The counterattack from the Katon Fleet made Xue Renli realize he had acted too hastily. Even with hundreds of warships lost, the enemy's remaining forces still outnumbered his own.
Reassessing his position, Xue Renli redeployed his fleet into a dispersed formation, adopting a steady approach. Using fighter squadrons and mecha as primary offensive units, he leveraged mobility advantages to gradually dismantle the enemy's defensive capabilities.
Before the enemy could escape the firing range of the Planetary Ground-Based Turrets, Xue Renli coordinated with the planetary turret defense system to inflict maximum damage.
His objective was now clear: while completely annihilating the enemy was unrealistic, he aimed to eliminate as many of their primary combat vessels as possible during this period of superior firepower.
Meanwhile, the demoralized Katon Fleet faced overwhelming barrages from the planetary defense system. Their outer defensive lines were collapsing like an avalanche—once the corvettes and destroyer groups were depleted, the cruisers and battleships at the core would be equally doomed.
To avoid total destruction, the Katon Fleet implemented a scorched-earth strategy.
A rearguard division of over a thousand warships engaged the advancing Xue Family Fleet while launching saturation attacks with space torpedoes and missiles to divert attention and slow pursuit.
Light cruisers spearheaded breakthroughs through fighter screens, establishing defensive lines for the main fleet's retreat.
The battlefield became a dazzling spectacle of continuous high-energy laser beams across the void, clearly demarcating both forces.
Originally separated by millions of kilometers with individual ships spaced thousands apart, the combatants now saw one side methodically advancing while clearing torpedo fields, and the other executing rapid fleet maneuvers—deploying remaining fighter groups as lances between two flanking divisions.
Space glittered like a supernova outbreak. Fusion reactors proved inadequate, forcing antimatter reactors to maximum output as all weapon systems operated beyond design limits.
Even the asteroid turret arrays were shattered by Katon counterfire, their metallic debris scattering across planetary orbits—most burning up as meteors in atmospheric entry.
"All units maintain pursuit discipline," Xue Renli commanded. "Encircle with reserve forces but don't overextend. We can't stop their retreat—focus on maximizing damage."
After thirty grueling hours, both sides reached exhaustion. The unsustainable overclocking of systems led to cascading failures and plummeting combat effectiveness.
The Xue Fleet annihilated the enemy rearguard while their vanguard lost over a third to fighter attacks. Yet the Katon main force successfully disengaged from the planetary defense network's kill zone.
Without planetary support, the already depleted Xue Fleet stood no chance against the remaining enemy forces. They could only watch as the Katon Fleet accelerated beyond the space anchor perimeter, vanishing into warp drive beyond detection range.
"Report the battle losses."
Seated in the command chair, Xue Renli was barely holding on as he oversaw the post-battle cleanup. Days and nights of operating at full capacity had pushed his mental endurance to the brink of physical collapse. If not for the military taboo of changing commanders mid-battle, the Xue family would have forcibly sent him into stasis long ago.
"Our warship losses total 1,365 vessels. Only 210,000 aircraft and 50,000 mecha remain operational."
"63.78% of the asteroid artillery platforms have been destroyed."
"Crew casualties: 573,621."
...
In interstellar warfare, there is no such thing as missing in action—missing means dead.
In just a few days, nearly one-fifth of the Xue family's core members had been lost. Centuries of accumulation were nearly wiped out in a single battle, leaving every household in mourning.
Even though they had won this defensive battle, it was merely the beginning. The subsequent development of the Life Planet would require population migration, primarily from family lineages. If enemy fleets penetrated the Life Planet's orbit, these populations would face catastrophe.
Contemplating the decades or even centuries of ongoing conflict with the Katun Civilization over Life Planet sovereignty, Xue Renli finally understood why, after millennia, the Star River Federation still had so few Lords.
If even a powerful millennium-old family faced such difficulties, what kind of monsters were those commoner-ascended Lords?
On the second day after the battle, Liu Hai and the others received battlefield footage. They gathered to watch the Xue family's defense of the second Life Planet.
"Wow, truly a millennium-old family—their financial strength is astounding. To build such a planetary defense system in just a few years... While it can't compare to the military's fortress system, it's already overpowered compared to what the Pioneers have," Irina remarked, awed by the Xue family's extravagance. Her own family would never waste resources on a system destined to be cannon fodder.
"The Xue family's commander is Xue Renli, right? The 132nd generation of the 'Ren' lineage. Isn't the current Xue family head also from that generation?" Liu Hai had obtained some information through military channels, including details about the Xue family.
The Xue family had existed even before the Star River Federation ascended to a fourth-tier interstellar civilization. Over thousands of years, they had risen and fallen but always remained among the Federation's elite, wielding significant influence.
Had the Federation not established the Pioneers system and the Lord Councilors system before its ascension—systems that severely weakened family factions like the Xue family—they might have produced self-proclaimed warlords by now.
Li Yali recalled her family's records and confirmed, "Yes, the 'Ren' generation is currently the Xue family's ruling core."
"The Xue family primarily deals in weapons and armor. Their warships are average, but their artillery is top-tier, making them one of the Federation's major suppliers."
Liu Hai nodded, indifferent to this detail, though he was keenly interested in the Xue family's fleet strength. In just a few years, they had amassed a fleet larger than a full military corps, and their performance seemed on par with the Federation's secondary forces.
If all Federation families possessed such strength, how had the Federation kept them so thoroughly subdued, without even a hint of resistance?
Much of the Lord Councilors' information was publicly available. While the disclosed data might not include core secrets, the fact that nearly all Lords were of commoner origin was highly noteworthy.
To say there's nothing going on here, any sane person would confidently say it's impossible. Yet, such a bizarre scene has inexplicably unfolded—families controlling core resources within the Federation can only obediently live by federal laws, not daring to overstep in the slightest. Are they afraid of the Lord Councilors?