Free Web NovelChapter 909: Chapter 777: Sinister
When it was really time to counterattack, Little Lake instead was in no rush.
Having already received the attack orders, all it needed to do was ensure the attack’s effect was maximized.
It didn’t wait too long before seizing a rare opportunity.
Five attack ships entered the effective attack range, while the minimum requirement from the boss was four.
Three beams of light suddenly lit up, instantly hitting the three nearest attack ships.
The three attack ships lost power instantly, even though they were just neutered versions of company-level warships, they weren’t fragile attack ships that could withstand this.
Little Lake didn’t bother to tally the battle results; it was very confident in its attacks.
Next, two secondary cannons concentrated their fire on the fourth attack ship.
As for the main cannon firing, it still needed some buffering time.
The fourth attack ship had it worse, being hit until it caught fire.
The relatively distant fifth attack ship was scared out of its wits upon seeing this, "Tactical evasive maneuvers, increase distance!"
However, unfortunately, even standard evasion actions require a reaction process.
Again, three beams of light flashed, with the main and secondary cannons targeting this unlucky fellow together.
This warship shook violently several times, trembling intensely.
The captain, with very rich experience, shouted without hesitation, "It’s going to explode violently... Abandon ship!"
Numerous hatches immediately opened, and one by one, crew members ejected out, as fast as they could.
Regarding the level of protection for the crew, military warships far surpassed customs enforcement warships, not to mention ordinary armed starships.
After all, the military is more likely to face brutal battles, and those veterans are the greatest asset to the army and must be well protected.
Yet despite this, not all crew members escaped safely.
There were six combatants on this attack ship, including the captain—normally staffed with seven to nine, but six was basically enough.
Only four people escaped safely, then the attack ship violently exploded.
Among the two left, one perished with the ship, while the other suffered immense impact but still had a breath left.
But this was from later statistics.
The customs enforcement warship’s sudden counterattack completely shocked the military.
The other attack ships didn’t wait for orders from above and scattered to flee instantly, with astounding reaction speed.
This was not considered disobedience, as an attack ship, being a complete attack unit, has the right to make its own judgment and react independently during battle.
Of course, if there were targeted pre-war emphasis, that’d be a different story.
The soldiers on several main warships were dumbfounded at the sight, "Wow, such accurate hits?"
Some were shocked, then showed extreme anger, "Dare to play traps? Our warriors can’t die in vain!"
"Exactly, their ammunition must be limited; otherwise, they wouldn’t have held on till now!"
What made them more furious was that after this wave of counterattacks, the enemy continued to flee and issued the light signal again.
"Our ammunition is plentiful, hope you cease pursuit, don’t be your own enemy!"
While initially scoffing at this warning, now it felt somewhat hot-faced.
Indeed, a slap in the face, fresh and hot.
"Adjust tactics!" The highest-ranking battalion-level warship made arrangements, "Try attacking from a distance, don’t get too close."
"Use trailing and wolf pack tactics... Specifically induce them to open fire, consume their resources as much as possible!"
It’s noteworthy about the wolf pack tactics, not just about encirclement, but taking turns to probe forward, like wolves hunting.
This tactic carries certain risks; though very oppressive, the probing attack ships might not return.
But then again, how else can you test the opponent’s limits and consume their resources to the fullest?
Wars are about winning and losing, and under such a premise, the military can accept certain moderate losses.
—How could victory be won without some cost?
Yet soon, this decision was again slapped in the face; two attack ships trying to get closer were hit again.
Then the customs enforcement warship signaled again—this could almost be considered sheer naked humiliation.
The battalion-level warship didn’t lose its head, but instead changed its tactics again, "Choose long-distance attacks, let’s see who can outlast the other!"
This battalion-level warship could catch up first because it was in a state of combat readiness, ranking as the number one firefighter.
It’s not just about ranking; due to facing various possible sudden situations, the preparations were quite thorough.
Whether it’s ammunition or energy blocks, the configurations were maximized, even enough to launch a long-distance campaign temporarily.
The only minor shortcoming was a certain shortage in combat personnel, but still enough for the warship to exert all its combat power, just not at full staffing.
In other words, the battalion-level warship had plenty of energy blocks, aiming to wear the enemy down.
The opponent has Supreme, and the storage talisman might have stored lots of energy blocks, but are there really that many?
The battalion-level warship wasn’t feeling guaranteed to win, but still felt unwilling without trying this!
Thus, one side fleeing while the other pursued, time quickly passed by.
