The Second Asteroid Belt War (6)

Half an hour later, after the last warship of the Oakes Empire was sunk, the entire battlefield fell silent.

"Order the support fleet to leave one detachment to clean up the battlefield and rescue any surviving allied soldiers. The remaining 31 fleets will follow my fleet to Sector 016."

"Yes!"

Back on the Uranus, Lin Fan and Liang Xue instantly resumed their roles as commander and deputy.

"Also, after the fleet departs, have the commanders of those 31 fleets join me for a video conference."

"Yes, I'll notify them right away."

Ten minutes later, Lin Fan left one fleet to clean up the battlefield and conduct rescue operations, and then led the other 31 fleets towards Sector 016.

"Everyone, I am the commander of the 101st Task Force Fleet, Lin Fan!"

"According to Commander Liang's orders, I will be temporarily leading the 32 fleets here in combat. During this period, I expect everyone to obey my commands. Any objections?"

"None!"

After all, Lin Fan had a strong reputation within the Fourth Fleet. Moreover, the 31 commanders present were all commanders of smaller fleets. The highest-ranking among them was a Major General, just like Lin Fan, so there were no complaints.

"Good. Since the upcoming operation is extremely dangerous, and one wrong step means losing everything, everyone must listen carefully. I will begin explaining the tactics now!"

Ten minutes later, all thirty-one commanders looked at Lin Fan with shocked expressions.

So you and Commander Liang were in cahoots? No wonder Commander Liang engaged the enemy in a strange, mutually destructive formation in Sector 016, resulting in heavy losses for both sides.

Before, when everyone saw the battle reports from the main battlefield, they couldn't believe how Commander Liang was fighting. It looked like the work of an amateur.

So, these were all traps you two were setting for the Oakes Empire?

But who came up with this tactic, the Commander or Lin Fan?

It doesn't quite feel like the Commander's usual style. Could it be Lin Fan? If it really is him, this guy has an unlimited future. He might even surpass the Federation's God of War, Commander Liang, in the future.

"Alright, everyone prepare yourselves. We should arrive at the battlefield in about 1 hour and 30 minutes!"

"Yes!"

At the same time, in Sector 016, the Fourth Fleet and the vanguard fleet of the Oakes Empire had already been locked in fierce combat for a full 4 hours.

Since all four fleets of both sides were arranged in a serpentine pattern, forming a circle together, only the head of each fleet could attack the tail of the preceding fleet. It could be said that the number of warships simultaneously participating in the attack was less than 10% of the total number of warships.

Because of this, after 4 hours of intense fighting, the losses on both sides were not significant, with each side losing around 2,000 warships.

If things continued as they were, the Federation's Fourth Fleet would be completely annihilated, while the Oakes Empire's vanguard fleet would still have about 13,000 ships remaining.

Cody was somewhat perplexed at this moment. Was this really Liang Xingchen?

However, after thinking for a long time, he couldn't find any flaws. After all, in such a formation, whoever left the circle first would completely expose their flank to the following fleet, thus suffering a devastating blow. As long as he didn't move recklessly and maintained this formation, victory was assured.

Cody gritted his teeth, deciding not to think any further. He would just continue this attrition until Liang Xingchen was worn down.

However, Liang Xingchen at this moment received a message that put his mind at ease.

[Liang Xue has been rescued. Duolun and Wood have been killed. The support fleet is on its way and will arrive at the battlefield in 1 hour and 30 minutes!]

"Lin Fan truly did not disappoint me!"

"Commander, what did you say?"

Jiang Hai seemed to have heard something Liang Xingchen said and quickly asked.

"Nothing. Tell the soldiers to hold on a little longer. Victory or defeat will be decided in at most 2 hours!"

What? Jiang Hai was a bit confused. Commander, I'm not well-educated, don't lie to me.

Given the current situation, it would take at least another 30 hours to decide the outcome, and it would be with our complete annihilation.

But the Commander said the outcome would be decided in 2 hours? Could it be that I'm just too slow and haven't figured out the trick after several hours?

Jiang Hai was starting to doubt his entire existence.

Time passed, and an hour and a half later.

On the Uranus, Lin Fan was on the bridge, communicating with the other 31 commanders.

"All fleets, proceed according to the numbering I provided earlier for easier command!"

"Understood!"

Lin Fan had previously renamed these 31 fleets as Fleet 1 to Fleet 31 for ease of command.

"Good. Fleets 1-16, proceed to the left flank of the Four Serpent Biting Tail formation and attack the flanks of the passing fleets. Fleets 17-31, along with the 101st Task Force Fleet, proceed to the right flank of the Four Serpent Biting Tail formation and similarly attack the flanks of the enemy fleets."

"Yes!"

"Alright, let's see how the Oakes Empire's commander responds. Will they continue to maintain the Four Serpent Biting Tail formation, allowing us to continuously attack their flanks, or will they decide to break away from the formation and expose their fleet's flanks to the main force of the Fourth Fleet? Regardless of their choice, victory will be ours. All fleets, begin your maneuvers!"

"Yes!"

The entire fleet was immediately divided into two. Each side consisted of 16 smaller fleets, with over 2,000 warships. They each set their targets on the left and right flanks of the Four Serpent Biting Tail formation ahead.

"Report, two human fleets detected, each with approximately 2,400 warships."

"Hmm? Nearly 5,000 warships? What is their position?"

"Report, one fleet's course is on the left side of the battlefield, and the other fleet's course is on the right side!"

"What are they planning? With the current situation, what can nearly 5,000 warships do?"

"Commander, the enemy has reached the outskirts of our battlefield, deploying in a semi-envelopment formation facing our battle lines!"

"Huh? This is bad? How did I not think of this? We're currently in a tail-chasing formation, and neither side can break formation first. The two human fleets are outside this circle, and periodically, we will inevitably pass in front of one of these fleets, exposing our flanks to these two reinforcement fleets."

"Commander, should we perhaps suffer some losses and break this mutually draining formation as quickly as possible?"

"No, if we break formation, our flanks will be directly exposed to the Fourth Fleet, and the losses will be even greater!"

Cody was starting to panic. He had simulated the outcomes of breaking formation and not breaking formation in various ways, ultimately finding that whether he broke formation or not, his remaining 25,000 warships were doomed to be annihilated, with the only difference being sooner or later!

The atmosphere within the Fourth Fleet at this moment was entirely different.

"Commander, so that's how it is! I finally understand! No wonder you said the battle would be decided in two hours."

"Heh heh, the entire tactic was designed by Lin Fan. Inform the entire fleet that as soon as they notice the enemy attempting to break the 'Four Snakes Biting Tails' formation, immediately attack their flanks and hit them hard. If the enemy shows no signs of breaking formation, we will continue this snake-head-biting-snake-tail strategy, and the task of flanking attacks will be left to Lin Fan!"

"Yes!"