The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2890. The Last Struggle (Part 2)

The Galactic Empire fleet under Thrawn's command and the Fourth Empire under Ender's command engaged in extremely fierce battles.

Both sides had reasons not to back down—Thoron wanted to seize this last opportunity to severely damage the Fourth Empire's mobile fleet, as only in this way could he preserve the last embers of the Galactic Empire.

He never believed that a superweapon like the Death Star could sway the outcome of a war. While the Death Star was powerful, it was too cumbersome and its resources were too concentrated. This strategy, which essentially concentrates all power in one point, generally doesn't yield good results.

And Andrew Wiking was doing everything he could to salvage the nearly collapsed battle.

Even if Tang Xiao retained his last shred of sanity and managed to end the coronation ceremony as quickly as possible, the best opportunity to retreat had already been lost. Now, the Fourth Empire's fleet had to face the Death Star's firepower head-on!
However, based on his assessment, while the Death Star was deadly, it was currently impossible to destroy it in a short period of time. Therefore, the optimal solution was not to do what Matt Horner did, futilely firing at the Death Star, but rather to withstand the Death Star's fire, defeat the Galactic Empire's fleet, and create an opportunity for his own retreat.

This time, the two sides directly engaged in face-to-face combat.

Even though Thrall's fleet formation was not yet complete, and many warships, including three super star destroyers, were still in Coruscant's atmosphere, he still resolutely launched an attack.

His choice was similar to that of Andre Viking; he also abandoned the opponent's strongest point, ordering the Kurtorask dictator to be spared and concentrating firepower on the other warships of the Fourth Reich.

In Thron's view, his current firepower is insufficient to destroy the Kurtorask Dictator in a short period of time, so it would be better to destroy a few other warships rather than waste firepower on it.

But that's easier said than done!

Within the Fourth Empire's fleet, three Anchoron-class Titan warships continuously used fleet shields, and the Kurtorask Dictator's nanoleeches could also repair their own warships with a small but significant range.

As a result, apart from the Eclipse and the Executor-class, other ordinary Galactic Empire warships would find it difficult to destroy the enemy.

But they have the Death Star!

This was a battle that was utterly hopeless for both sides.

Ander-Viking stood on the bridge of the Messenger, his eyes fixed on the holographic combat star map, constantly adjusting the fleet's formation.

“Thrower’s fleet is not under the same command system as the Death Star. This is our only chance.” As he spoke, he drew lines representing tactical formations on the control panel with his finger. Each line represented the status adjustment of dozens of warships.

Behind him, three T-series tactical robots faithfully and efficiently broke down, specified, and then issued these instructions.

“Clearly, Thrawn can only passively lure us into the Death Star’s firing range,” Ender Wiking said. “But we can neither follow his lead nor mechanically refuse. Thrawn will anticipate our evasion or our direct confrontation… but…”

He took a deep breath, his expression turned serious, and with his other hand he began to use the universal tool to create a new console, while he began to rapidly input commands using the keyboard with one hand.

"The Death Star Commander appears to be approaching, but his speed has begun to decrease. His intention to attack is not strong. Judging from his behavior, he is likely planning to inflict heavy damage on the Galactic Empire's fleet..." Ander-Viking said.

“They’re seizing power,” Matt Horner said in a low voice. “But no matter what, it’s too dangerous for us to be caught in the middle.”

Andre Viking did not answer; he simply continued to command the fleet.

The Archangel Titan's doomsday weapon was fully charged and fired in scatter mode at the Galactic Empire fleet in space! More than 20 Star Destroyers were destroyed or severely damaged.

At the same time, the Titan warship Divine Messenger activated its phenomenon generator once again!
The Galactic Empire's fleet in outer space was on the verge of collapse, while at the same time, the Galactic Empire's three super star destroyers in the atmosphere also inflicted a very serious blow on the Fourth Empire's fleet!

……

Marshal Thron stood on the bridge of the Eclipse, looking at the holographic combat star map with a solemn expression.

"Marshal! Our fleet is collapsing..." the adjutant said as he approached.

