Chapter 158: Must Help Him

When ghostly black warships appeared in the dark void behind them, the corner of Tad’s mouth lifted slightly, unnoticed by anyone. A fleeting trace of a fierce expression crossed his face, then vanished, and everything returned to normal.

Because those sudden warships had silenced their electronic equipment, none of Tad’s people detected their arrival.

Hudi and the others had their attention drawn to the battle at Obena’s location. So they completely missed the change in Tad’s expression and were also unaware of the warships arriving far behind them.

“What is Obena playing at? Instead of ordering the fleet to charge through that planetary belt, he has the warships firing at those planets—what does that mean?” Hudi was dissatisfied with Obena’s actions.

“Contact Obena immediately! Ask him what he is doing! Order him right now to lead the fleet and charge through. Do not linger in front of the planetary belt. The enemy will not give us much time. The longer he stays there, the more dangerous it becomes!” Hudi gave the order to the officer beside him.

“Yes, Commander!”

That officer immediately ran to the Communicator and began contacting Obena’s Flagship.

But after several minutes, the signal could not get through.

“Commander, there is a strong magnetic field barrier around Obena’s Fleet. We simply cannot connect to his Flagship’s communication. Should we send a fast shuttle over to inquire?” the Deputy Officer turned and asked Hudi.

“Strong magnetic field barrier?” Hudi muttered quietly. Then he looked toward the direction of Obena’s Fleet. From where he stood, he saw the warships under Obena’s command exploding one after another. Dozens of warships were being destroyed every second by the artillery fire from the other side of the planetary belt.

This could not go on!

Hudi’s face was ashen, and he gritted his teeth.

At that moment, the door to the Command Room opened, and an officer led in Obena’s Deputy Officer.

“Commanders! I am General Obena’s Deputy Officer, sent here to report on the battle situation at the front!”

Hudi glanced at the Deputy Officer and said, “What exactly is going on with you all? Why aren’t you charging through that planetary belt immediately? Instead, you’re firing at those planets? Don’t you realize your enemy is on the other side of that planetary belt? If you don’t charge through, you will definitely be wiped out!” Hudi looked at the Deputy Officer, speaking through clenched teeth.

“Is Obena really that stupid? Or does he think I will send the fleet to assist him?” Hudi even began to suspect that Obena was doing this on purpose.

Actually, it wasn’t that Hudi didn’t want to rescue Obena, but right now they hadn’t even made contact with the enemy, and the Vanguard Fleet was already under attack. If he rashly sent out his own warships, his strength would diminish.

After all, their side hadn’t even seen a trace of the enemy’s warships yet.

So Hudi had to endure the losses on Obena’s side. Only after spotting the enemy’s fleet could he order his own warships to attack.

After hearing Hudi’s words, the Deputy Officer sent by Obena showed a pained expression.

“Commander, that planetary belt is the source of the magnetic field. This magnetic field has crippled 72% of our warships’ electronic equipment, even blocking communication signals. This caused a complete breakdown in communication between our Flagship and the various fleet units. That’s why General Obena ordered the destruction of those planets first.”

After a pause, the Deputy Officer continued, “But as you can see, while we were firing at the planetary belt, the enemy launched an attack on us from the other side. In the first wave of strikes, our warship numbers were reduced by thirty percent. The first line of the Fleet has been almost entirely destroyed. Therefore, General Obena sent me here on a fast shuttle to ask the commanders for some help.”

After listening to the Deputy Officer’s words, Hudi thought for a moment, then turned to look at the other two Sci-Fi Merchants beside him. After that, he glanced at Tad, who was sitting not far away.

Hudi saw Tad sitting there with his legs crossed, completely at ease, as if the battle ahead had nothing to do with him. A wave of anger surged in Hudi’s heart, and his impression of Tad instantly became extremely negative.

“Your mother!” Hudi cursed inwardly.

This battle was started by Tad, but the ones fighting desperately were them. They were also the ones spending large amounts of Credit Points, while this guy looked completely relaxed.

Hudi really didn’t know how to describe Tad.

“Tad, Obena might not hold out! What’s your view on this? Do we need to send warships to rescue him?” Hudi simply tossed the problem over to Tad, so he wouldn’t act like it had nothing to do with him.

Oh!

Hearing Hudi’s question, Tad snapped out of his daydream.

He looked over with a puzzled expression. It seemed Tad hadn’t been paying attention to the situation here at all and hadn’t heard what the Deputy Officer sent by Obena had just said.

“The one who should die most is you, Tad!” Hudi thought hatefully.

But these thoughts remained just that—Hudi would never say them out loud. Although Hudi had strong opinions about Tad, after all, Tad was the nominal Leader and the founder of the Trade Alliance.

