The Nation-Class fleet of the Russia had a total of 600,000 ships, while the Molian Civilization’s second reinforcement fleet had only 150,000 ships. However, it was obvious that these 150,000 ships had long since prepared for being intercepted and had taken corresponding precautionary measures.
Xiao Yu was mentally prepared for this as well. The Russia’s fleet totaled 600,000 ships. Such a massive fleet redeployment could not possibly be concealed. After all, these ships had been under the enemy’s surveillance from the beginning, unlike that five hundred thousand ship fleet of intelligent beings, which had entered curvature flight from the outset and left the enemy no opportunity to detect it.
In the void, a novel game of hide-and-seek began once more. The 150,000 ships continuously concealed themselves and fled, attempting to slip past the Russia’s fleet and head for Star System Number 5, while the Russia’s fleet searched and blocked with all its might, seeking to rely on numerical superiority to wipe out this fleet.
The Molian Civilization’s concealment policy proved quite effective. Over half a month, because the Molian Civilization hid well and fled quickly, the two sides basically did not engage in large-scale battles, though small-scale clashes occurred incessantly. But this state did not last long. After the Molian Civilization’s third reinforcement fleet arrived, as many as 470,000 ships, the situation changed completely.
At this moment in the void, the Molian Civilization’s fleet had already reached 620,000 ships, slightly exceeding the Nation-Class fleet of the Russia. Although Xiao Yu’s side still held the advantage due to superior ship performance, it had become impossible to wipe out the enemy entirely. This was the second battlefield; here, the two sides began a standoff.
A similar situation occurred elsewhere. The 800,000 ships detached from the China’s fleet successfully carried out more than half of the interception tasks, blocking as many as 600,000 ships in the void. They were currently engaged in ongoing pursuits, interceptions, concealment, and withdrawals, while the main fleet reached Star System Number 5 and finally joined up with the fleets of the United States and the Thailand. Outside Star System Number 5, Xiao Yu’s military strength had already reached over one million ships. The defending force in Star System Number 5 was more than 800,000 ships.
The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Star System Number 5 was a fairly ordinary star system, but because of its special position, it possessed extremely important strategic significance. Its primary star was a white subgiant, with only a single rocky planet of roughly twice Earth’s mass orbiting it. Because there was only one planet, the ownership of this planet determined the ownership of Star System Number 5.
The Molian Civilization had made very proper arrangements. Based on intelligence analysis, Xiao Yu could confirm that at least fifty Star System-Class Negative Matter Cannons were emplaced on this planet, while the number of other space-based gun turrets and various defensive weapons was beyond counting. This was a planet armed to the teeth.
Xiao Yu could afford to disregard the other defensive weapons, but these negative matter cannons gave him a serious headache. The firepower of a Star System-Class Negative Matter Cannon was tremendous. If it locked on, a single shot could completely destroy a City-Class ship, inflict massive damage on a Province-Class ship, and even pose a certain threat to a Nation-Class ship. However, because of distance, when his fleet penetrated into the interior of the star system, for the time being he did not need to consider the threat of these negative matter cannons.What lay before Xiao Yu now was the greatest challenge, the omnipresent star system’s defense system on the star system’s periphery. Uncountable war fortresses, interstellar mine battle groups, automatic-trigger death ray launch bases, antimatter bomb launch bases, and so on roamed throughout the star system. Xiao Yu even discovered some space-based negative matter cannon battle fortresses. Although these fortresses did not have the power of those Star System-Class Negative Matter Cannons built on the planet, they could still pose a huge threat to City-Class ships. With the nearly unlimited energy replenishment provided by that planet, the entire star system’s defense system was like a fully wound mainspring, operating with vigorous vitality and in perfect order. By contrast, on Xiao Yu’s side, because there was no stable supply channel, large negative matter cannons were clearly unusable, and even space weapons had to be used sparingly.
This was a disadvantage. This was the difference between defender and attacker.
“Given how vast the universe is, when maneuverability is roughly comparable, the fleeing side is always a bit better off than the pursuer. Excluding the fleet at Star System Number 5, there are roughly 1,400,000 ships participating in interception in the void, tasked with intercepting about 1,200,000 ships of the Molian Civilization. First, one point is clear, the interception operation cannot achieve complete success. In my estimation, in the end about 900,000 enemy ships will break through the interception ring, while on our side we will pay the price of 200,000 ships. Then… the final force comparison will be our 2,200,000 ships against the opponent’s 1,700,000 ships. We still do not have an overwhelming advantage.”
