"Scan of the hive-race fleet complete; the number is 100,000. Of these, T4 Hive Motherships number only three. T1 Hive Motherships, 90,000; T2 Hive Motherships, 9,000; T3 Hive Motherships, 1,000-odd. They're mounting an encircling assault on the Blue-Crystal Star-Port," Lilith reported.
Zhao Chen looked at the vast hive-race fleet around the Blue-Crystal Star-Port on the interstellar holo-table; the number truly was great.
100,000!
Truly hard to imagine how Qin Xiaotian had amassed so vast a number of Hive Motherships.
"Tell Baixue — the T3 interstellar missile ships aren't to fire off a whole round at once; take a staircase-style attack, and make sure our interstellar missiles can provide battlefield firepower support when necessary," Zhao Chen said.
There were simply too many bugs; relying on the interstellar missile ships' firepower to suppress them, they could not achieve the sort of terrifying suppression seen on the earlier interstellar battlefield.
Suppose Baixue delivered one round of saturation firepower strike; then there'd be a long spell of a firepower-shortage gap, and were the hive-race fleet to launch a fierce assault in that time—
—with no interstellar-missile firepower support on the frontal battlefield, it might well cause great losses.
So Zhao Chen changed the interstellar missile ships' manner of attack.
"Adopt 'Hive-race Combat Plan No.1,' and at the same time don't take the surrounding environment lightly; launch every interstellar drone-scout there is and widen our scouting range!" Zhao Chen commanded.
"Yes."
The Owl Dragon First Legion's 3,000 interstellar warships spread into a combat formation.
This combat formation was, at a glance, defense-first.
Even the interstellar battlecruisers and interstellar cruisers gave up their proactive pierce-and-cut fighting techniques, and stood by as support within the combat formation, ready at any moment.
The interstellar fighters, too, made no bid to contest the hive-race fleet's interstellar air-supremacy.
You must be joking — to contest interstellar air-supremacy with the hive-race.
However mighty Zhao Chen was, even he couldn't manage that.
The interstellar fighters and interstellar drones the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starships loosed took on chiefly the co-defense task: destroying those hive-race units that broke through the firepower net and clung to friendly interstellar warships, reducing the harm they did the ships.
At the same time, the interstellar supply ships took up the pivot positions of each formation.
Zhao Chen had once discussed large-scale operations against the hive-race with Charlotte, Chitong, and the rest.
The most important thing among them was, beyond doubt, ensuring an ample firepower supply.
So on this front the interstellar supply ships' work was most vital — they needed to resupply the interstellar warships with strategic materials in time, so the warships could go on fighting.
And on this front, the Owl Dragon Legion's interstellar supply ships had one more task besides.
Uninterrupted resupply in combat.
As the name says — resupplying the interstellar warships even as they fought.
Though the efficiency of this was rather low, and there was a certain danger in it.
But this was the best method for meeting a hive-race fleet.
At this very moment, the hive-race fleet that had originally been assaulting the Blue-Crystal Star-Port, like a wolf-pack that had caught the scent of raw meat, came sweeping toward the Owl Dragon First Legion, blotting out the sky.
3,000 interstellar warships, before 100,000 Hive Motherships and the bug-swarm they carried, were for all the world like a small pebble before a black tidal wave.
"All defense-lines — full firepower! Wipe out these stinking bugs!" Zhao Chen stared at the battlefield on the interstellar holo-table.
2,000 T3 Triceratops-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Escorts and 600 T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers formed the first defense-line.
The firepower net formed of close-defense guns wiped out those hive-race combat units to the last, turning them into fireballs of explosion, gone in a flash.
The T3 Wolverine-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers' weapon modules would supplement the firepower against certain Hive Motherships and higher-grade hive-race units.
And behind these two classes of combat-type interstellar warship.
30 T3 Imperial-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships held the line here, their bow cannons seeking out those higher-grade Hive Motherships, making sure each shot could take out at least one T3 Hive Mothership!
The remaining interstellar warships took on a supporting role — commonly put, going wherever needed.
The T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers and the T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Escorts were all arranged at the forward positions, using their firepower output and defensive capacity to beat back the bug-swarm before them.
Zhao Chen stared at the interstellar holo-table, at the bug-swarm drawing ever nearer their defensive position; beside it was a number falling without cease — the current defense-distance!
The moment the defense-distance became "0," that would be the Owl Dragon Legion's worst-case moment.
"Report — the T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleship No.02 has spotted a T4 Hive Mothership within firepower range; requesting permission to fire!" Lilith suddenly reported.
Zhao Chen knit his brows, and opened a video window straightaway.
Looking at the "young face" across it.
"Huang Xiaoting, you and Xue Xiaoxiao were both same-term students at the Northstar Starship Military Academy, and you both took interstellar battleships as your elective; your overall grades surpassed Xue Xiaoxiao's. But — do you know? Now, in my eyes, you fall short of Xue Xiaoxiao; you fall far, far short of Xue Xiaoxiao!" Zhao Chen fixed his stare on Huang Xiaoting.
Huang Xiaoting was startled a moment, not knowing why the Commander-in-Chief would suddenly criticize her at such a time.
"Xue Xiaoxiao has a great many faults, but she has one thing you don't — she knows clearly what she ought to do on the battlefield. For instance, right now — she wouldn't stand there dumbly asking me whether or not to fire once a target appeared. What you're in charge of is the T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleship, not some other interstellar warship. You must have the ability to judge on the spot. If you feel you can't do it, then this acting-captaincy of yours can be handed to someone else right now!" Zhao Chen added coldly: "Because with this question of yours, you've wasted 30 seconds of our time. Now do you know what you ought to do?"
Schooled by the Commander-in-Chief's rebuke, Huang Xiaoting felt as if doused with clear wisdom; she stood up straight and said firmly: "I understand — please let me go on directing this battle, Commander-in-Chief; once the fighting's over, I'm willing to accept any punishment for dereliction."
Zhao Chen said nothing, and simply closed the comm window.
Huang Xiaoting was a crew member Zhao Chen had recruited from Northstar; like Xue Xiaoxiao, she loved interstellar battleships, and in overall grades had even surpassed Xue Xiaoxiao.
But she had some shortcomings too.
Zhao Chen had seen these; had it been in ordinary times, he could have trained Huang Xiaoting slowly, and in the future she'd surely have become a new-generation commander in the Owl Dragon Legion.
Only, worse luck, the Owl Dragon Legion was developing so fast now, there was no time to give her.
There was no choice but to have her fight and slay on the battlefield, and accumulate experience.
"Captain…" the deputy captain looked at Huang Xiaoting, the acting captain; truth be told, she felt the captain's rebuke a touch unjust, for wasn't obeying the commander's orders exactly what the academy taught.
"No need to say it — it's my responsibility. We've already wasted near a minute; let's waste no more precious time. Is the target T4 Hive Mothership still within our attack range?"
"Still is; we've been tracking and locking it all along!"
"12 main guns lay down cross-cover fire; the bow cannon locks on and destroys the target. Carry out the combat order!" Huang Xiaoting fixed a cold gaze on that T4 Hive Mothership.
"Yes!"
The 12 main guns aboard the T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleship No.02 locked onto one direction, and as they laid down covering fire—
—that huge bow cannon loosed a silver-white beam, aimed straight at the T4 Hive Mothership across the way.