Chapter 1591 - 595: Underestimating the Enemy (3)

Chapter 1591: Chapter 595: Underestimating the Enemy (3)

Several colleagues nearby looked at him with worried eyes, unsure whether to comfort or to reprimand.

After a moment, Ren Zhong walked out from the side door at the back of the conference room and quickly sat upon the high platform.

Seeing this, Guo Denghuai hurriedly stepped forward, "Lord Earl, I am at fault."

Seemingly due to the movement aggravating his injuries, Guo Denghuai’s body swayed slightly, nearly falling, but he managed to stand firmly once again.

Ren Zhong waved his hand.

Immediately, liquid metal rose from the ground behind Guo Denghuai and formed a chair.

"Sit down."

Guo Denghuai did not dare to sit, "I don’t dare."

Ren Zhong frowned, "I told you to sit, so sit. Why go through all this pointless formality? Clearly, we won a great victory, defeating a strong enemy right away. Why do you behave like this? Am I someone who doesn’t distinguish between credit and fault?"

Upon seeing Ren Zhong’s anger, only then did Guo Denghuai reluctantly sit down and said, "Though we won the battle, our Red Blade Clan has never suffered losses like these before. I... I feel guilty."

"Feeling guilty is good! I do intend to demote you, reduce your rank to that of an ordinary ship captain! But it’s not because of the battle losses, it’s for another reason." Ren Zhong suddenly burst into anger, "I’ve seen the battle damage report; the casualties are indeed heavy. If judged by past standards, you, Guo Denghuai, would be guilty, and even execution wouldn’t be questioned. But... my real anger is not because of this. Your demotion isn’t due to the battle losses, but because of underestimating the enemy, understand? Underestimating the enemy!"

Because of Ren Zhong’s outburst, the vast conference room fell silent, and the leaders, led by Ying Zhenshan, felt intimidated and chilled.

Many present have followed Ren Zhong over the years, watching him rise from a Source Star outsider to become the Empire’s Earl Red Blade, yet rarely seeing him display such an angry demeanor.

"Don’t you understand yet? Our current enemy is no longer those ragtag pirates, nor is it the one reckless fourth-class Mother Empress we encountered before; it’s Ascendant’s regular army. Remember, back then, even a research-focused fourth-class Mother Empress nearly wiped out our entire clan. Now, you face a fully prepared regular army’s third-class Mother Empress. How could there not be battle damage, how could there not be deaths?"

"Before our arrival, the number of Imperial Fleet destroyed by this third-class Mother Empress was ten times our losses! To support us, Marquis Zhenjiang’s stationed fleet here was originally twice the size of the Red Blade Army I brought. But look at them now, how much do they have left?"

"Therefore, under your command, Guo Denghuai, the Vanguard Army cleared the path for the main forces to follow and completely annihilated the invading enemy. Clearly, you’ve achieved great merit, yet you speak of guilt, which exposes your underestimation of the enemy. Everyone else, listen up, put away your contempt for the enemy. Recognize this war correctly."

"Immediately prepare, collect the battlefield wreckage, and use the Planet Ships to quickly repair damaged ships, supplement reserve personnel into the war sequence. Also, all Energy Production Planet Ships prepare to deploy Dark Matter Capture Ships and establish energy production factories on the spot. Within three days, the entire army must return to its peak state, then advance with me, understood?"

After finishing, Ren Zhong announced the conclusion of the meeting, leaving only Ying Zhenshan to discuss battle details and analyze frontline battle reports.

Subsequently, Ren Zhong met with the original Earl Commander who came to meet, expressing gratitude.

Simultaneously, both of them almost synchronously received orders from Marquis Zhenjiang.

The Earl Commander and his remaining troops were immediately integrated into the Red Blade Army’s combat sequence.

After arranging these matters, Ren Zhong looked at the Star Map, his expression solemn.

He held some judgments in his heart but didn’t convey them to others.

Though intelligence showed little change in the battle situation over the past few months, he personally felt the contents of the Star Map appeared fraught with crisis.

This sense of crisis came from his belief that the Ascendants’ Fold Jump Subspace Channel was nearing completion.

The Fold Jump Subspace Channel is both an artificial creation and a naturally existing cosmic entity; once completed, it is nearly indestructible.

Once it’s completed, the foe will encroach with overpowering force, swiftly destroying the core area of the Far Border Star Domain, leaving a massive breach, and surrounding the Star Gate.

Subsequently, the Mechanical Empire will face a dire predicament.

Either the Three Major Star Regions must be abandoned, or reinforcements continue to be sent through the Star Gate, but get encircled by the Ascendants’ forces in a battle of attrition, slowly bleeding.

According to the timeline, though clearly in the initial stages of the campaign, the Three Major Star Regions are already on the brink.

What’s more alarming is the Ascendants seem to perceive the threat of the Red Blade Army, and besides dispatching a third-class Mother Empress to intercept, they’ve begun advancing another more terrifying second-class Mother Empress.