Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 1009 08.1008: 'Chain Reaction'

The bridge of the USS Swift Skyhawk.

"Torpedo hit countdown... 9... 8... 7... 6... Damn it! It's been intercepted!" The torpedo officer's voice was somewhat annoyed.

But soon, a huge, silent burst of fire exploded on the side of the "Duke's Pride," its light even briefly overshadowing the brilliance of a distant star. This gave him a renewed sense of urgency. "Report! Our No. 5 torpedo has hit! We are assessing enemy damage!"

Soon, the attack ships E-99 and E-103, which were lurking below the fleet, also sent feedback to the flagship about the results of their hits and interceptions.

A large cruiser truly lives up to its name.

Its turrets are arranged in a dense, interlaced pattern, much like those of an ancient sailing warship.

Each of the lightweight macro guns is equipped with a close-in weapon system consisting of a multi-barreled laser cannon.

The close-in weaponry, resembling a steel fire hedgehog, guided by the ancient and wise Thinker fire control system, detonated torpedoes aimed at it one after another in mid-air.

The ship's onboard machine spirits will automatically assess the threat level of incoming torpedoes, prioritizing the destruction of torpedoes aimed at critical parts such as engines and bridges, and then intercepting torpedoes aimed at other parts as much as possible before being hit.

Ultimately, two plasma torpedoes successfully penetrated the barrage and hit the No. 3 and No. 5 staggered turrets on its starboard side, causing varying degrees of damage to all four turrets. One of the torpedoes even ignited a raging fire on the mid-deck.

Another nuclear incendiary torpedo slammed into its bow shield—a torpedo that had been deliberately let through by close-in weapon systems to allow for concentrated fire on other torpedoes.

However, its immense power still managed to tear open a large section of the plowshare-shaped bow shield armor, revealing the complex electronic components flashing with electric sparks and the power charging device for the ram, and incidentally causing the bow watchtower to become completely inoperable.

Overall, this well-planned salvo, while producing a surprise effect and causing chaos in the enemy fleet, did not result in the fatal blow Horatio had envisioned.

But he wasn't discouraged at all. If one round didn't work, he'd try a second!
The "Duke's Pride" is different from the Tau's warships; she is larger, stronger, and older.

She is not a fragile "glass cannon," but a sturdy and massive void fortress.

If they could be so easily shaken in a single surprise attack, then the Chaos traitors and aliens only need to frantically build torpedo bombers to inflict irreparable and devastating losses on the mighty Imperial Navy.

Even with a powerful torpedo, it would take considerable effort to completely destroy such a large warship.

After all, the ship's structure and its total mass of tens of millions of tons are what they are, and no one can completely break free from the constraints of physical rules in the cold physical universe.

Its cannons immediately retaliated, unleashing a salvo of more than 30 rounds at the Swift Skyhawk.

This volley of fire caused Horatio's vehicle, protected by the Void Shield, to tremble violently.

The sheer number of shells left onlookers speechless. As a large cruiser that had been retired for a long time, the officers of the Imperial Navy rarely saw an existing Avenger-class, let alone being hit in the face by a salvo from her.

The ripples from the explosion caused the Void Shield to emit an ominous blue-purple light. The hoarse, whistling sound seemed poised to transform into a warning siren at any moment—the sound of the Void Shield dissipating due to overload.

"One salvo, and our Void Shield is overloaded by 45%! The light macro cannons are reloading quickly, and they'll be firing the next salvo in a few minutes. Our Void Shield won't last long!" The power department officer reported loudly, looking at the surging data.

"Go around its side! Order the torpedo bay to speed up the loading of torpedoes! For the next wave, we'll get close enough to a safe distance before launching!"

"But Captain... in that case, we'll be completely exposed to enemy broadside fire..."

"The Void Shield overload will buy us time. Then, it's a test of courage and perseverance on both sides. Although they have more than three times the number of macro cannons on each side, I believe the 'Swift Eagle' can accomplish this mission. My father, Thomas Cochrane, has already proven the possibility of achieving great things with limited resources through his glorious achievements. My father could do it, and I believe I can too!"

"Heavy-loaded torpedoes! Immediately plan a new attack route! We don't have much time. Even if we can't completely destroy her, we must make her return to port for decades of major repairs!"

"As you command, Captain!"
-
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the cruiser HMS Hermione of the Fortress-Toulon fleet, under the command of one of their captains known for his daring and recklessness, launched all six torpedoes at a distance of less than 200 kilometers from the enemy's Dictator-class cruiser.

Three out of six.

One of them struck the No. 4 engine cluster on the far right of the "Supreme Power" with pinpoint accuracy. The massive explosion shut down the engine, and a long plume of plasma flame erupted from the damaged area.

The other two shots hit the No. 7 and No. 8 aircraft landing pads on its starboard side, and the No. 4 gun of the Hong gun group, respectively.

The two landing pads and the gun deck of the massive cannon were instantly engulfed in flames, and cries of agony filled the air.

The No. 4 cannon was even hit by a torpedo that penetrated directly through the muzzle and detonated inside the barrel.

The moment the barrel exploded was like a person being hit by a shotgun at close range for the entire ship.

