The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2749. Goalkeeper Plan (Part 2)

"Shield ships advance to cover the flagship! Pay attention to the flagship's firing rate! Shields will briefly lower in 30 seconds!"

"Three Star Destroyers on the right flank have been severely damaged!"

"Tell them to launch their fighter jets immediately and retreat!"

"The right flank is under continuous bombardment! The formation has been broken!"

"Fourth Squadron, turn around immediately and reinforce the right flank! Ignore the left flank fleet and continue your advance!"

"Enemy ships have been detected launching a large swarm of drones!"

"Keep the fighter formation in place! They must not break out of the warship's air defense fire range!"

"Enemy Titan Doomsday Weapon begins charging! Estimated charging time: 20 minutes! Aegis fleet has begun adjusting formation!"

"Let the left-wing fleet continue its assault on the separatist right wing! Don't stop! Eighth Squadron, advance and replace the Seventh Squadron!"

On the bridge of the Reaper, an Executor-class super star destroyer and flagship of Battle Cluster A in the First Star System Army of the Galactic Empire, a staff team of hundreds of people is constantly issuing combat orders, instructing the fleet to operate according to the predetermined combat plan.

Imperial Marshal Oswald Tesik stood before the holographic war map, his hands clasped behind his back. His portly figure made his belly bulge forward, further emphasizing his muscular physique.

Before launching the attack, he devised a plan to split his forces into two groups for a two-pronged assault.

Firstly, even though this is the core area, the hyperspace channel still cannot support the pressure of more than 1000 capital ships performing hyperspace jumps at the same time, so he divided the fleet into two battle groups.

He personally led Battle Group A to launch an attack in two waves from the planet Urry, while Battle Group B launched an attack in three waves from the planet Borelias.

Given his status, there was absolutely no need for him to be at the forefront of the battle. However, the current political situation in the heart of the empire was extremely unfavorable for him. The reason he stood at the forefront of the battle was not only for the officers and soldiers of his own fleet to see, but also for His Majesty the Emperor to see.

He needs to demonstrate his loyalty!

However, upon entering the planet Palancy, Oswald-Tesik realized that something was amiss. The Dawn Kingdom's fleet had completely abandoned Palancy, deploying its own fleet near Planet Five. It was precisely because of this forward deployment that his A battle group was able to engage the enemy prematurely.

This puts the situation in an extremely unfavorable position!

The forces that entered Palancy immediately from Battle Group A consisted of 400 Star Destroyers, 30 Heavy Cruisers, 400 Light Cruisers, and 500 Frigates.

In addition to the Reaper-class Executor-class super Star Destroyer, it was also equipped with 5 Commander II-class Dreadnoughts, 10 Tracker-class aircraft carriers, 4 Disruptor-class Star Destroyers, and a prototype of a Warrior-class Dreadnought.

In addition, both battle groups A and B were each assigned a Governor MK-II class battlecruiser as the theater command ship to share the tactical command pressure at the front and serve as a backup command ship when the flagship was unable to command.

In addition, there are new warships such as the Defender-class heavy cruisers and the Night Watchers-class frigates, as well as the Marauder-class guided missile frigates and the Side-class guided missile cruisers. Both of these warships are equipped with expensive diamond boron missiles, a luxury configuration that only fleets like the First Star System Army, which surround the Imperial capital, have.

Oswald Tesik's plan was to have Battle Group B flank and launch a surprise attack on Palancy, leaving the Dawn Kingdom's fleet unable to defend both ends. But now that the offensive has begun, he's discovered that the situation is completely different from what he imagined!

The Dawn Kingdom's defensive fleet was arrayed near Planet Five, causing the battle between Battle Group A and the enemy to break out earlier than expected!
Moreover, this fleet of the Dawn Kingdom is undoubtedly their main fleet for defending the planet Palansi!

After receiving news that the Imperial fleet was about to launch a strong attack on Planet Palancy, the Dawn Kingdom recalled all the fleets that had been attacking the core area in other directions. Now, what lay before him included 250 capital ships of the kilometer class, 500 heavy cruisers, and 1000 frigates and light cruisers.

Although this number differs slightly from the intelligence and is a little less, it is still certain that this is the vast majority of their main force.

