As Howard spoke, the bridge fell silent, everyone waiting to see if events would unfold as Howard predicted. After a short while, an aide suddenly reported, "Sir, Captain, the hyperspace sensor has detected an approaching unidentified fleet! They are about to emerge. Five, four..."

Howard ordered loudly, "All hands to Condition One battle stations, prepare to engage! Also, prime the warp drive!"

Idni stared wide-eyed at Howard and Yang Ying. "Did you really guess correctly?" she thought, adding silently, 'And why prime the warp drive?' However, Idni knew that battle was imminent, and her doubts were insignificant at this moment, so she held her tongue. "Emerge!"

As the word faded, a burst of light erupted from the starfield in the two o'clock position. Over a thousand warships materialized out of nowhere, appearing remarkably close to Yang Ying’s fleet—no more than 1.5 light-seconds away. They immediately formed battle lines, charging toward Yang Ying’s fleet with palpable killing intent, their main gun barrels beginning to glow.

Howard reacted instantly. "The enemy is too close! Full evasive maneuvers, initiate immediate spatial jump! Distance: twenty light-seconds."

BOOM!

The rebel fleet unleashed a devastating primary battery volley, sending torrents of Level Seven drill-beam energy sweeping toward Yang Ying’s position!

Fortunately, the warp drive was already spooling up. By the time the enemy attack arrived, the battlecruisers were nearly ready, possessing the capability to enter hyperspace. Howard gave the order, and all warships executed the spatial jump simultaneously, vanishing rapidly into the void. Within two seconds, every ship was safely within hyperspace.

The very moment the last battlecruiser disappeared, the fastest beam struck the area where the fleet had just been. Had that beam targeted the final battlecruiser, it might have scored a hit, but it did not.

Thus, by a hair's breadth, the rebel fleet’s long-planned surprise assault came to nothing.

When the battlecruiser fleet reappeared, they were already two light-seconds distant, having established a significant gap between themselves and the rebels.

"They will need time for their warp drives to cool down before they can jump again. We must seize this opportunity!"

Howard commanded, "Deploy the Ghost Fighter squadron immediately! You must tie them down. Full fleet turn, Yamato Cannon ready!"

Countless cloaked fighters streamed out from the battlecruisers and entered space. Simultaneously, the fleet executed a sharp turn of nearly 120 degrees. Orange-red spheres of light began to coalesce at the bow of the lead vessels. After about two seconds, these spheres reached maximum condensation and unleashed devastating beams.

Three hundred and twenty beams lanced forward. Moments later, pinpricks of light ignited in the space ahead, competing with the background starlight—the telltale reaction of Yamato Cannon hits.

Howard issued another command: "Yamato Cannon spooling up, prepare the next volley."

"Only a thousand ships? This kind of trap is far too simplistic. It seems they underestimate us," Idni mused. She knew that even two thousand warships had been defeated by the Tran Mercenary Corps, so she didn't feel particularly concerned by this thousand-ship engagement.

"Be ready for short-range instant transmission at all times. We must maintain a distance beyond the enemy's effective range!" Howard swept his gaze across the bridge, emphasizing his point.

The performance parameters of the rebel warships had been thoroughly analyzed. Tests showed that the rebel warp drive cooling time was longer than that of the Juggernaut-class battlecruisers. Therefore, as long as countermeasures were properly executed, they wouldn't fear being drawn into close combat.

As command after command was issued, the entire fleet functioned like a precision instrument, coordinating flawlessly, much like the engagement that crushed the two thousand ships previously. Shift, fire, shift, fire—maximizing the superior range advantage of the Yamato Cannons.

This reminded Yang Ying keenly of Earth in the past, before the development of thermal weaponry, when the most formidable forces were the nomadic cavalry. The Mongols carved out the largest empire of the Cold Weapon Era. Mounted archery was a nearly invincible tactic on the open battlefield, using the mobility of their vast horse herds to keep their distance, firing arrows outside the enemy's reach, leaving the targeted forces utterly unable to retaliate.

To fight back required either faster horses or longer-range bows—both difficult achievements. It wasn't until thermal weapons were widely adopted that mounted cavalry truly became history.

The current situation was strikingly similar; only the battlefield had shifted to space, but the core tactic remained akin to horse archery: superior mobility paired with extended attack range, inflicting damage while remaining unharmed.

"Sir, Captain, the enemy has launched fighters. It looks like they are attempting to intercept our Ghost Fighter squadron. Additionally, radar detects enemy vessels carrying Kulachig—more than a hundred!"

The aide's report snapped Yang Ying back to attention. Yang Ying frowned. "It seems the Kustar have increased their support for the rebels. I expect we will encounter more of these cloaking-detection scout craft from now on."

