I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 145 Even in outer space, close-quarters hand-to-hand combat is necessary!

The battle was initiated by the Tau Empire fleet.

There were no pre-battle declarations, no unnecessary communications; on the cold, cosmic battlefield, the only language was destruction. The bow launch tubes of seven starships simultaneously flashed with dangerous light, and dozens of Pathfinder torpedoes, gleaming with blue energy trails, silently detached from their motherships like a pack of bloodthirsty deep-sea beasts, hurtling towards the massive Imperial fleet.

"Torpedo attack detected! Forty in number! Expected contact in thirty seconds!"

On the bridge, the red glow of the tactical alarm cast a grim light on every player's face. Although the players present knew that the transport ship was located at the very center of the fleet formation and was a key target for protection, the hordes of dead ships tearing through the air still delivered a powerful visual impact.

"The long-range firepower of the Titans is indeed as good as its reputation!" a player exclaimed in a low voice.

And that was indeed the case. Although the Tau Empire fleet was at a significant disadvantage in both the quality and quantity of its ships, it was in no way inferior in this round of beyond-visual-range firepower projection. This volley of torpedoes was not only numerous, but also had exceptionally treacherous flight trajectories. Guided by advanced AI, they formed a well-organized attack network that covered almost the entire route of the Imperial fleet's advance.

The commander of the Imperial fleet was clearly aware of the problem's complexity.

"All warships, evasive action! Spread out! Repeat, evasive action!"

The order was swiftly relayed. The heavy and massive Imperial warships roared deafeningly, their attitude control engines spewing out scorching plasma, propelling these gigantic steel behemoths in a clumsy manner befitting their size as they struggled to maneuver through space.

The Void Shield can deflect high-speed kinetic energy attacks and energy beams, but it is largely ineffective against relatively slow attacks like torpedoes, which have their own propulsion and navigation systems. Once the Void Shield gets close, the terrifying explosion capable of tearing through a warship's armor is a nightmare that no captain wants to face.

Ultimately, after a tremendous effort, the Imperial fleet narrowly avoided the fatal first strike. The torpedo swarm pierced through the gaps between the scattered warships, futilely hurtling into the distant deep space, eventually turning into a pile of cold scrap metal after exhausting its energy.

However, the cost was also obvious. In order to evade torpedoes, the Imperial fleet's originally well-organized attack formation was forced to break apart, becoming loose and chaotic.

They actually got the first move by a mere alien patrol fleet!
This was an utter disgrace to the Imperial Navy, which had always been arrogant and regarded all aliens as worthless. A surge of anger, fueled by humiliation, instantly ignited on the bridges of all the Imperial warships.

"All artillery units, fire freely! Let these arrogant aliens taste the Emperor's wrath!"

The horns of revenge sounded. As the Imperial fleet readjusted its posture, it immediately launched a fierce counterattack. Torpedo tubes at the bow spewed equally deadly torpedoes, while the Luna-class cruisers, having seized advantageous firing positions through maneuvering, began to slowly rotate the large gun turrets on their sides, arranged like cathedral organs, locking onto the distant enemy.

Immediately following was the charging of the light spear array. Several crimson beams, brighter than stars, instantly tore through the dark cosmic space, carrying terrifying energy enough to melt continental shelves, and accurately shot towards the Tau Empire's warships.

Faced with the Imperial fleet's thunderous counterattack, the Tau Empire fleet showed no weakness. Their warships spread out nimbly, utilizing advanced engine technology to perform high-speed maneuvers within small areas, while the laser turrets densely covering their hulls roared into action.

Countless slender but deadly blue laser beams poured out like a torrential rain, colliding violently with the Imperial fleet's robust and wild cannon shells and scorching light spear energy beams in the vast space between the two fleets.

A magnificent yet cruel dance of destruction unfolds amidst the stars.

The macro cannon shells exploded into clusters of orange-red fireballs on the shields of the Tau alien warships, and the intense energy shock caused the shields to ripple violently like water. Meanwhile, the Tau Empire's laser beams accurately hit the void shields of the Imperial warships, creating ripples. However, since the power of a single shot was insufficient to cause enough damage, it was basically unable to overload the void shields of the human fleet.

Crimson spears and blue lasers intertwined to form a web of death, each flash representing the release of massive amounts of energy. Explosions, like festive fireworks, burst forth against the dark backdrop, illuminating the airspace in a flickering pattern.

However, in this fierce exchange of fire, a fact that made all the Imperial warriors feel extremely embarrassed clearly emerged—they had not gained any advantage whatsoever.

Thanks to their superior maneuverability and shield technology, the warships of the Tau Empire were always able to evade or withstand the Empire's heavy firepower with minimal losses. However, their extremely fast-firing, highly accurate laser weapons and torpedoes inflicted continuous harassment and damage on the Imperial fleet.

This is simply unacceptable to the human empire.

