After ending his call with Liang Xingchen, Li Fulai was a little excited.
Liang Xingchen had just told him two things.
First, Lin Fan's first sortie had been a classic battle worthy of inclusion in textbooks.
Second, because of this battle and the capture of the Oakes Empire's Ninth Prince, the higher-ups had adjusted their policy. Some of the real conditions at the front could now be disclosed within military academies to boost morale.
Of course, nothing would be made public among civilians until the Oakes Empire had been driven out of the Solar System.
With those two points in mind, Li Fulai began reviewing the battle details Liang Xingchen had sent over again and again, preparing to personally present an analysis the next day.
Early the next morning, all command department students at the Interstellar Military Academy received a notice to assemble in the academy's main auditorium at ten in the morning. The dean would personally explain a classic real-world battle.
All the students were bewildered. Since humanity had entered the interstellar age, hadn't they fought only a little over twenty battles of varying sizes?
Other than the final battle, where Liang Xingchen had achieved victory in the Asteroid Belt, which could be called a classic battle, hadn't every other battle been a crushing defeat at the hands of the Oakes Empire?
And that battle in the Asteroid Belt had already been taught several times. What other classic battle was there to discuss?
Though filled with doubts, the students all arrived at the main auditorium on time.
Yet what puzzled them was that not only were they there, but every command department instructor in the academy had also come and taken seats among the audience.
That was rather strange, wasn't it? Even if the dean was personally teaching a battle analysis, there was no need for such a grand arrangement.
Besides, didn't instructors usually sit off to the side of the podium when auditing a class? Since when did they sit in the student seating area?
At precisely ten o'clock, Li Fulai strode onto the podium with firm steps.
"Students, the battle case we'll discuss today took place yesterday. It was a battle between the 101st Task Force Fleet, under the Fourth Fleet of Mars Base, and the Oakes Empire within the asteroids."
The moment Li Fulai finished speaking, the students below could no longer remain calm.
What did I just hear? Yesterday? A battle with the Oakes Empire?
Didn't they flee the Solar System after Major General Liang Xingchen defeated the Oakes Empire in the Asteroid Belt several years ago?
What the hell? Did the dean travel through time, or did I? Why is what he said different from what I know?
"Quiet!"
Seeing the chaotic scene below, Li Fulai had anticipated this long ago and immediately barked out an order.
As the auditorium gradually quieted down, Li Fulai nodded and continued.
"I know what you're thinking. Let me first tell you this: in Federation Year 52, Major General Liang Xingchen led the Fourth Fleet to defeat the Oakes Empire's army of two hundred thousand in the Asteroid Belt. That is a fact. You need not doubt it!"
"However, after losing nearly half its fleet, the Oakes Empire did not flee the Solar System. Instead, it stationed itself at Jupiter, facing us across the asteroids, and has remained there ever since."
"Of course, during this standoff, small-scale clashes between both sides in the Asteroid Belt have never ceased. The battle we are discussing today was one that occurred yesterday."
"You didn't know because the Federation imposed information controls. After all, if this news spread, civilian society would have descended into chaos long ago. Once you learn of this, you must also keep it confidential for the time being. As Federation military personnel, you should understand the consequences of leaking secrets!"
After Li Fulai finished speaking, the students below found it difficult to accept for a moment.
So that meant they were still at war with the Oakes Empire?
And the enemy's army was right there at Jupiter?
Li Fulai simply stood on the stage and watched the students below. He knew these children needed time to process the information.
Several minutes later, when he felt it was about enough, Li Fulai continued.
"Now, we'll begin the formal lesson. Everyone, listen carefully."
"Yesterday at one in the afternoon, Mars Base received a distress signal from Sector 279 of the Asteroid Belt. It was sent by a resource collection vessel. The message said that it had encountered an Oakes Empire fleet of 208 warships and was currently hiding within the Asteroid Belt, requesting rescue."
As Li Fulai spoke, he explained some of the finer details.
It took a full two hours to complete the battle analysis.
The students below all wore excited expressions, and one student even shouted outright!
"As expected of our Federation's God of War, Major General Liang Xingchen! His use of tactics was simply incredible!"
Li Fulai, standing on the stage, was covered in black lines.
"Did I say Liang Xingchen commanded this battle?"
"Uh, Dean, other than our Federation's God of War, Major General Liang, who else could have fought such a beautiful battle?"
"The newly appointed commander of the 101st Task Force Fleet. You all know him!"
What? What did the dean say? The battle's commander wasn't Liang Xingchen? And we all knew him?
The students were bewildered. Lin Fan had only graduated a few days ago and should have only just arrived at Mars Base, so no one thought of him. Well, except for one person.
At that moment, Emma thought of a possibility.
Based on when Lin Fan had left, he should have arrived at Mars Base yesterday morning?
Could he have become the commander of a fleet the moment he arrived? And gone straight into battle?
Emma's eyes widened as she stared in shock at Dean Li Fulai, whose expression carried a faint trace of pride.
"Enough. The commander of the 101st Task Force Fleet is Federation Colonel Lin Fan. Yesterday was also his first real combat sortie after arriving at Mars Base."
"So it really was Lin Fan. Have you already reached this level?"
Upon hearing Li Fulai's confirmation, Emma could not help feeling somewhat dejected. It seemed she was getting farther and farther away from Lin Fan.
As for the other students, they exploded into an uproar.
What? Lin Fan?
He only graduated a few days ago, right? By the timing, he should have only just arrived at Mars Base!
Could he have become a fleet commander as soon as he arrived at the base? Shouldn't the commander of a fleet of that scale be at Major General rank?
That monster was still a monster even at the front lines.
Lin Fan's reputation as a monster within the academy had always been resounding. Though they found it unbelievable, most of them quickly accepted the fact.
One after another, they began howling excitedly throughout the auditorium.
Some shouted that they wanted to join the 101st Task Force Fleet at the front lines after graduation.
Some said they would use Lin Fan as their role model and drive the Oakes Empire out of the Solar System someday.
There were even some strange remarks mixed in, like wanting to have Lin Fan's babies and the like.
Well, Emma's murderous glare made the girls who had shouted the most enthusiastically earlier immediately shrink back.
In any case, regardless of the little episode involving Emma and those girls, Li Fulai was very satisfied with the result. The order from above to lift information controls at military academies had indeed been the right decision.
Weren't these students all pumped up like they had been injected with adrenaline?
Before you continue