Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 621 06.0620: "Human Titanium War"

In the somewhat quiet bridge of the Tau "Guardian"-class aerospace carrier, a hunchbacked old Ether looked into the distant void.

(Guardian-class aerospace carrier)

(Explorer-class armed colony ship)
His four fingers were like iron clamps, tightly grasping the Holy Cross Staff in his hand, which symbolized supreme authority.

His eyes were fixed firmly on the Imperial fleet that was arranged in a horizontal diagonal line in front of him and was approaching his own fleet with great momentum.

At this moment, his fingers turned slightly white at the joints due to the force he exerted, and his nails almost sunk into his palms, highlighting his inner tension and anxiety.

"The enemy's fleet arrived faster than I expected. It's all because Basor was occupied by the enemy. The dry dock and ground facilities there are too well preserved. We sailed a long way from our home world, but in terms of strategic layout, we are one step slower than the Empire!"

As Ether spoke, he slammed the Holy Cross Staff in his hand heavily on the ground, making a dull sound. "Hasn't the commander of the embargo sent a letter yet?"

"No, we have lost contact with the entire commerce-breaking squadron... Previously, they reported that they would use an Imperial rebel ship to lure the Imperial Wolf King into the trap and then encircle and annihilate him. But after the last communication, we have not been able to contact them for several days." The Tu Clan liaison officer looked solemn and reported with a slight bow.

Ether sighed slowly and shook his head helplessly, as if to throw away all the worries in his heart: "Don't worry about it for now, send more carrier-based aircraft to destroy as many turrets of the enemy warships as possible before the fleet officially exchanges fire."

Just as he finished speaking, another group of Manta and Barracuda formations consisting of several squadrons roared away from the take-off decks of the two battleships.

They rushed towards the Imperial Fleet like a group of arrows shot from a bow. In front of the main fleet, the vanguard fleets of both sides were like two ferocious beasts, fiercely biting each other.

The ships participating in the vanguard battle are all highly maneuverable warships.

More than a dozen light cruisers of the Imperial Navy took the lead, leading five or six detachments consisting of 6-8 escort ships or destroyers, and were suffering from the fierce attack of the Tau Empire warships.

They were the first units to engage in close combat in this war.

After the fierce battle, the Imperial Navy paid a heavy price with the destruction of 4 light cruisers and 6 destroyers/escort ships, but also successfully destroyed a "Guardian" class cruiser, 3 "Envoy" class light cruisers, and 8 coordinated frigates.

As more and more support forces arrived, the fighting between the two sides' main fleets became more brutal, and the bloody smell seemed to spread in this vacuum of the universe.

The Tau warships used their unique gravity grappling hook technology to increase the number of ships in the fleet using their limited deployment size. While the light cruisers launched a fierce attack, the smaller ships did not show any weakness, and in coordination with the larger ships, they fired heavy seeker missiles and railguns one after another.

A Dreadnought-class light cruiser rushed too far forward and was instantly surrounded by three Envoy-class light cruisers.

In an instant, multiple missiles hit it like raindrops, and dazzling light and fire suddenly broke out on the hull, and the light was like a flare erupting on the surface of the sun.

But just as its name implies, it is extremely tenacious and is still fighting a desperate battle with the attackers around it.

Even though the bow of the ship and the heavy light spears hanging below had been melted into a pool of red-hot molten iron by the high temperature, and a large gun deck had been completely destroyed, it still relied on the remaining artillery to fiercely bite the enemies surrounding it.

The light macro cannons on both sides roared and fired at the same time, and that anger was like a sledgehammer constantly hitting the Tau warship, pouring out all the resentment.

At the same time, it also operated its own close-in defense guns, madly firing at the Tau fleet flying overhead. The sparks from the muzzles flickered and jumped around the scarred battleship.

"Warning, the bow is completely destroyed! The port gun deck is damaged... the main structure of the hull continues to be penetrated by the railgun." The Chief Tech Priest's prosthetic limbs kept dancing as if they were vocal organs as he reported to the captain.

On the screen in front of him, the alarm signal kept flashing. The red warning, accompanied by sparks falling from the ceiling due to tremors, made the atmosphere in the bridge even more tense.

The drifting sparks fell on his sacred vestments, instantly burning them into mottled holes one after another.

"Decks are collapsing, sir." The first mate announced in a voice without a trace of fluctuation and utter despair that the ship was in a state of severe damage and emergency repairs were no longer possible.

"Hold on, 'Dallas Scar'! Your demise is not today." At this critical moment, two Diligence-class light cruisers of the Imperial Navy suddenly appeared in front of the damaged Dreadnaught-class light cruiser like gods descending from the sky.

Although the light cruisers of the Imperial Navy and Space Marines cannot lead small warships to maneuver flexibly like the Tau warships, they have their own unique secret treasures.

