"By the intelligence we have so far: counting the Devourer Civilization legion fleets coming in support and those stationed here, we'll face nearly six hundred thousand Devourer Civilization interstellar warships. And we ourselves have only fifty thousand interstellar warships. Going by the result of the first campaign before, where we could manage a ten-to-one loss ratio against the enemy, perhaps we can hold our own. But don't drop your guard: mind you, we're not fighting on home ground here, and have no efficient logistics and resupply. The strategic supplies our legion fleet carries, without resupply, can only meet five days of fighting at most. And our combat task is, until we receive our next combat task, to storm the target by every means and do the greatest damage! Is that clear?"
"Clear."
"You've all received the detailed data on this Battlefield Sixteen. Note the defenses, the star-system map and the rest. Let's work out a plan of attack." Lieutenant General Ma Jiani looked at her subordinates.
"There's nothing special about this star system. So let's fight it at our usual pace of attack. Interstellar heavy-artillery ships and interstellar missile ships give covering fire; carrier starships take interstellar air supremacy and then give fire support from the air. On the main front, the rest of our interstellar warships just push straight ahead. But one thing: the most urgent task is to destroy the enemy's star gate first, not the military factories," a brigadier-general corps commander put forward her idea.
The others spoke up one after another.
In a few short minutes, pooling their thinking, they had basically settled the plan of attack.
"Since everyone agrees, that's settled. First, five of our corps fleets, fifteen thousand interstellar warships, storm the enemy's star gate; destroy the enemy's star gate in the shortest time without fail, and don't let the enemy keep sending reinforcements through the star gate without end. Then send five corps fleets, fifteen thousand interstellar warships, to storm the enemy's military factories head-on; whatever opposition you meet, destroy every enemy interstellar warship! The remaining corps fleets are the reserve and handle rotation on the battlefield. Do you all understand!" Lieutenant General Ma Jiani raised her voice.
"Understood!"
"Thirty battlefields, and our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has over a hundred legion fleets now. The Grand Marshal and His Majesty chose our Thirty-First Legion to carry out a local battlefield's combat task alone. That's a test of us. This is our first time carrying out a local battlefield's task alone. We must fight it beautifully! We can't fail the trust of the Grand Marshal and His Majesty. Nor can we shame our Thirty-First Legion, or the Third Legion Fleet Group!"
"The Owl Dragon Thirty-First Legion will win!"
……
A star system where the defenders' interstellar warships outnumbered the attackers', yet were seized and beaten by the enemy:
such a sight could most likely seldom be seen.
But now, in thirty of the Devourer Civilization's star systems, it was nearly the same everywhere.
These star systems had two or three hundred thousand interstellar warships at the least, five or six hundred thousand at the most.
Yet they were still being thrashed by interstellar fleets nearly ten times smaller than themselves.
The garrisons of many star systems were crying for help and sounding the alarm now.
It could be said to have thrown the Devourer Civilization into confusion for a time.
"How can this be? The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is really attacking thirty star systems at once?" The Troll Monarch looked in disbelief at the interstellar war holo-table before him, doubt in his voice.
"That's impossible; however strong the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is, it can't open thirty main battlefields at once." The Drought-Fiend Sovereign flatly refused to believe it.
The Troll Monarch slammed the table and roared, "What's impossible! Look at these battle reports, these calls for help. Are they all false? Are the Owl Dragon interstellar legion fleets that have broken in false!"
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign said coldly, "What I mean is that the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's strategic target is surely not thirty battlefields. There must be some trick of theirs in it; most of these are surely feints. All they want is to draw our forces off elsewhere, and then they'll attack where our defenses are thin; that's their real direction of attack!"
"Then I ask you: where is the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's real direction of attack! Where! Or do you mean to have us sit here waiting with our eyes open? Mind you, our important star systems are all under threat from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's legion fleets right now. If we don't send more reinforcements, the fastest star system could fall in under ten hours!" the Troll Monarch bellowed.
The reason the Troll Monarch was so worked up was that things stood worst on his side.
In the first campaign before, it was the Troll Monarch's interstellar legion fleets that had lost the most.
