Humans cannot resist such temptation.
Especially after being provoked earlier.
This is actually related to fleet discipline. If it were a truly disciplined fleet, Mingna would still not succeed.
The Captains of the Fourth Fleet couldn't comprehend why Mingna remained so confident, despite so many potential points of failure.
Was there some secret element?
Those who could clearly see would naturally understand that there was no secret; it was merely a difference in perspective.
In reality, most people are perfectionists in their inner thoughts.
The simplest illustration is that most people, when witnessing an act of heroic rescue, will mentally place themselves in that exact situation, then believe they could have executed the same action if they had been present.
After all, it doesn't appear that difficult from the sidelines.
For instance, if someone jumps off a bridge, I believe I could also act decisively.
But what if I cannot swim? If that scenario is too complex, let's modify it. If a child playfully leans onto a window ledge and is about to fall, I will definitely appear under the window first. I trust anyone else who witnesses it would do the same.
But what about reality?
For many people, the ultimate achievement in such moments is indifference.
They naturally don't truly lack the desire to help; they simply hesitate, they are simply afraid.
There is nothing wrong with that.
Humans are not flawless, or perhaps life itself is inherently imperfect.
The Captains considered these points, but in reality, they were imagining the enemy as perfect entities, who would act according to flawless, smooth logic.
But that was not the truth.
There is a saying: "The participants are confused; the onlookers are clear."
Why is that the case?
Because only by standing as an onlooker does one possess the capacity for cold, logical thinking. As a participant, one is perpetually governed by emotion.
Only by understanding this fundamental point, and subsequently designing traps based upon it to force the enemy into an emotional state, will the enemy most likely fall for the ploy.
Not everyone is like Mingna, who has been tempered countless times within the Mortality Selection.
Ordinary individuals cannot simply discard emotionality.
Even if a fleet comprises many individuals, at such a critical juncture, even if the majority maintain rationality, they will still be swayed by a small number of intensely emotional people.
Why?
Because of self-interest.
Why do people become emotional? It is because the emotional reward is higher. Rationality often necessitates caution, meaning there are no sudden, explosive opportunities.
And the enemy's actions this time also confirmed this very point.
They launched an aggressive attack.
The slowed Rusty Star Nation fleet was the target, and because they were positioned within the celestial body cluster, their movements became even more predictable, resulting in them receiving hits several times more frequently than they would in open space.
Several lasers attacked simultaneously, and the energy shield quickly developed cracks.
An energy shield breach signified a weakened area caused by a large influx of energy impacting it over a short duration. It required time to regenerate and thicken, but the enemy afforded them no such opportunity.
The White Dragon class ships were indeed slightly inferior in resilience.
Over 100 were destroyed in the first wave of attacks.
Mingna's plan truly intended to sacrifice these ships, but everyone understood that the captains aboard those vessels would never willingly accept that fate, so this type of strategy could not be disclosed directly to the personnel involved.
They would only ever know this as a standard luring tactic.
This reality was harsh.
But such is the nature of war.
The destruction of over 100 ships severely shook the morale of the Winunder Fleet officers, but they still cautiously initiated a second round of attacks.
Because the White Dragon's power reserves were depleted, less energy was allocated to the external shields, leading to the direct destruction of over 300 ships in this subsequent wave.
"We also need to engage the celestial body belt!"
Onboard the Winunder Fleet.
A Captain declared.
The implication of these words was effectively asking whether they should pursue the advantage or not.
And the answer came swiftly:
"The enemy warships are directly ahead. There is no need to decelerate. Smash directly through the celestial body belt."
Individual ships colliding with celestial bodies could prove perilous, especially at high velocity. A collision with a celestial body tens of meters in size would generate an impact hundreds of times greater than the dinosaur extinction event on Earth.
However, warships were built to withstand such forces.
A warship's abundant fuel reserves, advanced defensive systems, and structural integrity were far superior to those of an ordinary vessel.
More crucially, the sheer number of weapons mounted on a warship was sufficient to rapidly obliterate all obstacles ahead, reducing them to smaller fragments even while maintaining high-speed flight.
"Advance, continue the third wave of attack!"
This time, even more White Dragon class ships were lost, approximately over 500.
