"Western Hunt Fleet and Green Hill Fleet, proceed immediately to reinforce the Savannah Star System."
"After rendezvousing with the Greedy Wolf Fleet, all forces will be under the unified command of General Xue Zhenhai."
Including Tyrol, there were a total of four star systems.
Their three Sequence Fleets only had 18 Joint Fleets.
Therefore, after conferring, the three generals decided to dispatch 4 Joint Fleets to each star system.
The two extra fleets were assigned to the Turkmen and Garton Star Systems respectively.
Because these two systems were closer to the Shang Yu Star System.
This allocation ensured basic combat capability while allowing for the swiftest possible capture of the Warp Points within the four systems.
The communications officer nodded and transmitted the orders.
The Sirius Fleet's formation began to adjust.
Four Joint Fleets continued their advance toward the Tyrol Galaxy.
The other two Joint Fleets, Western Hunt and Green Hill, began adjusting their course, accelerating toward the direction of the Savannah Star System.
Their tail flames stretched into long ribbons of light in the void, like six sharp arrows piercing the darkness.
At the border between the Savannah and Bushman Star Systems.
In the void, a fleet was advancing slowly.
Their formation was somewhat loose, their hulls bearing clear signs of combat.
Some warships still had scorched blast marks on their broadsides, some had thrusters with tail flames noticeably dimmer than normal, and some hulls even showed signs of hasty repairs.
But those three hundred warships still maintained a basic formation.
On the bridge of the Kunlun Mountain - Modified, Qin Bei Wang stood before the observation window, staring at the gradually widening expanse of starry space ahead.
Behind him, Zhuang Zhixuan's voice sounded.
"Commander, we are about to cross the star system boundary."
Qin Bei Wang nodded without speaking.
The hull gave a slight shudder.
It was a very subtle sensation.
Like passing through an invisible film, like being gently lifted by an intangible hand.
The warship was captured by the gravity of the Savannah Star System.
Zhuang Zhixuan's voice sounded again, this time carrying a trace of barely concealed excitement.
"Commander, we have entered the Savannah Star System."
A low, barely suppressed cheer rippled through the bridge.
Someone let out a long, deep sigh.
Someone leaned back in their chair and closed their eyes.
Someone exchanged glances with a smile at the corner of their mouth.
This meant they were one step closer to home.
Qin Bei Wang stood there, looking out the window at the familiar starscape, silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke softly.
The words were so quiet only he could hear them.
"It's still early."
Immediately after, Qin Bei Wang continued.
"We are still within the Empire's territory."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the officers and crew on the bridge who were beginning to relax slightly.
"Remain vigilant. Do not let your guard down."
Zhuang Zhixuan turned her head to look at him.
As if it were all just a matter of course.
Zhuang Zhixuan smiled faintly.
Looking at Qin Bei Wang, she couldn't help but think.
Modesty.
That was probably their Commander's greatest flaw.
What did it mean to traverse the entire Bushman Star System?
That was the Empire's hinterland.
After the Stargate was destroyed, the Empire had intensified its surveillance of the Bushman Star System.
Patrol Teams cruised around the clock without interruption.
Any fleet entering, in theory, should have been easily detected.
Yet they emerged safely.
Because their Commander could always accurately predict the positions of the Empire's patrol teams.
Every course change precisely slipped through the gaps between the Empire's patrols.
Once could be luck.
Twice could be coincidence.
But three, four, five, countless times?
Zhuang Zhixuan's gaze fell upon Qin Bei Wang's back.
On the bridge, others were also watching him.
The staff officers, communications officers, sensor operators.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on that young figure.
In those eyes, there was no doubt, no hesitation.
Only one thing: admiration, and respect.
That admiration and respect were not feigned, not commanded.
It was earned through this journey, with each precise prediction, each flawless decision that had won them over.
Someone whispered a sentence.
The voice was so soft, only those nearby could hear it.
"If our Commander were a deity..."
He paused.
"...he would undoubtedly be the God of War."
The person beside him nodded without speaking.
But their eyes said everything.
Zhuang Zhixuan heard those words.
She didn't turn around, only a slight curve lifted the corner of her mouth.
God of War.
That title seemed quite fitting.
Qin Bei Wang's gaze fell upon the system star chart only he could see.
It was a dense array of light points.
Red.
Each representing an Empire patrol fleet.
Their flight paths were precisely marked.
Some were slowly cruising, others rapidly advancing, some shuttling back and forth in certain areas.
Those lines intertwined like a giant net spread over the entire Savannah Star System.
He shifted his gaze to the lower right corner of the star chart.
There, a number was quietly flashing.
1.48 billion kilometers.
That was the zero-latency transmission range of the system signal.
He remembered clearly that this number was previously 980 million kilometers.
Now it had increased by 500 million kilometers.
His gaze lingered on that number for a few seconds.
He couldn't help but wonder.
Could it be because of the Stargate Battle?
Destroying that stargate, creating that black hole, annihilating two joint fleets.
So the system was being this generous.
He didn't know the system's evaluation criteria.
But he knew that every time a major mission was completed, this distance would increase.
1.48 billion kilometers.
This meant he could monitor the movements of surrounding enemy forces in real-time from a greater distance.
It meant his fleet could evade all threats from a safer distance.
His gaze moved from that number back to the red dots.
Beside several of those dots, a few lines of small text were currently floating.
That was data analyzed by the system from detection information gathered by passive detection buoys scattered throughout the Savannah Star System.
From just gravitational wave data, the system would match it against the warship database to identify the warship type most consistent with that gravitational wave signature.
And provide some basic data about that warship.
Enemy Ship Type: Empire Patrol Destroyer
Engine Strength: T3-class, maximum speed 100,000 km/s
Detection Array Parameters:
Gravitational Wave Detection: Maximum detection range 120 million kilometers
Infrared: Maximum detection range 80 million kilometers
Radar: Maximum detection range 50 million kilometers
Qin Bei Wang's eyes quickly scanned those lines of data.
120 million kilometers.
This was the maximum detection range of that patrol destroyer.
And they were currently...
230 million kilometers away.
Completely outside its detection range.
He gave a slight nod.
This was why they had traveled all this way without being detected by a single Empire patrol fleet.
The system could not only tell him where the enemy was, but also how far their eyes could see.
As long as they stayed beyond that distance, they were invisible to the enemy.