160: Chapter 160 Amelia

Inside the massive conference room, the atmosphere was bizarre to the extreme.

The holographic projection emitted a cold, faint blue light, casting flickering shadows across the faces of everyone present.

At the head of the long table, Grand Elder Cormac still wore his luxurious robes, but his eyes were deeply sunken, and his usually meticulously groomed hair showed a hint of irrepressible exhaustion.

Seated to his left and right were the only two remaining core powerholders of the White Feather Guild.

On the left was Second Elder Second Elder Ronan. He was a classic double-dealer and a master of smoothing things over, always wearing the smiling-tiger mask of a friendly businessman.

On the right was Third Elder Amelia.

She was a female of the Winged race, clad in silver light armor, with a cold and beautiful face. She spent years leading fleets to explore and pioneer the outer star systems. Within the White Feather Guild, everyone knew she was a die-hard loyalist of President Grace.

At this moment, Amelia was playing with a pen in her hand, casually breaking the suffocating silence in the conference room.

"Grand Elder, I've just rushed back, and I heard that many changes have occurred in the guild recently."

Amelia stared intently at Cormac, her tone carrying a hint of testing.

"But what I care about most is still President Grace's condition. Has the President... still not woken up?"

Hearing the name "Grace," the corner of Cormac's eye twitched imperceptibly.

He quickly put on a look of deep anguish and sighed heavily. "Amelia, the President's injuries are simply too severe. To cover the main force, she took a direct hit from the Blood Moon Guild's main cannon. These past few days, I have mobilized the best medical resources of the entire fleet, but we can only barely maintain her vital signs. She is still... in a deep sleep."

"Is that so? Then the Grand Elder has truly gone to great trouble."

Amelia nodded, taking the opportunity to request,

"Since I am back, by all rights, I should visit the President's intensive care ward to see how her recovery is going."

"I'm afraid that won't do."

Cormac's face stiffened, and he refused without hesitation.

"The medical team has issued a strict order. The President's current condition is unstable, and any minor external disturbance could lead to irreversible deterioration. For her safety, she absolutely should not see anyone right now."

"I see. Then I won't press the matter. I only hope the President recovers soon."

Amelia nodded cooperatively, but a flash of mockery crossed her eyes.

She shifted the topic, continuing to probe indirectly. "By the way, on my way back, I heard from the subordinates... that there seemed to be a big commotion inside the warship a few days ago? Even the main ship's lockdown matrix was activated, and the highest-level alarm was sounded. Did the people from the Blood Moon Guild attack?"

At the mention of this, Cormac clenched his hands tightly inside his sleeves, his fingernails nearly digging into his flesh.

Flynn, the captain of the internal guard standing behind Cormac, braced himself and took a step forward, explaining in a low voice, "Replying to the Third Elder, it wasn't the Blood Moon Guild, but a group of cunning thugs. They disguised themselves as a merchant group from the Tianqing Guild and sneaked into the flagship..."

Flynn grit his teeth, glossing over the prison break and only revealing another fact: "These thugs were brutal. They broke in... and assassinated Young Master Hoffman."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room instantly froze.

Cormac closed his eyes at the perfect moment, his body trembling slightly, playing the part of a grief-stricken, aged, and powerless father who had lost his beloved son to absolute perfection. "It is my incompetence as a father... I failed to protect him..."

"These thugs are simply insane."

Amelia's expression turned solemn, and she bowed slightly.

"Grand Elder, please accept my condolences. The White Feather Guild will settle this blood debt sooner or later."

Just then, Second Elder Second Elder Ronan, who had been watching the show with a smile, finally coughed and chimed in.

"We share the Grand Elder's grief over the loss of his son. But the dead are gone, and the living must continue to struggle."

Second Elder Ronan tapped the table gently.

"Since that battle with the Blood Moon Guild, our vitality has been severely damaged, and our supply replenishment hasn't recovered for a long time. Now, the keys to the guild treasury and the authority to allocate resources are in your hands. The armor of the brothers under me needs repairs, and their energy cartridges are running empty. Every day, people are blocking my door demanding supplies."

Second Elder Ronan glanced at the guild asset audit sheet on the holographic screen, his tone turning serious. "Grand Elder, if I'm not mistaken, the combat readiness supplies we can currently deploy only amount to about twenty million Level 5 units. Meanwhile, our guild still has over eight hundred Winged warriors left, plus the daily maintenance of those fifty Level 5 warships outside... Even if we tighten our belts, these twenty million supplies are completely insufficient!"

