The battlefield in Star Region 106 was like a vortex, drawing the attention of both fleets into its depths.
After several hours of combat, both sides had lost over three hundred warships each, yet the battle remained deadlocked with neither gaining the upper hand.
On Katon's side, the Pioneer Fleet always reacted swiftly. Even when several fortresses suddenly intensified their attacks to breach the defensive line, the Pioneers would quickly seal the gaps and even turn the tables by setting up flanking firepower. They would lure Katon's forces deeper before delivering a crushing counterblow.
After several such exchanges, the situation had stabilized: the Katon Fleet held a firepower advantage but couldn't break the Pioneers' formation, while the Pioneers leveraged their mobility and swarms of fighter jets to keep Katon's forces at bay.
Liu Hai and the others were still searching for the main force of the Katon Fleet, suppressing their desire to annihilate this legion outright.
Meanwhile, Katon's forces seemed intent on drawing more of the Pioneer Fleet into the fray. They alternated seamlessly between offense and defense—unleashing overwhelming firepower when attacking, forcing the Pioneers to retreat to maintain distance, and forming an impenetrable shield when defending, not even allowing fighter jets to break through.
"Where are they hiding?" Liu Hai's scout ship had combed through dozens of star systems in the vicinity, yet there was still no trace of the Katon Fleet.
"I feel like I'm missing something. Otherwise, we should have found them by now."
It wasn't just Liu Hai—everyone else had also deployed scout ships to search the surrounding regions. Logically, the movement of multiple legions should leave traces, whether in the form of spatial ripples or ion wakes from their engines. These were impossible to conceal entirely.
"Found them!" Wang Yuchun's sudden shout drew everyone's attention.
"They're here—moving along this warp lane, heading toward the three star systems controlled by the Li Family. There's a chance they're trying to encircle and destroy our forces from the rear."
Liu Hai verified the route Wang Yuchun had pointed out. After confirming that the energy readings along this patrol line were abnormally high—far exceeding what a patrol fleet would leave behind—he knew Wang Yuchun was right.
"Devious. They're advancing along the patrol fleet's route, using the recently passed patrol ships as cover to mask their own fleet movements. And instead of using the space warp points, they're relying on intra-stellar warps."
"Risky, but effective. They've managed to slip five legions right into our controlled territory." Du Jia sneered before asking, "Do we wait any longer?"
"No. Five legions are more than enough. If we take them out, Katon's advantage is gone!" Deng Pinghua quickly dispatched scout ships to warp ahead and deploy probes along the route.
Meanwhile, Liu Hai began regrouping their warships, sending several destroyers ahead to set up an ambush in a nearby star system, transforming an otherwise ordinary region into a deadly trap.
Five legions, risking the patrol fleet's route, using stellar energy to mask their warp signatures—by now, they must have already suffered over a hundred warships lost to non-combat attrition alone.
"Confirm the route and notify all fleets—it's time to get to work." Xue Renli clenched his fist as he began deploying the encirclement. Although there was still a chance the Katon Fleet was repeating their old trick and might once again be bait, so what? This time, they were fully prepared. Even if the enemy tried to launch a surprise attack on their headquarters, they'd only end up battered and bruised.
The Pioneer Fleet, upon receiving the orders, gradually moved into their designated positions, while the fleets stationed along the border remained unchanged.
Li Yali's Starsea Fleet was also on the list for the encirclement, though due to its smaller size, it was assigned to the second wave.
Star System No. 23 was already very close to the Stardust Star Region—just a dozen warp jumps away—positioned in a strategically secure location where they could both advance and retreat with ease.
To lure the Katon Fleet further in, the Li Family openly dispatched three fleets toward Star Region No. 23. This fleet size still fell within standard anomaly response protocols and didn't exceed warning thresholds.
Detecting the approaching fleets, the Katon Fleet maneuvered behind the star, attempting to conceal their presence. Their scout ships had already dispersed, with over a dozen probes heading toward several of the Li Family's star systems.
The encirclement fleet moved swiftly. Dozens of fleets gradually arrived at their assigned positions, surrounding the Katon Fleet within Star Region No. 23.
Two hours later, the sluggish Li Family fleets finally reached Star System No. 23. However, instead of entering directly, they lingered on the periphery, launching hundreds of large probes into the region.
By the time the Katon Fleet realized something was wrong, the encirclement was already in place, ready to warp into the star system at any moment to trap them like dumplings in a pot.
"All fleets synchronized."
"Command systems synchronized."
"Real-time data sharing complete."
"Fleet combat systems synchronized."
"Jump engines of all fleets fully charged."
"Warp coordinates marked—ready to jump at any time."
...
As each piece of information rapidly converged in the command center, the atmosphere grew unbearably tense. The outcome of this battle would determine the balance of power between both sides in the Third Spiral Arm. Victory here was absolutely critical.
"Initiate warp!" Xue Renli stood alone on the command platform, his iron-willed silhouette casting a resolute shadow over the room.
Dozens of Pioneer Fleets activated their jump engines simultaneously. Within Star System No. 23, alarms blared frantically across the Katon Fleet as intense spatial distortions made every Katon creature aboard feel an inexplicable shadow looming over them.
The first wave—tens of thousands of warships—appeared almost in unison within the star system, encircling the five Katon Legions within the star's gravitational pull.
The moment the fleets emerged, they were met with a barrage from the Katon Fleet's fortress cannons. Dozens of warships were obliterated before they could even evade.
The resulting energy tide surged outward, yet both fleets remained unshaken amidst the chaos. Laser cannons, each with barrels dozens of meters wide, glowed red as the two sides exchanged a "warm greeting" intense enough to melt metal.
After the first exchange of fire, both sides quickly regrouped. The Katon Fleet, having concealed their presence earlier, had their warships packed too closely together, inadvertently blocking some of their own firepower with their tight formation.
The Pioneer Fleet had been plotting for a long time, with their Jump Points scattered in different locations—only coincidentally forming a connected area. Their formations hadn't yet fully deployed, leaving many gaps exposed.
At the same time, the second wave of the Pioneer Fleet entered the battlefield. The moment Li Yali's Starsea Fleet arrived, they locked onto the Katon Legion's position and immediately launched dozens of enhanced Gravity Sources via Spatial projection toward the enemy.
Neither side had activated Space distortion at this point. However, the natural Space distortion effect within the star's gravitational range was already present. Both sides deliberately refrained from deploying space anchors, each with their own strategic objectives.
This was where the Starsea Fleet proved its worth. Though their warship numbers were small, the Star Sea Group had both wealth and cutting-edge technology on their side!
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