“As for the specific outcome, we will only know after we fight. I believe that at this moment we can already begin the general offensive. A strong assault on Star System Number 5 will place enormous pressure on their defense and make the fleets in the void anxious to link up, which will lead them to make some tactical mistakes and may bring us a certain advantage.” a member of the Military Committee said.
“Yes, that is my thought as well. The number of small-scale engagements has already been sufficient. Then let us begin the general offensive.” Xiao Yu nodded and issued the order.
More than one million ships, after reserving sufficient defensive forces and a reserve, began a new round of fierce assault.
The flames of war instantly engulfed the entire Star System Number 5.
Countless ships chased one another in space. Countless antimatter bombs, gravitational bombs, light-beam weapons of various bands and frequencies, torrents of negative matter at various energy levels, all kinds of flashes, and innumerable explosions erupted in space. On a battlefield like this, even a Province-Class ship could play only a negligible role. Only a Nation-Class ship leading a formation of several thousand ships could roughly sway the situation within a given sector, and it was still powerless to affect the overall situation.
In the conference room aboard Heaven’s Kingdom, Xiao Yu’s expression was stern. At this moment, the fierce battles occurring everywhere, the movement and fighting of as many as several million ships, had already occupied ninety percent of Xiao Yu’s computing power. Inside the vast main control chamber aboard the China, innumerable robots were busily moving back and forth. Such a high rate of computing resource consumption placed great pressure on the various quantum computing modules in the main control chamber. At any moment, computing modules could burn out or malfunction. These robots were responsible for keeping the computer modules operating normally.
This was the strong backing for Xiao Yu to control the entire battlefield situation. Most data computation and data exchange were carried out here. Only a small portion of data that could be judged by automatic programs was offloaded to other Nation-Class ships, for example to the computing modules aboard the United States.
Xiao Yu had countless eyes and countless hands. Any situation on the battlefield would be perceived by Xiao Yu in an instant, and then appropriate arrangements would be made.
In the conference room aboard Heaven’s Kingdom, several enormous three-dimensional dynamic displays presented in detail the situations of several battlefields. The one occupying the most space was, without question, the main battlefield of Star System Number 5.
The members of the Military Committee stared tensely at these displays, closely monitoring the situation on the battlefield. From time to time they entered certain instructions on their respective personal computing terminals, making some estimates or calculations.
The atmosphere in the conference room was extremely tense and solemn. Low voices of conversation sounded from time to time as the committee members exchanged their views on the battlefield situation. Suggestions were raised from time to time, then discussed by everyone together. Those deemed feasible were swiftly executed by Xiao Yu.
“Main battlefield, a3 sector, I recommend destroying this space-based negative matter cannon fortress. I noticed that in its dozen or so shots, it has already destroyed three of our City-Class ships and posed a huge threat to the Province-Class ship Hainan. As the core of the sub-sector, if we lose the Hainan, we will lose our advantage in the a3 sector.” one member said.
“No, the timing is not right yet.” Xiao Yu shook his head, rejecting this proposal. “Within the entire a sector sub-battlefield, I believe the interstellar mine battle groups in the a5 sector pose the greatest threat to us. I intend to have the Province-Class ships Hainan and Guangdong lead their formations to clear these mine battle groups first, and then deal with this space-based negative matter cannon emplacement. For now, let it jump around for a while.”
“Right, I have the same view. Aside from the situation in the a sector, I have the following suggestion regarding the c sector. I think we can temporarily abandon the offensive in the c sector and focus on holding it. First detach 10,000 ships, including the Moscow and the Shaanxi, and concentrate on attacking the e sector. If we gain the advantage in the e sector, we can provide support to the f sector and in turn suppress the c sector.” another member proposed.
“Very good, that suggestion is quite reasonable.” Xiao Yu made a brief analysis, nodded, and agreed to the proposal.
Across the vast battlefield, the figures of ships shuttled back and forth everywhere. The movements of these ships seemed chaotic, but on closer inspection one could discern faint patterns within. This was true not only for Xiao Yu’s fleet but also for the fleet of the Molian Civilization. Within this star system, nearly two million ships belonging to two great camps were fighting fiercely.