Ahead, the Rusty Star Nation fleet had already surged out of the celestial body belt. Now, the Winunder Fleet was fully inside the celestial body belt.
And on the other side, another Rusty Star Nation fleet was closing in.
"The enemy ships ahead are attempting an escape. They are initiating an acceleration phase, estimated to take 3 hours."
"The rear ships are closing in, seemingly to buy time for the main force ahead."
This was a critical juncture.
Devouring the ships ahead was their primary objective. Even if the leading ships accelerated, they were unlikely to escape them entirely; it would simply require more operational time.
This realization instilled a sense of profound urgency among the officers on the Winunder Fleet.
Because from every tactical perspective, the Rusty Star Nation was deliberately setting a trap, and their current movements meant they were dancing right on the edge of that snare.
Every single second was vital.
To yield, or to press the attack!
Two stark concepts were written across everyone's eyes:
Greed!
An enemy within striking distance. If annihilated, it wouldn't just mean the loss of a few hundred enemy ships; the enemy's future combat potential would also be slightly diminished.
It would also bolster their own confidence.
They intensely craved victory.
"Split the formation. Leave a contingent to intercept the rear fleet. The majority will proceed with annihilation."
"There aren't that many ships ahead, only about 1,000. Deploy 5,000 ships. Leave no gaps!"
Finally, they reached this decision.
A smile spread across the faces of everyone aboard the Fourth Fleet's ships.
Did this signal imminent victory in this engagement?
Not yet!
But soon!
Once the formation split, it meant both enemy contingents needed to achieve their respective objectives before they could regroup. This was the core principle of the entire Rusty Star Nation plan.
The rear Rusty Star Nation fleet instantly altered its course. It appeared to want to bypass the pursuers and catch up directly to the main Winunder Fleet, but the intercepting Winunder Fleet contingent was not easily bypassed and quickly moved to engage them.
The two sides quickly engaged in a round of combat, and the Rusty Star Nation fleet suffered some additional damage.
At this moment, aboard the Winunder Fleet's warships.
The Captains suddenly became ecstatic: "They expended too many attacks earlier, resulting in insufficient defensive energy reserves. Perhaps we can even annihilate this fleet!"
It seemed the opponent also noticed this and began changing course, attempting to flee.
The Winunder Fleet Captains pursued without hesitation.
Perhaps they harbored concerns, but looking back now, the other fleet was rapidly closing the distance with the sheep-like enemy, and results would soon be evident. At that point, the main force would also join the pursuit.
This turn of events was actually quite fortuitous.
All ships and warships at this moment no longer focused their attention on surrounding tactical observations.
They failed to notice that in the distance, a massive fleet exceeding 10,000 ships had already begun to mobilize.
For the hunter, the time was precisely ripe!
...
"Our distance is widening, Captain!"
Aboard the Winunder Fleet, everyone on all ships and warships simultaneously recognized this critical problem.
But there was absolutely no room for hesitation now.
Hesitation meant forfeiting a golden opportunity.
A gambler was already seated at the table, the dealer dealing cards, revealing beautiful, pale skin and deep cleavage…
No, the cards had already been dealt. A quick glance revealed a straight flush.
At this critical moment, who could possibly pull this gambler away from the table?
Only Death and God would possess that authority.
"I am aware. Continue the pursuit."
"The Commander and the others will understand our strategy. They will eventually arrive to reinforce us."
By now, their eyes were red with focus.
Often, people are reluctant to acknowledge their own inherent greed. Only when truly confronted by temptation do individuals reveal their avaricious nature without reservation.
Some people cannot trust that their plans will be flawless, harboring anxiety about them, precisely because they project an image of perfection onto others—failing to realize that they themselves are merely human, and that all their own undesirable habits are shared by everyone else.
Only by realizing this fundamental truth can anyone gain true confidence.
Some individuals might grasp this concept in their thirties or forties, while others have understood it since kindergarten.
Mingna belonged to the former category.
She spent an even longer duration comprehending this issue. In her past, she had constantly lived in a state of intense self-criticism. She believed she was inherently flawed, and that she needed to attain absolute perfection before she could converse meaningfully with others.
She feared others discovering her imperfections, convinced they would mock and distance themselves from her because of these flaws.
That was an incredibly painful period in her life.
