Chapter 98: Defending the Bridge: The Queen’s Stand

Fewer than sixty warships remained.

Add just a few more hours to the clock.

Mu Qingxue had fought tooth and nail, taking down 117 Klein warships.

Of course, among these less than sixty ships was a Warstar, but the rest of the Klein fleet barely resembled what it once was—most were stripped-down models cobbled together from whatever was available in the asteroid belt.

On top of that, Tumelo insisted on capturing prisoners alive.

Still, there was no denying it: even up against a force four times their size, they’d managed a kill ratio of one to two.

That was already damn impressive.

But defeating the enemy outright?

Only if their commander was a complete idiot…

Mu Qingxue had never seriously held out hope for that, not even from the start.

Now, staring out the porthole at wave after wave of dazzling blue beams streaking through the void,

Mu Qingxue found herself momentarily dazed.

A few seconds later, shaken from her thoughts, she shot to her feet.

“Qingxue?”

“Why are you still standing there? Even if Lin Yu really is on his way, can you say for sure we’ll hold out until he gets here?”

“Uh…”

Ye Lingwei fell silent, at a loss for words.

Because she knew it was true…

It was going to be tough.

According to the reports, the 147th Heavy Assault Regiment was down to less than two hundred—more precisely, 178, and most of them were wounded.

Meanwhile, there were still around seventy to eighty Klein warriors roaming the ship.

In their best state, regular paratroopers couldn’t hope for better than a one-to-four—or even one-to-five—casualty ratio against Klein soldiers.

Clearly, the remaining men of the 147th just weren’t enough to finish the enemy off.

And even with Lin Yu closing in to within half a million kilometers, getting all the way to the Qiongxiao would take another hour or two at best.

“Lingwei, Serena, you haven’t forgotten your solo combat training, have you?”

Solo combat skills were actually a mandatory course for every division, and, truth be told, nearly everyone on the bridge had at least some training.

Just then, Mu Qingxue walked to the side of the bridge and pressed her hand to the wall.

In the next instant, what had looked like a solid, seamless wall suddenly split down the middle, and then…

It rapidly slid open to either side.

Turns out, this wasn’t just an ordinary wall—hidden inside was a small personal armory.

Dozens of heavy armor suits and weapons lay in neat rows.

Every single piece matched the standard gear used by the Federation’s Heavy Orbital Paratrooper Regiment.

“Wait, Qingxue—there’s a stash like this hidden on the bridge and I never knew?”

Ye Lingwei stared in shock.

Beside her, Serena nodded over and over like a pecking chick.

“Back when we were having the Warstar custom-built, I requested this myself—just in case we ever ran into a situation like this. Never thought… we’d actually have to use it!”

“Anyone confident in their combat skills, step up and gear up. You’re coming with me to help defend the ship. The rest of you, grab light arms and fortify the bridge. If we fail…”

There were only thirty sets of heavy armor—enough for just a handful.

After all, those things took up a huge amount of room, and space in this bridge armory was limited, so thirty was already pushing it.

On the other hand, there were plenty of electromagnetic assault rifles to go around—everyone could have one, easy.

“Qingxue, you stay on the bridge and coordinate the defense. Serena and I can handle things outside.”

“Yeah, there’s no reason for the Commander to be rushing out to the front lines—especially when you’re still not fully recovered.”

Ye Lingwei and Serena quickly stepped in to stop Mu Qingxue.

But…

“The two of you—do you know who I am?”

“I’m Queen Mu Qingxue!”

Now that was a ridiculously over-the-top nickname.

In fact, Mu Qingxue hadn’t made it up herself—it had started back at the Academy, where everyone else called her that.

She wasn’t just the undisputed top student of the Command Department.

She’d also taken on and beaten every division, including demolishing the Infantry Department’s previous number one.

After that, she was crowned with a new title.

The Queen!

Yes, the Queen who ruled the entire Academy.

And with those words, Mu Qingxue didn’t wait for anyone else to react. She spun around, stepped back, and climbed into one of the armored suits.

The armor’s front plates closed together, sealing her inside.

She flexed her joints, raised her right hand, and clenched her fist a couple of times.

She hadn’t felt this familiar power in over a decade.

——

Three minutes later.

Outside the bridge, at the A7 Passage.

This was the very last approach to the Qiongxiao’s bridge.

Once you passed through here, it was just one more turn to the bridge entrance.

At the moment, the passage was piled high with junk, hastily arranged to form a makeshift, bare-bones blockade.

Major Shen Yuan, the battalion commander, was there with his last hundred seventy men, ready for a final stand.

Some hid behind the slapdash barricade, others slipped in and out of cabins on either side of the A7 corridor, firing from whatever cover they could find.

“Commander, the bridge cafeteria’s been overrun. The brothers inside…”

“Everyone, get ready! The enemy is about to break through to A7 Passage. If we lose it…”

“Picture this: those ugly Klein freaks torturing our Commander Mu. Could you live with yourself if that happened?”

The bridge cafeteria was the last stop on the A6 Passage.

Shen Yuan quickly called everyone to their positions.

At the same time, trying to give his soldiers a little extra motivation, he name-dropped Mu Qingxue on purpose.

And it had to be said—using Mu Qingxue to pump up morale always worked wonders.

She was, after all, recognized as the most beautiful woman in the Federation Fleet. Her fame was no joke and, well…

Almost instantly, every tough guy in the place got fired up, red-eyed, shouting that they wouldn’t stand for it.

Their own lives? Not nearly as important.

But letting those filthy Klein lay even a finger on their Commander Mu? Never!

Some even started chanting slogans for Commander Mu, loud and proud.

The effect left Shen Yuan both proud and a little amused.

“Looks like morale’s on our side…”

Right then, a cold but clear voice rang out from behind Shen Yuan.

“Is that really how you inspire your men?”

“Uh…”

He turned around, momentarily stunned.

Thirty armored soldiers stood there—when had they arrived?

The one at the front had just called him out. The armor was full-body, so he couldn’t see who it was, but that voice…

“Commander Mu…?”

Shen Yuan was floored.

The rest of the soldiers? Equally slack-jawed.

Crap…

Did she just hear me blurting out my not-so-secret crush?

Plenty of soldiers were thinking exactly the same thing.

Next, Mu Qingxue spoke up again.

But this time, what she said was better than a shot of adrenaline for every last one of them.

“Reinforcements have arrived. The enemy ships outside are no longer a problem. If we can take down these last invaders inside the ship…”

“We survive!”

The news hit them like a bolt of lightning.

Survive—could they really survive?!

All they had to do was wipe out these Klein scum, and they’d get out of this alive.

Live through this!!

With that, every last soldier erupted, roaring with everything they had.

Their eyes were bloodshot as they stared down the barrel of the A7 Passage, ready to fight to the end.