Chapter 986: Chapter 531, First Battle of the Battle Cruiser

The blue and white-painted ‘Furyflame’, using the brilliant star of Yuehe VII as a backdrop, slowly glided through the void.

A series of high-speed drifting space debris was pushed aside by the Void Shield, gradually recharging and returning to its normal color. Those moving slowly were destroyed by an occasional cannon shot, exploding into ashes. The smaller and even slower debris simply brushed past, leaving mere scratches on the armor.

This space debris was all created by the ‘Furyflame’ and its smaller ships over the past five hours.

Originally, they belonged to various space vessels, the jewels of the Princess Star Domain.

And now, five hours later, they all turned into space debris.

The ‘Furyflame’ traversed this debris field, its long, elegant silhouette of the Sacred Chalice class, flanked by dozens of small ships of various levels, appeared menacing, as if patrolling its battle achievements.

This was indeed a swift and fruitful surprise attack.

Furyflame was brought by Yan Fangxu. They arrived in the northern Menghe Star Domain ahead of the main force and joined Perbov’s forces, who were desperately resisting the southward assault of Furyflame in the area.

Perbov was the frontline Commander, Yan Fangxu was the highest-ranking general of the Alliance Army, and this sortie was given high authority by Gu Hang. The two had the right to judge the situation and decide how to fight the battle.

After analyzing the situation in several war-torn Star Sectors, they quickly devised a plan with a naval focus.

Being generals from the Alliance Army, they couldn’t themselves develop a complete naval strategy. Their identities now were not merely confined to the army. Although in terms of rank, one was an Army General, the other an Army Admiral, they led a war zone with the identity of Army Generals. Navy Generals under the same war zone had to follow their orders.

This was very different from the Empire’s rules. In the Empire, the Star Realm Army and the Imperial Navy are two distinct systems, with no subordinate relationship. Sometimes, the Imperial Navy even refused to carry the Star Realm Army for combat, forcing the Star Realm Army to find alternative ways to ferry troops to the battlefield.

Even in better cooperative conditions, it was just cooperation.

Since it was cooperation, there was no mandatory order completion. Help if they could, and if unwilling, there wasn’t much the other side could do except argue, but it didn’t resolve the problem.

Even if the Empire dispatched a senior general or someone special to oversee as a Theater Commander, whether they could effectively command both the Star Realm Army and the Imperial Navy nominally under them depended on their personal ability and relationship depth.

After all, this kind of temporary subordination was not lasting and was quite doubtful in terms of enforcement.

These issues, however, did not exist in the Alliance.

In the Alliance, there was a clear hierarchical relationship. For a large war zone, once the war zone leader was set, whether from the Navy or the Army, the participating troops transferred under them must unconditionally obey orders. Those violating orders would be dealt with by military law.

Political commissars were watching.

For a small temporary battlefield, if the war zone commander appointed someone, that person would take charge. If not appointed, the parties would consult; if unresolved, they would report upwards until a superior or Theater Commander was engaged.

The war zone commander here, previously Perbov, was now Yan Fangxu on his arrival. The strategic decisions made by the two had to be executed by the Alliance Navy.

Of course, it wasn’t that the two Army generals simply charged ahead recklessly. The Command Center had Navy-specialized officers among its staff who would devise the specific operational targets.

Once targets were set, the Navy’s captains and staff would develop detailed action plans in line with the Command Center’s goals before reporting back.

Once the Command Center approved the action plan, it could be executed.

This was a complete process.

Of course, unexpected events happened frequently in war, so it wasn’t always possible to complete the entire process. In emergencies, one must adapt spontaneously.

As for the present situation, it certainly wasn’t an emergency.

After completing the process, the Furyflame’s captain, a Navy Major General, evaluated the situation, participated in the planning, and took personal action.

The ‘Furyflame’ set out with three cruisers, twenty-nine small and medium-sized ships, accompanying a transport fleet.

They disguised themselves as part of the transport fleet and faked an exposure of their Star Language information.

As they passed through the Star Realm Tunnel of Yuehe VII, the enemy took the bait.

A few of the Princess’s destroyers, thinking they had caught their prey, pounced.

Then, they were horrified to see the ‘Furyflame’s’ long, graceful silhouette.

The Princess’s ships, scared out of their wits, turned and fled.

But with the prey hooked, the Furyflame’s maiden appearance was entirely unwilling to let go.

A typical battleship might not have caught an enemy intent on fleeing.

But the high-speed Sacred Chalice-class battlecruiser was certainly not among the clumsy types.