The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2808. A Devastating Collapse (Part 2)

The adjutant pointed to the holographic war map and said, "The Imperial fleet's offensive is becoming a bit aggressive."

“They must have also received news of Gideon Tarkin’s death… At this point, if they cannot complete their previous tactical plan, it will be a humiliating defeat.” Lin Nanyi also understood this.

He quickly pulled up the real-time trajectory map of the enemy fleet and discovered that the Imperial fleet had spun out more than a hundred capital ships, which were rapidly penetrating the D-37 gap in an unusually tight wedge formation—this was not the chaos he had expected, but a desperate decapitation strike!

Lin Nan's pupils constricted sharply: "They're going to launch a full-scale attack on our left flank from this direction! We can't let them break through! Get the Disaster-class battlecruiser to provide long-range fire support immediately!"

"General! The Imperial fleet is also maneuvering to the right flank!" the adjutant shouted.

"Reinforce the right flank as well!" Lin Nanyi ordered almost instinctively, "Send two Prophet-class battleships over there!"

He froze, suddenly realizing what he was doing. How incredibly foolish!
"General, this won't do! Our formation is under attack from all sides; there are just too many Imperial warships! We can't stop them!" the adjutant said. "Why don't we continue our retreat?"

"No! We can't retreat!" Lin Nanyi almost roared.

There was no retreat! His mind had cleared considerably. Since leaving Severance Tann, he had focused too much energy on politics and his relationship with Von Lisz, neglecting his most fundamental military judgment.

Even though General Grievous had given him a warning during the last battle with the Eye of Palpatine, he quickly became preoccupied with how to bring in the company's power to eliminate the ubiquitous rebels. He did not regain his command of the military.

Faced with this predicament, his judgment, which had been carefully honed by Severance Tann, finally prevailed.

Retreat is not an option! He made this judgment instantly. Moreover, they could no longer continue this cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul! The Empire's fleet already held an overwhelming numerical advantage; falling into the enemy's rhythm would only lead to a complete collapse.

How to do?How to do?
Lin Nan gritted his teeth, his mind racing. If it were General Severance Tann, how would she break this deadlock? If… it were General Grievous?
Wait!
General Grievous just said, "Launch a counterattack?"

Lin Nan suddenly felt as if he had grasped something. When he first heard General Grievous talk about counterattacking, he thought it was just something the raging general said casually, because in his mind, General Grievous was such a raging figure.

However, in retrospect, General Grievous's words were not idle talk at all; his counterattack had a deeper meaning!
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Lin Nan's mind, and he slammed his fist into the hollow plastic board, producing a crisp, loud sound!

"I understand! Immediately organize the entire army and prepare for a counterattack!" Lin Nan said decisively.

"General? Our forces are already insufficient to hold the existing defensive line, let alone launch a counterattack!" The adjutant was extremely surprised.

"Abandon the defensive line! Concentrate all forces, with this ship leading the charge! Launch a counterattack!" Lin Nan shouted sharply. "The target is area D-37!"

He swiftly ordered all warships to abandon their current positions. At the same time, with his flagship, the Illumination-class battleship, as the spearhead, and the other four Illumination-class battleships positioned to the left and right, he launched a frenzied counterattack against the Imperial fleet!

The D-37 direction was the first direction in which the Imperial Fleet launched its attack, and it was also the direction from which the attack was most resolute.

And he was about to lead his fleet to smash this imperial fleet to pieces!
The five Prophet-class battleships immediately launched a counterattack, their six flagship-level high-energy laser arrays flashing incessantly, radiating destructive energy onto the Imperial warships. The Imperial fleet in this area, which had been watching the Dawn Kingdom's fleet begin to retreat and was preparing to press its advantage, was instead met with a devastating blow from the five Prophet-class battleships!

The five Prophet-class ships abandoned their positions, allowing Imperial warships from other directions to penetrate freely, while they focused their attacks on the Imperial fleet salient in area D-37.

Moreover, Dawn Kingdom warships from other directions also began to advance towards the D-37 area from various directions.

At that very moment, an amazing thing happened!

Logically speaking, Lin Nanyi's action of leading the fleet to turn around in front of the battle, abandoning his flanks and rear, and launching a full-scale attack was tantamount to courting death.

Because the Imperial Fleet could simply have the fleet in area D-37 hold their ground while the other fleets flanked and encircled Lin Nanyi's fleet from another direction, thus completely surrounding it and launching an attack from the flank and rear. If this were done, the Cataclysmic-class and Typhoon-class battlecruisers providing long-range fire support for the Dawn Kingdom would be directly threatened, and the situation would collapse instantly.

However, the Imperial fleet did not do so at this moment. The Imperial squadron in area D-37, upon discovering that it was under full-scale attack by the Dawn Kingdom fleet, turned tail and fled without hesitation. Lin Nan ordered them to give chase, thus leaving the Imperial fleets that were flanking from other directions behind.

But this is only the beginning.

Lin Nan immediately ordered all Typhoon-class and Cataclysm-class battlecruisers to concentrate their firepower and bombard the area relentlessly! Countless phase missiles and particle lances rained down, and the Imperial Fleet's D-37 direction was immediately subjected to extremely devastating attacks.

The fleeing imperial fleet was immediately and completely shattered by powerful artillery fire!

At this moment, they saw the D-37 fleet that had been at the forefront collapse almost instantly, and more than a dozen Imperial-class Star Destroyers were blown to pieces by the Dawn Kingdom's warships.

This horrific scene spurred other directions, and the imperial warships began to slow down, no longer relentlessly attacking Lin Nanyi's flank.

These imperial warships began to hesitate and retreat, and their originally sharp all-out attack was instantly thwarted.

Seeing these imperial warships seemingly under a spell, the adjutant was stunned. "What happened, General Lin?"

Lin Nan revealed a long-lost confident smile, "They're thinking about self-preservation. Hehehe... Gideon Tarkin is dead. Originally, they were united in their hatred and wanted to avenge Gideon. They were capable of that. If they launched a full-scale attack and completely defeated us, they could at least give the Imperial Center an explanation."

He pointed to the holographic star map and continued, "However, once they discover that their vanguard fleet has been dealt a heavy blow, they'll start to reconsider... whether it was worth it. Yes, Gideon Tarkin is already dead; if they were to lose their own lives as well, wouldn't that be a huge loss? Of course, a full-scale attack would certainly win, but only if they themselves don't die!"

"I understand now. With Gideon Tarkin dead, the fleet is leaderless and lacks unified command. The only force those warship captains control is their warships. Nobody wants to go and die, only to benefit someone else!" The adjutant suddenly realized.

"That's why General Griffiths asked me to launch a counterattack!" Lin Nan said in a deep voice.

He then waved his hand sharply and shouted, "Continue the attack! Continue the pursuit of the remnants of the Imperial fleet in area D-37! Make them understand completely that warships that launch an attack are doomed!" (End of Chapter)