The failure to achieve overwhelming superiority in the war against the aliens was itself a defeat, a humiliation! It meant that the enemy's technology and tactics, in some aspects, even surpassed those of divine humanity. This realization stung the Imperial Navy's proud pride more than the damage to its warships.

On the bridge where the dead lay, the players were also stunned.

"Damn, is Titan's fleet that powerful? Seven ships are going to fight our dozen or so to a standstill?"

"This fire control system is pretty impressive. I guess it's no wonder that a race using AI is using it."

"Optimistic anthropological rhetoric! Long live the highest good!"

"I remember when we were fighting Oak, didn't you keep shouting WAAGH?"

"And what about pessimistic humans?"

"Eldar, Necromancer, Ork, even warp psionic... there's so much to learn. Actually, fighting to the death is much easier." The stalemate was like poison, eroding the Imperial fleet's honor. Every second of the exchange of fire, where no advantage could be gained, deepened the commanders' sense of humiliation. Fueled by this rage and anxiety, an action completely unexpected, almost suicidal, occurred.

In the fleet formation, the strike cruiser belonging to the Steel Hands Chapter suddenly erupted with an ominous roar. Its main engine nozzles instantly changed from the usual blue to a blinding incandescent white, and the overloaded energy even caused ripples in the surrounding space.

The next second, this warship, full of cold mechanical aesthetics, shot off like an arrow, breaking away from the Imperial fleet's formation at a terrifying speed that caught everyone off guard, and charged straight and fearlessly toward the center of the Tau Empire's fleet formation!

"What are they doing?!"

"Are you crazy? This is suicide!"

On the flagship of the Human Empire, gasps of alarm rose and fell. The officers stared in disbelief at the icon representing the Iron Hand on the tactical projection, which, like a lone shooting star, crashed headlong into the cluster of blue dots representing the enemy.

In the vast cosmic battlefield, the conventional combat distance is often measured in tens of thousands of kilometers. The goal of the Steel Hand is to compress this distance to its extreme. It ignores the dense laser beams coming from the opposite direction, letting the energy create ripples on its void shield, but its speed remains unchanged.

Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, it succeeded.

The strike cruiser, like a red-hot branding iron, forcefully wedged itself into the formation of the Tau Empire fleet. At this moment, the nearest Tau Empire starship was less than 30,000 kilometers away.

In the context of space naval warfare, this distance can no longer be considered close-quarters combat.

They're practically face to face!
The fate of a strike cruiser that makes such a risky move is clearly stated in any naval textbook—it will be instantly bombarded by the broadside fire of all surrounding enemy ships, its Void Shield will collapse from overload in an instant, and then its hull will be torn apart into a dazzling cloud of space fireworks by countless beams of light and shells.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats. On the flagship's bridge, Commander-in-Chief Wendell Gage clenched his fists unconsciously, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Time seemed to be stretched at this moment.

A minute passed... The strike cruiser remained intact, adjusting its posture to face the enemy with its strongest side armor.

Two minutes passed... The Tau Empire's fleet seemed bewildered, futilely performing evasive maneuvers without any effective counterattack.

Three minutes... ten minutes...

Ten long minutes is enough for a small-scale ground battle to be decided. But in this starry sky, apart from the ongoing long-range firefights, the area where the Steel Hand is located has fallen into an eerie silence.

until……

"Fire!"

Luman, the company commander of the Steel Hands, gave the order in his emotionless voice.

The next moment, the battlecruiser's broadside, with its dense array of turrets—enough to drive anyone with trypophobia mad—simultaneously spewed out destructive flames! Macro cannons, beams of light, molten lava beams… countless types of weapons unleashed the pent-up fury of ten minutes onto the nearby Tau warship at point-blank range!

Under such terrifying close-range firepower, the starship's shields didn't even last a second. Its hull armor was easily torn apart like paper, and its internal structure experienced a series of violent explosions. Just thirty seconds later, this beautifully designed warship lost all power, its bridge area was completely destroyed, leaving only a wreckage billowing smoke and sparks, drifting helplessly in space.

The other Tau warships remained silent. They were like a flock of sheep stunned by a pack of hungry wolves that had stormed into their pen, completely bewildered.

Such a bizarre scene left Commander-in-Chief Wendell Gage momentarily bewildered. His mind raced, eliminating one impossible guess after another.

A trap? A communication failure? Or is some unknown superweapon charging up?

No, neither.

Suddenly, an absurd yet the only plausible possibility struck his mind like lightning. This was followed by a surge of ecstatic joy that almost made him burst into laughter.

"All fleet, listen up!" Gage's voice trembled slightly with extreme excitement. "Abandon long-range fire! All forces, charge! Get close to them! Get close to those aliens! Use our broadsides to tear them all to shreds!"

The enemy warships have no broadside firepower!

Those self-proclaimed clever designers of the Tau Empire seemed to have completely overlooked the fact that, in the vast cosmic naval battles, they would encounter close-quarters combat requiring the use of broadside cannons!

(End of this chapter)