chsdbacks Page 71
Page 71
"it is good."
Lin Qi took a deep breath and then solemnly responded in his heart.
"grown ups........"
"Alright, I heard all your opinions outside. I understand what you mean, but I'm sorry, I don't intend to choose any of your methods."
Calvin and Karen turned their heads slightly, their gazes meeting briefly before quickly looking away.
"Notify all ships to quickly converge, centering on the Holy Monarch. Then, according to my orders, proceed to designated positions and prepare for battle."
Lynch relayed Horus's first command, and Karen and Calvin immediately nodded in understanding. The captain of the Holy Monarch began walking towards her throne, and with the neural link, her will connected the entire ship, also transmitting the command to other ships in the void through the communication system.
The Lamenters' fleet also began to converge on the Holy Monarch. They spared the half-crippled enemies and began to act according to their orders.
Within a single Terran, the entire fleet completed its first command with incredible efficiency. Lynch and Horus, watching the scene projected on the screen, simultaneously hardened their expressions.
This naval battle probably doesn't have a suitable name yet.
After some thought, Lynch finally decided to name it after the location.
"Battle of Alpha." His voice echoed across the fleet's channels, heard clearly by every captain and even every slave below deck. "I declare the Battle of Alpha to begin now. Navymen of the Empire, in the name of the Emperor, bless our victory. We will annihilate the aliens, reducing them to ashes in the void."
Chapter 93 The Battle of Alpha (Part 8) [Unknown: All in!]
Looking at the Gula fleet that had formed a defensive formation in the void, his eyes darkened, leaving his adjutant beside him wondering what he was thinking.
"How are Case's preparations going?" someone suddenly asked. "Our ultimate goal is not only to win this naval battle, but also to capture these Gura ships and obtain from their researchers a method for safely traversing the subspace."
“A powerful Monteka can be launched at any time,” the adjutant replied. “Rest assured, Commander. Our fleet outnumbers them three to one, and our combat suit reserves are plentiful. Even if there is a Grunza among those Gura, we can still defeat it.”
He remained silent, as if tacitly agreeing with his adjutant's words. However, the latter was unaware that the Tau commander was feeling a sense of unease.
He didn't know where this unease came from. After all, at the beginning, he was full of confidence in the current battle situation, believing that he could easily achieve his goal, return to his tribe in this past time, and thus reverse everything that would happen in the future.
However, on the eve of actually engaging in battle with Gura's fleet, he suddenly thought of something.
If I have truly succeeded in returning to my race, then why... am I here?
Even when facing his massive fleet, he detected not a trace of unease on these Gura ships. Instead of choosing direct confrontation or escape, they rallied their forces, arranged themselves in formation, and with an air of unwavering confidence, proclaimed a single sentence.
Come, I'll be waiting for you here.
Unaware's eyes gradually darkened. He took a deep breath, suppressing all the distracting thoughts and fears in his mind.
The encirclement is complete. Regardless of what the future holds, the current war is unavoidable.
"Notify the first squad," someone said. "Have them act as the spearhead and launch the first surprise attack on the Gula."
-------
The fleet hovered silently in the void, the thirty-nine ships resembling thirty-nine cold tombs constructed of adamantite and alloys. The macro cannons and light spears appeared to be in their usual ready-to-fire state. But Ryan knew that once they fired, what would follow would be a silent, dazzling display of fire.
They are aliens, or, according to the information, they are called "titanium".
A portion of their fleet, consisting of fifteen ships according to the projection, was separated. This smaller fleet then charged forward without slowing down or changing course. Judging from their trajectory, this first wave of attacks by the Tau people lacked any strategy; they simply charged in recklessly, seemingly with the same objective as the initial reconnaissance fleet: to ascertain the distribution of human forces.
Ryan glanced sideways at Lynch standing beside him. The latter was completely focused, his dark eyes fixed on the approaching red dot in the holographic projection, until three seconds later, when he issued his first order since gathering the fleet.
"Notify the fleet. "Prepare for the first round of beyond-visual-range strikes."
The command was relayed, and the server on the servo skull received the message. It was then converted into an electromagnetic signal and transmitted throughout the fleet. The weapons, which had already been preheated, began to operate, transforming into streaks of destructive light that hurtled towards their enemies in the silent void.
The first weapon to make contact with the enemy fleet was a plasma atom bomb fired from the Nova Cannon mounted on the Holy Monarch. Upon impact, it exploded violently, a massive plasma cloud bursting through the void, transforming into dazzling waves of light that mercilessly engulfed the surrounding alien ships that had no time to react.
Several red dots disappeared in the projection before Lynch's eyes, showing how fragile the energy shields the Titans had installed on their ships were in the face of a true annihilation weapon.
