Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 1011 08.1010: 'Pillar Maneuver'

Adjust the speed to one-third of the overspeed setting... hard right rudder...

In Horatio's mind, the situation of his biological father, Navy Captain Thomas Cochrane, perfectly overlapped with the current battle situation.

But if there's any difference, it's that Thomas Cochran destroyed the large cruiser's engine to escape.

He was aiming to behead the Void Whale.

On the bridge of the "Duke's Pride," the rebel captain frowned as he looked at the target on the holographic projection that had suddenly made a bizarre maneuver.

The light cruiser, as nimble as a slippery snake, was speeding away at an incredible angle towards its own course.

If they don't fire now, they will completely miss this hard-won shooting window.

Bang bang bang!
An uneven scattering.

The Duke's Pride opened fire hastily.

Because the order was given so suddenly, some macro guns were not even fully loaded.

This salvo turned into a sparse and chaotic barrage.

Less than 30% of the shells barely grazed the Void Shield of the Swift Eagle.

Cruiser-class ships are equipped with two Void Shield generators that can operate alternately.

The energy overload caused by this sparse hit of the light macro cannons was not even as fast as the depressurization of the Void Shield Generator's own pipelines.

The Swift Skyhawk swayed like a water snake, gracefully circling the massive and clumsy stern of the Duke's Pride in a smooth, elegant S-curve.

This heavy and slow large cruiser simply lacked the maneuverability to be compared to such a nimble, escort-like light cruiser.

"Straighten the helm! Center the ship on the enemy ship and perform a coaxial tail-following maneuver! Navigation officer, immediately assist the helmsman in determining the specific yaw angle! I require the 'Swift Skyhawk' to remain at the six o'clock position of the enemy's large cruiser at all times!"

"Understood, Captain!"

The captain of the navigation department would never forget that brilliant battle. Every officer who participated in the battle was proud of that military miracle and impressed by Thomas Cochrane's strategy.

Therefore, after his reflexive response, he had a vague sense of familiarity, as if... more than ten years ago, he had heard a similar, no, exactly the same command!

Among the officers of the HMS Swift Eagle were many who had served as junior officers on the ship and were under the command of their father, Thomas Cochrane.

Many of them have now become captains in command. And the more they hear these instructions, the more familiar they seem.

They're back, they're all back... The man's shadow, his son, has returned...

Some captains looked at the man on the command throne with surprise and anticipation, wondering if it was an illusion or reality, but he and his father made almost the exact same decision.

HMS Duke's Pride, enraged and stubborn, used a high-energy turn, attempting to force HMS Swift Eagle to a stop at a near 90-degree angle, while simultaneously placing her within the salvo range of its dozens of large cannons on its broadside.

But the nimble woman would never give this bulky behemoth such an opportunity.

When her opponent makes a high-energy turn, she goes full speed ahead.

Because of their larger tonnage, large cruisers consume far more energy reserves for each high-energy turn.

In terms of energy shield strength, the Swifthawk is far less reliable and durable than that of a large cruiser.

However, given her superior maneuverability and lighter weight, she definitely has a longer range of power than the "Duke's Pride".

In the surrounding chaotic battlefield, two Severan Separatist cruisers were already embroiled in a brutal duel, bombardment, and boarding maneuver with Imperial Navy cruisers.

The Hermione and the Tricolor Crown launched a fearless boarding operation against the Supreme Power and the Absolute Domination, respectively.

The valiant armed sailors and boarding crew of the Calicus-Fortress-Toulon fleet, shouting slogans such as "Long live the Emperor!" and "Kill all the traitors!", stormed the Separatist warships via shark assault boats and boarding claws (a type of corridor with armor-piercing cones in the Calicus sector used for large-scale boarding at close range), wreaking havoc inside the enemy ships and hacking and slashing at any traitors who could run or move.

This frenzied killing and destruction paralyzed some of the enemy ships' vital parts and forced the two enemy ships into a state of full mobilization and "call to arms"—meaning that they no longer had time to use any other naval tactics, such as launching carrier-based aircraft, firing torpedoes, using Nova cannons, or launching a reverse boarding operation.

This successfully diverted two of Horatio's most feared combat forces from the Swifthawk.

The other enemy warships, the two Dreadnought MK.I-class warships, received no further orders from the flagship after the Imperial Navy's capital ships approached, and thus continued to fire their light macro gun shells aimlessly according to previous commands.

A large number of shells were fired into the airspace where the two ships were engaged, but the size of the "Swift Skyhawk" appeared unusually slender and long in front of the large cruiser, and it was also very fast and had a very high evasion rate.