Moreover, the System offered some hidden benefits to the initiator and imposed certain restrictions on subordinates like Hudi. No one knew exactly what these restrictions were, so Hudi didn’t want to be eliminated for no reason.

Because in this Trade Alliance, there had once been a Merchant who defied Tad and was eliminated by the System.

“Damn System, damn Tad!”

Hudi pointed at the Deputy Officer sent by Obena and said to him, “You! Repeat everything that happened to the Leader. As for what to do, we’ll all listen to the Leader!”

Then the Deputy Officer repeated to Tad what he had just told Hudi.

After Tad heard the Deputy Officer’s words, his mind began to work.

“Based on what this guy said, it seems Obena might not hold out.” Tad wasn’t stupid—he immediately analyzed the reality Obena was about to face.

“But this isn’t very good either. Although I intended for Obena to be Cannon Fodder, being wiped out without even seeing the enemy’s shadow is a bit too weak!” Tad felt he had overestimated Obena somewhat.

Originally, Tad’s plan was for Obena to pin down part of the enemy’s fleet, thereby securing a favorable position for Hudi to destroy the enemy’s vital forces.

Cannon Fodder should have the awareness of Cannon Fodder. Tad never expected Obena to survive. But at the very least, he should have held on long enough to tie down even a small portion of the enemy’s forces.

That way, Hudi could deploy his fleet to engage the enemy fiercely. Then, when both sides were worn down, Tad could step in and finish everyone off.

But now, it seemed plans couldn’t keep up with changes. His calculations had been perfect, but the enemy wasn’t following his script.

“Go back and tell Obena to commit all his warships! At any cost, destroy those planets and engage the enemy’s fleet head-on!” Tad said to Obena’s officer. Then he turned to look at Hudi and said, “Order one-third of your fleet to deploy and support Obena’s Fleet. Obena is, after all, a Sci-Fi Merchant from a T-level Dimensional Plane, while your warships are E-level. Technologically, they should be able to barely resist the magnetic interference, don’t you think?”

Tad gave an order that seemed idiotic to Hudi.

“Tad, we haven’t even seen a trace of the enemy yet, and you want me to commit one-third of our elite forces? Isn’t that a bit reckless?” Hudi was clearly displeased. “Even if Obena’s entire Fleet is destroyed, it doesn’t matter to us. After all, his fleet isn’t really usable combat power. Our elite forces are the E-level warship fleets under me and the other two!”

Hudi had no intention of using his own warships unless Lei Yaotian’s warships also revealed themselves.

Tad’s expression darkened. He looked coldly at Hudi and said, “No matter what, Obena is a member of our Trade Alliance. Even if he’s Cannon Fodder, I don’t think we should just watch him struggle like this.” Tad immediately started talking about righteousness.

“What did Tad take today? Why is he acting so righteous? In the past, he would never have said something like this in such situations.” Hudi and the other two Sci-Fi Merchants, who knew Tad well, stared at him in astonishment.

The way Hudi and the others looked at Tad was like seeing a woman known for her promiscuity suddenly acting serious and telling others she’s a virgin. After all, everyone had witnessed this woman’s promiscuous behavior…

Of course, the above was just an inappropriate analogy, but in Hudi’s view, it described Tad quite well.

“Probably the enemy’s fleet isn’t very large. Don’t forget, we have only one enemy, while we are an alliance. The current setback is only temporary; it’s mainly because of this battlefield and that planetary belt slowing us down.” Tad spoke confidently.

“Hudi! Immediately send one-third of your fleet to help Obena destroy that planetary belt. Then have the fleet hold position there and let Obena advance! After all, we need Obena to draw out the enemy’s fleet and then have him pin it down!”

Tad looked deeply at Hudi and continued, “No matter the reason, we must help Obena. If we don’t help him, then in the future, when you’re in such a situation, would you expect others to help you?”

Hudi felt that pushing the decision to Tad was a mistake, because Tad’s words made the other two Sci-Fi Merchants nod repeatedly, seemingly in agreement.

“Fine! Since you put it that way, Tad, I can’t really argue!” Hudi took a deep breath, quietly gave instructions to a Sci-Fi Merchant beside him, and then that Merchant turned and left the Command Room.

“Eron is carrying out the order now!” After that Merchant left, Hudi said to Tad.

Tad showed a pleased expression and nodded at Tad. Meanwhile, he laughed inwardly: “Aha, Hudi’s right-hand man is gone. Whether he can help Obena or not, Hudi’s available elite warships are reduced by one-third. This helps my plan a lot. Hopefully, that guy can rescue Obena and locate the enemy’s warships…”

Tad touched the ring on his left middle finger and stared gloomily at Hudi, who had his back turned as he examined the three-dimensional battle situation.