Chapter 172: Right Flank

“Should we give them a ‘surprise’? I still have one Battlefield Function left unused, now is the perfect time to let them try it out.” Lei Yaotian looked grimly across the Starry Sky.

After Bob finished giving orders to his Deputy Officer, he turned around to look at Lei Yaotian and said, “Isn’t it too early to use those functions now? They might not be very effective against the enemy. In my opinion, we should wait a bit longer. If we release it at the right moment, it might have unexpected effects.”

Lei Yaotian shrugged his shoulders and said, “Alright, since Mr. Bob says so, I’ll wait and see then.”

Bob’s face was tense, and his eyes flickered with cold light. “There will always be opportunities. The enemy wants to destroy us, but it’s not that easy. I can have Dasali’s Fleet charge into the enemy’s Fleet to cause chaos, pinning them right there. When that time comes, boss, you can unleash the Battlefield Function. I think the enemy’s losses will be staggering.”

He truly was a cold-blooded guy, even thinking of such a ruthless plan. It was clear earlier when he eliminated the retreating Mecha Unit without hesitation. Now he came up with another cold-blooded idea.

Lei Yaotian couldn’t help but sigh at how Generals in this Cosmic Hour really didn’t value human life.

But what did that have to do with Lei Yaotian? As long as they won the war, it was good. The means they used didn’t really matter.

After experiencing this war and seeing some qualities in Bob that he himself lacked, Lei Yaotian unknowingly started to agree with some of Bob’s ideas.

“It seems I need to learn more of Bob’s methods in the future. Human lives are just strings of decimal points anyway. As for Genetic Humans, no matter how many die, I can always make more. Warships can be built with materials bought through Dimensional Plane trade or even purchased directly. As long as we win the war and ensure my own safety, any means are acceptable.”

Lei Yaotian really learned some useful things from Bob. These ideas were completely different from the worldview in Lei Yaotian’s original world.

But what did that matter? After all, Lei Yaotian was no longer in his original world. Instead, he had crossed over into this Great Cosmic Era. So, as the saying goes, if Lei Yaotian wanted to survive, he really had to abandon some of his soft-heartedness.

Besides, being soft-hearted depends on the situation. If there were Earthlings in this era, Lei Yaotian might have kept that viewpoint. But the problem was, in this Great Cosmic Era, especially in this Dimensional Plane, there were no Earthlings at all.

Of course, except for Lei Yaotian himself…

Therefore, in the Plane World where Lei Yaotian was, all the beings were outsiders—that is, “if they’re not our kind, their hearts must be different.” So even if Lei Yaotian was cold-blooded, he wouldn’t feel too burdened psychologically.

“I won’t watch you beings die tragically, but I will close my eyes!”

Lei Yaotian silently repeated this phrase in his heart, thinking to himself that it really made sense.

With his mindset changed, Lei Yaotian was very supportive of Bob’s idea.

“Ah-ha, I definitely didn’t hire that guy Bob by mistake. If he were soft-hearted or worried about his own losses, maybe I wouldn’t see any hope of winning this war.” Lei Yaotian actually started to appreciate Bob’s cold-blooded ruthlessness.

“Commander! There is a super strong Energy reaction ahead. The enemy might be using heavy artillery like the Planetary Cannon to attack!”

A Deputy Officer nervously came before Bob to report.

“Order all Warships to spread out immediately! Run engines at full speed to evade now! Activate Protective Shields, don’t hold back on Energy!”

Hearing the report from his Deputy Officer, Bob also felt a rush of nervousness. He knew very well the power of the Planetary Cannon. One could only imagine how destructive a weapon must be if it could destroy a Planet with a single shot.

Even a Heavy Warship couldn’t compare to the resilience of a Planet. Even with Energy Protective Shields activated, it wouldn’t match up. So evading was the best approach.

Of course, whether they’d successfully evade or not was another matter.

Following Bob’s orders, the Fleet under his command scattered in all directions. Orange-yellow Energy Protective Shields enveloped each Warship, making them look like countless orange bubbles floating up and down from a distance.

Bob understood the Planetary Cannon’s power and weaknesses well.

(Note: Likoom’s side called it the Annihilation Cannon, while Bob’s side called it the Planetary Cannon. It was just a difference in terms due to different Dimensional Planes; their functionality was similar.)

For example, the Planetary Cannon had immense power and could easily destroy a Giant Planet.

