Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 622 06.0621: "Noon has arrived"

"Follow closely." Horatio stood on the command bridge. The lights on the surrounding control consoles flashed and the instruments made a slight hum.

His eyes were fixed on the empty sand table. The faint blue light emitted by the sand table reflected on his focused face. He was paying close attention to the battle situation around him.

With the detailed information provided by the bird's-eye view, he controlled the Epic like a stealth hunter, carefully shuttling through the plane below the center of the enemy fleet.

At this moment, the Epic is like an attack nuclear submarine lurking under the surface ship, waiting for an opportunity, silent but hiding a deadly threat.

All actions were taken with extreme caution. Horatio was concentrating so much that a layer of fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, gleaming under the reflection of the bridge lights.

After all, an attacking nuclear submarine would not encounter carrier-based aircraft rushing towards it head-on, and once the Epic was exposed, the two Manta bomber squadrons would be able to instantly turn it into a dazzling plasma ball.

[If we are not careful, everyone will die, including me.] Horatio felt a chill in his heart.

At this moment, the psychic code machine made a "squeak" sound and spit out another note.

It read: "Welcome back, Squadron Leader, your loyal 1st Attack Squadron will be moving closer to your coordinates - Deputy Squadron Leader Major Kretschmer."

In the illusory space of the void sandbox, the outlines of five attack ships emerged out of thin air, and they were in a latent attack posture.

Previously, due to the absence of squadron leader Horatio, deputy squadron leader Major Kretschmer took over the command temporarily.

Now that Horatio had returned, just as the Wolf King had returned to the pack, command had smoothly and successfully passed back into his hands.

Horatio slowly raised his hands, crossed them in front of his mouth, his brows tightly furrowed, and his eyes revealed a thoughtful look.

Based on the positions of the five attack ships, he quickly thought of various attack plans in his mind.

Should we attack the screen ships first to weaken the enemy's outer defenses? Or should we use a diversionary tactic to create chaos? Or should we launch intensive attacks from multiple directions at the same time? But after the attack, how can we retreat safely?

The Epic's raid is likely to end in a one-for-two fight.

He wondered in his heart whether he really wanted to take such a gamble with his life.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the command bridge was busy and noisy. Officers rushed to their respective posts, whispering various instructions and information.

However, Horatio seemed to be in another layer, and the noise around him could not disturb him.

In his mind, the advantages and costs of each strategy flowed like streams. He was like holding a scale, trying to weigh the best approach based on logic, experience, strategy, and a little bit of luck.

In the middle of the conversation, he opened his lips slightly several times, as if he wanted to say something, but finally closed them slowly.

After about ten minutes, he finally spoke.

First Captain Collingwood stood quietly beside him without saying a word, the corners of his meticulously groomed clothes swaying slightly in the cold wind from the ventilation duct, waiting for the captain's orders at any time.

"Collingwood, please remember this. I will make the following deployment adjustments." His voice was steady and powerful. "Attack ship E-99 and attack ship E-103 will lock onto a total of eight escort cruisers from the left and right ends respectively, and launch a torpedo at each target. The purpose is to disrupt the deployment of the screen ships when we attack."

Collingwood quickly picked up his quill and wrote down the captain's orders in his own order book, the tip of the pen sliding quickly across the paper, making a slight rustling sound.

"The other three attack ships, fire two torpedoes at each of the two battleships."

"Captain, what about us?" Collingwood's question was not really a question, but a way to lead to the following text, showing that he was listening carefully.

"We fired torpedoes from the three attack ships and entered the one-minute countdown to hit. After the enemy had already made an evasive turn, we fired guided torpedoes.

After launching the torpedo, immediately turn right and start to evacuate, heading for the nearest asteroid belt. If you are being pursued, use the rear torpedo silo to respond. "

Horatio spoke in an orderly manner. After he finished speaking, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly: "I hope that such coordination can increase our chances of survival."

"What if something goes wrong along the way? Do we have any backup plans?" Collingwood asked.

"If there is a deviation..." Horatio frowned again, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes, "We will analyze the specific situation. Repeat the previous instructions first."

"E-99 and E-103 locked onto a total of eight light cruisers on both sides, firing one torpedo at each target; the other three fired two at the battleships; our ship fired one minute before the friendly ship's torpedo hit the target and withdrew immediately after firing."

"I remember it well. Go ahead."

