The 40 Lion King interstellar missiles began their terminal acceleration, burning off the last of their fuel in the shortest possible time to push their speed to the maximum!
The 40 Lion King missiles didn't all fall on that Fire Salamander T2 flagship. Only 20 did; the remaining 20 scattered across the Fire Salamander warships around it. Balls of exploding fire bloomed in the pitch-black cosmos. The Eighth Fleet's T2 flagship above all — its whole hull was blanketed by the T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship's fire, swallowed up in the flames of the blasts.
Almost in that same instant, every ship under the Fire Salamander Eighth Fleet lost communication with its flagship.
"Report — the Eighth Fleet's flagship, the T2 Giant Bear-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship, has been destroyed!"
That one piece of news struck the Fire Salamander chieftain just as he was preparing to "hunt" that T3 warship.
"What?" The chieftain shot straight up from the captain's chair. The battle had scarcely begun — not a few minutes in — and one of his fleets had already lost its flagship! Was this some kind of joke?
He called up the battlefield feed of his Eighth Fleet, and in an instant was left speechless. All he could see now was the wreckage of a warship beaten past all recognition — one couldn't even make out what the T2 Giant Bear had originally looked like. Had it not been impossible for his own subordinates to deceive him on such a matter, he'd truly have wanted to ask: was this really the Eighth Fleet's flagship?
Enlarging the image, he saw a scene more chilling still. Besides that mangled T2 Giant Bear, within a certain range around it lay the wreckage of a number of T1 warships, and several T2 warships with battered hulls. Those T2 ships hadn't fallen, but their hulls' key sections — the main-gun positions and the like — had all been wrecked.
"Interstellar missiles? It's a missile ship!" The chieftain had seen the imagery his subordinates put up. One of the ships in it was an interstellar missile ship of unknown origin. Such an obscure class had basically never appeared in the Reef Star Region. For that one volley of missiles — a mere 50 — at common market prices meant at least 500,000 or 600,000 star coins fired off in that single salvo! Such a terrifying combat expenditure was exactly why so few interstellar powers equipped T2 missile ships. Unless you could research and manufacture them entirely yourself, in which case it might come cheaper. But buy a T2 missile ship from someone else, and it meant you'd have to keep buying batch after batch of interstellar missiles from them long-term — not like other warships, a one-and-done purchase, where at most they'd come find you for repairs, and some you could even handle yourself.
The chieftain now realized another matter of grave importance too — the T2 missile ship's firing interval was extremely short!
Sure enough. At this moment that T2 missile ship launched another 50 interstellar missiles, screaming in toward the Fire Salamander Eighth Fleet.
"Have the other warships of the Eighth Fleet take over command at once! Fourth Fleet, launch an immediate assault on the enemy — destroy that T2 missile ship as fast as you can!" the chieftain ordered urgently.
At this moment, Zhao Chen too was enjoying the T2 Lion King's "debut performance," It had to be said, this feeling of raining down firepower really was quite the thrill. Still, Zhao Chen's heart ached a little. This one volley of 50 missiles — 600 star coins to build each, 50 coming to a full 30,000 star coins! Sold at market price, there'd be a profit margin of at least 10 to 20 times. So this was the good of researching and building one's own.
"Rather a beautiful picture," Zhao Chen remarked teasingly to Charlotte beside him.
Charlotte shot a glance at the scene of the missiles exploding. "A money-burning scene — how could it not be beautiful?"
Amid all that exploding dust, there wafted the fragrance of money.
Soon the second volley of 50 missiles came down — this time a precision strike, seeking out the T2 warships in the Fire Salamander Eighth Fleet, chiefly the battleships, battlecruisers, and cruisers.
"If we had a few dozen T2 Lion Kings, couldn't we spread the rain and dew around a bit?" Zhao Chen rubbed his chin, rather looking forward to seeing that picture.
Hearing this, Charlotte couldn't help feeling a chill run down her back. That scene — it would be terrifying beyond words!
The second volley now exploded in turn, swallowing Fire Salamander T2 warship after T2 warship. Hard on its heels came the third volley, and the fourth! Under these three volleys of fire, 12 T2 warships were destroyed outright, better than 40 T2 warships crippled, and dozens of T1 warships caught in the crossfire of the attack besides. At a stroke, the Fire Salamander Eighth Fleet's T2 warships had lost 80% of their fighting strength.
But this was not the end. The Fire Salamander Eighth Fleet, only just coming back to itself after three volleys of fire, saw a great black swarm of interstellar drones bearing down. The nightmare had only just begun.
T2 Lion King — Bridge
The wolf-girl Baixue watched the crippled Fire Salamander Eighth Fleet; after one more sweep by the drone swarm, it would basically pose no threat at all. She turned her gaze to the other Fire Salamander fleet now bearing in.
Use the T2 Lion King in concert with the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier to first cripple one of the two enemy fleets, stripping it of its main fighting power; then turn to face the remaining Fire Salamander fleet, wrap up the battle here quickly, and go to the support of the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser. This was the battle plan Baixue and Charlotte had drawn up.
"Lock the target on the area of the Fire Salamander Fourth Fleet's flagship — ready six volleys of interstellar missiles!" The wolf-girl Baixue fixed the next target on the Fire Salamander Fourth Fleet.
And this fleet flagship now locked was no ordinary ship. It was the Fire Salamander clan's T3 Specter-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer!
It had thrust its star shield out early — but what it faced was volley after volley of interstellar missiles. The first 50 missiles, without the least courtesy, all came calling on this T3 Specter-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer. The scene left the Fire Salamander generals on the bridges of the ships around the Fourth Fleet's flagship with their hearts all quaking with dread.
Too terrifying!
The T2 Lion King had perfectly demonstrated the allure of the vessel nicknamed the "interstellar arsenal ship" — challenging a T3 warship above its class without the slightest fear!
Wherever the guns reached, all was ruin!
This — was the interstellar missile ship!
This — was Zhao Chen's Lion King!