Half an hour later, when the last Oakes Empire warship was sunk, the entire battlefield fell silent.
"Order one fleet from the support force to remain behind and clean up the battlefield, rescuing all our soldiers who may have survived. The remaining thirty-one fleets will follow my fleet to Sector 016."
"Yes!"
After returning to the Uranus, Lin Fan and Liang Xue instantly resumed their roles as commander and adjutant.
"Also, once the fleet departs, have the commanders of those thirty-one fleets join me for a video conference."
"Yes, I'll notify them right away."
Ten minutes later, Lin Fan left one fleet behind to clean up the battlefield and conduct rescue operations, then led the other thirty-one fleets toward Sector 016.
"Everyone, I am Lin Fan, commander of the 101st Task Force Fleet!"
"Under Commander Liang's orders, I will temporarily command the thirty-two fleets here in battle. During this time, I hope everyone will obey my commands. Any objections?"
"No!"
After all, Lin Fan had quite a reputation in the Fourth Fleet. Moreover, the thirty-one commanders present all commanded small fleets, and the highest-ranking among them was merely a Major General like Lin Fan, so none of them had any complaints.
"Good. Since the upcoming battle is extremely dangerous, one wrong step could cost us everything, so listen carefully. I'll now explain the tactics!"
Ten minutes later, all thirty-one commanders stared at Lin Fan in shock.
So you and Commander Liang had planned this together? No wonder Commander Liang had created such a bizarre formation of mutual attrition and mutual destruction with the enemy in Sector 016.
Before this, when everyone saw the battle reports from the main battlefield, they could hardly believe Commander Liang would fight like that. It had looked like the work of an amateur.
So the two of you had been digging a pit for the Oakes Empire?
But was this tactic devised by the commander or by Lin Fan?
It doesn't really feel like the commander's tactical style. Could it have been Lin Fan? If it really was him, this guy has limitless potential. He may even surpass Commander Liang, the Federation's God of War, someday.
"Alright, make your preparations. We'll reach the battlefield in approximately one hour and thirty minutes!"
"Yes!"
At the same time, in Sector 016, the Fourth Fleet and the Oakes Empire's vanguard fleet had already been locked in fierce battle for four full hours.
The four fleets on both sides had each formed snake-like formations, together creating a circle.
Thus, only the head of each fleet's snake formation could attack the tail of the fleet ahead of it. Less than ten percent of all warships could engage in combat at the same time.
Precisely because of this, after four full hours of intense fighting, neither side had suffered severe losses. Each had lost around two thousand warships.
If things continued normally, the Federation's Fourth Fleet would eventually be wiped out, while the Oakes Empire's vanguard fleet would still have roughly thirteen thousand warships remaining.
Cody was beginning to feel doubtful. Was this really Liang Xingchen?
But after pondering it for a long time, he could find no flaw. In a formation like this, whoever left the circle first would completely expose their flank to the fleet behind them and suffer a devastating strike. As long as he did not make any reckless moves and maintained the formation, victory was certain.
Cody gritted his teeth and decided not to overthink it any longer. They would simply keep wearing each other down until Liang Xingchen was exhausted.
However, Liang Xingchen received a message at that very moment that put him at ease.
Liang Xue had been rescued. Duolun and Wood had been killed. The support fleet was already on the way and could reach the battlefield in one hour and thirty minutes!
"Lin Fan really hasn't let me down!"
"Commander, what did you say?"
Jiang Hai seemed to have heard Liang Xingchen mutter something and quickly asked.
"Nothing. Tell the soldiers to hold on a little longer. At most, the outcome will be decided in two hours!"
What? Jiang Hai was utterly baffled. Commander, I may not be well educated, but don't fool me.
At this rate, it'll take at least another thirty hours to decide the outcome, and we'll be the ones completely wiped out.
Yet the commander says the outcome will be decided in two hours? Am I really that incapable? Have I failed to see the hidden truth after all these hours?
Jiang Hai was beginning to question his entire life.
An hour and a half later.
Aboard the Uranus, Lin Fan was speaking with the other thirty-one commanders on the bridge.
"All fleets will use the designations I assigned earlier to make command easier!"
"Understood!"
Earlier, Lin Fan had directly renamed the thirty-one fleets Fleets 1 through 31 for easier command.
"Good. Fleets 1 through 16 will head to the left side of the Four Snakes Biting Their Tails Formation and attack the flanks of the fleets they pass. Fleets 17 through 31, together with the 101st Task Force Fleet, will head to the right side of the formation and likewise attack the flanks of the enemy fleets they pass."
"Yes!"
"Good. Soon, we'll see whether the Oakes Empire commander continues to maintain the Four Snakes Biting Their Tails Formation and lets us keep attacking their flanks, or chooses to break away from it and expose his fleets' flanks to the Fourth Fleet's main force. No matter what they choose, victory will belong to us. All fleets, begin moving!"
"Yes!"
The entire force immediately split into two. Each side had sixteen small fleets and more than two thousand warships, setting their targets on the left and right sides of the Four Snakes Biting Their Tails Formation ahead.
"Report! Two human fleets detected, approximately 2,400 warships in each fleet."
"Hm? Nearly five thousand warships? What direction are they coming from?"
"Report! One fleet is on a course along the left side of the battlefield, while the other is on a course along the right side!"
"What are they trying to do? What can nearly five thousand warships accomplish in the current situation?"
"Commander, the enemy has reached the outer perimeter of our battlefield. They have deployed facing the battlefield in a semicircular encirclement!"
"Hm? This is bad! How did I not think of this? We are currently locked in a tail-biting formation, and none of us can leave it first. Those two human fleets are outside this circle. At regular intervals, we will inevitably pass in front of one of them, exposing our flanks to these two reinforcement fleets."
"Commander, should we accept some losses and break away from this attrition formation as soon as possible?"
"No. If we break away, we'll directly expose our flanks to the Fourth Fleet, and our losses will be even greater!"
Cody was flustered. He simulated the outcomes of both breaking away and staying in formation in every possible way, only to discover that whether he withdrew or not, his remaining twenty-five thousand warships would ultimately be wiped out. The only difference was whether it happened sooner or later.
The atmosphere within the Fourth Fleet, however, was completely different.
"Commander, so that's how it is! I finally understand now. No wonder you said the outcome would be decided in two hours."
"Heh, Lin Fan designed the entire tactic. Notify the whole fleet: if the enemy shows any sign of breaking away from the Four Snakes Biting Their Tails Formation, immediately seize their flanks and hit them hard. If they show no sign of leaving, we'll continue having the snake heads bite the snake tails. Leave the task of flank attacks to Lin Fan!"
"Yes!"
Before you continue