"According to the intelligence, this Owl Dragon Emperor's guard fleet in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is only three thousand interstellar warships strong. In other words, the interstellar fleet blocking our way now has only three thousand interstellar warships!" The Drought-Fiend Sovereign found it hard to believe.
"Y… yes," his subordinate answered.
Three thousand interstellar warships standing in the way of a hundred thousand interstellar warships.
Said aloud, probably few people would believe it.
"Is the Owl Dragon Emperor really so arrogant? Trying to stop our hundred thousand interstellar warships with three thousand interstellar warships." The Drought-Fiend Sovereign's first response was not a sneer; a thoughtful look came over his face.
His subordinate answered, "According to the records on this Emperor's Guard Fleet, this fleet has only three thousand interstellar warships, but every one of them is a T6- or T5-grade interstellar warship. And T6-grade interstellar warships make up a high share of them. By estimate, there are at least a hundred or so."
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign snorted coldly. "A hundred. My Drought-Fiend Sovereign's legion fleet has a thousand T6-grade interstellar warships!"
He paused, then muttered under his breath, "I know too that, grade for grade, our interstellar warships are no match for the Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships opposite. They have every ship type there is. But however strong they are, however fine each single interstellar warship, however high their fighting quality, to think of taking on my hundred thousand interstellar warships with three thousand interstellar warships… this Owl Dragon Emperor thinks far too little of us! Something's wrong. Something is very wrong."
A wary look came over the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's face.
"You mean this is a trap?" his subordinate guessed.
"Most likely," the Drought-Fiend Sovereign murmured to himself.
"Then what do we do? Stop here and call other legion fleets to come and support us?" Before his subordinate had finished, the Drought-Fiend Sovereign kicked him square in the chest.
Then he swore at him: "Call for support? You must want me to look even more of a fool than that fellow Troll. Facing three thousand interstellar warships, we have a hundred thousand interstellar warships, and on my own ground besides, and we're to seek support? If word of that got out, where would I put my face?"
Kicked to the floor, the subordinate dared not show the least grievance; he got up at once and asked carefully, "Then what should we do next?"
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign thought a moment, rubbing at his chin with his fingers, and said, "Suppose the Owl Dragon Emperor's three thousand interstellar warships are in fact the bait. Then how many interstellar warships can they still move now? … The Shadow Hunter ace fleet group? That interstellar fleet with the interstellar stealth bombers?"
"It must be them! The ones who attacked our star gate before may well have been this fleet," his subordinate said at once.
"Do we have any data on this Shadow Hunter ace fleet group? How many interstellar warships do they have?" the Drought-Fiend Sovereign asked at once.
His subordinate brought it up at once. "In the first campaign before, this Shadow Hunter ace fleet group's interstellar warships in service were estimated at around sixty thousand. But the interstellar warships in service included a great many T4-grade interstellar warships; the rest were T5 and a few T6-grade interstellar warships."
"Sixty thousand… and still fitted out with T4-grade interstellar warships." The Drought-Fiend Sovereign thought it over, reckoning in his head how the two sides' forces and fighting power compared.
After thinking it through, the Drought-Fiend Sovereign said in a low voice, "We can't take this lightly. That Owl Dragon Empire lot is very cunning. The enemy is sure to have made some preparations; most likely there's an ambush waiting. But over there is the Emperor's Guard Fleet, and that Owl Dragon Emperor is here too. If we can destroy that Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship and kill that Owl Dragon Emperor, it would be an enormous gain for us. From what we've learned from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's side, this Owl Dragon Emperor's talents are terrifying; he has taken part in almost all the design and building work on the Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships. Without this Owl Dragon Emperor, even if we never lifted a hand, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire would fall apart in a short time. So if we can seize this chance and kill this Owl Dragon Emperor outright, it would matter more than winning a great campaign and destroying over a million of the enemy's interstellar warships."
With these words, the Drought-Fiend Sovereign had all but settled which way things would go:
even if a trap lay ahead, they had to break into it.
For no other reason than that the Owl Dragon Emperor was there.
In the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's eyes, that Owl Dragon Emperor was a delicious prey.
"Pass on my order: the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's legion fleet is to take up battle formation and keep sailing forward. But remember, while under way, whether at the fleet's front, its flanks or even its rear, we must keep the highest state of alert. The enemy may attack from any direction at any time. At the same time, switch on all anti-stealth equipment; the enemy is likely to have great numbers of interstellar stealth bombers, and may even have laid interstellar bombs and other devices along our route," the Drought-Fiend Sovereign said gravely.
