Liu Hai never expected the Pathfinder Fleet's rendezvous point to be ambushed by the Katon Fleet. Where were their Detectors? Their Early Warning Radar? Their intelligence?
"Who will take command of the battle?"
One of the Pioneers, while overseeing fleet operations, asked over the comms channel.
"How about letting Bu Long command?"
"Bu Long isn't suitable. He excels in small-scale, precise command, not large-scale fleet battles."
"Then let Du Jia take charge. He has command experience, and his character is widely trusted."
"Agreed. Let Du Jia be the overall commander."
"Where is Du Jia? Hasn't he arrived yet?"
"Du Jia is still engaged with a Katon Exploration Fleet. His fleet hasn't arrived."
"Bring him into the virtual command room. Immediately establish the command system according to the pre-designed plan. All units, form up according to your assigned nodes."
"Understood!"
"Understood."
"Frontline array ready. Thirty-two fleet nodes formed."
"Second-line array complete. Eighteen fleet nodes established."
"Command room personnel in position. Welcome, Commander Du Jia."
Far away, hundreds of light-years distant, Du Jia was equally surprised to find himself commanding such a massive mixed fleet from such a distance. As soon as he entered the command room, he began reviewing the data and consolidating available firepower.
"All Motherships, deploy Fighter Swarms and Mecha." Du Jia swiftly swiped across the projection, sending the deployment plan to the respective sub-fleet commanders. "Deploy the Fighter Swarms along these eight vectors. Corvettes will provide cover to ensure the Fighter Swarms can strike decisively."
"All fleets, allocate ships to lay Space Mines in this sector. Fire two salvos of Torpedo Missiles along these three routes—make the coverage as dense as possible."
"Battleships and Cruisers, maintain evasive maneuvers. All sub-fleets, hold current Movement Warp Factor and sustain alternating Shield networks."
A little over ten minutes later, just as the mixed fleet completed its preparations, the Katon Civilization's assault fleet had already reached firing positions.
The main guns of both sides' warships fired almost simultaneously. Millions of energy beams crisscrossed the void, the violent Energy Tide distorting the view of space. Energy Shields flickered incessantly, making it seem as though countless stars were flashing at once.
"Where is the Xue Family's reinforcement fleet?"
"Our forces will arrive in two hours. Just hold the enemy in place—avoid unnecessary sacrifices."
In the end, the Xue Family had decided to intervene, though cautiously, committing only a single military corps.
This was the reason the Pioneers hadn't immediately retreated upon discovering the Katon Fleet. The original plan had been for the mixed fleet to disrupt the enemy's rear while the Xue Family fleet launched a flanking assault, coordinating with the Li Family's full-scale counterattack to cripple the Katon Fleet's combat strength in one decisive blow.
No one had expected this tactic, originally intended for use in the Fifth Star System, to instead be employed against the Pioneers' own mixed fleet.
Upon detecting the Katon Fleet's ambush on the Pathfinders, the Xue Family fleet immediately changed course. The Fifth Star System housed tens of thousands of Katon warships across three military corps—a hard nut to crack.
Yet here there were only a few thousand warships. Even with five Mobile Fortresses present, the Xue Family Fleet, which had the scale of an entire army, remained unafraid. They even wanted to take a fierce bite out of the enemy to vent their frustration from being passively beaten all this time.
Xue Renli and Du Jia maintained communication. Naturally, Xue Renli's command skills were superior, so when it came to precise operations—since Du Jia had no experience in large-scale army battles—Xue Renli provided guidance through the comms.
Liu Hai silently handed over command to Li Yali this time, letting her learn firsthand what large-scale army operations looked like. It would be a joke if they later had enough warships but couldn't find a suitable commander.
Li Yali herself was overjoyed by this almost hand-taught lesson on large-scale army combat. Such opportunities were rare in normal circumstances. Only the Xue Family didn't mind the Pioneers recording the battle; otherwise, aside from paying an exorbitant tuition fee, the only option was to grow step by step through trial and error.
The Katon Fleet, with its clear firepower advantage, had far fewer ships than the Pioneers' mixed fleet—short by tens of thousands—but all of them were capital ships. The firepower of just five Mobile Fortresses alone matched the simultaneous barrage of over a hundred Battleships' main guns.
The Katon Civilization's standard Mobile Fortresses were massive, shaped like spindles, with the largest stretching twelve kilometers in length, three kilometers in width, and about one and a half kilometers in height.
All twenty-four main guns were energy-based, utilizing a pure energy system. Though their penetration was slightly weaker than Laser Cannons, their energy cohesion and power level far surpassed that of laser weapons.
Under the simultaneous barrage of the five Mobile Fortresses, over a hundred energy spears—each dozens of meters thick—rippled through space across several light-minutes, striking the Destroyers and Corvettes providing cover for the Battleships. Over a dozen warships, regardless of size, exploded simultaneously. The powerful energy shockwaves pushed nearby ships tens of thousands of kilometers off course, and the spatial tremors inflicted concussive injuries on crew members even inside their safety pods.
"It's Energy Cannons! The Katon Civilization has developed Energy Cannons!" a Pioneer exclaimed in disbelief.
Pure Energy weapons were difficult to develop. Though the Federation had already unlocked Energy Shields, energy existed in wave form, making dissipation exceptionally strong. The Federation's current Energy weapons were all Planetary Fortress Cannons installed on planetary fortresses, requiring numerous complex containment devices to operate. They were far from being deployable on Mobile Fortresses.
"This is bad." Seeing this, Du Jia and Xue Renli simultaneously realized the gravity of the situation. This fleet was likely the Katon Civilization's military force, with combat capabilities and warship specs far beyond what the Pioneer Fleet could match.
"Fight while retreating. You can't withstand their attacks. Hold out until our fleet arrives," Xue Renli ordered, urging the fleet to accelerate while reassuring the Pioneers.
The Pioneers weren't fools—those who were wouldn't have survived this long.
Seeing the Katon Fleet even deploy Mobile Fortresses armed with Energy Cannons, they instantly understood that this confrontation would be far from easy to resolve.
At the same time, Xue Jia raised its defenses to the highest alert level, preparing for the imminent attack by the Katon Fleet. Meanwhile, a small fleet warped out of the star system, carrying some of Xue Jia's key core members.
Once the Pioneers' gathering point exposed the Katon Fleet's energy weapons, the already-prepared Katon Fleet dispatched multiple sub-fleets simultaneously, warping to strategic locations across the Stardust Star Region and launching a full-scale assault on the defending Federation forces.
This offensive involved over a hundred sub-fleets equipped with mobile fortresses alone. With the sudden appearance of energy weapons, the Federation quickly found itself at a disadvantage. Defensive positions were systematically eliminated from extreme distances, as the Katon Fleet exploited the superluminal strike capabilities of their energy weapons.
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