Chapter 95: Desperate Tactics and the Last Stand

Tumelo’s latest strategy wasn’t anything fancy, but it needed two huge conditions to succeed.

First, his forces had to outnumber the enemy by at least ten to one. Second, the enemy couldn’t simply retreat in the opposite direction. Otherwise, even splitting up his fleet, he’d always be chasing and never able to form a true encirclement.

Now, both of those major conditions were met.

On top of that, the Fifth Fleet had to double back so they wouldn’t jeopardize the final battle.

That’s how Tumelo found his opening. With a simple, not-particularly-brilliant tactic, he forced the Fifth Fleet into a desperate struggle.

“Qingxue, things aren’t looking good. If we keep heading toward Jupiter, the ops team calculates there’s an 87.5% chance we’ll be completely surrounded before reaching our target.”

“Even so, we have no choice. The big picture comes first!”

Lying in bed, Mu Qingxue spoke with calm determination.

She knew the entire Federation Fleet was ready to act. There was no way they’d abandon every battle plan just for the Fifth Fleet.

Otherwise, her grandfather—Mu Xingchen—would’ve already ordered the Fifth Fleet to scrap the old plan and focus solely on breaking out of the encirclement.

Since that order never came, it could only mean one thing…

Everything had to proceed as originally planned. And as for the Fifth Fleet…

No matter what it cost, they had to draw the enemy to the objective on schedule.

Mu Xingchen was her grandfather, sure. But he was—

He was also the Supreme Commander of the entire Federation Fleet.

Mu Qingxue understood that all too well.

She quickly pulled up a 3D tactical starmap, displaying a winding, twisting route and a special marker dangerously close to it.

“Ling Wei, keep the fleet on this course. If my calculations are right, this is where we’ll be fully blocked off.”

“We’re almost there, but we still have five days of travel left!”

After studying the star chart, Ye Lingwei let out a long sigh.

Close as they might be, until they reached the exact spot, it was all still a failure.

“I know. Even if we get surrounded, we won’t face too many enemy fleets at once. If my guess is right, only two or three fleets will stand in our way at first.”

“And before others close in from different directions, we can use the Warstar formation to punch open a route and cover the rear. That should give the three sub-fleets a real shot to break out.”

“After that, as long as Qin Xuan and the others avoid major mistakes, the mission should be a success!”

As Mu Qingxue laid out her plan, the starmap animated, playing out her entire projection like a simulation.

The Qiongxiao Warstar and over fifty escort warships would serve as bait, trading themselves so the other three sub-fleets could break free.

Once they made it out, the Warstar formation would cover their retreat.

As for the outcome…

Even with the Warstar formation, if two or three Klein fleets pinned them down—and with the others closing in from every angle—

There was no chance any would survive.

Mu Qingxue was ready to lay down her life if that’s what it took for the Federation’s master plan to succeed.

“Qingxue, even if it’s got to be done, you don’t have to go yourself. Someone else can handle it—”

“No. This isn’t an easy job, and I won’t trust anyone else with it.”

Mu Qingxue shook her head and refused without hesitation.

How long they could hold—the linchpin of the whole plan—came down to the one in charge.

It was a test of command ability on the highest level.

She didn’t trust anyone else to pull it off.

“If only Lin Yu were here. He’d definitely find a way to save both sides.”

Ye Lingwei sighed again.

At the same time…

“Wait, Qingxue, why not contact Lin Yu anyway? He might just have a solution.”

“No point. Unless the Fifth Fleet triples its strength overnight, no one could turn this around. I won’t distract him.”

Mu Qingxue shook her head once more.

——

Forty-seven days later.

No matter how the Fifth Fleet tried to adjust course, Tumelo’s twenty-four small fleets closed off their escape.

Like a massive sphere, the encirclement left the Fifth Fleet with nowhere to run.

Now, any breakout attempt would run into two, maybe three enemy fleets blocking the path.

And if they got bogged down, the ring would contract. In just seven hours, the remaining two dozen enemy fleets would swoop in from every direction.

By now, Mu Qingxue had mostly recovered and taken command on the bridge.

“Ling Wei, is everyone evacuated?”

“Already done. Aside from essential personnel, everyone else in the Qiongxiao battle group has been sent to the other three sub-fleets. But the whole 147th Heavy Orbital Drop Regiment on the Qiongxiao refused the evacuation order.”

“What’s Su Mu up to?”

Mu Qingxue slammed the captain’s chair armrest.

“Qingxue, Su Mu said if the Commander wants to court-martial him, so be it—he’s got no complaints!”

“And he added that without the 147th Heavy Orbital Drop Regiment, the Qiongxiao would fall even faster. So…”

A court-martial…

Who knew if anyone would even survive after this battle? What’s the point of a court-martial, anyway?

Mu Qingxue couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.

There was nothing else she could do. She just let out a small sigh.

If it weren’t an official setting, she’d probably call Su Mu ‘uncle’—after all, he’d been trained by her grandfather over thirty years ago.

Given the current situation, too.

Once Su Mu made up his mind, there was no changing it.

“Fine. If they want to stay, let them stay. Honestly, without them, if even just a few assault corvettes broke through, the whole ship could fall in no time.”

Everyone knew how fierce the Klein warriors were.

If dozens or hundreds stormed the Qiongxiao, the regular crew wouldn’t stand a chance—especially after 90% of their people had been sent to other sub-fleets. There’d be no way to stop them.

“Qiongxiao battle group, advance!”

“Order the First, Second, and Fourth Sub-Fleets to follow right behind us!”

“Once the way is open, don’t let them hesitate. Break out—then don’t look back!”

Mu Qingxue traced a finger over the 3D tactical map, issuing her command.

In the next moment, the whole Qiongxiao battle group shifted into battle formation and began to accelerate.

The three sub-fleets kept their distance, trailing close behind.

“Deploy all railgun batteries.”

“All ships, target the enemy fleet dead ahead! Concentrate your fire at the center of their formation—maximum density, focus every gun!”

“Fire!”