Decisive Battle

It was the Independence Defense Fleet that started the war in the first place.

The Federation battle line was advancing in two halves in the center. They wanted to attack the battle ships, not the fortress.

The Federation fleet was now in range of the fortress’ main guns.

“Fire”

At Setsuto’s order, the main guns of the fortress opened fire. Because of the large spread of federal troops, more than half of the main guns, 700 guns, were capable of targeting the enemy.

It is a raging fire.

Immediately, more than eighty of the Federation’s battle fleet ships were scattered.

The Federation battle cruiser near the center stopped moving and retreated to get some distance. They saw that the range of the fortress’ main guns was there and moved away from the range.

The Federals continued their advance, moving away from both sides of the battle line ships to keep them out of range as much as possible. At the same time, they rearranged the line of ships so that it was time for C.

The fortress continued its bombardment.

The beam’s attack power doesn’t instantly drop to zero when it is distanced.

A super high-powered fortress main gun would not be able to avoid damage at some distance.

Although the number of ships that exploded was decreasing, the fortress was steadily inflicting damage on the Federation fleet. Even with the decay, 60 to 70 ships were still blown up in a single salvo.

The battle fleet ships of the Independent Defense Fleet also changed their shape into a c-shape so that they could face the Federation fleet squarely.

As the figure of C reached a 90-degree angle, the Federals stopped spreading out and resumed their advance.

The one-sided attack by the fortress’ main gun continues.

The federal troops were unfazed and continued to advance while taking evasive maneuvers.

“If you know what you’re doing, you’ll be ready.”

Vetsia looked at the situation and muttered. The sight of his former army, disfigured by an unexpected attack, was a thorn in his side.

Vetsia’s fleet, the 1st Fleet of the Kingdom of Mars Camino, was on the left wing of the Independent Defense Fleet. Next to it was the same 3rd Fleet. Even though it was joined by the remnants of the 2nd fleet, it was still smaller than the 1st fleet.

The Sagittarius-class ship that was given to us was named Varion and was at the head of the line.

“The Federation fleet will soon be in effective range of the Sagittarius class.”
“Yes. Right on schedule.”

All Sagittarius class ships are concentrated on the left wing.

In terms of numbers, the left and right wings are equal, but in terms of strength, the left wing is the stronger of the two. The initial plan was to use the left wing to defeat the right wing of the Federation fleet and then go on to encircle the center and left wings of the Federation fleet on one wing.

The seven Sagittarius-class battleships began firing almost simultaneously.

The Federation warships held their ground defensively.

Ten minutes later, the fortress sub-cannons opened fire this time. In one fell swoop, nearly double the previous number of 150 battlecruisers were killed.

“The bombardment’s more intense than recorded! What the hell is going on?”

In Rayse’s fleet command center, the general staff screamed.

“Don’t freak out, you’re still the Chief of Staff. Stay cool.”

Rayse chided the chief of staff.

“Your job is to calculate the lives of soldiers as if they were counted in pennies. Do the math. Do you need a response?”
“Excuse me. Now.”
“No apology necessary. Soldiers will die for every word you say.”

Having said that, Rayse had a gut feeling that they needed to respond. The number of ships in the battle line was dwindling much faster than expected.

More than 1,500 battlecruisers had already been lost on the right flank of the Federation forces under the concentration of the attack.

“Sir, it’s not good.”
“All frigates, charge.”

At the general staff’s straightforward report, Rayse made an immediate decision.

“All battlecruisers are to maintain top priority on defense after the bombardment begins.”

Rayse’s orders were immediately relayed to the fleet in an encoded luminous signal.

The frigates that formed the upper, lower, left and right sides of the Federation fleet blew propulsion flames and began to accelerate.

The target is an Independence Defense Fleet battle cruiser.

Seeing this, the frigates and pirates on the Independent Defense Fleet side also moved.

They began to accelerate in order to stop the frigates in front of them.

Federal frigates approaching from both sides will be met with fortifications. I decided to have some of the main guns that had been targeting the battle line ships target the frigates.

