Before a few seconds — on the right flank

"The situation is about to ignite…" one of the veteran officers in the command cockpit spoke in a heavy, gravelly voice that carried the weight of countless battles.

"It seems that finally, after two full months of waiting and tension, we'll actually be joining the war today."

"Doesn't Lord Hedrick fear for his position at all? He's standing right in the middle of an arc made of hundreds of thousands of cannons pointed straight at him."

"He must be prepared. A man like him didn't reach that terrifying level of power by accident or luck."

"Shhh, this isn't the time for small talks!" The man positioned at the center of the cockpit lowered his hand sharply to silence the chatter. "Is the artillery fully prepared?"

"Everything is ready, General Alexander," the officers declared with firm voices.

Alexander stepped forward, adding a few more steps as if his body instinctively wished to leave the cockpit entirely and go stand beside Hedrick himself. "Send orders to everyone — if the battle erupts, we will immediately execute the Crab Maneuver."

Shhhhkk

Instantly, all the officers began transmitting orders across the ten fleets.

Although these fleets had originally been gathered from the three armies in the Young Sector, they were repainted in a unified silver color, and every crew member aboard them was brought from the hardened veterans of the First Army in the Middle Sector — men and women who had pierced the sky countless times and conquered planets in their long service.

And all of them were deeply familiar with the cunning and sharp leadership of General Alexander, the third-highest figure in the First Army. Because of that, the order was executed immediately, without a single word of debate.

But after the orders had been distributed and the plan confirmed, one of the female officers asked cautiously, "General, with your permission… why did we rely on a defensive plan? We're positioned on the flank — isn't our duty usually much more offensive?"

"This is nothing but an illusory advantage." Alexander shook his head slowly. "They don't acknowledge our presence. When the moment the battle truly begins arrives, they'll move as if we're completely invisible. Our cannons won't frighten them or redirect their path… in their minds, they'll simply advance straight toward us, crush our fleets as they pass, and then continue circling behind Marshal Fargus."

"Oh, that will be very good," several officers smiled with a mix of nerves and anticipation.

In truth, even Marshal Fargus had repeatedly sent them orders to fall back and take shelter within the central body of the army. But Alexander refused every time, insisting he would remain in his position to create a tactical advantage that no one else could see.

When Marshal Fargus finally grew exhausted from trying to convince him, he offered to send twenty fleets as reinforcements to strengthen the flank and turn it into a significant formation — and to ensure they wouldn't be wiped out in mere moments. He knew well that Alexander and his men had come from the Shadow Swords, and he surly didn't want them to die pointlessly and enrage the Shadow Swords, whose presence kept the war burning.

But once again, Alexander rejected the offer with sharp resistance, saying that sending reinforcements would destroy everything, and Marshal Brontor would immediately devise counter-plans against them — something he absolutely did not want. So Fargus surrendered completely to the situation and started behaving as if Alexander and his entire force simply did not exist.

BOOOOM

At that instant, several incredibly fast exchanges of fire erupted, ending with a massive strike directed at Lord Hedrick — and another equally devastating strike from behind aimed at the coalition fleets. Everything unfolded in less than a single second!!

And in the very next second, a quarter of the coalition Armada, nearly seventy fleets, suddenly turned toward the right flank — toward them.

"Attention!" Alexander roared with full force. "Fire!!"

Bam Bam Bam

The cannons of all ten fleets unleashed chaotic volleys, filling the void with bleu flashes.

Among them stood only five thousand Note of Flood-3 vessels, each equipped with four cannons capable of unloading twenty thousand rounds — not to mention the support ships and the colossal motherships, whose continuous fire made them look like blazing miniature stars.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The coalition ships, which had just emptied their massive barrage of cannon fire onto Hedrick, never expected such an overwhelming counterattack. Hundreds of vessels were obliterated instantly, and many others suffered heavy damage — yet they didn't stop. Their cannons lit up again, blazing with energy as they prepared to engage in a deadly exchange of fire, intending to wipe out the enemy before passing through. It was an essential part of their mission.

But then, something strange happened—

"Fire!!"

Bam Bam Bam

The orders came once again with a sharp, echoing authority, and the ten fleets opened fire on them all over again, unleashing another wave of violent energy across the battlefield.

"What?!" The generals and command officers inside the coalition army's command pods jumped from their seats in disbelief. Didn't those vessels understand what reload time and cooling time meant for their cannons?! Were they insane enough to fire without pause?!

And then again—

"Fire!!"

Bam Bam Bam

The moment the coalition ships pivoted away from Lord Hedrick and fully faced the ten-fleet Armada before them, three consecutive volleys struck them — each one unleashed without hesitation. Even the massive motherships participated every time, and each mothership carried two colossal cannons, each cannon capable of outputting the force of a complete strike from a medium-level World Cataclysm!

The amount of destructive power coming from what should have been "ordinary energy cannons" was absurd. This level of firepower had no place in a battlefield like this — it was the kind of might usually reserved exclusively for the fleets belonging to the Behemoths themselves!

By this point, the total damage inflicted by the three successive barrages was barely any less than what Fargus and his overwhelming army had unleashed from the rear. The 70-fleets Armada had suffered a devastating blow… but even so, this advantage wasn't something that would last forever.

"Destroy them!!" the general responsible for the right flank roared with explosive fury, his voice shaking the command chamber. The coalition Armada re-formed instantly, ready to launch yet another massive assault.

Bam Bam Bam

A little under seventy war fleets opened fire simultaneously in a synchronized attack that lit up the void. The sight was so bright and violent that it looked as if a newborn star had detonated right there in the middle of the battlefield.

Hundreds of thousands of energy shots streaked across space — and mixed among them were dozens fired from mothership-grade cannons. A single barrage of this magnitude should have been enough to wipe out half of the enemy's small Armada in one go.

But—

Zooo Zooo

The warships belonging to the Note Armada began disappearing and reappearing, shifting sideways by hundreds of meters to the right or the left in mere instants!

"Huh?!" Everyone watching — from generals to low-ranking analysts — widened their eyes to the maximum in utter shock.

Since when could gigantic warships the size of fortresses move sideways with such absurd, impossible speed?! Lateral movement of this caliber was something that went against every conventional design of large-scale war machines.

Whoosh Whoosh

Most of the shots fired toward the Note Armada vessels were completely avoided through these sudden lateral shifts. And even the rounds that did manage to strike a ship triggered an even stranger reaction.

The energy projectile, upon touching the ship's hull, behaved as if it had hit a slick, oily surface — it made contact, slid across the armor in a smooth curve, and then was abruptly redirected away, deflected at a sharp angle into open space.

Only the command vessels of the older Note of Supremecy-2 class lacked this extraordinary property. Those ships had no option but to block the incoming attacks using their shields, consuming enormous energy in the process. But with the immense supply of Pearls that Alexander had brought, he had absolutely no problem reinforcing the shields over and over without concern for energy expenditure.

In that massive combined barrage unleashed by nearly seventy war fleets… the Note Armada, under the firm and precise leadership of General Alexander, lost only three small warships of the Note of Flood class — and nothing more.

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