To ensure the smooth progress of the plan, Liu Hai went to great lengths to persuade the Pioneers of the Third Spiral Arm.
Only after guaranteeing that their production wouldn't be affected by the war did they reluctantly agree.
In the hastily assembled joint operations command center of the Third Spiral Arm Pioneers, over ten thousand staff officers were organized. While analyzing feedback from various fronts, they continuously mapped out the positions and strengths of their own Pioneer fleets.
At the command table, Liu Hai, Xue Renli, and a few others sat together, discussing the deployment of the plan.
Xue Renli shook his head while holding the current force distribution map. "Our strength in the Third Spiral Arm is still too weak. Even with the Armament support you've provided and the additional Pioneers we've attracted, our total force only amounts to thirteen Legions. Compared to the dozens of Legions often deployed in the First and Second Spiral Arms, our operations here are just small-scale skirmishes."
"It's indeed too little," Wang Yuchun, a representative of the Pioneers, added with a worried expression. "The confirmed strength of the Katon Fleet already exceeds twenty Legions, and they have over a hundred Fortresses. On our side, even with yours included, we only have thirty or so—and that's only thanks to the exchange privileges we gained after destroying several Katon Fortresses last time. Otherwise, we might not even have ten."
Liu Hai tried to reassure them. "It's not as dire as you think. The Katon Fleet has far more areas to defend than we do. This time, we're taking the initiative, and our goal is merely to whittle down their active forces, not to attack their main base.
"As long as we don't go into this with the mindset of a full-frontal decisive battle, we can chip away at them bit by bit."
As a seasoned commander, Xue Renli understood Liu Hai's plan the moment he heard it. What puzzled him was why Liu Hai, who had always focused on development and construction, would suddenly choose to take the offensive. They could have simply held out until the situation in the central region became clearer—why take the risk of defeat now?
Considering the series of Armament Liu Hai had provided, Xue Renli didn't believe they would actually lose, but casualties were inevitable. After all, the Katon Fleet wasn't concentrated in one place either; they were spread across thousands of light-years, making it impossible to encircle them quickly.
"Using the Starsea Fleet as bait to lure the Katon Fleet into attacking... I'm not sure that's reliable," Wang Yuchun said, pointing at the plan.
"Given how brutally Liu Hai crushed the Katon Fleet before, they're bound to be suspicious about the Starsea Fleet's sudden appearance. They'll likely assume the fleet is carrying Weapons of Mass Destruction. Getting them to attack proactively will be difficult."
Liu Hai and the others acknowledged the validity of this point. But aside from the Starsea Fleet, what else could provoke the Katon Fleet into attacking out of sheer hatred?
Xue Renli and Liu Hai simultaneously thought of one person—the unlucky kid, Xue Jiye.
Liu Hai glanced at Xue Renli. After all, this was Xue Jiye's uncle. Using his nephew as bait seemed a bit too harsh.
Xue Renli didn't see any issues with the plan. As fellow Pioneers, Xue Jiye himself wanted payback after constantly being on the receiving end of attacks. Currently, they were confined to the Brolly Starfield with nowhere else to go. The opportunity to deal a major blow to the enemy would surely please him.
So Xue Renli took the initiative to handle this task, assuring everyone that he would persuade Xue Jiye to act as bait.
With the bait fleet secured, the next steps became much simpler.
The various Pioneer Fleets adjusted their positions, equipped with the second-generation Blending with Dust System, Jump Engines, and space stabilizers provided by Liu Hai. This ensured they could arrive at designated locations within hours to join the battle.
The group spent some time discussing the distribution of the Katon Fleet, mainly selecting suitable fleets based on existing intelligence. They also needed to leak Xue Jiye's information through normal channels to lure the enemy in.
Subsequently, they made detailed plans for various scenarios—whether to encircle three sides while leaving one open, besiege the enemy to draw reinforcements, or handle unexpected developments. Special attention was given to the potential arrival of Katon's main fleet. Liu Hai made it clear that his target was precisely their main force.
"If we don't crush their main fleet, how can we sweep through the Third Spiral Arm?"
Xue Renli and the others didn't argue with him. Since he was determined, they let him take charge. After all, this was an ambush—if the battlefield was well-prepared, they could always warp away if they encountered stiff resistance.
Thinking about this made Xue Renli grit his teeth slightly. The space stabilizers and Warp Devices Liu Hai had sold were indeed effective.
However, after repeated setbacks, the Katon Fleet adopted a brute-force approach, assigning one or two ships equipped with high-power spatial disruption to each fleet. While this didn't completely neutralize the Pioneers' Jump Engines, it did limit their warp range.
At the very least, forced warps were no longer possible within ten light-minutes of the Katon Fleet. Fortunately, their warp capabilities remained reliable enough to ensure the Pioneer Fleets could escape Katon's spatial interference.
Over time, the Pioneer Fleet commanders equipped with these new devices had developed a series of tactics.
Unfortunately, production was insufficient. Only those in the Third Spiral Arm had access to the equipment, and despite the Katon Fleet suffering significant losses, they still held a numerical advantage. The Pioneers could only engage in minor skirmishes, securing small amounts of Military Merits.
This tactical plan also leveraged their superior warp capabilities. Fleets equipped with the new Jump Engines could travel much faster than the Katon Fleet, and this time difference was their key advantage.
A few days later, the plan was finalized, and the various Pioneer Fleets moved to their designated patrol zones. To avoid alerting the Katon Fleet, all movements were conducted within reasonable patrol ranges.
Under Li Yali's command, the Starsea Fleet also activated the Blending with Dust System and set off quietly. Meanwhile, the Brolly Starfield intensified its efforts to detect and destroy Katon probes while increasing material transport. Numerous military supplies were delivered to the Pioneer Fleets via transport ships.
While setting the trap for the Katon Fleet, Liu Hai also began relocating personnel and construction equipment from the Gemini Starfield. This process was slow and would take several years to complete.
The destination for the relocation was the tail region of the Third Spiral Arm, where matter was sparse, and the distance between star systems stretched to nearly ten light-years. Although this was unfavorable for material transport, it was the only area with sufficient safe space for the time being.
As for the Fourth Arm, Liu Hai had dispatched dozens of Angel Frigates to scout the situation, preparing to establish a new industrial base there once Cactus Sister and her forces initiated combat operations.
With multiple fronts in motion and preparations underway, Liu Hai himself would pilot the Seed Ship and depart the Gemini Starfield with the Transport Fleet, heading for the tail-end star systems to await research results.
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