The military losses were equally appalling.
Over eight million soldiers of the Empire had fallen—a majority from the secondary and tertiary line troops of the six Administrative Stars and the surface armed police forces; all with military status were accounted for.
More than 1,300 various warships were destroyed—mainly from local defense fleets.
Nineteen main battleships were lost.
A Dreadnought encountered a malfunction due to high-intensity operations and needed maintenance.
All wars were tragic.
This one was especially so.
The artificially planted insect swarm simultaneously attacked the forty or so warships at the burial sites, the New Federation’s worm-planting plan...
This was not just a Natural Disaster.
It was also a man-made calamity.
In order to surpass the Empire in national strength, the New Federation spared no expense in using any means to cause the ancient Empire to collapse from the inside.
Yang Ming did not take advantage to guide public opinion.
Lyu was indeed terrified by the fluctuation on Emperor Star and was extremely cautious in her online activities; when the White Ghost website faced congestion, she preferred to pay for a work team for temporary maintenance rather than ’act recklessly’ on the Empire’s network.
She was a Mechanical Thought Body that knew how to be cautious.
The time for the TV broadcast arrived as scheduled.
Yang Ming, 026, and Little Lyu hid in the captain’s lounge on the East Wind, the two ’humans’ drinking beverages, eating a barbecue feast, and staring at the projection screen.
Lyu lay on a single bed, wearing a short skirt and top, her hands supporting her chin, clearly a bit distracted.
The first to appear was the Empire’s Minister of Internal Affairs, who asked all citizens of the Empire for a moment of silence and solemnly announced the losses due to the insect disaster, highly praising the Empire’s three military branches.
Following him was the Empire’s highest military commander, the third most powerful figure in the Empire.
This old general lost his composure several times, his eyes always slightly red, his quivering, aged voice full of endless remembrance for the fallen and victims, and anger at the executioners behind them.
The old general clearly expressed the omens of war.
Now the Imperial Military Department was prepared to fully go to war with a certain country;
The main perpetrators responsible for this insect disaster would pay a heavy price!
The last to appear on TV was a dignified and elegant middle-aged woman dressed in black gauze, continually wiping her tears, representing the Imperial family to express profound condolences and encourage the citizens to face it bravely.
Similarly, the Empire’s elder princess made a similar statement.
"If this was a Natural Disaster, and we overcame it, the Empire emerged victorious from this crisis, the glory of Emperor Star would continue to shine at the center of Milky Way civilization.
"But if this was a man-made disaster-induced calamity, a deliberate attack to destroy the Empire’s national strength and disrupt the Empire’s order, then the Empire would never stand by idly, Empire’s citizens would not stand by idly, Empire’s warriors would not stand by idly!
"We possess the most powerful fleet in the Milky Way Galaxy, yet we cherish this hard-won peace.
"If our leniency became a shield for the enemy’s wanton destruction, then it was time to cast aside this leniency and use our mighty force to protect the peace of Empire’s citizens!"
It’s going to be war!
Yang Ming excitedly pumped his fist.
The Empire was finally going to deal with the New Federation!
The elder princess changed her tone,
"In this Insect Tide Battle, the Royal family must specially commend a hero. Everyone should be well aware of him, he is the White Ghost, Officer Hanton.
"With his own strength, he saved tens of millions, even nearly a billion victims, and he assisted the local defense fleet in defeating three evil Mother Worms, ultimately suffering serious injuries."
The screen showed Yang Ming’s ’sick leave photo.’
The elder princess sighed deeply,
"He is the hero of our Empire, and the Royal family will award him the Emperor Star Medal.
"Hanton is currently in a deep coma; we do not know if he will wake up, but before he does, we should bring this disaster’s chief culprit to the judgment seat on Emperor Star.
"That is the best response to this hero!"
He became a propaganda tool for the Imperial family!