Volume 10, Chapter 77 The Burden

Time ticks by.

The battle in the Twin Star Corridor came to a fever pitch with an all-out exchange of fire between the fleets of both sides. On a front of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, fleets were strangled together. The collision of thousands of steel giants was like a giant * swooping down on the reef, and the broken jade splashed and shook the earth.

The tragic battle made every Filipino League general on the command platform feel like pins and needles.

"Sauber has exerted his strength" Macchia looked up and stared at the comparison data of the battle loss rate of the two sides above the electronic sand table, his face solemn.

Admiral Barras nodded and said, "In the battle of the [stalemate] stage, the force element ranks first, and Sober has an absolute advantage in this regard. If we strangle head-on, we will suffer. Moreover, if the left, center, and right fronts are fighting on all fronts, the command pressure will increase tenfold and hundredfold. Marshal Hastings, even though he is a generation of military gods, is an old man over seventy years old after all. In terms of energy and computing power, it is impossible to compare with Sauber, who was in his prime. ”

As he spoke, five battleships and a dozen destroyers in the Central Theater of Operations had already been reduced to ashes by the shelling of the Western fleet.

The Western Fleet is using its terrifying firepower and overwhelming ship groups to reverse the previous disadvantage little by little. As more fleets joined the strangulation warband, the previous flexible and delicate coordination of the Filican fleet began to become difficult.

"Sauber's command skills are not under Marshal Hastings." Fujii Tsuyoshi said: "Look, Feiyang's Sixtieth Group Fleet. ”

The generals followed Fujii's fingers. I saw on the screen, the three fleets of the 60th Group of Feiyang were rapidly advancing along the left side of the central axis of the battlefield.

More than two hundred destroyers, more than a hundred cruisers, sixty battleships and three space carriers formed a huge trident. The destroyers and cruisers were on the flanks, stretched out far away, like galloping cavalry, trying to surround the two A-class fleets of the Monterley Empire from both flanks. The central group of battleships advanced in a huge umbrella formation. During the march, a salvo every two minutes and forty seconds destroyed the world.

In terms of formation, speed, and resoluteness in the execution of tactics, the 60th Group Fleet was impeccable. However, this high-speed assault did not achieve the indestructible effect that the Feiyang fleet has been crisscrossing the universe for many years.

With the high-speed insertion of the Filipino League's driving patrol fleet, the driving patrol group of the Monterley Imperial fleet also began to open to both wings. Although the execution time of its tactical actions was far behind that of the Filipino Fleet, the speed at which the entire ship group unfolded was no slower than that of the Sixty Group Fleet. Almost as soon as the Filipino destroyer group broke through the center line, they had already seized the outer blocking line and attack positions on both flanks.

Although the two fleets had not yet made contact, the Filipino generals present saw the destroyer cluster of the Imperial Fleet of Monterley turn around at the far end; When they saw their cruiser clusters divided into left and right and the central main formation forming an angle, everyone knew that the Phiyang Sixty Group fleet could not take advantage of it.

Theoretically, the adversary had tactically smashed the 60th Fleet's attempt to outflank the two wings. In order to eat these two Monterley fleets, the Sixty Fleet would have to make a detour farther away. In fact, the other Western Fleets in the distance had already blocked the tactical space of the Sixty Group Fleet.

The reaction of the Monterley Imperial fleet shocked all the generals of the Filipino Alliance.

In terms of combat effectiveness and military strength, the Monterley Empire was far from being an opponent of the Republic of Fyan. Without counting the command factor, the three Philan A-class fleets could completely defeat the Monterley fleet twice or even three times their own head-on.

The reason why the two Monterley Imperial fleets in front of them were able to react so quickly was obviously not their own strength improvement, but the chilling prejudgment of the commander behind them, Sober

The same thing happens in every corner of the battlefield.

Whether it was the left flank theater, the center or the right flank theater, the Fijian fleet could not continue to maintain its superiority.

At the beginning of the stalemate phase, Xiyue made full use of its military superiority to suppress the Fijian League. The ratio of battle losses between the two sides has risen rapidly from the previous 3:7 to 5:6, which is almost the same

Looking at the hard and tragic battle of the front-line fleet, Fujii Tsuyoshi half-squinted his eyes, and his complexion was like iron.

