Of course, only a fool would pass up an advantage. His psionic senses spread along the radar waves of the Qinyuan, and soon scanned the approaching pirate fleet.
"Attention, all ships. Aim according to my orders. Coordinates 123.452.625, bearing. Take aim. Fire!"
The Qinyuan's order echoed through the communications channel. The bearing was calculated relative to his flagship, of course. Following the coordinates he spoke aloud, the radar operator would quickly mark the firing direction for the entire fleet, allowing them to concentrate their fire and complete a coordinated volley.
For a novice radar operator, this process would take about a dozen seconds. But for a Master-level crew member, by the time the captain issued the order to fire, the bearing had already been marked and transmitted to the entire fleet.
Even with the coordinates provided, NPC Crew still needed to calculate the firing direction based on their own ships' positions. As a result, the first volley didn't begin until 13 seconds later.
"Zzzzt—"
Electromagnetic shells streaked away. To make the most of their long-range artillery advantage, the fleet's shipboard weapons were primarily electromagnetic cannons. In a single volley, more than a hundred alloy projectiles of various sizes flew at near-light speed.
"Second volley, coordinates 125.442.621!"
"Third volley, coordinates 127.451.652!"
"Fourth volley, coordinates 134.423.642!"
""
Unlike the Qinyuan's single-ship efficiency, each volley from the entire fleet took at least 13 seconds. Its efficiency was far lower.
But that was only compared to what Lin Zhichen had seen. Among the other fleets in the Solar System, barely any could complete a volley within 30 seconds. That was the enormous value of Master-level NPCs in actual combat.
With each successive volley, the artillery skills of every NPC gunner in the Meteor Fleet improved rapidly. At the same time, a brand-new skill appeared on their personal panels: Long-Range Artillery!
After more than a dozen consecutive volleys, the first wave of shells finally reached the enemy fleet. The pirates remained oblivious, still following their usual course through space. They had no idea that the Reaper had come for them in the darkness!
The outdated radar was poor at detecting kinetic weapons like electromagnetic projectiles. A rain of shells gathered into a net, enveloping a Pirate Raider.
His psionic perception merged with the radar waves. A scene light-seconds away appeared in his senses: the locked-on Raider was targeted and subjected to concentrated fire, with hundreds of shells raining down like meteors.
Because of the skill level, most of the shells missed, vanishing into the darkness. But that was the advantage of a coordinated volley: with such an overwhelming barrage, there were always a few lucky hits.
"Boom!"
The ship was struck by seven shells in all, one of them a hundred-megaton cannon shell fired by a Destroyer. The shells from this large gun were far more powerful than those of a small electromagnetic cannon. Hit repeatedly, the Raider had almost no chance and exploded into a ball of flame.
The pirate fleet was caught completely off guard. Its poor command meant that, at the first sign of an ambush, it neither scattered nor followed any other orders. Instead, the ships continued on their original course, and the communications channel descended into chaos.
Soon, just over ten seconds later, the second volley arrived. Unsurprisingly, the unlucky ship, hit by eight shells, once again erupted into flames.
Then came the third volley, and the fourth...
Under the continuous bombardment, a few ships managed to escape unscathed. One Pirate Gunboat, for example, remained combat-ready even after being hit by six electromagnetic projectiles.
But most were not so fortunate. After more than a dozen consecutive volleys, over one Pirate Gunboat and six Raiders had been destroyed, and the pirate fleet's main force had been dealt a devastating blow.
The surviving ships didn't have to wait for dawn. The Space Fighter Swarm had finally reached attack position. It fired a volley, launching over a hundred Nuclear Torpedoes, which burst into clusters of sparks across space.
By the time everything settled, the battle was over. Before the Meteor Fleet could use any new tactics, the pirate fleet they had encountered had been completely wiped out.
"Not bad. The Long-Range Artillery skill has reached Beginner level across the board, and a few have even advanced straight to Intermediate." Lin Zhichen smiled. Compared with a few measly spoils, this was what he valued more.
"Big brother, we've collected the spoils. There's another Destroyer blueprint! The rest is just odds and ends, but together they should sell for about a hundred Energy Coins." Wei Peng appeared in the Holographic Projection, beaming.
"Mm. Pack everything up. We're moving out," Lin Zhichen said. He had already noticed that his Fleet Command skill was close to reaching Intermediate level.
According to word within the Federation, a qualified fleet commander needed to have at least an Advanced Fleet Command skill. Only at that level could someone competently lead a small fleet in a normal engagement.
"One more battle. No, at least two more, and I'll level up."
