"This is T4 Gorgon No. 1. Over 50% of the enemy fleet's area has entered our range. Requesting permission to attack!" the captain of No. 1 said in the command channel.
"Permission to attack!" Marshal Chu Xuan's authorization came through.
"Yes!" The captain of T4 Gorgon No. 1 looked fanatically excited.
As captain of this interstellar heavy-artillery ship, she had truly waited too long for this moment.
And she was in fact no stranger, but an old acquaintance of Zhao Chen's:
Fire Lydia.
Because of her outstanding ability, she had been among the candidates for captain of the first batch of T4 interstellar warships,
and had in the end been chosen as captain of T4 Gorgon No. 1!
"At last we get a chance like this. Let this lot get a good look at the power of our T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship! All heavy guns, full fire! Five salvos!"
Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship
Ship type: interstellar heavy-artillery ship
Tech grade: T4
Hull-armor strength: 3,000 units – 3,600 units
Star-shield energy value: 100,000 units
Cruise speed: 300 star-knots
Warp engine: grade-8 warp engine
Length: 3.6 kilometers
Mass: 2.11 million tons
Crew: 1,000
Ship weapons: 400 Gorgon-type particle-energy heavy-cannons
200 fully automatic high-density quad-mount energy close-in guns
The hull of this T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship carried four hundred Gorgon-type particle-energy heavy cannons.
At this very moment, these four hundred Gorgon-type particle-energy heavy cannons were all aimed at the thousand Lanners civilization interstellar warships barring the way opposite.
Four hundred pale-blue pillars of light appeared, then fell toward the far side like a meteor shower,
dazzling in every color.
Fire Lydia gazed at this scene; though it was not the first time she had watched it,
it was the first time she had seen it on a battlefield.
Those four hundred energy beams drew closer and closer to the thousand interstellar warships opposite.
The interstellar frigates among those thousand Lanners civilization interstellar warships opened full fire one after another, trying to intercept these attacks.
But the attacks were simply too fast.
For these ordinary interstellar frigates, intercepting them was a very big problem.
Boom, boom, boom.
Fireball after fireball of explosions appeared.
Those Lanners civilization interstellar warships, in this one round of attack,
suffered the loss of over a hundred interstellar warships outright.
Those T1- and T2-grade interstellar warships, under this heavy-artillery attack, did not even get the chance to withstand a single shot;
under the attack they turned into fireballs.
And next came the T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship's second round, and third round of attack.
Attacks like this went on for a full five rounds!
Under five rounds of attack,
Fire Lydia saw some of the heavy guns on her No. 1 showing signs of overload.
High-rate firing over a short time would bring this about.
Though they could still go on firing, it would do irreparable damage to the turrets, the barrels and the other weapon modules.
And as things stood now,
of the thousand interstellar warships opposite, after these five rounds of attack,
not one in ten survived.
The expected effect of the attack had already been achieved.
Fire Lydia's T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship No. 1 could be said to have completed its combat task.
"Give up our combat position. Keep a close watch on the condition of every heavy gun. Be ready to give fire support at any moment if needed!" Fire Lydia made the follow-up combat arrangements.
Then she saw the other interstellar warships around overtake the interstellar warship she was in and charge toward the stretch of space in the distance that the shellfire had just set ablaze.
There nearly a thousand interstellar warships were burning.
"So this is the dominance of a T4-grade interstellar warship." Fire Lydia looked at all that her own ship had done; even she herself was stunned by the scene before her.
Now she understood too why Marshal Chu Xuan was so confident
that with only one thousand five hundred interstellar warships, she could take the Lanners civilization's over five thousand interstellar warships in this naval port in a short time.
If there were only four more T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ships,
there would probably be no need to bring one thousand five hundred interstellar warships here at all.
A small flotilla of thirty interstellar warships, with just a few escorting starships, could destroy the five thousand interstellar warships opposite.
