The virtual conference concluded, and the assembled group revised their march plan following Heartstone Horas’ sudden decision to divide his forces.

Although the Pirate Joint Fleet had split into six contingents, they were already running late in terms of timing. The eleven Observers dispatched by Yang Ying were already fully positioned, with each of the pirate sub-fleets being covered by two Observers.

Upon learning that the Trand Mercenary Group could monitor all six pirate sub-fleets, the group debated for only a moment before deciding to commit the entire force to wipe out the pirate contingents one by one.

This decision passed unanimously; not a single person suggested splitting forces to pursue at this juncture, as everyone understood that moving divisionally without knowing which fleet Horas currently commanded was an extremely risky maneuver.

Logically, among the six enemy fleets that had split off, the two originating from the Somali Pirate Group were the largest, and Horas’ probability of being within one of them was significantly higher than being in any other.

However, the group could not be one hundred percent certain of this conclusion. What if Horas chose not to follow convention?

Without Master Merlin’s support, any fleet facing Horas alone would likely suffer a gruesome fate.

With the general direction decided, the group proceeded to determine the sequence for eliminating the six pirate fleets, after which the meeting adjourned and everyone prepared for action.

Yang Ying deactivated his communicator and turned to Howard, who stood beside him. “You saw the meeting just now. Our current objective is Pirate Fleet One.”

“I’ll go make the arrangements,” Howard replied, stepping out of the conference room and heading toward the bridge. He had remained just outside the camera’s view during the meeting, observing the entire proceedings.

The six fleets were numbered one through six based on their size; Fleets One and Two were the largest, having split from the Somali Pirate Group, while Fleets Three through Six were derived from other large pirate organizations.

The final elimination order was set from One to Six because the closer they were to the beginning of the sequence, the higher the chance of encountering Horas.

This was intended to reduce the time Horas had to react. If he could be located within Fleet One and struck unexpectedly, forcing him to abandon his fleet and flee, that would obviously be the best outcome.

As for killing Horas, no one entertained that thought.

The war between humans and the Ape-men had raged for half a century, and there had never been a recorded instance of a Peak Master dying on the battlefield; a Peak Master intent on escape could always manage to slip away.

Shortly after the meeting, the Mercenary Joint Fleet slightly adjusted its course and headed toward Target One.

In warfare, regardless of the specific marching plan, the process is often characterized by monotony.

Soldiers on the battlefield cannot remain in a constant state of combat readiness; they frequently endure long periods of waiting before executing a mission, resting on transport vehicles as they move from one location to another, awaiting coordination from allies or the appointed time for attack, only then entering a combat posture.

Of course, this describes a situation where one holds the initiative and is attacking the enemy. The scenario of being attacked by the enemy is entirely different.

The mercenaries were in the former situation now.

The waiting time far exceeded the active work time, allowing them to prepare mentally, marshal their hatred, anger, sense of justice, or any other psychological state conducive to fighting, ready to engage at any moment.

Yang Ying rested in the cabin assigned to him aboard the warship for about two hours. The indoor communicator on the wall buzzed with Howard’s voice: “Colonel Blade, please report to the bridge immediately. We are approaching our target, Pirate Fleet One.”

Yang Ying pressed the answer key and replied, “On my way.”

He rose from his cabin and proceeded to the bridge.

Howard sat upright in the captain’s seat, staring intently at the main screen, which displayed the signal representing one fleet.

Hearing the bridge door open, Howard turned to Yang Ying and said, “We have located Target One. The most powerful vessel in their fleet appears to be a Pacific-class battlecruiser; that must be their flagship. We are now nearing the edge of their radar range—the battle is about to commence.”

Yang Ying nodded and took a seat just below Howard’s station.

Aboard the Laurel, Lloyd issued the command: “Commence combat! Launch jamming pulses to sever enemy communications!”

A cylindrical antenna extended from the Laurel’s bow, its tip gleaming brightly. An invisible wave pulsed out toward Pirate Fleet One.

A staff officer reported, “Jamming pulse launched. Enemy communications have been severed.”

Lloyd waved his hand and commanded, “Attack! Charge!”

Target One possessed only thirty large warships and over a hundred smaller vessels—a mere trifle compared to the Mercenary Joint Fleet’s nearly three hundred large warships and over a thousand smaller ones.

Despite their overwhelming numbers, the mercenary formation remained perfectly disciplined.

Combat in space differs from engagements on Earth; whether on land or sea, Earth combat occurs on a two-dimensional plane.

Therefore, spaceship formations in space are three-dimensional.

