Him and their stars.

Chapter 2088 The Fortress Cannons with Various Designs
Then, just as the psionicists on Chenxiao Fortress were preparing themselves for their heroic deaths, General Yelik's order was given to the artillery department: "Wind God's Arrow! Load power!"

A tense and urgent atmosphere spread with the speed of an electric shock, directly stimulating the nerves of every Imperial officer and soldier in the central command room. Many even felt they couldn't breathe.

How could the mighty Imperial Army have ever experienced such a feeling as if they had encountered their natural enemy?
However, they were, after all, well-trained professional soldiers, and with trepidation and focused attention, the operation of the fortress was indeed proceeding in an orderly manner.

Chenxiao Fortress has a history of over a thousand years and has undergone more than ten large-scale expansions and renovations throughout its history. Considering that it is an important military base in the heart of the Galactic Empire, naming the fortress's main cannon after the weapons of the major gods in the classical mythology of Tyrero is in line with tradition.

The so-called "Arrow of the Wind God" is one of them.

This is the positron cannon of Chenxiao Fortress, perhaps the most powerful positron cannon known in the entire galaxy. Although it has been built for five hundred years, it is still well-maintained and remains one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.

Of course, from the perspective of that indescribable "dragon" on the other side, a fortress cannon that has been used for five hundred years and is still a national weapon is clearly a sign of stagnation in civilization.

But for the empire, this towering cannon represented glory and a glorious history.

Putting aside everything else, just during that civil war more than three hundred years ago, when the true legitimate emperor had not yet donned the Void Crown in the Celestial Realm and the Galactic Empire was in turmoil, the garrison of this fortress chose to do their duty, chose to hold firm, and chose to wait for the "true dragon" to return to his throne.

Anyway, that's what history textbooks say afterward.

In short, in just six months, the Five Kings Alliance launched six large-scale attacks on the fortress, each time suffering heavy casualties and loss of soldiers and ships under the positron cannon fire of the "Wind God's Arrow".

Thus, the fortress's defenders uttered a magnificent declaration: "The bloodshed of Chenxiao Fortress was forged from the corpses and blood of rebel soldiers!"

In fact, the reason why the starting star system where Chenxiao Fort is located has a strange red color is a normal celestial ladder phenomenon caused by the visual interweaving of surrounding star systems, and there is no mysterious explanation for it.

However, this is not important.

Although the corpses left behind were all soldiers of the empire, that didn't matter.

Military merit is military merit, and honor is honor. Who says that only those who stand in the light are heroes?

Now, after more than 300 years of silence, this giant fortress cannon is about to be fired again.

The artillery sergeants intently observed the transition signals fed back to them by the high-powered gravity source radar, calculating firing parameters from the fleet trajectories that had not yet formed outlines.

In reality, the jump point is more than three astronomical units away from our side, which even a positron cannon cannot reach. The so-called precise firing parameters are just a theoretical process.

However, since they were well-trained Imperial gunners, this step was certainly not to be overlooked.

"Power reloading complete! Aiming point confirmed! Ready to fire!" the artillery department reported.

King Werrent turned around and suddenly slapped his forehead: "How could I be so stupid as to forget to surround the gravity well with mines and automatic turrets? Wouldn't the enemy fleet be met with a head-on attack the moment the warp is completed?"

General Yelik reassured him again, "But if we proceed in this way, wouldn't we accidentally damage our own ships? After all, this is the most important transportation route from Tianyu to Shengyuan, and we must always be cautious. Your Highness, you have made a prudent choice for the overall interests of the Empire, and even if it brings some military disadvantage, it is worthwhile."

He looks like a burly, tough guy, but he's actually quite good at comforting people.

King Wei responded with a sentimental smile, then slowly raised one hand and swung it down with a powerful, rhythmic motion, as if he were chopping off an enemy's head with a hand chop: "Fire!"

Or rather, because his movements and voice were so powerful, it seemed somewhat deliberate.

However, the old knight commander glanced at him, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes twitched slightly. Then, he slowly lowered his head.

In an instant, a huge cyan-white energy beam shot out directly from the cylindrical turret that floated on the fluid metal layer of the fortress, letting out a roar that had not been heard for three hundred years. In fact, the cannon had been fired during various exercises and tests, but this was the first time it had been fired in actual combat since the civil war of the "Undying Dragon".