People often refer to this prolonged state as introversion.
Introversion easily leads to clinical depression.
This is a psychological malady that, even in this advanced era, cannot be easily cured.
Altering a psychological condition means fundamentally changing the person themselves, a process that modern people, who highly value individuality, strongly resist.
And depression, especially depression lasting for hundreds or thousands of years, can truly drive a person to madness.
Mingna was precisely that kind of person.
She went mad!
She committed self-termination!
She committed suicide and was subsequently selected.
In the Mortality Selection, she overcame this deeply rooted problem. She realized that people are inherently imperfect, and instead of feeling inferior, she should feel gratitude.
Because imperfection was what created her. Only through imperfection do individuals truly possess distinctiveness.
From that stage onward, Mingna's comprehension of human nature became incredibly nuanced and clear as day.
In the vastness of space.
The separation distance between the split fleets gradually widened.
Mingna commanded, "Attack! We have already reached 100 astronomical units."
"Even if they desire reunification, that journey will still take two and a half days."
100 astronomical units is relatively short in cosmic terms, but it is certainly not a trivial journey, as even light requires over ten hours to traverse that distance.
"Two and a half days. Should we delay slightly? This timeframe might still prove insufficient."
A Captain cautiously suggested.
In an interstellar engagement, this duration was indeed quite brief.
But Mingna countered, "Short?"
"I believe it is already far too long."
"The war will conclude very swiftly, have faith in me!"
Where did Mingna's confidence originate?
These Captains still didn't fully grasp the reasoning, but they knew Mingna was correct.
There might have been lingering doubts before, but having progressed to this critical stage, such uncertainties had vanished.
This Strategos, one could only assert, truly lived up to her title.
The fleet began to execute the maneuver.
They had long been maintaining an evasive posture, now approaching the battlefield at maximum thrust.
First came the enemy ships of that isolated contingent, which had already lost over 1,000 vessels. They were now intensely fearful, because evasion was functionally impossible at this juncture. They lacked the surplus energy required for complex maneuvers necessary to achieve rapid acceleration.
At this moment, the enemy soldiers also began expressing their frustration. They gradually understood that they were being used as bait, and that this entire situation was orchestrated by Mingna.
The curses were continuous and sharp.
Even the Captains were voicing their frustration.
Until Mingna's face materialized upon the ship's cockpit display screen.
"Had enough cursing?"
Mingna's words instantly silenced all the ship cockpits.
After 10 seconds, with no reply, Mingna spoke again.
"Then commence the counterattack."
"We have arrived. You do not need to turn around to attack us first. Turn around only after we launch our assault."
"Remember, control the rhythm precisely."
"After we appear within your visual range, wait 20 minutes, then execute the turn."
Mingna's large projection vanished.
All the Captains aboard the ships finally exhaled a breath, which was immediately followed by excited cheers.
As for the soldiers and Captains who had perished earlier, they were not them, and they felt no need to mourn those losses.
...
Interstellar space.
Mingna had just finished speaking, and all ships immediately exited their evasion posture.
Then followed a massive, coordinated assault.
The White Dragon class was not perfectly optimized for evasion; its design allowed it to store energy even while maintaining an evasion state. Unlike void-class ships, it did not need to drop evasion before accumulating energy for subsequent attacks.
This was precisely its advantage.
An offensive involving over ten thousand ships plus several dozen warships did not merely translate to tens of thousands of laser strikes.
In fact, the number reached hundreds of thousands.
Furthermore, these attacks were amplified by specialized weaponry from the warships.
For example, the Strong-Force Mutator.
The name sounded somewhat odd, but its function was not difficult to grasp.
The strong force is what binds protons and neutrons together within an atomic nucleus; it is incredibly stable. Conventional weaponry disrupts the strong force, causing atomic nuclei to fission into protons and neutrons—similar to nuclear fission, but without the creation of new atoms.
The Strong-Force Mutator, however, directly alters the state of the atomic nucleus itself.
It doesn't add or subtract protons and neutrons; it simply modifies the way they combine.
This manipulation changes certain inherent properties of the atom. A hydrogen atom struck by a Strong-Force Mutator might still register as hydrogen, but it loses the standard functional characteristics of hydrogen. Its governing rules shift; it can no longer form covalent bonds with oxygen atoms to create water.