Relying on customized micro-subspace jump technology, some warships equipped with this device can teleport to a position within the detection range of friendly ships in any direction, like a ghost, within one and a half minutes. Its actual combat usage naturally also includes providing solid cover for friendly forces.

The two escorting light cruisers started to move at full speed, their engines emitting dazzling fire, which illuminated the wreckage floating in the void. The fragments of Tau warships and the wreckage of the Imperial Navy were mixed together in a mess. Even though they were destroyed, they were still colliding with each other, as if pushed together by the screaming invisible ghosts in the void, squeezing the last remnants of each other's souls.

Swish—as the silent sailing posture command was issued, the damaged Dreadnought-class light cruiser disappeared from the enemy's sight and began to slowly turn and retreat to the rear.

The light cruisers that rushed over quickly filled its battle position and continued to engage in fierce battles with the enemy.

"Fire from front to back!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! …

The massive plasma macrocannon fired balls of extremely deadly plasma straight at the Tau warship which was slowly beginning to maneuver.

However, since the long-range artillery was too far away, its accuracy was only around 30%. Although the plasma balls splashed ripples on the shields of the Tau battleships, the bombardment was not dense enough to overload the shields of these aliens.

On the magnificent command bridge of the Retribution-class battleship Cardinal Bolas, which had just finished firing, Vice Admiral Samuel Hood stood upright with a serious expression on his face.

On the dome above his head was a tall sculpture of an angel of death. The sculpture looked like a living thing, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, looking very menacing.

(Cardinal Bolas [Retribution-class battleship])
Behind it followed a dozen or so fully-formed battle barges, battlecruisers, strike cruisers and naval cruisers. They were neatly arrayed, eager to fight, and followed the leader's salvo to open fire, firing a series of salvos, totaling hundreds of various types of shells from energy to live ammunition flying towards the Tau fleet.

The biggest advantage of salvo fire is that the fire is dense. As long as the enemy is within the range of the cannon, hundreds of giant shells can always destroy something.

As expected, flames of explosions broke out in the Tau Screen Fleet.

While the crew on the ship cheered, Samuel Hood was not happy. To him, as long as the ship that exploded was not the enemy's main battleship, these results would be meaningless.

The Tau quickly launched a counterattack.

Precisely because it posed the greatest threat, the flagship Cardinal Bolas, which served as the lead ship, was subjected to unprecedentedly fierce harassment from enemy carrier-based aircraft.

Hundreds of fighter planes surrounded the Cardinal Bolas, and a thrilling battle of attack and counterattack broke out between them.

Samuel Hood pursed his lips, his expression as serious as a frozen lake, his eyes fixed on the flames exploding outside the glazed porthole a hundred meters high.

Each spark represented an enemy or friendly aircraft being destroyed, and the flickering flames illuminated his stern face.

"Sir Hood, I have received an order that you will be promoted to admiral by the Admiralty of the Hazy Star Region and will have full authority to command this decisive battle."

The lord captain held the sword at his waist and hurried up the marble curved staircase three steps at a time, and came to the fleet command throne. "I am here to report to you on the captain's orders. Three turrets of our ship have been destroyed. The captain has ordered the technical sage to repair them urgently. Should we order the warships in the rear to come to the front of our ship to provide air defense cover for our ship?"

"Not close enough! Ignore the weak harassment from the enemy. I want the Cardinal Bolas to get close enough, close enough for me to see the enemy naval commander's eyes! Then, fire a round of artillery fire that will make the aliens despair and kill them!"

The new Admiral Samuel Hood did not show any joy about his promotion on the battlefield. On the contrary, his voice was as cold as an ice cellar as he gave a decisive order.

"Yes! According to our current speed, we still have 30 minutes to reach the medium-range range of our main guns! The enemy fleet is maneuvering, they are trying to maintain a long-range range with our ships and take advantage of their weapons."

"Have the flag officer send out a signal flag, ordering the rear guard fleet led by Rear Admiral Edward Peru to intercept the enemy's maneuvers with a pincer attack from the starboard side of our ship and stop them!"

"Yes!" The Lord Captain took the admiral's order, turned around and rushed down the stairs, quickly going to the captain to report.

Admiral Samuel Hood's blue eyes were always like a sharp dagger, staring at the hateful mothership that began to turn left and flee towards the starboard side of the Cardinal Porras.

His eyes were full of disgust and anger. What he hated most were those enemies who only kept distance instead of fighting bravely.

The speed of the Tau warships is obviously higher than that of the thicker and stronger Imperial warships. Keeping distance is also beneficial to the railguns and carrier-based aircraft. He certainly will not let the plans of these blue-blooded aliens succeed.

And these blue-blooded aliens had no idea that this bold and radical new admiral had already quietly buried a "heavy mine" next to them.

(End of this chapter)