With this buffer, the twelve capital ships passed the bastion and began to make their way back to base.
The other two bastions and the rest of the fleet remained motionless, waiting patiently in place.
The capital ships were already picking up speed. Soon they would be returning to base. Just then, Middle Heaven's honeycomb cannons lit up and exploded with power.
A blinding orange light burst forth, illuminating the side of the bastion that was facing the aliens. The aliens fled even faster, scattering in every direction. Their formation was in shambles.
But in the next moment they were shocked to find that the beam of light from the bastion was only a few thousand meters long. Middle Heaven was already speeding back to its own camp.
That wasn't a main cannon, but a thruster?
A thruster that could explode in an instant?
It wasn't just the enemies who were watching, but the humans themselves.
What was going on?
A thruster?
That beam of light from Middle Heaven was just a thruster?
But reality was staring them in the face. By the time Middle Heaven returned to its original position, the twelve capital ships had turned around and were in formation.
After a brief pause, the aliens swarmed forward once more. It looked like they were about to launch an all-out attack.
The humans, however, were on high alert. Their battleships lit up, ready to engage at a moment's notice.
Humanity's technology gave them the advantage in range. In a space battle like this, there was no cover. Without the cover of a planet, the aliens had no choice but to attack in such a chaotic formation. The result was obvious.
Unfortunately, the aliens weren't a race that would give in to impulsiveness. They only flew a short distance before a series of invisible soundwaves commanded them to close in on Middle Heaven like a monster with its claws and fangs bared. Then they retracted their claws and hid behind the planet. Just like the Northern Alliance, they used the planet as a shield against the humans.
As the aliens retreated, the lights on the human battleships dimmed. Everything seemed to return to normal.
Lan Qing stood in front of the monitor in Middle Heaven's control room, his face hard and cold. He looked over the statistics of the battle.
More than four thousand six hundred aliens had been killed.
There were no casualties on their side, only energy consumption.
Taking advantage of the situation was the initial strategy.
In terms of overall power, even without the home worlds, the humans were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
A direct all-out attack had no chance of victory.
Not to mention breaking through the aliens' defenses. They didn't even know what to expect from the alien home worlds.
Therefore, in this battle, Lan Qing's first battle plan was to weaken the enemy.
They constantly used all kinds of methods to weaken the enemy.
It would not be easy for the humans to gain an advantage if they attacked directly.
The aliens could call in the aliens from other planets at any time.
Once a chaotic battle broke out, the humans would not be able to maintain their formation.
These three bastions were humanity's greatest advantage. Since the alien planets weren't directly involved, they were invincible in a one-on-one fight.
The other advantage they had was their range.
In Lan Qing's plan, making the most of their advantages was the most important.
This battle, according to Lan Qing's plan, was to catch the enemy by surprise.
Only a few of the marshals were privy to the details of the plan.
Then, the order was passed down to the commanders of the twelve motherships that were carrying out the mission.
The order was given in a face-to-face meeting, so the aliens wouldn't be able to intercept it.
The twelve commanders hadn't told any of their subordinates before they moved out. Lan Qing's order to rest and reorganize was the signal they had agreed upon.
The aliens had not expected the humans to launch an attack like this before they had a firm foothold. They had relied on the range of their capital ships and Middle Heaven's cover to intimidate them.
They had taken advantage of them.
Ignoring the alien home worlds, the humans weren't much weaker than the aliens. They were outnumbered, but they had three bastions and an advantage in range.
Lan Qing's plan had been meticulous. One of his strategies was to accumulate small victories into great victories, to turn quantitative change into qualitative change.
The volley didn't seem to have done much damage to the aliens. After all, they couldn't recover the vital crystals they'd used to destroy them. Even so, it was still an advantage.
The capital ships' main cannons were drained of energy, but all ships had energy recovery systems. As long as they weren't in constant combat, they could recharge using cosmic rays.
Energy could be recovered, but it wouldn't be so easy for the aliens to recreate it.
This was the first part of his plan, but there was a deeper meaning to it. The war between humanity and the aliens had been going on for some time now. Generally speaking, humanity had been at an absolute disadvantage, and each time it came down to defeat.
Under these circumstances, it would be a lie to say their morale hadn't been affected.
Today's first battle had been a single round of attacks, but the humans had gained the upper hand without suffering any losses.
It had been a great boost to morale, and it had built up the confidence of their allies.
In this world, the truth was always more effective than promises.
Let the truth speak, let the results speak. It would strengthen the unity of the allied forces. That was the foundation of everything.
Only when they were united and the full potential of their forces could they hope to defeat their enemies.
What's more, Middle Heaven had been the vanguard of the battle. It had protected their allies, and had demonstrated its superior mobility.
Middle Heaven had acted as a shield, and the twelve capital ships had returned safely. It was a guardian in its own right.
They'd also used reconnaissance to gain a better understanding of the aliens' current strength and tactics.
What looked like a simple ambush was, in fact, a great deal of information.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call it a victory in the first battle.
The aliens had retreated, and the two sides were once again at a stalemate.
Cheers rang out from all the ships and bastions. Everyone could see they'd won, and that the aliens were helpless.
The aliens weren't invincible, after all.
Middle Heaven's performance had given them a lot of confidence.
The bastion ship was brand new. Even the East didn't know how strong it actually was, but it was massive. It was as large as any of the alien planets, and it had incredible mobility. The soldiers were excited to see what it was capable of.
Now that the ambush was over, it was time to rest and reorganize.
They were preparing for the coming battle.
With their tight formation and superior range, Lan Qing wasn't afraid of a surprise attack from the aliens. If they did, he'd be even happier.
Lan Qing called for a series of meetings to confirm the next steps of the plan.
With the completion of this battle plan, as expected, all parties, including the space fleet commanders, had greater support for the execution of his next plan.
"You look tired." Seeing Lan Qing in the control room, Lan Jue couldn't help but frown.
Lan Qing sat in his chair with his eyes closed, deep in thought. On the surface he looked normal, but they were brothers. Lan Jue could see that Lan Qing's spirits were low.
It was easy to see why his usually energetic brother was like this.
Lan Qing opened his eyes. When he saw that it was Lan Jue, he sat up straight, his eyes as sharp as ever.
"I'm fine, sit." He gestured to the chair in front of him.
Lan Jue walked over and sat in front of him.
"Congratulations," Lan Jue said, a smile on his face. "You've won your first battle. I've heard nothing but compliments."
In fact, even he hadn't known about Lan Qing's plan before the ambush.
Lan Qing shook his head. "This is just the beginning. Come congratulate us when we defeat the aliens."
Lan Jue couldn't help but laugh. "You're always so boring."
Lan Qing shot him a look. "How are your preparations coming along?
Your actions will determine the success or failure of this mission.
There's no turning back. Once the attack begins, there's no turning back.
The danger is obvious. "
Lan Jue said, "What else can we prepare?
That's all there is to it.
The Paragons' strength is set in stone, and there's no way they can improve in a short time.
Qian Lin and I are the only ones who've reached a bottleneck. "
Lan Qing's brows furrowed. "You have to come back alive."
Lan Jue said, "Don't worry, I'm confident I can do it.
Unless the Violet Prince and Princess are on our side.
But I'm sure they won't have the energy to deal with us then.
Don't worry, we'll do what we can. If we can't save them, we'll have to prioritize the safety of the human race. "
Lan Qing looked at him in surprise. "I didn't expect you to say something like this. I thought you'd ask me to save them no matter what."
Lan Jue smiled wryly. "I know what's important.
Star Division will be the main force in the invasion.
I'll meet up with them as soon as we're done.
What's your next plan? "