At last the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's Thousand-Eye Troll Cannon stopped firing; every muzzle glowed the red of overload, still smoking.
Had this high-intensity fire gone on any longer, the Thousand-Eye Troll Cannon itself would likely have failed first.
And look, by contrast, at the target of the attack:
the T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership!
It now presented a sight no one could have expected.
A flower veined in purple and gold had opened at the bow of the Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership, with dazzling colors in it.
Seen from afar, it was as beautiful as a flower blooming in the universe.
"It really held it off!" the secretary-officer beside Zhao Waner said, dumbstruck.
Zhao Waner looked astonished too.
Defensive weapons of this type were not unknown; the principle was no more than absorbing the energy of the enemy's attack, and so holding the attack off.
They were mostly used against energy-type attacks.
But in real fighting,
defensive weapons of this kind had little practical value.
That too was why most interstellar warships now, even the Sacred Elf Empire's, gave priority to defensive equipment of the star-shield type.
The drawback of this kind of defensive weapon was that it seemed able to absorb the enemy's energy attacks, but it had an upper limit of its own.
It was like blowing up a balloon: when the balloon reached its limit, it would burst.
And the force of that burst could far exceed that of an interstellar warship destroyed in the ordinary way in battle.
So it could affect friendly ships on its own side.
That was why defensive weapons of this type rarely appeared on the battlefield.
Who would have thought the Hive Princess had actually fitted one to her own T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership?
"Wait, what's that!" At this point the secretary-officer noticed a change somewhere in the picture!
Zhao Waner looked closely.
The huge flower at the bow of that T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership was slowly turning and twisting, drawing in its petals, as though twisting itself into a rope.
In the end the huge flower had actually turned into a great gun!
That's right.
It was a great gun!
A gun of tremendous size, on which the spots of light shown while it absorbed the attack could still be seen.
And at this moment, in the bore of this great gun, countless energies were gathering, brighter and brighter,
like a huge torch!
"Could this be……" The secretary-officer covered her mouth.
A thought came into Zhao Waner's head; she stared hard at the great gun that had formed, and muttered, "That huge flower just now wasn't simply a defensive weapon for absorbing the enemy's energy attacks. It's a kind of…… weapon that can turn the enemy attacks it absorbs into attacks of its own."
The details, Zhao Waner naturally did not know, but she could infer the rough principle and structure.
Basically, that was how it was.
But simple as it sounded, actually making such a weapon a reality was no simple thing.
If the Hive Princess truly had done it,
it would be an enormous boost for this T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership.
And if in future this weapon could be put on other Hive Motherships, it would raise the fighting power of the whole Owl Dragon interstellar hive-race several steps!
At the thought, Zhao Waner felt her breath grow short.
And whether it could be done depended on the attack about to come!
At this point the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship opposite realized something was wrong too; several layers of star shields appeared on its front.
This was likely another special feature of this T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship: having multiple layers of star shields, it could naturally withstand more attacks.
It also avoided the risk of some powerful enemy attack piercing straight through the star shield.
But such a defense naturally needed enormous energy; had it not been for the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's special "constitution," that consumption could never have been met.
"It seems I really did underestimate these bugs." The Troll Monarch looked at that dazzling T6 Hive Mothership in the distance.
Whatever the method, being able to withstand a frontal attack from his T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship was enough to show how strong it was.
"But the gap between it and the Troll Monarch is still there. I don't believe a bug can do anything to my Troll Monarch," the Troll Monarch said coldly.
Not one of the subordinates beside him dared speak.
In truth they did not know whether their Sovereign meant these words in earnest or was putting on a show of calm.
At last the counterattack the T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership had built from absorbing the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's attack energy came.
A huge seven-colored beam shot out.
That's right!
Seven colors.
Extremely dazzling.
It was truly hard to imagine that such an attack came from a Hive Mothership; one could only say it was wholly out of keeping with a Hive Mothership's style.
But none of that mattered now.
What truly mattered was whether the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship could withstand this counterattack from the Dragon-Bones Taotie!
It was almost the same as when the Thousand-Eye Troll Cannon had fired.
Every unit in the path of the attack was destroyed; even T5-grade beings could hardly withstand this terrifying, high-intensity attack.
One could say it was ash at a touch!
Boom.
The moment that beam and the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's star shield struck each other,
Zhao Waner felt as though something had collided inside her own head, leaving her dazed for a moment.
And to the eye,
it was more dazzling still,
like a new small star being born!
The secretary-officer beside Zhao Waner clenched her fists, as tense as if she were the one attacking.
"It can do it, it can do it!" the secretary-officer muttered under her breath.
But Zhao Waner poured cold water on it without the least ceremony.
"Don't get your hopes up; this one round of attack alone can't possibly take that T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship."
"Huh? That attack looks very strong to me," the secretary-officer murmured.
Zhao Waner folded her arms and said calmly, "That attack is very strong; it absorbed the Thousand-Eye Troll Cannon's attack, and the conversion rate is probably very high too. Against an ordinary T6-grade interstellar warship, even if our own T6 interstellar battleships were here, they couldn't withstand that blow. But the enemy is the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship. Just look at that huge hull and you know it must have a great deal of energy, so the star-shield defense system it supports will be very strong too. So in theory, this attack will mainly use up the T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's star-shield energy; taking it in one blow is impossible."
The secretary-officer was somewhat crestfallen.
But she soon recovered.
