165: Chapter 165 Five Teams of Hidden Chess

Old General William was thrilled to hear that Emperor Cangyang was sending him to the front lines again. He immediately stepped forward and said in a weathered but resonant voice:

"This old official swears life-long loyalty to Canglan. This battle will be won!"

"I understand your heart, Old General William. In that case, the Empire must provide even greater support for this operation!" Emperor Cangyang's eyes shone brightly.

"This time, you will personally lead the 11th through the 20th spaceship formations—a total of ten formations comprising ten thousand ships—to crush those Black Dragon bastards!"

"Thank you, Great Emperor!" Old General William said excitedly.

"Going to the border this time, besides eliminating the invading Black Dragon Empire ships, we must also launch a counter-invasion!" Emperor Cangyang's tone was grim.

"I have already contacted the Elma Alliance and reached an agreement to attack the Black Dragon Empire simultaneously!"

"The Black Dragon Empire may be powerful, but as long as we have allies, they are doomed to destruction!"

Emperor Cangyang was truly enraged. The Black Dragon Empire had attacked his country without a reason or regard for fair play; it was a direct insult to his dignity!

"Please rest assured, Great Emperor, this battle will be won! If not, I am willing to take my own life!" Old General William loudly declared his military pledge.

...

Inside the spaceship, Su Fan and the others were staring at a star map, discussing their plans.

"According to news from the front lines, the Canglan Empire has dispatched ships to begin intercepting and surrounding us. Should we temporarily avoid a direct confrontation?" Zhao Jianguo reported.

In the star map, the 100 spaceships representing the Xia Kingdom were very scattered.

Team One's ten ships were currently in War Zone 2; Team Two and Team Five were in War Zone 3; Team Three was in War Zone 6; Team Four, Team Six, and Team Ten were in War Zone 8; Team Seven and Team Nine were in War Zone 7; and Team Eight was in War Zone 9.

"According to the current battle records, our side has lost zero ships while the enemy has lost thirty-six. We hold a massive advantage," the First Elder said with a smile.

"Let's avoid a direct clash for now. The frequency of encountering enemy ships has increased over the last two days, which likely means the encirclement is slowly tightening," Su Fan suggested.

"In that case, let's retreat to War Zone 7 first. All ships painted in Black Dragon Empire colors should head to War Zone 7 to provide support."

"Yes! I'll arrange it immediately." Zhao Jianguo gave a military salute and began making the arrangements.

The Xia Kingdom's spaceships began to move. First, the 100 ships deep within the Canglan Empire's encirclement started jumping to War Zone 7 using various methods.

Nine hundred ships disguised as the Black Dragon Empire also entered Canglan territory from the Fifth Ring's southeastern border, then continued north toward War Zone 7 to rendezvous with the 100 ships.

In War Zone 7, Team Seven and Team Nine were engaged in a frantic back-and-forth with enemy ships.

Team Seven was jumping toward the Canglan Empire's border.

"Captain, two class-c spaceships suddenly appeared behind us. One is 1.6 light-years away, and the other is 1.3 light-years away. Should we run or fight?"

"Fight, of course! This is military merit being delivered right to our doorstep. Are you stupid?"

"Red Queen, activate the C900 Planet-Destroying Cannon. Aim and eliminate them!"

Boom—

The closer ship exploded instantly, but the one further away wasn't destroyed in one shot because its energy shield was active.

"Captain, should we follow up with another shot? We only fired one shot from a single ship just now."

"As long as our ten ships attack together, its energy shield definitely won't hold!"

"Like hell we will! Retreat, fast! Have you forgotten the cardinal rule of guerrilla warfare? Don't get bogged down in a fight!"

Team Nine was much luckier than Team Seven; they evaded the Canglan Empire's encirclement and successfully reached the border corresponding to War Zone 7.

Compared to Team Seven and Team Nine, the other teams faced a much more perilous journey because they were further from War Zone 7.

Team One was struggling to navigate through War Zone 2.

"Captain, three class-c spaceships have been detected ahead. One is at 1.2 light-years, one at 1.5, and one at 1.7. Should we bypass them or fight?"

"Bypass them first. If we fight again, our position will be locked. Since we have a superior detection range, we can slowly circle around them."

Team Two and Team Five were even unluckier. Because they were too deep within enemy territory, they were currently struggling desperately in War Zone 3.

Team Two was now in a critical situation.

"Captain, five ships! Five class-c spaceships surrounding us from the front, back, left, and right! One is 1.1 light-years behind us, two are 1.5 light-years ahead, and the other two are 1.3 light-years to the left and 1.9 light-years to the right."

"What do we do? We can't get around them!"

"If we can't get around them, then we fight!"

"We have ten ships; why should we fear their five?"

"Stop running! We're pushing straight through!"

Team Two's Captain said dominantly.

Compared to the dominance of Team Two's Captain, Team Five's Captain was even more audacious. They didn't head southwest from War Zone 3 toward War Zone 7, but instead continued westward and entered the Fourth Ring area!

"Captain, is it really okay for us to do this?" a young crew member asked nervously.

"What's not okay? General Zhao said we have freedom of action." Team Five's Captain was a man with a bit of a rogue attitude.

"But the higher-ups just gave the order for us to retreat to War Zone 7, and we've already run off to the Fourth Ring." The crew member was fair-skinned and looked like someone easily picked on.

"You're incredibly stupid. We'll circle the Fourth Ring, head south to the Fourth Ring's southeastern sector, then enter the Fifth Ring's southeastern sector before heading north. We can still reach War Zone 7 that way, and we can catch the enemy off guard!"

"This is the art of war! Kid, pay attention and learn something!"

Inside the temporary command center, which was the ship Su Fan was on.

"General Zhao, why have Team Five's ten ships gone to the Fourth Ring? Aren't they planning to retreat?" Su Fan asked in confusion.

"I just asked. I just received a report from Team Five's Captain: the route southeast from War Zone 3 is blocked, so they can only bypass through the Fourth Ring and circle behind the enemy from within."

Zhao Jianguo pointed out Team Five's planned route on the star map.

Seeing the route, Su Fan's eyes lit up as a plan suddenly occurred to him.

"Tell Team Five to go to the eastern sector of the Fourth Ring, find a desolate planet to hide on, and enter radio silence. Don't come back for now; wait for my further instructions."

Zhao Jianguo was taken aback for a moment, then smiled knowingly and immediately went to make the arrangements.

Su Fan's intention was simple: have Team Five lie in ambush behind the enemy lines and only activate them when the time was right.

Team Five's Captain soon received the new orders and immediately arranged for the ships to find a desolate planet to hide on, subsequently entering silent mode.

Aside from Team Two in War Zone 3, the other teams from the various War Zones eventually reached War Zone 7 safely, despite the many dangers.

Once Team Two's ten ships realized they couldn't escape, they formed a defensive circle on the spot, pointing all their weapons outward.

Then they remained stationary, waiting for the enemies to come to them like lambs to the slaughter.

Because the Xia Kingdom's ships had superior detection and attack ranges, it was difficult for the enemy to get close to those ten ships in a short time.

"I can see you, but you can't see me. I can hit you, but you can't hit me."

In this manner, Team Two's ten ships held their ground for an entire day, destroying sixty-eight of the enemy's class-c spaceships right where they stood!

Finally, the enemy used human wave tactics, with hundreds of class-c spaceships simultaneously activating their energy shields and jumping to within one light-year to forcibly blow them up!

...