The heavily damaged assault ship fled the battlefield, scurrying into the dark shadows of the void.
The moment it entered the intersection of light and shadow, it transformed into a dazzling fireworks display.
Horatio saw the collision.
A crimson, rectangular bow emerged from the darkness, pushing aside the wreckage of the assault ship.
The colossal shadow obscured the light, bringing with it a chilling sense of oppression.
This immensely massive crimson void monster possessed a solemn yet bizarre form, with a peculiar beauty, and a gigantic mechanical skull etched onto her bow.
[A… Machine Ark, and it's coming from the direction of Abyss Port.]
"+ I am Campius the Wise, Archmagos of Mars stationed at Abyss Port. I have received your request for reinforcement +"
A holographic projection appeared before Horatio, showing a Machine Priest Archmagos whose face was completely altered by augmentations, resembling a gas mask. His Archmagos robes were far more ornate than Machine Priest Lati's, and his imposing machine gods axe was enormous.
Horatio vaguely recalled that Campius the Wise, who had been contributing to the Fleet since the Gothic War, was recently scheduled to attend a foundry research conference at Lucius-Agrippina, and was coincidentally passing through this area.
Seeing its entire force annihilated and already too battered to fight Horatio, the slave ship, like an unbalanced cripple, limped and tried to escape.
Suddenly, a plasma cloud erupted in the void, crippling its engines.
It was an electrostatic field shell fired by a Nova Cannon.
Ultimately, unable to flee or fight, the slave ship signaled its surrender to Horatio.
"+ The Imperial Navy salutes you, Campius the Wise. Thank you for your support. We can handle the rest ourselves +" Horatio saluted him, and the Archmagos nodded, cutting off the communication.
Louise, wielding a Cadia Assault Chainsword, fought the encroaching enemies. Her movements were swift, her attacks fierce. Blood splattered on her void-blue cloak, staining it black.
The immense damage inflicted by the Chainsword and the countless severed limbs caused the charging pirates to scream and frantically run back in terror, without knowing where to go.
Under the front and rear attacks of the returning Sailors supporting the bridge, the remaining pirates surrendered.
Lieutenant Sterling had them tied into a long string and then kicked them into the void, watching them struggle and die from lack of oxygen.
He was like a germaphobe, unable to tolerate these bugs stepping onto an Imperial Navy warship.
Blood flowed on the bridge, but the tenacious Navy warriors had held off the pirate attack, and there were no casualties among the cadets and officers.
"We actually did it."
"We won!"
"God Emperor, I was so scared, I thought I was going to die here today!"
The cadets discussed in disbelief.
Fully armed, Louise stood on the pile of corpses blocking passage 3. The cloak on her armor was like a high-flying banner. She looked at Horatio, and the black-haired youth nodded at her.
His head and face were already glistening with sweat, and the back of his uniform was completely soaked.
Horatio disconnected the neural plug, took a deep breath, and staggered down.
The toil and exhaustion of commanding the warship and linking with the warship's machine soul made him eager to get some sleep.
The cadets looked at him with reverence. He straightened his back, put on his bicorne hat, and presented his best self.
"Cheers for Captain Horatio Cochrane! We won!"
"Victory!"
"Long live the God Emperor! Long live Horatio!"
The cadets threw their hats into the air and cheered loudly for Horatio.
The excited and enthusiastic cadets lifted him down, held him high, tossed him into the air, and then caught him.
The weary Horatio had a smile on his face, clutching his bicorne hat, letting his excited classmates have their way with him.
Louise watched him, smiled, and joined in the fun.
This was the first time this group of new Navy recruits had achieved a genuine naval victory, and it was even in a situation where they were outnumbered.
"This new recruit is very brave and resourceful. His future prospects are not to be underestimated," a Captain said to Lieutenant Sterling.
"He's Admiral Spire's descendant, isn't he?"
"He will definitely be an excellent Captain in the future."
"He has courage, and he has strategy, and most importantly…"
Lieutenant Sterling looked at Horatio and said, "He always makes people see infinite possibilities, making them feel that with him, there is hope."
Horatio had a wonderful sleep in the largest bedroom, on the most comfortable bed. Under Lieutenant Sterling's arrangement, the ship's cook used the captured supplies to meticulously prepare a revitalizing meal for him.
The Q ship slowly sailed back to Abyss Port, towing two prizes.
The Imperial Navy mercilessly publicly hanged the audacious slave Ship Owner who dared to attack a Navy vessel in the square. A Navy Commissar kicked him off a high platform; the rope severed his neck, instantly decapitating him, and blood gushed like a spring.
The slave traders and pirates from the slave ship were either converted into Servitors or taken by the Imperial Navy as indentured laborers. They would spend the rest of their lives serving the Emperor in this manner, atoning for their sins.
The abducted Imperial citizens were re-registered at Abyss Port and sent by a colony ship to colonize a newly opened Imperial world.
The smuggled weapons from Lucius were confiscated by the Imperial Navy. After conversion, Horatio received a considerable 'Hunting Bounty' dividend, which was deposited into his personal salary account. He glanced at it; it amounted to ten million.
In addition, Horatio also received a 250 academic credit reward calculated as front-line combat, as well as an Imperial Navy 'Nova Medal,' awarded to Navy cadets who take over ship command in battle and ultimately achieve victory.
This was an extremely rare honor; most cadets never had the opportunity to command a ship independently, unless all officers were killed. Usually, by the time that happened, abandoning the ship wasn't far off.
And once they became officers, they would no longer be eligible for this medal.
Horatio thanked Lieutenant Sterling, who had been thoroughly reprimanded by Rear Admiral Edward. The reason for the reprimand was that such an action was too risky, and how would they explain it if anything went wrong.
The Lieutenant merely smiled indifferently, saying he wanted to see if Horatio's theoretical knowledge and practical skills were disconnected. Thus, he was even bolder than Rear Admiral Edward, directly letting Horatio try commanding an entire ship.
Rear Admiral Edward was both worried and pleased. Seeing Horatio unharmed and returning victoriously, he merely feigned a reprimand for Lieutenant Sterling, not recording any demerits according to military regulations.
—
Yin Shuyao and her father moved into the 'Workers' Club' as scheduled.
Because the restaurant had a good environment with spacious private rooms, various people of complex identities often came here to drink and dine.
During the delivery of meals, she consciously eavesdropped on what the guests were discussing, but no one would have thought that such a girl would be connected to the Fleet Military Intelligence Headquarters.
Recently, it had been as oppressive as the eve of a storm, and she had heard many strange and terrifying things.
For example, a large number of fresh human skeletons appeared, with signs of gnawing; a war broke out among the Lower Hive gangs, and a gang called the Howling Teeth Gang conquered the Lower Hive, and so on.
She even heard rumors of terrorist attacks.
She recorded these one by one, and then the Half-cat person girl would appear in the hall after closing, unnoticed, wearing a cloak, taking these messages and her organized ledgers from her.
The Half-cat person girl Yoyo, wearing the anti-thermal detection cloak Horatio had prepared for her, traversed the deeper underground layers with her excellent agility, scaling walls and leaping across rooftops.
In her hand, she held the messages the girl had heard, as well as the information from informants and lookouts compiled by Deacon Jonathan and collected by the underground intelligence station.
She was Horatio's scout, specifically to verify the authenticity of threats and intelligence, and then she would have Yin Shuyao, who understood grammar, help her compile a concise written summary report, which she would then hide in the place she and Horatio had agreed upon.
He would not say when he would come to retrieve it. To her, her boss was very busy and always out of sight, but the intelligence she sent always reached him in time.
They didn't know what would happen next, but it clearly wasn't good.