119: Redemption

The Tianen Star System is the connection point between the two closest arms of Orion and the Perseus Arm.

This place was once the brightest jewel of the Angel Theocracy Empire in Orion, a trade hub for material circulation among hundreds of colonial star systems, and the main traffic artery connecting the empire's homeland with the Orion colonies.

In peaceful times, the two habitable planets of the Tianen Star System, 【Tianen Star】 and 【Sanctuary】, were synonymous with prosperity and wealth.

Giant orbital elevators connected the surface to space, tens of thousands of merchant ships shuttled between starports, and industrial cities composed of white building stone and golden domes on the planetary surface tirelessly transported the alloys and crystals needed by the empire to space day and night.

However, at this moment, these two jewels were already covered in thick dust.

Inside the orbital command center of Tianen Star, the atmosphere was as chaotic as a marketplace before the apocalypse.

"Damn it! Why hasn't the ninth evacuation fleet taken off yet? Haven't Bishop Ragna's holy relics been loaded yet?"

"Forget about those civilian transport ships! Divert the escort ships! His Grace the Duke's yacht must have the highest priority of passage!"

"Frontline report! The 12th Star Sector has collapsed! The vanguard fleet of the Iof People is less than 40 light-years away from the Tianen Star System!"

Inside the command hall, those high-ranking clergy and nobles who were usually elegantly dressed and behaved were long past caring about decency.

They were like a group of startled headless flies, screaming and running in the hall, scrambling for the last few seats on transport ships fleeing to the Perseus Arm homeland.

All strategic deployments were left behind; the only order being executed was "retreat."

Or more accurately, fleeing.

In the center of this chaos, only one person seemed out of place.

Governor Raphael, the Governor of the First Star Sector of Orion of the Angel Empire, was standing quietly in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling porthole, with his back to his ugly-acting colleagues, staring with furrowed brows at the planet beneath his feet that was still beautiful but about to face a catastrophe.

He was a senior noble with two pairs of wings and a battle-hardened soldier who had grown up in the century-long tug-of-war with the Iof People.

His upper left wing had been pierced by the firearms of the Iof People in a brutal boarding battle; although it had been repaired with psionics, it still left a permanent scar, causing him to always tilt slightly when flying.

"Your Excellency Governor."

An adjutant covered in blood stumbled over, clutching a data crystal that was still flickering with psionic brilliance.

"The General Staff... that is, the High Priest Council that has already retreated to the edge of the Perseus Arm, has sent the highest directive."

Raphael did not look back, just reached out and took the crystal.

As psionic energy was injected, a message full of holiness yet incomparably cold sounded directly in his mind.

【To Governor Raphael of the First Star Sector:】

【Given that the frontline situation is irreversible, in order to preserve the seeds of the empire's revival, the core of the royal family and the Holy See has decided to fully withdraw to the Perseus Arm homeland.】

【As the final strategic node connecting the two major arms, the survival of the Tianen Star System is related to the construction time of the homeland defense line.】

【In the name of the True God, the General Staff orders you to lead the remaining troops to hold the Tianen Star System to the death.】

【You must hold back the main fleet of the Iof People in the Tianen Star System for at least three Angel standard years (approximately three Earth years) to buy time for the empire to build a defense line on the border of the Perseus Arm.】

【May the Divine Grace be with you; your sacrifice will turn into eternal glory.】

"Heh... three years."

Raphael let out a low, cold laugh. The psionic crystal in his hand was instantly covered with cracks due to the violent fluctuation of his emotions, and finally turned into powder and slipped from between his fingers.

"Those old things hiding in the rear who only know how to hoard wealth, they don't know what we are facing at all."

Raphael turned to look at the adjutant, his golden pupils burning with flames of anger and despair.

"Do they think the Iof People are still the opponent that cares about tactics and steady advancement?"

"No, they are crazy."

"Since a few months ago, those demons have been like beasts that have lost their minds! They ignore casualties, ignore attrition, and even disregard the lengthening of supply lines, launching suicide attacks on us like they've gone crazy!"

As a commander who had just retreated from the front line, Raphael knew better than anyone how terrifying the Iof People were now.

They were like being chased by some huge fear from behind, trying to cover up their inner panic through crazy killing, or trying to find new security by occupying more land.

He didn't know that the capital of the Iof People had been destroyed, but he could feel that terrible madness.

"What do we have left in our hands?" Raphael asked.

"...The remnants of the Ninth Fleet, about two hundred warships that can still operate, of which there are less than thirty heavy cruisers, and battleships... only your flagship, the 【redemption】." The adjutant's voice was almost inaudible. "The rest are all converted armed merchant ships and old-fashioned frigates."

"This is the capital we are going to use to resist the tens of thousands of capital ships of the Iof People?"

Raphael closed his eyes in pain.

Never mind three years.

Facing such a demon army that was a hundred times larger than his own, even relying on the perfect orbital defense system of the Tianen Star System, he could only hold on for three months at most.

Three months later, this place would become a dead zone.

The tens of billions of civilians on the main Tianen Star and Sanctuary planet who couldn't buy tickets would directly face the inhumane butcher knives of the Iof People.

"Governor, there is still one spot left on the last transport ship evacuating to the homeland..." the adjutant said tentatively.

"I'm not leaving."

Raphael opened his eyes again; there was no more confusion in his eyes, only the final determination of a soldier.

"I ran away during the battle of the Tria Star System, I ran away when I was attacked in the E-142 Star System, and I ran away again at the last stage of the decisive battle in the Glory Land Star System..."

"But this time, I'm not running."

"If I am destined to die, I would rather die on the way to charge, not on the way to escape."

"Integrate all remaining ships and set up a defense in the orbit of Tianen Star."

