Chapter 419: Seeking Peace - Warhammer Fanfic: Starting with a Core Cabin

When the Stellar Federation began its full-scale counterattack, the Batarian fleet officially collapsed.

If one had to use an analogy, then the fleet of three thousand Batarian warships was like a massive whale, while the Inquisition fleet led by Duanmu Huai was more like a razor-sharp blade that appeared out of thin air, plunging straight into the whale's body and cleaving it cleanly in two.

Having lost its central command, the Batarian fleet immediately descended into chaos. Soon after, the Inquisition fleet's unparalleled firepower inflicted an unimaginable shock upon these alien xenos. Amid such disorder, the Batarian fleet turned into complete disarray—some ships tried to continue attacking, some attempted to regroup, while others simply wanted to flee.

In fact, quite a few Batarian warships were not destroyed by the Inquisition's guns at all, but instead collided with their own allies while trying to evade fire. If one could tap into Batarian communications, one would hear the previously silent void filled with furious shouting, enraged curses, desperate orders, anguished wails, and hopeless screams.

By the time the Stellar Federation fleet entered the battlefield, only a small portion of the Batarian ships had begun retreating. The rest were either smashed by collisions with their own side, or completely blasted into fragments by Federation or Inquisition warships.

"This is way easier than I expected…"

Watching the scene unfold, Admiral Barok couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He hadn't expected the Batarian fleet to become so weak after its total collapse, reduced to nothing more than panicked flight. On the Federation's side, aside from a few damaged ships, not a single warship had been destroyed—this alone said everything.

But those ships… what exactly were they?

Looking at the Inquisition fleet not far away, Admiral Barok wore a puzzled expression. During the battle, he had received orders from Admiral Kislev, telling them that "those cathedral ships are our allies." At first, that order had left Barok completely dumbfounded, unsure what Kislev was even talking about.

Then he took a look.

Yes—definitely cathedrals. And fully built ones at that.

What kind of design style is this???

Admiral Barok was certain he had never heard of such a fleet within the Stellar Federation, and these ships were far larger than Federation warships…

"Beep—"

At that moment, a transmission came in, and Kislev's face appeared on the screen once more.

"Ah, Admiral Kislev."

Seeing him, Barok smiled. After all, the battle had been absurdly easy, and that was good news for any commander.

"That was a perfect one-hit KO. I think we can pop champagne to celebrate."

"Hahaha, we'll talk about that after returning to the fortress. But right now, I need you to immediately reorganize and continue the pursuit."

"Pursuit?"

Barok frowned slightly.

"Admiral Kislev, isn't this… a bit too risky?"

As a soldier, Barok naturally understood the principle of not chasing a desperate enemy. Moreover, although this was the Batarians' main fleet, it wasn't their entire force. At least a third of their fleet still remained within their own territory. In Barok's view, this victory was already flawless. Continuing the pursuit risked the enemy turning desperate and dragging them down—hardly a beautiful ending.

"You don't need to worry about that. The Inquisition fleet will act together with us. As for why we're doing this… you'll find out soon enough."

"Alright."

Although he didn't understand Kislev's reasoning, Barok nodded.

Soon, with the Inquisition fleet at the center, the First and Third Fleets deployed on either side, and the Seventh Fleet following behind. Together, they clung tightly to the fleeing Batarian ships and pressed the pursuit forward.

For the fleeing Batarians, this sight made them furious beyond belief. Their main fleet had already been destroyed—were these humans really planning to wipe them out completely?

Some enraged Batarian captains ordered their ships to turn back and fight, only to be instantly annihilated by concentrated fire from the pursuing fleet the moment they turned around. After that, no one dared speak up again, and all remaining ships fled forward with everything they had.

"Everyone, keep it up! As long as we reach the defensive satellites, we'll be safe!"

While desperately accelerating, the leading captain shouted encouragement to his crew. As a member of the logistics fleet, he hadn't encountered combat at the start, and for that very reason had now become the highest-ranking officer among the fleeing ships, forced to lead them in evading the human pursuit.

Damn it! I never thought things would end up like this!

