Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 647 06.646: "Delayed Death"

The Epic rushed headfirst into the molten hole that was blown open on the gate, completely ignoring the dangerous nuclear radiation and the barely-there size of the opening, because she had no time to wait for the radioactive dust to dissipate, nor did she have time to slowly carve out a smooth gap.

The surrounding flames, with dripping red metal, licked the hull of the battleship fiercely, and the billowing smoke surged wildly against the dark void background.

"Bang!" A dull loud noise was heard, like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart, and the entire warship began to tremble because of the collision.

Immediately afterwards, the sharp and piercing sound of metal tearing reached everyone's ears.

"What happened?!" Horatio and the other officers knew that a collision between the Epic and falling debris was very likely, but the situation before them seemed serious.

"Captain! A piece of fallen debris smashed through our ship's spine and landed on the internal circulation pipe, destroying the circulation pipeline of the B-7 section!" A warrant officer reported anxiously, his face full of worry and tension, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Oh no." Upon hearing this, Captain Horatio's throat rolled unconsciously, he swallowed hard, and his pupils trembled violently.

The reason why he was so panicked was that the Epic was not a main battleship and only had an internal circulation ecological cabin.

If this problem is not dealt with in time, when they pass through the nuclear radiation area, the radioactive dust will penetrate to a greater or lesser extent through the damage to the hull, and then be inhaled by everyone because of the stopped air circulation.

Even if it cannot kill everyone immediately, the torture caused by the radiation will be enough to cause many people to die painfully in the days to come!
Horatio quickly managed his expression, turned around and shouted an order to the engineering department: "Captain Leidos! Quickly notify the damage control team to urgently repair and replace the damaged parts! Ask the technical priests to dispatch heavy engineering servitors to assist them! The sooner the better! Also, issue respirators to everyone!"

"Yes, Captain!" Captain Leidos responded quickly, his voice firm and powerful.

In the emergency passage.

"Hurry! The captain has ordered! Emergency repairs!" The damage control team members' urgent shouts echoed in the passage.

The team members' breathing was rapid and heavy. The condensed water vapor blurred the glass of their masks, which looked like ancient divers' helmets. Everyone's face was filled with tension and anxiety.

There was a collapse in front of them, and the surroundings were in a mess.

The miniature Geiger counters worn on the team members' chests made a squeaking sound, which was a death warning, indicating that nuclear radiation had quietly penetrated.

“I am now assigning regional tasks to each damage control team!

The first damage control team and the second damage control team clear the obstacles ahead and reinforce the walls in the semi-collapsed area!

The third damage control team went to the B-7-A section, the fourth damage control team went to the B-7-B section, and the fifth damage control team went to the B-7 core area!
Action begins! "

The commander stood on a high place, waving his arms and giving orders loudly, and the voice coming from the personal loudspeaker array he carried with him was sonorous and powerful.

After hearing the order, the damage control team members hesitated and looked at each other.

There was fear of danger and helplessness in their eyes.

"Don't hesitate! I'm watching you!"

A military supervisor in protective clothing walked over quickly, holding a bolt pistol tightly in his hand, his eyes cold and stern: "Follow me and perform your duties! Anyone who dares to be disrespectful will not be allowed to go back!"

His voice was like ice, echoing in the air and making the team members feel a chill in their hearts.

The armed sailors wearing heavy protective clothing in the rear immediately raised their laser carbines with bayonets and marched forward in neat and firm steps.

Their figures appeared particularly tall in the dim passage, like an indestructible barrier.

"What are you afraid of! No matter you get in or not! Everyone will die sooner or later. There's no escape!" Suddenly, old man Qiao, who always liked to fish in troubled waters, spoke. His voice came through the sound array in front of his chest, with a harsh electromagnetic noise.

Old man Qiao frowned, the wrinkles on his face were like ravines, but there was a determination in his eyes.

Old man Joe was the first to take a step and followed resolutely. As he went deeper and deeper, the squeaking sound of his Geiger counter became louder and louder, like the cry of some bird before dying.

"Old man Qiao is right. When a person dies, the birds fly up to the sky. If a person does not die, he will live forever!"

"Yes! I'm not afraid of him! I'm afraid of death. I'm afraid of death. I'm just a waste of time!"

"Come on!"

Just like that, the damage control team members walked slowly into this deadly area with trepidation and re-invigorated spirit. Seeing this, the Military Supervisor Committee member, as he said, still led everyone and stepped into the radiation zone to supervise the damage control work. He could have stood on the sidelines, but the Military Supervisor Committee member should make the choice that is most beneficial to morale.

They first picked up the water pipe and pointed it inside. The water flow suppressed the nuclear radioactive dust and prevented it from spreading out of the isolation area.

Then, this group of fully armed men walked in cautiously one by one.

"Something's wrong with Old Man Joe today." A team member muttered.

"Before, he would sometimes hide behind those strong men. When others complained about being used as a shield by him, he would always bite his pipe and make excuses - 'Young people are strong and won't die from a hit. I'm an old man and I will be killed immediately if I get hit.' What happened today?" Another team member echoed, with a puzzled look on his face.

At this critical moment, Old Man Joe, contrary to his usual behavior, walked in front of everyone in the damage control team.

