176: Chapter 176 Drill

"...Look, here is our fleet. Although we aren't clear on the enemy's position in the current environment, we can understand the sea conditions."

Li Ming pointed at the Electronic Sand Table. This time, it was a random two-on-two match, and Cliff naturally teamed up with the decent-looking Li Ming.

"The center of the entire map is an island, and the other areas are endless open sea," Li Ming said. "Although I don't know who the opponents are, for now, if they're smart, they'll know they should spread out their Destroyers for reconnaissance."

"What do you think we should do?" Cliff looked at Li Ming. This round had no information at all, turning it completely into a battle of wits.

"There's no other way. We have no means of gathering information, so we can only rely on the Destroyers and cruisers to go out and scout," Li Ming replied. "Another way is to try and seize the island. The Airship Hangar on it can provide us with aerial reconnaissance. But the enemy knows this too, so that area will definitely be a focus of their reconnaissance. If we reinforce it, they will too. By then, even if the cards are on the table, we won't necessarily gain an advantage."

"You mean we need to make them afraid to send a large force to occupy the island, but our main force can't get close to it either?"

"Correct. Now isn't the right time for a decisive battle." Li Ming gnawed on the end of his pen. It was indeed a brain-burner—fighting against the heavens, the earth, and people.

"How about this? I'll make the following deployment. Our fleet is located directly south of the island. Now, I'll have our capital ships head west, with the Destroyers and cruisers following behind the scout teams on the left and right. If the right wing engages the enemy, it will retreat; the left wing will try to break through."

"I see. So, what do you think they'll do next?"

"I don't know. That's the battlefield. Unless you can get enough information on the opponent, you'll never know their hole cards or their next move."

"What if the opponent on the right wing also chooses to break through?"

"Destroyers have Smoke Grenades, and they're fast enough," Li Ming replied. "You keep an eye on that side and act as you see fit. If the enemy has fewer people than you, surround them. If they have more or if you feel the fight isn't worth it, pop smoke and withdraw."

"OK!"

On the other side, Anne was calculating the situation on the battlefield.

The match had already been going on for fifteen minutes. Since the fleet's movement speed was increased in the sand table, their movement across such a large area of sea was relatively fast.

Just as she expected, the opponent's reconnaissance fleet was only discovered near the central island.

On the other side, the bulbous-nosed Emil had no chance to speak at all.

After all, she had already completed the layout, and as a rookie, he didn't feel right saying much.

"Student Emil." Anne's voice was still very pleasant; it was just that she was somewhat taciturn.

"Ah! Yes..."

"If possible, I will assemble a reconnaissance fleet on each of the left and right wings. Next, I'll have the main fleet approach the central island directly to see if I can force them out for a decisive battle."

"Okay, okay, no problem!" Emil nodded hurriedly.

Anne chose to assemble most of the cruisers and battleships and headed straight for the central island.

Emil, meanwhile, led a reconnaissance fleet consisting mainly of Destroyers, keeping a close eye on the left and right sides and advancing bit by bit.

For once, Anne leaned back in her chair, unconcerned with her image. Calculating both the opponent's moves and her own was indeed exhausting.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

Lauren was observing the battlefield from the server's perspective in the rear.

There were bound to be more than one battle going on at the same time, but she was still interested in watching the match between the top three in this class.

A leader who called himself a rookie, and a taciturn genius.

"Both sides have chosen to have a Destroyer formation face off near the island."

"Li Ming's tactics are quite cautious, but he chose to press his main fleet on the left wing. He left the right wing to Cliff. Now, Cliff's cruisers and a Destroyer division are advancing at thirty knots. A reconnaissance group consisting of two Destroyer divisions is pushing forward at 35 knots."

"On the right wing, Li Ming's battlecruiser division is following behind at 25 knots, with two cruiser divisions providing cover at 30 knots. Three Destroyer divisions are pushing forward. He didn't choose to have the Destroyer divisions go at full speed, but instead maintained a distance of about 20 nautical miles from the cruiser and Destroyer divisions."

Although Teacher Durand with the green hair had once been instantly knocked to the ground by Anshan, she was actually a fairly reliable military instructor.

"What about Anne's side?" Lauren asked.

"Anne is leading a battleship division and three cruiser divisions toward the central island at 20 knots," Durand replied. "Emil is focusing on the six Destroyer fleets on the left and right sides. He is very cautious, always maintaining a parallel line 30 nautical miles ahead of Anne's main fleet. But in reality, Cliff's eastern reconnaissance fleet is about to make contact with Emil's eastern fleet."

"I see. Keep watching. I'll check the other tables."

"Alright."

Durand recorded the data while observing the situation.

At the 37th minute, the six Destroyer divisions on the eastern side met.

"On the eastern side, three Destroyer divisions are approaching our reconnaissance line!"

"Stay calm. Maintain the standoff and observe a bit more," Anne replied.

It would take about an hour to reach the central island at 20 knots, and there was still a third of the way to go. If possible, she didn't want anything to go wrong. After thinking for a moment, she added, "If the enemy launches an attack or their cruisers press forward, close in on the central fleet."

"Understood!"

Anne thought for a bit and moved three cruiser divisions to the eastern side, preparing to cut across from the right wing of the eastern reconnaissance fleet.

"Emil, what is their formation?"

"Single Column Formation. Two are sailing northwest, and one is sailing northeast. They're all closing in on us... I'm having the fleet turn."

"...No! Fleet, turn hard immediately! Get away from them!"

As expected, at the 41st minute, the eastern reconnaissance fleet, which had just finished turning, discovered a large number of Torpedoes approaching from both sides.

Out of necessity, the Destroyer divisions had to scatter their formation to evade. Taking advantage of this, the Destroyer divisions on both sides of Li Ming's force turned directly north in a single column, preparing to enter firing positions.

"Anne, next..."

"Hold them off at all costs. The cruiser divisions can arrive within five minutes."

Three cruiser divisions were pushing southeast at full speed in a Double Column Formation. If all went as expected, they could catch up or even encircle the enemy.

Maintaining a distance between the reconnaissance fleet and the main force was meant for exactly this moment...

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