A call for help — every Cloud Knight understood the weight of those words.
Once a signal was sent, it meant the team was on the verge of annihilation.
Either an unbeatable high-combat-power enemy unit had appeared, or the enemy forces were numerous enough to swallow the entire team.
"The relief forces have departed at full speed. I hope they can hold out until reinforcements arrive."
"What exactly happened?" Lord Zhimu did not lose his composure, pressing the question in a deep voice.
Wind of Evil spoke quickly, briefly summarizing the situation.
The reason was not complicated: the enemy's numbers had multiplied geometrically.
It was also Jingliu's expedition team that was simply too unlucky.
The Great Nest Fathers of several large Borisin hunting packs were engaged in an internal war to contend for the position of war leader, leading to continuous infighting among their wolf packs.
A total of six large-scale Beastship fleets, clashing and fighting, happened to pass near the battlefield where the expedition team was located.
Upon learning that Xianzhou forces were hunting Followers of Abundance, and specifically Yaoqing forces, the Borisin quickly ceased their internal strife.
After a quick investigation, they discovered a vast disparity in numbers between the two sides and, unusually, chose to unite against the common enemy.
After hearing the full story, a cold light flashed in Lord Zhimu's eyes, and numerous thoughts raced through his mind.
The bloodthirsty Borisin stopping their internal conflict so quickly was undeniably related to him.
—The current war leader of the Borisin had died by his hand.
In other words, the current internal strife among the Borisin was all due to Lord Zhimu and the Yaoqing Cloud Knights he led.
The two sides were already mortal enemies, and the killing of their leader only added fuel to the fire, making them exceptionally furious.
Thus, the six Borisin Beastship fleets directly surrounded Sipusa Star, where the expedition team was located, making it impenetrable, effectively trapping them.
The combined might of six Beastship fleets against an enemy even exceeded the minimum definition standard for a large-scale battle.
Fortunately, the Yaoqing expedition team's original battle had concluded earlier, and they were in the cleanup phase.
Facing the sudden enemy attack, they reacted swiftly, occupying a dangerous location on Sipusa Star that had a natural anti-air barrier and was easy to defend but difficult to attack by land.
For a short time, the wolf packs could not force a breakthrough with their numerical advantage.
But this was all predicated on the expedition team's resource supply keeping up. Three days ago, the expedition team sent back data indicating that their existing resources were estimated to last another 69 days.
That might sound like a lot, but in continuous high-intensity combat, the consumption rate of war resources would inevitably skyrocket exponentially.
Even if the expedition team only defended and did not attack, the rate of consumption would surely far exceed expectations.
Given the bloodlust and madness of the Borisin, within seven days, the Cloud Knights might find themselves without usable weapons.
Engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Abominations of Abundance would have unimaginable consequences.
This wasn't even the most terrifying part. What was more terrifying was that such a large assembly of Borisin forces would inevitably attract more hunting packs.
Currently, the Borisin were in a small-scale internal conflict, and any slightly larger mobilization was extremely sensitive to their internal affairs.
Therefore, even more Borisin would surely flock to Sipusa Star.
"General, what is the scale of the relief force?" Lord Zhimu asked again.
"Twenty million elites, led by five Vanguards."
This scale of march also exceeded the basic definition line for a large-scale campaign's patrol force.
Hearing this, the Sleeping Snow sisters behind Lord Zhimu slightly relaxed.
However, Lord Zhimu's eyes narrowed slightly: "General, your subordinate requests a divine wind ship."
Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold's expressions subtly changed.
divine wind ships, the fastest small warships of the Yaoqing Xianzhou, were extremely limited in number.
"Approved." Wind of Evil was not surprised.
He knew what Lord Zhimu was thinking, and thus, Lord Zhimu also understood why he had personally informed him of this matter.
"Thank you, General." Lord Zhimu cupped his fist in salute and turned to leave.
The two, Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold, hesitated for a moment, then immediately followed... on their way to provide support.
The divine wind ship was at its maximum speed, yet there were only three people inside: Lord Zhimu and the two sisters.
"Lord Zhimu, are you worried about more unforeseen circumstances?" Sleeping Snow asked.
"For the Borisin race, besides powerful individual strength, what else can increase their prestige?"
The sisters froze, then immediately understood.
"It's military achievements!"
So that's it... that's it!
No wonder Lord Zhimu set off again without a second thought, and no wonder General Wind of Evil approved his request without a second thought.
Now that the Borisin had lost their war leader, the Great Nest Fathers of each clan were unwilling to submit to each other.
The strength of different Great Nest Fathers might vary, but the gap wouldn't be too significant.
No matter how fierce the internal struggles, they wouldn't truly fight to the death with heavy casualties, as even becoming war leader would mean being a commander without an army.
This would not help in raising prestige; they could only rely on bloodline suppression to gain submission.
But—
Hunting down a mortal enemy was different.
The Cloud Knights judged military achievements by the number of enemies killed, and the Borisin were no different.
Upon learning that millions of Cloud Knights were on a certain planet, how could the several Borisin Great Nest Fathers, eager to establish their prestige, remain indifferent?
They might not personally attend due to distance.
But one thing was certain: they would definitely dispatch more of their wolf packs to seize the expedition team, this juicy piece of meat.
That's why the expedition team was so unlucky.
They were fighting a medium-scale battle, yet they encountered a group of Abominations that even a single Vanguard leading an army might find helpless against.
The General directly sent five Vanguards to lead the relief force, naturally having considered all of the above.
Lord Zhimu understood everything as soon as he heard it, deeply comprehending the hidden crisis.
The primary mission of the army led by the five Vanguards was not to rescue the expedition team; their speed would inevitably be insufficient.
What they truly had to do was to exterminate all Borisin who had killed their comrades and those who came to hunt the Cloud Knights.
Only Lord Zhimu, only the divine wind ship he piloted, could warp through the star sea at the fastest speed and reach the battlefield.
A Cloud Knight Vanguard is an army unto themselves.
And the uncrowned Cloud Knight Sword Master... alone could slaughter hundreds of millions of Abominations of Abundance.
Lord Zhimu, who had killed the Borisin war leader, possessed such strength.
This was General Wind of Evil's true motive in personally informing him; the real meaning behind those simple words was to provide swift aid.
The divine wind ship sliced through the silent star sea, warping at extreme speed like a noiseless ghost.
But in the face of absolute distance, even the fastest speed still required time.
At this moment, the millions of Cloud Knights trapped on Sipusa Star lacked precisely that: time. They had to hold out until reinforcements arrived.