Only after the Fire Salamander Tribe's interstellar fleet entered the No-Combat Zone did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Let the fleet rest and reorganize, then we... will return to our main base first," the Fire Lizard Clan Chief said in a low voice, his expression extremely grim.
Who could have imagined that what seemed like an ordinary, unremarkable interstellar battle would cost him nearly seven hundred interstellar warships—equivalent to the size of two full fleet formations—including a T3 Specter-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer!
"Yes, sir," the Fire Lizard adjutant replied and went to carry out the Clan Chief's orders.
The Fire Lizard Clan Chief leaned back in his captain's chair and raised a hand to project several images.
All the images showed those gray interstellar warships that had appeared in the recent battle.
One was a starship suspected to be a T3 Interstellar Battlecruiser, one a T2 Interstellar Frigate, one a T2 carrier starship, and one a T2 interstellar missile ship...
He input these images into his Starship System's Starship Classification Database, but repeated screenings yielded no information on these starships whatsoever.
In truth, he had already known this—his subordinates had reported it when the battle began.
Yet he stubbornly repeated the operation again and again.
Finally, unable to contain himself, he threw a punch at the virtual image of that T3 interstellar warship.
His fist passed right through the virtual image, which merely flickered slightly without any other change.
That T3 interstellar warship remained there, its bow cannon seeming to mock him.
It forced him to relive the scene of his Fire Lizard Seventh Fleet's flagship being destroyed right before his eyes.
The Fire Lizard Clan Chief reined in his emotions and lay back in the captain's chair once more, covering his eyes with his arm.
After an unknown length of time, he sensed someone nearby. Removing his arm from his eyes, he looked at the adjutant beside him. "Go ahead. Report our losses from this engagement."
The Fire Lizard adjutant felt somewhat nervous and replied cautiously, "If we do not count the two hundred interstellar warships and one T3 Arkham-class Medium Starship Battleship lost by the Third Fleet in the initial first battle...
In this battle, our losses reached six hundred interstellar warships.
Our First Fleet's Starship Combat Loss Rate is 5%.
The Fourth Fleet's flagship was destroyed, with the fleet's Starship Combat Loss Rate reaching 26%.
The Seventh Fleet's flagship was destroyed, with the fleet's Starship Combat Loss Rate reaching 77%.
The Eighth Fleet's flagship was destroyed, with the fleet's Starship Combat Loss Rate reaching 73%.
This includes one T3 Specter-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, one hundred eighty T2 Starships, with the remainder being T1 Interstellar Warships.
In this battle, the enemy focused their attacks on our T2 Starships.
We lost over twenty-three thousand combat personnel.
Additionally, among the starships we safely evacuated, one-third sustained significant damage to their Starship Armor."
Hearing this series of numbers.
The Fire Lizard Clan Chief felt a raging fire burn in his chest. These were the very foundations of his Fire Salamander Tribe's survival in this Reef Starfield.
Now, it was as if one of his arms had been severed!
It was easy to imagine that if this news spread, some of his enemies would surely seize the opportunity for revenge.
"Return to the main base." The Fire Lizard Clan Chief suppressed his rage and closed his eyes.
The Adjutant beside him couldn't help but ask, "Chief... what about the matter in the FY Star System... are we just letting it go?"
"Let it go? Are you joking? I won't rest until I've devoured those damned starships and that man as a snack, and avenged this humiliation!" The Fire Lizard Clan Chief leaped up, pinning the Adjutant against the wall.
The surrounding Fire Lizard Warriors were too frightened to utter a word, fearing they might incur his wrath.
"But... given our current situation..." the Adjutant cautiously looked at the Chief.
"I admit, that unknown individual's starships are formidable.
But don't forget, this is the Reef Starfield!" The Fire Lizard Clan Chief released the Adjutant, his face darkening as he said, "After we return to the main base, contact Sun Shao for me. Tell him...
I agree to all the conditions he previously proposed."
"But... that Stellar Glory Empire fellow's terms were so harsh..." the Adjutant was shocked. The Chief had previously engaged in several negotiations with Sun Shao from the Stellar Glory Empire, all of which ended without agreement.
He never expected the Chief to take the initiative to contact Sun Shao this time.
"Our Fire Lizard Tribe's combat strength has been weakened now; things are no longer what they used to be. We need to seek a powerful ally.
Sun Shao has been hiding many cards up his sleeve in our Reef Starfield over the years. By relying on him, we can at least ensure our current territory remains secure.
Moreover, we can use his strength to eliminate those unknown intruders!" A flash of ferocity gleamed in the Fire Lizard Clan Chief's eyes.
Soon, the Fire Lizard Tribe's starships began traversing the FY Star System's Stargate to return to their main base.
Outside the No-Combat Zone of the FY Star System's Stargate, Zhao Chen's starship quickly received news that the Fire Lizard Tribe's starships had departed.
"Well done." Zhao Chen praised Charlotte.
At that moment, Secretary Aili also reported the battle information, including enemy casualty data and their own losses.
"The T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship has exhausted all its stellar missiles. The T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship's stellar drones suffered a combat loss rate of 50%.
Among the ten T2 Black Rhino-class Interstellar Heavy Assault Frigates, one sustained severe damage to its ship hull, with cabins sealed off. Three female crew members were injured but are not in life-threatening condition.
Four other ships have overall hull armor damage exceeding 50%, with the most severely damaged ship's hull armor strength reaching a critical point.
The remaining five T2 Black Rhinos are in slightly better condition.
The T3 Blizzard's stellar missiles have been completely depleted, with starship ammunition load remaining at 16%, starship energy at 17%, and stellar drones reduced to seventeen units.
Overall hull armor strength remains at 73%.
There was one severely injured crew member and thirteen with minor injuries, with no fatalities.
The severely injured crew member has been treated in the T3 Blizzard's medical bay and is no longer in life-threatening condition. However, full recovery requires specialized medical facilities. They have been placed in a hibernation pod for recuperation and will remain stable for the next month."
Listening to Secretary Aili's report, it had to be said that this was truly a remarkably brilliant victory.
By demonstrating the advantages of his starships, swiftly annihilating the flagship of the enemy fleet along with a large number of T2 starships, Zhao Chen rendered the enemy fleet ineffective in combat, intimidating them to the point where they ultimately chose to retreat.
Charlotte had thoroughly grasped the weaknesses of these small tribal interstellar fleets.
"Starships with severe damage, return to the Third Planet first. The remaining starships will form a formation—we're going to meet our future 'neighbors.'" Zhao Chen raised his hand and opened the star map of the FY Star System, marking the planets with large-scale settlements.
It was time to tell them who the master of this star system was now!
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