Chapter 362: Turning the Tide
After the two successful Crimson Kiss volleys earlier, if Prince Diallo had immediately pulled back and concentrated fire on the emerging swarm reinforcements behind Planet Izumo, using the cleared front as cover, he wouldn’t have ended up in his current predicament.
But Diallo had placed far too much trust in the intelligence provided by the Suzerain, never anticipating that the swarm’s energy cannon technology had advanced to such a high level. Being pinned down triggered a cascade of unfavorable events.
Yet, perhaps this wasn’t entirely his fault. In Diallo’s memory, the Suzerain had always been infallibly powerful, incapable of making mistakes—unless deliberately setting him up.
Still, despite being the third prince of the Daqi Empire, Diallo had already abandoned the fight for the throne. Out here on the frontier, he was nothing more than a small, insignificant figure in the eyes of the Suzerain, hardly worth such elaborate targeting.
Could this entire debacle be aimed at the Daqi Empire instead? Even so, the loss of these 2,000 warships, while significant, would not cripple their power.
Instead of focusing on his escape, Diallo’s mind was consumed with these strange thoughts. Subconsciously, he seemed to believe that revealing his identity and intentions would ensure his safety. His sense of crisis was weak; he was more preoccupied with puzzling over the Suzerain’s motives.
“Boom!” A violent tremor shook the Doria.
The fourth mature Space Octopus had arrived.
The already heavily damaged Doria flickered as its interior lights briefly dimmed, plunging the ship into darkness.