Five days later, the company-level warship finally considered stopping the chase.
The ammunition reserves were still adequate, but the Energy Blocks... were starting to run low.
The main warship not only used energy itself, but those attack ships needed to come by from time to time to replenish.
If they persisted for another two days, they might not even have enough to support the return journey.
In reality, the military’s main warships claimed to have strong endurance, but that was only compared to attack ships.
These main warships had powerful attack capabilities, and their various data were extremely impressive, far beyond what ordinary starships could compare to.
But behind this powerful data hidden various imbalanced sacrifices and consumption.
For example, the rate of energy depletion was astonishing; if ordinary starships used such methods, it would be purely burning money.
However, the military’s warships don’t care about this imbalance; they are violent machines, weapons for war.
This nature dictates that warships pursue all sorts of extreme effects.
Extreme attack power, extreme maneuverability, extreme control capability... compared to these demands, what is mere consumption?
So, the company-level warship can only be said to have rather passable endurance.
If perpetually engaged in combat, additional consumption would be astonishingly high and unsustainable for long.
The warship realized that it could no longer pursue, and if forced, there was a significant possibility of never returning.
If encountering other opponents, the military might still hold onto some lucky thoughts, thinking of pushing a bit further to prevail.
But this opponent wouldn’t work; they were too cunning. Earlier consecutive attacks surprisingly didn’t provoke the enemy to counteract.
However, once the enemy fought back, it was truly astounding, instantly and devastatingly taking out five attack ships.
Such an unyielding and insidious style, who wouldn’t want to encounter an opponent like this?
But if one must leave, not without making a fuss, otherwise one would become a joke to the opponent.
At this moment, bad timing, the adversary sent another signal.
"Our ammunition is very plentiful, we hope you abandon pursuit, don’t mislead yourselves!"
This really became the pursuing army’s bane, "All strong attack-type ships, form a siege formation, attack from afar!"
However, just as they made the change, Little Lake noticed it, "They’re about to escape!"
After these days of tactical contests, it had also come to understand these people’s strategies significantly.
In truth, even on Blue Star, this kind of offensive-defensive maneuver wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
In a confrontation between two armies, one side wanting to withdraw from the battlefield with minimal losses couldn’t simply retreat.
Once the enemy pursued with momentum, it risked encountering a scenario of overwhelming defeat.
A proper approach would be defensive counterattacking, launching a large vacuum zone as a shield for retreating, ensuring greater safety. freёweɓnovel.com
Although this world lacks the military strategies of Blue Star Divine Land, the relevant arts of war are fundamentally similar.
Qu Jianlei contemplated and spoke, "Then... destroy two attack ships, we’ve already warned them too many times."
"Destroy them?" Big Headed Butterfly’s body turned around, it understood the implication of this.
So, it couldn’t help but confirm, "Destroy from this distance... may I perform data intrusion?"
The relative distance was somewhat far, complicating direct destruction; the best method would be data intrusion for prediction and impact.
Qu Jianlei also knew; Little Lake had been holding back for long—clearly having more effective combat methods but unable to use them.
Thus, he nodded slightly, "Just two ships, control it, don’t let the opponent detect it."
If not as a last resort, he really didn’t want to do this, even though Little Lake might feel suppressed, this was for its own good.
However, he wished to let it slide, but the opponent was unforgiving, pursuing until Energy Blocks were nearly depleted.
Even so, before departing, they sought to engage in a battle of advance to retreat—do they truly consider me so easy to deceive?
He felt it necessary to wake them up: I’ve genuinely been giving you opportunities, if only you appreciated them.
Anyway, Little Lake was quite bottled up too; it was time to let it vent a bit.
Thus came an interesting scene.
The military’s seven strong attack-type ships mobilized, at a relatively safe distance, launched a saturation attack on the customs enforcement warship.
The customs enforcement warship also started firing, dodging while counter-attacking.
The so-called safe distance wasn’t actually safe, just comparatively safer, but being hit would still result in severe losses.
However, this time, the customs enforcement warship seemed somewhat impulsive, utilizing all sorts of weaponry.
The ammunition was varied, including high-explosive, armor-piercing, ion beam, ray bullet, electronic colloid shell, signal interference shell... etc.
The variety of ammunition was abundant, yet somehow evoked a sense of desperation.
Non-medium shock shells were already quite absurd; did they think ordinary resonance shells could perform during combat?
Or what on earth was this tracer bullet?
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