641. Tenant Union Army vs. Lone Warriors (1)
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As Icarus watched a dreadful display of scrolls and managed to compose himself after a moment of distress,
other users had already initiated preemptive attacks. During this time, he hurriedly joined the battle with his main fleet and the hired Base Mercenary Group.
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<Attila Clan Officer Chatroom>
<Notice: Let's not fight among ourselves>
-[A What the actual hell is going on here](Rasputin)
-[Seriously, what is this nonsense]
-[Crazy messages are wrecking our chat]
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In the Attila Clan officer chatroom, due to some absurd spamming in the chat window, the users temporarily lost control.
The clan members who hadn’t received proper orders charged recklessly into the battle, leading the officers to unleash a string of curses.
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<Attila Clan Officer Chatroom>
<Notice: Let's not fight among ourselves>
-[This EK (provocation) is ridiculous]
-[What a disaster game]
-[What the heck is going on?]
-[Staff, is this real?]
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Of course, no amount of cursing could undo the situation that had already unfolded.
Rasputin and the other officers muttered insults at the staff and Icarus for causing the provocation while scrambling to issue proper orders to their clan members.
Despite the urgency, they still didn’t entertain the thought that they might lose…
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<Attila Clan Official Chatroom>
<Notice: Near Icarus Territory>
-[<Spatial Coordinates X54, Y115, Z692>]
-[Those nearby, flank right and attack]
-[k*ll them all]
-[Superhumans, actively support the fleet with covering fire]
-[I’ll kamikaze my Main Battleship to clear a path; follow immediately]
-[Okay]
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Even though some members had charged without proper orders,
the undeniable fact was that the Attila Clan members were far more skilled than the average members of the Tenant Union Army.
Once they started receiving proper orders and engaged in combat accordingly,
—————————————–
-BOOM!!!
-KABOOM! BANG!
—————————————–
<Attila Clan Official Chatroom>
<Notice: Attack, Attack, Attack>
-[They’re just melting away]
-[Their ships and Superhuman levels must be insufficient]
-[Haha, sweet victory]
-[Feel the power of one-man armies, you fools]
-[Not one against a hundred, but one alone seems quite weak]
-[Still better than the Tenant Union Army]
-[What’s that supposed to mean?]
-[On the forums, they call these guys ‘tenants’]
-[Definitely better than them]
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Truly living up to the term “one-man army,” they annihilated the vanguard of the Tenant Union Army fleet.
Within barely five minutes of the battle starting, around 1,000 users found themselves on the brink of total fleet destruction and hastily retreated.
==========
However, the Attila Clan’s joyride of “owning” their opponents didn’t last long.
After all, even if the Tenant Union Army wasn’t composed of geniuses, they weren’t idiots either.
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<Attila Clan Official Chatroom>
<Notice: Attack, Attack, Attack>
-[Enemy Dreadnought spotted!]
-[Dreadnought down, keep pushing]
-[Wait, it’s a trap! Retreat immediately]
-[<Image: A gap created by the sunken Dreadnought allows Annihilation Ships' cannons to sweep through>]
-[Phew, that was close]
—————————————–
In this manner, the Tenant Union Army set traps and employed strategies.
They made use of whatever resources they had at their disposal.
—————————————–
-BOOM!
-KRAAAASH!
—————————————–
<Attila Clan Official Chatroom>
<Notice: Attack, Attack, Attack>
-[These guys are charging recklessly]
-[We fired hundreds of torpedoes from the Cruisers, but with hundreds of ships coming, the damage is getting diluted]
-[Don’t let them get too close]
-[If they do, thousands—not hundreds—of Superhumans might swarm each ship]
-[How do they know that?]
-[My Battleship is being destroyed right now]
-[Oh dear]
—————————————–
Less experienced users sacrificed their lower-grade ships as meat shields,
or supported high-powered ships in their attacks.
—————————————–
<Attila Clan Official Chatroom>
<Notice: Attack, Attack, Attack>
-[d*mn, lost a Cruiser due to complacency]
-[Not everyone is weak; some have more experience than our average]
-[Tanhoizer mercenaries are here; did they come for pay?]
-[Of course, when their landlords are getting beaten, they’d come to help]
—————————————–
Mixed among the less skilled users were Tanhoizer mercenaries who startled the Attila Clan members like hidden daggers.
As the Tenant Union Army began to respond strategically, even the lone warriors found the battle increasingly tough.
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But the most serious problem for the so-called lone warriors—or rather, the Attila Clan—was something else entirely.
It was their lack of experience in large-scale battles.
In this world, fleet battles usually involved three-dimensional movement, except in rare cases.
As the battle continued, users from the rear would gradually move forward, forming a three-dimensional battlefield structure.
This meant that the side with more numbers could surround and encircle the smaller force.
If things went wrong, the outnumbered side could suffer heavy losses.
Experienced clan battle veterans would choose to retreat at this point, accepting some casualties.
However, the Attila Clan had reasons for not taking this seriously.
Most of the battles the officers and users had experienced, aside from personal duels, rarely exceeded 2-3 thousand participants.
Even at its peak, they hadn’t gone beyond 5 thousand, making the earlier mentioned concerns mostly irrelevant.
Additionally, they had often turned encirclements into victories, so they assumed this battle would be similar.
What the Attila Clan failed to consider was how drastically the situation changed when numbers reached 10,000 or 20,000.
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<Attila Clan Official Chatroom>
<Notice: Attack, Attack, Attack>
-[Guys, we’re screwed]
-[Our k*ll-d*ath ratio is higher, so why are we losing?]
-[Because we’re surrounded]
-[1:2 is manageable, but why 1:6?]
-[What are the rear users doing?]
-[You’re blocking our artillery, Rom bastards]
-[Spread out somehow, please. If we keep this up, only the front-line users will get wiped out] (Rasputin)
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When 1,000 users were surrounded by 2,000, the front-line users typically faced odds of about 1:2 or 3.
But when 10,000 were surrounded by 20,000, the rear ships of the surrounded side couldn’t angle their cannons properly due to the front-line ships, becoming useless.
As a result, the front-line ships had to face ratios of 1:5, 6, or even worse.
Suddenly, the Attila Clan’s lone warriors found themselves overwhelmed by an unexpected EK-like situation and began to crumble under the pressure.