The vast majority of the shells hit the flagship 'Duke's Pride's' thick void shield in vain, wasting their energy.

The weak firepower of those Sword-class escort ships could only play a negligible role in this cruiser-level engagement.

Their firepower was negligible against cruisers.

They didn't even notice the Imperial Navy assault ship and the "Akkari Sword," lurking beyond the detection range of conventional reconnaissance oracles, waiting for their next attack opportunity. But the Cobra-Widowmaker-class destroyer "Starfire," equipped with more advanced detectors, could easily detect the insidious ambushers hidden within the cloud of gas.

A Severus Cobra-class destroyer, hidden in the clouds, had seized an excellent angle of attack, but it dared not launch torpedoes that could potentially collide with the flagship at such close range, when the two capital ships were locked in a close-quarters battle.

Just as she hesitated, she was attacked by the Imperial Navy's bomber squadron.

The Starfire sent the coordinates of the Cobra-class destroyers, whose locations had been determined, to the Rising Feather light aircraft carrier in real time.

The Ministry of Aviation immediately locked onto the target, and the pilots of the "Starhawk" squadron, who were already on standby in the air, simultaneously received the order to launch an air strike.

They plunged into the thick cloud of gas, concealing their presence, and quietly approached the Cobra-class destroyer, which was also hidden within the cloud of gas, from behind.

The cloud layer provides natural protection to all aircraft that enter it.

The Starhawk bomber is considered a behemoth among carrier-based aircraft, but it is still quite small compared to the 1.5-kilometer-long Cobra-class destroyer.

By the time the avian radar of the attacker, which was focused on the two capital ships, finally detected the "Starhawks" approaching from within the cloud of gas, the Valhalla "Night Witches" of the 588th Bomber Wing had already entered bombing stance.

"Natasha, the plane is yours now," Leisa said to the bombardier in the bomb bay below through the built-in sound array in her flight helmet.

"Received. Bomb bay opened."

Through the optical locking sight, bombardier Natasha clearly saw the barrage of close-in weapon lasers coming from below, resembling a red spiderweb.

Although the incoming close-in weaponry was nerve-wracking, the vast majority of the bombardiers were not affected in any way.

They are flight school graduates who have undergone the most rigorous training, not members of a militia hastily assembled.

Bang!
A laser beam struck the left wing of the aircraft precisely, leaving a red-hot hole.

The plane jolted violently, but its heavy armor and reassuringly large size did not affect its continued flight in the slightest.

In the void, there is no need for lift; the hole is simply a hole that is quickly cooled by the cold of the void.

“Minor damage, nothing to worry about,” Captain Leisa told the crew.

The mechanics from the mechanical repair guild added a new incense to the incense burner in the cockpit, one that was meant to soothe the machine's spirit.

"Target locked. Drop bomb."

The bombardier yanked the red lever next to him.

One plasma bomb after another was fired from the bomb bay, facing downwards like a rocket launcher, and shot out of the bomber's cabin towards the target that had already been locked on.

A series of enormous flames suddenly erupted from the thick layer of clouds.

The rebel soldiers running in the ship's corridors were violently smashed against the bulkhead by the shockwave.

Immediately afterwards, the fire generated by the plasma and the ship's own flammable materials began to spread, burning them into charcoal ash in the molten iron.

The flames bursting from the breach in the hull outlined the blurry and distorted silhouette of a Cobra-class destroyer in the void.

"Bomb hit, enemy ship on fire, severely damaged." Bombardier Natasha observed the target and reported with the clarity and composure of Valhalla's snow.

The bombers following behind, in turn, entered the attack route, following the lead aircraft.

Bomb after bomb rained down on the hull of the Cobra-class destroyer.

The warship had already lost its balance in the series of explosions and began to roll uncontrollably in the void.

"The bomb hit and destroyed the enemy ship's propulsion system."

"The bomb hit, and the enemy ship's bridge was severely damaged."

"The bomb hit, we destroyed the torpedo silo, and it can no longer launch torpedoes."

The Cobra-class destroyer, engulfed in flames, tumbled through the air.

The moment its relatively vulnerable hull rolled to the top.

Bang!
An incredibly fierce and violent explosion directly dispersed the thick cloud of gas that had gathered there.

"The enemy ship has been destroyed. We are returning to port."

Ground crew, prepare new bombs. And don't forget to have the 'artists' spray-paint our 'Flying Witch' squadron logo on the bombs.

"Received. Ammunition in transit. Good luck, girls. Over."

(End of this chapter)