Warhammer: Empire Reboot

The other Moon-class cruiser assigned by Dante, the "Angel's Wrath," was renamed the "Red Dragon."

As for the ten Sword-class frigates serving as outer destroyers and escort fleets, Lawson was too lazy to make any changes and simply retained their original factory designations.

Lawson deployed 300 T-series mechanical assassins to board this Gothic-class cruiser.

These mechanical assassins, possessing micron-level operational precision and multi-threaded computing power, are accompanied by three million machine servants.

Inside the vacuum dock of the spaceport, T-001 directly plugged the data cable into the warship's central fire control system.

300 high-end mechanical nodes take over all mechanical transmissions and energy allocation of this warship.

They worked tirelessly day and night without ever getting tired.

With the mechanical overclocking capabilities of the three million mechanical servants, the modification efficiency was pushed to the limits allowed by physics.

Just as this newly revamped fleet was about to complete its full system self-check and be ready for completion.

Three million kilometers away from the safe jump point of the Obolus galaxy, the physical curvature of space begins to distort violently.

The purplish-black subspace lightning tore open a huge rift.

A heavy cruiser with dangerous black and yellow stripes is struggling to squeeze into the real universe from the raging tides of the warp.

This is a heavy warship belonging to the Chaos Space Marines Iron Warriors Chapter.

It should have arrived in the Obulus system much earlier.

The widespread bounty issued by the high-ranking demon Skragag of Khorne, and the soul blessing so generous it could drive any Chaos Warband mad.

However, the warship encountered an unexpected incident during its subspace journey.

Not long before, they had the extremely bad luck of encountering an Imperial Navy punitive fleet that was urgently redeploying in a certain subspace current.

The two sides fought fiercely in the gap between subspace and the real dimension.

The Iron Warrior destroyed an Imperial light cruiser.

But the price was... their subspace navigation array was hit by a grazing light spear, and the Geller force field generator short-circuited for three seconds.

Even more fatally, the fleet's course coordinates were completely lost.

After a brutal cleanup of the lower compartments and three near-disintegration blind jumps, the Iron Warrior's navigation wizard finally found the location of the Obulus system again in the chaotic star map.

Inside the heavy cruiser USS Anvil.

The Iron Warriors are a group of cold-blooded monsters who view war as pure mathematics and physics.

In their eyes, there is no glory, no fanaticism.

Only ammunition load, armor thickness, fire coverage, and battle loss ratio are considered.

Inside the warship's massive strategic command center, there were no demonic totems or flesh altars.

The surrounding walls were covered with layers of thick iron plates. In the very center of the command cabin was a holographic sand table made up of hundreds of servo skulls.

Grendel, the blacksmith of battleships, stands before the sand table.

He is nearly 2.8 meters tall.

His Mark III armor was so thick it resembled a mobile fortress.

His left side of his head had been completely replaced by a mechanical prosthetic body, and the red-glowing mechanical eye was rapidly processing the various physical parameters collected after the warship jumped out of subspace.

This warship houses over five hundred Iron Warrior Space Marines, as well as tens of thousands of Chaos Auxiliary Forces and Heavy Artillery Slaves implanted with neural bombs and obedient to orders like machines.

"Report the extent of the damage and the amount of ammunition."

"The loss of 3,200 auxiliary troops is acceptable.

The adjutant beside him, Volacs, also clad in heavy armor, reported while looking at the data panel in his hand: "The Geller force field generator has been switched to the backup node. Macro cannon ammunition reserves are at 82%, and the Cyclone missile array is fully loaded. Virus bombs and radiation weapons are in sufficient stock."

Grendel's trip was not solely for the bounty on the Great Demon.

As a member of a warband that had once provided bodyguard services for Governor Khorne on Obulus I, Grendel knew perfectly well that the six-man veteran squad he had sent out had been killed.

But that's only one aspect.

What these steel warriors, who regard weapons and armor as a second extension of their lives, find even more intolerable is...

According to the last fragment of intelligence they intercepted before their departure, that damned Astartes who launched the rebellion in the Obulus system not only ravaged the Tri-Star system but also attacked the Dark Mechanicus's forge.

The 120 precious Mark III power armor suits that the chapter had stored in that forge for repairs were stolen by that Astartes!

They did not know any specific information about Lawson.

All that is known is that a reckless Astartes warlord seized their territory, their power armor, and even used naval cannons to utterly and despicably wound the Khorne Demon.

"Tactical briefing."

Grendel slammed his fist, gloved with adamantite, against the edge of the holographic sand table.

Lieutenant Worax immediately magnified the projection of the Obolus Triad.

