The Second Asteroid Belt War (5)

Lin Fan's voice was a little cold, and Zhang Hu couldn't help but shiver all over.

"The commander's order: leave none behind. Attack!"

Immediately, the sounds of laser guns, screams, and curses echoed through the bridge. However, after just a few seconds, everything returned to peace.

"Lin Fan, you killed the Ninth Prince too. Isn't that a bit improper?"

"The Oakes Empire's fleet of 30,000 warships has already passed through the asteroid belt and is currently engaged in fierce battle with the commander in Sector 016. Their subsequent 90,000 warships are also on their way. If we lose this battle, humanity will be annihilated. If we win, the Oakes Empire won't have enough strength to attack again for 10 years. Therefore, the Ninth Prince is no longer useful."

"The most crucial thing is, who dared to lay a hand on my wife!"

"The latter reason is the real reason, isn't it!"

Liang Xue knew that the string of excuses Lin Fan had just given was just that—excuses. Even with the major battle already underway, as long as the Ninth Prince was held captive, there was still a great chance of forcing Adams to retreat. It wasn't as if the Ninth Prince had become completely useless, as Lin Fan claimed.

However, Liang Xue still felt a flutter of happiness in her heart.

"Some things are better left unsaid when you see through them. Wife, you still have a lot to learn!"

"Beep beep, Commander, it's Will. What's the situation on your end?"

"Mhm, Liang Xue has been rescued. Wood and Duolun are dead!"

"Good, it's great that Deputy Liang has been rescued. However, Commander, there's a thorny problem now. Long-range detectors have discovered a fleet in Sector 031 approaching our battlefield. It's estimated to enter the battlefield in 15 minutes."

"No need to worry. That's our ally. Continue to pin down the enemy's main force on your end. Don't engage them head-on, but don't give them a chance to disengage either. Do you understand?"

"Yes! I understand!"

At this moment, Will recalled the message Lin Fan had asked him to send through the secure line earlier.

It seemed that the approaching fleet was the reinforcement fleet. But which fleet was it? Judging by the scale detected, it was around 5,000 warships.

Wait, the Fourth Fleet had 20,000 warships. Currently, 15,000 were in fierce battle in Sector 016. Because dozens of small fleets were currently patrolling the asteroid belt, they couldn't return immediately. Their numbers were around 5,000.

So that's how it is. The commander and the admiral didn't have those fleets rush to the battlefield. Instead, they secretly assembled them in a certain area of the asteroid belt until Commander Lin Fan's previous message was sent.

Will suddenly understood the key to all the problems and immediately stopped worrying about the current battlefield. Commander Lin Fan had planned everything hours ago. What was there to worry about? He just needed to execute it flawlessly.

He brought Liang Xue to where their mechs were parked, and just like last time, they both entered the same cockpit.

"Everyone, disengage immediately! Evacuate according to the planned route!"

After flying out of the transport ship with Zhang Hu and the others, Lin Fan immediately issued the order to all mech pilots.

In a place like the asteroid belt, it was naturally not a simple matter for warships to withdraw from a fierce battlefield. However, mechs were the complete opposite. By hiding in a dense cluster of asteroids, they could make the warships attacking them lose their targets.

As for the nearly 400 Oakes Empire warships ahead that were entangled with Will, their commander discovered what happened to the Ninth Prince behind them and wanted to go back to support. Unfortunately, Will didn't give them that chance.

Every time the enemy tried to turn back, Will would command his fleet to emerge from behind various asteroids and launch a fierce attack. And when the enemy turned to first eliminate the 101st Task Force Fleet, Will would retreat his fleet back into the asteroid clusters.

Faithfully executing Lin Fan's orders – don't engage head-on, but don't give the enemy a chance to disengage – made the Oakes commander grit his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do!

If he ignored the 101st Task Force Fleet, turned 180 degrees, and went back to rescue, the enemy would inevitably launch a fierce attack during his turn, causing heavy losses to his own side. Furthermore, on his way back to rescue, they would bite at his heels and pursue him relentlessly!

Then, out of his current 372 ships, perhaps less than 100 would be able to return to the Ninth Prince's side, let alone provide rescue.

As for the fleet on the other side, they were also unable to spare any hands. The remaining 70-odd warships and more than 20,000 fighter jets were in a chaotic battle with over 8,000 mechs, making it impossible to retreat and rescue the Ninth Prince.

After being annoyed by Will a few times and feeling somewhat agitated, another piece of information arrived, plunging the Oakes commander into despair.

"Commander, a human fleet has appeared on my flank, numbering about... about 5,000 ships!"

"What?"

According to the last report, Adams' fleet of 90,000 warships would still take 36 hours to arrive. The vanguard fleet was still engaged in a fierce battle with the human fleet, and their own combined fleet had only a little over 500 warships. They were in an absolutely unfavorable situation. How could they possibly fight against 5,000 human warships?

The commander fell silent, unable to think of any way to survive.

"Turn immediately. Regardless of the cost, proceed to the transport ship. Simultaneously, order the warships guarding the transport ship to select the one in the best condition, take the Ninth Prince aboard the flagship, and use their speed advantage to help the Ninth Prince escape! All other warships will cover our retreat."

The Oakes commander decided to take a gamble, at the cost of complete annihilation, to get the Ninth Prince out.

But he didn't know yet that the remaining 60-odd warships in the central area, after Lin Fan withdrew with the mech unit, had already dispatched landing craft to fly towards the transport ship.

As the fleet began to turn, Will seized the opportunity to charge out from the asteroid clusters again and attack fiercely. However, the situation was slightly different this time. The Oakes Empire's fleet completely disregarded the significant losses inflicted by Will and continued to turn.

At this moment, inside his mech, Lin Fan connected to the approaching reinforcement fleet via the secret line number 7. Liang Xingchen had already issued orders to them: during this battle, all 32 of their fleets would be under the unified command of Major General Lin Fan.

"Have 20 fleets cooperate with the 101st Task Force Fleet from the flank to annihilate the enemy completely. Simultaneously, send 2 fleets to support the mech units on the third battlefield. The remaining ten fleets will eliminate the remnants of the enemy in the central second battlefield."

After the orders were issued, the 32 small fleets began to act according to Lin Fan's commands.

As for the fleet on the main battlefield that had completed its 180-degree turn and was retreating, its commander's expression was extremely grim. For this 180-degree turn, his fleet had directly paid the price of 120 warships. Moreover, they were now being attacked from behind by the 101st Task Force Fleet, which was biting at their heels.

"Commander! This is bad!"

"What is it now?"

"The central escort fleet reports that they've already sent landing craft to the transport ship, but... but..."

"Speak quickly, but what?"

"But they found the body of His Highness the Ninth Prince!"

"Body... body!"

The commander slumped back into his seat, his eyes vacant, muttering incessantly.

It's over. Everything is finished. Even if I go back, it's a dead end!