At this very moment, under the watching eyes of the crowd—
—Blizzard Zero was tearing toward the T2 Bald Eagle-class Light Interstellar Cruiser at an astonishing speed.
At the sight of that gleaming, bared 1200mm Devil-Croc cannon, everyone had already guessed at Blizzard Zero's intent.
Every soul held their breath, waiting for what was about to come.
"Damn it! Why does that ship carry the T2 Devil-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship's 1200mm Devil-Croc cannon! Full-speed evasive maneuvers — all close-in guns, ready to intercept!" Deputy Captain Wang Cheng gave the order, his expression grim.
"Wang… Deputy Captain Wang… what… what's happening? That… that damned giant gun, and that junk ship's speed… we… we won't be in any danger, will we? The victory in this battle is still ours, isn't it!" Zhang Haoran's face had gone white as a sheet by now. Fop though he was, he had, after all, spent three years at a starship military academy.
Some measure of basic knowledge he did have. A 1200mm giant gun — the power of a thing like that…
Wang Cheng gave no answer, for anyone with eyes could read the situation before them now.
Their own laser main cannon was in its cooldown-and-recharge phase, and the remaining sub-weapons were not yet within firing range.
Meanwhile the enemy ship's speed had shot up to nearly 100 star-knots — and then there was that 1200mm cannon it had just bared.
Their T2 Bald Eagle had already become the prey beneath the hunter's gun.
The one thing they could pray for now was that the enemy's shot missed their ship — and that they might then seize the moment to strike back. Perhaps, then, there was still hope.
But… at the thought of that enemy ship's terrifying hundred-star-knot speed—
—the shadow it cast across Deputy Captain Wang Cheng's heart was a very large one indeed.
Damn it — isn't this a military academy? Isn't the opponent a down-at-heel noble? So how is it he owns a ship that does 100 star-knots!
Blizzard Zero · the bridge.
"In one minute we'll enter the outer limit of the enemy's sub-weapon range. Before that, we fire first!" Charlotte looked to Captain Zhao Chen. "I'll take direct control of the aim; you give the order to fire."
"No problem." Zhao Chen nodded.
"I'll take over the firing preparations for the Devil-Croc cannon." Charlotte assumed control of the firing sequence. "In 40 seconds, ship speed to zero!"
"Yes! In 40 seconds, reduce speed!" answered the crewman on navigation.
Why reduce speed?
When a starship fires, is its hit-rate higher underway, or higher at a standstill?
The answer needed no telling.
The 40 seconds were up in the blink of an eye.
The crewman set to work at once. "Beginning speed reduction; engine reverse-thrust engaged! Current speed 80… 60… 40… 20… five… Report! Current ship speed zero! Ship at a full standstill! Over!"
From 100 star-knots down to zero, Blizzard Zero had taken all of under five seconds.
Once again this overturned the very notions of the students and mentors in the gallery — this engine's powers of acceleration and deceleration were, frankly, a little too strong.
And at this moment, everyone understood well enough what was about to happen next.
Charlotte was now checking the ship's automatic weapon-targeting data; the 1200mm Devil-Croc cannon had already locked onto that T2 Bald Eagle!
Confirming it was true and error-free, she said, "Report, Captain — lock complete! Ready to fire at any moment!"
"Fire!" Zhao Chen's roar rang out across the entire bridge.
The feeling of it was, frankly, glorious.
Almost in the same instant, this 1200mm-caliber heavy Devil-Croc cannon, after a silence of some 80 years and more, loosed its roar once again.
A titanium-alloy high-explosive shell, 1200mm across, hurtled out of the gun's mouth at tremendous speed!
In the instant of firing, Zhao Chen could feel the whole bridge give a shudder.
Watched from outside, this one shot drove Blizzard Zero itself back tens of meters, its bow tipping faintly upward.
And there, at the mouth of the 1200mm heavy Devil-Croc cannon, the chemical smoke of the discharge still hung, not yet dispersed.
"Warning! Warning! Warning! Attack locked onto this ship detected — evade! Evade! Evade!"
"Warning! Warning! Warning! Attack locked onto this ship detected — evade! Evade! Evade!"
