The Pluto Fleet's concentrated saturation fire not only obliterated the remaining Imperial warships, but the violent release of energy and explosive shockwaves also directly triggered or destroyed a large number of booby traps within the channel and surrounding areas.
The deadly minefield, under an even deadlier baptism of artillery fire, was instead "cleared" into a broader, yet more debris-strewn zone of death.
At this moment, the long-awaited "Swift" fighter groups, like vultures that had finally confirmed safety after smelling blood, swarmed in, joining this final hunt.
For these agile fighter craft, the threat of the minefield hindering their movements had been greatly reduced.
And their prey—those few surviving Imperial starships that had luckily avoided direct destruction by the main cannons—were in an even more pitiful state.
After the relentless bombardment from both front and rear, the shield energy of these starships had long been depleted. Their thick armor was riddled with cracks and molten craters, many of their weapon arrays were destroyed, and their movements were sluggish.
The "Swift" fighter groups roared past, encountering almost no effective energy shield resistance.
The only thing they needed to deal with were the sporadic, futilely roaring point-defense cannons and point-defense lasers on the ships.
One "Swift" easily evaded the sparse anti-aircraft barrage, sending a fusion missile into the exposed engine nozzle of a cruiser.
Another used its cannons to sweep precisely across the superstructure of a battleship, silencing the few remaining point-defense turrets there one by one.
The fighter groups were like wolves among sheep, clearing the battlefield with extreme efficiency.
They penetrated through breaches in the hulls to attack internal critical systems; they circled around the immobilized leviathans, dismantling them piece by piece with missiles and lasers.
The slaughter became a one-sided harvest.
Time passed amidst the lingering embers of explosions and the spreading debris.
When the last Imperial destroyer that could still move was finished off by a "Swift" fighter's follow-up shot, turning into yet another piece of floating metal junk...
In the center of the battlefield, only the Megalodon Fleet's flagship—the "Abyssal Fang"—remained, battered and bruised, its bow armor nearly melted away, yet still stubbornly floating.
It resembled a dying behemoth, silently facing the graveyard of its own fleet.
The main turrets of the "Kunlun Mountain - Modified" slowly adjusted their angles one final time, locking onto this last symbol.
The glow of charging energy gathered at the gun muzzles, steady and lethal.
Fire.
A pale white beam pierced through the void, striking precisely the midsection of the "Abyssal Fang's" hull, which had long been unable to bear the strain.
This time, there was no struggle from shields, no stubborn resistance from armor. The beam penetrated like a hot knife through wax, meeting no obstruction, triggering an ultimate explosion that started from within and swept through the entire leviathan.
BOOM————!!!
A blast more violent and prolonged than any before blossomed in the starry expanse.
The massive hull of the "Abyssal Fang" twisted, expanded, and finally disintegrated completely in the brilliant light, transforming into a rapidly expanding, short-lived nebula composed of molten metal and violent energy.
Then it was swallowed by the cold void, leaving only a few larger debris tumbling slowly.
The signal marking the last combat unit of the Megalodon Fleet vanished completely from the tactical screens of the Pluto Fleet.
Silence.
Then, eruption.
"We won! We won! An entire Imperial sub-fleet!"
On a "River"-class battleship, a young operator leaped from his seat, punching the air and shouting, his face flushed with excitement.
Many other young faces around him were also alight with unbelievable joy and exhilaration.
For many new recruits and officers recently transferred from other fleets, this was their first major fleet battle, and the result was the complete annihilation of an Imperial main sub-fleet!
It felt like a dream.
"Hey, rookies, save your energy," a veteran gunner with an old scar on his face said leisurely, taking a sip of his energy drink and glancing sideways at his excited comrades. "In the Pluto Fleet, this is just routine. Back at Elvira, we handled Wells the same way. You'll get used to it."
Another veteran checking barrel wear grinned, patting the young operator's shoulder. "Kid, be glad you were transferred here. Following Commander Qin, there'll be plenty of battles to fight and merits to earn. Work hard, don't mess up and get kicked out! Otherwise, you'll miss out on so many promotion opportunities!"
Listening to the veterans' half-teasing, half-proud words, the rookies' initial pure excitement gradually settled, transforming into a deeper, shared sense of pride and fervent anticipation for the future.
They looked out the viewports at the silent, majestic fleet array, their hearts filled with a sense of belonging.
Bridge of the flagship "Kunlun Mountain - Modified."
The atmosphere here was more restrained, but a silent, fervent emotion flowed in everyone's eyes.
Officers methodically handled post-battle matters: tallying results, assessing damage, recovering valuable debris, or rescuing friendly escape pods.
Yet their gazes would inevitably drift toward the young figure standing quietly before the tactical console.
Deputy Commander Zhuang Zhixuan, the Shadowmoon-Class Destroyer commander who had just achieved a great feat, the sub-fleet commanders...
Whether seasoned veterans or proud young officers, the looks in their eyes when they glanced at Qin Beiwang now held only clear, even somewhat awed, admiration and trust.
From taking the initiative to attack Savannah, to setting up successive ambushes that crippled Obsidian and Iron Curtain, to this precise prediction and perfect ambush annihilating the Megalodon...
Through this series of battles, Qin Beiwang, with his incredible intelligence control, coldly precise tactical calculations, and daring yet methodical command art, had completely won everyone over.
Doubts? Long since vanished.
Worries? Transformed into anticipation for the next order.
They were now utterly convinced of one thing.
As long as they followed this young commander's orders, the Pluto Fleet could continue to win, to create more seemingly impossible victories.
This belief was more powerful than any pre-battle morale boost.
Qin Beiwang seemed indifferent to the gazes behind him.
He merely calmly pulled up the star chart after confirming the disappearance of the Abyssal Fang's signal, his gaze fixed on a more distant place.
On the chessboard of the Savannah Star System, several key pieces had been eliminated, but the game was far from over.
On the tactical screen, the red markers representing the Megalodon Fleet had all dimmed, leaving only sporadic flickering signals from the wreckage.
Although the blue array representing the Pluto Fleet remained orderly, the latest combat loss and resource reports scrolling alongside revealed the cost behind the glorious victory.
Qin Bei Wang shifted his gaze from the enemy wreckage zone to his own data, quickly scanning the key entries: