Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 325 Ramirez-class Starfortress VS Artificial War Satellite

The closer the expeditionary fleet is to the Spiral-Morse main star, the higher the number of drones released by the artificial war satellites.

The expeditionary fleet, centered on the Ramirez, advanced steadily.

The endless torpedoes released from the central region of the Ramirez-class Starfortress collided with the Randan drones in the void.

Like schools of fish and flocks of birds, they continuously collide in the void tens of thousands of kilometers away.

The blinding red light of the explosion illuminated the void.

The expeditionary fleet's bows spewed light spears, clearing away the metal debris blocking their path.

Anti-aircraft guns roared as they shot down the intruding swarm of drones.

Several tugboats broke the battle between torpedoes and drones and entered the attack range of the artificial war satellite.

Countless dazzling rays of light shot out from the artificial war satellite and crashed into the void shield of the tugboat.

The tugboats, like gasping, empty behemoths, struggled to move forward, their mission being to drag the Ramirez forward before it was destroyed.

On the bridge of the Mammoth, the captain looked at the control panel in front of him.

The identification signals of the tugboats disappeared one by one, leaving nothing behind.

His thoughts immediately returned to his own ship.

Void Shield Overload.

Power failure.

All life support systems have ceased functioning.

...]

The captain raised his left hand and placed it on his breathing mask.

Although he knew that pursuing the instrument was pointless, he and his ship and crew were about to be turned into a dark shadow by the alien's bizarre weaponry.

That was the only trace he left in the cold void.

[Even a shadow, I am a dignified shadow.]
He thought to himself with a self-deprecating laugh.

The captain tidied his hair again, staring blankly at his arms, where the void suit and touch gloves were still on.

[Huh? That thing's attacks have suddenly slowed down.]
Artificial war satellites have no time to worry about tugboats, as they have already completed their mission.

Fifteen tugboats turned into ominous shadows, four of them were severely damaged, and the Ramirez closed the distance to the artificial war satellite.

Two artificial void war fortresses engage in a decisive battle.

Millions of human slaves, enslaved by neural collars, put the entire artificial war satellite into operation.

Spires rise from the earth's surface, shooting blazing beams of light into the void.

The beam of light released from the spire has a higher energy density and greater destructive power than the shipborne Shadow Destroyer.

Raindrops of radioactive electromagnetic bombardment waves continuously bombarded the fortress-level energy shield in the southern area.

The Ramirez-class Starfortress machine spirit roared in fury, and rows of terrifying cannons hissed as they fired at the alien creation.

The surface-to-air defenses of the artificial war satellites are operating at full capacity to intercept dense barrages.

The hidden Randan warships also emerged from the shadow of the war satellites.

The decisive moment has arrived; hiding is pointless.

Imperial warships arrayed themselves around the Ramirez-class star fortress, forming a battle line and steadily advancing.

The casting workshop for artificial war satellites echoed with the psionic words of the overlord.

"Quickly! As fast as possible, manufacture drones."

Hundreds of thousands of slaves tirelessly used their hands, following instructions implanted in their brains, to build one drone after another.

Their self-awareness was bound by neural collars, making it impossible for them to understand the anxiety in the overlord's words.

The drones took to the air and joined the war shortly after they were manufactured.

Artificial war satellites can engage in firefights with human star fortresses, but Randan's fleet is outnumbered and urgently needs drones to maintain the fragile balance.

The balance was broken on the thirteenth day after the battle broke out between the two fortresses, with the expeditionary fleet accumulating a sufficient numerical advantage.

On the Shadow of Kings, Ning Lu examines the holographic image and discovers that the expeditionary fleet is advancing at an increasingly rapid pace.

He examined the data flowing across the screen, and the main engines of the entire fleet's warships were accelerating in an orderly manner.

Thanks to the simulated sanctuary covering the entire expeditionary fleet, the line of sight of all warships was accelerated by the same amount.

The holographic projections showed that no warship stood out alone, nor did any warship lag behind; the entire fleet was more orderly than the rising tide.

The Randan warship was pushed backward by the "tide".

Against a green holographic background, enemy warships marked in red disappear at a visible speed, while friendly black warships disappear at a much slower speed.

Even though I deployed twice the number of capital ships as I remembered the First Legion, and also had three Glory Queen-class battleships, the losses would have been much greater without the Ramirez-class Starfortress.

It counterbalances the man-made war satellites, allowing my fleet's numerical advantage to be perfectly utilized. Hmm... the Ramirez is also beginning to gain the upper hand.
The weapons of both fortresses simultaneously breached each other's defenses.

The fortress-class energy shield was overloaded by an electromagnetic attack, but its powerful heart—the punishment-class reactor—pumped to activate the automatically recharging void shield.

Another attack from the artificial war satellite was blocked by the regenerated shield.

In its first salvo, the Ramirez only fired a dozen or so shells at the surface of the artificial war satellite.

Most of the shells hit the surface rocks and did not cause much damage.

However, two shells struck the defensive turret and the energy spire, respectively.

Commander Diana Pauline of the Ramirez paid close attention to the results of the strike and keenly seized the opportunity.

She immediately issued the order: "Artificial war satellites, H-11 and D-14 areas, cover and strike."

Diana's command reached the artillery crew instantly, and the void was filled with artillery fire.

The storm lashed at the two target areas, and artillery bombardment breached the gaps in the anti-aircraft fire network.

The dazzling light was like the explosion of a supernova.

Following closely behind, the flames spread in layers, surging forth and engulfing one anti-aircraft turret after another.

Among the many spires standing on the ground, the overlords of Ran Dan looked at the crystal screen in front of them. They had not yet recovered from the nightmare of the artificial war satellite's defeat in the firepower confrontation when a gap was torn in the air defense network.

The regional energy center exploded, the blinding light resembling a giant fireball.

Insufficient energy supply leads to systemic destruction.

Several spires were unwillingly extinguished, and the barrage of bullets spewed by hundreds of defensive artillery units came to an abrupt halt.

The Ramirez, like a bloodthirsty shark, tore at the artificial war satellite, exposing its barrage of fire.

The artillery fire tore off an even larger chunk of rock and flesh, and the production of drones in dozens of slave foundries suddenly ceased.

The fleet engines of the Fourth and Eleventh Fleets accelerated, suddenly reaching the high-altitude orbit of the artificial war satellite.

Light spears rained down, and orbital bombardment ensued.

After the Ramirez reached the orbit of the artificial war satellite, the two warbands immediately launched a boarding operation.

Chapter Commander Jiménez of the 11th Chapter landed in Sector C-14 and led his team into the giant alien building.

The circular metal dome bears some resemblance to the dome of the Lower Nest in his homeland, Terra Equatorial Nest.

Unlike the monolithic dome of the same nest, the alien building contains strange metal plates hanging from the dome.

They are shaped like flower petals, with a stripe running across a huge metal plate.

Jiménez looked around and saw thin, crystalline cables on the metal petals connecting to large, upright panes of glass.

[This appears to be the aliens' control or command center.]
Just as Jiménez was thinking this, he suddenly heard a piercing scraping sound.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a series of alien creatures with tiger heads and human bodies, and scorpion tails swaying behind them, leaping from the dome onto the metal petals.

The Randan warriors, wielding harpoon-like weapons, aimed at them.

"Overhead!"

Jiménez shouted, raised his archaeological pistol, and fired a blazing beam of light.

The guards raised their weapons and fired at the Randan soldiers.

The building was filled with dazzling light and ear-piercing explosions.

The Shadows of Order, along with the Black Armor, were blasted into ominous black shadows by the electromagnetic beam.

The personal energy shield of the Randan warrior was shattered by the dense barrage of fire and then blasted into a bloody mist.

Jiménez's gaze searched among the aliens, then locked onto the unusually tall Overlord, twice the size of its kind, which swung its body and charged downwards.

Jiménez raised his hand and shot a beam of light at the Tiger-Headed Scorpion-Tailed Overlord, then strode towards him.

The overlord's blood-yellow eyes saw the black-armored human charging towards him, and he opened his mouth wide, letting out a deafening roar.

Jiménez was deeply shaken; countless sharp scorpion tails lashed out like whips.

He immediately ascended to the first level of Thelma's mental state, the illusion in his eyes disappeared, and he saw a scorpion tail hanging above his head.

Just as Jiménez was about to dodge, his scorpion tail suddenly burst open like flower petals, spraying foul-smelling liquid towards him.

Just as he was about to dodge, a cold glint shot out from the tiger-headed overlord's blood-yellow eyes.

Telekinesis swept over Jiménez's legs, making them feel as heavy as lead, and then his body tilted and he lost his balance.

As the overlord leaped down, its split scorpion tail instantly closed, striking directly at Jiménez's abdomen.

The scorpion's tail pierced through Jiménez's body like a spear, lifting him high into the air.

The guards roared in fury upon witnessing the death of their commander.

(End of this chapter)