In the tactical command center of the battleship "Gustav II", the gray-haired Gus? Colonel Whitehead's Imperial Army sat firmly in the command seat. [> stared indifferently at the various stereoscopic images projected in the command center.

This time, he led the "Haraldi" detachment to the "Yi" star field to assist in the defense, but he felt a little lonely and lonely. Along the way, he can't talk and laugh as before, because two good friends and right-hand men Jiang Ziyue and Lota can do whatever they want? Staudert did not go with the fleet. Since they got married, they have applied to retire from active service. Now the loving in-laws may still be staying on the picturesque and pleasant climate of the planet Africa, living a sweet life of 'waves'.

Gus now misses the days when the three of them fought side by side in the past. From pretending to be pirates, to the encounter with the Federation Army in the border space of the 135th Parallel, to the Battle of the New Rhine Star Field, and later the second Battle of the "Yi" Star Field, the three of them are simply an invincible iron triangle.

"Maybe we're nowhere near as famous as Orion 3 stars we were 28 years ago. But I believe that sooner or later, people will mention our name, and it will be like a thunderous sound. ”

Gus once said this, half-jokingly, half-seriously, to Jiang Ziyue and Lotta.

"That's right, maybe people will call us the Three Masters of the Empire." Lota followed suit.

But Jiang Zijiang said worriedly: "Sooner or later, we will still have to separate, and everyone will have to bear the heavy responsibility of victory alone." ”

Now, Gus is left alone with the burden of victory.

The Senate replenished the "Haraldi" fleet consisting of 300 battleships and 400 cruisers to the "Yi" field because the Federation dispatched a huge fleet of up to 3,600 warships from the Aegis field to the "Yi" field. In fact, the "Haraldi" detachment was only an advance reinforcement. Marshal Bogdorff, commander of the Central Fleet, has already commanded his headquarters fleet, and the "Genghis Khan" detachment has also departed from the planet Iserlom to rush to the aid of the "Yi" star field.

The "Haraldi" detachment was dispatched by Admiral Zeng Tai, commander of the "Napoleon" fleet, who was already stationed in the "Yi" star field. General Zeng divided the two fleets, a total of 2,100 warships, into three parts and circled around the planet "Yi" to form a mobile defensive circle. Considering the possibility of a surprise attack by the Federation Army, General Zeng deployed a large number of unmanned reconnaissance ships and notification ships in the space far beyond 10,000 astronomical units, in order to detect the opponent as soon as possible.

On June 12, 2919, an Imperial Army notification ship changed to the speed of light to inform the flagship "Napoleon" of the enemy situation. Two thousand Bundeswehr warships were approaching from the direction of the Perseus Spiral Arm and were passing through the reconnaissance and alert network at the speed of Akuberi at a speed of four levels.

A hurried alarm rang through the entire Imperial fleet.

Admiral Zeng Tai calmly retreated the logistics supply fleet, concentrated all the combat ships, and set up an umbrella formation facing the direction of the opponent's attack.

The Eighth Fleet of the Bundeswehr, under the command of Vice Admiral Zhou Jiande, appeared as scheduled in space at a distance of 100 astronomical units from the interstellar planet Yi, and only 5 astronomical units away from the Imperial Army.

The well-trained Wehrmacht's Eighth Fleet immediately set up an offensive cone formation and fearlessly swooped down towards the center of the opponent's umbrella formation.

The distance was quickly reduced to an effective combat distance of 300,000 kilometers. Almost simultaneously, the commanders of both sides gave the order to slow down and launch a salvo of 'fire'.

Thousands of dead rays of light pierced the lonely cosmic void, 'stirring' countless rays of light on the electromagnetic shield of the opposing warship.

After the two rounds of naval artillery bombardment, Zhou Jiande decisively ordered a change of formation - under the opponent's firepower, the cone formation was transformed into an umbrella formation.

In the uninterrupted 'firing' of fire, the forward ships of the Wehrmacht's conical fleet maintained their original speed, while the rear warships spread out as they 'fired', so that the dense awls spread out and expanded like umbrellas. The courage and coordination of his actions made the commanders of the Imperial Army, Zeng Tai and Gus, also deeply admire.

When the Wehrmacht's cone formation expanded to an umbrella formation facing the Imperial Army, the ships in its central area quickly activated the propulsion system in the opposite direction and began to retreat. Soon an umbrella formation covering the Imperial Army was in full swing. Under such a confrontation in formation, the two sides will be forced to engage in a marathon naval artillery confrontation and fall into a protracted battle.

But Zhou Jiande doesn't seem willing to fight a protracted war. After the umbrella formation was formed, he ordered the entire fleet to accelerate and retreat.

General Zeng Tai immediately ordered to speed up the pursuit.

The two huge umbrella-shaped formations soon formed a posture of retreating and advancing. It's just that the Imperial warship array in the forward state is faster than the Wehrmacht fleet in the backward state, because in the reaction propulsion navigation state, the human interstellar warship is not very powerful in the opposite direction, and the backward speed is often only half of the forward speed.

