The Tau garrison in the Kru'hi system is being "defeated".

At least, that's how it seems.

Following Shadowsun's orders, the Fire Caste warriors quickly "retreat" after the exchange of fire, and even deliberately left behind several damaged transport ships as bait.

The Dark Angels' pursuit fleet attacked without hesitation, their fire tearing through the void and blasting the abandoned Tau ships to pieces.

"Stupid." Yingyang commented in a low voice as he watched the human fleet's unstoppable attack on the monitor.

She tapped her fingers on the holo-table, calling up fleet markers hidden in the outer reaches of the system. Three complete Tau strike groups, more than a thousand ships in total, all sailing in silence, engine heat signatures turned off, lurking in the shadows of asteroid belts and gas giants.

"Humans are always so arrogant." She said to the etheric advisor beside her, "They think we are weak and afraid of direct war."

She raised her head, a sharp light flashing in her eyes.

“It is time for them to understand the wisdom of the Greater Good.”

Ryan's fleet has penetrated deep into the heart of the Kru'shi galaxy.

On the bridge of the Indomitable Truth, the Lion King stared at the tactical star map, the cold flame of a conqueror burning in his pupils.

His fleet was unstoppable, destroying a third of the Tau Empire's border defenses in just a few hours.

"New energy signals detected!" The sensor officer suddenly shouted, "Outskirts of the galaxy--"

His warning came to an abrupt end.

Because the entire starry sky suddenly "lit up".

Hundreds of Tau warships were unsilenced simultaneously, their ion engines switched from stealth mode to combat power, their pulse gun arrays charged, and their torpedo tubes unlocked.

What's more deadly is that Ryan's fleet is now in the gravity well of the main star of Kru'hi, and their warships seem to be trapped in it.

Shadowsun's face appeared on the communication screens of every human warship.

"Lion El'Jonson." Her voice was calm but sharp. "You have walked into a death trap."

The next second, seven hundred pulse cannons fired simultaneously.

A torrent of blue energy flooded the starry sky.

In the orbit of the third planet in the Kru'hi system, the bridge of the Indomitable Truth shook violently.

The shock wave of the explosion caused the adamantium skeleton to groan under the heavy burden, but Lion El'Jonson remained motionless.

The Lion King stood in front of the tactical holographic platform, his golden eyes reflecting the signals of seven hundred newly emerged enemy ships, his face like the hardest basalt on Caliban.

“Gravity well activated, my lord.” The navigation officer’s voice was filled with suppressed panic. “We are locked in the planet’s gravity well.”

Ryan tapped his fingertips three times on the holographic table, his movements as precise as the meshing of clock gears.

The star map immediately decomposed and reorganized, showing the complete encirclement of the Tau Empire fleet, a perfect spherical array, with the distance between each firepower unit accurate to the kilometer level.

"A standard Fire Clan ambush formation." His voice was low and steady, as if he was evaluating an exercise. "The enemy has learned well."

The members of the bridge all looked at their Primarch at the same time. The expected fury did not appear, but instead a hint of appreciation appeared at the corner of the Lion King's mouth.

This expression is more terrifying than any roar. It is the smile of a hunter when he sees prey worth skinning.

"Silence on all ships." Ryan suddenly ordered, his voice like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, "Shut down active scanning, and reduce power output to 5%."

As the order was given, the entire flagship instantly turned into a ghost ship.

The engine hum disappeared, the weapon array stopped charging, and even the life support system was switched to minimum power consumption.

Through the observation window, one can see that other warships of the Dark Angel fleet are also "dying" synchronously, like tombstones scattered in the void.

"They're adjusting the shooting parameters!" the sensor officer suddenly shouted.

On the hologram, the main guns of the Tau Empire fleet were being recalibrated - after losing their target, the pulse cannons were spinning around like headless flies.

Ryan's fingertips passed across the holographic projection, drawing seven scarlet routes on the three-dimensional star map.

"Notify all ships to follow the original plan." He turned to the communications officer, "Especially remind Deathwing, I want their Thunderhawks to take off within 90 seconds."

As the communications officer hurriedly relayed the order, the Lion King had already walked towards the weapons rack.

The way he took off the Lion Sword was like some kind of ritual, and the buzzing sound of the blade being unsheathed made the air in the entire bridge solemn.

This weapon, which has slain countless Caliban beasts, is now eager for new prey.

"Sir, the enemy's vanguard fleet is maneuvering!" the tactical officer suddenly shouted. On the hologram, three Tau fleets were approaching them in a pincer formation.

Ryan placed one hand on the holographic platform, and suddenly folded his five fingers. The enemy fleet formation in the projection was immediately pierced by seven red arrows.

"Here, here, and here." His fingernails carved invisible lines in the void. "Tell Deathwing that I want these nodes to disappear at the first salvo."

The bridge was suddenly enveloped by a blinding red light. The first pulse of artillery fire streaked across the void, but strangely deflected three thousand kilometers away from the fleet.

The magnetic field of the planet Kru'shi and the jammers set up by the Dark Angels together formed an invisible shield.

"Entire fleet, counterattack." Ryan's voice was finally filled with fighting spirit.

These three words were like opening the floodgates, and three hundred Dark Angel warships woke up at the same time.

Macrocannon arrays spewed out fire of death, torpedo swarms swarmed out like bees, and the most deadly were the Thunderhawk fighters that suddenly appeared on the flanks of the Tau Empire fleet. The Empire's Deathwing boarding troops were tearing open the belly of the enemy ships.

The Lion King turned and walked towards the bridge exit, his lion mane cloak billowing behind him like a living thing.

"Prepare my assault boat." He ordered without looking back, "Tell Belia that I want to meet this 'Shadow Sun Commander' in person."

When the airlock door opened, Ryan paused for half a second. He turned his head and looked back at the holographic projection. Nearly half of the seven hundred red dots had gone out.

The rest were being strangled one by one by the Dark Angel's classic "hunting formation" - a tactic he himself invented ten thousand years ago.

"Ambush?" The lion chuckled, and the power armor servo made a hungry low roar. "Let me teach you what a real ambush is."

As the airlock door closed, the last thing that came into the bridge was the hum of the power claws activating, and a vow that drifted on the wind:

“For Caliban.”

As Ryan's voice fell, he leaped onto the enemy warship.

"boom!"

The head of a fire warrior was easily crushed. Ryan looked at the countless fire warriors in front of him, and his low voice rang out from his helmet.

"Send us your Commander Shadowsun."

(I overslept in my nap today and forgot to update, so I updated another book.)