"Warning! Warning! Warning! Attack locked onto this ship detected — evade! Evade! Evade!"
The T2 Bald Eagle's bridge flashed with red light, the system's warning cries following one on another without cease.
"All ship close-in guns, throw up a barrage — intercept it! Fast! Fast! Fast!" Deputy Captain Wang Cheng hurriedly gave the interception order.
The 20 150mm T2 medium quad-mounted close-in guns aboard the T2 Bald Eagle opened up at full power just then, weaving a dense net of interception fire.
But alas — these small-caliber close-in barrages were facing down a giant gun of fully 1200mm across!
It was, in the plainest terms, a mantis raising its arms against a war-chariot!
BOOM.
An ear-splitting roar rang out across the Bald Eagle's bridge, and the whole bridge began to heel over to one side.
Zhang Haoran's body took flight straight off the deck, sailing three meters through the air, his head slamming hard into some jutting corner; blood ran down his whole face.
He dropped to the floor and sat there, clutching his bleeding head, and said in terror, "What… what's happening… am I… going to die? I don't want to die… Mom… Mom, save me…"
Deputy Captain Wang Cheng, at this point, had no attention to spare for this pampered young lordling — a man who, under bombardment, didn't so much as grasp the basic sense of steadying his own body.
"Report — the port hull armor's been pierced, and it's touched off a port-side ammunition room; there's been a secondary detonation. 37 compartments are affected, and have been sealed off; eight crew are dead, the number of wounded unknown."
"Report — that secondary detonation just now has affected our ship's energy system; the energy supply is dropping at a rate of 10% a minute! If the situation isn't brought under control, we estimate the ship will lose its energy supply entirely within 10 minutes."
"Report — our weapon system has malfunctioned; some weapon modules can't be brought to bear."
"Report — our ship's speed is falling steadily, and we can't get it under control!"
The whole bridge was, by now, nothing but one piece of bad news after another.
"How could this be…" Deputy Captain Wang Cheng wore a look of sheer astonishment. He'd never imagined a single shell from the enemy could have such an effect.
As things stood, the T2 Bald Eagle was already crippled beyond repair; fight on, and there was every chance of the ship being destroyed and the crew killed.
"Young Master Zhang… we… we've lost… let's surrender." Deputy Captain Wang Cheng walked over before Zhang Haoran and said in a low, heavy voice.
"Lost… lost… impossible… how could this happen! Aren't you supposed to be an excellent captain! My dad paid good money to hire you — how could you go and lose the battle for me! Don't you understand, if I lose I have to withdraw from Northstar! You worthless piece of trash!" With the explosions stopped now, Zhang Haoran came back to himself out of his panic. He staggered to his feet and slapped Deputy Captain Wang Cheng full across the face.
Deputy Captain Wang Cheng lowered his head and said nothing.
And it was just at this moment that the hull once again gave off all manner of "explosions."
"What's going on… what's going on…" Zhang Haoran promptly went spineless all over again, crouching down onto the floor.
He lifted his head and looked at the "floor-to-ceiling window" fronting the bridge. The T2 Bald Eagle's bridge used a special-material glass window with a 100-degree field of view, through which one could look directly out on the vista of space.
A bridge window like this was no ordinary pane of glass; its strength surpassed even the ship's hull armor, making it one of the most heavily defended points on the whole vessel — but its cost was enormous, and so only a handful of areas were fitted with it.
And at this moment, spiderweb cracks had spread across this bridge floor-to-ceiling window.
"Report! Enemy ship closing on us fast; the enemy's sub-weapons are inflicting damage on our ship!" a crewman reported in a rush.
"Report! Frontal hull armor damage at 20%…"
"Report! Frontal hull armor damage at 40%…"
Crack. Crack.
Whether it was a trick of the mind or not, Zhang Haoran seemed to hear the sound of glass splintering — and in his head there had already taken shape a vision of the whole bridge window shattering, and of the wretched state he'd be left in.
In that instant, he felt a chill spread across his lower body.
Panic-stricken, weeping, he pleaded aloud, "I concede! I surrender!"