164: Chapter 164 First Battle a Success

The five of them quickly finalized a specific plan: first, send 100 spaceships disguised as Black Dragon Empire vessels into the Canglan Empire's territory to cause harassment.

The 100 spaceships would be divided into 10 squads, with each squad consisting of 10 ships and led by a captain.

These 10 squads would operate independently, but each squad would jump as a single unit and remain together.

Each squad's objective was simple: upon discovering any Canglan Empire spaceship, destroy it immediately.

There was no need to worry about being outmatched, as the detection and weapon systems of these 2,000 ships had been upgraded, just like the one from a century ago.

It was worth noting that all the equipment and instruments required for these upgrades were independently developed by the Xia Kingdom, without spending any additional influence points.

Once the plan and the initial steps were determined, the rest was straightforward.

The 2,000 kongming motherships jumped repeatedly until they reached the southeastern region of the Canglan Empire's Fifth Ring. There, they left behind the 100 ships disguised as Black Dragon Empire vessels and continued jumping eastward.

They continued jumping until they were outside the Canglan Empire's territory, arriving in a vast expanse of empty space.

According to information recovered from the Black Dragon Empire and Canglan Empire ships that had previously crashed on Blue Star, this area was a Starless Zone—a typical no-man's-land belonging to neither the Canglan Empire nor the Black Dragon Empire.

Meanwhile, the 100 spaceships split into 10 squads and jumped rapidly toward the eastern region of the Canglan Empire's Fifth Ring.

...

The Canglan Empire's Second Spaceship Fleet was stationed year-round near the border of the Fifth Ring's eastern region.

However, because the border was so extensive, the defensive line was stretched very thin.

Such an ultra-long defensive line had its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that it made detecting enemies easier, while the disadvantage was that the line was so thin it could be easily breached.

But that didn't matter, because the Empire's First Spaceship Fleet was positioned directly behind the Second Spaceship Fleet. Once the Second Fleet detected an enemy, the First Fleet would immediately mobilize alongside them to surround and annihilate the threat!

Interstellar warfare is like this; the sheer scale of the territory makes it impossible for a nation's defenses to provide total coverage.

But as long as the core regions of the country are protected, it doesn't matter if the enemy briefly occupies some border areas; they can always send a fleet to reclaim them.

Therefore, provided one was careful enough, entering the Canglan Empire from other parts of the border in the vastness of the Milky Way was very simple.

However, at most, one could only enter the Fourth and Fifth Rings silently; the defensive and alarm measures within the Third Ring were extremely dense.

The ten squads of ships headed straight north from the southeastern region of the Fifth Ring, bypassing the eastern border.

After dispersing, they began searching for Canglan Empire ships.

Since their sensors had been upgraded, their detection range was longer than the enemy's. With enough care, they could avoid being spotted by the Canglan Empire ships.

Inside the lead ship of the first squad, Zhang Xueyang stood with a steady gaze in the captain's quarters.

At that moment, the ten ships of the first squad were jumping rapidly.

Suddenly, the Red Queen's alarm sounded!

"Captain Zhang Xueyang, a Canglan Empire class-c spaceship has appeared 1.8 light-years ahead. Please provide instructions," the Red Queen said in a serious tone.

"Connect me to Legion Commander Zhao Jianguo." Zhang Xueyang did not open fire immediately; it was best to consult his superior for the first shot, as this was an important, non-emergency matter.

The communication was quickly established.

When Zhao Jianguo heard that the first squad had discovered a Canglan Empire class-c spaceship, his face immediately lit up with excitement.

"You have my permission to fire. Follow our plan and use guerrilla tactics—hit and run. Do not hesitate!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Xueyang gave a military salute and immediately prepared for the attack. "Red Queen, target the enemy ship and destroy it!"

Because its detection range was not as long as the kongming mothership's, the Canglan Empire ship was blown to pieces before it even knew what was happening.

Zhang Xueyang retreated immediately after the strike, having the Red Queen control all ships in the first squad to jump away.

At that moment, the commander of the Canglan Empire's Second Spaceship Fleet was playing cards with his personal guards in the captain's quarters. Guarding the border was dull and tedious, so they had to find some entertainment to pass the time.

Although his true body was in the Empire's core, as the commander of the Second Spaceship Fleet, his Android double had to stay at the border frequently.

He was enjoying the game when the ship's AI suddenly blared an urgent alarm!

"Warning: A class-c spaceship from the Fourth Battalion of our Second Fleet has been destroyed! Warning: A class-c spaceship from the Fourth Battalion of our Second Fleet has been destroyed! Location of destruction: Eastern region of the Fifth Ring..."

Kaiser was stunned; this alarm was very unfamiliar to him, as the Empire had not been at war for a long time.

However, having received formal education at a military academy, he reacted instantly.

"Notify all spaceship battalions immediately! Close in on them!"

"Also, notify the First Spaceship Fleet!"

The 999 ships of the Second Spaceship Fleet immediately activated their Warp Drives and rushed toward the area where the ship had been destroyed.

The First Spaceship Fleet also received the notification and began to flank from another direction.

However, due to the vast distance, those ten ships from the Xia Kingdom had already jumped away and were now an unknown distance away.

Su Fan and the others were in the captain's quarters, quietly watching the star map on the large screen.

The 2,000 ships of the Xia Kingdom were represented by small dots of two colors.

1,000 green dots represented the ships disguised as Black Dragon Empire vessels, while 1,000 blue dots represented those disguised as Canglan Empire vessels.

Currently, 100 green dots were divided into 10 groups, moving rapidly through the eastern region of the Canglan Empire's Fifth Ring.

To facilitate battlefield coordination, Su Fan divided the eastern region of the Fifth Ring into nine sections, from inside to outside and south to north, similar to a Sudoku grid.

They were marked as Fifth Ring East Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3... up to Zone 9.

At this moment, the 10 ships of the first squad were jumping rapidly from Zone 4 to Zone 1.

"Squad One has successfully annihilated one enemy class-c spaceship!" the Red Queen's voice rang out in the captain's quarters.

Su Fan and the others smiled; he had waited a long time for this day, and the counterattack was finally beginning!

"Red Queen, report the battle situation at all times!" Su Fan ordered.

Over the following period, the ten squads reported one victory after another. In just three days, they had annihilated 12 enemy class-c spaceships.

As for why there were no lower-class ships, the reason was simple: they weren't worth the effort!

...

News of the invasion in the eastern region of the Empire's Fifth Ring soon reached the Canglan Empire's capital planet!

"The eastern border has been invaded! It's right next to the Black Dragon Empire—it must be those Black Dragon bastards stirring up trouble again!" Old General William fumed, his beard bristling with rage.

"Great Emperor, we must not respond to this with appeasement!"

Great Emperor Cangyang's brow furrowed, his eyes filled with a cold light.

"I just spoke with Great Emperor Heilong of the Black Dragon Empire. He said they aren't his ships."

"Great Emperor, Heilong is a devious and cunning man; his words cannot be trusted!" a civil official cried out.

"A hundred years ago, Heilong also claimed that the invading ship wasn't from the Black Dragon Empire, but Prince Tangping's flight records clearly captured the insignia of their ships."

Great Emperor Cangyang nodded; the words of a politician were never to be trusted.

"Old General William, you shall take command once again!"

...