Five thousand ships—now reduced to fewer than three hundred, almost all of them fast, small destroyers and frigates. Battleships and transport vessels had either been destroyed or captured. Only these small ships had truly escaped!

But… that might actually be a good thing!

Licking his lips, the Batarian commander stared at the map. The advantage of small ships was their ability to enter atmosphere—and the Batarian military border fortress planet lay just ahead. Once they landed on the planet, the humans would no longer be able to catch them!

Fortunately, small ships were fast, while the Federation fleet was slower. By the time the pursuers arrived, most of the Batarian ships had already vanished onto the nearby military satellite.

"Damn it, still one step too slow!"

Seeing this, Admiral Barok slammed his fist against his chair in frustration. Though he hadn't approved of such relentless pursuit, watching the enemy slip away still made him extremely unhappy.

He quickly contacted Admiral Kislev and began to complain.

"What now, Kislev?"

"Hehehe, don't rush, Barok. From here on, we just need to watch."

"Just watch?"

As Barok stared in confusion, he suddenly saw an Inquisition warship slowly advance toward the Batarian military fortress planet. Then, a torpedo silently launched and flew toward the planet.

The next instant, flames erupted across the entire world. In the blink of an eye—

It became a dead planet.

"Hiss——————!!!"

Barok's eyes flew wide open, his entire body going cold. At that moment, he finally understood why Kislev had insisted on pursuing them!

They were here to watch a show!

Earlier, when the Federation claimed it had destroyed the Batarian homeworld, there had been doubts not only among civilians, but even within the military. After all, no one had heard of the Federation possessing such a weapon—who did it?

Now, watching this scene, Barok finally understood.

So it was this fleet.

So that's how it was…

At this moment, everything clicked for Barok. From the very beginning, this had all been a carefully staged play, and they were all actors in it—meant to perform a war that would prove humanity's power to every other force in the galaxy.

"Alright, Admiral Barok. It's over."

Kislev's voice came through.

"It's time for us to go back and pop the champagne."

And so, the fleets of the Stellar Federation and the Inquisition returned in triumph. The entire battle was released to the public, and the Federation's citizens erupted in celebration—especially at the final moment, when an Inquisition warship destroyed the Batarian military fortress planet with a single torpedo, leaving countless people ecstatic.

This clearly proved that the Federation hadn't been bluffing earlier—they truly had destroyed the Batarian homeworld!

After this battle, Batarian power completely collapsed. In the aftermath, massive losses triggered internal conflicts and divisions, eventually shattering the once-unified Batarian civilization into several smaller factions, never again regaining its former dominance.

Of course, that was a story for later.

Naturally, the battle between the Federation and the Batarians was also observed by the Citadel Council's three major races. If there had previously been no evidence of humanity destroying the Batarian homeworld, this time they saw it with absolute clarity—how a planet was annihilated.

Now the three races could no longer sit still.

They knew full well that the turning point of the war had been the moment those gigantic warships silently appeared within the Batarian fleet. This terrifying force possessed unimaginable power—able to infiltrate enemy formations without warning, strike with overwhelming firepower, and withstand damage with nearly impenetrable shields.

This wasn't a fight—it was a massacre.

Thus, the Citadel Council soon sent representatives once again.

This time, they weren't here to mediate.

They were here to seek peace.

With such a fleet, even all Citadel races combined likely couldn't win. Not to mention that the enemy could appear silently anywhere—meaning they could show up outside any race's homeworld at will.

Fight that? With what?

You're not afraid of thieves stealing—you're afraid of thieves watching.

There was no choice.

They had to sue for peace.

At first, the Citadel representatives still tried to rely on their long-standing prestige as ancient galactic civilizations and put on airs. But after learning that the entire galaxy had once belonged to the Human Empire, Li Longcheng found such nouveau-riche aristocrat posturing deeply unimpressive.

As for how the negotiations went, the summary was basically this:

Citadel Representative: Our Citadel Council member states span the galaxy and control vast resources and financial trade networks. If you don't join us, you'll be excluded—completely isolated!