Zhao Chen, naturally, did not know that Marshal Xue Xiaoxiao was being a marshal somewhat 'neglectful of her proper business.'
He looked at the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship, making its first appearance.
The twelve super-heavy cannon and 360 main guns carried on its hull had all extended, and locked on to those quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships in the distance!
【Gluttony Demon King Starship
Ship type: interstellar heavy-artillery battleship / flagship type
Technology grade: T6
Hull armor strength: 46 million units – 48 million units
Star-shield energy value: 1 billion units
Cruising speed: 1,200 star-knots
Warp engine: grade-9.9 warp engine
Length: 336 kilometers
Mass: 412.3 million tons
Complement of posts: 1.5 million
Starship weapons: 12 Gluttony Demon King-class super-heavy cannon
360 Demon Lord-class main guns
Spatial fold engine (capable of spatial folding)
Gluttony Demon King Matrix module (the energy core system)
Gluttony Demon King mode: establishes a folded space at the hull's position, within which the Gluttony Demon King hides itself, and will build a black hole……】
Secretary-Officer Lilith, beside him, was looking over some of the basic data on this warship, and asked somewhat curiously, "Your Majesty. What exactly is this Gluttony Demon King mode like? Making a black hole. Could it be the same effect as the black-hole type of interstellar missile before?"
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted slightly. "Just watch quietly."
Of how these several flagships would show on the battlefield now, the one Zhao Chen looked forward to most was this T6 Gluttony Demon King starship.
For the technology it had could truly be called a half step to the T7 technology grade.
Mastery of black-hole technology
was beyond doubt true T7 technology.
Before this, the black-hole technology Owl Dragon-line warships had used was all a cut-down version, its effect not even a thousandth of a true black hole's.
If he could truly possess and control black-hole technology, it would add to Zhao Chen's confidence in facing Order.
And now the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's first battle would build up Zhao Chen's experience on that side.
He could not lean on the System at every moment as he had before.
The road ahead he must walk himself, leading the Owl Dragon Empire.
The twelve Gluttony Demon King-class super-heavy cannon and 360 Demon Lord-class main guns opened fire at once.
A dense bombardment fell upon the enemy's several quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships.
For the range was quite long, beyond even the reach of the enemy quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships' fire.
So for now this was a one-sided attack by the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship.
The terrifying gunfire blanketed the target area.
But perhaps because its fire was of the area-damage kind,
in the first round of the attack not one quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warship was destroyed.
It only damaged some of the quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships, and not to the point of grave damage.
But within that range of fire, the pitch-black interstellar warships below T6 grade were in the main all swept clean.
No few stretches of the battlefield stood empty,
so that those several quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships looked quite alone.
At this point those quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships noticed the threat of this interstellar heavy-artillery ship as well.
They began to advance in the direction of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship, trying to bring it within their range of fire and destroy this threatening enemy ship.
The first quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warship pushed through the Gluttony Demon King's gunfire into attack range, and then struck back with its own main guns.
Its scattered points of return fire landed on the Gluttony Demon King's star-shield in a riot of colors.
Where there was a first, there would naturally be a second, and a third.
The attack the Gluttony Demon King's star-shield bore mounted by degrees.
But the warships of the Owl Dragon Empire's Second[1] Legion Fleet Group, to the rear of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship, showed no intention whatever of supporting it,
just as though they had given up this T6 Gluttony Demon King starship outright.
The Gluttony Demon King · the bridge
"Warning! Star-shield energy value at 60%."
"Warning! Six enemy quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships have entered their attack range and are attacking our ship continuously. The remaining four quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships will enter attack range within the next 70 seconds, 120 seconds, 200 seconds and 300 seconds. By the system's calculation, if we take the fire of all ten enemy quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships at once, our star-shield, even at full, can hold for only ten minutes."
The deputy captain looked tensely at the captain in the captain's chair: Marshal Chitong.
Marshal Chitong's expression was very stern; she said coolly, "It's about time. Pass the order. Start the spatial fold engine. Coordinates **! Once the spatial fold is complete, start Gluttony Demon King mode at once. And send a warning to the Owl Dragon Empire's Fourth Legion Fleet Group to take all their warships out of the danger area."
"Yes!"
The deputy captain heard the order and went at once to carry it out.
Marshal Chitong watched the cursor positions of those ten quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships on the interstellar holo-table, like a hunter watching prey that has fallen into the trap.
"Report: spatial fold engine starting, countdown twenty seconds."
As the countdown sounded,
the space where the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship lay began to grow insubstantial, as though space itself were melting.
Then this T6 Gluttony Demon King starship was seen to vanish outright into thin air.
"The T6 Gluttony Demon King starship has used a spatial fold!" Secretary-Officer Lilith, seeing it, said without thinking.
Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin and said coolly, "The weakness of warships before, where spatial folding was concerned, was the instability of their energy systems. They couldn't use a spatial fold in the fighting phase; commonly they had to break off from the fight for a while first. But these several T6 flagships have improved enormously on that point. They can use a spatial fold with their star-shields raised, while taking enemy fire."
Speaking of this technology, Zhao Chen's eyes held excitement too.
It was a technology only a few flagships had as yet,
a technology that could be counted half a step to T7.
The mass-produced warships of T6 grade had no such capability yet.
The capability might not look like much use.
But on a battlefield, when you are hunting down and cutting off an enemy ship and the enemy ship suddenly vanishes into thin air,
and even turns and strikes back at you,
a moment's thought will tell you what an important strategic technology this is.
If every Owl Dragon-line warship could have this technology,
then the fighting power of the Owl Dragon Empire's fleet groups would rise by one enormous step!
But to return to the matter.
The T6 Gluttony Demon King starship, vanished into thin air, appeared the next second right in the middle of the Pitch-Black Legion fleet's positions.
As luck would have it, exactly in the midst of the ten quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships.
And the space around this position was fairly empty too:
exactly the area the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship had blanketed with gunfire before.
It seemed, then, that all of this must have been worked out by the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's captain, Marshal Chitong.
Now the quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships found this enemy ship that had suddenly broken into their 'rear' as well,
and one after another began to turn about, making ready to surround and destroy the target.
The T6 Gluttony Demon King · the bridge
"Report: preparing to start Gluttony Demon King mode."
"Gluttony Demon King mode starting, countdown thirty seconds."
At this moment it could be seen that every weapon module on the surface of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's hull was beginning to draw back into the hull.
In a short ten-odd seconds, the outside of this quasi-T6[2] Gluttony Demon King starship's hull was all smooth, in a rounded ellipsoid form.
And at this point strange golden patterns appeared on the hull's surface.
These patterns shone like magic arrays on the surface of the warship's hull armor.
All the while, the quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships around it were still pouring out their fire without pause.
But it was no use; this was the star-shield of a T6 flagship class, and even under a great weight of enemy attack at this moment, it could not be broken in any short while.
"So that's Gluttony Demon King mode?" Secretary-Officer Lilith, her eyes shining, watched the scene in the image window.
In the pitch-black environment of the cosmos, and ringed all about by pitch-black warships,
a golden 'gem' could be seen glowing without pause.
Then 'cracks' appeared on the surface of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's hull,
as though in an instant it had split into pieces.
But on close watching, one would find that within those cracks was no broken wreckage of a warship,
but space of the deepest black.
And this space of the deepest black was still widening, little by little, without pause.
"Has Xue Xiaoxiao's Owl Dragon Empire Fourth Legion Fleet Group set out observation equipment?" Zhao Chen did not forget to ask at this point.
That fellow Xue Xiaoxiao was good at everything, with gifts and with ability; only in her attitude she was on the slack side.
"It's all arranged." As she spoke, Lilith called up a data window.
In it were a great many figures of every kind, all rising.
The two figures that changed most were the instability of the space where the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship lay, and the pull centered on that point.
The latter above all was rising without pause at an exponential rate.
Before long, near the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship… no; it ought now to be called a black hole covered in golden fissures.
The pitch-black interstellar warships very near this golden-fissured black hole were being dragged at by an enormous pull.
And with the pitch-black interstellar warships' own peculiar nature besides, a wondrous scene appeared just so:
countless black lines, drawn out of those pitch-black interstellar warships into the golden fissures.
These pitch-black interstellar warships found something wrong, and one after another began to flee the area.
But it was no use; the reach of these golden fissures was spreading at an astonishing speed,
and it held five of the ten quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships 'frozen' where they stood.
Still, compared with the other T6 pitch-black interstellar warships, these quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships' 'hull strength' was somewhat greater.
Though they could not flee the area, they could still hold out for a time.
But as time went on, black matter began to be dragged from the hull surfaces of these quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships too.
And then the first quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warship fell apart under the terrifying pull of the golden fissures and came to nothing,
as though it had never appeared at all.
On the other side,
as for those pitch-black interstellar warships trying to flee the reach of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's golden fissures,
the Owl Dragon Empire's Fourth Legion Fleet Group was naturally not going to stand and watch.
Such a fine chance to drop stones on those in the well: how could they let it go?
From outside the safe zone, the warships of the Owl Dragon Empire's Fourth Legion Fleet Group began to give fire support,
pinning every one of these pitch-black interstellar warships inside the danger area, to be swallowed by the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's golden fissures.
"The Gluttony Demon King is actually this strong!" Secretary-Officer Lilith stood there somewhat astonished, watching the magnificent scene.
It was not quite like the black hole she had imagined, but more magnificent and more overwhelming.
She had known the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship had this capability, but she had never thought it would make such a scene when shown on the battlefield.
"In truth, all this is still only one part of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's fine qualities. Truth be told, of all the flagship-class warships now in active service, the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship is, if anything, the one with enormous technological potential," Zhao Chen said gravely.
"What?" Lilith was somewhat surprised.
In her mind, the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship had black-hole technology, yes, but set beside the T6 Rakshasa-Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought and the T6 Demon Emperor Carrier Starship,
which were fiercer on the battlefield, able to stand one ship against ten thousand foes,
the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship still gave the feeling of falling somewhat short.
"You haven't read through all the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship's data, have you?" Zhao Chen looked at Lilith teasingly.
Lilith was taken aback, and said with a somewhat guilty conscience, "I do read the data on these warships, but only the basic introductions. There's too much work to deal with now, after all."
Zhao Chen understood Lilith's explanation well enough.
In truth, this special function of the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship was described in the introduction in no more than a few words.
"The T6 Gluttony Demon King starship actually has one more small function. When it uses 'Gluttony Demon King mode,' it looks as though those warships are being torn apart by the black hole and dragged off into another space. But in truth, in the course of it, the Gluttony Demon King core also absorbs a part of the energy, and resupplies the warship in return. As for how much it can absorb, that's very unstable. It'll take the results of a few real battles before it can be estimated. I expect it will swing a great deal, because it's affected by a lot of objective factors," Zhao Chen said.
At once Lilith's eyes went wide. "What? It can absorb energy too? Then doesn't that mean the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship could in theory become a warship that never needs to go back to port at all!"
What matters most in a warship going back to port?
Is it not taking on energy?
Now that the T6 Gluttony Demon King starship had the technological foundation to break free of that bond, it truly had enormous potential!