He turned around and asked his two sons behind him, "You two go to the back. I asked you to bring the extra gas tanks."

His eyes were full of concern and worry. The two boys, one big and one small, nodded at the same time, their eyes revealing determination.

"Okay. You two go together, and don't separate no matter what."

His wrinkled old eyes were fixed on the fragile structure in front of him, and he said slowly: "If our retreat is cut off, you two can pool your gas tanks and maybe we can still survive."

"Dad, why are you so pessimistic?" Old man Qiao's youngest son asked in confusion, with a hint of childish confusion on his face.

"Ah, you little brat. You've been in the Lower Nest for too little time."

Old man Qiao clasped two fingers together and tapped lightly on his youngest son's helmet, making a clanging sound. "The Abyss Harbor Lower Nest is right next to the poison gas area and has fallen into disrepair over the years. Anything is possible. I've been there for so long, can't I tell what's really dangerous?"

He turned his head and turned on the searchlight on his helmet. The dim light tried to penetrate the orange-yellow dust fog in front of him and find a way forward.

The light flickered in the dust and looked a little dim.

“When the ship was intact, you sometimes couldn’t remember the ship’s division map, let alone the damaged areas. It’s too easy to get lost.

So don't get lost! Here, you two carry the replacement tubes."

Relying on the memories of past journeys, in the collapsed corridor, Old Man Joe, his two sons, and other members of the Fifth Damage Control Team struggled through the thick orange-yellow smoke, advancing step by step amid the disturbing sound of the Geiger counter.

"It's so hot... It feels like we're in a furnace." A team member couldn't help but complain, his voice filled with fatigue and pain.

"We're passing through a hot spot... It's so hot, hiss." Another team member gasped, a painful expression on his face.

"Be careful. The material of our protective clothing can easily soften under high temperatures. If it is pierced and damaged by something, we will be dead." Old Man Qiao warned, observing his surroundings vigilantly.

Old man Joe's youngest son was breathing heavily, his face flushed with heat. He and his brother were carrying a set of pipes, and he felt like he was about to become dehydrated.

Sweat kept dripping from his forehead, blurring his vision.

He watched as the heavy crawler-type robot servant beside him rolled over the ruins and caught up with him. In the muddy yellow scene, the robot servant's half-human face cast a strange shadow under the light, which was a bit creepy.

"Crench!"

"Boom!"

There was a sudden sound of metal bending in the cabin nearby, and an exclamation was immediately heard on the communication channel: "We are the 2nd Damage Control Team, and a collapse occurred while we were clearing obstacles!

Kerry and Valens are buried!
Oh! ! God Emperor, whose hand is that? "The voice was filled with fear and despair.

In this way, amidst poisonous gas, nuclear radiation and dangerous corridors, each damage control team performed their duties and risked their lives to ensure the operation of the entire ship.

It's not that they don't value their lives, but they also understand that their cowardice will cause the deaths of more people including themselves, so they are willing to fight hard for survival.

The Epic was rampaging through the starport like a mad fish.

The surrounding warships and space buildings were smashed to pieces under its impact.

The officers and soldiers on the command bridge were both excited and nervous.

They were excited because they had achieved unprecedented ferocious destruction on their own, which made their eyes light up with excitement; and they were nervous because the nuclear radiation was quietly penetrating into the interior of the ship through the damaged area, and the location was exactly in the middle.

That invisible danger is like a sword of Damocles hanging over one's head.

Although the damage control team urgently closed the fire door, they successfully prevented the further spread of nuclear dust.

But this is equivalent to cutting off the communication between the front and rear of the battleship. If this problem is not dealt with, no one can guarantee that the Epic can return alive even if it successfully escapes - supplies are relatively concentrated in the rear stern and bottom cabins, and the front half of the battleship has a large number of people in the torpedo cabin. Once the aisle and communication are cut off for too long, many people will starve to death on the way back.

The atmosphere on the bridge was suffocatingly tense, and everyone was worried about the fate of the battleship.

The Epic shot out from the gap in the gate created by the torpedo, like an arrow shot from a bow. The gap was too small, only enough for the Epic to pass through the middle, but it blocked the armed merchant ship chasing her from behind. She successfully escaped from the terrible fiery hell behind her and returned to the familiar void again.

"Captain, we have left the starport, where should we go now?!" a crew member asked anxiously.

"Go at full speed and charge towards the nearest Mandeville Point!" The captain gave the order decisively, his eyes firm and resolute.

He glanced at the reports sent by other attack ships and saw a piece of heartbreaking news - the E-47 attack ship had turned into dust in the universe along with several enemy ships that were encircling it. A trace of grief and regret flashed in his eyes.

The other attack ships were also retreating slowly. They could have evacuated immediately, but in order to cover the Epic, everyone bravely chose to delay the evacuation and buy some time for the Epic to completely get out of the predicament.

Otherwise, hundreds of warships of all sizes would rush back to capture the Epic. Their heroic actions, like stars shining in the dark universe, illuminated this cold darkness.

However, their efforts were limited. The explosion and collapse inside the starport attracted a large part of the search fleet to return urgently.

The race against time has entered the final countdown. Every second at this moment seems so precious. Escaping from the starport is far from the end. The entire battleship Epic is shrouded in a tense and tragic atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)