Yan Jing finally made a decision and ordered the First Squadron to continue moving forward and maintain the current course for the time being. However, everyone including Yan Jing knew that the First Squadron would not keep flying like this.
The first squadron is very fast, much faster than the alien fleet. It won't take long for the first squadron to catch up with the retreating alien fleet.
But the first squadron only maintained a pursuit posture. Any person on the two warships knew that it was impossible for the fleet to confront the alien fleet head-on, and it was only a matter of time before it turned to maneuver.
If possible, Yan Jing hoped that the fleet could reduce its speed and keep a certain distance from the retreating enemy troops, that is, not get too close and not relax the pursuit.
However, the design of the battleship limits the tactical performance - the 024 class only has a large number of propellers at the tail and no bow braking engine at all. When braking is needed, it must either rely on planetary gravity or turn the battleship 180 degrees in advance and use
Brake with your butt forward.
This is not due to negligence on the part of the designers, but because with the current level of technology, it is impossible to design a suitable brake engine. The only feasible solution is to install a brake rocket. However, the volume of the rocket will not be larger than the boost used when the fleet set off.
The rocket is so small. If you really install that thing on 024, it will push the displacement of 024 to more than 6,000 tons.
The trick to air combat is to master speed and altitude. The higher the mass, the greater the thrust required. However, the electromagnetic engine is not powerful. No matter how you look at it, installing brake rockets on the 024 stage is not worth the gain.
If possible, Yan Jing would also like to order the second team to temporarily find a satellite to hide for a while, and then catch Europa Zero off guard. But for the same reason, even if he gave the order, the second team would not be able to carry out the order.
Half an hour passed in a hurry, and the second team finally saw Europa rising behind Jupiter, but Europa had no intention of sending a fleet to intercept it, which made Yan Jing very uneasy.
It is impossible for the aliens to ignore the second team, so what does it mean for the aliens to stand still?
Yan Jing couldn't figure out the connection, gritted his teeth and said nothing, and the fleet continued to press forward step by step.
The distance between the first squadron and the alien fleet is far enough, and the alien warships have good acceleration capabilities. After another hour, the first squadron will not be able to catch up with the enemy.
Yan Jing believed that the current situation was more beneficial to the expedition fleet and decided to maintain it for a while.
Although there was no contact between the two parties for the time being, everyone's nerves were tense and they were nervously observing all directions.
The expedition fleet is now deep into enemy territory and may encounter a sneak attack by the enemy at any time. There is no harm in being cautious.
Another forty minutes passed, and there was still one hour and fifty minutes before the second team made contact with Europa. The observers on the Hongwan suddenly discovered that more than twenty alien warships had taken off from a satellite behind the first team.
Yan Jing suddenly shouted that it was not good and immediately ordered the observers to search the surrounding area carefully.
The observers quickly reported that alien fleets were spotted in both directions on the starboard side, and the enemy troops that were retreating just ahead had joined forces with two other enemy troops and were speeding towards a detachment!
On the left side of the fleet is the huge Jupiter, as well as Europa, which orbits Jupiter. It is the base camp of aliens. If you get close, you will definitely not get good results.
There are alien fleets in the front, rear, right and up and down directions, and a squadron has been surrounded by the alien fleet unknowingly.
Although the alien fleet is not in place yet, Class 024's maneuverability is limited, and it is impossible to break out of the encirclement before the aliens encircle it. The only breakthrough is from the front.
The alien fleet on the front is the strongest, and Yan Jing has no confidence in breaking through the interception of the alien fleet.
In an instant, Yan Jing's heart felt as gray as death.
"Watching hands, how long until contact?"
"Twenty minutes for the front, and about forty minutes for the side and back."
The aliens may have laid this pocket a long time ago and are just waiting for the expedition fleet to get inside. The only direction that seems to have a chance right now is towards Europa.
Yan Jing felt regret and regret, but when the situation had developed to this point, the first team was already the fat meat that the aliens were about to put into their mouths, so what was the use of regret?
At the moment, Io seems to be the most promising direction to break the situation. Yan Jing believes without a doubt that there must be an alien fleet waiting for him on Io. As long as a detachment dares to get close, it will immediately start from Io.
Take off.
At a critical moment of life and death, it is inevitable for an individual to hesitate, and Yan Jing is no exception. Fortunately, there is still a little time left for him. After just a few minutes, Yan Jing finally made up his mind and ordered in a deep voice: "One detachment, break out of the encirclement head-on!"
front?
Everyone who heard the order was stunned and looked at each other.
"Commander?" Wang Xiaolei looked puzzled.
Yan Jing sighed: "Besides facing it, do we have any other choice?"
Everyone was speechless.
The battleship can only run forward. If it doesn't break out from the front, where can it break out?
Yan Jing said again: "Order, the Luwan is approaching our ship. All commanders and crew are ready for battle. Use all weapons for me. If we win, we will break through the encirclement. If we lose, we will break a few teeth of the aliens."
!”
"Yes!" Everyone roared in unison, with momentum like a rainbow.
"Get ready!"
The two spaceships, which were originally in a state of combat readiness, immediately entered a combat state. The Luwan was close to the Hongwan, and the two warships only maintained a distance of about 500 meters and kept pace.
Two against fifty, the Hongwan and the Dewwan were like two moths flying toward the flames.
Closer, closer. When the enemy ship entered the effective range of 1,200 kilometers, all the turrets on the two warships opened at the same time. The twenty twin turrets on the bow opened fire at the same time, and forty X-lasers hit the enemy ship.
, the alien warship looks like a lime bag that is constantly being beaten, with layers of smoke rising up.
At the same time, a large number of missiles flew out of the bellies of the two warships. The number was too large to be counted. Each missile trailed a faint smoke trail and rushed towards the enemy ship at full speed.
The two warships shot out half of the remaining missiles in one go, totaling more than 200 missiles!
The missiles flew much faster than the battleships. The alien fleet seemed to be aware of it and immediately opened a distance. The missile group was still hundreds of kilometers away from the alien fleet. The thin light emitted by the alien battleships formed layers of fire.
net.
The missile flying at the front crashed into the interceptor net, and more than a dozen missiles were cut off by the first wave of interceptor fire.
Immediately afterwards, the second wave, the third wave... more and more missiles were cut off by the thin light. Some missiles exploded directly into a ball of flames, some were damaged and then became silent, and some turned into headless flies and flew around.
jump up.
The alien interception is very effective, but the speed of the missile is no joke, and the alien fleet is rushing towards the expedition fleet!
Adding the speeds of the two parties, the speed of the missiles flying towards the alien fleet exceeds the interception speed by a large margin. Every time it is intercepted, the missile group has to get closer to the alien fleet.
