112: Buhou, it's an ambush!

(Bonus for Dui Ou's tip on September 23rd (1/1))

...

Looking at the massive flagship paralyzed in place, along with the series of frigates and destroyers whose hulls had turned bright red and whose armor had even disintegrated due to being connected to the flagship by mechanical arms and scorched by ion currents, Xi Hai couldn't help but sigh that "Three Kingdoms Kill" was indeed right—the "Iron Chain Link" really does transmit energy damage.

Those few Warships, glowing so red they could enter a bladesmithing competition... were probably cooked through by now.

Boss Cao was truly authoritative, he thought, as Xi Hai gave the order to fire at will.

After the previous round of bombardment, a large number of enemy ships had been sterilized into iron coffins with neither engines nor weapons.

Now, all he had to do was blow up the remaining movable large ships, and then let Gunnar see if he could capture that two-thousand-meter-long Battleship.

The aircraft on the field had already begun to return, where they would undergo simple repairs at the space station, replenish their ammunition, and then return to the battlefield.

Watching ship after ship turn into space junk under the relentless bombardment, the storm, once called a "vase," had truly transformed into a storm of death, sweeping thousands of enemy troops into death with every breath;

The new constantine the great, which had been reduced to a sidekick by interception systems in the game, had finally become the emperor of the battlefield, with missile after missile being forcefully shoved into the faces of enemy ships, rammed hard into their bodies, and then erupting in violent explosions.

Meanwhile, Gould, who was peeking from the other side, watched the Decoy Fleet fall one after another, and he finally felt that something was wrong—how could the quality of this shoddy fleet sent by the Empire this time be so poor?

Gravity Shields, magnetic field Shields... could you at least install a Shield on the Battleships you build yourself? Why is there nothing on them? They just get smashed with a single shot? Are they really ready-to-eat right out of the box?

(At the Inquisition, the former Commander of that fleet, who had been taken away for a joint investigation just a few days ago: "You have to listen to my explanation, I just had a dream. If every starship in my fleet donated a few parts to me, wouldn't I be able to scrape together a million energy currency?")

Gould didn't know about the filth inside the Empire; he only knew that if he didn't act now, the Decoy Fleet would truly be wiped out, leaving only the flagship.

He confirmed the number of enemy Warships; there were less than 2000, but there were a full 8 Battleships!

Judging by that attack power, they must be relics.

Never mind, even if this wasn't the main enemy force, it was at least half the sky.

He re-confirmed the number of his own Warships: 4710!

His forces were twice that of the enemy, and he was launching a surprise attack.

Gould reached a conclusion in an instant— "The advantage is mine! All forces, attack!"

"Open the Gravity Conduit!"

...

On the battlefield, Xi Hai's fleet was like setting off fireworks, turning ship after ship that tried to organize a counterattack into junk.

Is this the Cosmic Army?

Looking at the debris and parts floating in front of him, Xi Hai couldn't help but sigh: "So weak."

He himself felt a sense of unreality, like punching cotton—the pressure he felt when fighting those bugs was stronger than what he felt from these guys.

Is this really how a field army of The Consortium, one of the six major rogues, should look?

Those torpedoes and missiles came in, but before they even entered the terminal penetration phase, they were turned into fireballs by interception pulse beams;

This disconnect from reality was completely different from when he attacked the Node Space Station—at that time, the reconnaissance fleet he faced was mostly composed of small ships of two or three hundred meters, but those Warships, whether in tactics or combat will, were incomparable to the fleet before him now.

Suddenly, the communication console emitted a rapid "beep-beep" sound.

Was it a communication from White Shark?

As soon as Xi Hai connected, White Shark's urgent voice came through— "Commander! It's a disaster! We are fighting the Lacray Empire's fleet!"

"And it's very likely a joint fleet of The Consortium and the Empire!"

Upon hearing this news, Xi Hai's pupils shook instantly—What? The Empire? He had offended another major rogue?

"Is there a clear chain of evidence?"

White Shark quickly said: "After comparison, most of this fleet are military models of the Lacray Empire! Only a small number of The Consortium Warships are mixed in!"

"And that flagship, it's a 'Redemption' class produced in the fourth era! That model had very low practicality, so production was very limited,"

"According to normal records, all Warships of this model should be in the hands of the Empire!"

After hearing White Shark's analysis, Xi Hai finally found the source of the discomfort he felt earlier—no wonder this battle felt completely different from the one at the Node Space Station!

So, why send such a weak fleet?

Pincer movement, split forces... or luring the enemy deep?

"fleet gathering alert!"

"Enemy ships have locked onto our position!"

"Multiple fleets are firing at us!"

"Our destroyers, confirmed destroyed!"

Well, now he didn't need to think about the question above, because the enemy had already proven it with their actions—almost at the same instant, a massive fleet appeared abruptly behind him, and then, countless weapons and ammunition were showered over as if they were free.

Shells knocked dents into the armor surface; missiles exploded into sparks on the hull; several lancers and Calirions that couldn't dodge in time had their main armor belts penetrated immediately, and they drifted in mid-air, disintegrating.

Thick energy beams struck the storm, the energy compensation armor immediately began to operate, and the rampaging ions were guided and diverted, causing basically no effective damage, but this also made the storm look incredibly battered.

It's an ambush!

Xi Hai realized, the weak-as-hell Imperial fleet in front was just to lure out his main fleet!

He immediately shouted in the command channel— "The enemy is prepared!"

"All Warships! Disengage from the battlefield immediately!"

"Retreat to the Swallow Return Point!"