Second Elder Ronan's words were like a ladle of cold water poured into boiling oil, and the entire conference room instantly erupted.

"The Second Elder is right! The shield generators on our Third Fleet's warships haven't been repaired yet. How can we fight without supplies?"

"Our Logistics Department's nutrient solution is also about to run out!"

"Grand Elder, these supplies must be distributed as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'll mutiny ourselves before anyone else even attacks us!"

The remaining mid-level commanders and generals below began to argue with bloodshot eyes for the interests of their respective factions, and the scene temporarily fell into a chaotic, out-of-control state.

Amelia watched coldly from the sidelines, while Second Elder Ronan leaned back in his chair leisurely, as if the argument had nothing to do with him.

Listening to the noisy debate that sounded like a bustling market, Cormac felt as if his blood vessels were about to burst.

Bang—!!!

Cormac finally lost his patience and slammed his fist heavily onto the conference table, causing the holographic projection to flicker violently.

The clamor stopped abruptly.

"All of you, shut up!"

Cormac's eyes were blood-red, scanning the crowd like an enraged lion, his chest heaving violently.

"Clamoring like this, where are your manners! I have my own plans regarding the supplies!"

He whipped his sleeve violently, suppressing all opposing voices with an unquestionable tone. "Today's meeting is adjourned! I will have the Logistics Department issue a detailed report on the subsequent supply distribution plan and send it to you. Meeting dismissed!"

After the meeting ended on a sour note, Amelia walked quickly back to her defense sector with a grim face.

Today's White Feather Guild was no longer as prosperous as it once was.

The entire guild fleet had been reorganized into nine large fleets. Every six captains led six warships to form a fleet, with each fleet allocated around one hundred Winged warriors.

As the Third Elder, Amelia directly commanded the Third Fleet.

Just as she stepped into the command cabin of the flagship, Amelia's deputy captain quickly walked up to meet her. He looked haggard, even carrying a hint of suppressed panic, and kept glancing warily outside the cabin door from time to time.

"Lady Amelia, you're back."

The deputy captain lowered his voice, his tone revealing deep anxiety.

"Have the... supplies been approved?"

Amelia looked at the deputy who had followed her through life and death for years, and shook her head in silence.

The deputy captain's eyes instantly dimmed. He grit his teeth and reported in a low voice, "My Lady, the severely wounded soldiers hidden in the cargo hold... are about to succumb. Without high-grade life support fluid, ordinary medicine cannot suppress the energy rampage inside their bodies at all."

"Why weren't they sent to the main ship's medical department earlier?!"

Amelia frowned.

"We didn't dare send them!"

The deputy captain's eyes reddened, his voice trembling.

"My Lady, you've been pioneering the outer regions recently, so you might not know, but the fleet has been in a state of panic for a long time! The severely wounded brothers sent to the main ship to 'recuperate' earlier have all vanished without a trace. Some went to inquire privately and found they weren't in the medical cabin at all, as if they had vanished into thin air! Everyone suspects... those brothers who lost their combat capability have probably already been..."

The deputy captain did not dare to say the word "sold," but in this oppressive and terrifying atmosphere, which fleet would dare to report wounded soldiers? Everyone could only grit their teeth, secretly hiding their injured brothers in the cargo holds of their own warships, using the pitifully small amount of supplies they had left to keep them alive.

Listening to the deputy captain's report, Amelia's heart twitched violently. Recalling Cormac's sanctimonious face at the meeting, the killing intent in her eyes almost materialized.

"I understand."

Amelia took a deep breath, forcing down the anger in her heart. She patted the deputy captain's shoulder, her tone becoming exceptionally firm.

"Tell the brothers and sisters to grit their teeth and hold on a bit longer. I promise you, these dark days will soon come to an end."

The deputy captain was stunned for a moment, seemingly catching an unusual implication in Amelia's words, but out of absolute trust in his commander, he nodded heavily.

"Pass down my order. The Third Fleet is to maintain its usual cruising formation and avoid drawing the attention of the flagship."

Amelia turned and walked toward the hangar.

"I need to go out personally."

Boom—

A silver-white carrier-based aircraft ejected from the Third Fleet's hangar, plunging into the thick sea of clouds like a meteor, speeding toward a set of coordinates at full throttle.