Chapter 294: Command Confrontation!
Under the heavy firepower, the early warning forces of Wild Horse City were quickly obliterated. But before Rocky could celebrate, the enemy's main force emerged!
Although the previous battle ended swiftly, it still took time. It was with this time that the main force of Wild Horse City was able to mobilize.
For Wild Horse City, a veteran in warfare, this kind of emergency was not new. They were constantly at war with Fire Elf City and often experienced similar stealth attacks, so their response was extremely fast. By the time Karlo reached the military port as quickly as possible, the main force of Wild Horse City had also set out.
"There's no need to rush. Adjust the formation properly. All warships spread out."
Standing on the deck of the flagship, a veteran general over fifty years old was issuing orders in an orderly fashion, appearing unhurried as if he wasn't engaged in battle.
The fleet dispatched by Wild Horse City was not commanded by Karlo. As the City Lord of a medium-sized Sky City, Karlo would not easily mobilize. This wasn't a matter of courage but of status, so someone else commanded the fleet before us.
This man, named Madison, was very tall, a good head taller than the sailors on the deck. Although over fifty, his spirit was full, and he carried an imposing military air about him.
As a medium-sized Sky City, Wild Horse City had four regular fleets. Madison was one of the Commanders of these fleets. Born in Wild Horse City, he had been in the military for over thirty years. He joined the air force of Wild Horse City in his early twenties, starting from the lowest rank as a sailor and working his way up to the position of Commander, in charge of the Third Fleet of Wild Horse City, which was now slowly approaching Rocky.
Madison, a veteran of over thirty years in the military, had experienced countless air battles, big and small. Therefore, even if Rocky's arrival was sudden and the attack was swift, even obliterating Wild Horse City's vanguard in the blink of an eye, Madison remained calm and not the least bit flustered.
As already mentioned, Wild Horse City had abundant warfare experience. Although they were somewhat unprepared for this battle, their reaction was quite fast. Hence, when Madison led his Third Fleet into the sky, Rocky hadn't entirely wiped out the vanguard.
That meant if Madison had accelerated at full speed immediately after departure, Rocky might not have had any time to adjust and would have been forced into combat.
But as the Commander of this battle, after Madison led the fleet away from Wild Horse City's Defensive Net, he didn't rush into the fight. Rather, he stopped the fleet just outside Wild Horse City, using this time to carefully observe the enemy, namely Rocky and his fleet.
This was where Madison's experience shone!
Being battle-hardened, he knew he couldn't rescue the vanguard. The battlefield wasn't at the doorstep of Wild Horse City. Although it looked close, by the time he led his fleet there, his own forces would have already been annihilated.
Secondly, due to the suddenness of the situation, Madison did not even know who the enemy was before taking off. Although he heard that Thunderhawk City was initiating the attack, he didn't know the enemy's force strength or configuration. Under these circumstances, he was even less likely to rush forward blindly.
Therefore, not only did Madison refrain from rescuing his forces, but he also used the opportunity of the vanguard engaging in combat to closely observe Rocky. It was only after the battle had completely ended that he ordered his fleet to slowly approach Rocky.
While slowly closing in on Rocky, Madison ordered the fleet to disperse, causing the entire fleet to gradually form a line in the sky. Each warship was spaced very far apart. Once the fleet approached Rocky in this formation, Madison gave the order to fire!
"Use the main cannons to attack."
Standing on the deck, Madison calmly looked through his binoculars for a moment, then relayed the command.
His order was swiftly carried out by the different warships, and then the main cannons of each vessel discharged flames.
The Third Fleet of Wild Horse City comprised twelve warships in total: two patrol cruisers, six destroyers, and four escort ships, all of which were of the fourth generation. Each warship was equipped with several main cannons, with the patrol cruisers boasting as many as eight!
Thus, when these twelve warships collectively aimed their main cannons at Rocky's fleet and fired simultaneously, although the gunfire was not dense, it was still impressive, feeling like a series of loud but spaced thunderclaps in the sky.
"Deploy the Defensive Net! Spread out! Immediately, all units spread out!"
Facing this barrage of attacks from the main cannons, Rocky immediately ordered his fleet to deploy defenses and to disperse at once.
"Hmph..."
Watching Rocky's fleet scatter under his bombardment, Madison on the deck just let out a small laugh, as if everything was under his control...
"Order the fleet to continue firing. If they won't come to us, there's no need for us to go to them,"
Madison said with a slight smile to his adjutant, who then quickly ran off to communicate the command.
Without a doubt, when it came to the experience in air combat, especially the experience of commanding large fleet battles, Rocky still had a long way to go when compared to Madison! Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire