The T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship, though an unmanned warship, commonly appeared as the main warship of the Household Legion fleets.
Because it was unmanned, it could not serve as a flagship either.
So the Household Legion fleets had to be given other warships as flagships.
And then, because their main warships were all of T4 grade, and could even fight T5-grade warships above their grade,
your flagship could hardly be worse than this ship, could it?
So naturally only Owl Dragon-line T5 warships would do.
That was also how the Household Legion fleets came to have a small number of T5 warships.
And among them, two T5-grade warships, the T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer and the T5 Lightning-Wraith-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Cruiser, were the likeliest to be chosen as Household Legion fleet flagships.
And once these warships became flagships,
command of the T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ships belonging to that fleet naturally fell to the flagship as well.
At this moment,
a Household Legion fleet engaged with a Pitch-Black Legion fleet on one of the small ink battlefields faced just such a situation.
That Household Legion fleet · flagship
T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer · the bridge
The fleet commander stood before the interstellar holo-table at this moment, watching the battlefield before her.
Her look was somewhat anxious.
For, as ill luck would have it, this small ink battlefield was very close to a habitable planet.
Already, in the lulls of the fighting, some of the Pitch-Black Legion fleet's warships had dropped unknown ground combat units onto this planet.
Happily, for now, the defense force on the planet's surface could still hold them off.
But if this trend were not checked, it was bound to do this planet enormous harm.
"Damn it! These fellows really never end. If they've got the nerve, let them fight it out with us face to face; what kind of nerve is it to go after a planet!" This fleet commander was somewhat short-tempered.
In truth, by her original style of fighting, a planet, even with ten billion and more people on it, was no great matter.
If it fell, it fell.
She had once been an officer of another interstellar power, and had joined the Owl Dragon by passing assessment only after the Owl Dragon Empire was founded.
But because her gifts were limited, she had not passed the final assessment, and could not join the Owl Dragon Empire's first- or second-line fleets.
Yet she had been given another choice: to join the Owl Dragon Empire's third-line Household Legion fleets, where she could become an officer within a short time.
In the end she had chosen that road.
And on the strength of her many years' combat experience, she had risen within a short time to fleet commander, qualified to command a legion fleet.
And after joining the Owl Dragon Empire's armed forces, many of her former ideas had changed too.
Perhaps in her heart there were still things she did not understand, but in her conduct she would still abide by them.
As in the situation now, for one.
Yes,
those above had laid down no hard requirement to protect a planet; they had only said to reduce casualties as far as possible.
She could find some reason and give up this planet.
But… she had given that up.
It was her own face she would be losing.
The other Household Legion fleets had not given up a single planet, had not caused the people heavy casualties.
For this to happen here, of all places, with her:
was that not a slap in her own face?
As an old soldier, she had her pride in this.
She would never allow such a thing to happen.
So she had to make sure of this planet's safety!
Perhaps this thinking of hers was somewhat narrow.
But at least the result was good.
Still, what lay before this fleet commander now was somewhat thorny.
Happily, she had 'helpers.'
"My lady Commander, these Star-Vault-Sentries really are formidable! Before, I saw them only as unmanned warships for system patrol. I never thought they'd fight so formidably on a battlefield too!" the secretary-officer beside her said in delighted surprise.
The fleet commander did not deny it, but watched the T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ships in the fighting with close attention.
They had become the mainstay of the battlefield and its steadying weight; the other, crewed warships were wholly fighting in support of them.
Had they not been there, the battlefield would likely not be the stalemate it was now, but a rout of a thousand miles!
【Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship
Ship type: interstellar unmanned guard ship
Technology grade: T4
Hull armor strength: 20,000 units – 23,000 units
Star-shield energy value: 600,000 units
Cruising speed: 600 star-knots
Top speed: 900 star-knots
Warp engine: grade-eight warp engine
Length: 9,888 meters
Mass: 2.11 million tons
Complement of posts: none
Starship weapons: six quadruple-mount medium electromagnetic cannon
Twenty interstellar missile launchers (loaded with 1,000 short-to-medium-range Star-Vault-Sentry-type interstellar missiles)
144 eight-mount medium energy rapid-fire guns
356 fully-automatic high-density sixteen-mount energy close-in guns
Special capability: Star-Vault-Sentry self-destruct program】
The fleet commander looked over the data on this warship.
She was somewhat moved at heart.
If one asked what was special about this warship,
it could be said that it was not a very strong warship at all.
In the list of Owl Dragon-line T4-grade warships, a great many surpassed it:
the T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleship, the T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship, the T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser, and so on.
There were far too many.
Were they ranked, this T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship might perhaps rank only in the bottom third.
Its overall performance stood just above an interstellar cruiser's,
a kind of blend, one might say, of interstellar destroyer and interstellar cruiser.
But now, among the Household Legion fleets on the battlefield, a saying had gone round:
One T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship may be no match for any T4-grade warship.
But a small fleet of thirty T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ships can destroy any small fleet of regular formation.
A large fleet of three hundred T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ships can carry out any mission, and can even take on a corps fleet whose flagship is a T5-grade warship!
And if it is a corps fleet of three thousand T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ships, then even if your fleet has more than ten T5 warships,
you had better be ready for a hard fight.
……
That was what was terrifying about the T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship.
Why could this interstellar unmanned guard ship, so ordinary to look at in every figure, give so fine a showing on the battlefield?
Very simply:
it was high-order artificial intelligence!
On a battlefield, every T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship could carry out any order with zero error,
for they all ran on one AI brain!
