Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 821, 08.820: "Death is the best fate for the Xenomorph"

boom! Boom boom!

It seemed to have escaped unscathed, but unexpectedly...

Almost simultaneously, the six Helios torpedoes launched earlier detonated in mid-air around the enemy ship, engulfing it in the intense heat and flames of the explosion.

This was not a launch error.

A massive shockwave, invisible yet violent, slammed into the oblivious Dark Eldar attack ship.

Its elegant hull was violently rocked by the bomb, like a withered leaf in a storm.

The side flank blade closest to the direction of the explosion broke off amidst the violent shock.

That once deadly work of art now collapses silently, floating in the deathly void, a layer of pale frost quickly condensing at the broken edge due to the instantaneous leakage of air.

This is Horatio's trump card.

For this crucial escort mission, he spent two months in Abyss Harbor undergoing advanced escort tactics training jointly organized by the Exile Order and the Imperial Navy. His instructor was They, a young judge known for her ruthlessness and efficiency, who had accompanied him on the Second Expedition to the Gulf of Damocles.

Based on his experience commanding attack ships and countless bloody battles, Horatio knew that when facing agile enemies like the Dark Eldar, pursuing direct hits was often futile.

The real killer move is to deprive it of its mobility and area-of-effect damage.

Proximity fuses are a seemingly simple yet extremely effective technique.

He commissioned Latti, the technical priest who always managed to surprise him, to replicate several types of proximity fuses already in use by the Empire, and to tinker with a batch of specially made guidance heads for the Swifthawk's torpedo arsenal.

In the end, Lati did not disappoint him once again within the limited time available.

She actually managed to create a radio proximity fuse.

What an ancient and primitive technology! Who could have imagined that in the 41st millennium of human civilization spanning the stars, in this future war filled with spears of light and shields of the void, the decisive factor would be this technology, born in the cradle of humanity and almost forgotten in the dust of history.

Horatio stared at the enemy ship on the screen, torn to pieces by the shockwave. Its former elegance and speed were gone, leaving only a dying struggle.

He felt no joy, only a cold, hunter-like satisfaction.

In the vast and boundless universe of the Divine Emperor, the range and destructive power of naval cannons and torpedoes are the greatest truths.

This is Horatio's secret weapon for this escort mission. In addition to the traditional models, every escort ship in Task Force RX-0371 that can launch torpedoes carries a large number of this type of proximity-funnel torpedoes.

The shrapnel from a torpedo exploded at close range, as ferocious as a dense barrage of shrapnel exploding right in front of a person.

Huge shrapnel slammed into the port and starboard sides and the vulnerable hull of the Dark Eldar raider from three directions: left, right, and the central lower plane.

Fragments of a silver torpedo, engraved with a double-headed eagle, tore through the armor and pierced the deck. Many members of the conspiracy and their disgusting genetically engineered creations were either cut in half or smashed into mincemeat by the fragments.

The eagle emblem on it is covered with the flesh and blood of an alien, making this noble and holy double-headed eagle appear both sacred and bloody.

Many fragments also pierced through the fragile Dark Eldar raider, causing oxygen to leak out rapidly.

Many Dark Eldar pirates who were close to the breach were forcibly sucked out of the void and frozen to death, stiffening into freeze-dried icicles, just like the poor supply ship crew members who were thrown into the void from the broken connecting corridor when they launched their torpedo attack.

He, Horatio Cochrane, will avenge the dead, and he means it.

On the bridge of the attack ship, the surviving members of the Dark Eldar conspiracy were thrown into complete chaos.

When disaster struck, their discipline, built on fear and cruelty, crumbled. Each Eldar had its own unique and selfish way of dealing with the impending doom.

Some pirates rushed to the escape pods, desperately launching themselves out, hoping to slip past the Imperial Navy.

However, those escape pods that had just detached from the mothership were almost immediately hit by the precise close-in weapon system of the Swifthawk.

A dense net of fire wove itself together in the void, tearing those tiny hopes of survival to shreds.

“My specimen collection isn’t lacking in these vicious, wild aliens for the time being,” They’s voice came through the encrypted channel, tinged with a cold humor. “Tear them apart.” She personally requested the order from the bridge officer. No one would take the order to the captain before the inquisitor.

Immediately afterwards, the Skyhawk fighter squadron roared past the stern of the Swift Skyhawk, joining the massacre of the alien escape pods.

With no hope of escape, the surviving members of the conspiracy group on the bridge began to fight amongst themselves.

Those loyal to the ship's owner and those with ulterior motives fought with pure violence for what they believed to be the right way to survive.

"Go back! Obey my orders! This is my assault ship! I am the captain!"

Amidst the desperate roar of the Dark Eldar ship captain, the firing of a poison crystal rifle heralded the start of the bloody melee. The bridge, once the command center, was instantly transformed into a miniature slaughterhouse.

"The enemy ship is completely paralyzed! Now!" Horatio's tone was like an emperor issuing a final verdict. "Hard to port! Clear the firing windows on the starboard side! All macro gun crews, lock onto the center of the enemy ship! One salvo, and reduce it to dust!"

"Yes, Captain! Full port!" The helmsman's response was swift and firm, his hands moving across the control panel as he executed complex turning commands.

"The starboard firing window has been cleared!"

The swift-moving hull of the Skyhawk, stretching for several kilometers, resembled an elegant yet deadly whale, slowly turning its body in the void.

This maneuver exposed its relatively vulnerable flanks to unknown threats, but at the same time it aimed its menacing starboard gun array directly at its dying prey.

From this angle, the enemy ship's twisted hull cast a long shadow in the void, making it a perfect target for the Hongpao, which was designed specifically to tear apart 10,000-ton heavy armor.

"Starboard gun crew No. 1, target locked!"

"Starboard gun crew No. 2, target locked!"

……

"Starboard gun crew No. 6, target locked!"

A series of confirmation reports rang out in the tactical channel, like the tolling of a death knell.

"Fire!" Horatio's command was swift and decisive.

The main guns of the Swift Eagle finally began to roar.

The massive gun array on the starboard side spewed destructive flames, and the deep, heavy cannon fire reverberated from beneath the bridge, echoing in the chests of everyone present. Even in a vacuum, the intense vibrations stemming from pure power were enough to inspire awe.

The house-sized shells, trailing scorching heat, hurtled towards the already helpless Dark Eldar raiding ship at near-light speed.

"The monkey's cannonballs are coming! Jump now! Hurry!" A member of the conspiracy, covered in the former captain's black blood, didn't even have time to wipe the blood off his face before pointing a scimitar at the ever-growing dots on the main screen and letting out a desperate scream.

The next second, a row of cannon shells exploded precisely along the spine of the alien ship.

This deadly salvo left the black iron ship floating motionless in the void, as if time had frozen for a moment. Then, with a silent roar, its main engine erupted into a black and red fireball, engulfing the ship's wreckage and all the evil souls within.

(End of this chapter)