197: That was a real elbow to my brother.

"Area C1, vesta a021, 33 units, three batches, Batch 1 Groups 1-3! Launch sequence start!"

"Area A1, mistral, Batch 1 of 20 units have exited the bay, next batch begin!"

"Combat array established! Begin tactical suppression!"

After the attack order was given, the dispatchers on the Southern Cross Carrier Bridge immediately began their work like clockwork, proceeding rapidly and methodically.

Like a swarm of bees, the black aircraft quickly left the hangars, unfolding into combat groups in mid-air and covering each other as they flew toward the enemy fleet ahead.

Meanwhile, the primary weapons of each ship completed their locks—

"Heavy Ion Cannon lock complete! Charging efficiency 117%!"

"Missile lock complete! Artillery lock complete!"

"All weapons concentrate fire! Target enemy Battleship! Suppression fire start!"

Instantly, four bright white and thick pillars of light tore through the pitch-black starry sky, spanning the entire battlefield.

Following closely behind were red-hot shells, torpedoes and missiles trailing long plumes of flame, and spheres of glowing blue projected plasma (eternal storm M2).

Faced with this overwhelming volley, the fleet that had just been yanked out of the Gravity Conduit had no time to react.

The Battleship in the center took two of the four ion beams directly to the face—

And as it turned out, these Battleships built in the Sixth Epoch did not have very thick skin.

In less than a second, the ion beams fired by the "Thunder-type" mounted on the eternal storm easily melted through the armor on both sides, skewering it through.

The "Gamma Storm" mounted on the new constantine the great was a step slower, but it still only took a bit over 3 seconds.

By comparison, however, this beam seemed to hit a more vital spot—

Before it could even melt through the armor on the other side, a sympathetic detonation occurred at the beam's entry point.

Then a second followed, then a third... In just a few breaths, that Battleship turned into an expanding white sphere.

By the time the released energy dissipated, only molten metal spraying in all directions and a few broken, twisted, glowing-red fragments remained to prove a Warship had once existed there.

"Confirmed destruction of enemy battlecruiser."

A cold notification rang out on the flagship's command Bridge, and the interception group leader immediately issued the next order:

"All ships lock onto the enemy's left-wing fleet! Three volleys!"

"Carrier-based aircraft formations, circle around from the right wing! Intercept any enemy ships attempting to flee!"

"Take out half the enemy before they can reorganize a counterattack!"

But then, a sudden change occurred. The crew member responsible for monitoring the gravity interference device suddenly shouted—

"Report! Gravity coefficient abnormal again!"

"We've intercepted a new Alien Fleet!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another fleet with red livery dropped out below the diagonal of the fleet currently being pummeled.

Moreover, perhaps because its organization was smaller or perhaps because it was more elite,

the moment that second fleet arrived, it instantly stabilized its outer defensive formation while rapidly adjusting its internal combat formation, looking ready to launch a counterattack.

Seeing this, the Captain standing by the observation window made a split-second decision, grabbed the communicator, and shouted:

"Attention all carrier aircraft! Strike targets have changed!"

"Navigate immediately to your 2 o'clock position at a 44° depression angle! Suppress the newly appeared Alien Fleet!"

"Attention all fleet units! Activate Warp Engines! Set drop points and calculate!"

"All hands! Leapfrog tactics! Prepare to attack!"

"We have called for reinforcements! Until then—"

"Do not let a single alien escape!"

The carrier aircraft formations still in flight immediately carved an arc through the air, flying toward the newly appeared fleet.

But before the two sides even engaged, that fleet spotted the incoming aircraft and immediately deployed an interception fire net.

The vesta a021s in the group didn't dare charge in blindly; they fired a volley of long-range missiles and then quickly began evasive maneuvers.

The mistrals, however, weren't intimidated at all. Ever since unit No. 24 crashed once before, the subsequently produced mistrals had strengthened the graviton interference devices in their cockpits.

The Pilots directly disabled their engine limiters and pushed the afterburners to the maximum.

Just then, several ion beams also struck.

Under the sweep of those brilliant white beams, the enemy fleet's outer defenses suffered some damage, and a massive gap instantly appeared in the interception net.

The mistrals followed that gap and charged in fiercely.

"Attention mistral attack group! Our objective is to paralyze the enemy ship's anti-air systems!"

"Open an attack path for the following Vesta A attack group!"

"Copy that!"

Communication complete, those flat black aircraft braved the sparse point-defense fire and closed in on their targets—

From now on, this place is called Lu... oh, no, it's called Sterilization Machine Plaza!

That day, the aliens once again recalled the fear of being dominated by humans.

By now, some people within that first Mutual Aid Association fleet that had dropped out early finally began to react.

Being forcibly pulled out while traveling at high speeds in the Gravity Conduit, combined with the flagship being destroyed in an instant, left them leaderless.

They were simply unable to organize an effective counterattack, and could not even coordinate between ships—

"There are only a hundred or so Warships besieging us!"

"Restart the engines, quickly!"

"We'll use that destroyer on the left as cover and break out from the rear!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! As long as we escape from here first..."

On the Bridge of a cruiser, a captain had finally managed to organize all personnel back to their posts.

He was currently shouting at the top of his lungs into the command channel, trying to organize a breakout—or rather, an escape—for the whole ship.

But in the next second—

"Boom! Bang!!!! Creak!!!!! Screech—!!!"

The Warship beneath his feet suddenly sustained a violent impact.

The roar of the collision, the grinding of tearing metal, and the dull thuds of structural failure instantly filled the entire Bridge.

"Total decompression in Sector A! Total decompression in Sector B! Total decompression in Sector C..."

"Decompression has reached 79% of the ship! Recommend abandoning ship! Repeat! Recommend abandoning ship!"

"The ship on the left crashed into us!"

Before the air in the Bridge was sucked out, the captain, bleeding from a head wound, heard one last sentence—

"Report! Enemy ship numbers are exploding!"

"Hostile target identification codes have reached 800 ships!"

That's right, the interception group had called in all nearby friendly units.

And now, the reinforcements had arrived—

The boring duel was over; what was playing now—was a righteous gang beating...