This abnormal application proved highly effective in warfare. Its purpose was not to disintegrate the ship or warship physically, but rather to disintegrate the energy shields protecting them.
Energy shields are formed by a specific medium which guides energy to establish the protective field.
By destroying this medium, the contained energy dissipates without constraint, becoming uncontrollable.
The warships were equipped with numerous such weapons.
At this moment, Mingna ordered every single one to be unleashed simultaneously.
Like hungry wolves, the Winunder Fleet attacking from the front remained completely oblivious. By the time they realized what was happening, the onslaught had already struck.
In an instant, they began to dissipate as if vampires were suddenly submerged in sunlight.
Hundreds of ships vanished into dust in the blink of an eye.
...
"Enemy forces, an overwhelming number of them!"
The reaction from the previously aggressive enemy now shifted to sheer terror.
The more menacing they had appeared moments before, the more panicked they became now.
This represented a profound contradiction.
But reality often proves contradictory.
The inner world of an aggressor is often no stronger than that of the oppressed.
When an even more violent entity appears, the abuser instantly transforms into a quivering entity, frantically wagging its tail with its tongue hanging out.
Aboard the Winunder Fleet ships.
Not a single person at this moment considered retaliating or welcoming the enemy's arrival.
Their singular thought was...
Run!
Flee with all possible speed.
"Rendezvous! Quickly rendezvous with the main fleet! This is an ambush! This is an enemy stratagem!"
"All personnel retreat! Initiate maximum thrust! Damn it, what are you standing there for? I ordered maximum speed retreat!"
"Disperse! Scatter away from the fleet formation! Do not remain clustered; you will be hit by concentrated fire."
They scattered in utter disarray.
To the wide-eyed astonishment of all the Fourth Fleet Captains, their enemy scattered like frightened flocks of birds.
"What is happening? We only have over 10,000 ships, and they still have over 5,000 remaining. They should be capable of mounting some resistance and awaiting reinforcements."
"Do these people not analyze the tactical situation?"
"So this is the caliber of people we have been fighting all this time! If we had known, we should have just charged straight through!"
Was the enemy weak?
In fact, no, they were not inherently weak.
This was merely the consequence of a total collapse in human nature—or rather, crew morale.
Mingna had, in fact, been subtly luring them step-by-step, and the enemy forces knew this realization deep down.
Everyone had been preparing for the possibility of falling into a meticulously laid trap.
It was akin to a bankrupt gambler trying to catch a wolf barehanded. If he wins, everything is resolved perfectly, and everyone celebrates.
But what if he loses?
He had already positioned his chair for escape, with one foot braced outside, his body slightly leaning, one hand ready to brace the back—having made every conceivable preparation for immediate flight.
At this moment, he didn't even need to truly lose; merely making him believe he had lost would prompt him to turn tail and flee.
Who granted Mingna the confidence that the war would conclude in just two and a half days?
Naturally, it was rooted in human nature.
Mingna overheard the Captains' conversation and shook her head.
"Study more."
"If you remain at your current level of thinking, then in future conflicts, you will ultimately lead your forces to ruin."
Mingna issued another directive.
"Pursue. The enemy's speed is significantly slower than ours."
"They expended a massive amount of energy during their earlier chase; at this point, they are exhausted."
This pursuit was now genuinely effective.
Because every element on the battlefield was being meticulously controlled by Mingna.
She possessed the authority to make such decisive calls.
Simultaneously, Mingna also aimed her primary objective at the enemy's warship contingent. Some auxiliary ships might escape, but the warships absolutely had to be captured.
She led the Fourth Fleet's warships in pursuit of the enemy warships.
"Maintain continuous emission; do not cease fire."
"Deploy the crystal robots."
Crystal robots were rhomboid, thin-film automatons, roughly only 10 centimeters in length. They barely resembled robots; instead, they looked like pure crystal shards, barely 0.3 millimeters thick.
Naturally, these objects carried aboard the warships served a specific purpose.
They were fired directly ahead, but not with the intent to strike the enemy warships.
In fact, these crystal robots were designed to overtake the enemy vessels directly.
Because they were light enough, their velocity could be extremely high, reaching over 95% the speed of light.
