Chapter 722: 708 Keep Raising the Stakes
The 16 Strategic Fleet Groups of the Iridium Star United Empire, totaling over 180,000 warships, thoroughly shocked Tai Ruonuo and others.
Before the war began, these high-ranking officials who had aligned with the Galactic Empire were still confidently discussing the advantages of the Galactic Empire and had little regard for the people of Iridium Star, acting as if the Iridium Star people were completely unfit to be their enemies. Even after knowing that the Iridium Star United Empire was a catastrophe, they forgot the painful memories that past catastrophes had brought to the Galaxy and the Universe, believing that the Galactic Empire could eliminate any catastrophe.
Tai Ruonuo dispatched 130,000 Galactic Empire warships, including the core fleet of the ten giants. This power was originally what the Divine General relied on for success, but now, the people of Iridium Star kept irrationally jumping their fleets in, completely overwhelming the Galactic Empire's fleets.
"We can't let the catastrophe gain the upper hand. The second, third, no, the second through the sixth reserve squads, pass through the Stargate and join the battle immediately!"
It was like a game of poker, if Bai Zhongqi played a pair of fours, then Tai Ruonuo would play a pair of fives, always wanting to outdo the opponent. Therefore, the battlefield inevitably expanded, not because the fleets needed to maneuver, but simply because there were too many warships on the battlefield, forcing them to form a vast battlefield width.
The Nuoye fleet initially suffered a fierce blow at the start of the war. Although it suffered heavy losses, as soon as the large Iridium Star fleet arrived, it quickly mixed in with the other Iridium Star fleets and disappeared without a trace.
Li Cheng was still commanding his own fleet group, having gone through continuous fierce battles, his fleet group had already lost over thirty percent of its members, and compared to the allied forces that had just begun fighting, Li Cheng's soldiers were quite exhausted.
"How did this battle turn out this way?" the veteran Yu Dangkou still couldn't quite comprehend it.
Li Cheng sighed slightly and said, "I have a vague guess. I didn't expect the Chancellor to really turn this war into a war of attrition."
Yu Dangkou said passionately, "Let these fallen dogs see the power of Iridium Star."
As the central nerve, the Blade Empress did not mobilize all its firepower but chose to selectively use weapons to bombard the enemy.
Because of the presence of countless allies, many Iridium Star warships had stronger coordination in battle. When the shields of many warships were reduced to about thirty percent, they began to retreat under the cover of other allied forces to avoid being exposed to excessively intense firepower. If enemy warships attempted to pursue, other Iridium Star warships would fill in and fiercely attack the pursuing enemy ships to protect their companions.
In such a manner of fighting, although the density of firepower on the battlefield was extremely high, the speed at which both sides lost warships was not particularly fast.
"The enemy suddenly increased their number to 280,000 warships, Tai Ruonuo had prepared more forces than we imagined," Xu Lanzhou remained calm amidst danger, continually adjusting her deployments on a local scale in the battlefield, with each fleet group meticulously carrying out her commands.
It was precisely because of the outstanding performance of Xu Lanzhou and the Iridium Star generals that the losses of Iridium Star were far less than those of the Galactic Empire, which often suffered continual loss of warships due to ineffective cover and acting independently.
"After all, Tai Ruonuo represents the Prime Minister's Office, the de facto government of the Fallen Empire, which has integrated a large number of civilizations and has obtained the military power of most civilizations. He can throw out 280,000 warships without blinking an eye, and I am not surprised by this," Bai Zhongqi also appeared very calm.
Xu Lanzhou said, "Such a ratio of numbers will increase Tai Ruonuo's advantage, please Your Majesty send more fleets."
"Very well, we'll double it!" Bai Zhongqi was no longer afraid, he could not afford to lose this battle.
Even though everyone in the Iridium Star United Empire was absolutely loyal to the Chancellor, and even though the Iridium Star Empire Army now had 122 strategic fleet groups, the Swarm was even larger. But when the people of Iridium Star realized they had become the public enemy of the Galaxy, with almost every civilization in the Galaxy wanting to grind them to dust and crush them like insects, the people of Iridium Star still felt some concern.
Bai Zhongqi hoped this battle would send a signal to the people of Iridium Star that there was no need to be frightened; the strength of the Iridium Star United Empire was powerful enough to protect the United Empire and defeat the enemies of the United Empire.
From sixteen strategic fleet groups, it had doubled once again to thirty-two strategic fleet groups, totaling 380,000 warships; Bai Zhongqi's move could not merely be described as audacious.
Countless golden orbs almost wove into a net across the universe's firmament, as large numbers of Iridium Star Warships came forth, hurtling towards the warships of the Galactic Empire.
It was precisely because Bai Zhongqi, the Iridium Star Chancellor, could mobilize fleets so effortlessly that his opponent, Tai Ruonuo, a Divine General extremely adept at organization and strategic planning, had to link up more than four hundred civilizations and spend over four months just to preliminarily complete the battle preparations.
Yet Iridium Star Chancellor Bai Zhongqi had merely casually pulled a few strategic fleet groups from the Empire Army for combat readiness right before the battle. He held control over manned AI fleets and Swarm ships, and although the Glass Sphere was no longer usable, the Golden Great Sail Ship still had subspace cabins that could accommodate these fleets. With Bai Zhongqi on the battlefield, he could continuously deploy fleets to let the enemy feel the true terror.
Despite having a large number of AI warships and Swarm ships, the number of Iridium Star people participating in this battle was also exceptionally large, with over seven million crew members bravely fighting for Iridium Star and their Chancellor at various battle stations on different warships.
The innocently named ship "No Evil," initially part of the quick-response squadron, had already completed its rendezvous with the main fleet.
Kang Xiong looked at the woman pilot, Savannah, gearing up for battle again and felt some concern for this girl who had not been a qualified pilot for long.
In this battlefield, now filled with too many enemies, it was unclear which enemy might choose her as a target. Thus, manned space fighters like hers could be easily shot down in such a battlefield. Kang Xiong did not wish to see this young, vibrant, and beautiful life perish in the cold expanse of space.
But Savannah put on her gear very calmly and made her final preparations before combat.
"Lieutenant, may you achieve swift victory." Kang Xiong wanted to say something more, but in the end, he could only offer encouragement as a comrade.
Savannah smiled gently, seemingly understanding Kang Xiong's concerns, and then said, "I won't die so easily. Today, I won't be at ease returning until I've achieved a hundred victories."