Wholly unfamiliar interstellar warship after interstellar warship crossed the star gate, appearing beyond the Snake-folk-system star gate. Judging from the hulls, there was a considerable number of T3 interstellar warships among them!
"That's the T3 Blizzard — and there are a full 30 of them!" Qingman pointed at that stretch of identical interstellar warships. Though they differed somewhat in outward form from the T3 Blizzards her own force was equipped with, she nonetheless recognized this super-powerful interstellar warship. Casting her mind back — before, she'd commanded but three T3 Blizzards, and had fought a winning battle. And now here were a full 30 T3 Blizzards!
"It's not only the T3 Blizzards — that frigate there is T3-grade too… and that quantity…" Red Rose, at this moment, had likewise seen that scene at the star gate from aboard her own command ship. As an interstellar trade merchant, she'd done business reselling interstellar warships as well, and so was comparatively familiar with these interstellar warship types. "Close to 100 T3 interstellar frigates! And that hull structure achieves the same effect by a different route as the T2 Black Rhino!" Qingman said with a touch of excitement. That class of T3 interstellar frigate had, upon its bow, three stout great black horns — much like the T2 Black Rhino's single great black horn. Casting one's mind back to the T2 Black Rhino's terrifying combat power — if this class of T3 interstellar frigate had the same combat power, then these hundred T3 interstellar warships, frigates though they were, would be no small force all the same.
"To have, of all things, so many T3 interstellar warships — it's truly beyond belief." Red Rose stared dumbstruck, mouth agape; and, at the same time, her curiosity toward that man's mysterious strength grew all the greater. Appearing suddenly in the Lion King System, integrating the Lion King System. His identity and origins utterly impossible to look into and get clear. And, on top of that, possessing so many classes of such advanced interstellar warships. Too mysterious.
And it was just at this moment that no further interstellar warships came out of the star gate.
"This… that's all?" Red Rose was taken aback, staring at the star gate as though waiting for the next batch of interstellar warships to appear. But half a minute on, never mind a next batch of interstellar warships — not so much as a shadow of a starship was to be seen.
Red Rose swept an eye over this interstellar fleet; from top to bottom, the whole fleet was under 300 interstellar warships. Though, judging from the hulls, half of them were T3 interstellar warships — this starship ratio was quite terrifying. But…
Opposite were 60,000 interstellar warships.
"That man means to stem the raging tide on the strength of these 300 interstellar warships alone?" Red Rose said with a knitted brow, muttering, "Had it not been for that battle at the Kemi System, then the Warhammer faction's and the Starlight faction's fleets might, perhaps, have taken it lightly, and we could have carried on with that set of surprise-assault strategies from before, and still have hope of winning. But now, with the prior experience — never mind the Starlight faction's fleet, the Warhammer faction's interstellar fleet will absolutely not stumble twice in the very same pit."
And so, in Red Rose's view, to rely on 300 interstellar warships alone, and hope to reverse the situation of the 60,000 enemy ships before them — this was, truly, somewhat of an Arabian-nights fantasy.
Medusa said nothing. Though, from an objective standpoint, Red Rose's words were reasonable — that man was no fool either; would he lead a fleet to come to her aid without any surety of it? Medusa looked toward that relief force. He… just how did he mean to stem the raging tide?
Beep, beep, beep.
And it was just at this moment that a video window popped up. Opposite was precisely Zhao Chen, sitting in the captain's chair.
"Your Majesty the Queen, I'm not late, I trust?" Zhao Chen said with a smile.
Medusa squeezed out a sliver of a smile. "Your Excellency Zhao Chen comes at just the right time." At the same time she couldn't help but grumble inwardly: Couldn't you have come a bit earlier? You just had to rush it to this very moment, making a person's heart quail with dread — this fellow is doing it on purpose, without a doubt!
"Coming early is worse than coming at the opportune moment," Zhao Chen said, light and unhurried as a passing cloud. "This is the battle plan I've laid out on my side. If Your Majesty the Queen feels there's no problem with it, then please have your fleet carry it out in accordance with this battle plan." As he spoke, Zhao Chen sent over a battle plan.
