Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 870, page 08.869: 'Battle in Desperate Circumstances'

One minute ago, on the command bridge of the USS Swift Eagle

[Hit it! Hit it!]
Captain Horatio gritted his teeth; the thought roared silently in his mind.

He held his breath, his body leaning forward in extreme concentration, his eyes fixed on the several dark blue dots representing Helios plasma torpedoes on the main tactical projection, which were speeding toward the distant Dark Ark, leaving long trails behind them.

For some fatal unknown reason, the torpedo's remote control link went dead after launch.

Horatio envisioned these deadly weapons, under the precise control of Chief Technical Priest Latti, as a flock of falcons obeying the gods, nimbly dodging the enemy ships' dense defensive fire, tearing at the Black Ark's vulnerable engine array from all sides.

But now, communications between the bridge and the power hub are drowned out by a static roar, Lati is out of contact, and the torpedoes that carry the hope of turning the tide have become wild horses, showing no signs of being under control, but at least they don't seem to be controlled by the enemy.

A cold gloom quietly enveloped Horatio's heart.

Four left...

Three pieces...

Every time a point of light on the main projection is detonated in mid-air by the enemy ship's dense, hedgehog-like defensive firepower, turning into a silent, dazzling energy firework, Horatio's heart sinks.

That black ark, the size of a battleship, was now an impregnable steel fortress.

The last two torpedoes finally burst forth from the smoke and flames of the interception explosion ahead, like two remaining, fearless charging warriors.

Operations officer Harvey roared commands into the torpedo room through the communicator until another technical priest stationed next to the launch silo, amidst the chaos, forcibly took over the terminal links of the two out-of-control torpedoes through a backup line.

The two torpedoes, which had been hurtling straight ahead, suddenly separated due to slightly delayed and clumsy maneuvers, one going up and the other down, scattering in two abrupt arcs as they continued their trajectory toward the turning black ark. The one who took over the controls was merely a low-ranking priest responsible for injecting plasma into the torpedoes—something that shouldn't have been his duty.

However, due to the unexplained incapacitation of the technology's inventor and sole controller—Chief Technologist Latti—he was forced to take on this sacred yet deadly research project, which was far beyond his knowledge.

boom!
Another torpedo was precisely destroyed from a high position.

But this time, it was close enough to the enemy ship's engines. The powerful energy shockwave from the explosion, like an invisible giant hand, slammed into the Dark Ark's hull, causing a brief energy flash in its engine array—this momentary interference successfully slowed its maneuverability, creating a fleeting, perfect opportunity for the final torpedo to strike from below.

The technical priest suddenly grabbed the control lever and twisted it violently to one side.

The torpedo, which almost missed its target due to over-turning, made a tragic yet resolute emergency turn under the scorching heat of the enemy ship's engine nozzles, which reached tens of thousands of degrees Celsius.

The fiber optic cable used for guidance was burned up the moment it came into contact with the plasma flame, but it successfully held up until the torpedo completed its final turn.

This "Helios" plasma torpedo, like a sacred spear of vengeance, plunged deep into the nozzle duct of one of the integrated engines.

boom!
A short, muffled explosion came from inside the Black Ark's hull. The iconic engine array of the Dark Eldar, which favored integrated design and prided itself on maximizing the utilization of "Pain Energy," instantly went half-shut down, leaving only the other engine still running in vain.

This fatal blow brought the behemoth's turn to an abrupt halt.

The Swift Eagle finally got a chance to catch its breath.

However, this brief respite was quickly and completely extinguished.

The slave ships that had been sent to pursue the escort ships and merchant convoys were returning home.

Under the orders of the supreme commander, the Ducali pirates, who were indulging in the unparalleled pleasure of torturing and ravaging mortal crew members, reluctantly gave up their prey.

They left only two slave ships and a few raiding ships to continue the pursuit, while all the other warships turned around and, like a group of sharks that had smelled blood, returned to hunt down the already battered Imperial light cruiser.

They seemed determined to capture this proud and fearless golden eagle alive, tie it up, and take it back to the dark lair of Comoros, just like the legendary female knight of the kingdom who was kidnapped by goblins, to trample on her dignity and pride.

But these predators in the darkness failed to notice, or rather, arrogantly mistook the two faint shadow field signals for their own straggling attack ships.

Two "Bayonet-class" attack ships, maintaining absolute silence, were like two lurking wolves, silently blending into the pack hunting the "Swift Skyhawk," concealing their fangs. "Warning! Void Shield overload! Emergency cooling procedure in progress! Our survival now depends solely on our armor!" the power department officer shouted weakly, his voice trembling with despair.

With a magnificent roar like the lament of a giant beast, the Void Shield of the Swift Eagle transformed into a shower of light and vanished completely.

Almost instantly, dozens of "Sickle" missiles slammed into the reinforced ceramic steel armor on the outer layer of the light cruiser.

In the violent explosion, fragments of platinum armor were thrown into the void by the shockwave.

Also thrown out were some tiny human figures—the fleet sailors still fighting the enemy on the shallow decks, and their opponents, the Ducali pirates who boarded the ships, all sucked into the cold, deathly darkness.

Ducalli treated almost everyone equally and never cared about the deaths of his own kind.

Losing one mercenary is just losing one beggar asking for money; and losing one member of the same race is just losing one competitor born from a test tube.

On the contrary, the human sailors who were sucked into the void were the biggest loss in their eyes—it meant that they had one less strong slave to auction off in the slave market square in Comoros.

At this moment, in order to defend against a larger-scale boarding attempt by the enemy, the "Swift Skyhawk" has closed the heavy protective armor curtains on the entire bridge.

This battered light cruiser continued its relentless charge at a speed of ten void knots.

Any aircraft attempting to crash into this steel curtain will be smashed into a pile of scrap metal by her sturdy bow.

The cunning Ducali slave ships also adjusted their strategy accordingly, clinging to the hull of this behemoth like a leech, starting from the relatively flat and lightly armored officers' quarters area.

Inside the ship, in the G-7 corridor.

The faint sounds of gunfire could be heard from the officers' quarters; there was no doubt that a massive enemy force had infiltrated the lower part of the bridge. The armed forces guarding the bridge were engaged in fierce combat with them.

In a maintenance corridor that few people know about.

"Brother Leonas, has Brother Albion disappeared again?" Inquisitor They, now dressed in a full set of void combat suits, asked through the built-in communicator as he strode forward.

Beneath her sealed void helmet, her brows were furrowed.

“Brother Albion is ready for battle, Madam Inquisitor.” Captain Leonard’s voice was as steady as ever.

He saw the rune representing the Brother Albion in the sigil of his helmet, flashing brightly—it meant "in battle with the enemy."

"What a strange monk."

"All black shields are like this."

boom.

"what sound?"

Tei, who was leading her team at full speed toward the energy hub, was drawn to a strange noise coming from the next cabin.

Captain Leonardo reacted quickly, stopping the judge who was about to step forward to investigate.

He pulled the relatively petite Thei behind him, raised his terracotta-covered power gauntlets, and slammed them against the wall beside him. This sudden action startled Thei.

boom!
Before his fist could even land on the wall, a hideous creature with ferocious compound eyes crashed through the fragile bulkhead and pounced out.

Almost at the same instant, Brother Lionas's thunderous iron fist struck its head squarely.

(End of this chapter)