"Why haven't you let us go back to the command of the fleet at this time?"

His words, like a big stone, were thrown into the calm waters. Several Allied generals beside him were all talking.

After the pre-war meeting, the eighty commanders of the *-class fleet had rushed back to the fleet to command the operation before the battle, while the commanders of the coalition forces of the major member countries of the Filipino Alliance had been left in the base camp with nothing to do.

At first, everyone thought that this unprecedented battle would not develop so quickly.

Judging by their previous experience, the pre-battle probing of an ordinary large-scale battle could last for days. Not to mention the A3 galaxy, a super decisive battle with a total strength of more than 300 fleets on both sides, which is related to the future victory or defeat of the two major military alliances.

It would not be surprising even if Hastings and Sauber cautiously tested each other for a month

Therefore, when the Western Covenant army pressed on all fronts, everyone was quite calm. After all, the fleet has Hastings in charge, and he didn't let everyone go, so there must be more important things to discuss. The battle situation must also be under his control, and it will not get out of control.

But no one expected that the battle situation would evolve so rapidly that everyone could hardly come back to their senses

What everyone didn't expect was that when the battle entered the stalemate stage, it was when the major fleets of the allied forces that were fighting bloodily needed their own supreme commanders to take charge, but Hastings had no intention of letting everyone rush back to their respective units to command the battle

"What do you mean by leaving us in the base camp after all the fights are like this?"

"It's the first time I've fought like this. The troops are fighting on the front line, and I actually copied my hands here to chat"

"Speaking of which, at the pre-war meeting just now, I felt that something was wrong. It stands to reason that we are the first executors of tactics, and the pre-war meeting should be done for tactical communication. But in the several hours of meetings, except for the synchronization of Skynet commands, the registration of warships, logistics and supplies, the list of captains, and the confirmation of command and communication passwords, there was not a word about tactics. I'm still confused, and I don't know whether it's offensive or defensive."

"The orders of the base camp are directly bypassing us Now, the orders of the marshal are directly sent to the tactical computer of the commander of the detachment, and the orders of the base camp are directly sent to the tactical computer of the captain. This chain of command doesn't have a place for us at all."

"No, why do I see that many generals of the bandit army, Admiral Russell, Fei Owen, Mitch, as well as Feiyan, Silyak Federation, and Chackner have already returned?"

"Hey, that's a bit weird. Look, who are the people who are put back in command of their respective fleets? ”

"What do you mean? Are we disenfranchised? ”

"Hehe, I'm afraid, it's really that interesting"

The generals' gossip and speculation made the atmosphere a little restless. Many people looked at each other, all shocked and moved.

At this point, if you don't understand, you've been living for so many years.

Which of these generals present is not the elite of the elite, extremely intelligent figures? Even if they didn't react for the time being, it was because the war in front of them attracted all their attention.

The scene of three hundred fleets confronting each other in an interstellar corridor that is no more than hundreds of thousands of kilometers wide is rare for a thousand years. Not to mention the privilege of being a participant.

At this time, Fujii Tsuyoshi provoked the topic, and everyone liberated their minds from the fierce battle. After thinking about it, I found something strange in it.

The base camp was not without releasing people back to the fleet. What didn't be released, it was just the generals who attacked the bandit army in the conference room

This is already captivity in disguise.

The troops below naturally obeyed the orders of the base camp. But he didn't know that his commander was in the base camp, but he had no opportunity to participate in the war and command operations. Everyone was on this podium looking at the Skynet screen and doing nothing, and so far there were only two people who really participated in the whole battle

That was the thin and pale Hastings and the white and chubby Leray fat man in the command seat

There were two particularly bold and resentful generals of the Filipino League, and they immediately clamored.

The battle was raging, and in space, countless warships turned into flying fireballs. In the flickering red light of the screen in the command hall, the busy staff officers of the base camp looked back and saw that there was already chaos on the command platform

"Ignore them."

Hearing the clamor of the Filipino generals, Hastings waved his hand, and McKinley led several gendarmes over.

The voice suddenly disappeared.

"Old man," the fat man sighed with a sad face, "you're putting me on the fire to roast." ”

With his cleverness, he naturally knew what Hastings was doing this.

