Chapter 1414: Caution in taking action
While he may not be able to control other areas, this was his territory.
Lieutenant General Zhang Yunfeng was the commander of the seventh fleet. The main battlefield brought about tremendous pressure on his fleet, and at his busiest, he heard from his vice commander that Zhang Shan was acting on his own. He was furious – his orders were for them to defend, and prevent the enemy from attacking the main s.h.i.+p. Zhang Yunfeng knew about Zhang Shan’s strength, hence he had told Zhang Shan to protect himself. Who knew that this kid would actually…
“Order him to come back, and ensure that all mech warriors follow the order to protect the main s.h.i.+p’s safety.”
Zhang Yunfeng was a conservative general. This battle is a war of attrition, it was not possible to overwhelm Maacah’s coalition forces, so to live was the best course of action. If Meng Ao and the rest want to risk their lives, let them be.
While changes were made to the military, the conservative faction retained a significant amount of power. The amount of time since changes had been implemented was far too short for it to seep through every aspect. The fleet led by Zhang Yunfeng was a relatively strong one. But while he would put in the effort, he would not risk his life. Moreover, he did not feel that Maacah would win. A war between two major powers was simply a tug of war. Hence, as a commander, to live was the most important, as this was but a power struggle. Taking a step back and looking at it, even if Maacah won, they would need the manpower, which might be a good thing for him. Times were getting more difficult for the conservative faction. Following Locks’ demise, it was only a matter of time before they were replaced, and this war could give them an excellent opportunity.
In this world, not everyone would care about the bigger picture, and a significant portion of people would only think about themselves, especially those in power.
Facing the calls by the fleet, Zhang Shan turned off his communication device. He was not interested in becoming a puny bodyguard. He had his eyes on the enemy’s planetary-level battles.h.i.+p. Normally, only Heaven-rank warriors would dare to attack a planetary level battles.h.i.+p, and Earth-ranks. Due to various limitations, it would be seeking death to do so, and Zhang Shan was a fool.
Meng Tian was commanding the fleet to attack, and adjusting the formation according to the enemy’s firepower, but she discovered a serious problem. Under the pressure of the enemy’s firepower, the fleet was moving slower and becoming disorganized. This was different from what she had learned in the Galaxy Military College. The synergy between the various battles.h.i.+ps was lower than she expected, and a few s.h.i.+ps had begun fighting on their own.
This was the Solar System’s current situation, but luckily, their enemy was not Arbiter or Aslan. If it were, the Solar System would be annihilated due to the difference in battle strength in one battle.
Achilles and Lie Xin’s command of their battles.h.i.+ps was by the book, and the advantage was that their ident.i.ties allowed the s.h.i.+ps under them to follow their orders better. While they possessed relatively good commanding capabilities, they were not exceptional. There was something Zhang Shan was mistaken about – it was not Achilles and Lie Xin who wanted to become commanders, but their families. There were too many risks in being a mech warrior, as well as being lower in hierarchy. On the other hand, being a commander and commanding their family’s warriors would raise morale and would net them fame. Both of them were in Drachmach and Lie Wushuang’s main fleet, leading the most elite battles.h.i.+p commanders. This was the last pride of the Doyle and Lie families.
However, this pride had not brought them any advantage since the start of the battle.
Both parties were in a deadlock. The Darkness Empire has played their part. Iyerta Laboge did not care about the losses suffered by the Maacah Republic. He hoped for the Maacah and the Solar System to mutually destroy each other. However, the Darkness Empire was the most pragmatic country, and there was nothing to gain from losing this battle.
The moment the Darkness Empire entered the battle, it completely changed the tides. The target chosen by the Darkness Empire was the “mob”.
This is the bunch of rag tags led by Qiang Sen. Even though it was a battle of attrition, Iyerta was unable to ignore the Solar System. In a life and death battle like this, the Solar System’s reformists were committed. Hence, he had chosen the easiest point to break through, using a bunch of rag tags to change the tempo of the battle. The moment this fleet collapsed, it would affect the other fleets, which would affect morale.
Against the Darkness Empire’s attack, Qiang Sen did not lose his cool. He knew his fate, as well as those under him, who were non-combat forces and regular soldiers that fought day and night against pirates. They were determined to fight. The moment they clashed, the difference in firepower made it hard for Qiang Sen’s fleet to fight back. Qiang Sen did not resist, but instead used his experience from fighting pirates and began extending the formation. With agile s.h.i.+ps forming the bulk of the fleet, they would lose out in firepower, but they have higher mobility. The Darkness Empire’s lightning attack was halted.
Drachmach took a deep breath. The whole battlefield could be seen through his screen. It has to be said that the Darkness Empire’s tactics were “despicable”. He thought that Qiang Sen’s fleet would have been destroyed immediately. It was unexpected that this fleet would hold back the Darkness Empire’s reinforcements.
“General Zhao Yunfeng, please immediately a.s.sist Qiang Sen’s fleet, they won’t be able to hold out for long!” Drachmach said.
On the other side of the monitor, Zhang Yunfeng calmly explained, “Commander-in-chief Drachmach, we are met with intense firepower here – we are unable to do so. Moreover, Zhang Shan is not following orders, and acting on his own. This caused the mech warrior unit to be in chaos.”
Drachmach was gritting his teeth. These were issues that needed to be solved. There was a number of loyal supporters in the fleet, and he worried about morale if he changed a general before battle. Now he was regretting it. He should have done it, and now all that fool was doing was putting on a show. This battle was at a life or death moment, yet he was still acting.
“Zhao Yunfeng, this is an order. If you don’t follow it, be prepared to face the military court!”
“Commander-in-chief Drachmach, don’t use the military court to threaten me. The military court is not owned by the Doyle family. You are letting a part of the main fleet give up its battle to help reinforce a bunch of cannon fodder. If my front is defeated, are you going to take responsibility for it!” Zhao Yunfeng sharply reb.u.t.ted, with a face of contempt looking at Drachmach.
Drachmach was far from setting a trap. Whether the battle ended in victory or defeat, there would be no problems in the procedures.
Drachmach’s expression was cold. He could not allow himself to be angry and waste his energy on this. This was the difficulty of a commander-in-chief. He could not do anything to Zhao Yunfeng at this point in time. If these people retreated and caused a line of defense to collapse, it would cause the battle to be tougher.