Wang Dong was feeling a bit fired up, his eyes narrowing slightly. With his hands on the eight-directional rudder, he controlled the scout-class Battleship to execute a series of irregular evasive maneuvers, rapidly closing in on "I Love Juice."
Distance: 0.1 light segments!
The third high-energy projectile grazed past at a distance of 87 kilometers.
The sudden acceleration and manual evasion caused the fire-control algorithm of "I Love Juice"'s Sky-Survey Radar to go off track. Despite being closer, the hit rate didn't improve.
"With both sides charging at high speed, 0.1 light segments isn't enough for another round of main cannon fire. The next phase will be the second clash!"
After spotting Wang Dong, "I Love Juice" had chosen an all-out approach strategy, maintaining high speed the entire time.
At this point, Wang Dong's Battleship had also reached nearly the structural limit of its maximum speed due to full-throttle acceleration.
At their current rates, the 0.1 light segment distance would reach zero in less than twenty seconds.
That amount of time wasn't sufficient for "I Love Juice"'s main cannon to complete its charge and fire.
"My main cannon hasn't fired since the battle started, nor have I taken any hits.
The opponent doesn't know my Battleship's upgrade level, so they don't dare to slow down and risk being hit.
Whether I win or lose now depends entirely on this collision course."
There was no need to analyze—it was an instinctive conclusion Wang Dong came to.
That was the result of rich combat experience.
The faster a Battleship moves, the harder it is to hit.
Not knowing that Wang Dong's main cannon was only LV1, "I Love Juice" did not adopt the tactic of slowing down to extend the clash duration and increase the number of firing rounds.
Instead, they chose full-speed collision, followed by maneuvering afterward.
It was a safe tactic—but it also gave Wang Dong an opportunity.
"Reduce main engine thrust. Positioning thruster #1 to full power. Begin main cannon charge in 10 seconds. Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Begin charging!"
In the virtual starfield, Wang Dong's Battleship suddenly reduced thrust. At the same time, the upper-side positioning thrusters blasted out a brilliant blue flame at full output.
As the two Battleships charged toward each other at full speed, Wang Dong's ship visibly shifted—its bow tilted upward while banking toward the underside of "I Love Juice."
If they had previously been charging head-on in a single plane, now "I Love Juice" was continuing forward in a straight line.
But Wang Dong's Battleship, powered by the top-mounted directional thrusters, shifted its forward path downward—toward the underbelly of "I Love Juice."
The two ships were about to pass each other in an upper-lower crossing.
At that moment, the upward-tilted bow of Wang Dong's Battleship was aiming squarely at the underside of "I Love Juice."
As they crossed paths, the vulnerable underbelly of "I Love Juice"'s Battleship would be fully exposed to Wang Dong's main cannon.
"Main cannon charge countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Charge complete!"
"Clash countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Ships intersect!"
"Fire main cannon!"
The first shot from the main cannon didn't require reloading—only charging, which took just ten seconds.
At that moment, Wang Dong's tactic of holding fire earlier finally paid off.
As the main cannon discharged, the high-speed projectile flew out.
At point-blank range, it landed a direct hit just below the engine at the rear of "I Love Juice"'s Battleship, damaging it critically.
Though the Shipboard AI Core of "I Love Juice" responded swiftly, it was too late. Losing the initiative and lacking the capacity for significant repositioning, their Battleship couldn't evade a point-blank strike and was hit right in a critical spot.
"Enemy engine damaged by 60%. Power output reduced by 90%."
The AI's damage report on the enemy vessel was music to Wang Dong's ears.
"Our ship has sustained 13% structural damage. Engine power down 5%."
In stark contrast, the report on his own ship was far less melodic...
Such a violent maneuver was a heavy burden for Wang Dong's Battleship, whose Ship Structure was only LV1. Damage to the frame was to be expected—two or three more maneuvers like that might have split the ship in two.
But that didn't matter now. Wang Dong had already secured an overwhelming advantage.
Wang Dong's "Leaping Lunge" had severely damaged "I Love Juice"'s engine, cutting power output by 90%.
This was even more serious than the momentary imbalance in the previous match. Not only was the opponent now crawling at a snail's pace, even their main cannon charge time would increase several-fold. A loss was basically inevitable.
Sure enough, just seconds later, the system prompt rang out.
"ID: Player 'I Love Juice' has submitted a surrender request. Countdown: 60…59…58…"
Wang Dong maneuvered his Battleship in a wide arc, stopping not far from the side of "I Love Juice," without initiating another main cannon charge.
Since the opponent had already surrendered, there was no need for any corpse-beating behavior.
One should still observe basic etiquette, after all.
Peaceful society, peaceful game.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]