While the frigate was moving, the battle line ships were in effective range of each other.

“Fire!”

The orders were almost simultaneous. The bombardment happened almost simultaneously.

The beam arrows fired by the warships rained down on each other’s fleets.

Neither side was able to inflict significant damage on the other, as both warships focused their energies on defense and evasion with survival as the top priority.

However, the Federation’s battle fleet was steadily reduced in numbers by the bombardment of the fortress.

Even though only secondary guns were used to target the battle fleet, about 70 ships were sunk in a single salvo. In just 10 minutes, nearly 500 ships were sunk. It was not a pleasant situation.

It was safe to say that the Federation’s battle fleet was holding up well, despite the large holes here and there in its ranks.

The Federation frigates that tried to approach the battle fleet from above and below were not able to move as they wished, as a melee between the pirates and the frigates of the Independent Defense Fleet began.

The pirate force was small in number, but the guns and shields provided by the fortress were effective, and they were more than a match for the federal frigates.

Even as the frigates tried to close in from both sides, the ferocious fire of the fortress’ main guns sank the ships at an incredible rate.

Seeing the situation, Rayse gave the order.

“Have them lower the battle cruiser.”

The Federation warships began to reverse. They stopped firing and continued their evasive maneuvers, trying to move away from the fortress as fast as they could.

The fortress and the battle cruiser begin their pursuit. The warships of the Independent Defense Fleet matched the speed of the fortress. The fortress was huge, and it couldn’t accelerate very fast. The acceleration it could produce was slower than the battle cruiser.

The distance between the pursuing Federation warships and the chasing fortresses gradually diminished.

The frigates on either side of the Federation also began a movement to distance themselves from the fortress. The frigates on either side of the Federation began to move away from the fortress, taking trajectories that would allow them to get out of range of the fortress most quickly.

Frigates above and below the fray are unable to retreat. Retreating in the midst of a melee would be difficult and could result in heavy casualties, and the fact that they were in a melee meant that they were not being bombarded by the fortress.

By the time the Federation battlecruisers were out of range of the fortress main guns, the 33,000 ships had been reduced to less than 20,000.

The only remaining Federation forces were the upper and lower frigates, but the frigates made no attempt to break up the melee. Even if the Independent Defense Fleet tried to resolve the melee, they would not let it happen.

Once the melee is over, the fortress will be subjected to a full-scale bombardment.

The Federation forces were desperate to keep the melee going.

The Federation battlecruisers continued to retreat out of range of the fortress. They seemed to be trying to avoid the warp jammers, out of range, to the point where they could warp.

“I can’t even keep up.”

Settsu was inside the fortress command center, watching the situation. He was a little disappointed with the slow pace of the fortress.

The frigates were still engaged in a melee nearby. The Black and Silver Glory seemed to be continuing the fight without any major damage. We’re pushing it. It won’t be long before this is settled.

Looking at the situation on the Imperial Fleet side, the Imperial Fleet was pushing hard. Originally, it was 50,000 to 30,000. If you’re looking for the best of the best, you’re going to have to look no further.

The 30,000-strong Federation fleet continued to fight in retreat, but finally the Imperial fleet deployed dragoons and frigates to force a breakthrough in the center.

(Looks like we won.)

Settsu thought.

“All Federation battlecruisers and disembarked frigates are preparing for warp. Warp destination analysis in progress.”

Mitsuki brought up the report.

“Analysis complete. The Imperial Fleet is behind us.”
“What?”
“Thirty seconds to Federation warp-in.”

This is not good.

The Federation ships are accelerating at almost full speed to get away from the fortress and gaining speed. They will rush to the Imperial Fleet soon after warp out.

The fortress was unable to warp in due to the frigates brawling in the immediate vicinity, the aftermath of their beams acting as warp jammers.

The Federation forces have entered short-range warp.

Less than 20,000 battlecruisers and 3,000 frigates attacked behind the Imperial fleet.