The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2629 The Battle of Bilbulin (Part Two)
2629. The Battle of Bilbo Nimbus (Part Two)

A fiery red explosion erupted around the planet Bilblin, blasting a small asteroid over 70 meters in diameter into fragments! Molten rock and metal debris flew everywhere.

These asteroids were transformed into heavy turbine laser turrets, which, based on simple AI judgment, would devastate any units that approached and did not respond to the friend-or-foe identification code.

The most challenging aspect of the planet Bilbrin, with its extremely complex space environment, is the vast asteroid belt surrounding it, which has been transformed into turrets!
The main fleet of the Dawn Kingdom's northern border charged in almost reckless abandon, with the Divine Messenger-class Titan warships leading 10 capital ships and 55 heavy cruisers to arrive first.

Upon reaching the outer perimeter of the Bilblin planetary defenses, the Divine Messenger-class Titan warship opened fire using the eight flagship-level laser arrays mounted on the disc-shaped structure at the front of the warship.

The flash of X-rays is barely perceptible and disappears in an instant, but in that brief flash, a huge amount of energy has already heated the target to millions of degrees!

In the first wave of attacks, more than 40 armed asteroids were destroyed.

The counterattack from the Bilbrin Line was equally fierce, with thousands of asteroid turrets in that direction turning their barrels and firing wildly. Smaller asteroids were equipped with one or two turrets, while larger asteroids could even mount dozens. The dense firepower instantly enveloped the entire Divine Messenger-class Titan warship.

Furthermore, the reason Bilbrin was developed into a fortress planet is precisely because of its chaotic hyperspace environment. No matter how large the enemy fleet is, the hyperspace passageway can only accommodate a limited number of warships, which would be blocked from passing through.

Then, the Galactic Empire's third defensive fleet can inflict a devastating blow on the newly arrived enemy ships.

This kind of place, which utilizes natural astronomical phenomena to create a situation where a larger force can defeat a smaller one, is the perfect strategic location!
Therefore, upon seeing the Titan warship "God Messenger" appear with a small fleet, Admiral Holster-Stretch, the commander-in-chief of the Galactic Empire's Northern Third Fleet, decisively issued the order: "All forces advance and give the Separatist fleet a head-on blow!"
The Third Fleet is equipped with 400 capital ships, including 250 Empire-class Star Destroyers, 50 Empire II-class Star Destroyers, and 50 Victory II-class Star Destroyers. And the flagship of this fleet is a colossal vessel measuring 4800 meters in length!

Praetor Mark II-class battlecruiser!
This is a battlecruiser design proposed by Quarter Dynamics a few years ago, which aims to gain battlefield advantage through this multi-functional, high-speed warship.

This is an upgraded and enlarged version of the Archon-class battlecruiser, one of the three major capital ships of the old Galactic Republic. Among the three major capital ships, the Commander-class, with a range of 8000 meters, was the most favored. Not only was the initial version modernized, but a subsequent Type II version was also introduced, and now it has been further upgraded to the Warrior-class dreadnought.

The design for the 4000-meter Governor-class dreadnought was completely abandoned. Even existing Governor-class dreadnoughts were scrapped due to their high maintenance costs.

The 2500-meter Archon-class battlecruisers were relatively more active in the Clone Wars, performing well on multiple battlefields. Therefore, Lyra Wessex, the chief engineer of Quarter Dynamics Shipyard, decided to use the Archon-class battlecruiser design for subsequent ship types.

At that time, her father, Willix Brissex, was still kidnapped at Quarter Power Shipyard, so Lyra Wessex forced Willix to improve the design of the Archon-class ships. However, the design of the Archon MK-II was only half completed when Willix Brissex escaped.

Lila Wessex had her team of experts take Williex's half-finished design, refine it, and thus the Consul MK-II class battlecruiser was completed.

The Archduke MK-II class battlecruiser is a multi-role warship capable of carrying up to 120 TIE fighters, as well as 14000 soldiers and their armored vehicles. In terms of weaponry, it innovatively employs a quadruple heavy turbolaser cannon produced in-house by Quarter Dynamics Shipyard. This is a compact, spherical turret, finally a departure from the aging XX-9 twin heavy turbolaser cannon.

The biggest difference between this warship and other Star Destroyers produced by Quarter Dynamics is that it no longer uses the typical T-shaped, towering bridge of the Empire-class Star Destroyers, but instead adopts a ridge-like, sloping, integral bridge. Therefore, it is highly recognizable.