Under the command of the flagship Laurel’s onboard computer, every warship corrected its trajectory using its navigation system, and the three hundred large warships formed a perfect square formation, a setup designed to maximize their combined firepower as they surged toward Fleet One with unified purpose.

Pirates, though seeming like desperate outlaws, were among the groups most cherishing their lives, as in their eyes, nothing was more important than self-preservation.

Upon the initial jamming signal, the pirate vessels looked like a pot stirred into chaos. Their internal communications were cut, and while they appeared unified externally, they were internally fractured.

When their shipboard radars detected a massive fleet charging them with overwhelming superiority, several small and medium-sized vessels immediately broke off and fled, hoping their comrades could buy them extra time to escape.

On the bridge of the Face warship, Howard said to Yang Ying, “The Laurel has sent orders: prepare for a synchronized broadside in ten seconds. We are required to designate our own targets.”

Simultaneously, a countdown timer appeared in a corner of the main screen, beginning a ten-second count.

Yang Ying nodded, opened a holographic screen mirroring the main display, and randomly tapped a large warship on the screen. A red circle immediately appeared over the vessel his finger indicated. He told Howard, “Focus fire on this target.”

“Understood.” Howard relayed the order, instructing the staff officers to adjust firing parameters.

Although Yang Ying and Howard referred to their ships as Face warships, the heavy cruisers were indeed equipped with Uranium-Beam Cannons. Each of the three heavy cruisers carried four main guns, totaling twelve Level Five Uranium Cannons, which simultaneously unleashed streams of deadly uranium beams toward the enemy after the ten seconds elapsed.

At the same time, the other large mercenary warships opened fire in unison, nearly three hundred large vessels spitting deadly beams from Level Four or Level Five Uranium Cannons toward the enemy!

Beams carrying immense energy tore through the void of space, slamming into the opposing pirate warships!

At the moment of the broadside, the distance between the fleets was still over ten thousand kilometers. Generally, achieving a ten percent hit rate at this range would be considered excellent.

But perhaps due to Yang Ying’s luck, three out of the twelve shots in this initial volley accurately struck enemy vessels.

The unfortunate ship Yang Ying targeted was merely a light cruiser; struck by three Level Five Uranium beams—the caliber of a heavy cruiser—it instantly began suffering internal explosions, turning into a massive fireball within minutes and dissolving into cosmic dust.

In this initial barrage, Yang Ying witnessed the formidable firepower of the Caesar Mercenary Group’s Laurel-class battlecruisers for the first time.

The sight of the Laurel’s six Level Six Uranium Cannons firing a synchronized volley was truly staggering; the thick columns of light blasted out, and anything they hit offered no resistance.

A heavy cruiser struck by a Level Six beam, even without hitting a vital area, was instantly shredded into fragments, vanishing into space dust.

Within the Mercenary Joint Fleet, the three Laurel-class battlecruisers, with their eighteen Level Six cannons, destroyed three heavy cruisers in a single coordinated volley.

After the first wave of attacks, nearly ten large pirate vessels, including light and heavy cruisers, were disabled or outright destroyed.

The Pacific-class battlecruiser within Pirate Fleet One retaliated, unleashing its four Level Six cannons.

A large mercenary ship adjacent to the Laurel was struck; a massive section of its hull was blown away, creating a gaping wound from which personnel and debris continuously sprayed outward. After about ten seconds, a huge explosion completely annihilated the vessel.

Yang Ying immediately checked the position of his three Face warships and, seeing they were still some distance from the Laurel, felt a measure of relief.

“The Laurel has ordered all ships to fire freely and has requested the launch of strike craft,” Howard reported.

“Execute order.” Yang Ying pointed to a heavy cruiser on his holographic screen as a target.

Soon, thousands of strike fighters surged out from the Mercenary Joint Fleet, a dense swarm heading toward the enemy.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the probability of deserters appearing in Fleet One increased rapidly.

“It seems Horas isn't there.” Master Merlin watched the physical projection displayed on the Laurel’s main screen. He saw pirate ships, large and small, being destroyed one after another by his fleet’s bombardment. Even the ships attempting to flee were quickly intercepted by the mercenary strike craft.

Although the enemy ships had also deployed all their fighters to intercept the mercenary assault, the pirate fighters, once deployed, dared not engage the mercenary craft in dogfights; instead, they immediately scattered and fled, utterly abandoning their own warships.

After all, as an old saying goes: where the leader stands, so stands the follower. What right did these fleeing vessels have to demand their subordinates hold their positions?

The Mercenary Joint Fleet swept through Target One like a scythe through autumn grass, annihilating it completely within half an hour. Leaving a contingent of smaller vessels to clean up the battlefield, they immediately pressed on toward Target Two.