Chapter 365: with translation of chapter title

Many of the guests present had military experience.

Some were more fond of history and military affairs; when Tang Long's order was issued, they knew what he intended to do.

"Strike them while they're halfway across!" Li Youbin slapped his thigh, excitedly saying.

The remaining people also began telling their friends nearby their opinions.

"They know the vanguard are cannon fodder, so they take the enemy lightly. When the warships just jump out, it's like a car exiting a tunnel—no one dares to move recklessly. If Tang Long commanded these thousand artillery ships and fired straight at the jump points, the fun would be great!"

On the big screen, after the computer's final calculation, it turned out there were two thousand jump points.

That is, two thousand large warships were about to arrive via "stellar jump," and the commanders and soldiers of the self-propelled artillery ships here were frightened by that number.

Tang Long, unfazed, said on the public communications screen, "If we can fight, we fight; worst case, we surrender. Look at the Silver Eagle Empire's propaganda—they treat surrendered troops very well, better than ordinary Federation citizens!"

The other artillery ship commanders, hearing this, instantly stopped panicking.

Tang Long also said, although we might surrender, we shouldn't do it right away, or they'll lock us up as ordinary soldiers. Better to scare them a bit, making them think we're outstanding, so they treat us as special soldiers.

Upon hearing this, all the artillery ship commanders actually thought it made sense.

Tang Long began assigning tasks: each self-propelled artillery ship was responsible for two jump points, with two torpedoes placed at each jump point, to be fired upon his command.

Afterwards, he casually said, even the worst destroyer could withstand two torpedo hits! Inside, many spectators were already full of anticipation, their mouths turning up excitedly.

Because they knew the battle results would be unprecedented, and the damage would certainly not be as simple as Tang Long said.

While waiting for the enemy to arrive, Tang Long discovered that communications with the Federation had been cut off.

Fortunately, he could contact that immensely capable artificial intelligence program, which told him the Federation's true battle plan and battlefield; this kind of one-shot-kill self-propelled artillery ship had been built in numbers of ten thousand, and the military had bought them at ten times the price! "Holy shit, they're still screwing us over!"

"I heard that over in the US, the military's purchases are also ridiculously expensive!"

On the screen, Tang Long, looking worried, called out to the AI system: "Sis, our artillery ship won't be a defective product, will it?"

The system's synthesized female voice, anthropomorphized, laughed and said: "Don't worry; maybe the manufacturer made too much profit and didn't deduct from the warship's cost—the stuff is still qualified!"

Tang Long then relaxed; if the warship's quality weren't up to standard, all his schemes and combat would be mere fantasy! The scene switched: the enemy's massive fleet was undergoing "space jump," and Tang Long's side also learned when the local fleet was about to "emerge."

"Twenty seconds left!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Long paused his hand in midair for a few seconds, then bellowed, "Fire!"

Each self-propelled artillery ship fired two torpedoes, full speed toward the space where the enemy had not yet appeared.

"One penetrating torpedo per coordinate, firing speed at 3…!"

After this order was issued, another two thousand torpedoes followed, chasing after their "brothers."

"All warships hear the order, begin loading the main energy cannon, firing coordinates at …!"

Tang Long's earlier strategic concept had not mentioned the main energy cannon, but at this critical moment, the soldiers would instinctively obey the "supreme commander's" order.

After all, even our own artillery ship commander didn't object.

These commanders, though a bit puzzled, really didn't think much about it, after all the self-propelled artillery ships were too powerful; they didn't think they'd inflict much damage on the enemy, and were already thinking only about surrendering afterward.

At that moment, over two thousand directional fragmentation torpedoes reached the designated coordinates and instantly self-detonated.

For a moment, over two thousand blossoming flowers appeared on the screen, looking very beautiful against the dark universe.

The Federation officers on each warship even excitedly whistled.

But the next second's image left these people stunned; whereas for many spectators in the venue, it was long-awaited.

But seen in the flames produced by the explosion, the silhouettes of thousands of giant warships appeared, emerging exactly as the torpedoes detonated.

These warships did not, as everyone imagined, sortie, assemble, or advance.

Instead, they halted in the flames, halted at the "space jump" emergence point.

"Haha, the torpedo explosion distorted nearby space, preventing the emergence point from opening properly, trapping those warships!"

"Tang Long is truly a genius!"

"It must be those robot officers' training!"

"The AI program is giving him cheats!"

On the big screen, the second wave of penetrating torpedoes arrived, striking straight into the bodies of the Silver Eagle Empire warships that were "stuck," producing an even more splendid explosion.

Some clever captains already understood what was happening; they knew they'd been abandoned by the Federation high command, turned into cannon fodder, and were now wholeheartedly intending to surrender to the Silver Eagle Empire.

Thus, their faces showed fearful expressions; they opened their mouths to shout stop, but Tang Long had already issued his command first.

"Main gun fire!"

In this tense, intense battlefield environment, the main gunners reflexively pressed the firing button; over a thousand massive energy bolts, at light speed, shot toward the predetermined coordinates.

Thus, the audience in the venue saw the most grandiose, spectacular, realistic, money-burning visual scene in human film history.

But seen, over a thousand main-gun energy shells coalesced into a massive energy stream that directly covered the jump point.

Those two thousand-plus warships that had just emerged, having not yet exerted any force, were now none intact.

On the "channel" just cleared, warship debris once again filled it; the Silver Eagle Empire's follow-up forces, without re‑clearing it, could not perform a "space jump."

Everyone inside the big screen was stunned, unable to believe they had so easily annihilated over two thousand local large warships.

The commanders of the remaining fleets were furious; they knew they'd been abandoned by their own country, turned into battlefield cannon fodder, and thus united to try to strip Tang Long of his command.

At that moment, the communications soldier reported that in ten minutes, over eighteen thousand space warships would appear near the battlefield, leaving everyone stunned by that terrifying number.

The commanders of the remaining fleets were even more determined to surrender, and attempted to capture Tang Long, this "chief culprit."

Meanwhile, at that time, the Silver Eagle Empire's commander requested a video call with Tang Long.

Upon receiving the battle report, Brigadier Generals Kester and Darren could hardly believe it was real; afterward, they took interest in the battle's commander and wanted to persuade Tang Long to surrender.

The result was Tang Long flipping them off, his commanded warship letting out a roar, breaking through the encirclement at unimaginable speed and fleeing into a death zone littered with warship wreckage.

A portion of the surrendering self-propelled artillery ships gave chase, but Tang Long's piloting skill was astonishing, speeding his ship at extreme velocity through the death zone.

And by using the method of destroying the "energy sphere," he escaped the pursuers' chase.

The film ultimately ends with Tang Long's battle results reaching the Federation high command; the entire Federation's populace begins a grand celebration, and Tang Long also returns smoothly, setting foot on Federation soil.

In the original novel, the sequel involves Tang Long having his achievements stolen.

But in this film, it is obviously impossible to display.

Jiang Heng also had no need to make the audience unhappy; he merely planted foreshadowing in some places.

(End of chapter)