Chapter 1502: The Third Fleet Intervenes

The right-wing detachment of the Tiezhua Fleet voluntarily opened a passage according to Fafeili's orders.

Those two Central Army battlecruisers, along with their frigates, cut in at high speed from the gap.

But after they charged in, the passage openings on both sides narrowed rapidly.

The retreating hulls of the Tiezhua right-wing detachment squeezed forward again, and the left-wing detachment closed inward at the same time.

A three-sided encirclement was formed, and the Central Army detachment caught in the middle lost tactical contact with the main force.

Fafeili's voice came through the fleet-wide communication channel.

The encirclement has closed; use boarding tactics to grapple and seize control of their ships. Do not sink them; if you sink them, we have nothing. The hulls and equipment are all spoils of war; grab as much as you can.

The ships of the Tiezhua Fleet began to accelerate and close in on the direction of the surrounded Central Army fleet.

Outside the bridge portholes of the Tiezhua, those dark-gray painted capital ships were rapidly approaching the enemy.

The bow of a Tiezhua destroyer aimed at the broadside of a Central Army frigate and rammed directly into it; the two ships locked together after the impact.

Other ships followed suit, and the assault troops of the Tiezhua Mercenary Corps had already finished assembling at their respective boarding hatches.

Once the boarding tunnels were docked, the forward hatches opened, and the pressure difference in the vacuum environment pulled air out from the tunnel opening with a sharp rushing sound; then, the gravity simulator calibrated the connection interface between the two sides, and the airtight locks on both sides of the tunnel locked shut in sequence.

The first wave of assault troops rushed into the boarding chamber of the Central Army ship, encountering the defensive personnel on the Central Army ship head-on in the corridor, and both sides engaged in close-quarters combat within the narrow passage.

The Tiezhua mercenaries used firepower to suppress the first line of defense of the defenders and pushed into the main corridor inside the ship.

A burly mercenary charged at the very front, drawing a heavy tactical machete from his waist.

When he rushed into a transverse corridor, he ran head-on into two Central Army soldiers.

Those two soldiers raised their guns simultaneously when they saw the burly mercenary rush in.

The burly mercenary did not give them time to pull the triggers; the tactical machete slashed from top to bottom toward the first Central Army soldier's head, splitting the opponent's helmet.

Immediately following, he twisted his wrist to pull the blade out, swung it horizontally to sweep across the second soldier's weapon grip, knocked the gun out of the opponent's hand, and then stabbed the blade into this soldier's throat.

The burly mercenary shook off the blood and armor fragments sticking to the blade and prepared to continue pushing deeper into the corridor.

A heavy sound came from behind him.

The burly mercenary turned his head and saw a huge, dark silhouette moving toward this side at the intersection of the corridor and the main passage.

Kraken Warrior.

That body was nearly three meters tall, covered head to toe in dark-gray heavy armor, holding a power battle axe nearly two meters long in its hand.

The burly mercenary looked at the dark-gray figure walking toward him, pulled out the short-barreled weapon at his waist with his left hand, and gripped the tactical machete tightly with his right.

He raised the short-barreled weapon and fired a burst at the Kraken Warrior's visor position, splashing a few tiny sparks.

The Kraken Warrior's footsteps did not stop; he continued to advance against that row of bullets.

The burly mercenary threw away the short-barreled weapon with the empty magazine, gripped the handle of the tactical machete with both hands, added his body's entire momentum to that blade, and slashed horizontally toward the Kraken Warrior's waist and abdomen.

The Kraken Warrior's power battle axe swung down rapidly, and the burly mercenary's body was cut into two disconnected parts by the arc of that axe blade from shoulder to hip.

The upper half fell backward, while the lower half remained in place, maintaining the previous standing posture for about two seconds before collapsing.

And more Kraken Warriors appeared behind.

A Tiezhua mercenary growled into the communication device on his shoulder.

The enemy has heavy units! At least ten Kraken Warriors on the third ship of the right wing! Our assault team can't hold! Need to evacuate the tunnel...

Before he finished speaking, the nearest Kraken Warrior had already rushed to his front, the axe blade slashed diagonally, and the sound of the communication device stopped abruptly mid-sentence.

The advance of the Tiezhua assault team in the corridor was completely cut off by these few dark-gray heavy figures.

On the bridge of the Tiezhua, the urgent report of the right-wing detachment commander came through Fafeili's communication channel.

Grand Commander! Heavy units discovered on the third ship of the right wing! It's Kraken Warriors! At least ten, they are clearing out our assault team! The advance of the boarding troops has been blocked!

Fafeili frowned and turned to order the Adjutant.

Have the right-wing detachment withdraw; don't keep wasting men on ships where the enemy has Kraken Warriors. Notify other detachments to change tactics; do not engage in close contact with Kraken Warriors, just maintain long-range firepower to trap them inside the ship's hull, and wait until they have exhausted their kinetic energy before making a decision.

The Adjutant quickly transferred the order to the communication channel.

The ships of the right-wing detachment began to slowly disengage from the boarding state, the buckles between the ship hulls loosened, and the connecting tunnels between the two ships were severed during the detachment process.

The remnants of the Central Army fleet trapped in the middle began to adjust their formation posture; several severely damaged ships lost their main propulsion and drifted slowly in space, while the remaining ships closed their formation again, protecting the core hulls of those landing craft in the middle of the formation.

In the bridge of the Tiezhua, Fafeili said in a somewhat shocked tone.

Kraken Warriors... This battle is more troublesome than I imagined.

Just as Fafeili was about to continue issuing the next adjustment order, the Communications Officer on the side of the bridge suddenly raised a hand to press the headset and shouted loudly.

"Grand Commander! A new fleet has been discovered, approaching this side!"

Fafeili was startled and asked.

"What is the scale? Can you identify the ship types?"

The Communications Officer's fingers slid rapidly across the Control Console.

"At least two hundred ships or more, the formation is orderly, and the ship types are uniform. Identifying now... No composite fleet found; this is a fleet we have never seen before."