Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 469 06.0468: "Leakage Crisis"

"Captain, Father Latti reports that the enemy ship's engine overload has been set and it will detonate in 30 minutes. The boarding troops have all been recovered, and the supplies you requested to be transferred have also been moved." First Mate Collingwood reported.

"Got it, Archie, now let's get out of here."

At this time, the Epic was packed to the brim, and even the corridor had only a small gap in the center that was safe for people to pass through.

Other places were filled with captured medical supplies and some freeze-dried foods.

Although not many alien firearms were seized, and their styles and quantities varied, there were mainly three types: pulse rifles, pulse carbines, and pulse incendiary guns.

But the total number is enough for each member of the elite boarding team on the Epic.

"Captain, receiving the encrypted code, the remaining five attack ships in the squadron have each sunk a Merchant-class cargo ship." Intelligence officer Lina pushed the monocle on her eye socket and reported.

"They have done a good job. This brings the total registered tonnage sunk by our squadron to 154 million tons, of which 44 million tons are ours."

"I think the Star Domain Admiralty will see the value of wolf pack tactics." This good news made Louise very excited.

"I think they will, too. Navigation! Set next target, head toward possible enemy target number 7005."

He skipped targets 7003 and 7004 because based on their signature and behavior he believed they were Tau patrolling light cruisers.

During this period of sailing, there were occasional frightening "oolongs" - the monitoring officer mistook the enemy light cruiser for a cargo ship without any other clues except the amplitude.

Horatio had learned a lot of lessons and shared them with his officers.

For example, if you find a signal suspected of a cargo ship, don't rush to attack, but first keep a distance and follow it for a while. During the following process, the light cruiser of the Tau Empire will drop the destroyer or frigate carried by the gravity grappling hook at regular intervals to expand the patrol radius.

So if the signal source suddenly "splits" from a single one into multiple ones, then it should be an armed ship, not a cargo ship. But this judgment is not absolute.

Horatio knew that the Merchant-class could also carry a gravity grappling hook and take on two frigates or destroyers to become an armed ship.

In the foreseeable future, the Tau Empire will certainly adopt tactics similar to those of the Imperial Q-ships, disguising themselves as cargo ships, luring Imperial attack ships to approach, and then releasing two frigates or destroyers to launch counterattacks.

But by that time, it would be his duty as the squadron leader to summarize the experience of the battle of wits between the two sides and ensure that his side always had the advantage.

For example, when faced with the above-mentioned sinister strategy of "tricking them in to kill", you can use the Fury interceptor to conduct forward reconnaissance first. After confirming the situation of the enemy ship, the captain of the attacking ship can decide whether to attack.

As the looted Merchant-class freighter burst into a huge flame explosion in the dark void, the silent Epic moved away from the tragic victim and headed for the next target who was unaware of the approaching danger.
-
The First Hunter Squadron infiltrated behind enemy lines and carried out a cautious yet bold operation, making full use of the ship's Fury interceptors for reconnaissance and confirmation, and then launched an attack on the cargo ship instead of the enemy cruiser.

Even the intelligence command was unable to know their exact location. The slender knife-shaped ships were like a group of ghosts, appearing and disappearing out of nowhere. Every time they appeared, they brought death, and every time they disappeared, they left behind a piece of floating debris and corpses.

After Horatio shared his tactical experience through encrypted telegrams, other ships immediately analyzed and studied the combat examples and experiences and applied them to their own ships.

As the first hunting month passed.

Due to the secrecy of the First Hunting Squadron's operations, even though the Tau Empire lost more than a dozen cargo ships on the border, it still has not found out the true identity of the attackers. Some cargo ships were even attacked so suddenly that they didn't even have time to send out distress signals.

However, for a vast universe of an entire star sector, a report that more than a dozen cargo ships were missing at the border was not worthy of the attention of the real leadership of the Tau Empire.

This was also the result Horatio wanted, so he specifically targeted lone cargo ships.

This not only prevented any fish from escaping, but also made it easier to destroy the bodies and search for useful supplies without attracting too much attention. Another half month passed.

The Epic had captured a total of six cargo ships at this time, sinking an average of one every five days, and all of them were caused by the abandonment of ships after being severely damaged by torpedoes.

As the battle results were continuously sent to the Imperial Navy Operations Command via encrypted telegrams, everyone had to admit that the value of the Sea Wolf School was still rising.

The deeds of the First Attack Squadron also attracted more commanders of attack ship squadrons, and their stances changed from fleet faction to wolf pack faction.

And more star zone fleets are piloting the deployment of E-type attack ships.

Following the fleet, it is difficult for attack ships to gain victory, the frequency of encountering enemies is not high, and the victory results are easily intercepted by their colleagues in the escort ship and destroyer divisions.

This caused the already small amount of credit to be divided up and embezzled by more competitors, and as for the scraps that were left, no one was willing to be a fleet member unless they wanted to be a naval captain for life.

Finally, driven by profit and glory, several newly formed squadrons, totaling thirty or forty attack ships, followed the example of the First Attack Squadron and marched to the front line resolutely, hoping to join this feast of "sneaking into the kitchen to pick up French fries."

However, with the increasing frequency of attack ships' activities, the different engagement strategies of different squadrons, and the occurrence of unpredictable accidents, the Imperial Navy's new attack ships were inevitably witnessed, discovered, and even attacked.

The bridge of the Epic.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"Captain." Lina still spoke in a calm tone, looking at Horatio and said, "We have received new information from the Military Intelligence Command."

"Please report."

"The E-2 attack ship of the 3rd Attack Squadron of the 110nd Hunting Group, which belongs to the Baka Vanguard Fleet, had a mechanical failure during the mission, and the engine left a conspicuous trail. After the hunt was over, it was surrounded and hunted by the nearby Tau Empire destroyers.

We have received a distress signal from the E-110 attack ship. The Tau Empire destroyers are encircling and strangling it. Its reactor is damaged and cannot be overloaded and self-destructed.

We must not let the aliens capture our new attack ships, let alone let them get our code books and new cipher machines.

Lieutenant Commander Horatio Cochrane, according to the final position you provided, you and your E-96 attack ship are the closest Imperial warships to the E-110 attack ship. Please rescue the E-110 as quickly and as much as possible. If you are really unable to save the situation, completely destroy the E-110 attack ship and ensure that you are not captured.

Attached to this message are the latest known coordinates of the E-110 attack ship..."

Horatio frowned.

Everyone on the bridge was shocked when they heard the news.

This is not good news, it's terrible.

The E-type attack ship had just performed brilliantly in the battle against the Tau Empire. If it were seized and studied by the enemy at this time, or even the communication code book was taken away, the consequences would be disastrous.

Not to mention that the weaknesses of the E-type attack ship will be discovered once the secrets of the cipher machine and code book are cracked.

So from now on, any E-type attack ship located behind enemy lines will either be mute or can only communicate after the message is deciphered, risking real-time exposure to the enemy.

"Brief response, our ship will complete the mission at all costs."

(End of this chapter)