Chapter 1131: Now You Are Just Prisoners of War

On the tactical table, the light dots of the Fengqi Fleet were few and far between.

The Oathkeeper fleet had plummeted from its initial 270 ships to fewer than 40, and most were damaged.

Although the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance fleet had also suffered losses, totaling 11 frigates and 10 destroyers.

But their main force remained intact, and their formation was not in disarray.

The outcome was decided.

Space station escape pod area.

The Kalaier diplomatic mission was being escorted by a squad of Ultramarines, passing through a smoke-filled corridor.

The space station was collapsing, and the vibrations of the battle outside were constant.

"Move faster, Alien."

An Ultramarine shoved Kalaier.

Kalaier stumbled a few steps, nearly falling.

Liana steadied him, glaring angrily at the soldier.

"He is a diplomat! According to the interstellar convention..."

"Shut up."

The Ultramarine's voice came through his helmet speaker.

"The moment you launched your attack, you forfeited all convention protections. Now you are just prisoners of war; you had best recognize your position."

Tal wanted to say something, but was stopped by a look from Kalaier.

Now was not the time for arguing.

They reached the escape pod area.

Some Star Alliance personnel had already gathered here, boarding the pods in an orderly fashion.

Ultramarines Fifth Company Commander Taxituo stood before the control console, coordinating the evacuation.

"Mission brought in."

The escorting soldier reported.

Taxituo turned, his helmet's lenses sweeping over the members of the Fengqi mission.

"Count the heads."

"Eleven, all present."

"Board pod number three."

Taxituo pointed to a larger escape pod.

"Hurry, the space station won't last much longer."

Kalaier hesitated and asked.

"Where are we going?"

"To a safe place."

Taxituo answered briefly.

"Now, board."

There was no choice.

The mission members were herded into the escape pod.

The interior space was cramped; eleven people squeezed together, with almost no room to move.

The hatch closed and locked.

Through the observation window, Kalaier saw Taxituo talking to other Ultramarines, then pointing at their escape pod.

Some kind of intuition made Taxituo's Third Eye sting.

The engines ignited, and the escape pod detached from the space station.

Acceleration pressed them into their seats.

Through the porthole, Kalaier saw the battlefield outside.

His breath hitched.

The void was filled with the wreckage of warships.

Most were Fengqi warships.

Some ships were still exploding, some had already broken into several pieces, and some were reduced to mere fragments.

A few wrecks of Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance warships were mixed in, their numbers pitifully small.

The living warships... the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance fleet formation was complete, while the Oathkeeper fleet had only a few scattered ships left, surrounded and divided, making their final stand.

"No..."

Doctor Lundengke murmured.

"It's all over... it's all over..."

Liana grabbed Kalaier's arm, her nails digging into his skin.

"Head of Mission... why... why did they do this..."

Kalaier could not answer.

Watching those dying Fengqi warships, watching those gun turrets still firing while knowing they were doomed, watching those out of control ships rushing toward Star Alliance vessels in attempts to ram them.

Sacrifice.

Meaningless sacrifice.

And all of this was because of them.

Because the mission's negotiations failed, because of the desperate resistance of Sele'en and Olaf, because... because the Feng Qi Xing Alliance had reached a dead end.

The escape pod continued to accelerate, moving away from the battlefield.

The space station exploded behind them, turning into a massive Fireball.

Magnus activated the Psionic Beacon, and the entire structure disintegrated from within.

The shockwave caught up to the escape pod, causing the hull to shake violently.

By the time the vibrations subsided, the battlefield had become flickering points of light in the distance.

Only the occasional burst of bright light indicated that fighting was still ongoing there.

"Where are we going?"

Weilan asked in a low voice.

Kalaier looked at the starry sky ahead. The constellations were unfamiliar; this was not the direction back to the Feng Qi Xing Alliance.

"I don't know. But I know one thing: we are no longer Diplomats. We are prisoners, we are spoils of war, we are evidence of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance's victory."

He closed his eyes, and the final scene of the battlefield was reflected in his Third Eye.

A Fengqi Battleship, besieged by three Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance Destroyers, turned its guns, aimed at the Xiuluosheng Glory, and fired its final salvo.

That salvo, of course, did not hit.

The shields of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance flagship blocked it easily.

Then that Battleship exploded, its reactor struck by a Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance Light Lance.

The void swallowed the light, swallowed the sound, and swallowed the lives.

The Bridge of the Oath was in shambles.

Admiral Olaf held onto the edge of the tactical table, his three eyes fixed on the points of light constantly extinguishing on the Holographic Star Map.

270 ships.

That was the entire foundation of the Oathkeeper fleet, all the strength Olaf had secretly assembled over three years.

Now, fewer than forty remained, and most were scarred, their shields collapsed, and their weapon systems overloaded.

The Communications Officer reported.

"Admiral, the enemy ship is requesting communication again. It is Guilliman himself."

Olaf straightened his tattered military uniform collar.

"Put it through."

Guilliman's image appeared on the holographic table.

Guilliman was still wearing that blue and gold Power Armor, its surface as clean as new.

He stood on the Bridge of the Xiuluosheng Glory.

Guilliman said in a calm voice.

"Admiral Olaf, you have proven the courage of the Fengqi Military. Now, prove your wisdom.

Surrender, and I can guarantee that you and your subordinates will receive treatment in accordance with the prisoner-of-war convention."

Olaf laughed.

"Prisoner-of-war convention? Archon Guilliman, do you think I would believe that? I have carefully studied the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance's record in treating non-Human races. 'Naturalization,' 'cultural integration,' 'civilizational uplift'—what beautiful terms, masking forced assimilation, cultural genocide, and ethnic cleansing."

Guilliman's brow furrowed slightly.

"The Star Alliance brings order and prosperity to the civilizations that join it."

"Prosperity at the cost of losing ourselves—we would rather not have it."

Olaf straightened his back.

"Look at your terms, look at your demands. That is not peace, that is surrender. That is not integration, that is annexation."

"So you would rather let all your subordinates die in battle?"

For the first time, a trace of fluctuation appeared in Guilliman's tone.

"These soldiers trusted you and followed you here. Is this how you repay their Loyalty?"

Olaf's voice rose sharply, echoing through the shattered Bridge.

"I lead them toward dignity! Colonel Sele'en proved this!

The Dark Tooth proved this! We would rather die on the battlefield as warriors than live as slaves in a conquered homeland!"

Guilliman studied Olaf for a long time before speaking slowly.

"Admiral Olaf, you are an excellent soldier, but you are not a qualified politician. Politics is the art of compromise, the science of calculating gains and losses. What you are doing now is trading the lives of an entire fleet for a hollow 'dignity'."