The breech cover, weighing tens of tons, was violently pushed inward by the terrifying shockwave of the explosion. Almost instantly, it crushed all the personnel and complex automatic loading structure below the turret, until it finally came to a stop after hitting the rail station inside the ship.

Along the way, there was nothing but a scorching, unrecognizable mess.

But this nightmare is far from over.

Inside the HMS Hermione, blinding red warning lights flashed, and the piercing alarm of "Beat it!" echoed. The adamantite ram at the bow gleamed with the blue light of a disintegrating force field. She charged forward like a mad dog, unleashing a volley of torpedoes before ramming headlong into the side of the Dictator-class ship—its sister ship converted into a combat carrier!

Thump! Buzz! ——

A deep, muffled thud, so loud it seemed to stop a heartbeat, echoed silently through the void.

All eyes on the battlefield were drawn to the violent impact of this cruiser-sized vessel.

The cruiser "Supreme Power" was severely damaged by the sudden and violent collision.

Her bow was violently swung to the left by the immense force, and the huge ram, which was originally intended to ram enemy ships, swept across the void like the scythe of death.

That's right, this cruiser, equipped with a take-off and landing pad specifically for carrying carrier-based aircraft, should theoretically be playing a long-range combat role, but its bow is actually a huge ram!

A Cobra-class destroyer attempting a torpedo attack was unfortunately struck by the sweeping ram.

The ram, carrying a disintegrating force field, swept across the top of its bow like a hot knife through butter, flattening all the towering Gothic structures before finally reaching the bridge.

boom!
The destroyer's bridge, struck by the ram, was like a castle of building blocks kicked away by a mischievous child, instantly turning into a small fireball and countless cold, void fragments.
-
The light cruiser "Rising Feather" on the hangar deck.

This place is unusually busy.

The 588 and 587 bomber squadrons, which had been waiting in the hangar for a long time, were about to engage in their first air combat since their formation.

If the mission Horatio had assigned them was not fundamentally different from their mission on their home planet Valhalla—both involved dropping bombs on enemies on the ground within the planet's atmosphere—then the mission was essentially the same.

This time, they will truly be part of the Imperial Naval Air Force, launching a deadly assault against those void behemoths whose anti-aircraft firepower is dozens of times stronger than that of ground enemies.

The "Night Witches" quickly formed teams, with each crew consisting of ten members.

This included two pilots, a navigator, and a bombardier—these four were officers in a ten-man squad, mostly lieutenants and second lieutenants.

The remaining four were marksmen responsible for operating the self-defense weapons, and also served as support personnel.

The last person was a mechanic sent by the Mechanical Repair Society. He was the only member of the crew who did not belong to the Naval Air Force. He was usually responsible for ensuring the normal operation of the bomber's complex electronic equipment during flight and for calming the unpredictable machine spirit.

Another person is a Star Speaker, responsible for ensuring uninterrupted communication with the mothership during long-distance missions.

The commander of the 588th Air Group, Wing Commander Natalia Reza Mecklin, was the captain and chief pilot of aircraft "Povna-2".

At this moment, the "Povna-2" was slowly pushed into the electromagnetic catapult's track by the huge modified machine.

Captain Leisa wore thick white fleece gloves, a specialty of Valhalla, and her hands skillfully manipulated the hundreds of complex takeoff control buttons on the instrument panel in front of her.

"Lessa, are you nervous? Look, the anti-aircraft firepower of these warships is much more ferocious than what we had on the ground before." Her co-pilot sat next to her, and through the thick bulletproof glass, she could clearly see the distant view outside the ship, a dazzling yet deadly net of fire composed of close-in weapon lasers scattering across the sky and fighter jets chasing each other.

“Just treat it as training. A live-fire exercise.” Leisa pushed the throttle valve to its maximum, her voice calm and even.

"Look there! Whoa!" the bombardier suddenly shouted, pointing to a huge explosion that had suddenly erupted in the distance.

With an absurd probability, the torpedoes on the Cobra-class destroyer that was swept away by the powered ram were accidentally detonated due to a malfunction in the electrical circuits.

Two hot melt torpedoes burst from the launch silo and struck the Dominator-class cruiser squarely, which was focused on avoiding the impact of the "Tricolor Crown" and was completely unaware of friendly fire.

The cruiser's previously intact port side burst into flames immediately after being hit by two torpedoes.

Thus, Hermione's single attack caused such an incredible chain reaction.

The Severus fleet, which originally held the advantage of the "T" formation, and the Imperial Navy's mixed fleet, which charged fearlessly, had now completely turned into a chaotic melee, like mad dogs biting each other.

There were no longer any formations on the battlefield, let alone any tactical advantages that formations could bring.

Now it's a pure contest of the quality of warships, crew, and officers.

However, the situation may not necessarily be tilting in Horatio's favor.

Although the two friendly capital ships had temporarily gained the upper hand in the battle against the enemy, Horatio's situation was not optimistic. The light cruiser was two classes smaller than the large cruiser, and this was not a gap that could be easily bridged by tactics alone.

(Imperial Navy mixed fleet formation)
(Severus's main fleet formation)

(End of this chapter)