"But can they really do it?" the elf adjutant said, worried again.
He stared at the Emperor's Guard Fleet on the interstellar holo-table, driven like a sharp blade into the Devourer Civilization's invading fleets.
The elf commander Xavier thought a moment, and said in a deep voice, "To be honest, I don't know how sure the Owl Dragon Legion is. Going by the interstellar warships they've put onto the battlefield so far, that Emperor's Guard Fleet's fighting power is beyond question: T5 and T6-grade interstellar warships to the last ship, with a good many T6 interstellar warships too. But its overall numbers are the weak point: only 3,000 interstellar warships. Even if it were 30,000 interstellar warships, it would be a good deal surer."
Three thousand interstellar warships……
The elf adjutant nodded; set on the battlefield before them, that number truly counted for nothing at all; it was like a stone tossed into the sea, which would raise a splash at most.
But…… this was the Owl Dragon Emperor's own guard fleet.
That was what gave them some ideas, but they were only ideas.
"Even counting the support our side can give, on this line of attack we have fewer than 100,000 interstellar warships. Unless we draw interstellar warships from other areas to reinforce this line of attack," the elf adjutant said, analyzing it.
The elf commander Xavier shook his head and said in a deep voice, "We could draw interstellar warships from other line areas. But that would also mean the enemy interstellar warships on those lines would be freed to support this battlefield too. So on the whole the situation wouldn't change. If anything, the enemy's interstellar warships would gather along this line of attack, making it thicker and harder to break through."
The elf adjutant looked at the line of attack on the interstellar holo-table and said, "But…… right now there are at least 500,000 enemy interstellar warships along this line of attack. And that's not counting the Pitch-Black interstellar warships now gathered around the three Soul Altars! Judged by the earlier loss ratios alone, they might stand a fighting chance. But this time is different: their aim is to take the enemy's three Soul Altars. Then it's not just a contest of loss ratios; they also need an absolute advantage in attack, to destroy the enemy's three Soul Altars in the shortest possible time! And in the course of it, the Devourer Civilization invading fleets are bound to see the Owl Dragon legion fleets' strategic aim. When they notice their Soul Altars are under threat, the invading fleets in other areas will certainly be moved over to help defend them. Even if we and the Owl Dragon fleets stall them as much as we can on the other lines, there's no guarantee the enemy's fleets will be held there entirely. In the end some of them will still come to support this battlefield. The enemy has reinforcements. But we have no reinforcements left to follow."
The elf commander Xavier nodded; his adjutant's analysis was sound. He said in a deep voice, "That's how things stand. So the point that can break the deadlock now is in truth neither our interstellar fleets nor the Owl Dragon guard fleet. It's those two Owl Dragon flagships. It depends on whether they can strike the decisive blow on the battlefield, tear open the enemy's line here in a short time, and destroy those three Soul Altars!"
In this moment their eyes fell on the T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought and the T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship!
By now the interstellar fighters and interstellar drone swarms the T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship had launched were already showing their powerful fighting ability on the battlefield.
Interstellar fighters and interstellar drone swarms by the tens of thousands kept attacking the enemy interstellar warships along the line of attack,
opening the gap wider and wider,
and letting the attack push forward step by step.
At the same time the Emperor's Guard Fleet's 3,000 interstellar warships threw everything into the attack, and its dozens of T6-grade interstellar warships each showed what they could do.
The T6 Wrath-of-Heaven-Goddess-class Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ships kept up fire support; they were not as precise as interstellar missile ships, but at blanketing an area with fire they were second to none.
In the course of the attack, enemy interstellar warships naturally tried to attack from both flanks and cut the line of attack.
Then the T6 Lord-of-Thunder-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyers and the T6 White-Jade Black Tortoise-class Heavy Interstellar Strategic Escorts would be like sea-calming pillars; one was stationed at every interval along the way, to keep this line of attack open.
These two kinds of interstellar warship stood there like a natural chasm.
Their great strength in small-area fighting and in defense was on full display.
And in the course of the advance, besides long-range covering fire, interstellar warships were naturally needed to carry the main attack.