He paused in thought. "Dispatch units Alpha-Two-Two. Combat command remains with Howard; you take responsibility for tactical execution."

"Yes, sir," Howard acknowledged immediately.

Idni glanced at Yang Ying, opened her mouth as if to speak, but made no sound.

Yang Ying rose and left the bridge, heading to the hangar bay to board his personal fighter. He passed through the light barrier sealing the atmosphere and slipped into space.

Simultaneously, twelve other specialized Ghost Fighters launched from twelve different battlecruisers.

Yang Ying and his thirteen companions descended upon the battlefield once more, tearing into the rebel fighter swarm. Even though their stealth systems had been exposed by the Kulachig, fighters piloted by Third Stage Apex masters were still beyond the capability of these rebel craft to shoot down.

Every rebel fighter that closed the distance was vaporized instantly by beam fire. Wherever the thirteen Ghost Fighters passed, they left no enemy whole, harvesting rebel fighters by the hundreds. Their remote weapons acted like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, mowing down the enemy formations.

The thirteen fighters cut a path through the rebel swarm again and again. Eventually, sheer terror gripped the hearts of the rebel pilots. They watched as the number of friendly signals on their radar plummeted, often by hundreds at a time. Morale was teetering on the brink of collapse.

As for the hundred or so Kulachig scouts, they had been completely annihilated by Yang Ying and his thirteen companions.

"We're about to win, aren't we?"

Idni felt a grim satisfaction watching numerous rebel pilots turn tail and flee. She turned back, however, to see Howard still wearing his impassive expression. Puzzled, she asked him the question.

Howard shook his head. "Winning too easily. The rebels might have other means."

"Other means?" Idni looked skeptically at the holographic radar screen, then at the optical displays, shaking her head. "They look ready to break; what other means could they possibly have?"

Before she finished speaking, an aide nearby shouted the report: "Captain, the hyperspace sensor has detected another wave of unidentified fleets approaching! Emergence time: five, four..."

Howard’s eyes flashed. He stood up and roared, "All hands, spatial jump! Distance: twenty light-seconds!"

"Yes!" The aides immediately began executing the commands.

The entire fleet displayed astonishing efficiency. As soon as Howard gave the order, it was implemented.

Howard sat back down. "This is more like it. They did have a follow-up move. They might have intended to use it for a final, decisive blow, but our forcing the pace has driven their morale to the brink of collapse. If they don't use it now, they won't be able to use it later."

Another six hundred or so rebel warships broke out of hyperspace. They could have appeared to the rear flanks of the battlecruiser fleet, but Howard's order was faster, and the battlecruisers were more efficient. By the time the rebels emerged, the 320 battlecruisers had already jumped six million kilometers away.

Yang Ying, observing the shifting battlefield, smiled faintly, his expression like a gentle breeze. He remained utterly unconcerned by the arrival of these six hundred new enemy ships—they were nothing more than fragile paper tigers.

And so it proved. Although the reinforcements provided a brief respite for the rebels, that reprieve was quickly exhausted. Under the relentless harassment of the stealth Ghost Fighters and the unhittable, untouchable fire of the Juggernaut-class battlecruisers, the rebel fleet rapidly disintegrated. Numerous warships were sunk. In the end, of the initial 1,600 ships that fell into the trap, only about eight hundred remained, retreating toward Planet Gumik.

Howard seized the opportunity to press the advantage, sensing the rebel fleet had completely lost its will to fight and the courage to engage further. He ordered his fleet to pursue. Facing enemies who were using only their thrusters pointed away from him, there was no need to worry about counterattacks.

Howard pushed the fleet forward boldly, until the Level Six drill beams on the Juggernaut-class battlecruisers could reach the rebel ships. At this range, the rebel ships could turn around and fire back at any moment, but few dared to do so. Their morale had shattered; escaping the battlefield was their sole desire.

Occasionally, a few ships attempted to turn and fight, but as they maneuvered, they were instantly vaporized by beams from behind. Firstly, a ship's side armor presented a much larger target during a turn, making it easier to hit; secondly, Howard had his fleet focus fire on any ship attempting to reverse course.

The fate of those few turning ships served as a grim lesson for the rest. Once the daring ones were destroyed, the remainder became utterly timid, fleeing desperately.

Half an hour later, the final rebel warship was destroyed in the atmosphere of Planet Gumik. Losing control of its space, Gumik suffered a fate as tragic as Dorun. Yang Ying replicated his strategy from Dorun: initiate ultra-long-range bombardment from orbit to wipe out major military installations on the surface. Then, send in troops to link up with resistance cells, instigate armed worker uprisings, loot and then destroy the factories, finally leaving with massive spoils and handing a complete wreck over to the rebels to clean up.