Chapter 996: Chapter 536, Guangfeng Star Sea Battle_2
The pressure suddenly came from the other side.
Moreover, this pressure was continuously increasing. When the six battlecruisers fully demonstrated their influence, their firepower in battleship duels was considered as effective as three battleships; the Allianceâs âEagle Horseâ carrier was not to be underestimated either. The Dragon Elephant war machines it suddenly deployed swarmed and destroyed a cruiser from the Fury Fleet.
That cruiser took a few hits in the front, shattering its Void Shield. Under normal circumstances, it could have retreated in time, operated within the fleet, and survived with cover from other Escort Ships. Fortunately, its Void Shield was merely overloaded, and the generator inside was not damaged. Given about half an hour, the Void Shield could recharge and become active again.
However, under the attack of the âEagle Horseâ, the possibility of survival vanished.
Eighteen war machines launched in its face seized the opportunity of the shattered Void Shield, blasting away without needing to risk a slow approach.
They swarmed around the Starship like a hive, fiercely attacking the exposed turrets on the Starship.
At the cost of eight war machines, they destroyed many of the exposed turrets on the cruiser, reducing its ability to perform firepower interception.
Among these eight war machines, five even managed to launch their mounted missiles before perishing.
Some missiles were intercepted by âReflectorsâ and âDefendersâ mid-air, but still, one-third of them hit the target.
There was one Scorching East Wind and four Sky-splitting Axes.
These five heavy anti-ship missiles caused severe damage to that cruiser. The Starship visibly caught fire, observable from the outside.
This still wasnât considered destruction. The cruiser was still moving, with Escort Ships rushing in. If it retreated, the damage control team might salvage it through repairs, preventing further damage and maintaining the shipâs survival. Once repaired, it could fight another day.
But the remaining war machines wouldnât give it a chance.
The two surviving Dragon Elephants unleashed their six Scorching East Winds. Meanwhile, eleven Kirins also launched twenty Sky-splitting Axe missiles.
The heavily damaged cruiser was powerless to intercept; other Escort Ships could destroy war machines but intercepting missiles launched by war machines at close range towards the cruiser was unrealistic.
In the end, more than half of this firepower hit the cruiser.
The cruiser exploded into space debris.
The surviving war machines then began to withdraw.
They pulled back at full speed, stopped firing, and activated their stealth.
In complete silence, the size of war machines in space is rather insignificant. In the intense battlefield, the enemy had too many things to deal with, making it difficult to spare efforts to scan the entire space area to locate and destroy the war machines.
Moreover, even a big war machine like the Dragon Elephant, without missiles, no longer posed a significant threat. At most, it had some cannons that might be useful against smaller ships, but against large warships, it was like scratching an itch.
And these silent war machines still had a considerable chance of quietly retreating back to their carrier.
The distance between the warring sides was still a bit too far; it would take a long time to fly back.
However, if this naval battle continued for several hours, or even over ten hours, those returning war machines might catch up with the second wave of attack, reloaded with missiles, and launched again.
Moreover, the Allianceâs Zhuge-class carrier deployed not only them.
Multiple cruisers and even the Fury Fleetâs flagship, âTriumphal Fireâ combat barge, were being targeted.
The carrier was adept at hunting down these large warships within the fleet.
The deployed war machines werenât particularly effective against Escort Ships, destroyers, and other medium to small ships. The interception firepower on these ships was formidable, making the cost of taking them down high, yet their value was low.
Conversely, attacking those large ships might be slightly more challenging, but the rewards were substantial.
The L-size Scorching East Wind missiles mounted on Dragon Elephant war machines presented a significant threat even to battleship-class warships.
The powerful strength of the Alliance, composed of eight main battleships and forty-one cruisers, was turning the tide of this naval battle.
âŠ
âRetreat.â Politos once again made the obvious decision.
And this, of course, once again sparked fierce opposition from Wang Mengsong.
âWhy retreat again? We clearly have the advantage now!â Wang Mengsongâs voice rang out in the command channel once more.
He saw, of course, that the Alliance Fleet was regaining the upper hand.
But precisely because of this, shouldnât they press harder to secure the victory?
He even mobilized his battle group, ready for a boarding action.
Yet again, he heard Politosâ order to retreat.
He was beyond furious.
But because they were at a critical moment, he knew he couldnât quarrel with Politos, the supreme commander. So, regardless of how furious he was, he stifled his emotions, persuading earnestly:
âThe Alliance main fleet made a big mistake this time, recklessly warping their entire force into our home ground. Using the Star Fortress, leveraging our constructed warp point defense system, we have a chance to annihilate the enemy fleet here!â
âEven if we canât annihilate them completely, we can at least severely damage them!â
âMiss this opportunity, and given our naval strength with only two battleship-class warships, thereâs almost no chance of delivering a devastating blow to the Alliance Fleet in naval combat again!â
âOpportunity is not to be missed!â
Nonetheless, all he received was Politosâ retreat order.
Politos even ordered the Star Speaker to block Wang Mengsongâs ability to send messages to the entire command system, preventing this battle group leader of significant standing from disrupting the whole command system.
Of course, he didnât want to provoke Wang Mengsong too much. If this hothead acted impulsively, launched a rogue strike, and dragged the entire unit into it, that would be quite troublesome.
So, he left Wang Mengsong a line to communicate directly with him.
Wang Mengsong soon realized he couldnât contact other ships, and angrily cursed at Politos:
âYou spineless cur! Youâre not fit to lead the army! I pity you! Your enemies are right before you, yet you donât even dare to seek revenge!â
After the last heated argument, Politos reflected. He wouldnât engage in these meaningless arguments with Wang Mengsong anymore. He ignored the insults from the New World Torch Battle Group Commander and continued to orderly issue various commands.
It wasnât until the whole fleet began moving as he ordered that he found a bit of time.
Taking this chance, he said to Wang Mengsong: âDidnât your think tank tell you the pressure they are now under?â
âWhat?â
Wang Mengsong hadnât received a reply.
It wasnât his problem.
The think tanks of both battle groups and the psychic units among mortals had already been consolidated for use, directly answering to Politos.
A think tank member had been left with Wang Mengsong, in theory, they should report information to him.
But⊠Wang Mengsong realized he hadnât received any updates for quite a while.
âIt seems the pressure is even greater than reported, that your embedded think tank crew didnât even have time to explain the situation to you.â Politos explained briefly.
Then he pondered: âGu Hang from the Alliance⊠he might be the most powerful Psychic Iâve encountered in my centuries of career. Is that truly a level mortals can achieve?â