Anyway, perhaps because private property was sacred and inviolable, the situation in Chanchuan had suddenly become rather delicate.
...All right, imperial patrol fleets had indeed entered Chanchuan before, so this was the most unnatural incident yet.
Eleanor said, "According to the communications we intercepted, as well as the records the Alliance 'voluntarily' shared with us, the imperial cruiser Great Rock Snake was the first to enter Chanchuan City's security perimeter."
Yu Lian furrowed his brow slightly. He had a feeling things weren't that simple.
"I remember that after Operation Snake-Slaying, Chanchuan expanded by nearly half, most of it for defense," Feifei said.
"That's right. They installed fortress cannons on that commercial space city," Eleanor said.
In short, the conflict escalated rapidly within thirty seconds. First, Chanchuan City used its fortress cannons to "drive off" the imperial fleet. Half the bow of the Great Rock Snake was vaporized in an instant, and the cruiser fled in flames, hooks dangling from its hull.
Then the Alliance fleet, which had been waiting on standby in the C47 system for quite some time, launched a surprise attack. They had been hiding in the nebular dust for ages. When they suddenly accelerated and jumped into Chanchuan, the imperial fleet on the other side didn't even have time to react.
It wasn't until the Alliance fleet had driven them back and unleashed a fierce barrage at point-blank range that the imperial ships belatedly began to fight back. They also started sending distress signals to their allies behind them.
But this was also one of the landmark events that pushed the situation toward a full-blown crisis.
A tiny patrol fleet had taken a barrage of fire without being wiped out immediately. Needless to say, the Alliance had shown them some (ambush) mercy (to lure them deeper in).