Against the blood-red sky, this cold, solid color only amplified its imposing presence. It didn't resemble an "arrow" at all, but rather a sword cleaving the heavens by a god.

Within its effective range, it will be like a red-hot dagger meeting butter, easily disintegrating the energy neutralization magnetic field, melting the force field shield, and tearing apart the fluid metal layer and multiple layers of composite armor.

Neither the Titan nor the fortress armor could easily reach such a direct hit from the main gun.

If we could hit that dangerous ghost, it would surely cause enough damage.

Even a demonic dragon would be terrified out of its wits, right?
In short, at that moment, the soldiers of the Imperial Army did indeed have such a wishful thought.

In reality, when the bluish-white divine sword fell into the other side of the Milky Way, it gradually became thinner and thinner, like the beam of a scattered flashlight. Then, after the increasingly diffused beam of light disappeared into the starry sky, it only left behind a string of tiny, pale white light bubbles.

This was the final sight of the "Arrow of the Wind God" that the Imperial soldiers on Chenxiao Fortress could see on their screens. In reality, however, any one of these light bubbles hitting any warship would have been enough to cripple a heavy cruiser or larger vessel on the spot. If the Yulian Fleet was indeed within their range, it would already be severely damaged.

However, the deadly beam of light dissipated into the void at a considerable distance from the Yu Lian fleet, turning into invisible and colorless cosmic particles.

Of course, everyone on the Silent Ship also captured this scene.

After the bluish-white light dispersed, the tiny light bubbles burst one after another over the next ten minutes, just like soap bubbles floating in a gentle breeze.

The sensors on the Earth warship emitted a buzzing sound like an earthquake, alerting the soldiers to the drastic changes in temperature and radiation in the surrounding airspace.

Indeed, the powerful positron cannon did have a certain deterrent effect on the newly arrived Commonwealth fleet. This small fleet, which had just completed its warp jump, seemed to be worried about being targeted by enemy fortress fire once it entered firing range, and remained in place for a full ten minutes.

The Silent Ship, as the core vessel, even opened gaps in its armor plates, allowing the ship's robotic production line to enter combat standby mode.

This is obviously done so that the round, chubby robots can be deployed to support friendly ships at any time. Perhaps this is a kind of "halo" skill belonging to the fleet.

In addition, the original plan should be followed, and operations should only begin after all the warships have sailed out of the gravity well.

“A pointless shot!” Eleanor Bonaparte made this judgment with a cold face.

The enemy fleet deployed in place, forming a pincer movement with the fortress, and Chenxiao Fortress initiated the bombardment—all of which was within their initial expectations. However, seeing the Imperial fleet, which had nearly conquered half the universe, display such obvious cowardice before them, everyone felt as if they were in a different world. "This is a deterrent shot, reminding us that the surprise attack failed," Deng Zhengqing said.

“But we didn’t plan a surprise attack,” Banner said.

“That’s just standard impotent rage, like a cat baring its teeth.” Captain Nemo said this in a joking tone, but everyone actually thought it made a lot of sense.

"Let's proceed according to the original plan. Where are the commander and the others?" Eleanor asked one last time.

"He and his wife have already entered the hangar, accompanied by Miss Gongsun and Lieutenant Commander Ilika, of course. Second Officer Anne Romanova has also taken up the bridge and assumed command. But, this..." Captain Nemo was still somewhat apprehensive, like a loyal butler of the Barat family who couldn't find his master.

Eleanor Bonaparte felt this man's acting was a bit over the top, or rather, so convincing that even he himself was fooled. But wasn't that also a form of true loyalty?
"Don't say more. This is certainly not a correct tactic, but what tactic can truly be considered correct on the battlefield? Since our commander says it is acceptable, then he knows what he's doing."

Horatio Wayne gazed silently at the fortress, watching thousands of light sources transform into shimmering waves of light on the fluid metal surface, like a galaxy pulsating on a heavy sea. He was overwhelmed with emotion as he looked at the scene before him.

The fortress is entering its highest state of combat readiness.

The array of technological and psionic light flickered gradually behind the indestructible armor shell, like a space behemoth that had just been surprised and opened its cold compound eyes.

Any foreign fleet would be terrified at the sight of that towering figure, which resembles a star.

But Horatio Wayne felt nothing but elation. He felt the same way he did when he was a boy, hunting with his grandfather and uncle in the snowy forests for a week, finally finding the trail of the Kodia brown bear.

