Dogfight

The Riken Race fighters are equipped with two to four energy weapons and four space torpedoes. Although the energy weapons are relatively small in caliber due to the size of the fighters, requiring concentrated fire to pose a threat to the Space Octopus, their sheer number makes their long-range firepower formidable.

However, they made a wrong decision: the Riken Race fighters charged head-on into the Swarm's Space Octopus.

If they maintain distance and continuously wear down the Space Octopus with long-range firepower, disrupting its evasive maneuvers, and combined with the large-caliber firepower of the warship's main and secondary guns, the Space Octopus will have a hard time winning.

However, their approach was exactly what the Swarm wanted.

These mechanical fighters, while quite agile, have jets at the tail and bottom of their fuselages for propulsion and to change direction. However, compared to Space Octopus that moves like a fish swimming in the ocean, they are simply no match.

They might not be able to win a sniper duel at the middle gate, but in aerial dogfights, these mechanical units are really no match.

The tentacles of the Space Octopus are covered with various power-generating devices, allowing them to change their flight direction or stop suddenly at any time.

Although the Riken Race warships managed to take down some Space Octopus during their charge, the tide of battle turned in Lima once the two sides made contact.

The agile Space Octopus nimbly weaved through the Riken Race fleet, their tentacles instantly attaching to and pulling on the fighters as they passed by.

Those Drone are just cannon fodder from the assembly line. Although their design and armor can withstand the tearing of the Space Octopus, if the Space Octopus sacrifices one or two tentacles and punctures their engines, it can turn them into space debris.

However, this method was somewhat flawed, as it inflicted heavy losses on both sides. Therefore, the Knight controlling the Space Octopus quickly found a more sophisticated attack method.

Instead of attacking the Riken Race fighters themselves, they clung to the fighters, using their fuselages as cover to lure the space fish to attack.

At the moment of attack, they can use their maneuverability to separate themselves from the fuselage; unlucky aircraft may be destroyed by friendly missiles.

This maneuver made the Riken Race hesitant to act, and they dared not launch torpedoes or missiles.

But don't worry, the Space Octopus have other tricks up their sleeves. They can attach themselves to the aircraft, work alongside it, and even guide and change the aircraft's direction of travel to collide with friendly units.

Moreover, these creatures are molluscs, and their tentacles give them extremely strong suction, allowing them to move flexibly on the fighter jet. One second they're on top of the fuselage, and the next they're under the belly, making other fighter jets that want to use energy weapons hesitant to attack.

Later, it even evolved to the point where Space Octopus would use their tentacles to forcibly pull torpedoes and missiles off fighter jets and then launch them to attack the Riken Race fighter jets.

The Riken Race commander's erroneous decision made the situation extremely awkward and chaotic. The Space Octopus thrived, using the enemy's cover to constantly outmaneuver them.

The Riken Race fighters were hesitant to use any of their weapons, and even the main and secondary guns of their warships ceased firing for fear of accidentally injuring friendly forces.

"Withdraw the fighter jets!" General Masai was somewhat embarrassed and angry. The opponent's unpredictable attack method made him very awkward in front of his colleagues.

The pilots of the Riken Race fighter jets had long wanted to end this extremely unpleasant attack operation, and as soon as they received the order to retreat, they immediately turned their planes around and headed back.

However, the intense battlefield was not something they could simply withdraw from unilaterally. The Space Octopus clinging to the Riken Race fighters, like hitchhikers, also flew towards the fleet along with the aircraft.

The Riken Race discovered these people boarding the bus without buying tickets and urgently changed their orders.

They began to disregard their own units, and the Space Octopus clinging to the Drone were caught off guard by the sudden attack, suffering heavy losses.

Only the Space Octopus clinging to piloted fighter jets escaped unscathed.

The Swarm hadn't expected the Riken Race to be so decisive, willing to sacrifice thousands of Drone to eliminate the enemy. However, this was indeed the best method; otherwise, with the Space Octopus at their point of contact, the swarm, unable to return, would eventually be wiped out by the Space Octopus.

However, they were still not ruthless enough. With the cover of manned fighter jets, there were still hundreds of Space Octopus capable of combat. They could still play a good restraining role, the threat could not be eliminated, and the group of fighter jets was still unable to return.

Just then, the second wave of Swarm forces arrived on the battlefield.

The main and secondary guns of the Riken Race warships all turned their muzzles and aimed at it.

The configuration of this wave of Swarm forces has changed slightly. Of the more than 500 Ancient Class Space Octopus, only 400 are responsible for transporting troops, while the rest are equipped with at least two Electromagnetic Cannons. They will provide long-range fire support from the rear of the formation.

At this distance, the Electromagnetic Cannon already poses a considerable threat; the projectiles can reach the Riken Race fleet in just over a minute.

Such a short time makes it virtually impossible for a massive warship to avoid it.

Moreover, the energy fluctuations emitted by the Space Octopus when it moves are extremely similar to the energy fluctuations when the Electromagnetic Cannon is fired. In such a complex battlefield environment, the Riken Race's detection instruments failed to detect the Electromagnetic Cannon attack in the first instance.

As a result, the first salvo of over a hundred shells left the Riken Race somewhat bewildered.

The dozen or so warships at the very front of the fleet absorbed all the firepower. Although their frontal armor was very thick, the Electromagnetic Cannon cannons mounted on the Ancient Class Space Octopus were also quite powerful.

These behemoths, each over 500 meters long, typically have Electromagnetic Cannon exceeding 300 meters in length, with projectiles over one meter in diameter. The damage caused by a single cannonball hitting Riken Race warship is quite astonishing.

The bow sections of the two warships were shattered by the powerful impact, and the hulls of the other warships also suffered varying degrees of damage.

A piercing alarm sounded inside the warship, and the damaged compartments were immediately sealed off.

Individual strength becomes insignificant in wars of this scale, especially for races that cannot directly survive in space.

Many Riken Race were blown into space from the damaged parts of the warship; some of them, wearing protective suits, fared slightly better. Those Riken Race in simple uniforms, however, would die within minutes.

Friendly forces around the damaged warship launched an emergency rescue operation, but just then, a second wave of Electromagnetic Cannon arrived.