"We will shed the last drop of blood here."

...

Just as Raphael was preparing to welcome the destined destruction, a piercing alarm resounded throughout the entire command hall, even drowning out the screams of the nobles.

"Ultra-high-level space reaction detected!"

The psionic detector responsible for monitoring the edge of the star system let out a terrified scream, "Space has split! It's not the fluctuation left by Warp Drive! It's a direct tear!"

"Are the Iof People here? So fast?" Raphael's heart sank, and he lunged at the tactical Star Map.

However, what appeared on the screen was not the iconic dark red warship group of the Iof People.

At the edge of the gravity well on the periphery of the Tianen Star System, the originally calm starry sky suddenly shattered like a mirror. A dark blue vortex appeared out of thin air, and then a warship so huge it was suffocating slowly drove out.

When the true face of this warship was revealed to all the Angel people, everyone in the command hall did not know how to describe it.

They were all shocked by the shape of this warship.

It was not as hideous and ugly as the Iof warships, nor did it pursue the gorgeous decoration of wings and halos like the Angel warships.

It presented an ancient, mysterious geometric aesthetic full of absolute power.

This warship was moving vertically in space, and its height (or length) reached an astonishing sixty kilometers!

Its main body was composed of a black metal that exuded a faint blue light; this metal seemed to be alive, and energy ripples like breathing continuously flowed on the surface.

The bow was not a conventional muzzle, but a huge cross-shaped structure suspended at the top of the hull. However, this cross was not a solid object, but an energy body formed by countless brilliant photons and high-dimensional energy beams. It rotated slowly, emitting a sacred and majestic aura, as if it were the embodiment of the truth of the universe.

There were no physical armor plates familiar to the Angel people on both sides of the hull; instead, there were layers of visible space folds. These folds were like transparent shields, distorting the surrounding starlight into strange halos.

And around the hull, there were thousands of small drones flying like fireflies; they flew in formations with extremely complex mathematical laws, forming the defense network of this giant ship.

"This... what is this?"

The adjutant felt his soul trembling, "Is it a secret weapon of the Iof People?"

"No matter who it is, attack immediately if they show hostility." Raphael stared at the warship, gritting his teeth and saying.

Just when everyone was suspicious and didn't know whether this super giant ship that had suddenly descended was an enemy or a friend.

An incomparably powerful and clear psionic signal ignored all communication encryption and physical barriers, directly in Raphael's mind and the broadcasting system of the command hall.

"This is the flagship of the Divine Grace Fleet, the 【redemption】."

Although the voice had been converted by some kind of equipment and carried a metallic texture, Raphael instantly recognized the owner of the voice.

That was the flower of the empire who he thought had fallen in the great rout a few months ago.

"I am the commander of the Divine Grace Fleet, the 17th Princess of the Empire, Amira Radiance."

"What?"

Raphael was so shocked that he almost couldn't hold the command staff in his hand, "Princess Amira? She... she is still alive? And this ship..."

Before he could recover from the shock, Amira's next sentence made his scalp tingle.

"Is Governor Raphael guarding Tianen Star?"

"I have brought hope!"

...

That warship named 【redemption】 was exactly the Avatar-class battlecruiser that Lei Wen "lent" to Amira.

At this moment, inside the bridge of this giant ship, which was as spacious as a palace, Amira Radiance was sitting on the floating throne that originally belonged to the commander of the Fallen Empire.

The platinum armor on her body had been repaired as before, and even strengthened by Faleim technology, flowing with silver halos. The three pairs of wings behind her were still white, but a very thin nano-scale energy amplifier was installed at the wingtips.

And around her, in front of the console that should have been operated by Angel psionicists, stood a group of Faleim officers and scientists in silver-gray uniforms.

They were the observation team led by Major General Trier.

These Faleim People did not directly control the warship; they were just conducting technical monitoring and data recording on the side. The ones actually controlling this super warship were Amira herself and the hundreds of elite psionicists she brought from the grace vessel.

After being modified by the Faleim People's system called the "Brain Wave-Psionic Translation Interface," this warship, which was originally extremely complex to operate, was now like an extension of their own bodies to the Angel people.

Amira only needed to sit on the throne and connect her consciousness to the main brain of the warship (a smart AI rewritten by the Faleim People) through psionics, and she could control this behemoth as easily as her own arms.

"Psionic amplification rate 400%."

"Large psionic shield stability 100%."

"Main weapon system... Gathering Arc Emitter charging complete."

Feeling the terrifying energy like an abyss and the sea inside this warship, an unprecedented confidence welled up in Amira's heart.

This is power.

This is a true divine artifact.

In comparison, the grace vessel she was once proud of was simply a child's toy.

"Princess Amira," Major General Trier, who was standing beside her, reminded lightly, "Although this ship is very strong, I also want to remind you that its energy core, although optimized by us, uses a hybrid power of zero-point energy and high-purity psionic crystals, but after all, our technology in the psionic field is not that mature, and there is still a risk of insufficient output when energy is under high-intensity combat."

"I know." Amira took a deep breath, "But I am no longer fighting alone."

She connected to the communication with Raphael.

"Uncle Raphael." She changed back to the title for her elder, "Please stop retreating immediately and reorganize the defense line."

"The vanguard fleet of the Iof People will arrive soon."

"This time, we will not only hold the Tianen Star System, we will also counterattack."

Raphael listened to the voice of this once somewhat willful little princess, which now exuded a convincing majesty.

Especially that giant ship like a miracle gave him a sense of unreality of finding a way out of a desperate situation.

"Yes, Your Highness." Raphael straightened his back, the battle-hardened soldier was back, "The remnants of the Ninth Fleet await your command!"