Led by a merchant-class cruiser, the surviving fleet continued its advance, but instead of charging recklessly as before, it began to change its course, attempting to avoid the fate of having several ships destroyed in a single blow when the fleet gathered together.
Lynch was not surprised by the course of the war. Horus whispered in his ear, describing the possible developments and predicted final outcome of this naval battle from the perspective of a true master of war.
“We need to block their route next,” Horus said in a deep voice. “Have the fleet launch torpedoes, macro cannons, and light lances all fire at once. We don’t need to hit them directly, just block their movement route and lock them into the Holy Monarch’s aiming line.”
The macro cannons and light spears fired simultaneously. The heavy space torpedoes also advanced along the trajectories calculated by the Thinkers. Together, the three formed a massive fishing net, firmly locking in their prey and leaving them no choice but to face the deadly harpoons head-on.
"The enemy is launching fighter jets." Ryan received the intelligence and immediately reported it to Lynch. "Their fighter jets have special anti-reconnaissance devices that our scanning system cannot detect. The escort ships ahead are currently engaging them in combat."
"Send me the footage of the firefight," Lin Qi said succinctly. "Notify all ships to keep firing. Tell our carrier-based air squadron number one that it's time for them to take the field."
The holographic projection began to flicker, and in addition to the void sandbox, a screen that had been split off appeared on the projection.
Lynch and Horus watched the scene on the screen. They saw the shadow of the warship, and the swarms of "dots" emerging from it. The rear ends of these "dots" shimmered with a dazzling blue light, and with each movement, they left a long tail in the void.
These are the Tau people's carrier-based aircraft, and they look very flat. There are only eight of them. They are harassing a frigate and using their agility to weave through the anti-aircraft gun barrage.
They caused considerable trouble for the escort ships. However, soon, as the pilots of Squadron One, with their own Fury-class interceptors, joined the battle, these TIE fighters were quickly shot down, turning into sparks.
However, before being completely destroyed, these fighters launched a powerful counterattack. Eight fighters, braving the barrage of bullets from the warship, shot down three incoming Fury-class interceptors. The skill they displayed during the operation even caught Horus's attention.
“Unprecedented technology,” Horus commented. “These aliens are technologically advanced. However, their understanding of the warp is almost nonexistent; otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to enter the warp directly without using technology similar to the Geller field.”
“Indeed.” Lynch agreed with Horus’s point of view. The Tau’s understanding of the galaxy is indeed the most superficial among all the races in the galaxy. Their almost non-existent souls make them both fortunate and unfortunate in that they have little knowledge of the warp. It wasn’t until the Fourth Expansion, when the Source Module went out of control, that they truly witnessed the truth of this galaxy for the first time.
and........
Lin Qi raised his head and gently stroked his chin.
This Tau fleet is part of the Tau people who were drawn into the warp due to the Source Module going out of control during the Fourth Expansion.
This can be explained, since time and space are incredibly chaotic in the warp, and TIA doesn't have a navigator to guide its drift. It's not impossible that some of them managed to reach reality through a crack before being rescued by TIA.
The Tau fleet opened fire, their heavy ion cannons and railguns unleashing powerful projectiles and energy beams. Several escort ships positioned at the forefront absorbed this firepower. The Void Shield's energy reserves began to deplete rapidly; within just two Terra moments, Lynch received reports from the captains that the Void Shield's energy reserves had been reduced to below fifty percent.
They hoped to relocate their warships so that other warships could take the brunt of the enemy's main firepower.
Lynch ignored them, coldly instructing them to maintain the fleet's formation. Horus sighed slightly; clearly, he was very dissatisfied with the current state of the navy.
“They are too slow,” Horus said. “By the standards of the Great Crusade, those alien warships would have been torn apart by us in the first round of bombardment, with no chance of even entering their attack range.”
Horus continued his strategic command while grumbling. Lynch micromanaged each warship according to his instructions, and through the new crossfire configuration, the energy shields of the Tau ships had to be deactivated before any of the human ships could overload their void shields.
Without using the newly prepared Nova Cannon, relying solely on the Light Spear and Macro Cannon, the already crippled enemy was torn apart and then exploded violently, turning into several flowers blooming in the void with steel and flames.
The remnants of steel echoed in the void, looking like a pile of steel meteorites. Perhaps millions of years from now, they really will become meteorites. But for now, without exception, they are all tombstones.
The tombstones of those dead ships and the creatures they carried—tombstones that are utterly ordinary for every race in this galaxy.
"All ships must immediately check their own status."
The first round of attacks ended there. Lin Qi then issued another order, instructing all ships to immediately check whether they had experienced any abnormalities during the recent battle.
“Ryan.” Lynch turned his head. “Go and inform all the company commanders to prepare for a boarding operation. I have a feeling that these aliens are very likely to launch a boarding attack on us soon.”
