No one would voice that thought aloud.
In such a setting, uttering those words would be both inappropriate and undignified.
Yet everyone understood it clearly in their hearts.
That was the true bottom line.
A younger general officer lowered his voice, speaking to the colleague beside him.
"Actually... even without all those tactical reasons, just the fact that Qin Bei Wang is the Marshal's son alone..."
He didn't finish.
But the person beside him nodded, also speaking softly:
"Exactly."
On the other side, someone sighed quietly.
"Oppose? Who would dare?"
"Isn't that openly defying the Marshal?"
"Even Ruan Xingwei..."
He paused, his gaze subtly shifting toward Ruan Xingwei's direction.
"He comes from an old military family.
His family has even produced several Marshals.
If even he has yielded, what more can we say?"
No one refuted it.
Because it was the truth.
Qin Qianfan.
That name carried far too much weight in the Federal Navy.
Back in the Bushman Star System.
The Pluto Direct Fleet and the Tiankui Star Fleet were advancing toward the forward-facing side of Danube Star's orbital revolution.
Meanwhile, the remaining twelve hundred starships of the Blood Locust Fleet clung stubbornly to their pursuit.
Bridge of the Kunlun Mountain-modified Battleship.
Qin Bei Wang gave the order.
"All T5-class starships."
His voice remained steady as usual, as if he were merely discussing some trivial matter.
"Skim past the forward-facing side of Danube Star's orbital revolution, charging main cannons.
Then, using planetary gravity, execute a turn with the side auxiliary thrusters."
He paused, shifting his gaze from the tactical screen to sweep over everyone present.
"Remaining T4 starships, continue advancing along the original course."
Zhuang Zhixuan stood behind him, the first to react.
Her eyes widened slightly, her tone carrying a hint of disbelief.
"Commander, are you..."
She paused, organizing that thought into a complete sentence.
"Planning to coordinate with the Celestial Pole Star Fleet and the two carrier battle groups..."
"To trap the pursuing enemy forces in a pincer attack from front and rear?"
Qin Bei Wang glanced at her but said nothing.
Yet that look confirmed everything.
A soft, collective intake of breath echoed across the bridge.
Everyone stared at the tactical screen.
On it, Danube Star—a massive gas giant—now dominated the center of the display.
Its orbital revolution path was marked as a faint blue dotted line, stretching from the left to the right side of the screen.
The current positions of the Pluto Direct Fleet and the Tiankui Star Fleet were marked as a small green dot, positioned diagonally below that orbital line.
That was the counter-direction of the revolution.
Following Qin Bei Wang's command, the T5-class starships would cut in from here, skimming closely past the forward-facing side of Danube Star's orbital revolution.
Utilizing the immense gravity of that colossal planet to execute a near-insane turn.
Cutting in from the counter-direction of the planet's forward-facing revolution—the powerful planetary gravity would slam the Pluto Fleet back like an ocean wave.
If the hull strength was insufficient, the starships stood a high probability of being torn apart directly by the planet's gravity.
That was the most primal fear of starships in the face of astrophysics.
Not being hit, not being blown apart—but being utterly shredded structurally by the gravitational field as if crumpling a piece of paper.
As for whether T5-class starship strength could withstand it...
No one could give a definite answer.
Because no one had ever done this before.
Zhuang Zhixuan stood beside Qin Bei Wang, her gaze fixed on the tactical screen, on the cluster of red cursors representing the pursuing forces.
Those more than twelve hundred points of light were now steadily closing in from the rear, drawing ever closer to the wake of the Pluto Fleet.
She slowly spoke, her tone carrying a complex mix of worry and admiration.
"The Imperial starships pursuing us from behind..."
She paused.
"...number over twelve hundred."
Qin Bei Wang remained silent, simply watching the screen.
Zhuang Zhixuan continued, her voice steady, as if stating an objective fact.
"By conservative estimates, at least nine hundred of those starships possess full combat capability."
She turned her head to look at Qin Bei Wang.
"Relying solely on the Celestial Pole Star Fleet and the two carrier battle groups..."
"...it likely won't be easy to completely eliminate this pursuing force."
The bridge fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, someone softly drew in a breath.
It was a long, drawn-in breath, carrying a sense of sudden realization.
A staff officer abruptly looked up, his gaze shifting from the tactical screen to Qin Bei Wang's back.
His voice held a barely suppressed excitement.
"So that's it..."
He paused, then continued, speaking faster and faster.
"The Celestial Pole Star Fleet and the carrier battle groups are lying in ambush behind Danube Star, waiting for the enemy to enter the trap."
"We lead the pursuers, entering Danube Star's gravitational influence from the front."
"And then..."
He reached out and traced an arc on the tactical screen.
"...the T5-class starships use the gravity to turn around and strike back from the flank."
"The T4 starships continue forward, skirt around Danube Star, and stab the Blood Locust Fleet hard in the back!"
"Meanwhile, the Celestial Pole Star Fleet and the two carrier battle groups use the planetary gravity to accelerate!"
"Together with the Directly Subordinate Fleet and the Tiankui Star Fleet, they crush the Blood Locust Fleet from the side!"
He finished in one breath, then nodded firmly.
"A pincer attack from front and rear."
"Besieged on all sides."
He looked at Qin Bei Wang, his eyes filled with admiration.
"It has to be the Commander, thinking so thoroughly!"
A low murmur of agreement rippled through the bridge.
Some nodded gently.
Others exchanged glances, their eyes holding the same meaning.
This battle was in the bag.
Bridge of the Blood Locust Fleet flagship, Iron Blood Sovereignty.
General Knight stood before the command console, staring at the movement pattern of the Federation Fleet on the tactical screen, his brow deeply furrowed.
On the screen, the Federation Fleet he had been chasing all this way was now undergoing a strange change.
The originally dense cluster of light points suddenly split into two streams.
The two streams of light points were slowly separating, moving in different directions.
Knight instinctively rubbed the back of his head.
"What are they playing at?"
He muttered, his voice not loud, as if talking to himself.
"Dividing their forces?"
He paused, a scornful twist forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Does he really think dividing forces will let him escape the grasp of our Blood Locust Fleet?"
His adjutant stood beside him, also staring at the screen.
He remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke, his tone carrying a note of cautious analysis.
"Commander, it's possible they intend to use this division of forces to make us divide our attention and fail on both fronts."
He paused, reached out, and tapped on the screen, pointing towards the light points representing the T5-class ships.
"I suggest we focus our efforts on those main force warships."
His finger moved toward the Tier 4 indicators.
"The starships that broke away have engines far less powerful than those big ones below.
Even if they escape, they won't get far."
"But these are most likely Federation capital ships!"
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