The T6 Purple-Gold Silver Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships, the T6 Boreas-King-class Heavy Interstellar Battlecruisers, and the T6 Wind Sprite-class Light Interstellar Cruisers carried the task of the frontal attack.
Huge bow guns, main guns and secondary guns kept up the attack almost without a pause,
making the advance very swift!
Among the enemy's fleets there were naturally T6-grade interstellar warships too.
At this point the T6 Seraph-Ballista-class Interstellar Long-Range Hunter-Killer Ships would carry out their task of hunting; they locked onto these high-value targets early, and then several Seraph-Ballistas worked together,
firing several guns at once, to make sure the interstellar warship lost all its fighting ability in a single round of attack!
And in the actual fighting, this was indeed the effect achieved.
The T6 Divine-Wing Empress-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starships worked with the interstellar air war of the T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship at the rear too, launching large numbers of interstellar fighters and interstellar drone swarms.
Between the two of them,
even with fewer interstellar warships of their own than the other side, they actually overpowered the other side completely in the realm of interstellar air war, and seized interstellar air superiority outright.
It was not that the Devourer Civilization had no carrier starships; they had them too.
But in interstellar air war they simply fell short of the Owl Dragon Legion.
They could only watch as interstellar air superiority was taken from them, and their own interstellar warships had to bear the harassment of the enemy's interstellar fighters and interstellar drone swarms head-on.
While for their own interstellar fighters and interstellar drone swarms, even sailing a short way from their carriers was extremely dangerous.
Besides that,
a few interstellar transports could even be seen.
These interstellar transports looked somewhat out of place here.
But when their hatches opened, the interstellar combat mechs revealed one after another inspired a respect one could not help.
They were none other than T6 Phoenix-Guard-class Medium Multi-Role Interstellar Combat Mechas!
This was a T6-grade combat mecha with two combat forms; it could change at will between an interstellar fighter and an interstellar mecha.
In interstellar fighter mode, though, its firepower was somewhat weaker.
And in interstellar combat mecha mode, it lost its flying mobility.
Seen ranked row on row in the interstellar transports' holds, the T6 Phoenix-Guard-class Medium Multi-Role Interstellar Combat Mechas looked just like a honeycomb.
And at this moment these T6 Phoenix-Guard-class Medium Multi-Role Interstellar Combat Mechas, as though they had received an order, lit the indicator lights on their heads, like iron giants awakened.
They were launched out one after another.
Then in midflight they transformed into interstellar fighters and set off for their own battle positions, each according to its task.
Most went to the T6 Lord-of-Thunder-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyers and T6 White-Jade Black Tortoise-class Heavy Interstellar Strategic Escorts responsible for securing this line of attack.
When these interstellar fighters reached the top of these interstellar warships, they slowed, then transformed,
turning into interstellar combat mecha mode, and settled slowly onto the surface of these interstellar warships.
Their landing points were all specified.
No place they landed would hinder the interstellar warship's fighting.
And an interstellar warship with several hundred of these interstellar combat mechas added gained a great deal of firepower output in an instant.
After all, interstellar combat mechas though they were, they were all T6-grade interstellar combat mechas.
They could help the interstellar escorts and interstellar destroyers keep the lane safe.
The rest naturally joined the attacking force in carrying the main attack.
A mere 3,000 interstellar warships showed here and now a fighting ability no less than that of 30,000 interstellar warships, or even 100,000.
The senior elf commanders watching not far off were lost in admiration.
"Fighting ability so great. Strength so elite. What fleet in our Sacred Elf Empire could compare with it!" the elf adjutant said in disbelief, and then muttered without thinking, "That fleet of the Flame Elf Queen's……"
The elf commander Xavier shook his head and said, "At equal numbers, no fleet we know of is a match for this Owl Dragon guard fleet. Even my lady the Flame Elf Queen's own guard fleet would need at least five times the strength to stand a fighting chance, and ten times the strength to have a chance of winning."
The elf adjutant looked at the commander in disbelief, for he had caught the meaning in the commander's words.
