"I've sent the information to the other Grand Admiral, Master Kael, just as you instructed," she said.
Kael gave a brief nod, then shifted the topic. "Things are about to take a hard turn. Our newly trained elite recruits aren't fully ready for independent deployments on their own. But this battle—and the one that follows—should be enough to temper them, to harden both their skills and their minds for the challenges they'll face regularly."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted over the faces of the officers stationed aboard the frontline battle carriers, as well as those positioned further back in the middle and outer perimeter of the formation. Many remained steady—especially those in the middle layers—but most, if not all, showed cracks under the ceaseless bombardment of the Minotaur Clan's weapons against their shields. Only a rare few managed to hold themselves truly composed.