“Continue the attack,” Thron replied calmly. “You should see the enemy’s casualties; this is the best casualty ratio we’ve had since the start of the war.”

The adjutant glanced at the statistics. The current casualty ratio between the two sides was about 2.8 to 1. The Galactic Empire could destroy a Fourth Empire warship with less than three warships.

Such a casualty ratio is indeed rare in this stage of the war, although most of the losses are due to the Death Star.

Considering that the Fourth Empire's fleet included three Anchoron-class Titans, such a casualty ratio was nothing short of a miracle for the Galactic Empire!
“The separatist fleet… they are in very bad shape… and are under constant bombardment from the Death Star…” The adjutant wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said, “But… the special envoy sent by Director Aysany-Isad is already on his way.”

Thrawn glanced at a Lambda-class shuttle highlighted on the screen and said, "Deny this shuttle's boarding request."

"Yes..." The adjutant lowered his head and immediately went to make the arrangements.

“Tell Director Isad,” Thron’s voice was low and steady, “that she wants power, while I only want victory.”

“But if things continue like this, even if we do win, it will be a victory for Governor Tarkin…” the adjutant said in a low voice.

Thron remained silent.

But at this moment, silence means—continue the attack!
At this moment, the Iron Fist super star destroyer also began to move! Marshal Neil Decklane, leading the Iron Fist and hundreds of warships that had been resting on the Centax-1 satellite, charged out and headed straight for the Fourth Reich's fleet!
The remaining 2000-plus XX-9 heavy turbolaser cannons on the Iron Fist fired wildly, while Neil Decklane had also gone mad, unleashing his last remaining Force and letting Battle Meditation once again cover the battlefield.

Thron stared intently at the holographic star map and said coldly, "If we maintain this momentum and continue, we will achieve final victory after seven hours of fighting!"

The adjutant sighed and said, "But you'll also be captured by Aisani-Isad..."

As he spoke, he pressed the button, rejecting the Lambda-class shuttle's boarding request for the third time. ...

Meanwhile, Andre Wiggin was observing the current battlefield situation, keeping a close eye on his calculations on the other side. When he saw the data he wanted... he slammed his hand on the control panel!

He decisively issued the order: "Perfect distance! Order all warships to converge on the Death Star!"

"What did you say? We're getting closer to the Death Star?" Matt Horner's face turned deathly pale!
Ender-Viking ignored him and continued to issue orders: "Send word! Have the Kurtorask dictator turn around and attack the Death Star, and withstand the next shot from the Death Star's main cannon!"

"If it weren't for Kelslark's effusive praise of your command last time, Ander, you would be a dead man by now." The voice of the Vasari High Priest Shadil came through the communicator.

"Execute the order! Draw the Death Star into firing at least three times!" Ender-Viking shouted. "Order all warships with armor integrity above 70%! Disable the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system!"

Matt Horner barely resisted the urge to shoot the boy in front of him, because his series of instructions were all suicidal!

Matt Horner remained silent, and Andre Wiggin's instructions were carried out thoroughly.

The Kurtorask Dictator Titan turned and charged straight toward the Death Star. Wilhoff Tarkin had long been paying close attention to this strangely shaped warship and immediately ordered it to open fire.

The Death Star's main cannon in anti-ship mode charges very quickly. The six beams converge into a single point on the disc-shaped device, completing the charge within five minutes and firing immediately!

However, the Kurtorask Dictator successfully blocked the attack. Although the energy shield was shattered and the hull was burned by the laser, the ship's structure remained intact.

Immediately afterwards, the nano leeches started to activate.

This time, even friendly warships that had shut down their IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) systems under Ander-Viking's orders were attacked by nanoleeches!
The nanoleeches have an extremely wide coverage area, instantly acquiring energy and armor materials from thousands of warships, and then converging on the Kurtorask dictator's ship to replenish their supplies.

The damage to the warship was visibly beginning to repair, and when the Death Star's main cannon fired for the second time, the Kurtorask Dictator was still steadily hovering in front of the Death Star's muzzle, with most of the damage on the ship already repaired!

The wave cannons and phase missiles on the Titan warships continuously bombarded the bulge of the Death Star, creating countless explosions and flashes.

