Fourth Fleet's Predicament

Lieutenant Commander Xiu Yong was in a predicament, "But, Excellency, how exactly am I supposed to convey this to the other Senior Admirals?" he inquired.

Mu Kongdong's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "You needn't concern yourself with their reactions. Simply instruct them to follow the Cerberus Formation obediently. This is just a contingency plan in case the situation takes an unfavorable turn, and it may not even come into effect."

"Understood!" Lieutenant Commander Xiu Yong felt relieved.

With that said, Mu Kongdong's thoughts lingered on the Senior Admirals notoriously troublesome nature.

"We shall see how this unfolds." Mu Kongdong mused, retreating to his private quarters.

Four years ago, upon Mu Kongdong's graduation from the Military Academy, he was deemed an unremarkable newly minted ensign.

He was not even among the top thousand ensigns the academy had to offer. However, his current status could not be further from that description.

He had accomplished what no other officer in the entire alliance has been able to achieve.

Despite being in his early twenties and only on the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had reached Admiralty.

Mu Kongdong was the sole officer who held this honorable rank at such a young age.

The pace at which he jumped in rankings was just as outrageous as Luo Yin's.

—

After a considerable amount of time had elapsed, a sudden uproar erupted on the bridge of the Flagship Hades.

Not a pleasant one.

It had been caused by an urgent message that had just been received from a surveillance craft.

The message conveyed that the Imperial Fleet was not present in the anticipated area and was instead accelerating rapidly, heading straight for the Fourth Fleet.

"The Imperial Fleet is not in the area we predicted. They are accelerating rapidly and will intercept the Fourth Fleet!"

"What?! That's insane... They wouldn't!" Lieutenant Commander Xiu Yong exclaimed in disbelief. His voice was shrill and laced with hysteria.

"It appears that they have taken action," responded Admiral Mu Kongdong, who had just received the same news and returned from his private quarters. His face was inscrutable and detached.

"How could they be so reckless?!" Xiu Yong asked, turning to face Mu Kongdong.

"Let us assess the situation first." replied Mu Kongdong calmly, turning his attention towards the display screen, carefully considering his next move.

As the Fourth Fleet of the Alliance was caught unaware, Admiral Chen Liang, the commander of the Fourth Fleet, was left flummoxed upon hearing the report of Imperial warships approaching at a rapid pace.

The display screen of the Flagship Enterprise was awash with points of light, the luminosity increasing with each passing moment, giving rise to a sense of impending doom that made the hearts of all who saw it race and their mouths go dry.

It was a sight filled with menace.

"What is the meaning of this? What do the Imperials think they're doing? Why would they—?" Admiral Chen Liang growled, sitting up straight in his command chair, his voice low and menacing.

Some of those present thought it was a ridiculous question, though they numbered just a few.

The Imperial force intended to bring its full power to bear on the Fourth Fleet — that much should have been obvious.

But the Alliance leaders had never imagined such a daring assault being launched by an enemy being hemmed in on three sides.

Caught in an enclosure formation, facing a more numerous enemy, the Imperial Fleet would yield to its defensive instincts, they'd reasoned, contracting their battle lines and concentrating their force into a tight formation.

Against this, the alliance forces could then pour in from three sides at uniform velocity, surround them like a finely woven net, and concentrate their firepower to slowly —but most assuredly— shear away their capacity for resistance.

That was how the Cerberus Formation had been used centuries ago, and praises were sung to this day by the two great Admirals who had emerged victorious back then.

This enemy, however, had not acted at all in accordance with the alliance military's calculations. The Imperial Fleet's sudden and aggressive move had caught the Alliance off guard.

Their enemy had not behaved as expected, and the Alliance's carefully crafted plan seemed to be falling apart.

The Admiral bellowed, "What in the world is this? Has their commander even studied the art of warfare? Who in their right mind would wage a battle in such a manner?"

The Admiral's mouth emitted an unwise stream of words as he rose from his command seat and wiped the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand.

A steady temperature of 16.5 degrees was maintained throughout the Flagship; he shouldn't have been breaking out in a sweat but the current predicament just didn't allow him to stay still.

"Sir, what shall we do?" A staff officer's voice, lacking in composure, cut through the Admiral's thoughts, grating on his nerves.

"What do you mean by that!? Wasn't it you lads who insisted on employing the Cerberus Formation?"

Chen Liang pondered, placing the onus of contingency planning on the staff officers as it was the responsibility of all the Fleets collectively and not him alone.

Still, this was neither the time nor place to be losing his temper.

The Imperial Fleet comprised twenty thousand Warships, while the Fourth Fleet of the alliance had only twelve thousand. The alliance's plans had been utterly derailed.

The plan was to encircle and attack an enemy fleet of twenty thousand ships with a combined force of forty thousand ships from the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Fleets.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Fourth Fleet was left to confront the dauntingly larger enemy alone.

"Emergency messages to the Second and Fifth Fleets: We are engaging enemies in the sector. Requesting immediate support," ordered Admiral Chen Liang.

"Jamming waves from the Imperial fleet are eating into the alliance fleet's communications voraciously!" Lieutenant Commander Nan responded with desperation, which was reflected in her expression.

The Imperial fleet's jamming waves were ferociously devouring the alliance's communications, leaving them helpless in the face of the enemy.

Tens of thousands of Communication Jamming Devices, deployed on Luo Yin's orders, were floating in the darkness of the starry sky, hindering the Fourth Fleet's attempts to communicate.

"In that case, send out human messengers! Two of them to each fleet!" Admiral Chen Liang shouted, realizing the need for an alternative method of communication.

However, his face turned pale for a moment as a flash of bright light from the display screen shone on the Admiral's face.