Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 1006, 08.1005: 'At the Blend of Dawn and Dusk'

The technical difficulty of implementing "Horizon Raid" is far greater than imagined.

It requires fleet commanders to maneuver horizontally along the constantly shifting, sharp boundary between light and darkness—the planet's terminator—while maintaining a constant altitude vertically.

Even just driving like this is a high-difficulty move, like dancing on a tightrope, but Horatio has to do more than just perform an acrobatic act; he also has to fight in this situation.

Below, right next to the planet's gravity well, a slight misstep could result in being dragged into the atmosphere by this 'invisible quicksand' and burned into countless burning fragments.

This means that the window of time he has to think and make decisions is extremely short. If he is not careful, he will face several bad consequences, such as the warship crashing, his whereabouts being exposed, and the missed opportunity for a surprise attack.

Horatio leaned against his towering command throne, eyes closed, as the fleet approached the enemy fleet at 10 void knots—a speed closest to the rotational synchronization of the planet Minerva.

Judging from the other crew members on the bridge, their captain seemed to enjoy taking a short "rest" before battle.

But only Horatio himself knew that he was placing the essential pre-battle divination of "omens" at the very last moment before contact with the enemy—this would ensure the timeliness of the information obtained and allow him to as much as possible to glean information about the enemy's deployment and intentions before engaging them.

In the perception of the Dark Vision, the void was no longer as cold and lifeless as before.

He saw a series of surging "flows".

One of them, turbid and sluggish, like a tributary of the Milky Way blocked by silt, is clumsily intruding into this airspace.

Experience told him that was the movement of Severus's fleet.

Beside it, there were even more, wilder currents, like a swarm of bloodthirsty sharks, converging on the Apocalyptic Void War that was still raging in the distance.

Those were greenskins, and other aliens and traitors drawn by the bloody scent of the great war.

They were all patiently waiting, hoping to get a share of the spoils after this grand feast was over—because there was just too much high-value debris left behind after the Void War.

"Attack ship E-99 reports: The enemy fleet has docked in the planet's inner orbit. E-99 has successfully identified the class and armament of most of the warships."

A lieutenant's voice broke the silence of the bridge as his report was projected via data link onto the holographic tactical console in front of Horatio, showing the eerie green outline of the enemy fleet.

"Among them, the flagship 'Duke's Pride' is an old model of Avenger-class large cruiser that has long been retired from the Imperial Navy's active service."

According to records, it once belonged to the 9th 'Severus Eagle' sub-sector border fleet of Calissis.

During the rebellion of King Severus XIII, this ancient warship, which was undergoing maintenance in the naval port, was taken into control by the rebels.

Along with the other warships escorting her, they also fell into enemy hands.

This includes the Dictator-class 'Supreme Power' and the Ruler-class 'Absolute Domination' from the enemy fleet.

“Dictator-class?” Horatio’s eyes were still closed, but his voice was unusually clear. “If I remember correctly, it seems to have been equipped with a carrier air wing.”

“That’s right, Captain.” The operations lieutenant who took over command after Louise’s absence immediately replied, “We have reason to believe that this is the source of those Severus rebel aircraft on the ground.”

"Are the soldiers of Severus now piloting this warship, or are they surrendered naval officers and men?"

Horatio slowly opened his eyes and stared at the holographic map sent back by the E-99 attack ship.

He discovered that the Severus rebel ships were moored haphazardly and were unusually far from the planet's gravity well.

Even at that altitude, where there was absolutely no possibility of being pulled into the atmosphere and crashing by the gravity well, they still unhesitatingly chose absolute safety over combat efficiency.

Even if doing so would require their transport ships to travel tens of thousands of kilometers more to reach the ground.

For any clear-headed Imperial Navy captain, accurately controlling the altitude of near-Earth orbit is a fundamental skill.

"According to intelligence, Severus's traitors have made all those who disobey them 'vanish into thin air'."

