Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 835, page 08.834: "Want to taste more despair?"

"Target contact countdown, ten seconds!"

A sharp warning from the lookout tower observer rang out through the communication array inside the bridge, the sound somewhat distorted due to compression.

"accelerate."

Captain Horatio's voice was unusually calm, as if he were issuing a perfectly ordinary command.

However, at this critical moment, the order seemed incomprehensible. He sat upright on his towering command throne, motionless, with only the slight tremors of the ship reaching his steely body.

"What? Accelerate?" A reserve officer whispered to the lieutenant beside him, his voice filled with disbelief and terror. "Won't that mean we'll run into the torpedo even faster?"

"Speed ​​up." The lieutenant ignored his question and simply repeated the order in a short and forceful tone.

He quickly operated his console, passing on the commands.

He himself may not have understood the captain's intentions, but as a more senior and experienced officer, he knew that in the ironclad rules of the Imperial Navy, the duty of subordinates was to execute, not to question.

"Command confirmed, being executed."

Behind the command bridge, an elderly warrant officer was in charge of controlling the power transmission.

He sits in a mechanical shrine woven from life support systems and nutrient supply lines, and is said to have served on the Swifthawk for two centuries.

Due to his advanced age, he had long ago requested the technical priest to amputate his legs, which made him unable to move easily, and to permanently fix his torso to his post.

Numerous organs were transplanted to ensure that the mind, which had accumulated centuries of navigational experience, remained clear-headed and efficient in serving the Emperor.

No one can say for sure what the essential difference is between such a being and a high-ranking servant, but the Human Empire respects the will of every person who is willing to sacrifice themselves for the God-Emperor.

A powerful surge of electricity erupted from the dense network of nerve plugs connected to the back of his head.

This energy traveled along the thick cables at near the speed of light to the stern engine room several kilometers away.

Within milliseconds, the ancient plasma engine was awakened, emitting a deafening roar that propelled the steel behemoth forward.

In an instant, the Swift Skyhawk was like an arrow released from a bow. Its huge, plow-shaped, adamantium ram was aimed at the incoming torpedo and met it head-on without dodging or avoiding it.

"Immediate contact!" the observer in the former watchtower roared again, his voice trembling with fear.

Boom!
A dull, drum-like impact slammed into the armored shields on the bow of the ship.

The hairpin-shaped torpedo struck the dark white, sturdy, 45-degree inclined slope.

The people on the watchtower instinctively closed their eyes, but the expected violent explosion did not occur.

chi chi-

Inside the torpedo room, the shirtless sailors, ready to face the impact and battle, looked in surprise in the direction from which the sound came.

The leech torpedo's drill bit sparked brilliantly as it rubbed against the plowshare shield.

It failed to find a breakthrough in the impenetrable armor. Instead, the immense kinetic energy caused it to ricochet, grazing the shield fins of the bow shield and tumbling backward.

"Straighten the rudder! Full turn to right!" Horatio's command followed immediately, decisive and clear.

The Swift Eagle suddenly swung its hull, its massive stern arcing like a whale's tail as it completed a stunning turn.

The out-of-control torpedo was now tumbling erratically, skimming along the ship's starboard side as it hurtled backward.

Every unstable sway made the hearts of everyone on the bridge tighten, as if it would crash into the hull, which seemed more fragile than the bow shield, at any moment.

laugh--

The torpedo flew past a connection point damaged by the "Light of Babel" folly, right before everyone's eyes, with sparks flying from the leaking cables almost touching its casing.

Only after it finally roared past the stern and disappeared into the deep void did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. *Sizzle—sizzle…*

At that moment, the bridge's communication array suddenly emitted a piercing electromagnetic noise.

The optical sensors in the eyes of the machine servant on the control panel suddenly flashed, and purplish-red junk codes surged on the screen like a waterfall.

"Ugh~ Doggy! Hehehe!" A grotesque voice boomed from the sonic grille at the rear of the servant, echoing throughout the bridge. The voice was sharp and distorted, filled with a morbid pleasure.

"Communications Department, what's going on?" Captain Archie grabbed the command center's landline and contacted the communications department a kilometer away via an encrypted line, questioning them in a serious tone.

"Sir, our communication channel has been compromised! Quick! Reboot the sound array immediately!" A tense and urgent shout came from the other end of the line, accompanied by chaotic background noise.

"Captain, the aliens have cracked the communication channels of the RX-0371 escort fleet. Should we switch to the backup channel?" Archie gripped the communicator tightly and turned to Horatio on the command throne to ask for instructions.

Before Horatio could give the order, the sinister voice from the sound array sounded again, with a hint of mockery.

"You barbarian monkeys, do you think this is the end? You've escaped death? Heh... no, there's still plenty of time. We're just slowly savoring your fear."

Whoosh!

On the holographic tactical projection right in front of Horatio, a Caravel-class fast transport ship that was receiving surviving crew members from the abandoned ship suddenly erupted with three silent fireballs.

It was hit precisely by three torpedoes, and the ship instantly burst into flames. The intense light illuminated Horatio's calm eyes, but he could not see where the alien had launched its attack.

Immediately afterwards, a violent explosion occurred inside the transport ship.

This was a supply ship carrying military promethium for the fleet, which was detonated by a torpedo, consuming its full load of fuel.

In less than half a minute, it took all the crew members and their newly rescued compatriots with it and turned into a brilliant but short-lived firework in the void.

“We could easily slaughter you all, but we didn’t. Because I can see your trembling, and I want to savor more… savor the despair of you savage monkeys.”

"Goodnight, you barbarian monkeys. If you can still sleep, hehe... we will quietly put a dagger to your throats, and then... slit your throats, watching you struggle and die in the silent void."

Horatio's face was ashen; he couldn't tell whether these words were the malicious metaphors commonly used by the Ducal Eldar, or an assassination threat about to be carried out.

These malevolent beings, like their arrogant Aidaling cousins, always spoke in riddles, making it difficult to discern their true motives.

"Captain, we cannot restart the sonic array!" the communications officer shouted desperately into the encrypted channel. They were in a frantic frenzy, and no matter what emergency procedures they tried, they could not regain control of the system that had been contaminated by alien technology.

"Dogs, I will make you watch as the cargo ships you are protecting disappear one by one, and make you witness your own incompetence and feel the shame of your powerless betrayal."

"And you, captain of the 'Swift Skyhawk,' I will make you watch your comrades, those you cherish, die one after another in agony. Heh heh heh..."

When the alien menacingly threatened Horatio, vowing to harm his comrades—

Click! Bang!
A sudden boom of a bolter rang out, making the entire metal structure of the bridge vibrate.

The lieutenant, who had been futilely operating the sonic array machine, suddenly had his face splattered with warm, orange-red liquid.

He first reached out and touched the sticky substance on his face in a daze, then looked up and saw that the upper half of the servant's skull was completely shattered, leaving only a slightly opening and closing jaw.

The intense visual impact and psychological shock made his legs go weak, and he collapsed onto the cold deck.

Inside the bridge, apart from the long echo of that gunshot, there was an instant silence.

Horatio expressionlessly locked the safety back on the bolt-action revolver, his movements steady and efficient.

He stared at the void ahead, where a friendly ship had just been swallowed up, and issued a series of commands in a completely emotionless tone:

"Contact Chief Technical Officer Lati-EB2A2 to replace the sonic array servant and purify and reconsecrate the position. Telegraph all ships in the fleet to immediately implement communication silence. Until we establish a new encrypted frequency band, all inter-ship communications shall be switched to flag signal mode."

(End of this chapter)