The Wehrmacht fleet faced the ever-shortening distance, but there was no panic or fear. At a distance of 100,000 kilometers, when the battle was 'intense' in space, they suddenly stopped retreating.

"Not good!" Gus exclaimed aboard the Gustav II. He immediately realized that the other party was using the same trick he had used in the encounter in the one-three-five-line space.

On the one hand, he warned General Zeng Tai, and on the other hand, he arbitrarily ordered all the ships of the "Haraldi" detachment subordinate to him to stop retreating and start retreating at full speed.

However, Admiral Zeng Tai did not have time to make an effective response, and the opposing ships had already accelerated to counterattack.

The battlefield immediately presented a peculiar phenomenon.

The Bundeswehr's umbrella ship formation rushed into the Imperial Army's ship formation in the face of the opponent's powerful firepower. However, a large part of the umbrella shape of the Imperial warship formation protruded backwards with the rhythm of the opponent.

"Turn! Fast! The anxious shouts of General Zeng Tai were heard from the communication system.

But whether it was turning or retreating, his orders were given too late. In a matter of seconds, the Wehrmacht warships had already passed the Imperial warships and rushed behind them.

Only Gus? The block-up formation of Whitehead's fleet managed to get out of the battle formation before the opponent was in place, and thus still held off the opponent who was gaining momentum.

"Break through them, don't let them get in our way!" Lieutenant General Zhou Jiande ordered loudly.

As a result, the Bundeswehr Eighth Fleet concentrated most of its firepower on the "Haraldi" detachment, causing it heavy losses.

Fortunately, the speed of relative movement of the two sides is still very fast. The Eighth Fleet quickly overtook the blocky formation formed by the "Haraldi" detachment and rushed into the void.

In this battle, both sides lost nearly 100 warships. The Bundeswehr, which took the initiative to provoke the battle, only wanted to test the true strength of the Imperial Army, so they did not do their best. However, on the side of the Imperial Army, which is quite numerous, it seems to be overstretched.

"It can now be fully inferred that the combined strength of the 'Napoleon' and 'Haraldi' fleets of the Imperial Army is only half of ours." At the conference of correspondence, Mr. Bloomberg optimistically said, "So we should strike as quickly as possible, and destroy them all before their reinforcements arrive." ”

"Sir, this time it's up to our fleet to take the lead." Commander of the Ninth Fleet, Coffey? Lieutenant General Kennan is gearing up.

"General Kennan, don't be in a hurry." Bloomberg comforted his brave generals, but he turned to Zhou Jiande and said, "General Zhou, this time your troops still have to take the initiative to attack and pretend to retreat after the last battle. ”

"Sir, only half of the troops? And what about our Ninth Fleet? Kennan asked eagerly.

"Our forces are nearly twice as strong as the enemy, and if we appear at the same time, we will only scare the enemy away, but we will not be able to annihilate him. So let the Eighth Fleet attack first and suck the enemy. Yours will then flank them, and with our overwhelming superiority, we will be able to crush them. "Bloomberg is confident.

"Sir, let's let the Ninth Fleet take the lead in attacking." Kennan looked very anxious.

"No, it's a tough battle when you hit each other together. At that time, it was difficult for the enemy to escape, so you must fight to the death, and that is when your Ninth Fleet dares to fight a tough battle. ”

Bloomberg praised Kenan, but he was worried that Kenan was too impatient. Judging by his bravery to the point of recklessness, let him lead the Ninth Fleet to lead the enemy forces, and once he fired, he forgot the task of feigning to retreat, and fell into a bloody 'melee' with the enemy. Therefore, whether it was the tentative 'sexual' attack just now or the task of containing the enemy forces in the future, the five-star admiral arranged for Zhou Jiande, who had the demeanor of a Confucian general, and his Eighth Fleet to carry it out.

After a series of faster-than-light moves in and out, at about 11 o'clock on June 13, nearly 2,000 warships of the Bundeswehr's Eighth Fleet reappeared in the space of three astronomical units in front of the Imperial Army. Zhou Jiande directly put out an umbrella formation this time and went straight to the imperial army.

Admiral Zeng Tai, commander of the "Napoleon" fleet, immediately ordered to form an umbrella formation to meet the enemy.

Once again, the two fleets fought as they had fought yesterday. Subsequently, as deployed by Admiral Bloomberg, the Eighth Fleet began to retreat gradually.

General Zeng Tai did not hesitate to order the pursuit. The two sides repeated the mistake of yesterday's retreat and advance, but the Imperial Army was ready for a sudden Bundeswehr counterattack through their own battle formations.

"Attention, just keep the effective combat distance!" Zeng Tai reminded his subordinates loudly.

That's enough distance to ensure they can hit their opponents effectively and enough space to respond to their sudden counterattacks.

At this moment, a notification ship hurriedly appeared next to the Imperial fleet and fired a communication "excited" light at the "Napoleon" in the middle of the battle.

"All stand back, retreat, get out of the fight!" Zeng Tai's reluctant voice came from the Imperial Army's communication system.