Zhao Chen stared at that group of 300 interstellar warships on the interstellar holo-table, marked in its information as the "Snake-folk First Legion Second Fleet." By the annotation information shown, this fleet's commander was the snake-woman Qingman, with whom Zhao Chen had a passing acquaintance of a few meetings.
The juncture at which this fleet unfolded its action was very cunningly chosen. It was the third hour of this battle's beginning. The Snake-folk legion fleet had all along kept to a defensive combat formation, while the Warhammer faction's side had, for its part, already formed the encirclement of a great sack — with only a single face left before the ring could be closed. This was, as well, the Snake-folk legion fleet's last chance to pull out from the battlefield. But the Snake-folk legion fleet still made no move whatsoever — which, in the eyes of the Warhammer faction's commander, was as good as already having victory in his grasp.
Zhao Chen shot a glance at the two sides' battle-loss reports on their interstellar warships.
The Snake-folk legion fleet, over three hours, had lost close to 3,000 interstellar warships — a loss rate already reaching 30%. By contrast, the Warhammer-faction legion fleet on its side had lost merely fewer than 1,000 interstellar warships, a loss rate of a trifling, negligible under 3%! The two sides' loss ratio was, likewise, one to three. Once the Warhammer faction's encirclement was complete, this loss ratio would be drawn further apart still.
And it was at just this crucial joint of the bone that that special Snake-folk interstellar fleet made its move.
First, at a not-especially fast sailing speed, it took the initiative to unfold an attack. 100 T2 Black Rhino-class Interstellar Heavy Assault Frigates assaulted in the vanguard, with 200 T1 interstellar warships of every model following behind. The moment these hundred T2 Black Rhinos made their appearance, they caught the Warhammer-faction interstellar fleet flat-out unprepared.
In a bare dozen-odd minutes, Zhao Chen could see, upon the interstellar holo-table, that a caved-in gash had been torn open in the Warhammer faction's battle line.
"The Snake-folk's target is the flagship of the Warhammer faction's Ogre-folk commander!" Chitong analyzed from the side.
Zhao Chen signaled Chitong to go on.
Chitong, staring at the interstellar holo-table, said, "This Snake-folk interstellar fleet had all along made no move — that's because they were searching out just where the enemy fleet's command flagship is positioned. Now it can roughly be deduced that this command flagship is located within this one legion fleet!" Chitong pointed at one legion fleet in the Warhammer faction's battle line. "Because over these past three hours, the other nine legion fleets have all been launching their strongest attacks. It's this one legion fleet alone whose attacking efficiency differs from the others' — and it's positioned in the very most core area of the enemy fleet's army group."
"A decapitation tactic?" Zhao Chen let out a few words — this was, after all, one of the very tactics their Owl Dragon Legion had been best at before.
Chitong nodded. "Those fleets of the Reef Star Region are, for the most part, a jumbled mix of fish and dragons, their combat caliber exceedingly low. Should they discover that their own flagship, and their strongest fleet, have been gravely crippled or even destroyed, then it's more than likely to make them lose their morale, throw their command system into chaos — or even rout outright!"
Zhao Chen nodded. Back when they'd done battle with the Fire Salamander clan before, he'd had just such an experience.
Next, upon the interstellar holo-table, Zhao Chen — for all the world like a master watching over an apprentice — watched the fighting of that interstellar fleet. After smoothly tearing open a gash, 200 T1 interstellar warships at once swarmed in and unfolded the slaughter, for a moment throwing the enemy fleet into no small chaos. But, after all, these T1 interstellar warships weren't of Owl Dragon make; their combat power was jagged and uneven, and they couldn't, like the T2 Black Rhinos just now, pose so enormous a threat.
And just as the Warhammer-faction interstellar fleet was attempting to check and hold back this surge of Snake-folk interstellar warships, it dispatched, besides, an elite fleet possessing three T3 interstellar warships.
But at this point, an utterly unlooked-for scene appeared.
The hundred T2 Black Rhinos, catching sight of those three T3 interstellar warships, went, of all things, all the more berserk — hurling themselves forward one after another, charging straight at those three T3 interstellar warships. And their speed, moreover, climbed a great notch above what it had been.
This sudden shift in combat style was utterly beyond the Warhammer-faction interstellar fleet's expectation — and most unlooked-for of all was that these T2 interstellar warships' defensive power was, besides, astonishing; no matter how the enemy's interstellar warships bombarded away in a wild storm of fire — the attacks of the T1 interstellar warships were, to them, no more than a scratching of an itch. The attacks of the T2 interstellar warships, too, could do nothing to them for the moment. Only the attacks of the T3 interstellar warships could still make these hundred T2 Black Rhinos harbor some wariness. But, alas — here there were only three T3 interstellar warships, whereas on that side there were 100 T2 Black Rhinos.
The scene that came next was one that left the Warhammer-faction legion fleet's side dumbstruck and staring all the more.
T2 Black Rhino after T2 Black Rhino, for all the world like arrows loosed from the string, of all things, directly rammed into the T3 interstellar warships. One ship ramming would have been one thing. But behind it came 10 more, 20 more, 30 more…
Have you ever seen the scene of 34 interstellar warships charging at you as though gone mad, ramming straight in? Those three Warhammer-faction T3 interstellar warship captains had never in all their lives seen such a scene. Though grapple-and-board battles were fairly common in the Reef Star Region, this, all the same, was not how they were fought!
Soon enough, these three Warhammer-faction T3 interstellar warships fell in a manner most humiliating. Ravaged over and over by 100 T2 Black Rhinos, their whole hulls were battered beyond all recognition, everywhere marked with the traces left by ramming and pummeling! Indeed, the hulls of those T3 interstellar warships, after one collision upon another, had their very keels snapped, the whole hulls broken clean into two.
From first to last, this affair took place in under 10 minutes!
Thereupon, a still more astonishing scene appeared.
Three Snake-folk T3 interstellar warships suddenly crossed past the battlefield of those hundred T2 interstellar warships and drove straight for the enemy fleet's core area. This scene gave the high command of the Warhammer faction's various legion fleets a real fright. For there, indeed, was the very supreme commander directing the Warhammer faction's campaign this time. But on a second thought — a mere three T3 interstellar warships, charging a position of a full 300 interstellar warships, among which there were, moreover, close to 10 T3 interstellar warships — however one thought it, this was surely an impossible task.
But the moment those three Snake-folk interstellar warships launched their attack, all who were attending to this scene were dumbstruck.
Three bow-cannon shots fired — and directly destroyed three T3 Porcupine-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers, star shields and all, in one stroke!
That scene left one row of the Warhammer-faction ships' captains staring dumbstruck, mouths agape.
This… this…
Though the interstellar warships they were fitted out with weren't of high performance, these were, all the same, T3 interstellar warships — and for one shot to destroy them, the gap was surely, after all, just too great!
At the same time, the secondary-gun and main-gun modules of these three T3 interstellar warships, of all things, directly pressed down upon the surrounding T2 interstellar warships so they couldn't come near — as for those T1 interstellar warships, needless even to speak of them. The point-defense guns they were fitted with alone were enough to give those a hard time.
The Medusa Queen, seeing this scene, felt her own blood surge to a boil; she broadcast this scene to every interstellar warship. This was, beyond doubt, a thing exceedingly rousing to the morale. And Commander Qingman, moreover, personally led her own T3 Blizzard No. 1 ship, charging at the very forefront — with a posture for all the world as though to cut down the enemy flagship then and there!