So now the number of legion fleets he could move to defend had fallen sharply, and for a time he could not keep up.
So he had to ask the other two Sovereigns for help.
"Black-God, we must decide now. If we don't send reinforcements on a large scale, we'll lose the initiative. If these strategic points of ours are destroyed by the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's legion fleets, the consequences aren't something we can bear!" The Troll Monarch looked at the Black-God Sovereign, who had not spoken all along.
He could only pin his hopes on the Black-God Sovereign now.
For among the three Sovereigns, the Black-God Sovereign's standing and power were the highest.
So long as the Black-God Sovereign gave the word, the Drought-Fiend Sovereign would have to carry it out, unwilling or not.
Now the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's gaze fell on the Black-God Sovereign too, waiting for what the Black-God Sovereign would say next.
The Black-God Sovereign said slowly, "Since that Owl Dragon Emperor has struck, we must strike back. What Drought-Fiend said just now is right. The Owl Dragon Emperor can't attack thirty of our star systems at once; spread the battlefield that wide, and even the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire couldn't hold it together. So a great many of them must be feints, just to draw our forces. It may even be that none of these thirty star systems is the real target of attack."
"That's right; by the battlefield intelligence we have so far, on each star-system battlefield the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has committed only a single legion fleet of fifty thousand interstellar warships. A million and a half interstellar warships in all, no more. And the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire must have at least five million interstellar warships now," the Drought-Fiend Sovereign said beside him.
The Black-God Sovereign went on, "The Owl Dragon Emperor still has at least three and a half million interstellar warships in hand to move. So we can't throw out all our pieces at one go either. But nor can we sit and watch these legion fleets of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire run wild on our ground. By the combat data we got before, the gap in strength between us and the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's legion fleets, converted into numbers of interstellar warships: so long as we have ten times as many interstellar warships as they do, we can most likely at least hold level with the enemy and drag it into a war of attrition. And in those star-system battlefields now, wherever there are over five hundred thousand interstellar warships stationed, that's how the actual fighting is going too. The Owl Dragon legion fleets' attacks look very fierce, but have no real effect. So I think that first we send more reinforcements now: thirty star-system battlefields, every garrison raised to five hundred thousand interstellar warships."
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign too agreed with the Black-God Sovereign's arrangement and had no objection.
That way, only fifteen million interstellar warships would be moved, and the Devourer Civilization would still have interstellar fleets in hand to move against whatever moves the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire made next.
"I think we should add to the garrisons of some key star systems, not just five hundred thousand interstellar warships. What if this is a ploy of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's too? Afterward the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire throws everything at once into destructive attacks on our key star systems, and by the time we respond, it may well be too late," the Troll Monarch said cautiously.
For once the Drought-Fiend Sovereign agreed with the Troll Monarch's thinking now, and said, "Troll is right on this. Some star systems we can wrangle over with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, even use as bait to draw the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's legion fleets. But some star systems matter a great deal to us, and no slip can be allowed there. So I propose sending more interstellar warships into these important star systems. The starship industrial star system with the largest output of interstellar warships we have at present, for instance: raise its garrison to at least a million interstellar warships, or even more. Make sure that star system is perfectly safe!"
Hearing them out, the Black-God Sovereign nodded.
"That can be done, but we shouldn't move too many interstellar fleets. Let's do this: besides the fifteen million interstellar warships just arranged, I'll give you another five million interstellar warships to move for this; draw up a list of the key star systems concerned, and give the safety of those star systems special protection," the Black-God Sovereign said.
"Fine." Only now did the Troll Monarch breathe easier.
With reinforcements sent, those high-value strategic star systems could count as out of danger.
"But we still have to watch for other schemes of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's, and keep our forces ready to move at any time. I hear the Holy Elf Empire's side is moving too: all their legion fleets are moving now, and all their military star systems have been sealed off from the outside. The spies we've planted in the Holy Elf Empire don't know yet what the Holy Elf Empire is really up to. Whether, like the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, it's preparing to attack our home universe. The Holy Elf Empire's interstellar warships aren't as good as Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships, but they have many of them. Thirty million interstellar warships; if twenty million were sent to our universe's battlefields, that would be big trouble for us as we are now. We have to guard against it!" the Drought-Fiend Sovereign warned now.