Medusa looked carefully over the battle deployment upon it — it was a defensive-combat plan. Set out upon it were the defensive lines her interstellar fleet was to arrange, along with its combat tasks, combat requirements, and so on. All of it very simple. One might even say exceedingly ordinary. As for the defensive tactics Medusa had herself deployed just now, they needed only a slight change of layout, and no more. But there was, within it, no combat plan for Zhao Chen's interstellar fleet.
"My interstellar fleet will adapt to circumstances as they come. Your Majesty the Queen need only sit in your spectator's seat and take a good, fine enjoyment of this grand feast I've prepared for you." Having said this, Zhao Chen directly cut off the comm.
Medusa was taken aback, somewhat at a loss for what to do. This man was done with his briefing, just like that? A great campaign that touched upon close to 80,000 interstellar warships, and he'd, of all things, gotten his briefing done in just these few sentences? For one must know that an ordinary battle deployment would, more often than not, have to pass through several rounds of discussion — not merely the commander's own notions, but urgent discussion, besides, through many departments such as the staff department and the secretary department. Medusa felt for all the world as though she weren't facing a life-and-death battle deciding the Snake-folk's future — as though it were merely some small skirmish and no more.
"Did he just now… not see me?" Red Rose, in another video window off to the side, was caught between laughing and crying; she'd witnessed the whole process. Like Medusa, she was somewhat at a loss over this man's whole way of operating. This was surely all too offhand.
"Now, though, I'm very curious just how he means to use these paltry under-300 interstellar warships to help us win this battle of so lopsided a disparity of strength!" Red Rose said through narrowed eyes, her curiosity bursting to the brim.
Medusa looked toward that stretch of interstellar warships. However it was — that was, now, the one and only life-saving straw of theirs, the Snake-folk.
T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship · bridge.
"Reporting — all interstellar warships have completed crossing through the star gate, and await your instructions," Lilith reported, standing at Zhao Chen's side.
"How's the battlefield situation?" Zhao Chen inquired.
Lilith looked toward the exceedingly large interstellar holo-table hovering, at this moment, before Zhao Chen — upon which the positions occupied by the two sides' interstellar warships were clearly marked out. Battlefield intelligence this detailed could not, of course, be accomplished by relying on a starship's own onboard radar alone. Early on, before this battle had even begun, five T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Reconnaissance Ships had been deployed by Zhao Chen ahead of time to the area round about here. The five T3 Silver-Rats had, straight off, formed of this area a blind-spot-free intelligence-network system, feeding battlefield intelligence to Zhao Chen in a ceaseless, flowing stream.
"The battlefield situation isn't much different from our earlier combat forecast. The two factions' interstellar fleets are attacking the Snake-folk Fortress area from two pincer-horn directions simultaneously. And among them, by the intelligence our T3 Silver-Rats have searched out, the Starlight faction's side has here an old acquaintance of yours," Lilith said.
Zhao Chen showed an expression of interest. "Who?"
"Sun Tianhai, a former student of the Northstar Academy. Of marquis-family stock; on account of his family connections, he joined the Prince Faction. And he was arranged by the Prince Faction to come oversee the Reef Star Region's affairs. Zhang Haoran, too, was recommended into the Prince Faction by him earlier — but on account of the later fighting with the Fire Salamander clan, Sun Tianhai's standing within the Prince Faction was affected. It was his father sacrificing some interests that kept his position, though. And he serves as the middleman for the Starlight faction's and the Prince Faction's liaison this time; the Prince Faction has, moreover, specially dispatched to him an interstellar fleet of first-line-imperial-army establishment." As Lilith spoke, she marked out upon the interstellar holo-table the position occupied by this Young Master Sun's fleet.
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth curled slightly upward; he looked at this interstellar holo-table for all the world as though gazing upon a game of chess.
"Convey my order — make ready to carry out our battle plan. We must give this old friend a fine and proper hosting."
"Yes!"