Overall, however, the Archon MK-II class battlecruisers were relatively weak in firepower, with a significant amount of space allocated to crew support, hangar platforms, and command centers in their design. Therefore, according to the Galactic Empire's Anax classification system, they were only classified as battlecruisers.

Although Lyra Wessex had high hopes for the Consul MK-II class battlecruiser, the design was not favored in subsequent Imperial Navy warship reviews. The Galactic Empire Navy preferred Imperial-class Star Destroyers specializing in artillery combat, or even larger super Star Destroyers, such as the 19000-meter Executor-class. At the very least, it should have been the 8000-meter Commander II-class, or the later 7200-meter Warrior-class Dreadnoughts.

Therefore, the 4800-meter Archon MK-II class battlecruiser was neglected, with the Galactic Empire producing only a dozen or so, many of which were assigned to sector fleets as flagships.

The flagship of Admiral Holst Streich is now one of the Consul MK-II class battlecruisers.

Seeing the Dawn Kingdom's fleet approaching, he decisively issued the order, "All warships, attack immediately! Before their reinforcements arrive, severely damage their Titan warships!"

He turned to the operator and said, "Constantly monitor the enemy Titan's bow orientation and main gun charging status! Avoid being hit by their main guns!"

During the last Northern War, the terrifying firepower of the Divine Messenger-class Titan battleships left a deep impression on almost all Imperial naval officers, while the doomsday weapons and phenomenon generators instilled fear in them. Therefore, the limited combat records of the Divine Messenger-class Titan battleships were collected and studied continuously to avoid being severely damaged in the next engagement.

According to research by Imperial Navy technicians and staff, the only way to deal with the Divine Messenger-class Titan warships is to concentrate superior forces for a saturation attack and be prepared to suffer heavy losses.

However, the research report also specifically mentioned that special attention should be paid to avoiding the bow position of the Divine Messenger-class Titan warship during combat, especially for one's own flagship, which must maintain high-speed maneuverability and absolutely cannot be directly decapitated by the main guns of the Divine Messenger-class as soon as the battle begins.

Admiral Holst-Stretch immediately ordered his flagship to maintain distance and maneuver evasively from a distance, while simultaneously launching all fighter jets.

“Detect fluctuations in the hyperspace path!” he turned to the hyperspace department and asked.

"General, the fluctuations in the hyperspace route from Dorin to Bilblin have exceeded the threshold, making navigation impossible," the navigator replied immediately.

Admiral Streich nodded gravely and said, "All forces, charge! Before the waterway is reopened, at least severely damage the enemy Titans! Then retreat immediately!"

"Yes!" This was Holster-Stretch's plan, and also Gerald Perein's defensive battle plan. They fully considered the terrifying combat power of the Dawn Kingdom's Divine Messenger-class Titan warships, believing that if a large-scale fleet battle broke out, they would likely be no match for them. Therefore, they needed to achieve a force advantage of more than five times in certain areas in order to fight against the Divine Messenger-class.

The complex navigation system on Bilblin's planet is its greatest asset.

However, this is not the site of the final battle. After all, the Dawn Kingdom's control over the North is currently concentrated in a small area of ​​the Northwest, accounting for about a quarter of the entire North. They are actually partially surrounded by the Galactic Empire's territory.

Therefore, they had three routes. One was to head north towards the edge of the Milky Way, detouring around the planet Dantoin. This route is not worth discussing. The other two were branches that started from the former capital of the Eighth Army of the Galactic Empire, the planet Ode Mantel. One branch led to the Ninth Army, which was also the capital of the entire North, the planet Palin Minor. The other branch went south from the planet Dorin directly to the core.

The planet Bilblin is a fortress built on the route to the inner circle.

With this defensive arrangement, the Galactic Empire can use its numerical superiority to harass and attack the Dawn Kingdom's main fleet from multiple directions. The deeper the Dawn Kingdom's fleet penetrates, the larger the gaps exposed in their rear, and the greater the risk of their supply lines being cut off by the Imperial fleet.

Now, according to a previous message from Admiral Gilard Pereren, the Northern Commander-in-Chief, his main fleet, a massive fleet of 800 capital ships, is heading towards the planet Isol. Once assembled, they will begin their attack on the planet Od Mantel, threatening the flank and rear of the Dawn Kingdom fleet and forcing them to divide their forces.

Therefore, in order to support the main fleet's operations, Admiral Holster-Stretch's mission was to hold back the Dawn Kingdom's attacking fleet on Bilbrin and, if necessary, abandon Bilbrin and retreat continuously, trading space for time.

