Just as the ships from both sides filled the void around the Paiji Star, launching destructive firepower at each other, the red pirate fleet that had been lurking finally sensed a break.
On the empire's side, because the capital ships were all heading to fight, some transport ships were out of protection.
Although they themselves were vulnerable, both sides deployed formations that kept them out of enemy fire.
But if a third party appears, it’s hard to say——
Therefore, Lothar was caught off guard when the Red Pirates' flagship, the Heart of Hatred, suddenly appeared in the void.
The Red Pirates ignored the other warships and pounced directly on the moving giant transport ship. Not far from them were a Dark Angel cruiser, several frigates, and a giant stone fortress.
They immediately opened fire on the Red Pirates' fleet.
Flames engulfed the shields, leaving gouges on the blood-red hulls, but they continued on, trailing fragments of broken shields behind them.
The Nova Cannon on the bow of the Heart of Hatred has been loaded, and the timing fuses in each warhead have also started operating.
It would surely die if it failed to fire, but its commander was an experienced Astartes commander who had fought in this manner many times.
Surrounding it are several small predatory ships, their main function is to intercept launched torpedoes.
It began to burn as it plunged straight into the fangs of enemy fire, its hull peeling away in stone and molten metal as waves of shells and beams of energy battered its shields and smashed into the bow.
The outline of the Death Star filled the bridge's field of vision, and its gravity dragged all the battleships in orbit.
The transport ship and its escort realized the attacker's intentions and began to scatter, but it was too late.
The Heart of Hate opened fire—
In the blink of an eye, surging Nova shells hit a giant transport ship.
A small flat sun rose in orbit, and the energy wave spread out in all directions, pushing away the surrounding ships in a frozen moment and overloading the shield of the orbital platform.
As the transport ship disintegrated, the reactor fuel also poured into the burning storm.
Fortunately, the Stone Fortress opened its shield in time and did not suffer any damage. However, the huge energy consumption also made it temporarily unable to attack approaching warships.
The Heart of Hate didn't bother much. It started its engines at full speed, turned the ship's bow, and rose into the void. Behind it was the hissing sound of the death of the ship.
Its action has been completed, briefly silencing the firepower of the orbital platform and the monolithic fortress, although the cost was that all small battleships following it were sunk——
"It's now!"
Iongra Speer roared excitedly.
"Press them all up!"
"Understood, sir!"
The battlegroup galloped forward, directly into the waiting bombardment of Imperial ships.
Two minutes later, the Lord of Detection shouted:
"Enemy fire coming!"
"All ships prepare for impact!"
A strange dim light jumped out from the bow of the Eternal Loyalty, sweeping across the space like a substantive shadow.
Then, those traces disappeared, and nothing happened within a few heartbeats.
Almost at the same time, the Astropaths in the Black Legion fleet either died suddenly or fell into coma——
"Fuck! What the hell is that!?"
Eigra Speer was stunned on the bridge.
The Brotherhood of Steel's siege ship disappeared in an instant.
It wasn't that it was sunk or something, it just disappeared!
Then, a crack was created and spread at an extremely fast speed. An oval-shaped abnormal energy surrounded by lightning filled the space between the two fleets. The edge of the crack was less than a kilometer away from the Holy Corrosion.
Suddenly, all the ship's communicators let out a terrifying scream, as if God had cut the air with a whetstone, and the speakers and sound-generating units responded with their own sharp feedback sounds.
In the crack, a blue suspension body is shining, making every rock and dust in the void sparkle with tiny arcs of subspace power.
In the depths of the fissure, various flying shapes are flying so fast that it is impossible to look directly at them - a strange face or sharp claws that are magnified to the point of being incomprehensible.
They look more like afterimages, presented in a three-dimensional form at a stretched angle of reality, tightening the veil between nothingness and reality.
Ian Grasper held his breath, not knowing what to expect.
In a moment, the subspace force field collapsed, like the last drop of rain falling from a hearty storm.
With a loud bang, two-thirds of the Holy Corrosion disappeared, covering up all other sounds of battle.
This was the first time that the Eternal Loyalty used its rift cannon. Unexpectedly, it directly destroyed two battleships of the Black Legion strike group, which surprised Lothar.
"Damn-"
Aingra Speer's shock was not over yet, as more light spears and macro cannons struck, making their shields shine with fiery fury.
Purple light shone down from the reinforced bridge deck, and a powerful blow resounded through the hull.
"Hull ruptured!"
The officer on duty shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Reports of casualties ongoing."
Eingra Speer was concentrating on studying the situation at hand. Although this accident occurred, the overall situation did not change.
"Send a signal to other ships, turn to the new course 1-2-0, and begin a torpedo attack on the enemy's large cruiser."
Through clouds of fiery plasma and evaporating decks, the Chaos warship continues to close in on the Imperial vessel.
As they neared optimal range, the Astral Knights' warships began to slowly turn to starboard so that they could bring their terrifying broadsides towards the Chaos warships.
But as they began to turn, the Chaos fleet began to change course.
More light spears were fired from the Imperial battleships, and now the Chaos artillery fire began to counterattack, firing a series of blazing shells at the oncoming Imperial forces.
At the same time, the torpedo jumped out of the tube and rushed towards the Astral Knights and White Templar cruisers.
boom--
Before there was time to see the torpedo's results, a violent blow knocked the Everlasting Fury to the port side, and at the same time, the alarm started to scream.
"Multiple hits!"
The officer on duty shouted:
"Fire on deck 12!"
"Signal to the fleet."
Ian Grasper continued to conduct calmly.
"Target 3-0-0, all units, lock on the port side of the enemy cruiser and open fire."
Surrounded by artillery fire, the Eternal Loyalty slowly moved away from the center of the enemy's formation, heading towards the cruiser Wild Howl on the Chaos flank.
Along the port side deck of the battleship, the huge turret slowly rose, and the huge macro cannon began to fire a salvo.
The terrifying salvo of the Annihilation macrocannon crushed a raider in its path and set the Wild Howl on fire from head to tail.
At the same time, the Eternally Loyal starboard weapons group began to move, bombarding the red Glory's shield with a burst of rapid and violent shells.
The void shield of this former Imperial warship flashed angrily under the fierce fire, and finally collapsed completely, and the firepower began to destroy its armor.