Huh? I actually treated the mighty Chenxiao Fortress as prey. Was I influenced by that guy? Or am I just this type after all?

Wayne could clearly feel his heartbeat, and he even vaguely felt that his hands and feet were about to tremble.

"Huff, huff, calm down. Now is not the time to explode." He took two deep breaths, using unprecedented patience to keep himself calm and serious.

Then, he received the latest battle situation report from the command post.

"The enemy battlecruiser formation is performing a clockwise maneuver along the orbit of the sixth planet."

"Oh, I thought the Imperial fleet was going to stay put and cower under the cover of fortress guns." He let out a low laugh and took the initiative to command the carrier group and all the heavy cruisers to break out of the "halo" range of the Silent.

Prior to this, more than ten torpedo ships had already left the Silent Ship's hangar and followed the Wayne fleet into action, even hiding their hulls inside the giant ship's steel fortress.

As a staunch supporter of big guns and battleships, Wayne still believes that fighter jets are cowards and main guns are the real heroes. However, with the advent of torpedo ships and the new Crimson Phantom fighter jets, he can no longer strictly protect his beliefs.

A god with fighter jets and torpedo ships as cover is perfect.

To be honest, even now, Wayne still misses the ten multi-purpose main guns on those bygone God-class dreadnoughts, but for now, he can only accept it for the time being.

He soon received the latest report: "A large number of small targets have been detected, which can be identified as a group of fighter jets."

Releasing such a large-scale fighter jet formation so early would have been a pointless act in the past. However, considering that the Empire has also equipped itself with new fighter jets, this should be considered a standard tactical maneuver.

"Is that the new Titanium Blade fighter jet?"

Thanks to the "mysterious eye" of the Silent One, Earthlings were able to grasp the enemy's most detailed movements and troop composition much faster than the opposing side.

"The total number is 4200, with more than 1000 being Titanium Blades, and the rest being Purple Lightning Dragons."

To counter torpedo ships and various light-winged aircraft, the new Titanium Blade fighter boasts not only thick shields, armor, and ferocious firepower, but also impressive endurance and cruising capabilities. It's more like a smaller assault ship than a fighter jet.

To be fair, the fact that it managed to fit so many requirements into the design without exceeding the limits of quality and size truly makes this new Titanium Blade fighter a masterpiece of the Empire's overall engineering and spacecraft design capabilities.

Aside from being a bit pricey, it really has no downsides.

"They're really rolling in money!" Wayne exclaimed in amazement. He vaguely guessed that if Yu Lian hadn't suddenly stormed into the heart of the Empire, they probably wouldn't have been able to launch the new fighter jet equipment program so quickly.

After all, everyone has a tendency to be lazy. If the war had ended sooner, why would the empire have wasted resources on equipping itself with such expensive new fighter jets?
But isn't this also an honor?

Horatio Wayne, watching the dense array of fighter jet lights coming from the Silent Ship, gave his next command: "All fleet, maintain course, no deviation allowed! Our objective is to directly confront the defensive perimeter of Chenxiao Fortress!"

As for the Silent Ship, its long, majestic, and elusive silhouette had quietly slipped out of the last gravitational shadow cast by the gravity well, like a ghost from deep space finally revealing its full form in the main world.

This ancient warship has finally begun to move, but this time it's disguised as a Titan.

Eleanor Bonaparte stood on the bridge of the Silent, taking in the bright view from the fifth-level command platform of this colossal ship. After a moment of contemplation, her gaze hardened, fixing on the suffocating red light on the tactical screen—a zone of death.

If they continue forward, the Silent Ship will soon enter that area, which will certainly be an area where the fortress cannons of Chenxiao Fortress can hit the angled fire.

You always say I like to act crazy. But Yuri, given the chance, aren't you way crazier than me?

The thought flashed through Eleanor's mind as she looked up at the fortress structure diagram that appeared on the terminal.

Once the defined areas appeared on the surface of the three-dimensional graphic, she immediately gave the next instructions:

"Target, the seventh sector of the fortress, section C19 to C27 of the outer wall. Double-penetrating arc guns, prepare to fire."

Her command was concise and ruthless, but at that very moment, the lower-level communications department also issued a new report: "Commander Bonaparte, high-energy response at the front!"

"Oh, the Arrow of the Wind God?"

"No, this time it's a gamma burst! It's Thor's pestle!"