Ten times was not a sure win either.
It was a chance of winning.
30,000 interstellar warships fighting 3,000 interstellar warships, and it was only a chance of winning.
"And the Owl Dragon guard fleet is small and highly mobile; if they don't care to stay and fight and mean to leave, even twenty or thirty times the strength would have a hard time stopping them," the elf commander Xavier said, hitting the nail on the head.
It dawned on the elf adjutant.
"That T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship really is strong; its fighting ability far exceeds that of carrier starships of its grade. Did you see how well those interstellar drone swarms work together? It's really hard to believe those are interstellar drones; they work in perfect concert, and can carry out combat tasks precisely. Just now I noticed, too, that interstellar drone swarms keep pouring out of that T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship without end. If I'm not mistaken, this carrier starship likely has an interstellar drone production line of its own. An interstellar warship like this is a fleet in itself!"
The elf commander Xavier gave this T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship the highest praise.
Now he looked at the T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought, which still had not made its move.
So far, however well the Emperor's Guard Fleet had done, and however strong that T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship was,
he still did not believe the Owl Dragon Legion could accomplish this frenzied combat task.
For the gap was still there.
Now all hung on how this T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought would fight.
"Report! Report! Report! Abnormal spatial ripples have appeared behind the battlefield. But the Dragon Emperor says we needn't worry." The elf adjutant had suddenly received a message.
"Abnormal spatial ripples?" Just as the elf commander Xavier was puzzling over it,
he saw rings of light appear one after another.
With those rings of light came Owl Dragon interstellar warships, one after another.
To be more exact, they were Owl Dragon-line interstellar missile ships!
That's right!
Interstellar missile ships, every one of them.
So many that they soon gathered to over ten thousand.
And what had brought them were the rumored T6 Emerald-Dream-class Interstellar Jump Ships!
"So that's the one rumored to be the Owl Dragon Empire's, an interstellar warship that can carry a fleet through a spatial fold-jump. The Emerald-Dream." The elf commander Xavier looked curiously at those few T6 Emerald-Dream-class Interstellar Jump Ships.
They had technology and equipment for spatial fold-jumps too, the "Water Dragon Gates," which could even fold-jump across universes.
But by comparison, they all held that, except for being unable to cross universes, this T6 Emerald-Dream-class Interstellar Jump Ship was more practical on the battlefield.
"This is…… the Owl Dragon Emperor has brought their whole Hell-Angel ace fleet group over!" When the elf adjutant saw the number nearing 30,000,
he could be certain of it.
"So this is the trump card the Owl Dragon Emperor prepared for this battle plan. Over 30,000 interstellar missile ships." The elf commander Xavier could not help swallowing, but his eyes burned.
He too longed to see this scene come to pass.
Thirty thousand interstellar missile ships opening up with all their fire: just to think of it was thrilling beyond words.
"Reporting: the whole of the Hell-Angel ace fleet group's fleets, here as ordered, reporting! Commander, General Baixue." The wolf-girl Baixue looked at the Owl Dragon Emperor Zhao Chen before her, her face full of excitement.
Her eyes held a fervor she could not control.
She knew very well why, at this time and at this moment, the Owl Dragon Emperor had brought her and her whole Hell-Angel ace fleet group here!
At last she had got this rare chance she had waited for.
"Have you arranged everything I told you before?" Zhao Chen asked.
"Reporting, Your Majesty the Emperor: every interstellar missile ship has gone through resupply. Every interstellar missile ship is fully loaded now, and can certainly carry out any task Your Majesty gives. Please give the order!" The wolf-girl Baixue was already beside herself with impatience,
like a bridegroom about to enter the bridal chamber with the Four Great Beauties of old!
Zhao Chen nodded slightly, then said, "The detailed combat task will be sent from the Dragon Emperor directly to you and to every corps fleet under you. You have only five minutes to prepare. In five minutes, launch the attack!"
"Baixue understands!" The corners of the wolf-girl Baixue's mouth turned up, showing her wolf fangs, as though she were about to go hunting!