If it couldn't be taken in one blow, so be it; that Troll Monarch still had to be made to take a big bite!
She went on watching the battlefield intently.
That terrifying seven-colored beam lasted a full three minutes.
And the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship, said to have nine layers of star-shield defense, had the energy of five layers of star-shield defense used up outright in those three minutes.
That was as good as halving the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's defenses in a single blow!
And now the state of the battle became delicate.
The T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's aim had been to close the distance and then give the target its strongest fire!
Even if it could not destroy the target at a stroke, it would at least leave the other side badly mauled.
But never in the world had anyone expected things to stand as they did now.
On the surface the two sides seemed evenly matched.
But everyone knew in their hearts that now it was more a contest of nerves between the two sides.
What the contest came down to was no more than this:
how many hidden means the enemy still had.
And, for instance, how much star-shield energy the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship had left; the Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship's Thousand-Eye Troll Cannon needed nearly half an hour between rounds of attack.
Then how long would the Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership's defensive weapon need before it could be used again?
Were there limits on its use?
These were all questions that wanted working out.
And because of these uncertain factors, how this battle was to be fought called for the most careful thought.
"Now the trouble has been tossed over to that Troll Monarch's side," Zhao Waner said with a light laugh.
The secretary-officer understood her meaning too, and said with a giggle, "I bet that fatso opposite is getting a headache now. Does he have his ship keep up the frontal attack, or hold its present position and exchange fire at long range, while sending other Devourer Civilization interstellar warships in to support on the battlefield? Those are all questions. Hee hee……"
As senior officers, they both knew very well how great the pressure was in making such choices.
One wrong choice could change the course of a war.
Very soon that Troll Monarch made his decision.
Zhao Waner and the secretary-officer both saw it, for that T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship changed course.
First, its speed was gradually slowing; it no longer had its earlier momentum of charging at the Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership.
But it had not stopped advancing at once either.
That meant the Troll Monarch had decided to meet it head-on, but did not mean to go on charging!
"By the look of it, the Troll Monarch means to trade fire with the Dragon-Bones Taotie at the range that suits the Troll Monarch best for fighting. After all, the other side is a Hive Mothership; if he plunged straight in and faced a vast number of hive combat units, even their Troll Monarch would have to weigh the risk. So, by comparison, keeping himself within a range where he can pour out fire and go on fighting the enemy from there is the most fitting choice."
"Hmph-hmph-hmph, can't win the fight himself, so he's started calling in his little brothers," the secretary-officer suddenly snorted.
On either side of the battlefield of the two super-flagships, the Devourer Civilization's interstellar fleets had begun deliberately swinging around from both flanks to catch the T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership in a pincer.
It seemed this was the Troll Monarch's battle plan for the next stage:
his own Troll Monarch would trade fire head-on, while his interstellar fleets swung around both flanks in support,
and in the end they would take that T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership!
A very simple tactical layout, but also the simplest and most practical.
"Then should we give Lady Hive Princess's side a hand too now?" the secretary-officer asked, somewhat hopefully.
To take part in this duel of super-flagships would naturally be a great honor.
"No need. The Hive Princess has her own hive fleet; if she needs help, she'll arrange it herself. We still put doing our own job first," Zhao Waner said calmly.
As an Imperial marshal, and the supreme commander of the Shadow Hunter ace fleet group,
Zhao Waner had, after many campaigns, long since grown into the calm, steady temper she had now.
Because her post was special and her legion fleet group was special, in battle she often needed to think more coolly than others!
She knew very well when it was right to strike, and when, even toward her teammates, she had to "watch the fire from the far bank."
Because of what made the fleet group special, the chance to strike was extremely important.
That had tempered Zhao Waner's character on the battlefield.
The secretary-officer was somewhat disappointed, but nodded in silence all the same.
"Keep a close watch on that plan. Our most important task now is to make sure that plan goes smoothly. If that plan doesn't go smoothly, however many enemies we destroy, it's all no use," Zhao Waner said gravely.
The secretary-officer promised at once, "Please rest assured, Marshal. I've been watching the progress of that plan all along. It's certain to go without a hitch! If there's the least slip, I'll atone for it with my life!"
Zhao Waner said nothing more.
Her eyes went back to that T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership.
The T6 Dragon-Bones Taotie Super-Heavy Hive Mothership · the bridge
The Hive Princess pursed her lips now, and said, somewhat dissatisfied, "Just as Brother said, this weapon has quite a few limitations. And the energy it absorbs can't be turned a hundred percent into attack energy either. Looks like it needs improving later."
Had outsiders known how the Hive Princess rated that attack just now, they would likely have coughed up blood.
You're still not satisfied with that attack just now?
Do you really have to finish off the other side's T6 Troll Monarch Interstellar Fortress Ship in one shot before you'll be satisfied?
Naturally no one knew what the Hive Princess was thinking.
She looked at the state of the battlefield before her.
She pursed her lips scornfully. "Can't win one-on-one, so you want to call in your teammates? Hmph, when it comes to calling in teammates, what right have you to compare with us hive-race? But today I'm going to not call in teammates, just to spite you. I'll make you lose and know you've been beaten fair and square. This Dragon-Bones Taotie is no ordinary Hive Mothership; it's what Brother and I worked on together!"
The Hive Princess clenched her fists; her eyes shone.
She longed very much for victory in this battle; this was the best chance there could be to show Brother what she had achieved!