He would not let so good a chance before him slip away, but he would not be so arrogant as to go in unprepared, either.
He paused, then went on, "At the same time, get in touch with the legion fleets garrisoned in the neighboring star systems and have them make ready for battle. The moment they get the order, they're to come at once in support."
Hearing this arrangement, his subordinate asked, puzzled, "If we need them for support, then why not have them set out now?"
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign said in a low voice, "Because so far we still can't confirm what the Owl Dragon Emperor and the rest over there are really after. They may be coming for us, but it may also be a feint, making a noise in the east to strike in the west: using themselves as bait to draw us into moving the interstellar fleets around us here in support, and then taking the chance to attack the neighboring star systems."
His subordinate understood all at once, and at once began doing as the Drought-Fiend Sovereign had instructed.
At the same time, the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's legion fleet kept sailing on, and very soon the Emperor's Guard Fleet opposite appeared on the starship radar.
Three thousand interstellar warships, drawn up evenly in a defensive formation,
T5- and T6-grade interstellar warships every one.
And the T6 Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship could be plainly seen at the center of these three thousand interstellar warships.
"Let's see just what medicine you're selling in your gourd, Owl Dragon Emperor. If you mean to make yourself the bait, then don't blame me for eating that bait of yours outright!" the Drought-Fiend Sovereign muttered coldly.
Then he gave his orders directly: "Fleet vanguard, prepare to launch a frontal attack on the enemy's interstellar fleet. Hold nothing back; destroy the enemy's interstellar warships at any cost. At the same time, interstellar warships on the other sides, make ready for battle."
"Yes."
At the front of the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's legion fleet, some ten thousand interstellar warships began to break away from the main fleet's formation and launched an attack on the three thousand Owl Dragon interstellar warships ahead.
……
The Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship · the bridge
Zhao Chen watched this scene on the interstellar war holo-table; on it were also some rings flickering in and out of sight, like some kind of radar scanning equipment.
"The enemy came well prepared. Finding our Emperor's Guard Fleet here didn't make them attack blindly. They sent only ten thousand interstellar warships to lead the way, while the ninety thousand interstellar warships behind keep following, holding their battle formation. And they've had anti-stealth equipment switched on the whole time," Lilith said from beside him.
"The enemy's anti-stealth coverage is very thorough. Once our interstellar stealth bombers enter that range, the enemy will find them, and we won't be able to take them by surprise," Zhao Waner said from the other side of the video window, but the look on her face hardly changed,
as if she had foreseen this long before.
Zhao Chen folded his arms, looked at the interstellar war holo-table, and said calmly, "He is one of the Sovereigns, after all; he has at least this much fighting sense. If he attacked blindly like some fool, he wouldn't be one of the three Sovereigns. Waner, just carry out the tactical plan you drew up yourself before. I'll arrange interstellar warships to work with you."
"Right." Zhao Waner nodded firmly.
Zhao Chen looked at Xiong Xiangxiang across the other video window. "Are you ready?"
"Don't you worry. We of the Emperor's Guard Fleet are no pushovers," Xiong Xiangxiang said with full assurance.
Zhao Chen smiled slightly, looking at the enemy's super-flagship opposite,
the quasi-T7 Drought-Fiend Ghost-King-class Heavy Strategic Interstellar Multirole Destroyer.
"Drought-Fiend Ghost-King, I'd like to see whose quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship has the greater fighting power, yours or mine." As he spoke, Zhao Chen gave the order with a slight wave of his hand.
Very soon five rings of light appeared around the battlefield.
The appearance of these five rings of light could naturally not be hidden from the Drought-Fiend Sovereign's legion fleet opposite.
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign saw them too, the five rings of light spread around his Drought-Fiend Sovereign's legion fleet; they were very plainly aimed at him.
"This looks like some kind of space-jump technology. My lord, our attack?" His subordinate looked at the Drought-Fiend Sovereign.
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign said calmly, "Don't panic. The enemy having an ambush is just what we expected; nothing could be more normal. Have the attacking force keep attacking. Even if ten thousand horses and a thousand armies appear ahead now, so long as I give no order, they keep attacking."
"Yes."
The Drought-Fiend Sovereign stared at the five rings of light in the video window.
He was rather looking forward to seeing what trump card the Owl Dragon Emperor had left behind these five rings of light,
that could make him so confident as to break alone into this dragon's pool and tiger's den of his.
Was he really so sure he would be safe here?
After all, his standing and importance in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire were something else entirely.
Very soon, the rough form of something enormous appeared in each of the five rings of light.