Chapter 187: A Rift at the Frontline

Even after the quantum bomb attack ended, the Alliance fleet managed to regroup some of the scattered forces and organize a defense.

But it was far too late.

They’d already lost more than half their warships. On top of that, losing advantageous positions and with the enemy pouring through the interstellar current in force…

In the end, the fleet of the Xitoris Kingdom took control of this sector, losing fewer than a thousand ships in the process.

The Alliance’s expeditionary strength from second-tier civilizations dropped from 143,000 warships down to 118,000.

And for at least the next decade, not a single organized fleet would be left to block Parlo or Tuoba.

For those civilizations nearby, all they could do was watch helplessly as destruction swept through. Their only real option was to put together fireseed fleets, gathering their elite and evacuating them to other allied civilizations.

One day, maybe they’d have a chance to return and rebuild their homeland.

The fact that fifty thousand warships had already been wiped out, first by the Ziyang Empire, then by Xitoris Kingdom, sent shockwaves through the Alliance. But what they didn’t realize was…

This was still just the appetizer.

Because by now, the Proxima warzone was shifting into full motion.

Four fleets—close to twenty thousand warships—were moving straight toward the frontlines.

Thanks to several stars newly ceded to the Federation by Parlo and Tuoba, along with territory previously transferred, the Federation now held a line from Proxima all the way to Alpha Centauri.

That meant the Federation Fleet could march directly to the frontline against the Wasteland Alliance.

At the same time, Parlo and Tuoba carefully changed their attack routes, steering clear of the corridor between the Federation and the Alliance.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t take that region. They’d already gotten word from Lin Yu that the Federation Fleet was closing in.

If they struck that area now, they’d just be trapping the Federation Fleet inside.

What, did they want to intimidate the Federation? Set up a challenge before they’d even arrived?

Or were they trying to keep the Federation out of the Alliance’s core, afraid of losing turf?

Obviously, as loyal subordinates, neither of them would be that foolish.

Instead, the two of them left a wide swath of territory untouched and diverted their attack around it.

However…

The Alliance knew nothing about the Federation’s presence.

To them, this odd maneuvering by Parlo and Tuoba made no sense at all.

Logically, since the two had formed an alliance, you’d expect them to push forward shoulder to shoulder.

After all, that way they could support each other at every turn.

But what actually happened?

They didn’t do anything of the sort.

If you flattened the star chart from three-dimensional to two, you’d see the two advancing on either wing of the Alliance’s core region. On the battlefront between both sides…

A massive salient had formed.

But this was not a salient created by their offensive—it was the Alliance itself, stuck between the Ziyang Empire and the Xitoris Kingdom, that had created this enormous bulge.

At first, the Alliance thought the two sides were just clearing the flanks before turning to crush the center.

After all, what else is a salient but a region tipping dangerously into the heart of enemy lines—a future trap?

But while that theory made sense, neither Parlo nor Tuoba showed any intention of evening out the front. They kept pouring all their forces into the flanks.

That left the Alliance bamboozled.

Weren’t they worried we’d use this salient to cut their supply lines?

After all, things like railgun ammunition, warship reactor fuel, food, water—everything needed resupplying.

Even the life-support systems…

Without resupply, they’d all shut down eventually.

If a crack unit slipped through the stars behind their armies and severed the supply fleet’s route…

Sure, that wouldn’t flip the war instantly, but it would force the enemy to pivot their fleets back, just to restore their supply lines.

Don’t underestimate the time buy. That little back-and-forth could give the Federation’s main force years of breathing room.

And now, with this huge salient in play…

Wasn’t this the best chance to strike?

Maybe they’d only be able to cobble together a few scattered fleets inside that bulge—perhaps three to four thousand ships, tops.

But this time they weren’t planning to go head-to-head with the two main enemy forces. They just wanted to use the salient to circle behind, smash the supply line, and force the main fleets to double back.

Better yet, once the rear was left wide open, they could push into enemy territory and create even more chaos.

So, three or four thousand ships would be more than enough.

The Alliance debated and refined this plan again and again, finally winning the backing of nearly every civilization.

Orders went out that same day. Every scattered fleet inside the salient was to rendezvous fast and, a year from now, they’d carry out the operation.

On one hand, it’d take time to draw troops from all the star systems involved.

On the other, letting Parlo and Tuoba’s main fleets push deeper into Alliance space would only make it harder for them to rush home in time.

So, if they had to turn back, they’d face a greater delay.

After tallying the numbers, they managed to scrape together 3,700 warships inside the whole salient.

Of those, 1,700 belonged to local garrisons on the respective stars.

Some systems had just a few dozen, others close to a hundred—altogether, 1,700 ships in reserve.

The other 2,000 were remnants—the defeated ships that had managed to escape the last two battles.

In a battle with tens of thousands of ships, even if you lose, a few are bound to slip away through the current.

Once the order arrived, every star system inside the salient sprang into action.

All warships moved out, heading toward the designated star for assembly.

——

Houyi.

Operations Conference Room.

Over twenty senior officers now gathered, studying the state of the frontlines.

“Commander, my team analyzed the current situation. We believe the Wasteland Alliance is likely to leverage the salient to send a small fleet through and sever the Ziyang Empire or Xitoris Kingdom’s supply lines,” someone said.

The speaker was Ye Lingwei, Commander of the Fifth Fleet, who appeared via holographic interface to participate remotely.

Looking back, she felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

The first time she met Lin Yu, she was just a colonel and he was a captain.

After the three-year war, Lin Yu had become a major general, while she’d only gotten a bump up to brigadier.

Later, when Mu Qingxue left the military for politics, she herself was promoted another rank, acting as major general and taking command of the Fifth Fleet. It finally put her on an even footing, rank-wise.

But that didn’t last long.

Lin Yu quickly became a lieutenant general.

Now, he’d gone even further—one of only two commanders in the Federation, taking charge of the Proxima warzone.

Sure, they were both called “Commander,” but commanding a warzone and a fleet weren’t even in the same league.

Still, for all her mixed feelings, there wasn’t a trace of jealousy.

“It’s not that they might. It’s a certainty!”

After Mu Qingxue finished speaking, Lin Yu nodded.

He replied without hesitation.