Four days later, at dusk.

The sea was surging and the wind was blowing fiercely under the setting sun.

On the Lightning, the flagship of the Rose Fleet, which is sailing at full speed.

"Marshal, the wind direction has finally changed, and we can increase our speed to the maximum." On the stern deck, Leto said excitedly to Lucate, who was looking out at the sea.

Luca nodded, but did not become relaxed after hearing the good news. His face remained extremely solemn. His hair was greasy and stuck to his forehead, his beard was unkempt, and he looked extremely tired, as if he had aged ten years in the past few days.

Seeing that Lucat remained silent, Leto offered some words of comfort:

"Marshal, don't worry too much."

"The battle between the Yan Kingdom and them will definitely continue for some time, but we are now completely out of danger."

Lucate shook his head and said thoughtfully, "That's not what I'm worried about."

Upon hearing this, Leto's face darkened, and he sighed softly, "You're worried about how you'll report back to the Emperor after you return home, aren't you..."

Lucate rubbed his face and mumbled, "Yeah."

"Our evacuation will prevent us from falling into a dangerous situation, but it will cause a lot of trouble when we return home."

"Regardless of the final outcome of that battle, we have broken the covenant."

"After the South China Sea Campaign, that bitch Isabella used our withdrawal as an excuse to put pressure on us. Now that we have withdrawn without permission, she will definitely make trouble for us once she gets the news."

"Damn it!" As he said this, Lucate's face suddenly turned cold, and he clenched his fist and slammed it against the railing.

Leto sighed deeply.

Lucat frowned and continued, "But in that situation, only evacuation could save us."

"Although the Yan Kingdom's fleet doesn't have many warships, those warships... must have hidden killer moves, otherwise the Federation fleet wouldn't have been completely wiped out."

"The Federation warships were destroyed around Coral Island because they had nowhere else to go, so they chose to rush to Coral Island for refuge. You can imagine how much fear the Yan Kingdom's warships brought them."

"And the battle between the Sa Ri Kingdom's fleet and the Yan Kingdom's forces is very likely to end in a crushing defeat."

"This battle was too risky; we shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place."

After saying that, Leto shook his head and said, "There's nothing we can do about it."

Lucate stared at him intently and said, "The Emperor hasn't figured out the Yan Kingdom's position yet, so under Isabella's instigation, he decided to launch an expedition against them, but this is absolutely a wrong decision."

"The people of Yan Kingdom are not the natives on the continent of Feni. They have a large and well-established country, and their development has been exceptionally rapid recently, even gradually exceeding our understanding."

"If the Delta Federation on the continent of Satosno has developed rapidly in recent years and its military strength has become stronger, then the Yan Kingdom is the same, and in my opinion, it is very likely that it is even stronger than them."

"This means that Yan Kingdom is not suitable as a colony. If it is forcibly conquered, it will have to pay a huge price and may even backfire."

Upon hearing this, Leto's expression gradually turned serious.

Lucat continued, "Last time they went to Yan Kingdom, they were only in the near sea, but this time they have already left their own country so far and come to the far seas they have never been before. So next time they might even come to our Leon Continent."

"Then our military action will not be about opening up new continents, but about confronting a powerful nation; this is a contest!"

“But this level of competition should be left to the Kingdom of Sassa, not our country.”

At this point, Lucate reached out and patted Leto on the shoulder, then said in a deep voice:

"Leto, once we return home, no matter how the Emperor punishes me, I hope you and the others will support me. This isn't to exonerate me, but to persuade the Emperor so he clearly understands the serious consequences of the expedition against Yan Kingdom!"

"If the Yan Kingdom's national strength reaches the same level as the Sa Ri Kingdom, then this will be a disaster for our country."

"While opening up new continents is certainly beneficial to the country, it is also a double-edged sword. We cannot make an irreversible mistake at this critical moment."

Seeing Lucate's serious expression, Leto straightened up and earnestly replied, "Yes, Marshal!"

Luca nodded, then looked at the sea behind him and continued:

"The wind is favorable now, so we should arrive at Chalmers Island within three days."

“The Delta Federation still has a fleet there…” He hesitated.

"Shall we go over there?" Leto asked.

After pondering for a while, Lucat shook his head.

"When I went to Yan Kingdom last time, that guy Feng Palen sent a huge fleet that I didn't expect. And this time... their fleet commander didn't take the 'united front' seriously at all, and went to pursue the Yan Kingdom fleet on his own. It's clear that it's not worthwhile to cooperate with the Delta Federation. Any so-called alliance is meaningless in the face of their ambition."

“Feng Palen wants to seize as much territory as possible from Yan Kingdom. Even with the presence of the Sari Kingdom, they probably won’t back down an inch. Let them be, ignore them.”

"Speaking of which, if they hadn't discovered the Yan Kingdom, they might have launched a war against the continent of Feni or even directly against the countries on our continent of Leon."

"The situation is very unclear... At times like this, we should focus on steady development within the country... Sigh." Lucate sighed heavily as he spoke.

Leto shook his head and said, "Alright, Marshal."

"Don't think about it too much. Since we're not going to Chalmers Island, let's just go back home. There's no need to go to the Roman Islands either, right?"

Lucat grunted in agreement.

"Full speed ahead, head straight back home!" he said in a deep voice.

——

Night falls.

Lucat, who had returned to his cabin to rest, was woken up from his sleep.

"Marshal! Wake up! We've spotted lights coming from behind us!"

Leto shouted in a panic to Lucat, who was still in a daze.

Two breaths later, Lucat finally came to his senses. He threw off the covers, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and rushed to the deck, urgently asking:

"A lot?!"

"It's still far away, and we can't see it very clearly, but it must be the light emitted by the warship sailing!" Leto was covered in sweat.

"Damn it! Could it be the Yan Kingdom's fleet? But that shouldn't be!" Lucate cursed, and a moment later he arrived at the deck. He hurriedly ran to the highest point to look behind.

As Leto said, in the endless night, a faint light appeared in the vast sea.

The dim points of light looked like stars falling from the sky. The moment Lucat saw these points of light, he froze and his face turned completely white.

"They're here..."