The Snake-folk Interstellar Fleet.
Commander Qingman received the order relayed from that "Lion King Fleet" commander. When she saw that the other side wanted her to lead 500 warships in a direct assault on the enemy fleet's array, her expression turned to astonishment. Use her 500 warships to break through 3,000 and more? Wasn't this courting death outright! Did the other side mean to use her fleet as cannon fodder here?
Inwardly Commander Qingman balked hard at this order. But the Queen had commanded earlier that in this battle she was to carry out that man's orders. And from the larger view, by now the Queen's main Snake-folk fleet should already have begun its attack on those systems. If this fleet here got word and returned to defend, it might even bring danger to the Queen. So she had no choice now.
"Relay my order — the whole fleet, advance at speed to these coordinates!" Commander Qingman gave the order to attack. The position she'd started from wasn't far from the battlefield, so she soon reached its edge; the energy signals of both sides' fleets already showed on her ship radar. But at the same time she saw a scene she'd never expected.
The wrecks of several T3 warships stood in the black in the distance. Why was she certain those wrecks were T3 warships? Because wrecks that size could be nothing but T3 warships! Examining them more closely, she soon confirmed the identities of these wrecks: one T3 Arkham-class Medium Interstellar Battleship, three T3 Gargoyle-class Medium Interstellar Frigates! And a number of T2 warships besides. Farther off, one could see more T2 and T1 warship wreckage. And farther still lay the two fleets, at this moment locked in battle.
"What… happened here?" Commander Qingman was astonished. Just what had that man done, to annihilate four of the enemy fleet's T3 warships in so short a time? And it seemed his fleet hadn't lost a single ship! It was truly hard to believe. Yet the fact was laid out before Commander Qingman's very eyes. And now she began to believe, a little, in the order that man had given — perhaps… there truly was a design of his own within it?
Still, though she didn't know by what means that man had destroyed those four T3 warships and close to 100 T2 warships, the enemy fleet's number was still near 3,000. As the battle stood, they were still at a disadvantage.
"Never mind — I'll trust that fellow this once!" Commander Qingman pressed on, leading her fleet toward the enemy's rear.
At this moment, Han Tianwang's fleet too detected the fleet appearing at its rear — and knew these were all Snake-folk warships.
"How do Snake-folk warships come to be here?" Han Tianwang was somewhat surprised.
The pirate boss now said, "It seems the Snake-folk queen has found out it was us who attacked her fleet before. This is her come to take revenge on us!"
At the same time, the other two chiefs received unwelcome news.
The Black Boar-folk chief said darkly, "Young Master Han — word just came from my system. That Snake-folk bitch has actually dared to attack my system!"
"They've attacked our Gebo clan's systems too!" the Gebo clan chief said with some worry.
The Fire Salamander chieftain's heart lurched; though he'd received no call for aid from his own home base, since the Snake-folk had moved against these two interstellar powers, how could they have left him out?
"Hmph — pay the Snake-folk no mind for now. Let's first wipe out this fleet before us, then relieve the various systems — it won't be too late. As it happens, Young Master Sun has long wanted the Snake-folk dealt with; this time I'll settle that so-called Snake-folk queen for Young Master Sun!" Han Tianwang said with a savage grin. To render such service now — surely it would make a fine impression on that power behind Young Master Sun.
The Black Boar-folk chief and the Gebo clan chief had no objection to the arrangement. The fleet before them was, to all appearances, about to be destroyed — only a matter of time. What was more, their own fleets had been struck by this fleet, no few of their T2 and T3 warships destroyed. To let them off now would leave the two of them ill at ease as well. Relieving their own systems could wait; a little time made no difference.
Soon they'd realize: they'd missed their last chance!
"Report! The enemy flagship, the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser, has suddenly begun to accelerate — it's charging straight at our fleet!" A report leapt up suddenly.
Han Tianwang watched the ship radar as that T3 Blizzard bore down on his fleet at tremendous speed. "Is that Zhao Chen a fool? However strong his T3 Blizzard is, can it take on 1,000 at once? I've got close to 3,000 warships here!" Han Tianwang laughed in contempt, sitting steady in his captain's chair. Then he gave the order: "Relay my command — attack that T3 Blizzard with everything. Take down this T3 Blizzard, and that Zhao Chen has no chance of turning things around. As for the 500 Snake-folk warships behind — pay them no mind for now."
"Yes!"
Han Tianwang's ships began locking onto that T3 Blizzard. Shield it might have, but only a frontal shield. And besides, with this many warships on his side, need he fear one T3 warship?
"Warning! Warning! Warning! Interstellar missiles detected inbound!"
"Warning! Warning! Warning! Interstellar missiles detected inbound!"
"Warning! Warning…"
Suddenly, the alert systems of nearly every warship sounded again on the bridges. Han Tianwang shot up once more, aghast. "What's going on? How can there be more interstellar missiles?"
"Report! Behind… behind that asteroid! Two T2 missile ships have appeared — exactly like that T2 missile ship from before!" An urgent report came up, along with an image captured by a deep-space telescope. Behind Zhao Chen's fleet was an asteroid, and at this moment, faintly, one could make out the shapes of two missile ships on its far side.
The answer had appeared! Using the asteroid as cover, Zhao Chen had positioned two missile ships lying in wait here in advance. And the slow withdrawal before had likely been nothing but a tactical retreat — for at this moment, Zhao Chen's fleet had already stopped retreating.
"Ready defenses! Intercept those interstellar missiles!" Han Tianwang roared hysterically. A moment ago, a single T2 missile ship's 500 missiles had cost him so many T2 warships. Now two more sprang up at once — how many more losses would that mean? If the losses in the end ran too great, then even were he to destroy that Zhao Chen brat, Young Master Sun would never forgive him. Beads of sweat ran down Han Tianwang's brow.
What astonished him more was that the T3 Blizzard paid not the least mind to the interstellar missiles its own friendly ships fired — at one point even running neck and neck with those missiles. The scene was magnificent indeed.
"That Zhao Chen is a madman!" Han Tianwang said in terror.
T3 Blizzard — Bridge
On the holographic battlefield before Charlotte were red circles, one after another, and the flight-tracks of missile after missile. She shared intelligence with the two T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships, and so knew their attack trajectories in advance. And what she had to do was, amid these missiles' assault, choose the best flight path — avoiding the dangerous zones while driving a slashing strike clean through the enemy fleet! Dangerous as this method was, the most dangerous place was often the safest. The T3 Blizzard could use the array of these missile attacks as cover for its own strike!
Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair, savoring this thrilling moment; he felt his very blood begin to surge. This was the allure of interstellar war! Soon the first volley of missiles detonated; the whirl of the blast even reached the T3 Blizzard. And Zhao Chen watched, calm as drifting cloud, that blooming ball of explosion — the first time he'd admired the scene of an interstellar missile's blast from so close. Rather pretty.
He only wondered whether that Young Master Han's mood was pretty too.