Chapter 59: Go ahead and hit them!

Rather than executing a coordinated, monolithic strategy, these Mercury-class warships were divided into a full fifty distinct squads.

Every single squad consisted of a mere ten Mercury-class warships, paired with a relatively large cargo vessel serving as a logistics support craft.

Choosing distinct trajectories, these fifty squads dispersed, maneuvering and accelerating away from fifty separate directions.

As he watched these receding Mercury-class warships, a cold sneer emerged in Li Qingsong’s heart.

He was well aware that since he had been capable of dispatching probes to the enemy-held world of Dis, an adversary possessed of far more advanced technology had every reason to dispatch probes to his own base at Luoshen.

Therefore, his current maneuver would undoubtedly be visible to his opponents.

So... what choice would they make?

With their massive main force deployed outward, their homeland defenses were left hollow.

If he were to fight a positional defense of Luoshen, he would surely lose. Since that was the case, he would simply forgo defense entirely. With their rear guard empty, he would strike the enemy where they were compelled to rescue! He would directly attack their very nest!

Furthermore, he had adopted a multi-pronged departure pattern, making it impossible for them to intercept him midway!

Even if they intercepted one route, he still had forty-nine others left!

To prevent their home base from being attacked, their only recourse would be to temporarily abandon their offensive against him, recall all forces, and—once all fifty fleets reached their destination to launch their attacks—thoroughly annihilate all five hundred of these warships before planning any further offensive against his native soil.

This was the only logical course of action.

After all, he had a mere five hundred warships at his disposal; once annihilated, he would be completely stripped of any capacity to retaliate. At that juncture, the enemy could swaggeringly abandon their home defense and launch their offensive.

What did it matter if it delayed things by a month or two? What was there to fear?

Li Qingsong was certain that the adversary would choose this exact option.

They had fundamentally no reason to refuse.

Sure enough, the moment the second probe arrived in the vicinity of Dis, Li Qingsong observed that the enemy spacecraft, which had already sailed out for a certain distance, were indeed turning back entirely, deploying themselves beside the motherships and ground bases.

Numerous cannon barrels pointing skyward and radar-like creations appeared across the surface of the ground bases, seemingly poised in readiness for defense.

A profound, murderous silence blanketed the planet of Dis.

A cold sneer resurfaced in Li Qingsong’s mind.

Meanwhile, the frantic manufacturing of firearms and ammunition by the industrial clusters on Luoshen continued at full tilt.

Building upon the existing foundation of weapon and munition production capacities, Li Qingsong had undertaken massive new construction and retrofitting projects, throwing every available resource into frenzied production.

Consequently, while the original output of roughly 140 million bullets per day was already extravagant, the ammunition production capacity surged yet again, leaping threefold straight to 420 million rounds daily!

Naturally, these rounds were custom-made, differing entirely from conventional ammunition.

Their projectiles possessed a mass of merely 0.5 grams, yet the primer propellant remained completely undiminished, and had even been augmented. Thus, they presented a bizarre aesthetic of a "bulky body with a tiny head."

The production of firearms was likewise accelerating. Where it had once been possible to manufacture several thousand weapons a day, output had now multiplied several-fold, reaching twenty thousand pieces daily!

These firearms were likewise custom-built, specifically designed to fire those "bulky-bodied, tiny-headed" bullets.

Although the production capacities for both firearms and ammunition had been elevated to extraordinarily high levels, this was merely a starting point, and their manufacturing speeds continued to climb rapidly.

All this production was taking place on the surface of Luoshen. Sheltered by the factory structures, Li Qingsong knew that the adversary could at most detect that large-scale manufacturing activities were underway, but the specifics of what was being forged remained entirely hidden from them.

Moreover, on the eve of a major war, engaging in frantic manufacturing activities was a perfectly normal course of action, and Li Qingsong had not the slightest fear that his schemes would be exposed.

The moment he confirmed that all enemy warships had retreated, adopted a defensive posture, and were sitting ducks waiting for his fleet to arrive, Li Qingsong decisively issued an order: all fifty detachment fleets, which had been accelerating frantically, were to immediately cease acceleration, maintaining their current, still somewhat sluggish pace as they drifted slowly forward.

If he could stall for even a little more time, why not do so? Every moment bought gave him an extra shred of advantage.

Yes, Li Qingsong’s dispatch of these five hundred Mercury-class warships to attack Dis had fundamentally served only one purpose: to buy time!

Time drifted past slowly amidst the sluggish advance of the fifty fleets.

Their speed at that moment was merely around two kilometers per second. At such a leisurely crawl, it would take them a full eight months to reach Dis.

After waiting for a period, the probes revealed that the enemy fleet stationed at Dis was finally unable to restrain itself and began to stir.

They seemingly attempted to set out once more, dispatching a portion of their fleet to attack Luoshen while leaving the remainder behind to guard their homeland.

After all, judging by the current speed, even if they went ahead and wiped him out first before returning to defend, there would still be plenty of time.

This was something Li Qingsong could not accept.

Consequently, the moment the enemy fleet showed signs of movement, Li Qingsong issued another order, whereupon his fifty fleets simultaneously initiated another round of acceleration, boosting their velocity once more.

With their speed increased, if the enemy attempted to wipe him out first and then return to defend, there would no longer be enough time. And relying solely on the garrisoned fleet to annihilate his forces might still be feasible, but ensuring that their bases and motherships escaped unscathed would likely prove impossible.

Thus, those enemy spacecraft that had just flown a short distance away were forced to halt their acceleration, retreat back to their homeland once more, and resume their patient wait.

Seeing this, Li Qingsong decisively commanded the fleet to cease acceleration once again, reverting to the previous state of drifting forward slowly and unhurriedly on mere inertia alone.

Whenever the enemy fleet sortied, his own fleet would accelerate, compelling them to honestly remain in place, defending and waiting;

Whenever the enemy fleet hunkered down in defensive waiting, Li Qingsong would halt his fleet's acceleration, continuing his unhurried, leisurely advance.

After this cycle repeated several times, the enemy fleet began to grow restless, seemingly sinking into a state of rage and impatience.

Li Qingsong sneered inwardly.

He knew that whoever had to deal with an opponent as dawdling and dilatory as himself would undoubtedly grow frantic and furious.

But...

If you have the ability, why don't you stop defending? Lacking the ability? Lacking the ability means you can just stay right there obediently and honestly for me, and wait until I arrive!

In this manner, consuming a full five-plus months, Li Qingsong’s fifty fleets arrived in the vicinity of Dis in successive waves.

Once the first batch of arriving warships—roughly 250 vessels—had completed their assembly and resupply, they finally stopped dawdling and began accelerating toward Dis with all their might.

At that very moment, Li Qingsong watched as the enemy warships, like tigers descending from a mountain or floodwaters breaching a dam, rushed impatiently toward his fleet.

Before even entering engagement range, their weaponry had already begun to fire.

"Going stir-crazy, were you? No worries, rest assured—I'm letting you fight now."