Not far behind the Oakes Empire fleet's ambush point.
A fleet of over a hundred warships shot out from a dense cluster of asteroids off its rear flank and immediately unleashed a full salvo at the Oakes Empire fleet.
Following Lin Fan's orders, every warship with an enemy carrier within firing angle gave it special attention.
At the same time, aboard the flagship of the Oakes ambush fleet.
The Ninth Prince, Duolun Oakes, lounged comfortably in the captain's seat, propping up his head as he rested.
Duolun had graduated from a prestigious academy—the Empire's First Military Academy—and had ranked among the best in his class, earning the Emperor's favor.
This time, he had come to the front lines on the Emperor's orders. Put nicely, he was here to experience the atmosphere of war. Put bluntly, he was here to pad his résumé.
After arriving at the Jupiter front, the proud Duolun felt that, for the sake of his future, he needed to lead a victory.
That was how this situation had come about.
Although Duolun had performed exceptionally well in military academy, he had never been tempered by actual combat. In human terms, he was all talk and no experience.
"Report! A large number of enemy warships have appeared behind us and are attacking!"
"What? How did they get behind us?"
Before anyone could respond, Duolun saw a ball of fire erupt to the left of the flagship through the bridge observation window.
A frigate had been blown apart.
"Damn it! Why aren't you returning fire? What are you all doing?"
The moment Duolun spoke, the entire bridge fell silent.
Come on, our backs are facing them. How are we supposed to return fire?
The main cannons on warships were enormous. They could only make minor adjustments and could not rotate 360 degrees. Only small-caliber weapons could turn freely.
"Your Highness, they're behind us. Our main weapons can't attack them!"
Rex, standing beside Duolun, had no choice but to remind him helplessly.
"Then move forward! Turn in an arc, circle around, and bite their tail! Don't you understand such a simple concept?"
That left everyone on the bridge even more speechless. Every warship was hiding behind asteroids. If they moved forward, was the entire fleet supposed to ram straight into them and commit mass suicide?
At this point, Rex could no longer stand by.
If the Ninth Prince kept this up, the entire fleet would be finished.
"All ships, turn left immediately and accelerate out of the enemy's attack range!"
"Yes!"
"Rex, you—"
"Your Highness, you may punish me however you wish after we return. For now, I must first command the fleet through this crisis and bring you safely back to the Jupiter base."
As Rex finished speaking, the proud Duolun looked utterly miserable. What did Rex mean by that?
Was he saying Duolun could not command at all? That there was no saving them unless Rex stepped in?
If Rex had known what Duolun was thinking, he would have wholeheartedly agreed.
At that moment, Rex had no time to worry about the Ninth Prince and continued directing the entire fleet through its turning maneuver.
Though Rex had made what appeared to be the only correct choice, turning a space warship was no easy matter. It was not like driving a car, where you simply turned the steering wheel.
A warship was a massive behemoth. To change direction, especially to turn in place, it needed to use the many small vector engines along both sides of the vessel to control its attitude.
Normally, turning such a huge warship ninety degrees took at least three to five minutes.
And during those three to five minutes, the entire fleet could only helplessly endure the 101st Task Force Fleet's relentless bombardment.
"Report! The enemy is turning left!"
"Mm. Order the fleet not to let up on the firepower. Especially the enemy carriers—before they escape, make sure every one of them is destroyed."
"Understood!"
Aboard the flagship of the 101st Fleet, Lin Fan watched the enemy move exactly as he had predicted and nodded in satisfaction.
Now it depended on whether they could eliminate all the carriers before the enemy finished turning and escaped. After all, that would determine the extent of their losses in the battles to come. It was extremely important.
Identification showed that the enemy fleet consisted of 208 warships, including 12 carriers. One minute after the attack began, three of those carriers had been destroyed.
Rex's heart was bleeding. These were his personal fleet, yet right before his eyes, they were being blown up one after another without the ability to fight back.
Only three minutes had passed since the attack began, yet they had already lost 52 warships. The carrier losses were particularly severe—10 of their 12 carriers had been destroyed.
Hm? Wait, the carrier losses seemed especially high?
Rex suddenly felt there was something unusual about the casualty figures. Why were the carrier losses so severe, exceeding eighty percent? And the two remaining carriers were both damaged as well?
It was as if the enemy had deliberately targeted his fleet's carriers. But why?
"Report! The entire fleet has completed its turn!"
"Advance at maximum speed immediately and get out of their firing range as quickly as possible!"
"Yes!"
Although Rex had noticed something unusual, the situation left him no time to think.
"Once the warships reach maximum speed, begin turning left and advance in an arc. Our warship technology is superior to humanity's. With our speed and turning efficiency, we can circle around and bite their fleet's tail."
"Yes, Commander."
"Also, Chief of Staff, calculate how long it will take to leave their firing range, and estimate our losses."
"Yes, Commander. According to calculations, we will reach maximum speed in approximately five minutes. After that, it will take about ten minutes to escape the enemy's firing range. However, our losses—"
"Speak!"
"Yes. We will lose as much as fifty percent of our warships!"
"Hiss—"
Rex drew in a sharp breath. The losses were far too great. This time, the Ninth Prince had really dragged them into a pit.
Only by wiping out this human fleet could his punishment be made lighter when they returned, right?
As for the human fleet, once he bit their tail, even if he had only a hundred warships left, he could still destroy them.
"How many enemy carriers are left?"
"One remains. It has already been heavily damaged!"
Aboard the flagship of the 101st Task Force Fleet, the enemy's remaining carrier was Lin Fan's greatest concern.
"Order every warship whose beams can reach that carrier to focus fire!"
"Yes!"
Three minutes later, the last carrier of the Oakes Empire fleet was destroyed.
Five minutes later, the Oakes Empire fleet reached maximum speed and began turning left, advancing in an arc.
"Report! The enemy has begun turning left. There is a high probability that they intend to circle around and get behind us."
"Mm, it's fine. Tell the fleet to keep attacking. Before they leave our firing range, destroy as many as possible!"
"Understood!"
"Oh, right. Have all the nuclear bombs I ordered earlier been planted by the mecha forces?"
"They have all been planted according to your orders, Commander!"
At Lin Fan's words, Liang Xue recalled a strange order he had given earlier.
He had ordered the mecha forces to install Drill Bombs on dozens of asteroids at a specific set of coordinates.
Those weapons were supposed to be used against planetary surfaces, not in space.
Because there was no air in space, nuclear bombs were far less destructive and posed little threat to warships unless they detonated extremely close to them.
Liang Xue glanced at the tactical display and did a quick calculation. Hm? The nuclear bombs had been planted between the mecha forces and the Oakes fleet's projected arcing route?
Wait, Drill Bombs? Installed on asteroids? The Oakes Empire fleet was expected to reach those asteroids in thirty minutes? The priority had been eliminating their carriers?
So that was it! Every step had been part of Lin Fan's plan—a plan to lure the Oakes Empire fleet into the abyss!
Having understood, Liang Xue's eyes widened as she stared at Lin Fan in shock!
Before you continue