Chapter 104 It’s Time to Withdraw

"Fleet commander, it's time to withdraw..."

Although the shield of the enemy flagship was broken and effective damage was caused to the enemy ship.

But the losses of our side were even more severe.

More than 80 "Earth Elf" drones, only more than 20 were left in less than 20 minutes.

If they continue, the "Earth Elf" drones will be wiped out.

Now that the strength of the enemy warships has been explored, there is no need to continue fighting.

In the star field at the border of the star system, in the fleet of the "Free Democratic Federation".

"It's time to evacuate..."

In the lifeboat, Rex opened his eyes.

It can break the shield and cause effective damage to the enemy's warships.

The purpose of this encounter has been achieved.

The next thing to do is to prepare for a decisive battle.

Completely drive the opponent out of the S-01919 star system.

Thinking of this, Rex ordered: "All ships listen to the order, evacuate immediately, and leave the battle immediately..."

With Rex's order, in the battlefield in the outer space of Star No. 1.

The drone group that was originally entangled with the fleet suddenly gave up the target in front of them and turned around to fly in the direction they came from.

"Wang, the enemy is evacuating, do you want to chase them?"

During the battle, the fleet is not stationary.

Instead, it is in a flying state, flying in the direction of the asteroid belt.

In just over 20 minutes of fighting, the fleet is already very close to the asteroid belt.

Once the enemy fleet leaves the battle, it will soon escape into the asteroid belt.

Waving his hand slightly, Li Meng said: "Let them go..."

It is impossible to catch up, drones are much more flexible than the "Firestorm-class" escort ship.

After speaking, Li Meng asked again: "What is the extent of the damage to the hull?"

A technology priest responded: "17 close-in automatic guns were lost, the hull armor was slightly damaged, and the surface was covered with craters, but it is not a big deal. It's just some minor problems. It can be repaired in half a month."

The words of the technology priest made Li Meng's face thoughtful.

I didn't expect that such a small drone could actually cause damage to the "Firestorm-class" escort ship.

Sure enough, even a small cannon can have great power as long as the technology is in place.

No wonder the opponent chose to use drones as the main combat unit.

As long as the number of drones is large enough, it is no worse than a large ship.

This should be the so-called ants bite the elephant to death.

Thinking of this, Li Meng said to Ralph: "Order all ships, immediately send all Fury-class interceptors to conduct a comprehensive search of the S-01919 star system. Drones need to be carried by motherships. The opponent's mothership must be hidden in the S-01919 star system. Find them."

Although the "Firestorm-class" escort ship and the "Cobra-class" destroyer have no hangar.

But the large harbor can still fit a few Fury-class interceptors as reconnaissance units.

Small units have strong maneuverability and are suitable for endurance and exploration of a certain star field.

Not many, both the "Firestorm-class" escort ship and the "Cobra-class" destroyer only carried 4 Fury-class interceptors.

With Li Meng's order, the harbors on the side of the warships stationed in all directions of the planet slowly opened.

One by one, the Fury-class interceptors, about 54 meters long and with slender bodies, flew out of the harbor and rushed into the depths of the starry sky.

As the most versatile interceptor of the empire, the Fury-class has a rather peculiar appearance.

Because it is an interstellar fighter, it is larger in size, 54 meters long, and can be equipped with more powerful airborne weapons.

The fuselage is narrow, long, and square, with short flying wing structures at the front and back.

The engine is just a large nozzle with strong thrust.

Although the appearance is relatively rough, it is not a body with strong maneuverability from a structural point of view.

But the fact is completely the opposite.

As the most versatile interstellar fighter of the empire.

The Fury-class interceptor has strong maneuverability and can effectively intercept enemy carrier-based aircraft, missiles, and torpedoes.

Where will they be?

Sitting upright in the captain's chair, Li Meng looked thoughtful.

The space of the universe is very large. Although the S-01919 star system is full of asteroids.

But there are still safe routes to habitable planets.

It's just very difficult to find them.

In the past two months, the Empire has only found three relatively safe routes in the S-01919 star system.

Of course, this safety is for the Empire's warships.

Even the safest routes must pass through some asteroids with a low risk factor.

For example, asteroids are relatively sparse, have a small mass, and have a relatively smooth trajectory...

Can you directly use the superluminal engine to jump to the space near Star No. 1?

It's very difficult, very difficult...

Because the space around Star No. 1 is too small.

Even if Li Meng is in charge, it is difficult for the Empire's warships to accurately jump to the space near Star No. 1.

Once an error occurs, the jump to the asteroid belt will only lead to one outcome.

That is, the ship will be destroyed and people will die.

In the universe, exploring the outside world is a very dangerous thing.

If you want to save time, you must jump randomly without precise coordinates.

If you happen to be inside the planet when you leave the superluminal space, the result is self-evident.

In order to ensure safety, the exploration of unknown star fields is divided into three steps.

The first step is to use optical equipment to determine the direction and approximate distance.

The second step is to time the jump, just like a frog leap, approaching the target little by little.

The third step is to reach the dark universe outside the target star system and use the sublight speed engine to approach the star system.

Even if the target star system is only more than ten light years away, it takes at least several months to separate two star systems.

The reason why the human beings on Earth can jump directly to the S-01904 star system is because the coordinates of the trade mall given by "Zero" are calculated according to the star map of the human beings on Earth.

...

S-01919 star system.

In the edge star field, a fleet quietly floated in the dark universe.

"Fleet commander, the loss of "Earth Elf" drones is too great. Let's wait for the arrival of the logistics fleet and use engineering drones to push away the asteroids that block the way and artificially create a safe route."

"The universe is too big. If you want to artificially create a route, this amount of engineering will take at least ten years. Moreover, asteroids are not static, but moving and colliding. It is impossible to artificially clear a route."

"What should we do? The war has not really started yet, and we have lost nearly one hundred "Earth Elf" drones. What can we use to fight the enemy?"

"Didn't the fleet commander say that when the logistics fleet arrives, each ship can replenish the lost "Earth Elf" drones."

It has been three days since the last battle.

During these three days, the fleet has been looking for a safe route to a habitable planet.

Flying in an asteroid swarm is a very dangerous thing.

Even small and very flexible drones are no exception.