The Black-God Sovereign thought a moment and said, "At present the interstellar warships in our hands have recovered since the war to the level of eighty million interstellar warships. For that we also pulled back some interstellar warships deployed abroad. As things stand, let's suppose the Holy Elf Empire will pick a moment to strike at us; but by what we know of that crowd of High Elves in the Holy Elf Empire, they're so cautious they'll surely not send out their whole forces; at most twenty million interstellar warships. Going by past records, to match the Holy Elf Empire's twenty million interstellar warships in fighting strength, we'd have to send at least forty million interstellar warships. But this is our home universe; moving interstellar fleets is far easier. We need only hold back any Holy Elf Empire interstellar warships that suddenly charge out, so keeping twenty million interstellar warships back as a mobile force against the Holy Elf Empire will be enough."
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign nodded in agreement. "Twenty million of our interstellar warships can't destroy twenty million Holy Elf Empire interstellar warships, but holding them up is no problem."
"Then may we use that?" the Troll Monarch could not help saying now.
The other two Sovereigns naturally knew what he meant:
the black-technology super-weapon Order had given them, which could gather and summon the pitch-black legion fleets.
"Once the conditions for its use are met, it may be used when necessary," the Black-God Sovereign said. "But the safety of the devices must be guaranteed. In that campaign before, we already lost several. Mind you, the building cost of these things is very high, and the core material has to be supplied by the great being. And every time we open a connection with the great being, the cost is very high! So we can't accept any more losses on this. Understood!" There was a warning in the Black-God Sovereign's tone.
It could be heard that he too was very dissatisfied with the result of the first campaign; he might even have suffered punishment from Order.
"Understood." The Troll Monarch bowed his head and said it like a good child.
"This time we're fighting on our own ground; we'll surely make those who dare offend us come and never go back! And we can take this chance to destroy the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's main strength, and get ready for our next attack on the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's universe!" The Drought-Fiend Sovereign was already even thinking now about striking back at the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's universe afterward.
"All right; see to your own business. This time we're fighting on our own ground; don't disgrace yourselves again. If anyone makes it hard for me to answer to the great being again, I'll make sure you have no answer left at all!"
The Black-God Sovereign's dark, cold gaze swept over the two present, then he simply cut off the communication meeting, leaving only the Troll Monarch and the Drought-Fiend Sovereign.
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign and the Troll Monarch exchanged a look, and the Drought-Fiend Sovereign said with a sneer, "Don't slip up again this time. If anything goes wrong with you again, I'd guess there'll be only two Sovereigns left here."
The Troll Monarch naturally knew what he meant; he snorted coldly and left the video meeting in silence.
The Troll Monarch opened his eyes; his expression was not good, whether because of the situation in the Devourer Civilization's universe now, or because of what the Drought-Fiend Sovereign had said at the end.
He steadied his mood and called in his subordinates,
and passed on some things from the meeting just now.
"Remember: there can be no slip this time. Every star system in our territory must be made perfectly safe. Tell the commanders of those legion fleets that if anyone fails me now, their families and the clans behind them will all be called to account!" the Troll Monarch said without the least mercy.
"Yes."
The Troll Monarch then asked his secretary-officer, "How is the repair of my Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship going?"
In the last campaign, in its clash with the hive motherships opposite, the Troll Monarch's quasi-T7 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship had not been lost,
but it had been rather badly damaged, so since the end of the war it had been in drydock under repair almost the whole time.
"Up to now the repair is 93% complete. The remaining 7% is all hull armor, and paintwork. It should take another month to finish the repair completely," the secretary-officer answered.
The Troll Monarch frowned slightly; he was plainly not very pleased that his flagship was not yet fully repaired.
But it was not a problem that could be solved in a hurry.
"Pass on my order: while the repair work goes on, every crew member is to go aboard the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship and stand by, so that if it's needed, the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship can sail within five hours!" the Troll Monarch ordered.
