties. Their efficiency vastly exceeded the limits of known human technology.
A chilling thought struck the adjutant:
'A higher civilization…?'
He turned quickly, intending to report this to the commander. But reality gave him no chance.
Before he could even take a step, a deafening explosion erupted nearby.
A Federation escort ship, just beside the flagship, had been obliterated into a blazing fireball. Shards of molten metal spun across the void, drifting among the stars.
And that was only the beginning.
Across the entire battlefield, thousands of similar detonations erupted almost simultaneously. Human and Huain vessels alike were torn apart without warning.
In the central zone of the battlefield, space itself was cleared in an instant. Dozens of capital ships from both sides were annihilated at once, leaving behind a gaping void where moments before the fighting had been fiercest.
And then, under the stunned gaze of millions, twelve colossal warships emerged from hyperspace.
Each vessel was over ten kilometers long, shaped like an enormous streamlined skiff, with two pairs of metallic glider-wings extending from its flanks. Their outer hulls glistened crimson, covered with intricate openwork engravings. Every panel resembled a vast metal mural, and under the glow of their psychic shields, the warships radiated breathtaking, kaleidoscopic brilliance.
They were not mere weapons of war.
They were works of art.
Their presence alone reduced the combined fleets of the Human Federation and the Huain civilization—over a million warships—into nothing more than pitiful props, insignificant against such transcendent majesty.
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T/N:
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