"Yes! I will carry out your order immediately." Collingwood saluted, turned around and walked away quickly to execute the order. In fact, Horatio also had a plan, but he really couldn't predict what would happen during the execution.

In order to avoid affecting morale, he decided to keep the plan in mind. He turned his head to look at the approaching Cardinal Porras, secretly speculating in his heart, and didn't know how Admiral Samuel Hood planned to use him as a "chess piece".

Suddenly, an extremely dazzling light shone into his eyes, like a giant void beast suddenly opening its eyes in the darkness - it was a ball of blazing plasma fire.

The damaged Dreadnought-class light cruiser was eventually destroyed by the Tau bombers.

It originally tried to withdraw from the line of fire, with the hull tilting and thick smoke billowing from the power system.

But at this moment, a group of Mantas passing overhead dropped a bomb on it - this was a fatal blow, eventually causing the plasma reactor to leak and the engine to explode.

Tens of thousands of crew members, more than fifty officers and a naval colonel were instantly annihilated in the plasma ball, without leaving even the slightest trace of their existence.

The main part of the ship was charred, and various debris flew everywhere. If you are lucky, even if all the crew members were killed in the explosion, the wreckage may be towed back to the port for full repair.

It may take dozens or even hundreds of years to build a warship, and it will have to serve for hundreds or even thousands of years under careful command planning.

And its destruction takes less than an hour, sometimes even just a moment of accident.

Horatio turned his head and rubbed his eyes which were a little sore from the strong light. He put his attention back on the electronic touch pad and began to write down the subsequent plans.

He knew very well that if he didn't want to end up like that, he would have to put in 70% of the effort and 30% of the luck.
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"Major Kretschmer reports that the five attack ships are ready for attack according to your instructions!" The communications officer walked quickly to Horatio and reported.

"Very good." Horatio took out the pocket watch given to him by Thei from the gap in his coat. The pocket watch shone with metallic luster in his hand.

He looked at the time on the surface and said calmly, "Response, last five minutes of attack preparation time."

"Yes!" The communications officer turned around and returned to his post to convey the order.

The Cardinal Bolas began to propel forward with full force. The engine of this billion-ton void monster emitted a deafening roar, and it rushed towards the alien like a sea dragon rushing out from the deep sea.

Horatio could tell at a glance that Admiral Samuel Hood had once again given the order to "Get closer!" A salvo was fired from the majestic cannon, and the battle lines of the main fleets of both sides officially exchanged fire. The Imperial Navy was relying on its strong ships and powerful artillery to continuously shorten the distance between the two sides, coupled with fierce firepower, which caused a certain formation chaos to the Tau Empire's fleet, because every ship wanted to get away from this mighty and terrifying battleship as quickly as possible.

Through the two-hour conversation at the dinner table before the expedition, he knew very well that this was a commander so bold and radical that there had been no one before him and there would most likely be no one after him.

He is always thinking about how to launch an attack, and all his plans are centered around how to assist himself in a quick attack. His naval warfare principle is very simple and crude: as long as my attack is fierce enough, I can completely defeat the enemy before they are ready to respond.

as well as……

"Any problem can be solved with a close range bombardment!"

These are the exact words spoken by the newly promoted admiral at the dinner table.

Asked "It's still not close enough!"

This kind of combat thinking also deeply influenced the newly appointed captain of the attack squadron, Horatio, and many of his ambush tactics also adopted such bold and radical face-to-face lightning tactics.

Of course, you can't get too close. The torpedo will be released only after it has flown 3000 void units after launch, otherwise it will just be a kinetic iron rod.

E-99 attack ship.

Major Kretschmer stared at the ship's bell. As the sailor rang the bell, there were only 30 seconds left in the final five minutes of engagement preparation stipulated by the squadron leader.

"The torpedo route has been calculated. The relative static hit rate is about 95%, and the dynamic hit rate is about 87%!" The torpedo officer walked quickly to him and reported loudly.

"Open the torpedo slot cover." Major Kretschmer looked solemn, holding his breath, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes fixed on the pointer, watching it slowly pass the last half arc and reach the target scale.

Last 15 seconds.

He swallowed, a hint of worry in his eyes, and looked in the approximate direction of the commander he admired.

"May the Emperor bless him." He murmured softly.

Then, he took a deep breath, waved his hand forward, and shouted loudly: "Time is up! Execute Operation Plan No. 1! Torpedoes! All bombs fired!"

(End of this chapter)