But Bob also had a deep understanding of its weaknesses: it required a long Energy Output preparation time before firing, and after one shot, it needed to cool down before it could fire again.

Moreover, during a war, the number of times the Planetary Cannon could be fired was not fixed. This mainly depended on how much Energy the allied Warships could carry. In other words, the more Energy available, the more times the Planetary Cannon could destroy the enemy. Conversely, the less Energy, or without supporting Energy Consumption technology, the Planetary Cannon could not be fired many times.

Therefore, Bob immediately ordered his Warships to start evasive maneuvers and activate protective measures. He knew that while the enemy was currently building up power, there was still some time before firing. That time was enough for him to move his Fleet outside the safe range of the cannon’s attack.

However, Bob wasn’t sure about the enemy’s Planetary Cannon coverage range.

Typically, the Planetary Cannon’s coverage range was around five hundred square kilometers. Of course, if their technological level was higher, this range could double. So Bob felt uneasy—he didn’t know how far his Fleet needed to retreat to be safe.

Because after dodging the enemy’s counterattack, he still needed to gather the Warships for a counterstrike. If the Warships were spread too far apart, there wouldn’t be time to regroup.

And if the Warships weren’t concentrated, their counterattack wouldn’t be as powerful and wouldn’t have much effect on the enemy.

But those were thoughts for later. Right now, Bob could only order his Warships to move and evade, hoping to avoid the enemy’s Planetary Cannon attack.

“How much Energy Output is there now?” Seeing the enemy’s Warships across the way beginning to scatter and activating their Protective Shields, making them look like orange bubbles floating in space, His Majesty Likoom couldn’t help but ask his Deputy Officer.

“60%! Your Majesty, we still need some time to reach the full Energy required for the Annihilation Cannon’s output.”

The Deputy Officer kept his eyes fixed on the instrument values and answered without looking up.

“Only 60%? That’s still far off.” Likoom muttered to himself, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could order them to fire now, but doing so would prevent the Annihilation Cannon from reaching its maximum potential. So all Likoom could do now was wait.

“Is the Energy Output set to maximum power?”

“Your Majesty, the Annihilation Cannon’s Energy Output is already running at maximum load. All we can do now is wait for the Energy storage to fill.” At that moment, Kakarot leaned in close to Likoom’s ear and spoke.

Ah—

Likoom let out a long sigh, looking somewhat unwilling.

He pointed toward the direction of Lei Yaotian’s Fleet and said to Kakarot, “Do you see? The enemy has already detected our next move. They’ve started making their Warships evade. If we don’t speed up, they might move out of our Annihilation Cannon’s firing range.”

Kakarot took a look and advised, “Your Majesty, if that happens, there’s nothing we can do. But I think it won’t be easy for them to escape the Annihilation Cannon’s attack range. Now, Your Majesty, you can order our Light Warships to charge forward quickly, aiming to slow down their movement and buy us some time.”

Hmm…

Kakarot’s suggestion really appealed to Likoom; it was indeed a good plan.

However, if they did this, when their own Annihilation Cannon fired, those Light Warships would also suffer devastating blows.

“Won’t this be a bit too cruel? After all, the members of that Fleet are my elite forces. They’ve followed me for a long time and are the most loyal to me.”

Although the plan was good, Likoom couldn’t make a decision right away, especially since these were his elite subordinates.

“Your Majesty, indecision will only bring trouble. The most important thing now is to eliminate the enemy; the means are secondary, the outcome is what matters most.” Seeing Likoom’s reluctance, Kakarot immediately urged him. “This is a Dimensional War. If we lose, we might not even keep our lives. It’s different from the Real World. Please think this through, Your Majesty, and make a decision quickly.”

As Kakarot said, Dimensional Wars are even more brutal than wars in the Real World. It’s a fight to the death, with little chance of escape.

Especially for War Merchants hired by employers—they have no decision-making rights. Once they accept an employer’s contract, they must follow all orders.

The employer can surrender, but War Merchants don’t have that right. Moreover, in a Dimensional War, even if you surrender, no one is willing to accept it. Who would make such a foolish decision when they have the advantage?

In a flash, Likoom weighed the pros and cons.

“All Light Warships, launch immediately! Target: breach the enemy’s front line at all costs to hold them back!”

Clenching his teeth, His Majesty Likoom finally gave the order.

At that very moment, the Deputy Officer reported news that made Likoom deeply uneasy.

“Your Majesty, a large unidentified Fleet has appeared on the northeast side of our Fleet’s right flank!”