Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'

The officers and soldiers of the Crystal Tower tossed their military caps into the air, shouting loudly:

"Glory belongs to us!"

"Sooner or later, we'll drive those Night Butterfly bastards out of this starry sky!"

"Victory! We can go home now!"

Li Aozi's broadcast lasted all afternoon, and the enthusiasm hadn't waned.

On the Night Butterfly side, 'Skeleton Marshal' Dufen Herman tapped the table as he held a serious meeting with senior generals.

"The defeat at the Eye of the Galaxy is irreversible."

Marshal Herman emphasized:

"No matter how much His Excellency the President urges us, we've already sent even the young soldiers to the front. Rather than continue the futile fight at the Eye of the Galaxy, it's better to ceasefire and negotiate."

"Negotiate about what? Whatever we can't get on the battlefield, we won't get on the negotiation table."

Governor Bablushka of Kappa Rank 10 expressed dissatisfaction:

"Balkmon is still on the front line, I can't retreat. If we retreat, it would be equivalent to handing over the superconductive resources of the Eye of the Galaxy to those wizards."

"I don't oppose withdrawing from the Eye of the Galaxy—but we must give the President a reason to justify it."

Night Butterfly's Chief of Staff Pulcheria Timoshenko rubbed her temples. This elderly chief of staff had served the Federation for three millennia, even her brain had been replaced with a prosthetic.

Compared to past battles, the campaign at the Eye of the Galaxy had greatly sapped her lifespan. Timoshenko felt overwhelmed.

The new generation of commanders mostly died on the front line. She should have retired long ago, but the Federation still needed her strategy, so she has been held back till now.

The moment she said this, everyone looked at each other.

Shift blame = Passing the buck

"Of course, this war is indeed brutal. Those seated at this table have changed over a dozen times. But we have to talk facts."

The Night Butterfly Federation's Defense Minister Karlwitz glanced at Herman

"This defeat is inseparable from your command failure, Marshal—tell me, was there something wrong with the way you fought this battle?"

Before Herman could speak, the frontline commander Gusman couldn't sit still and immediately shouted:

"Karlwitz, what does this have to do with the Marshal? Stop slinging mud at him! Where's my ammunition? My weapons? Why are all my soldiers just a bunch of kids?"

"The Minister Karlwitz is right, my command was indeed inadequate, I made mistakes."

Herman said flatly.

"I'm slinging mud?" Karlwitz sneered: "Even Herman admits he has issues! Why are you still covering for him?"

"You—"

"We deal with facts, come on, guys, let's review this."

Karlwitz laid out the battle line map and put on his glasses:

"Before Leoz charged into the Dark Star Domain, you had a full 38 seconds to react, yet you let Colonel Kadun pursue him."

"What about a full volley from the fleet? Why not deploy it? Here (taps the table), why not deploy it even now?"

"A single volley, neutron torpedo bombardment, just one volley needed here—where's your volley? Submarine 82 self-destructs, and then another volley, why not fire another volley?"

The more he reviewed, the redder Karlwitz's face became. He finally couldn't take it anymore, slammed the table, and threw his pen at the screen:

"Should've fired a volley earlier to stop him from entering the Dark Star Domain!—Herman, what on earth were you doing?!"

Facing the fury of the Defense Minister, Dufen Herman remained silent, maintaining his composure and calm throughout.

"Karlwitz, you, the one piecing together plywood, are you fit to command real soldiers in a war?"

"Even a layman commander recognized there were plenty of chances to stop Leoz from entering the Eye of the Galaxy. Was your so-called expertise all for show?"

"Since when did war become the domain of people who never shouldered a gun?"

"Yes, General Gusman, you're right to an extent. I'm no good at fighting. But your weapons, ammunition, production lines—they were all obtained from Zhou Yuan's depths of the Void by me. If I didn't, you would be facing wizard magic with sticks and stones."

"Enough, the front line suffers, the rear squabbles, how disgraceful! How can soldiers appear so hooligan-like!"

Even Governor Bablushka couldn't stand it, crossing his arms, his entire being exuding a cursed aura:

"Prepare yourselves, the Crystal Tower still has 100,000 regular soldiers, while we only have 40,000 remaining. Withdrawing from the Eye of the Galaxy is a necessary sacrifice."

The pressure from the powerful temporarily quieted the commotion.

Yet, even so, Bablushka knew that the fissures within had already formed.

Ten years ago, during 'Operation Canyue', they successfully seized the Discerning Eye Fragments from Baizhu Star, temporarily cutting off the source of soldiers for the Crystal Tower.

But no one expected the Crystal Tower to be so decisive, that they would simply let Baizhu Star go and have it managed by their own newly cultivated people.

Now, they're being beaten by the powerful coming from Baizhu Star.

"Baizhu Star…Leoz."

Bablushka murmured:

"I remember now—ten years ago, it was a young man named Leoz who killed Canyue."

"We once destroyed his school, massacred his teachers and friends, turned his planet into ruins, thinking he'd be utterly annihilated under the iron heel of the Mechanical World Society."

"But he wasn't destroyed. Instead, he grew strong, rebuilding a new nation from the wastelands of Baizhu Star."

"Now, he's here for revenge, representing the civilian students killed by the warriors of the Night Butterfly and Canyue, seeking revenge against us."

Saying this, Bablushka chuckled:

"Haha, looks like he's still Balkmon's pupil. Should've ended this guy completely earlier."

He shook his head:

"Arrange with the staff department. I'll negotiate with the President and meet with the Crystal in 18 hours."

"What's the agenda?"

"We'll withdraw from the Eye of the Galaxy, but before that, we hope to hold a prisoner exchange ceremony."

"But the soldiers who died over these 20-plus years…" Karlwitz said unwillingly: "Their blood vaporized pointlessly into the cosmic night of the Eye of the Galaxy. In thirty minutes, we lost 127,000 good brothers, they are mothers of the great motherland, husbands and sons of the family. How should we give them an explanation?"

"We'll be back."

Governor Bablushka stated resolutely:

"They want to reach Corinna, but we have two more star systems before them. Let them fight! The Night Mother Goddess won't stand by—I'll call the President and activate the 'Holy Choir', send the kids to attack every planet of the Crystal Tower—whether it's a hospital or a bridge, only one thing matters:"

"No matter how many planets the Crystal Tower takes back, we'll leave their rear blazing with infernos."

"However many regular soldiers they kill, we'll strike civilians that many times! Don't forget, the Temple stands with us."