"Sigh… well, that level is far too low to be called an elite."

"But no matter. You won't live long enough to tarnish the word 'elite' anyway."

"Wait for me, Hegemony Fleet Commander. I'm coming for you and your so called 'elite' fleet. Bringing along your doom."

The moment those words were spoken, the dark red eyes of Dark Blade suddenly lit up!!

A terrifying shockwave burst outward through the communication link, violently blasting Pact backward!!

Just like his subordinate earlier, he was sent flying across the command room and suffered internal injuries from the impact.

But unlike the officer, Pact barely managed to withstand it.

Coughing blood, he forced himself back onto his feet with trembling effort before shouting in terror toward his already confused yet frightened subordinates, all of whom had already realized something was terribly wrong…

And the red warnings flooding every tactical display—warning of mounting losses while one battlefield sector after another went dark as human forces continued pushing deeper toward the fleet with even greater intensity—only added to the already gloomy atmosphere on the command bridge.

A feeling of dread and death quietly spread among everyone present the moment they saw the horrified expression on their commander's face…

Then the Vice Admiral's voice suddenly rang throughout the darkened bridge.

"The left flank has completely collapsed!! Our mech forces there have been utterly annihilated!!"

"The new defensive line has also been suppressed!! Multiple frigates and destroyers have already been taken out!! Mechanical Fortresses One through Four are destroyed, and the Fifth is barely holding on while requesting immediate reinforcements and cover fire to safely retreat within our lines!!"

"The human mechs, together with their main fleet, are advancing rapidly toward our front vanguard!! Their two side wings from port and starboard are also closing in and forming an encirclement!!"

"Probability of a pincer attack has exceeded eighty percent and is still increasing!!"

"Lord Commander Pact!! We need the three elders to arrive and support us immediately!! Otherwise, we risk complete destruction right here and now!!"

The Vice Admiral spoke with visible hope still remaining on his face.

Even though he had already seen what had happened earlier and deeply sensed that the three elders might be in extreme danger…

No… how could that be possible?

They should still be fine… perhaps only delayed or slightly troubled, that's all…

At least, that was what he desperately hoped internally.

Pact, hearing this, broke off from his dazed state and unconsciously said, "T-they are… they are dead!! Taken down by a human fleet Genesis Law Realm being!! They won't come now!! They can't come now!!" he said, terrified.

Hearing this, for several small yet long seconds, everyone standing within the bridge stood there in a daze, not believing what they had heard, feeling as if they had misheard… but as Pact kept repeating this again and again as if in reply…

A panic erupted across the bridge, with many officers, even the Vice Admiral and others, shouting in disbelief!!

"T-that's not possible! Impossible! Impossible!!" said the Vice Admiral, unable to believe it!! No, it was that he didn't want to believe it, but the claim itself was so outrageous that he simply couldn't accept it…

"H-how could three Genesis Law Realm beings be defeated by one on the other side?!" another person said.

"You are mistaken, Commander!!" another added.

"How can humans possess such a powerful being to helm their fleet?! No… not possible… how can it be?!"

It was during the chaos that Pact regained his ability to think clearly!! And his survival instinct overwhelmed the last shred of hope and pride, realizing that he had no cards left to play and no hope of delaying the humans!! Remaining here would be a death wish at this point!! With no benefits or glory to gain!!

He roared, "All fleets, initiate full retreat!!"

Hearing this, the crowd across the fortress command bridge and within the remaining ships froze instantly, their words stuck in their mouths, unable to come out…

"C-Commander?" admirals and vice admirals spoke up, confused if they had heard right. Some even tried to clear their ears and asked Pact to repeat what he had said!

If it had been any other time, or different seniors, and not a matter of life and death, Pact would have been in the mood to joke as well and would have criticized this admiral, telling him to get his ears checked or even retire for already being old…

But the situation was far different from that.

Pact snarled at the admiral, "I said retreat!! Can't you hear it?! Abandon the outer combat zone!! Prepare all existing ships nearby to initiate immediate hyperspace transition! We have no time to waste!!"

"But immediately?!" Hearing this, another countered, "Commander, our frontline forces are still engaged!! And retreating would take ten more minutes!! We should wait for them then!!"

"Yes!! Not only that, Commander, but we just can't transition into hyperspace just like that! The FTL drives need to be calibrated!!"

Pact, having none of it at this point, said straight up, "They'll be sacrificed if necessary!! As for the FTL drives, they can be forcefully activated and calibrated if needed!!" he said.

"But that would damage them, Commander, and they would need to be replaced!! Costing us the loss of the FTL drives!!" one Vice Admiral immediately rebutted.

"And if we abandon our people, they would be surrounded and picked off by the human fleet—"

Pact slammed his bloodied arm against the central console in anger!!

"What?! Do you want to die like dogs at the hands of humans?! With the three elders gone, we stand no chance and are mere ants to the human Genesis Law Realm being, who could easily take us down if he returns!! Or do you all want to live to fight again!! And potentially avenge our people, huh?!!"

Hearing this, everyone's eyes opened wide, realizing the truth in Pact's otherwise harsh words!! And even though they believed what he said about living and taking revenge was merely an excuse, they still couldn't help but accept it, for it allowed them to live longer!!

Seeing the silence, Pact continued, "You all want to live, right?! Then follow and do exactly as I say now!!"

Following this, everyone remained rooted to the floor of the bridge across the Hegemony fleet!! Unsure what to do… to follow their commander's orders or stay and fight for what they believed was right…

Only to be rebuked by one Vice Major Admiral, who said, "Good or bad!! It's our duty to follow the orders of our superiors no matter what!! Do as the Commander says!! And remember, if we live, we won't forget the deaths of the others!! And we will seek revenge against these bloodthirsty beasts of humanity!!"

As if receiving a cue, following the Major Admiral, others too began to speak words of encouragement and righteousness as they mobilized their subordinates to initiate the retreat!!

And visible to the naked eye, battleship after battleship began to disengage from the battle!! Carrier groups began to abandon their formations as they moved around their ships!!

While nearby mech forces rushed toward the nearest ships, boarding them as quickly as possible, others who were farther away fought for their dear lives, screaming at their comrades to wait for them!! To let them retreat along with them!!

Yet no one dared to stop and wait for them!!

As they pushed their FTL drives to their limits and began to forcefully initiate them, inputting the coordinates given by the flagship fortress!!

"Force hyperspace calculations complete!""FTL corridors stabilising!!"

The fortress Exterminator sped ahead. Just then, the enormous thrusters of the fortress lit up with even greater output. The entire fortress shuddered and creaked under the stress, something that would not have happened under normal circumstances…

And as if to confirm the thoughts in the minds of many, an alert rang out.

"Alert! Fortress Exterminator structural integrity down by 2 percent! Current integrity of the fortress is 53 percent!!"

Everyone felt troubled hearing this, but they did not have the mind to pay much attention to it as they watched the battlefield being left behind, along with their own forces trying their hardest to reach them, yet failing to do so.

They felt bitter, even cruel, for performing such an act. A wave of regret washed over them at that moment. But they dared not do anything over the top and instead stood there rooted across the fleet.

At the central command platform, Pact's hands were also trembling. Not only that, even his body shook uncontrollably as he barely stood upright with the support of the central console. Blood dripped from his injured body as he watched the countless tactical displays flashing before him. He remained on the lookout for the human fleet, Genesis Law Realm.

Having lost all face within this battle and now even resorting to escape… if he failed even in this, what face would he have left? What ability could he claim to possess?