"According to preliminary intelligence, the target, the Astartes warlord, possesses approximately forty power armors. He also commands a large army of mortal servants, whose combat power should not be underestimated."

"Forty suits of powered armor."

Grendel gave a cold laugh.

The scale of forty powered armor units is only worthy of being described as a medium-intensity fire sweep.

"The entire ship's fire control system is warming up."

Grendel issued tactical instructions.

He would never act impulsively like the World Devourer and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

"It has steel inside and steel outside."

Grendel recited an ancient chapter creed: "Once the warships have entered near-Earth orbit around Industrial Planet One, do not make any communications. Immediately activate the lower arsenal and use concussion and radiation bombs to bombard the planet's five main hive defense zones with a gridded artillery barrage."

"First, use orbital bombardment to wipe out 70 percent of their surface defenses and manpower."

"Then, the heavy armored company will conduct an orbital drop. I'm going to dig that Astartes who stole our armor out of the rubble and smash his bones bit by bit with a Thunderhammer."

"Understood, battleship blacksmith."

Adjutant Worax recorded the instructions and then added a detail: "According to rumors, that warlord previously used extremely cunning means to seize a Tyrant-class heavy cruiser belonging to Company Commander Kargos of the World Eater Chapter."

Upon hearing the mention of the World Eater, several veteran Iron Warriors in the command cabin simultaneously let out a disdainful snort.

It's only a matter of time before those madmen with butcher's nails implanted in their heads, who can only drool and swing axes, lose their warships.

"If that Tyrant-class cruiser is still in the system..."

Grendel's instructions were highly specific: "Immediately reverse the light spear array and disable its main engine and plasma reactor. Do not blow it up."

"Execute the boarding tactic."

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Grendel's mechanical mouth: "Take that ship and use it yourself. And while you're at it, sail it back to the Eye of Terror, and let the whole galaxy see that Angron's mad dogs can't even keep their own chains."

The tactical arrangements were extremely meticulous.

Faced with the overwhelming firepower of 500 heavily armed Iron Warriors and a heavy cruiser, this tactical simulation was logically perfect.

The main engine of the Anvil roared out a deep rumble.

The warship overcame the energy lag effect of jumping out of the subspace, and its huge bow slowly turned, heading towards the gravitational pull of Planet Obolos I.

"The oracrylon array has restarted successfully. The optical sensors are now recalibrating the spectrum of the real universe."

The navigation assistant below the holographic sand table reported loudly.

The Iron Warriors' fleet has just jumped out of the warp.

As Grendel gazed at the gradually clearer star map, a chilling sense of satisfaction, as if he had finally reached his destination, flashed through his mind.

The fog on the holographic sand table dissipated.

Real-time detection data from the real universe was projected onto the center of the command module without reservation.

Grendel's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a pinhead.

The adjutant, Worax, was recording data with a fine gold pen, which carved a deep mark on the data board.

The entire command center fell into a deathly silence in that instant.

Something is not right.

They were surrounded.

In the holographic sand table display, directly in front of them, a Gothic-class heavy cruiser, 7.8 kilometers long, was staring intently at them with its massive, suffocating bow.

The light spear arrays on both sides of the warship had already lit up with a deadly high-energy charging reaction in the optical sensors.

On the left flank, a Tyrant-class cruiser.

On the right flank, a Luna-class cruiser.

Surrounding the three heavy/standard cruisers, a full ten Sword-class frigates formed a perfect spherical interception formation.

This well-equipped fleet: all weapons and fire control radars are activated, and the Geller force field and void shield are at maximum load.

All the macro cannon doors were open, and the plasma melt jets emitted a ghostly blue deathly light.

These thirteen warships happened to be the Anvil, which had just experienced subspace voyage and whose fire control systems were still warming up...

They were tightly surrounded in the very center.

Like a perfect gallows.

Volac looked at the terrifying energy levels reflected back from the thirteen warships on the holographic projection, and recalled the tactical briefing on "dealing with forty power armors" that the battleship blacksmith had just given him.

This is the sense of absurdity brought about by a precipitous error in intelligence.

The adjutant looked at the regimental commander and said with difficulty, "Have we... come to the wrong place?"

Lawson stood on the command platform of the Avenger, a Gothic-class heavy cruiser.

He gave the Iron Valiant Fleet absolutely no time to react.

Interstellar naval warfare reached its climax in the very first second.

The Avenger, positioned in the center, opened fire first.

The two-kilometer-long array of light spears on both sides, under the constraint of the gravitational deflection field, instantly completed the extraction of the highest energy level of the plasma reactor.

Six pure white, high-energy laser beams, each over thirty meters in diameter, traversed a vacuum of forty thousand kilometers at the speed of light.