Zyth nodded, completely siding with the Rear Admiral, as what he said was indeed the truth of warfare. But the next words from the Rear Admiral stumped him completely.
"But not only was the cha fine—it was completely unhard by our attacks, standing there perfectly functional in the void of space.
And then, unlike what we expected, the enemy cha began preparing a move of its own. Through my spiritual senses and our mana detection devices, we saw it drawing an imnse amount of ambient mana toward itself..."
As he spoke, the Rear Admiral brought up a projection, showing them the scale of what the cha had done. The image showed sothing like a ripple in water; but where a ripple usually originates from one point and expands outward, the reverse was happening here. The ambient mana was being sucked toward the cha like inverted ripples, covering an area of over 50 km in space. Though that distance was small compared to the vastness of the cosmos, it was still staggering.
This completely stumped the Minotaurs. This scale of prowess was unheard of, especially from a cha; they had never even heard of technology like this. Zyth was the first to question it. "Wha—what? How is this possible? How is this cha able to manipulate mana?"
Though the term "manipulation" was perhaps excessive, what the cha or rather dark blade was doing was essentially absorbing the ambient mana to enhance its own systems and power to an extre level.
But this concept was sothing that wasn't clear to the Minotaurs themselves; they were judging this phenonon as "mana manipulation," even though that wasn't quite what was happening yet.
"And that too at such a scale! It's unheard of!" Zyth cried, absolute astonishnt in his voice.
While he was stunned, so were the others. However, Mimosa remained more calm. Though he was still surprised by the display, he was in control. Seeing Zyth react like this, Mimosa knew the commander couldn't be relied upon. He felt disappointed that Zyth was being like this, even at a mont like this. He should have been more aware that ti was of the essence; instead, Mimosa criticized Zyth in his heart, his disappointnt in this bunch growing even more.
Jarkon's own foolish ideas had been bad enough, and now Zyth's behavior was only infuriating Mimosa more and more.
Control yourself, Mimosa. Control... this isn't the ti nor the place where you can explode. Contain the anger within for now and take control of the situation first, before anything else, Mimosa talked to himself as he fought hard to control the angry resentnt and other emotions that were on the brink of exploding.
"Continue with what you were saying, Rear Admiral, and be on point. No need for all the storytelling; we don't have that kind of ti, and you should have more understanding of that than right now," Mimosa said in a rather blunt and straightforward manner, without beating around the bush. His eyes were narrowed and directed straight toward the Rear Admiral.
The Rear Admiral, who was far away in the Star Battle Fortress, felt imnse pressure weighing upon him when he saw the narrowed eyes of the Secretary of Defense. It was as if he were being told: I'm not hearing any more bullshit—see what will happen to you if you try.
His whole body shook at that mont, and he gulped a couple of tis on his non-existent saliva. "Ye—yes, Secretary, as you say... that cha..." And just like that, he continued, and this ti the Rear Admiral was much more direct.
While the Rear Admiral continued, the faces of Jarkon, Zyth, and Mimosa changed constantly. For Zyth, his astonishnt was replaced by seriousness, then by astonishnt again, and finally by fear. The sa could be said for Jarkon and even Mimosa; for what they heard had completely shattered their worldview of power and might.
Jarkon even fell to the ground and hysterically shouted, "How? How could this be possible? Such power—how could anyone have it in their hands and use it as if it were sothing simple?! Impossible... impossible! I can't believe it... I refuse to believe it! This is an illusion! An illusion, I say!"
"Just... just like on the Rigid Star, where I saw that impossibly mighty, beast-like ship that ca as fast as it was gone... and never appeared again! If that wasn't an illusion, what could it be? And this... this cha and the power it wields... I refuse to believe it is sothing real!"
Seeing Jarkon return to this state once again, Mimosa and the others felt helpless. Mimosa even felt disgusted; he couldn't relate this Jarkon to the bloodline of the Great Second Supre Elder at all. He couldn't even fathom how soone of their great race could have such a weak will—one that shattered so easily at any mont.
Yes, he admitted that what he had heard had shaken him to no end as well, and even instilled fear within him. He wouldn't deny that he felt small against such a mighty display; knowing they were the targets of such power, of course he would feel fear.
But that didn't an his will was nothing. He felt shaken, but he hadn't given up just yet. Yes, things were lost, and the fight here was a losing cause—sothing he had long since accepted. This display of power had only fernted one conclusion: he needed to leave this place. Nothing but losses would be incurred at this point, and he might even die if he stayed.
He contemplated the situation and ca to a conclusion: the enemy—or rather, the cha—needed to be distracted. It couldn't be allowed to focus on the fleet's core.
And he knew how he could do it. He quickly moved to implent his plan, ordering the Rear Admiral, "Have the frontline ships—or what remains of them—launch a desperate offensive against the human fleet moving toward the habitable planets. Have one of the three remaining Star Battle Stations defend the core fleet, and have the other two fire their 'Planet Killer' main weapons toward the habitable planets... if our ships fail to distract that enemy cha, that is."
Mimosa spoke with resolve. One thing was clear to him—or rather, he hoped it was—as he weighed his options. It was obvious the humans were after them, and they would definitely want to secure the habitable planets, which were by far the most important resources for any race. If he targeted them, there was a possibility that the humans would move to safeguard them.
If he was right, the cha would definitely move to intercept that attack, and that would be his chance to escape with the rest of his remaining forces.
"And yes, tell : are we prepared for the space jump?" Mimosa asked, unconcerned about the gazes directed at him. So were filled with surprise, so with astonishnt, and so even with resentnt.
The Minotaurs were surprised that he was the one ordering such a thing. They were astonished that he, who ca from a departnt with a motto to safeguard the people no matter what, was ordering such a cruel act. And the resentnt ca from those whose hos were the ones being targeted.
They felt a burning anger toward Mimosa. If the few within the shuttle felt this way, what would happen if the entire fleet heard of his plan? The scene would undoubtedly descend into chaos, and Mimosa was well aware of it.
To prevent this, his next move was to ensure no chaos erupted. He looked at the others, who were throwing him hateful glares as if they might jump him at any mont to stop the cri he was about to commit. The only thing holding them back was the presence of Zyth and the other high-ranking officers.
"If I am right, the planets will survive, and so will the people on them. But if I am wrong, I will take the bla as it is due," Mimosa said, beginning to walk toward the shuttle's exit. "Now, I would rather have my focus directed at ensuring we escape from this hellhole. You all should exert more control over yourselves."
As he exited, he swiftly and secretly contacted his own henchn. He ordered them to keep a close watch on the native Minotaurs of this star system throughout the fleet. If the situation worsened, they were to be imdiately controlled so as not to cause any problems. He did this without letting anyone else know—even Zyth and the Grand Admiral were kept in the dark.
anwhile, a few monts before Zyth's flagship shook, out in the void of space, the Dark Blade had just withstood the all-out attack of the Minotaur fleet with ease.
Inside, Kael looked at the intense fire surrounding him and smirked. "Whew... that was an intense attack. But," he sighed, "it was all bark and no bite, huh?"
With his eyes burning hot with excitent, Kael said, "Let's show them the difference between their 'attacks' and our Dark Blade."
"As you say, Master," the Dark Blade's AI responded, appearing in front of his eyes and syncing itself with his movents.
A long, katana-like sword suddenly manifested in its physical form. Kael, in full control of the Dark Blade, gripped the hilt with both hands and raised it high above his head.
"{Dark Apocalypse Series}"
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