Asteroid Belt, Sector 016.
As the last Oakes Empire warship was destroyed, the void was already littered with the wreckage of warships.
Even at the very end, not a single Oakes Empire warship sent out a surrender signal, making Lin Fan sigh at the tenacity of their fighting spirit.
Over the entire battle, the Fourth Fleet's main force lost a total of 3,800 warships in the opening hours, then another 500 warships while encircling Cody's fleet in the later stages.
Lin Fan's 101st Fleet lost 27 warships while intercepting Duolun in Sector 027 during the opening phase, then another 31 while encircling Cody's fleet later on.
As for the other reinforcement fleets, they had only a few lightly damaged warships in Sector 027 during the opening phase, but lost a total of 528 warships while encircling Cody's fleet later on.
After calculations, the Fourth Fleet's total losses came to 4,886 warships and 3,617 mechs. As for personnel losses, they could not be accurately calculated until the battlefield had been cleared.
The Oakes Empire fleet, meanwhile, had lost 30,000 warships, along with Ninth Prince Duolun.
"Lin Fan, well done. But an even bigger problem is waiting for us ahead!"
"I understand. Adams's follow-up fleet!"
"Yes. It is expected to number 90,000 warships. On our side, fewer than 15,000 warships can still maintain combat capability. The situation is still far from optimistic!"
"Commander, have you found out how they crossed the Asteroid Belt without being detected by us?"
"Your father has already captured the Scott Family's key members. They successfully took control of some of our detectors within the Asteroid Belt and fed us false information."
"What reason did Scott have for doing this? I don't see any benefit in it."
"That goes back many years. Back then, Wood was still the captain of a Second Fleet Battlecruiser. When the Proxima Centauri Star Path defense line collapsed, he was ordered to join the rearguard fleet and cover the evacuation of the remaining two thousand-plus warships.
Seven years ago, when everyone believed he had died at Proxima, the Battlecruiser he commanded returned to the Solar System through the Star Path. Of course, by the time it returned, there was not a single intact spot on the Battlecruiser. It could barely sail. Coupled with the carefully crafted tale of how he had fought his way out of the encirclement, few people doubted him.
Thinking about it now, he and his crew must have been captured at the time, then deliberately released to return as spies. Those crew members from back then, whether on Earth or at Mars Base, have now all been brought under control.
As for the Scott Family, your father has confirmed that they were unaware of it. Wood merely exploited the family's head's hunger for power to make it happen without his knowledge."
"So that was it. Then we can now determine the route Adams's follow-up fleet will take?"
"That's right. Look!"
Liang Xingchen directly sent Lin Fan a Star Chart of the asteroids, with a twisting red line drawn through its center.
"Commander, our best option is still to go deeper into the asteroids and find a suitable point along this route to launch an ambush!"
"Exactly. That was my thought as well. The key is which point we choose and how we conduct the ambush. Adams was ambushed by me once seven years ago, so he will certainly advance with extreme caution now. It won't be easy to catch an opening!"
"Commander, do you remember the move I used in the simulated battle against you at my graduation ceremony?"
"You mean?"
"That's right, but we can adapt the tactic flexibly. We only need to then—"
Three minutes later, Liang Xingchen's eyes widened.
He was equally shocked by the tactic Lin Fan had proposed. If it succeeded, it would absolutely become one of the most classic tactics in human history.
"Good. We'll proceed according to your tactic. The reinforcement fleets will remain under your command for now. You'll be responsible for the fleet's left wing!"
"Yes!"
After the two discussed a few more details, they ended the communication and began preparing according to the plan.
An hour later, after clearing the battlefield, recovering a large number of escape pods, and gathering as many recoverable bodies as possible, the Fourth Fleet's remaining roughly 14,000 warships that still retained solid combat capability set out deeper into the Asteroid Belt.
Beyond 6.2 AU, the Oakes Empire's follow-up fleet of 90,000 warships was advancing through the Asteroid Belt.
At that moment, Adams's feelings were complicated.
Just over an hour earlier, he had received Cody's final communication, informing him that Prince Duolun had died and that the vanguard fleet was about to be completely wiped out.
A brilliant plan he had thought foolproof had taken an unexpected turn. Duolun's death in particular meant that the entire Third Imperial Guard Legion might have to be buried with him.
The soldiers of the Oakes Empire were very proud. If ordered to die on the battlefield, they would not utter a word of complaint. Just like Cody's vanguard fleet, not one of them would surrender even if they fought to the last man.
But if they learned that they were about to be executed by the emperor rather than die honorably on the battlefield, that would be entirely different. A mutiny would be highly likely.
The only solution was to crush Liang Xingchen's Fourth Fleet, then conquer all of humanity. With such merit, perhaps he could plead with Your Majesty to execute only him and pardon the others in the Third Imperial Guard Legion.
Therefore, Adams did not tell anyone else about Duolun's death. He knew very well that once the news spread, forget the battle ahead—even if the fleet did not mutiny, morale would certainly plummet to rock bottom.
The Oakes fleet continued along its predetermined route, while the Federal Fourth Fleet also entered the depths of the Asteroid Belt. The entire Asteroid Belt was eerily quiet.
Not until the third day did the two sides finally meet.
"Commander Adams, a human fleet has been discovered ahead, numbering approximately 15,000 warships!"
"Hm?"
Adams stroked his chin, an incredulous expression appearing on his face!
Cody had indeed reported in his final message that they had destroyed roughly 5,000 human warships, leaving around 15,000. But the question was, what was Liang Xingchen trying to do?
Use his remaining strength to confront my 90,000 warships head-on? He shouldn't be the kind of person to seek death like that, should he?"
Or had the two sides simply run into each other face-to-face in a chance encounter battle?
Over the years, Adams had also obtained considerable intelligence on humanity from Wood.
During the great battle in the Asteroid Belt seven years ago, although Liang Xingchen's ambush had cost Adams 80,000 warships, the Federal Fleet's own losses had certainly not been small either. After the battle, only 12,000 warships remained in the Fourth Fleet.
Moreover, over the past seven years, humanity had been confined within the Asteroid Belt, with limited resources and no ability to mass-produce warships.
Thus, after seven years, they had only barely restored the Fourth Fleet to full strength. They did not have many spare warships.
No matter how he looked at it, the fleet before him had to be humanity's last fleet. This situation could only be explained as a coincidence. It seemed humanity was destined for extinction.
"Order the fleet forward. Crush humanity's final resistance directly!"
"Yes, Commander Adams!"
Before you continue