The firepower output of the T3 Phoenix-class fighters and T3 Fire Phoenix-class heavy interstellar stealth bombers once again cleared away a great swath of swarm units, and pushed forward a stretch of territory! And at this point, the munitions of the T3 Phoenix-class fighters and T3 Fire Phoenix-class stealth bombers were basically all spent. Just now, they yielded up their positions to their "comrades-in-arms."
The T3 Black Phoenix drones passed over the T3 Phoenix-class fighters and T3 Fire Phoenix-class stealth bombers and charged to the very front. At tremendous speed, they took over from the T3 Phoenix-class fighters and T3 Fire Phoenix stealth bombers the work of opening the lane for the fleet. The T3 Blizzards and T3 Phantom Assassins followed hard behind!
Pei Shengnan looked at the T3 Black Phoenix drones brushing past her shoulder; though she knew there was no one piloting them within, she nonetheless gave these interstellar drones a military salute. Seeing off these special comrades-in-arms of hers.
Pei Shengnan and the others had completed their task, and began to turn for home. And the T3 Black Phoenix drones that took over the task carried out their combat task to perfection, opening the flight-lane for the T3 Blizzards and T3 Phantom Assassins behind — letting the T3 Blizzards and T3 Phantom Assassins advance at tremendous speed!
"T3 Black Phoenix No.1320, munitions about to be fully spent. Executing final combat task; this craft, by order, self-detonates." A mechanical voice sounded. The T3 Black Phoenix No.1320, its munitions fully spent, did not turn for home; instead it abruptly quickened its own speed and broke away from the whole drone formation. At the front of the formation, it plunged headlong into the swarm — and then self-detonated, taking a patch of swarm units with it!
In truth, well before this sortie of theirs, they'd known this would be the last combat task they'd carry out. Because at their last return to the mothership for resupply, self-detonation devices had been installed within their bodies. Once their munitions were fully spent, they'd use their own bodies to go on opening the road ahead for the fleet to their rear!
10 craft…
50 craft…
100 craft…
300 craft…
More and more flames appeared; more and more of the T3 Black Phoenix data turned black over on the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship's side. A bridge woman-soldier responsible for the interstellar drones found her eyes gone somewhat red and swollen. For reasons she couldn't say — though she knew full well these interstellar drones were lifeless things, that once spent, they could simply be replenished anew in the future — watching this unhesitating, suicidal assault, her heart was nonetheless stirred, and pained; a pain she couldn't quite put into words…
Under this whole maneuver, by the time those 2,000-odd T3 Black Phoenix-class medium interstellar drones were spent, the T3 Blizzards and T3 Phantom Assassins had already reached a point only a third of the original distance from the T4 Hive Mothership.
"Baixue!" Zhao Chen gave a great shout at this point.
T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship No.1 · bridge.
The wolf-girl Baixue's two eyes were shot through with excited blood; she roared, "Fire!"
The 2,500 T2 Lion King-class interstellar missiles of the five T2 Lion Kings fired out at tremendous speed; they caught up with the T3 Blizzards and T3 Phantom Assassins ahead — indeed, sailed right past the sides of these two models of warship. Cluster after cluster of exploding flame covered the swarm ahead of the T3 Blizzards and T3 Phantom Assassins. The successive explosive flames devoured this stretch of swarm. Watching that scene, the wolf-girl Baixue's face was one flush of red. "Too beautiful…"
After this wave of the interstellar missiles' attack — a case of setting out later but arriving first—
Charlotte, aboard T3 Blizzard No.1, could already faintly make out, through the deep-space telescope, the trace of the T4 Hive Mothership opposite, and the several hundred T4 Guardian-class Leviathans besides.
"Wan'er, it's our turn now," Charlotte murmured.
Zhao Wan'er, aboard T3 Phantom Assassin No.1, said in earnest, "Phantom Assassin squad, ready!"
The 20 Blizzards, bearing their shields, covered the five T3 Phantom Assassins behind them as they accelerated their voyage! Charging into the explosive smoke that had not yet dispersed. The 20 T3 Blizzards' main guns and secondary guns fired at full power, interstellar missiles pouring out, and the Blizzard interstellar drones all sortied too.
"Report! We've detected five T3 Hive Motherships closing in on our warships!" a crew member reported.
Charlotte looked at the five energy signals shown on the ship radar.
"Two ships to one — destroy them!"
"Yes!"
The T3 Blizzards, two to a group, trained their bow cannons upon their respective target T3 Hive Motherships. Along with the firing of 10 cluster-lasers, those five T3 Hive Motherships soon vanished from the ship radar.
"Wan'er! Now's the moment!" Charlotte cast an eye over the position; just now they were very close to the T4 Hive Mothership, with only a small quantity of swarm remaining in between — and those T4 Guardian-class Leviathans!
"Phantom Assassin squad, attack!" Zhao Wan'er gave the order.
The five T3 Phantom Assassins began to launch their interstellar torpedoes, interstellar bombs, and interstellar missiles. The targets pointed straight at the swarm blocking the way before the T4 Hive Mothership ahead, and at those T4 Guardian-class Leviathans! The T3 Blizzard fleet, too, poured all its firepower upon those T4 Guardian-class Leviathans. Bow cannons, main guns firing one after another. One T4 Guardian-class Leviathan after another fell amid the explosions.
"Report — Phantom Assassin No.04, bomb-drop complete!"
"Report — Phantom Assassin No.03, bomb-drop complete!"
"Report — Phantom Assassin…"
The five T3 Phantom Assassin-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bombers soon dropped all the munitions they carried.
"Evade immediately!" Charlotte, with no leisure to check what effect this round of attack had had, at once began leading the T3 Blizzards in covering the T3 Phantom Assassins as they evaded to the side. Because just now, to the rear of their own fleet, six terrifying beams of light stood poised and ready!
The three T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships were spread in a line, and the two bow giant cannons each of them carried were trained upon that "flight-lane" the Blizzard fleet had just cleared out — one not yet re-covered by the swarm.
"Fire!" Chu Xuan gave the order to fire.
The three T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships fired almost at the same instant. That scene was simply too gorgeous for words! Six columns of light, for all the world like a divine miracle, reached the front of the T4 Hive Mothership at tremendous speed.
In that round of attack a moment ago, the several dozen T4 Guardian-class Leviathans that remained — so few now — attempted to ward off the attack with their own bodies; but there was nothing to be done — a mantis trying to halt a chariot, it worked no effect at all. The T4 Hive Mothership, sensing the danger, began to eject a great quantity of unknown spores from the two sides of its body; these spores exploded, producing energy shockwaves, in an attempt to cancel out the incoming attack. The terrifying whirlwinds produced by the bombardment scattered the surrounding swarm, and those nearer still were, under the high heat produced by the explosions, reduced to ash.
Zhao Chen, Chu Xuan, Charlotte — and even Xu Yifan, fighting to the death within the star-gate defensive line — all fixed their eyes on this scene.