"To tell the truth, His Majesty the Emperor's use of high-order AI technology, I don't know whether it's right or not… Before, I had only heard that this technology carried great risk, so that every kingdom and interstellar power tacitly held all interstellar civilizations barred from researching high-order AI technology. Now I've seen it with my own eyes, and I know what's terrifying about it. These warships were born for war. They have no fear of death, no stray thoughts at all; they know the battlefield better than veterans of a hundred fights. They know where they should be on the battlefield, when to fire, when to charge, when to… sacrifice themselves," the fleet commander said in a deep voice.
"My lady Commander, you mustn't say such things!" At once the secretary-officer beside her glanced around and warned her in a low voice. "That's questioning the Emperor!"
"What? Will someone impeach me over these words, then? Our Emperor is no petty-minded man." The fleet commander laughed lightly.
The secretary-officer said in a low voice, "His Majesty the Emperor has no objection to people discussing him behind his back. But you must know, within our Empire some people have begun worshiping the Emperor madly, and have even founded some sort of sect. It's happening in our Owl Dragon Legion fleets as well. No one knows whether there are such mad believers right beside us. In their creed, His Majesty the Emperor's words are divine oracles. Anyone who dares object meets revenge in private. I've heard some places have already had vicious incidents of this kind!"
The fleet commander gave a light laugh and did not pursue it.
"Still, our Emperor seems to know about this too. The security classification on this T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship even exceeds that of T5-grade warships. Even though they've been handed over to each of our Household Legion fleets, without permission even I, the fleet commander, can't set foot aboard a T4 Star-Vault-Sentry-class Interstellar Unmanned Guard Ship. For ordinary refit and resupply there are people and docks set aside especially. At the same time, our Empire at present openly restricts any interstellar power or research institute from projects to do with high-order AI research as well. His Majesty the Emperor knows very well that this is a double-edged sword. It can be used, but it must be under his own control," the fleet commander murmured to herself.
The secretary-officer beside her clutched her head helplessly, and could only pray that these words of discussion would not reach the ears of anyone who meant mischief by them.
"My lady Commander, our battlefield is at a stalemate. There's no T6 pitch-black interstellar warship threatening us, but the Pitch-Black Legion fleet's numbers are really too great. If this goes on, that nearest planet can hardly avoid being caught up in it." The secretary-officer turned the subject on purpose.
The fleet commander had indeed begun to think over this question.
She considered a moment and frowned. "The problem before us really is hard to deal with. We……"
Just then
'rings of light' appeared one after another in the distance.
And a voice came over the communication channel.
"The Starlight Kingdom's Chu family legion fleets: the Third Legion Fleet, ordered to come in support of the battle!"
On the other side of the video window appeared an officer in Chu family uniform.
And those 'rings of light' showed their true faces: warships one after another, bearing the golden mark of the character 楚, Chu!
"It's the Chu family legion fleets!" the secretary-officer said in delighted surprise!
"Thirty thousand of the Chu family legion fleets! Wonderful; with their support, at least our trouble here will be a good deal less!" The fleet commander let out a breath of relief as well.
The Chu family legion fleets, though of the fourth-line Great-Lord fleets in grade,
were a special case, using Owl Dragon-line warships throughout,
and even a few Owl Dragon-line T5 warships.
So their fighting power was evenly matched with the Household Legion fleets'.
Their support was of no small help on the battlefield.
And cases of this kind
arose on some other battlefields where things were going none too well.
Outside the home planet of the Holy Angel System, the Holy Dragon Angel Legion fleet!
At an important star-gate stronghold within the Starlight Kingdom, the Queen's Guard Fleet came charging in!
Within the Holy Radiance Kingdom, its most elite royal legion fleet, reorganized from the former Sacred Angel Legion fleet:
the Sacred Angel Kingdom Army Group sortied in full,
to help at the small ink battlefields in every region!
In the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom, the Dragon-Tiger Legion fleet once founded by Charlotte, and the Giant Dragon Legion fleet, now the most elite in the Warhammer, showed themselves one after another on the battlefields of every region.
A battlefield in the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom
"These fellows look truly disgusting." The dragon-folk princess Blanche held a white feather fan before half her face and frowned slightly.
Her sense of beauty made her greatly dislike these warships, pitch-black from end to end.
It was like finding cilantro in a delicious meal!
That was a foreign food she had eaten; after tasting it once, she had formed the notion of pulling up all the cilantro in the universe!
But to return to the matter!
At this moment Princess Blanche, who in the strict sense was the one holding power in the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom,
was at the head of the Giant Dragon Legion fleet, fighting on an important small ink battlefield!
Together with the Household Legion fleet that had come here in support, she was destroying the Pitch-Black Legion fleet that had appeared here.
Princess Blanche was here because this place truly mattered.
Not far from the battlefield lay the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom's largest resource-producing area!
One could imagine how important this place was.
"Warning! Warning! We've detected extremely high spatial fluctuation!" At this moment the starship's alert system began to sound.
Princess Blanche frowned slightly.
This ship of hers was a T6 Lord-of-Thunder-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyer, bestowed by the Emperor himself!
Its alert system was naturally very advanced.
"Notify every fleet, the Household Legion fleet's side included. Be on the alert!" Princess Blanche said calmly.
Then a huge cilantro… a pitch-black interstellar warship appeared before Princess Blanche's eyes.
"A quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warship!" Princess Blanche read it aloud, and her pupils moved slightly.
She knew some of the data on this warship, but so far it had appeared only on those five main battlefields.
This should be the first quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warship to appear on a small battlefield.
"Get Marshal Zhao Waner's Shadow Hunter ace fleet group!" Princess Blanche knew how many pounds and ounces she weighed, and at once made the wisest choice!