Moreover, the greatest threats are all here: the Titan warships Divine Messenger and Taotie, two Eternal-class supercarriers, five Archon-class drone carriers, and 20 Prophet-class battleships!
This main fleet, ostensibly only half the size of the Imperial fleet, was actually well aware that the Kingdom of Dawn had long since begun downsizing its warships. Their 700-800 meter long heavy cruisers, in reality, possessed combat effectiveness approaching that of 1000-meter-class capital ships!
In other words, taking into account the power of the enemy's super battleships, it is actually difficult to determine which side has the superior combat strength.

"Open fire at full power! Concentrate your attack on the enemy's Titan warship, the Divine Messenger!" Oswald-Tesick shouted the order.

The Reaper-class Executor-class super star destroyer's main gun array instantly charged, and crimson burst beams tore through the dark space, with the firepower of up to five thousand heavy turbine laser cannons raining down like raindrops.

Almost instantly, countless energy shield ripples lit up on the outer shield of the Divine Messenger Titan warship.

Meanwhile, the Dawn Kingdom's artillery fire intensified, with the beams of the particle spears flashing continuously, each shot carrying devastating power.

Oswald-Tesick also discovered that the Dawn Kingdom fleet was arranged in a very dense formation, with the distance between the warships being only about 50 kilometers! For space warfare, this is extremely dense.

Such density meant that even the aftershocks of an explosion following a turbine laser cannon shot could affect other nearby warships.

However, this formation allows them to maximize the super tactical system of their two Titan warships!
Sure enough, a red light appeared on the hull of the Taotie Titan warship, and the surrounding warships were all covered with a light green light, which was the fleet shield!

Furthermore, the Taotie also deployed a powerful interference field, causing the energy transmission systems of all Imperial warships that entered its influence range to become disordered, and their weapon charging efficiency to drop significantly.

At the same time, a massive energy focusing array cracked open on the bow of the Divine Messenger Titan warship, and six enormous energy streams at its core began to slowly rotate and converge—the doomsday weapon began to charge!
As the doomsday weapon began charging, piercing red alarms blared on almost every warship in the Imperial fleet, and the tactical star map on the bridge was instantly covered in blood. The ship commanders simultaneously looked up at the central holographic projection, then shouted at the top of their lungs, ordering their respective warships to enter evasive mode.

Up to 40 Type II Aegis warships took their positions, placing the Reaper and other key capital ships behind their protective force fields. Powerful multi-layered deflector shields rapidly formed in front of the fleet. At that moment, the Envoy's energy focusing array completed its charge, and a terrifying beam of light instantly tore through space! It then split again hundreds of kilometers away, breaking into dozens of tiny beams that enveloped the Imperial fleet!

The desperate roars of the ship captains on the communication channel abruptly ceased, leaving only piercing noise. The firing of the doomsday weapons even briefly disrupted the communication channel.

A full minute passed before the channel was restored. Oswald-Tesick quickly ordered a damage assessment and demanded that all ships immediately launch a counterattack.

The damage from this doomsday weapon attack was greatly reduced thanks to the presence of the Type II Aegis destroyer; only six capital ships and more than 20 smaller warships were destroyed. This was fortunate indeed.

However, eight of the 40 Type II Aegis destroyers were destroyed in the attack, and more than ten others caught fire to varying degrees due to overload of their shield capacitors and are currently undergoing emergency repairs.

The losses from the doomsday weapon attack are still being calculated. Now, Marshal Tesik's task is to launch a counterattack as quickly as possible while the weapon is recharging. Otherwise, if a few more attacks occur, all the Aegis ships will be destroyed, and nothing will be able to withstand the onslaught.

"How is Cluster B doing?" Tessik asked loudly.

"Communication was interrupted just now, but we've just received their report!" the adjutant replied immediately. "Cluster B has entered the outer perimeter of Planet Palancy, and after scanning, the separatists have abandoned that planet!"

“Don’t waste time there, send reinforcements immediately!” Tesik said.

"Yes!"

Only by attacking from both sides and simultaneously unleashing the power of two Executor-class super star destroyers could they have a chance to defeat the Dawn Kingdom's fleet. Oswald-Tesick took a deep breath, because the Dawn Kingdom's unexpected forward deployment was putting his A battle group under even greater pressure. He had to break the stalemate before the next recharge was complete, or the defensive line would be completely torn apart.