Since the Filipino-allied forces moved south, there have been many internal contradictions. If Hastings is healthy, this is not a problem at all. No matter how high-flying and domineering the general is, he has to be honest and obedient in front of Hastings. Even if there were some complaints, they were only small-scale exchanges, and they didn't dare to openly turn their faces with Hastings. He didn't dare to disobey the order to delay the base camp, or pull his troops to do something unfavorable to the battle situation.

But once Hastings could no longer command the battle due to physical reasons, he handed over command to himself.........

The fat man thought with his ass that he knew what the generals of the Filipino Alliance, who had always been prejudiced against the bandit army and had different interests and positions, could not tell whether they were arrogant and conceited or arrogant and stupid, except for Hastings.

However, the fat man thinks that he is kind and innocent. If you want to conquer these generals, you have to speak with your war record. It's a big deal to persuade them one by one in private, but it's really not good....... Beat him quietly, beat him and couldn't take care of himself, and naturally it stopped.

But he never dreamed that the old man was more ruthless than himself. In the name of the pre-war meeting, these thorny generals were gathered on the [Heidefeld] and imprisoned in disguise. This is simply unreasonable

"That's your business," Hastings didn't look back, directing the battle as he said to the fat man, "Keep the class going." ”

"The main point of [Cobra Tactics] is to defend in a ring and attack in a straight line, and the timing of the transition between the two is key. When switching to an attack, it is necessary to be concealed and sudden, so it is very important to use the terrain to cover it."

The fat man's gaze followed Hastings' fingers and landed on a very inconspicuous local warband on the tactical computer screen.

On this battlefield on the edge of an asteroid belt, a Lane squadron of twelve cruisers and forty destroyers is relying on the asteroid belt behind it to fight the Western fleet, which is nearly three times its own strength.

The Ryan squadron used a Cobra formation. The [Cobra] tactic with the Cobra formation is a classic tactic used to defend against attacks in the combat command of the Space Fleet.

On the screen, the Ryan fleet was like a frightened cobra, coiling its tail, holding its head high, and its body swaying from side to side with the enemy like a reed in the wind. This form is the origin of the name of the Cobra tactic, and it is also a typical feature of this tactic.

Forty Ryan [Frost]-class destroyers formed the long snake body of the Eye Serpent.

They were lined up in a row, interlocking in a ring, surrounding the twelve Lava-class cruisers in the center. While firing, it swims at high speed in the periphery and in the asteroid belt. The whole formation was like a long chain, firmly holding the attack position in the flow. As soon as one battleship opened fire and left, another came in. The shelling every two minutes or so became continuous as the formation changed.

The ships that swam to the front of the formation attacked the enemy, and the ships behind the formation provided cover for the ships in front. The range of defenses along the entire chain of defense is even more varied. Suddenly it expanded into the Western fleet, and suddenly shrunk into a small circle. No matter how the Western fleet attacked, it maintained extremely strong resilience. Coupled with the cover of the asteroid belt behind him, for a while, it was like a dragon looming in the clouds. It's impossible to capture.

The twelve [Lava]-class cruisers, escorted by destroyers, were arranged in a diamond shape and hidden in the array.

If the destroyers on the periphery were a wandering shield and were mainly responsible for defense, then these twelve cruisers, which were more powerful in firepower and defense, were a viper-like and nimble gun, mainly responsible for attack.

Whenever they see an opportunity, they suddenly pop out of the formation and bite the enemy like lightning.

Above, below, front and back, left and right...... The highly malleable diamond-shaped formation, combined with the cover of the outer destroyers, allows them to suddenly launch at almost any angle and at any time. The attack is extremely sudden. It's hard to guard against. The Western Fleet had to be cautious when attacking the destroyer fleet on the outskirts of Lane. Because no one knew when the poisonous snake would suddenly come out from behind the cruiser and bite itself.

Under the command of Hastings, the Lane fleet used this tactic to great skill. Although the Western Invasion Fleet had the advantage of troops, there was nothing to be done for a while. It can only roam around the periphery, using long-range attacks to deplete the strength of Ryan's fleet little by little.

