Chapter 347

Chapter 347. The Siege of Tanhoizer (3).

At my charge command, a total of 402,526 mercenary ships, excluding the 73 aircraft carriers that should have been in the rear, consisting of 132 battleships and below, were mobilized.

“Enemy fleet size confirmed!”

“34 fleets, totaling 65,000 ships!”

“How many enemy cruiser battleships are there?”

“175 ships!”

“We are overwhelming them in every aspect, Commander.”

“Hmm.”

The hastily deployed guard fleet began to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, just as planned.

Of course, it goes without saying that if we could overwhelm the guard fleet with ‘numbers,’ there was no need to hold back the ‘main combat fleet’ from the base.

“Commander! The main gate of Tanhoizer is opening!”

“It seems the main fleet is preparing to sortie, Commander!”

“Hmm… they’re coming out faster than expected.”

As most of our mercenary forces entered the base’s radar detection range, it seemed that Tanhoizer’s command also realized that the numbers I had mobilized were impossible to stop with just the guard fleet.

They opened the main gates scattered in all directions and began to deploy the main combat fleets that should have been resting inside, fully engaging in battle.

==========

At the same time.

Perhaps because users who had dispatched thousands of stealth ships were providing real-time updates, the buzz about Icarus’s assault on Tanhoizer showed no signs of cooling down in the gallery.

In fact, it wasn’t just not cooling down—it was heating up even more.

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Title: Oh sh*t, the full-scale battle is finally happening

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Real-time video of Icarus’s mercenary fleet clashing head-on with Tanhoizer’s ‘entire’ fleet.swf]

This is insane.

No joke, I’m on a ship watching this live, and it’s absolutely wild.

Comments:

-[Wow, what’s this? No tricks, just straight-up charging?]

-[Honestly, if you just look at the total numbers, Icarus has the upper hand…]

-[400,000 ships vs about 350,000 ships, my heart is swelling]

-[This is madness]

-[Wow, fireworks]

—————————————–

—————————————–

Title: Breaking News) Tanhoizer’s fortress defense fleet clashes with Icarus’s mercenary fleet

Author: News Boy

Content: [Large-scale fleet battle that started after Ouroboros’s maximum charge bombardment.swf]

Ouroboros-class ships unleashed siege-level bombardments on the base with at least two buffs.

Of course, due to the size difference between the base and the ships, the ones that got obliterated at full power were a few large ships from the guard fleet that were on standby.

And a few defense turrets and one interceptor hangar that took direct hits from the bombardment.

But as the base’s defense facilities were directly hit, and the full scale of the mercenary fleet was detected within the base’s radar range, Tanhoizer began deploying the ‘fortress defense fleet,’ which should have only come out after the guard fleet was wiped out.

Comments:

-[Damn;;]

-[Lol, the main fleet is coming out because the guard fleet is overwhelmed by sheer numbers]

-[Wow]

-[But even so, Tanhoizer has fewer ships than what Icarus mobilized, right?]

-[Well, Tanhoizer still has more large ships, no?]

-[This is an intense battle, so thrilling]

—————————————–

In a game that’s supposed to be about fleet battles, players usually focus on small, elite forces centered around large ships, making the scale of battles too small.

Large-scale battles that could be exciting were rare because big clans were too busy eyeing each other, leaving everyone craving more.

But now, Icarus had arranged all its fleets to unleash their firepower and started a head-on collision with Tanhoizer’s fleet without any special tactics…

It was like watching a neighbor’s house burn down.

Users in the gallery were gleefully munching on popcorn as they watched hundreds of thousands of ships explode in real-time.

Of course, even in the midst of this, some users were still freaking out in their own way.

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Title: Watching Icarus charge in, I finally understand why clans don’t just clash recklessly

Author: Anonymous

Content: [A gif of mercenary ships clashing with the Tanhoizer Defense Fleet, exploding left and right], [A gif of a perfectly fine battleship getting shredded into pieces in just a few seconds after being exposed to concentrated fire.]

Battleships can’t even last a few seconds? What the hell?

It takes almost a week to build one, and if it can’t even last a few seconds, I’d lose my mind.

Seriously, when hundreds or even thousands of these things get blown up, no wonder clans stagger after just one war.

Comments:

– [That’s why the ongoing civil war in the Xenobia Empire keeps going through repeated ceasefires.]

– [Really?] (OP)

– [Yeah, last time during the southern campaign, Humanity and Loki were both struggling after supporting their users with war funds.]

– [Isn’t Loki’s situation not well-known?] (OP)

– [A friend who joined and left Loki said there were other issues that prevented Humanity from countering them.]

– [Huh?]

– [Not just battleships, but heavy cruisers getting shredded like weeds is horrifying.]

– [Now I get it… Yeah, that makes sense…]

– [*sobbing*]

– [If you think about it, those are all user ships. Imagine dozens or hundreds of users losing all their ships in just one battle.]

– [Damn, that’s straight-up horror.]

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Title: Tip Post) Out of boredom, I calculated the losses if the current Tanhoizer raid were done purely with user forces.txt

Author: Pythagoras

Content: [A detailed Excel sheet so long it’s scroll-heavy.jpg]

Just did this as a hobby.

Feel free to check it out.

Here’s a 3-line summary:

1. To assemble 400,000 ships purely with user forces (including mercenaries and faction troops), you’d need around 5,000 to 6,000 people.

2. The reason mercenaries can go all-in like this is due to their unique nature. If users were to do it, just the compensation for losses would cost tens of millions in resources.

(During the past southern campaign, when users were just starting to build one or two battleships and mostly had cruisers, Humanity alone spent tens of millions to billions in resources.)

3. This is purely a hobby calculation and excludes user skill and fleet management.

In reality, if users were to fight, their loss rate would be much lower compared to Icarus, who just throws mercenaries at the problem.

Comments:

– [Huh…]

– [You should also explain why users would have fewer losses.]

– [Too many variables for me to calculate alone.] (OP)

– [If you combine the variables from thousands of users, the number of possibilities would hit tens of millions.] (OP)

– [Alright, you can do it, bro.]

– [Why is OP such a chad?]

– [Smart young man…?]

—————————————–

The reactions from users varied, but to summarize:

It’s like they’re finally realizing why the “large-scale PVP clan battles” they want aren’t happening.

But what’s important is that Icarus is delivering the “mindless, no-guard full-frontal assault” performance they crave.

Most users are cheering at the spectacular fleet battles, feeling like they’re watching a Star Wars or sci-fi game mad movie.

But that’s only temporary.

As Icarus starts implementing simple tactics instead of just charging in, and uses mercenaries strategically rather than just throwing them away, opinions are shifting.

From being seen as a top player relying on skill, ship power, and luck, to just ship power and luck, and now even being criticized for relying solely on “mercenary power,” Icarus is slowly gaining recognition for having a “brain” befitting a top player.