Documents left by the Thei Inquisitors suggest that they treated those who opposed them as commodities, selling them to the Dark Eldar aliens, but this view lacks direct evidence.

"However, it can be inferred from this that the vast majority of the personnel now operating these ships have been replaced by Severus's own people."

Their ship handling skills are unknown, but I believe they are insufficient to contend with our powerful Imperial Navy.

"Okay, I understand." Horatio had already made up his mind. Lack of supporting evidence? No, that's the truth!

As a time traveler who had seen the "background board," he knew better than anyone the despicable acts of those traitors.

Looking at the current battle situation, the personnel in Severus's fleet are bound to be of varying quality, morale is low, and unity is out of the question.

Regardless of their motives—whether voluntary or forced—to operate these massive war machines, as long as they are not the original team and as long as their origins are diverse, they cannot be united in a short period of time.

Every warship in the Imperial Navy requires its crew to undergo at least several years of rigorous training and life-or-death experience before they can gain complete control over the warship.

"Captain, we expect to reach medium-range artillery range in about thirty minutes," the propulsion officer reported.

Before Horatio's eyes, the starlight and countless points of contact on the planet's surface formed the terminator, which was slowly moving across the planet's surface.

It is currently 4:50 AM terrestrial time. According to meteorological forecasts, sunrise is expected around 5:20 AM.

At that time, his fleet will arrive at the mid-range artillery range of both sides.

"Captains, you are all very clear about the battle strategy."

Horatio's voice echoed across the bridge of every warship in the squadron via encrypted communications.

"We will approach the enemy fleet quietly under the cover of darkness."

Launch a surprise attack the instant the terminator passes over the enemy fleet, causing a brief blinding effect on its optical and sensory equipment.

"We will charge at full speed toward the enemy fleet. They will have the advantage of the 'T' formation, while we will be in a vulnerable position with limited firepower. However, we will make up for these tactical shortcomings by relying on the sturdy rams and deadly torpedoes of our warships."

"The battle plan is simple."

"The three main warships, under the cover of carrier-based aircraft, will rush toward the core targets of the enemy fleet."

The faster Swifthawk will first target the enemy's large cruiser, The Duke's Pride.

However, due to our lack of heavy rams, we will not launch a ramming attack, but instead unleash all our firepower at close range before disengaging in a single strike.

"Meanwhile, the Tyrant-class cruisers HMS Hermione and HMS Tricolor Crown are targeting the enemy's Dictator-class and Ruler-class cruisers respectively. After launching all torpedoes, proceed with the ramming attack!"

"Yes, Commander," the two captains from the Calissis fleet replied in deep voices.

“Colonel Sterling.” Horatio turned his gaze to the man who exuded the smell of steel and machine oil.

"What are your orders, Commander?"

"Regarding the airspace battle, I trust your plans and your tactical command."

However, I have only one requirement for air strike missions: to balance operational efficiency with pilot safety.

Horatio said earnestly, "I still need this valiant bomber regiment to continue to shine for us in the battles to come."

Don't treat them like disposable bomb delivery machines. All operational plans developed by the Air Force should be sent to me for review first.

I will review it quickly, provide modification instructions, and then implement it.

"As you wish, Commander. After all, you spent your junior officer career in the Air Force. No one here knows better than you how to utilize our air force squadrons. I'm telling you the truth."

"That concludes the combat situation briefing. As for the special operational plans for the E-99 and E-103 assault ships, as well as the 'Sword of Akali,' I will have the communications department send them to each of your ships in the form of a briefing with the highest level of encryption. You only need to execute the briefing accordingly."

"The last twenty minutes. Let the crew eat, shower, and rest. Then, await the artillery fire against the separatist traitors. Dismissed."

"Yes, Commander. May the Divine Emperor bless us with a resounding victory!"

After the holographic images of several captains saluted, they faded and disappeared one after another from the tactical platform. The bridge returned to the tranquility it had been before the great battle.

(End of this chapter)