The entire fleet set out once more, advancing slowly along the Asteroid Belt's course.
They had no plans to establish a base in the Solar System. According to Lin Zhichen's plan, the Meteor Fleet would circle along the Asteroid Belt until it completed a full circuit around the Solar System.
Any wild NPC fleets they encountered along the way, strong or weak, would be wiped out. They would level up, earn military merit, and increase the Mercenary Group's rank at the same time.
The second battle came sooner than expected. Just five days later, a second pirate fleet appeared before them.
"Seven Pirate Gunboats and thirty-four Pirate Raiders. In the Solar System, a fleet of this size counts as medium-sized!" Wu Tianyi said gravely as he studied the radar readings.
Most private fleets belonging to Earth's small and medium-sized family conglomerates couldn't match the size of this NPC fleet!
"Prepare the fleet formation. Launch the Space Fighters. Main Fleet, engage!"
They used the same formation as before: the carrier stayed behind while the Main Fleet went into battle.
The pirate fleet was larger, since it lacked support from a Cruiser, but that did nothing to improve its control of the battle. By the time its crew realized they were under attack, the Meteor Fleet had already completed its saturation bombardment.
Lin Zhichen sat aboard the Qinyuan, feeling the ship's hull shudder. After leveling up once, the Frigate's gun turrets had doubled from three to six, doubling its firepower.
Thanks to the skill bonuses and the Master-level Long-Range Artillery skill of its NPC gunners, the Qinyuan's shots almost never missed, making it far more efficient than the rest of the fleet.
As he pondered this, he suddenly sensed the entire fleet's efficiency improve again. A volley, which had previously taken around 13 seconds, now took less than 10—about nine seconds.
He checked the NPC Crew serving under him and was pleased to find that their skills had generally reached Intermediate level.
Clearly, intense combat was the best way to improve NPC crew members' skill proficiency. In just two battles, the crew had gone from inexperienced rookies to competent sailors.
With their skill levels upgraded, the entire fleet's combat power surged. The barrage grew denser, and for the pirate fleet, that meant more and more ships caught fire and exploded under the relentless artillery fire.
In just half an hour, the pirate fleet had been nearly wiped out. Only a few Raiders remained, barely holding on under the Space Fighter Swarm's assault.
But that wasn't the end. The carrier in the rear sent an urgent message. Since it was equipped with a higher-powered gravitation sensor, its radar could scan a wider area. A new pirate fleet was racing toward them at full speed from four light-seconds away, heading straight for the battered pirate fleet.
"Are these guys from the same pirate faction?" Wei Peng asked, even though he'd spent the whole battle watching from the sidelines. "They don't look friendly. Radar Scan shows there's a Pirate Pursuit Cruiser in that fleet!"
Pirate Pursuit Cruisers were pirate ships of the Cruiser class, famous for their speed.
"It's a Carrier-type Pursuer. The enemy has launched Space Fighters!" Wu Tianyi said, looking at the radar alert.
Cruisers could be fitted with hangars. By sacrificing firepower, they could be converted into miniature carriers. These modified Cruisers lost their main guns and could only be fitted with medium-sized turrets. In terms of firepower, they were even inferior to Destroyers equipped with large turrets.
But they had their advantages. The modified hangar could hold three squadrons, or thirty-six Space Fighters!
To be honest, that number of fighters would have little impact on the battlefield. But against a small warship force made up mainly of Destroyers and Frigates, the Space Fighters' greater freedom of movement gave them an intelligence advantage. They could spot targets before the enemy and prepare in advance.
Just like now, with thirty-six Space Fighters deployed, if they had no fighters of their own, they would have to endure the enemy's harassment.
But there were no "ifs" here. As soon as the enemy fighter swarm came into view, one squadron of Space Fighters changed targets and swooped toward the pirates.
Even the slowest Space Fighter could fly at nearly one kilometer per second. Unless a ship carried point-defense cannons specifically designed for anti-aircraft use, a Space Fighter's only enemy was another Space Fighter.
More than ten minutes later, the two sides finally engaged in the Asteroid Belt. With their superior fighter performance, the Meteor Fleet spotted the enemy first and fired a volley of Laser Beams from beyond the enemy's range.
The power of airborne laser weapons was far less than that of shipboard weapons, but they had the advantage of speed. Each fighter carried four Laser Cannons, and one squadron of 144 fighters unleashed a rain of beams that engulfed the pirate fighters.
It was like a net of light beams, relentlessly washing over the pirate fighters.
A faint glow of energy shimmered around them, weakening the Laser Beams' power. These were Energy Shields, which were highly effective at reducing energy damage.