"Concentrate fire on this warship! Increase the power of the main guns!" Wilhoff-Tarkin shouted.

"Yes!"

The Death Star's main cannon fired for the third time, its light even more dazzling than the previous two. As it fired again, destroying the shield of the Kurtorask Dictator, a terrifying laser swept across the warship, instantly severing two sections of its chrysanthemum-shaped hull structure!

Violent explosions began to erupt on the Titan warship.

Seeing the Kurtorask dictator, who was in a terrible state but still listening in and firing, Wilhoff Tarkin's expression turned grim. "What is that thing?!"

“It’s a new type of Titan from the separatist movement, Your Excellency,” the adjutant said. “According to previous combat intelligence, this Titan warship withstood the bombardment of an entire fleet, yet remained unscathed!”

"This is no excuse!" Wilhoff-Tarkin roared, and the adjutant lowered his head, not daring to speak.

The Death Star is not in its complete form.

In reality, the Death Star's weapon systems were not fully completed; only its energy system and main structure were actually finished. The weapon systems were actually the Tarkin space station.

This was also a helpless move by Wilhoff Tarkin and Orman Targ – the technology involved in the Death Star's main cannon was too difficult, and coupled with the constant turmoil within and outside the Galactic Empire, they had neither the time nor the resources to spend decades slowly completing it as in the original story.

The Tarkin space station was actually just a temporary test platform used by Tarkin to verify the feasibility and combat effectiveness of the Death Star's super planet-destroying laser cannon. Its main cannon's power was only 57% of the Death Star's full power. Even so, the Tarkin space station's main cannon was still enough to vaporize a small satellite in a few seconds. Although it was powerful, it was still far inferior to the Death Star's designed power.

Furthermore, the connection between the Tarkin space station and the main structure of the Death Star is extremely fragile, and a high-intensity impact could trigger a chain reaction.

The attack by the Kurtorask dictator just now—the wave cannons that can penetrate shields and the bombardment of phase missiles—has already triggered the Death Star's operating system to issue an alarm!

Therefore, we absolutely cannot continue! We must prioritize attacking this strange Titan warship!

However, at this time, Ender Wiking had already begun to command his fleet in what could be described as a crazy tactical maneuver—he divided the fleet into two parts and then maneuvered them toward the north and south poles of the Death Star!
Meanwhile, Thrawn was leading his fleet, attempting to use the Death Star's firepower to damage the Fourth Empire's warships. So when Ender Wiking led his fleet closer to the Death Star, he hesitated for a moment.

It was this hesitation that led Thoron to defeat once again!

With all warships' engines running at full power, they took advantage of the Death Star's attention being diverted by the Kurtorask dictator to directly enter the area between the Death Star's north and south poles.

Because of the Death Star's internal structure, its energy core is a huge columnar structure running through the North and South Poles. Therefore, there are no powerful firepower deployments at the North and South Poles. The Death Star's main firepower is concentrated in the equatorial ring and the main gun area in the northern hemisphere of the main structure.

Apart from some anti-aircraft gun positions, the North and South Poles lack a defense system capable of withstanding large-scale fleet attacks.

With a frenzied tactical maneuver, Ender-Viking concealed his fleet at the North and South Poles of the Death Star, temporarily escaping the Death Star's main cannons' targeting range. Then, he commanded his fleet to unleash a barrage of fire on the rest of the Galactic Empire's fleet!
Temporarily deprived of the Death Star's cover fire, the Galactic Empire fleet was thrown into chaos and suffered a devastating blow—Ender-Viking's fleet concentrated its precise crossfire on the Iron Fist super star destroyer!

Thrall's anticipated victory with an excellent exchange ratio did not materialize; the Galactic Empire fleet he led was already on its last legs.

On the Eclipse super star destroyer, the naval officers and soldiers loyal to the Galactic Empire secretly opened the hangar platform and placed the Lambda-class shuttle inside the warship.

A female judge dressed in the black armor and cloak of an Imperial Judge, and wearing a full-face helmet, approached Thrall.

Judge—Second Sister! (End of Chapter)