Soon, they caught up to and then surpassed the enemy warships ahead, which were actually less than 70 astronomical units distant.
After a period of time.
Aboard her warship, Mingna ordered the fleet to assume a fan-shaped configuration.
It resembled an encirclement.
This was somewhat awkward and incomplete; this was interstellar space, and even if the Fourth Fleet commanded 300 warships, it wasn't enough to form a true, comprehensive encirclement.
Just as the Winunder Fleet Captains began to think they had gone mad.
Suddenly.
Immediately ahead of them, an identical formation of 300 warships appeared.
And they were far too close.
This time, genuine terror seized them.
"Turn back! Reverse course!"
"Escape the pincer movement!"
Their state of panic was exceptionally frantic.
From the moment the Fourth Fleet's main force materialized, the escalating tension prevented them from even discerning that the warships suddenly appearing ahead were actually decoys.
And this was precisely Mingna's objective.
The enemy had lost its capacity for clear distinction.
In reality, even on the scale of cosmic space, many critical decisions are made in a split second. Once such a decision is locked in, reversing it takes a substantially longer duration.
After they committed to the course change.
The ships altered their vector.
Then the illusions created by the crystal robots vanished, forcing them to constantly second-guess their maneuvers, thereby achieving the goal of confusing their thought process.
This was a form of incremental psychological pressure.
Moreover, because their relative speed was superior, this placed Mingna at an absolute tactical advantage.
"How strange."
"Never before have 110 warships been pursued so desperately by 300 warships."
Although the Captains of the Fourth Fleet could only perceive the enemy's status via the data displayed on their tactical screens, they could still sense the enemy's panic.
Seemingly a three-fold difference in numbers, but in reality, warship units are not so easily eliminated.
So, if given the chance, 110 warships could still operate with some composure against 300, and gradually rely on the inherent advantages of warships to evade the enemy.
In fact, this maneuvering is fundamental doctrine for warship units, because warships in smaller nations function primarily as command units—the brains of the operation.
"It appears they are still physically present, but in effect, they have already lost."
"So this is what a true battlefield feels like."
In the past, they themselves had only engaged in brute-force combat, exchanging fire blindly.
At this moment, they felt as though they had evolved from a barbaric era into modern warfare, while the enemy remained stuck in the past.
This kind of overwhelming superiority made them feel slightly uneasy.
But also intensely exhilarated.
"Activate Alae-Particula!"
Mingna's command was once again transmitted to every warship.
Finally, was the decisive strike upon them?
All Captains recognized this critical juncture.
Alae-Particula was essentially the main cannon system of the warship.
Furthermore, unlike the standard main cannons of other warships, to achieve maximal power, the Rusty Star Nation specifically designed a weapon capable of stacking output.
That is, multiple warships firing simultaneously. The energy released would compound, generating exponentially greater power.
Alae-Particula, as a main cannon, wasn't actually considered exceptionally powerful on its own.
It wasn't a super-long-range weapon.
It was merely a conventional weapon.
Its effective range peaked within 300 astronomical units.
Typically, it proved most devastating within 100 astronomical units.
That was precisely why Mingna commanded this weapon to be activated now.
Currently, all warships began adjusting their firing sequences to ensure absolute uniformity.
Their positions also began to adjust, moving as far apart as possible, so as not to obstruct the firing lanes of neighboring warships.
This formed a regulated trapezoidal battle formation. Then, the execution was simple: accumulate energy, fire. Two steps completed.
At the fore of every warship, the enormous rectangular muzzles—which could occupy one-tenth or even one-ninth of the entire ship's volume—began accumulating vast amounts of energy. The blinding light, after reaching a specific accumulation threshold, even induced visible spatial distortion near the muzzle.
This was truly literal spatial warping, because the density of that energy was rapidly approaching the critical threshold for black hole formation.
Finally, as it neared that limit, all stored energy erupted.
An ultimate, dazzling brilliance.
It compressed momentarily, then suddenly burst outward.
From a distant vantage point, those blossoming energies resembled magnificent wings, continuously extending tens of astronomical units toward the enemy warships ahead, before completely engulfing them.
It looked breathtakingly beautiful.
But it was also utterly terrifying!