But the Meteor Fleet's attack didn't come in just one wave. Under the relentless rain of light, the fighters' once-sturdy hulls began to melt, their temperature rising to extremes. Then, with a roar, they exploded into balls of flame.
Like the pirate warships, the pirate fighters favored speed over defense. After just three waves of light beams, the pirate fighter swarm began exploding on a massive scale. Fireballs lit up one after another, and nearly half of the pirate fighters were destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Far in the rear, Lin Zhichen took the opportunity to check the Space Fighter battle. The tiny blips marking pirate fighters vanished rapidly. After only a few minutes of fighting, every pirate fighter had been destroyed.
As he recalled his own fighters and checked the pilots' skills, he found that after a brief aerial battle, most of the NPC pilots in this squadron had reached Advanced level, with a few even advancing to Expert level.
In the Federation, training professionals of this caliber usually took years and cost hundreds of units of Energy Coins to produce a batch of highly skilled workers.
But with his talent, a few small-scale battles were all it took to achieve the same result, at virtually no cost.
"Too bad the pilots' skills are generally still too low. If they were a little higher, the fighter swarm alone could easily deal with the pirate fleet."
Slightly disappointed, Lin Zhichen ordered the fleet to focus fire on the three remaining pirate ships that were still struggling. One volley wiped them all out.
With the danger of being caught between two enemy forces gone, Lin Zhichen breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the warships to rapidly change formation, preparing to face a new pirate fleet.
An Aircraft Carrier's strength lay in its carrier-based aircraft. Without them, it was a toothless tiger. As the flagship of this pirate fleet, the carrier Cruiser was less powerful in terms of firepower than even a Pirate Gunboat. Its only advantage was that it had more powerful radar and wouldn't be helpless against electromagnetic artillery fire.
After more than a month of training, the Meteor Fleet had gone from battlefield rookies to a well-drilled regular force. With Lin Zhichen's skill bonuses, the entire fleet changed formation smoothly.
By the time the enemy ships were three light-seconds away, the Meteor Fleet had completed preparations for its first volley. Electromagnetic shells shot out toward the leading Pirate Gunboat, concentrating fire on it.
The Pirate Pursuit Cruiser's radar quickly detected the incoming barrage. The Pirate Gunboat at the front immediately tried to turn and evade. Its move spared it from annihilation, but the follow-up electromagnetic shells still scored several hits, badly damaging it.
With its speed drastically reduced, the damaged Pirate Gunboat had to withdraw from the battle formation. The nearby pirate ships had to maneuver to avoid their damaged ally, and the previously orderly formation immediately fell apart.
Far behind the fleet, Lin Zhichen furrowed his brow. The Pirate Pursuit Cruiser's radar had prevented the Long-Range Artillery advantage from coming into play, and the enemy fleet's shifting positions had also rendered the following volleys ineffective.
"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."
He suddenly remembered the saying and finally understood his mistake. This kind of precision artillery fire had worked because the pirates' warship radar was outdated. If the enemy made even a slight improvement, this method of firing would no longer be effective.
Once he understood the key, he immediately changed the firing method. Rather than targeting a particular ship, he considered the enemy fleet as a whole. Under his psionic perception, he discerned several possible futures.
Taking the size of his own fleet into account, he selected the likeliest possibilities and sent the targets to each ship, resuming the bombardment.
At that moment, Lin Zhichen felt new pressure. To calculate the many ways the enemy fleet might change after being attacked, he had to increase his psionic output to accelerate his thinking. He also opened his psionic perception to its fullest. Then, in a flash of inspiration, he found the simplest way to lock onto the enemy ships' positions ten or even dozens of seconds into the future.
As the battle mode changed, Lin Zhichen didn't notice that his Fleet Command skill, which had been improving slowly, began to rise rapidly on his personal panel. In a short time, it reached Advanced level and swiftly advanced toward Expert level.
His talent allowed him to improve his skills with less time and effort than ordinary people, but that didn't mean finding the right direction for growth was useless.
Feeling the entire fleet operate more smoothly, Lin Zhichen was delighted. That was the meaning of actual combat: the fierce battlefield always revealed where you fell short.
The volley interval had already been reduced to less than 10 seconds. The bombardment continued, and the pirate fleet came under fire faster and faster, suffering greater and greater losses.
After the first Pirate Raider exploded, two more pirate ships that had been pushed to their limits blew up simultaneously under the second volley.
This kind of spread fire couldn't guarantee enemy destruction as reliably as concentrated fire. But under the blanket bombardment, the damage sustained by the various ships was more evenly distributed.
Before you continue