While commanding, Hastings carefully explained to the fat man the main points of various space fleet tactics.

[Cobra Tactics], [Horn Rotation Tactics], [Hot Wheels Tactics], [Avalanche Tactics], [Closing Tactics] From the left flank to the right flank of the battlefield, from the salvo of the battleship, the assault of the cruiser to the roundabout outflanking of the destroyer, and then to the timing of the release of the space carrier fighters, the coordinated protection of various ships Although Hastings explained these are the most uncommon basic tactics in the eyes of others from beginning to end, and he has not even mentioned a word of advanced composite tactics, but the fat man feels that he has been instilled by Russell's cramming examples. Years of experience on the battlefield are being fused with Hastings' explanations and observation of the details of his command.

The battle on the front line was stalemate and fierce.

The Western fleet swooped up like a tide under the command of Sober. The Filipino alliance fleet was like a reef, smashing the huge * that rushed in front of it again and again.

The fat man does not know how many battleships have been pierced through space by energy cannons, burning, exploding, and torn apart. I don't know how many fighters turned into a flying fireball. All he knew was that as the tide of battle entered a stalemate, Hastings's command became more and more difficult, and his face became more and more pale.

"Fatty, that's all I can teach you." With trembling fingers, Hastings sent a command, leaning wearily back in his chair.

From the time the pre-war meeting was held to the present, the old man has not closed his eyes for a full twenty hours. Especially in the past few hours of combat command, he has exhausted all his energy and exhausted almost all his mental strength. He was already terminally ill, and now he looked even weaker.

Hastings looked at the fat man and smiled slightly, his deep eyes as quiet as the universe, "Now, the new interstellar passage you have discovered, with a bandit armored regiment that is far more powerful than the Adjudicator Legion than Nart, a warship that can penetrate deep into the Free Passage, a warship with stealth technology, a little, and the support of Chakna, Salga, Puditok, Tatania, Siljak, and other countries. Coupled with the coalition fleet I led southward, your strength is enough to affect the direction of the war."

"Why are you talking so much?" The fat man smiled bitterly: "You won't give me the pick at this time, right?" ”

"This war has nothing to do with me in the first place." Hastings said lightly: "The burden is yours, I'm just helping you pick it up until now." ”

Seeing that the fat man's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, the old man waved his hand and said unreasonably: "Shut up"

The fat man was so aggrieved that he was about to cry.

"My old bottom has been handed over to you, the fleet, seven trillion funds, farry and Haig, the subordinates who have followed me for many years, a lifetime of experience, and" Hastings turned his head to look at Margaret, and said with some distress: "My most beloved granddaughter." ”

He stared at the fat man viciously: "Don't tell me, you can't kill Sober like this"

"Old fellow, if you can't kill Sober, you will rely on my head," the fat man chirped quietly and crookedly, and his heart was full of complaints.

When the war broke out, he was just a small mechanic.

When I fled twenty-one times, all I wanted was to go home alive, and my strongest belief was that I couldn't die as a virgin in life.

But who knows, in a daze, the burden of maintaining human peace and saving the world will weigh on his shoulders.

Is there anyone in the universe who is more unlucky than himself?

"The remnants of the Liverwoe and Nademik dynasties, there is nothing to worry about. People who can only play small conspiracies will not become a climate. Hastings looked up at the starry sky outside the porthole window in front of the command hall, and said slowly: "Your real enemy is Sober, and the little girl who played with Livervo and the entire human civilization and the person behind her. ”

Speaking of which, Hastings looked at the starry sky quietly, as if he was a little distracted.

After a long time, he sighed, controlled his wheelchair, and drove down the command seat under the surprised eyes of all the Filipino generals.

When passing by the fat man's side, the old man said softly: "It's up to you how to fight the battle in the future." I must admit that Sauber is more powerful than I thought. ”

"You throw in the towel?" The fat man asked.

"I'm tired." The old man smiled slightly, "If you lose, I will lose"

When Margaret and a group of paramedics rushed up to meet her, Hastings, whose lips were completely bloodless, turned his head and asked, "What was your first order after becoming the commander of the Allied forces?" ”

"Retreat" The fat man stared straight at the tactical computer screen with his eyes and did not look back.

Hastings laughed