Admiral Gerard Perein's plan is to replicate the glorious victory that Vice Admiral Thrawn delivered in the previous battle, which severely damaged the Dawn Kingdom's Commercial Alliance Fleet and killed its Admiral Mar-Tuk.

After abandoning Bilbrin, its complex hyperspace routes will become a choke point for the Dawn Kingdom's logistical supply lines, preventing them from maneuvering their fleets flexibly and making it impossible to guarantee the resupply of large-scale fleets.

Therefore, as long as Bilblin exists, regardless of whether it is under the control of the Galactic Empire, it can function as a fortress planet, preventing the Dawn Kingdom's large-scale fleet from passing through and threatening the core of the Empire.

With such an advantage, General Streich naturally had more confidence.

The Dawn Kingdom's invading fleet is not large in scale. The only threat is that Divine Messenger-class Titan warship. If we take this opportunity to concentrate our forces and severely damage it, then this offensive in the North will be immediately thwarted!

Under Holst Streich's decisive command, the Imperial Third Squadron launched a resolute surprise attack.

The Titan-class warships showed no mercy, immediately unleashing their full firepower. Their powerful flagship-level laser arrays were invincible; even Imperial-class star destroyers couldn't withstand more than a few hits from this terrifying force.

At the same time, as expected, the doomsday weapon launch array on the bow of the Divine Messenger-class Titan warship began charging! And the warship began to turn, preparing to target the flagship of the Galactic Empire fleet—the Archon MK-II class battlecruiser!

At this moment, Admiral Streich's warship was speeding forward. It was constantly making evasive maneuvers, turning erratically, and accelerating and decelerating erratically, in short, it absolutely could not be exposed to the firing range of the Divine Messenger-class Titan warship for more than ten seconds!
However, after waiting for a long time, the Titan's doomsday weapon still did not fire. Just then, the operator of the hyperspace sensor on the bridge suddenly shouted, "Hyperspace fluctuations have reappeared!! Another ship is coming!"

"What did you say?!" Admiral Streich exclaimed in shock. "Not firing the main gun, but deploying a hyperspace beacon?"

He harbored a deep resentment, for almost all of the Northern Blocker-class Star Destroyers had been deployed north to intercept Tang Xiao, the leader of the Dawn Kingdom. He currently had no Blocker-class Star Destroyers at his disposal and was unable to counter the hyperspace beacon of the Divine Messenger-class Titan warship!

"Charge one last time before reinforcements arrive! After that, don't linger and prepare to retreat!" General Streich made a decisive decision and immediately issued the order.

The Dawn Kingdom's small fleet, centered around the Titan warship Divine Messenger, clashed violently with the Galactic Empire's Northern Third Fleet! The latter's forces outnumbered the former by eight times!
400 Star Destroyers, plus the combined firepower of countless armed asteroids, are no match for the Dawn Kingdom's numerical advantage of only 65 ships, even including heavy cruisers!

At this moment, the Divine Messenger-class Titan warship had completed the guidance of the hyperspace beacon, and the super warship did not hesitate at all, directly activating the phenomenon generator!

Almost the entire space was enveloped by the force field waves of the Titan warship, and almost all the warships on the battlefield were affected.

On the battlefield, all the Dawn Kingdom warships had their deflector shields visibly glowing a pale blue light. This was a result of the shield capacitors constantly overcharging. Under these conditions, the cooling cycle of the shield capacitors was much faster than normal!
With the help of the phenomenon generator, the Titan warship Divine Messenger took the lead and charged forward without any fancy moves! It did not launch doomsday weapons, but instead used its flagship-level laser array to wear down the Imperial warships.

The Dawn Kingdom's plan was simple: to use the tough, armored Divine Messenger-class Titan warships as the vanguard, and then use hyperspace beacons to guide more warships to the front.

This is a showdown stance right from the start!
Admiral Streich had beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Although he was currently in a position of absolute advantage, he was still not confident that he could sink the Messenger in a short time.

But after a moment's thought, the enormous risk and the enormous reward led him to choose the latter. He slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Increase firepower! The hyperspace beacon's navigation capability is limited! We still have time!!"

He stared intently at the Titan warship, the Messenger, on the sensor screen.

But at that moment, another flash of white light appeared—the first reinforcement ship had arrived! Only one!
But this one reinforcement ship was enough to plunge Admiral Streich into an icy abyss...

Who came was...

Anchoron-class Titan battleship, Taotie!
I finally learned how to use the illustration function, hahaha!