"Fire Lydia, remember one thing. Starships are in fact like naval warships on one point: if a generation gap opens up between starships, it's a crushing massacre!"
These were words Marshal Chu Xuan had said to her in a spare moment.
At the time she had only understood the surface meaning of those words.
And now, seeing this scene on the battlefield for real, she at last understood completely how cruel this generation gap was on the battlefield.
And at the time Marshal Chu Xuan had said another thing as well.
"And as for this thing called a generation gap, if it's on the enemy's side, then we actually still have a chance. Because the overall performance of our Fierce Dragon-made interstellar warships actually exceeds their present grade. Fight a T3 interstellar warship over there with a T2-grade interstellar warship on the battlefield, and you'll feel it. But if the generation gap is on our side, then the enemy has only the chance to feel despair."
This was Marshal Chu Xuan's other saying.
When Marshal Chu Xuan had said it, she still remembered that supremely confident smile on Marshal Chu Xuan's face.
At the time she had been somewhat puzzled.
Now she understood completely.
Fierce Dragon-made interstellar warships were truly terrifying beyond words!
The Lanners First Naval Port Command
"Report: our thousand interstellar warships have suffered losses of over eighty percent. The Fierce Dragon fleet opposite has a T4-grade interstellar warship. It's a T4-grade interstellar heavy-artillery ship. After five salvos, our fleet couldn't withstand it at all!" the adjutant said in terror.
"A T4-grade interstellar warship! How is that possible? How could the Fierce Dragon civilization have a T4-grade interstellar warship?" The port commander's face was full of disbelief.
He truly could not believe that the Fierce Dragon civilization could complete the production of T4 interstellar warships in so short a time.
It should be understood that in their Lanners civilization, their T3-grade interstellar warships had only just reached the minimum production requirement,
with not yet over fifty in all.
And now the other side had brought out a T4 interstellar warship outright.
This huge gulf was something he had never imagined!
"Sir, what do we do now? We've also spotted other suspected T4-grade interstellar warships. If there's more than this one T4 interstellar warship in the Fierce Dragon fleet, then… then…" The adjutant did not say the rest.
But the meaning was already plain.
Their Lanners civilization fleets had no T4-grade interstellar warships.
And running into a Fierce Dragon fleet with T4-grade ones, the result was easy to imagine.
"Pass on the order. Every interstellar warship fit to fight, all of them, move out. Whatever in the docks can move, get it out for me too. And report this situation to the higher-ups. Be sure to ask them to send every starship to support us! Remember, be sure to tell the Leader that we have T4-grade interstellar warships here! T4-grade!" the port commander said through gritted teeth.
"Yes!"
At this moment, the whole of this Lanners civilization First Naval Port entered the highest level of combat readiness.
The starships in the docks scrambled to get out one after another.
But by then they had already wasted a good deal of time.
Now the three hundred interstellar warships of the Fierce Dragon First Fleet had entered the naval port's fire range.
"Quick! All defensive weapons, open full fire. Intercept the starships over there!" The port commander pinned his hopes on the full set of fire-defense programs their naval port was equipped with.
The close-in guns and defensive cannons built all around opened fire one after another,
trying to intercept these interstellar warships of the Fierce Dragon fleet.
But a curtain of light slowly unfolded and stood in front of these attacks.
"That's… a T4-grade escort!" The port commander slumped into his chair, watching the attacks stopped by the curtain of light.
They naturally knew what that was.
Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escort
Ship-class: Interstellar Escort
Technology grade: T4
Hull-armor strength: 80,000–87,000 units
Star-shield energy: 6,000,000 units
Cruising speed: 380 star-knots
Warp drive: Grade-8 warp drive
Length: 2,900 meters
Mass: 1,200,000 tons
Crew complement: 500
Ship weapons: 300 T4-grade eight-barrel 800mm-caliber heavy close-in defense energy cannons (one round at a time, no interval between shots); 3,000 Paladin-class short-range interception-defense interstellar missiles (50 missile-launch units)
Special capabilities: full-coverage star-shield system; short-range assault mode; Paladin Star-Shield Matrix module (requires the coordinated cooperation of at least thirty T4 Paladins)
Marshal Chu Xuan looked at the three T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escorts shielding the very front of the fleet.