Time was of the essence; every second, warships were being reduced to ashes in explosions. Tesik stared at the constantly flashing red dots on the star map. So far in the battle, the Dawn Kingdom's fleet, protected by its fleet shields, had suffered far fewer losses than the Imperial fleet, which made him increasingly uneasy.

Moreover, the dense formation of the Dawn Kingdom maximizes the effectiveness of the fleet shield.

After the doomsday weapon was launched, swarms of drones launched from the Archon-class drone carrier surged toward the Imperial fleet like a tide, appearing as a crimson wave on the battlefield hologram.

Behind these drone swarms were formations of fighter jets and bombers launched from the two Bronze-class supercarriers. Among them, at least 200 Sabre fighter jets could be confirmed!

The Imperial fleet's anti-aircraft firepower began to unleash a furious barrage, forming a dense fire net around the fleet in an attempt to intercept the surging aerial offensive. Turbo laser cannons, missile arrays, and point defense lasers intertwined, illuminating the pitch-black space as if it were daytime.

However, the swarm of drones was incredibly agile, and once attacked, they would scatter instantly, almost like an all-pervasive tide invading the Imperial fleet's formation.

Oswald-Tesick felt the space around him light up instantly, as if countless cannons were firing at close range.

At the same time, more than 3000 fighter jets from the Imperial fleet also rushed forward, and countless drones and fighter jets engaged in fierce dogfights around the Imperial warships.

This was Oswald Tesik's tactical arrangement. He had half of the carrier's aircraft launched in advance, leaving these fighters to wait at the rear of the fleet formation, and then engage them when the Dawn Kingdom's fighters arrived.

This was a reluctant measure taken to counter the overwhelming superiority of the Dawn Kingdom's fighter jets.

Even for the First Star System Army, their main fighter jet model is still the TIE Advanced X-1 fighter jet. The number of TIE Interceptor fighter jets and TIE Avenger fighter jets currently accounts for less than one-third.

The TIE Advanced X-1 fighter jet was no match for the Dawn Kingdom's Viking and Claymore fighters. As for the Sabre fighter jet, it would be nothing more than a sitting duck!

Only with the fire support of their own warships can the battle situation between the two sides become relatively more favorable.

Vast numbers of drone swarms have been shot down, countless have been destroyed, yet the sheer number of drones remains endless. Hidden among the drones, Dawn Kingdom fighter squadrons strike various targets with the precision of daggers.

The engine sections of more than ten Imperial-class Star Destroyers have been bombed by Viking fighters, and the situation is extremely dangerous.

The gun battle between the two sides' main warships was also far from optimistic.

The Prophecy-class battleships were already at the forefront, their incredibly thick armor and terrifying flagship-level X-laser arrays once again becoming a nightmare for Imperial warships. Furthermore, these Prophecy-class battleships activated their battle modules, overloading their engines and significantly increasing their firepower in a short period.

No! The fleet can't hold out much longer at this rate! Tesik immediately made the judgment that the situation must be changed as soon as possible, otherwise his A battle group would be severely damaged!

"Where is Cluster B?!" Tessik shouted.

"They...they..." The adjutant's terrified voice came from the side, clearly indicating that something was wrong!

"What's wrong? Where's Cluster B?!" Tesik roared, grabbing his adjutant by the collar.

"They've fallen into a trap near Planet Palancy! There are a lot of jamming devices hidden around the planet, and their sub-light speed engines are constantly slowing down..." the adjutant said.

"What?!" Oswald Tesick's face turned ashen!
"First... right now, the warships in Group B are searching for and clearing those jamming devices. Even if all goes well, it's estimated that it will take them at least four hours to reach the battlefield here!" the adjutant said.

"Four hours? Are you kidding me?" Tesick roared.

Now that the skirmish has begun ahead of schedule, the fleet is already in a state of engagement. The four-hour delay means that Group A must bear the full brunt of the Dawn Kingdom's main force alone. Keep in mind, his battle group has already been engaged in fierce fighting with the Dawn Kingdom's main force for two hours, and its losses are steadily mounting!
This was because he ordered his fleet to launch an immediate and forceful attack. (End of Chapter)