An interstellar warship berthed at a star port and one berthed in a drydock were in two different states.
The former took less time to start again and go into combat condition.
The latter demanded more; some larger interstellar warships even needed the help of interstellar tugs to leave drydock.
And a colossus like the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship was naturally the same.
When it had gone into drydock, it had taken over a hundred interstellar tugs ten hours to get this colossal interstellar warship into the drydock.
"Yes." When the secretary-officer had answered, he looked at the Troll Monarch again. "Lord Sovereign, is there anything else you wish to order?"
"Nothing else for now; go. Oh, and if anything goes wrong on any battlefield, tell me at once!" the Troll Monarch instructed.
"Yes." The secretary-officer withdrew quietly.
The Troll Monarch looked at the dark palace gone quiet and drew a deep breath: he hoped nothing would go wrong for him this time.
His side truly could not take any more trouble.
……
Very soon the change on the battlefield came.
Because of the three Sovereigns' moves, with twenty million Devourer Civilization interstellar warships deployed to these thirty star-system battlefields,
the plain change was that the Owl Dragon legion fleets' attacks were plainly checked, and the pace of attack slowed.
The twenty-four hours of attack soon passed.
And this was when the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's side was to shift to its next move,
and also when the Phantom Scout ace legion fleet group's work would be tested.
The T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought · the bridge
"Grand Marshal, this is the latest intelligence on the enemy our Phantom Scout has gathered over this time. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly." Zhong Xiaoxia looked at Grand Marshal Charlotte from the other side of the video window.
"Nervous, are you?" Charlotte asked without raising her head, looking at the newly updated intelligence.
Zhong Xiaoxia was taken aback; she had plainly not expected the Grand Marshal's first question to be this.
When she had collected herself, she answered at once, "A… a little nervous."
"Understandable; after all, our fighting and deployments in this universe now rest entirely on the intelligence and analysis your Phantom Scout provides. You could say you're our eyes and ears. If what we see and hear is wrong, then naturally every step we take next will be wrong, and may even step off a cliff," Charlotte said calmly.
Zhong Xiaoxia swore at once, "Rest assured, Grand Marshal; there's nothing at all wrong with our intelligence. Every one of our reconnaissance platoons……"
"All right; now's not the time for me to hear that. Whether your intelligence is right isn't for me to say. And for now we'll choose to trust your intelligence without condition," Charlotte said calmly.
Zhong Xiaoxia swallowed.
Charlotte very soon finished looking over the newly updated intelligence.
She asked unhurriedly, "By all the intelligence: on the three Sovereigns' side, they've chosen to deploy five hundred thousand interstellar warships to each target battlefield from eleven to thirty, and a million to battlefields one to ten. Twenty million interstellar warships sent to the battlefields so far in all. Besides that, apart from moving the remaining interstellar warships to some hub star gates and star systems to await further orders, they've made no other moves, is that right?"
"Yes. It's plain the enemy cares more about the high-value star systems. And the remaining twenty star systems look more like bait thrown to us, meant to draw us into committing more interstellar warships," Zhong Xiaoxia gave her view.
"Then if you were these three Sovereigns, what would you do next?" Charlotte turned the talk, asking Zhong Xiaoxia in return.
Zhong Xiaoxia was taken aback, and said hesitantly, "Grand Marshal, I'm a legion fleet commander, true. But honestly, I'm someone who gathers intelligence……"
"Someone who gathers intelligence? If that's all you think you are, I may have to reconsider having given you the post of supreme commander of this Phantom Scout ace legion fleet group."
Charlotte paused and fixed her eyes on Zhong Xiaoxia. "The Phantom Scout isn't as simple as only spying out intelligence. As His Majesty the Emperor and I see it, it and His Majesty the Emperor's guard fleet complement each other. To say more, it's directly bound up with His Majesty the Emperor's flagship, the Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship. And your sharpness about intelligence bears directly on the orders the operational commander gives. So you must not only gather intelligence and sort it; you need views of your own. From the angle of intelligence, you have to give your thinking. I ask you once more: if you were the three Sovereigns, what would you do next?"
Faced with Grand Marshal Charlotte asking again,