The army collapsed like a house of cards.

The moment Levi shouted for retreat, the remaining 70 Proxima Centauri ships began to turn around and flee towards Proxima Centauri b.

Zhao Zijie stared excitedly at the holographic projection in front of him.

The scene clearly shows the Proxima Centauri fleet being routed by a storm of metal.

He clenched his fist tightly!

First battle won!

As the first direct interstellar war in human civilization, this victory was undoubtedly extremely inspiring!

When he discovered that the alien spaceships were showing signs of fleeing the battlefield, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes.

Come and go as you please? There's no such thing as a free lunch!

'First Fleet, requesting pursuit!'

He quickly submitted his application to the fleet commander-in-chief, Lü Yongchang.

...

Looking at Zhao Zijie's request to pursue him, Lü Yongchang fell into deep thought.

Should I pursue it or not?

As the old saying goes, "Don't pursue a cornered enemy."

But the current situation seems to be somewhat different.

The Proxima Centauri fleet's combat strength was far weaker than he had imagined!

Before the main battle began, he had done countless simulations in his mind.

But he never expected that the fleet sent by Proxima Centauri wouldn't even survive the first round of electromagnetic cannon fire!

Looking at the extremely chaotic formation, a bold guess gradually emerged in Lü Yongchang's mind.

Could this Proxima Centauri civilization be just a fragile, empty shell?

As the thought became clearer, he pursed his lips tightly, and his eyes gradually turned fierce.

'Pursuit permitted!'

"First Fleet, Second Fleet, pursue the enemy ships together."

The command was given, and instantly 120 bright spots of light appeared in the dim universe!

[Forward Four]

Watching the 120 Golden Crow battleships break away from the formation and fly towards Proxima Centauri b, Lü Yongchang relaxed his furrowed brows slightly.

The main purpose of this pursuit was to see what the Proxima Centauri civilization had up its sleeve.

If the other side is truly as I imagine, a fragile, easily broken facade...

Then it probably won't be long before the first interstellar war of human civilization comes to a successful conclusion!

...

"Requesting backup!"

"Requesting backup!!"

Within the underground city and the Central Academy of Sciences of Proxima Centauri b, cries for help from Leviathan echoed.

Augustus stood there, looking utterly dejected.

Although these fifty small spaceships were nothing to them, the one-sided situation was still unacceptable to him!

In Augustus's view, the main reason for the crushing defeat was actually human factors.

Thinking of this, Augustus cursed under his breath: "Damn it, I knew these inferior races couldn't be trusted!"

But what's done is done, and now all we can do is think about how to make amends.

"They're chasing us!" Levay's voice grew increasingly panicked over the communicator. "We need backup!"

Augustus's eyes suddenly lit up.

While he was still struggling with how to deal with it, a brilliant plan suddenly appeared in his mind!

He strode to the communication device and pressed the communication button.

"Leviathan, lure them to the vicinity of our home planet!"

"I will send someone to meet you."

...

As Zhao Zijie watched the Proxima Centauri fleet recede further and further away in the holographic projection, a hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes.

For humanity at present, this is an insurmountable problem.

While significantly increasing the size of the starship, it also greatly reduced its maneuverability.

Compared to the 1,500-meter-long Golden Crow battleship, the Proxima Centauri spaceship, with a diameter of about 100 meters, appears incredibly small.

This is why their acceleration performance far surpasses that of the [Golden Crow] battleship.

Fortunately, the Proxima Centauri civilization had a home planet that could not move freely.

As the saying goes, you can run away from the monk but not the temple.

What's the use of being fast at escaping?

If you're so capable, make Proxima Centauri b run too!

Thinking of this, a mocking smile appeared on Zhao Zijie's lips.

In the dim starry sky, 120 bright points of light slowly headed toward their target location.

No ambushes, no traps...

The ride was incredibly smooth, so smooth it made me nervous!

【Earth】

Inside the brainwave communication channel, several fleet commanders were passing the time with casual conversation.

There's even been talk of how to land on Proxima Centauri b!

Zhao Zijie and Lü Yongchang both frowned at the same time.

Something's not right!

"First Fleet, slow down immediately!" Zhao Zijie suddenly gave the order to the First Fleet, which was moving along the coast.

The First Fleet, which was 300,000 kilometers away from Proxima Centauri b, immediately began to decelerate the moment the order was given.

The two fleets, which were originally sailing side by side, were now separated.

[Warning! The fleet's movement is abnormal!]

As the commander of the Second Fleet, Brad, was watching, a bright red alert suddenly appeared before his eyes.

"Zhao Zijie?!" Brad asked, somewhat annoyed. "What are you doing?!"

'Why the sudden order to slow your fleet down?!'

Before Zhao Zijie could speak, Lü Yongchang's order came through.

'Brad, slow down your fleet!'

'Maintain synchronization with the First Fleet.'

'I…' Brad's face was full of confusion and doubt, but faced with the commander-in-chief's order, he still obediently issued the order to the Second Fleet to slow down.

"Zhao Zijie, tell me your thoughts." Ignoring Brad, Lü Yongchang asked Zhao Zijie, who was the first to speak, "Why did you issue the slowdown order without authorization?"

Looking at the words that appeared in front of him, Zhao Zijie felt a slight tremor in his heart.

He knew what he had just done.

To put it bluntly, his actions just now were no different from disobeying orders on the battlefield.

He dared not delay and immediately reported his guess to Lü Yongchang.

The brainwave communication channel was completely silent.

'Well done.'

'Next time, remember to report first and communicate with friendly forces.'

A short sentence appeared before everyone.

Zhao Zijie breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was inside the deep-sea cabin, he still felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

'I have the same feeling; it seems like the Proxima Centauri civilization is setting a trap for us.'

Lü Yongchang continued, stating, "So far, we haven't encountered any resistance."

"Something unusual is bound to happen. We have reason to suspect that the Proxima Centauri civilization has a large military force lying in wait near its home planet."

Upon hearing this, the other fleet commanders also broke out in a cold sweat.

Especially the Second Fleet Commander, Brad, stared at the holographic projection in front of him with a grim expression, his eyes filled with regret and self-blame.

Lu Yongchang glanced at the holographic projection, which showed the distances of the two fleets to Proxima Centauri b.

80,000 kilometers.

It was just outside their active detection range.

Seemingly sensing Lü Yongchang's dilemma, Zhao Zijie offered his advice.

"Professor Lü, I suggest we use an electromagnetic railgun to scout ahead."