----
silence.
Upon seeing the battle report, he froze, remaining motionless in his position for a full five seconds. Only after five seconds did he take a deep breath, his expression calm, but his eyes betraying a complex mix of emotions.
“The commanders of the Gura are strong.” His voice was bitter as he said this. “At least I didn’t manage to defeat our fleet within two Gura’s timeframes with the same fleet configuration, even if they were actually just decoys… not to mention ensuring that I didn’t suffer any casualties.”
The adjutant stood behind him, his blue face filled with shock and fear. But in the end, he walked to the man's side and spoke firmly.
"Commander, we still have seventy-eight warships. A fleet commander can indeed enhance the combat power of a fleet by a lot, but when faced with a real difference in strength, his role cannot completely turn the tide of battle."
He closed his eyes, unwilling to expose his current emotions to his subordinates, even though they were his most trusted and respected commanders.
"How much will we have to pay?" someone asked. "If we continue fighting, we might achieve victory. But how much will we have to pay?"
The adjutant remained silent; clearly, he was unwilling to answer the question.
"But we will not run away."
Unbeknownst to him, he opened his eyes again. At this moment, the complex emotions vanished, replaced by a strong sense of rationality, and hidden beneath that rationality was a madness as deep as a well in an abandoned mountain village.
"All ships, now obey my command. Attack Gura's fleet. Be careful to use a dispersed formation to avoid their beyond-visual-range fire."
The fleet began to move, their bows undulating. The turrets on their hulls were also warming up. They dispersed, with the exception of the seventeen ships circling the mother ship, the remaining ships spreading out in units of fifteen and beginning their advance.
In the name of the highest good... no, in the name of myself and my people who now follow me.
Standing on the bridge of the Explorer-class battleship, gazing at the boundless void, one can almost see the face of Commander Gura, far beyond one's own field of vision, also watching the battlefield.
I will defeat you, and then, with your ability to evade those damned things, become heroes of my race.
Chapter 94 The Battle of Alpha (Part 9) [Titanium is Confident]
"The enemy launched a second attack on us."
The servant began spitting out a long parchment containing a battle report. Lynch picked it up and wrote his name at the end.
This report will be submitted to the Terran personnel who will conduct the trial after they return to Badab, serving as an important basis for their actions during the trial period.
"Keep reporting. Don't stop."
Lynch didn't even look up, even though all he needed to do was sign his name. Horus was handling all the analysis of the war situation and command, and Lynch was now feeling intense physical exhaustion, especially in his brain, which felt like it was running a fever.
This made him pick up the glass of brown liquid that was placed to the side as soon as he finished signing. He drank it down in one gulp, and a rich milky aroma and sweetness exploded in his mouth. At the same time, a cool current flowed through his body, helping him to wake up and successfully taking away a lot of fatigue.
“Their fleet is too scattered.” Ryan read aloud from the data panel in his hand, head bowed. “Our Nova Cannons are not functioning at their full potential.”
"Then fire on this branch."
Lin Qi arrived at the holographic sand table and highlighted a group of red dots. Among these red dots was the largest target displayed by the detection system; if there were no issues, that target should be the alien mothership.
"Attack their mothership, but be careful with the angle of your shells to avoid destroying it completely. Force them to group their ships together and protect their mothership from excessive damage."
The Holy Monarch began operation, and amidst the prayers and maintenance of the Mechanicus priests, the Nova Cannon mounted on its bow fired once more. Plasma Acer bombs ripped through the air, precisely striking a frigate not far from the Explorer-class battleship.
The massive plasma expanded in the void, and the frigate's hull began to melt under the intense heat. It didn't explode; within a minute, it turned into a pool of molten iron and vanished completely into the void.
The surging plasma cloud triggered emergency evasive maneuvers on other ships around the frigate. However, this was ineffective for ships that were too close; their fate was the same as the first frigate, only a little later.
Feeling a sudden jolt of the ship beneath them, an ominous red light began to flash in the operations room—a warning from the ship's AI. Clearly, only by truly facing Gura's beyond-visual-range attack could one understand just how terrifying this thing was.
"All ships shall proceed according to the predetermined trajectory!"
As the fleet's commander-in-chief, he quickly understood why Gura's attack hadn't directly targeted his own vessel. He swiftly issued his orders, leaving no one under his command bound by the blatant scheme.
"Don't worry about my safety! Close the distance! If I'm killed, command will immediately be transferred to Sika, the commander of each second squad, who will then organize the next battle!"
The unknown words had an effect. Those ships that had initially planned to retreat and defend upon seeing the command ship under threat stopped their attacks and instead continued forward. Once they entered the range of the ion cannons and railguns, they opened fire and engaged the human warships in a fierce battle in the void.
Great, now let's move on to the next step.