The first sign of danger in orbit was the sudden failure of the communications system, which isolated contact between the different Chapters.
Although Lothar is nominally the commander-in-chief of the coalition fleet, he does not have the power to directly command the ships of other battle groups. When technicians tried to solve the problem of sudden loss of contact, Lothar had been pulled from the darkness to orbit.
The approaching threat distracted attention.
A small but powerful fleet, no matter how many troops there were, quickly rushed towards the Pai Mao Star.
The frigates and destroyers of the patrol were the first to discover the oncoming enemy ships. In the case of poor communication, the destroyers used their navigation lights to communicate basic information, ignited the thrusters and sailed away from the original track. The detection device of the Stone Fortress
Also start, scanning space.
A few minutes later, they spotted twelve enemy ships.
Subsequently, under Lothar's instructions, the Eternal Loyalty flashed its signal light towards the patrol fleet - lining up to launch torpedoes.
The boat rushed forward with astonishing skill and precision, accelerating the attack.
Below decks, orderlies are struggling to load launch tubes, while on the bridge, ordnance officers enter course and speed, and target bearings and coordinates for the ship's weapons.
In less than five minutes, the ships signaled that they were ready.
When the patrol enters optimal torpedo range, the signal is given: For the Emperor - Fire all torpedoes.
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When the Black Legion's battle group arrived near the Paiji Star, the patrol force was already ready. No less than 15 enemy destroyers and frigates formed three squadrons, forming a standard crescent-shaped formation.
Subsequently, the Black Legion battle group also began to change its formation.
The three capital ships, the Ceaseless Wrath, the Red Glory, and the Immortal Steel, are at the front. The two cruisers, the Holy Corrosion and the Wild Howl, form the rest of the flanks, while another strike cruiser from the Crimson Slayer is at the front.
Behind the main line.
At the same time, a bloated battleship bearing the emblem of the Brotherhood of Steel broke away from the formation, started its huge engine, and jumped in the darkness.
Within a few minutes, the heavily armed assault ship accelerated its speed, reaching its ultimate speed before the destroyer formation reached its ultimate range.
The Brotherhood of Steel participated in many blockade battles, and their experience in this area led them to create a strange ship called a "siege ship."
This kind of ship was transformed from a cruiser and installed with a super-specific engine, allowing it to accelerate to staggering levels in a short period of time. What is even more distinctive is that it is covered with four layers of armor and is very
A rare anti-torpedo belt was designed, and its weapons array was deployed under the armor.
The concept of this kind of ship is very simple. It takes damage in exchange for the destruction of its enemy. It never fires before engaging the enemy. After the armor absorbs the first wave of enemy fire, it launches an attack on the enemy at close range.
It actually doesn't mean much in conventional naval battles, but it can work wonders when breaking through a blockade.
With ten minutes left before the battle began, the patrol suddenly increased its speed, and just as Eingraspeer had predicted, the small boats opened their bow tubes and fired a series of deadly shots at the oncoming cruiser.
of torpedoes.
A dozen huge missiles rushed towards the reconnaissance squadron in a huge arc, each one powerful enough to blow a destroyer-sized spaceship into pieces.
The siege ship rushed over directly.
At the same time, the small warships in the fleet also formed as wide a formation as possible to avoid the incoming torpedoes.
They formed the first air defense net, and the laser cannons sprayed out scorching light, piercing the torpedo shell and detonating the huge fuel tank.
The huge explosion flashed angrily in the darkness, the hot gas and debris quickly dissipated in the airless void, and almost half of the torpedoes were destroyed.
The battleship's guns filled the vacuum in front of the boat with a veritable wall of fire, and the lances swept in burning arcs ahead of the cruiser, mixing together to form a seething field of vaporized metal and radioactive gases.
Five torpedoes slid through the maelstrom. They traveled through the remaining space to reach their target in less than a second, becoming an even smaller cloud of explosive bombs as the small battleship's close-in defense guns opened fire.
But three of them hit the ship, and one of the weapons hit the bow of a marauder ship. The torpedo's plasma warhead tore the lightly armored destroyer apart, instantly turning them into expanding gas clouds and fragments.
As the siege ships passed through the remnants of intercepted torpedoes, surveyors stared at their telescopes, searching for signs of engines amid the stormy disturbance.
Soon, the range and vector are calculated and transmitted to the torpedo, which feeds the data into a deadly attack.
The patrol fired a second wave of torpedoes, this time focusing on the siege ship because it was too close.
The torpedoes were approaching, but she kept going.
Soon, the warhead hit the deck, burning through the armor with clouds of plasma, and throwing the molten metal into the void.
But the ship is still moving forward. Further back, the Astral Knight's battleship has broken away from the orbit of the Pain Star and is coming along a long orbit to intercept the enemy, while the boulder is still in place.
Flames exploded on the siege ship's bow and back, and the explosion shook her damaged shell, but she still moved forward.
Realizing that the opponent was incredibly close, the destroyer began to turn away from the burning battleship.
At this time, the armor of the siege ship was almost completely destroyed, revealing the ferocious nature of the weapon.
The next moment, she opened fire.
The destroyer's shield disappeared under the torrent of macrocannon shells, and in an instant the hull melted and the reactor exploded.
Although the outer hull was still burning, the ship had already broken through the blockade and roared towards the Expelling Star.
The rest of the empire's fleet hurriedly rushed to intercept this battleship that seemed like a crazy bull, but it had accelerated to the limit. It was like a cluster of flaming arrows falling from the night sky, rushing towards the dead planet, and towards any
The blocking ships opened fire, and debris of various materials rolled behind it like the wake of a comet.
On the command throne, the commander of the Black Legion fleet watched the planet gradually grow larger in front of the bridge's observation deck.
"Boost."
Ian Grasper looked at the updates on the combat situation and issued further orders.
They are now very close to the Paiji Star, but they are about to enter the range of the weapon array of the Stone Fortress. It is difficult to overestimate the power of this space fortress filled with the secrets of the Dark Angels.
As the Infinite Wrath reached maximum acceleration, Iongraspeer felt the rumble of its thrusters echoing across the decks. The battlecruiser and its flanking large cruisers had adopted a wedge formation, receiving most of the enemy's firepower.
It has been concentrated on the siege ships, allowing other ships to gain precious seconds to approach the effective range.
After another minute, Eingraspeer issued a new order.