Though there were only three, as they stood in front with their star shields spread, they could already intercept most of the enemy's attacks.
"Only it's a pity there are just three for now; if there were thirty, the star-shield matrix could be switched on. Then it could protect the whole fleet. Still, for now, against the opponent before us, it's more than enough," Marshal Chu Xuan muttered.
And these three T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escorts, on this stage before them,
did not only play the role of defenders;
they were no mean fighting force too.
Three thousand Paladin short-range interception-defense interstellar missiles.
Though these interstellar missiles were originally meant for interception,
with a change of program, they could serve for attack too.
Once within range, they were after all T4-grade interstellar missiles,
and their power was quite considerable.
"Three T4 Paladins, first clear away all the close-in guns, orbital cannons and fortresses over there! Pave the combat route for the fleet coming in behind!" Marshal Chu Xuan ordered.
The fifty missile launchers on each of those three T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escorts opened, and interstellar missile after interstellar missile was revealed.
Then, trailing tail flames, they flew at the close-in guns built on satellites or on interstellar fortresses.
One, two, three.
The defenses ringing this naval port were rooted out one by one.
At the same time, the three hundred T4 eight-barrel 800 mm–caliber heavy close-in defense energy cannons on these three T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escorts also showed a worth never seen before.
"Never thought our interstellar frigates would get the chance to charge the enemy lines as main-force starships."
The captain of one T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escort sat in the captain's chair, watching this scene with a light laugh.
She was a Fierce Dragon veteran, and knew that in the Fierce Dragon civilization's campaigns out there,
these interstellar frigates served only as escorts, in a supporting role.
When had they ever had a chance like this, to play the lead on the battlefield?
"It used to be our interstellar frigates getting pounded by the enemy's guns. Now it's our interstellar frigates grabbing hold of the others and pounding them. Before, we wouldn't even have dared to dream of it. I must say, this feels really good," this interstellar frigate captain said with a hearty laugh.
After the defenses ringing the naval port had all been destroyed,
one interstellar warship passed beyond the zone guarded by the three T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Escorts,
a single interstellar warship charging alone toward that naval port.
Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser
Ship type: interstellar missile-battlecruiser
Tech grade: T4
Hull-armor strength: 50,000 units – 56,000 units
Star-shield energy value: 1,000,000 units
Cruise speed: 560 star-knots
Warp engine: grade-8 warp engine
Length: 7.8 kilometers
Mass: 4.66 million tons
Crew: 2,000
Ship weapons:
1 Tyrant heavy bow cannon
6 10,000mm-bore heavy railguns (can fire EMP shells, armor-piercing shells, proton shells, plasma shells, fusion shells, and nineteen kinds of solid ordnance in all)
50 interstellar missile launchers (fitted with 5,000 mid-short-range Tyrant-type interstellar missiles)
166 quad-mount heavy particle-energy rapid-fire cannons
488 fully automatic high-density six-mount energy close-in guns
"Thanks to Annie's team working overtime on overtime. Who'd have thought they could get a T4 interstellar battlecruiser into service ahead of schedule?" Marshal Chu Xuan looked at the super-giant ship in the video feed, leading the charge.
She could not help sighing inwardly.
"Yes. Who'd have thought an interstellar battlecruiser could come off the line into service earlier than other interstellar destroyers and interstellar cruisers?" the adjutant beside her said with feeling too.
"I hear it's because this T4 interstellar warship is rather special: many of its parts don't have very high technical requirements. Even a T2-grade production line, or a T2 interstellar industrial ship, can build them. That's why Annie could work overtime on overtime and build this T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Battlecruiser."
Marshal Chu Xuan said with a faint smile, "Then let's have a good look at what kind of showing this Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Battlecruiser will put on for us!"