Shock!
Terror!
Disbelief!
The Black Wolf commander — from serving as a captain, to commanding a small fleet, and then to commanding a legion commanding an interstellar fleet of 3,000 warships; becoming a figure of pivotal weight in the Black Wolf Tribe — had never once seen the scene he was, at this moment, beholding. He could guarantee that, in any interstellar campaign he had learned of, seen, or heard tell of, not one had come as "horror-striking" as the scene before him now.
That the hundred T3 interstellar frigates, at first, leaning on their powerful defensive firepower, destroyed the T2 interstellar warships he'd sent out to attack — that, too, he could accept. For, after all, it was the gap between T3 interstellar warships and T2 interstellar warships.
But who could ever have imagined that these T3 interstellar frigates would very quickly turn from defense to offense — and that, moreover, their sailing speed would, in an exceedingly short span of time, climb to an astonishing rate. This led, straight off, to the Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion's interstellar warships in the midst of their charge falling at an even swifter rate! And at the same time, because the two sides' interstellar fleets were advancing toward each other, it greatly shortened the time of the two sides' interstellar warships' contact — and it looked as though the two sides were about to collide together.
At this point, the Black Wolf commander was still thinking that, perhaps, his interstellar fleet could rely on its numerical advantage to deal these T3 interstellar frigates a heavy blow in a close-quarters tangle. But very quickly he discovered that his thinking had been far too naive. The one that took the heavy blow was not the other side's interstellar frigates — on the contrary, it was his own interstellar fleet.
Those T3 interstellar frigates rammed into his interstellar warships without the least fear. A T2 interstellar warship, under the ramming of these T3 interstellar frigates, in a light case had its hull dented, lost its power, its warship damaged. In a severe case, the hull split outright, torn into fragments amid the star-firmament. Hundreds of T2 interstellar warships fell one after another. Even the gunfire of the T3 interstellar warships could inflict no great harm upon these T3 interstellar frigates. On the contrary, the moment these T3 interstellar frigates caught a single T3 interstellar warship, they swarmed it in a mass — those keen great black horns, without the least ceremony, launching a mad ramming upon the Black Wolf Tribe's T3 interstellar warships.
Can you imagine it? The scene of 100 T3 interstellar warships beating up 2,000 interstellar warships? This Black Wolf commander could not, in all his life, have imagined a scene of this kind.
"Just which force's interstellar warships are these!" For the first time, the Black Wolf commander felt fear; he clenched his fists, and in the end handed down an order. "Convey my command. Assemble a small elite fleet, and swiftly break away from the battle!" Only now had he realized that in this warp-interception ambush battle, the enemy had every surety of being able to swallow him whole. To continue staying here would be but the one end. He gathered in his none-too-many remaining T3 interstellar warships, attempting to lead this one small band of interstellar fleet in a breakout.
But an unlooked-for scene appeared.
At just this moment, upon the bridges of the surrounding T3 interstellar warships there rang out the warning-tones of being locked on by interstellar missiles and interstellar torpedoes. Thereupon, five T3 interstellar warships appeared out of thin air around the Black Wolf commander's flagship, interstellar missiles and interstellar torpedoes launching forth without cease.
The Black Wolf commander's pupils dilated; he watched with his own eyes as his already none-too-many remaining T3 interstellar warships turned into fireballs beneath the star-firmament. But, for some reason, these interstellar stealth bombers circling around his own flagship did not fire so much as a single interstellar torpedo at this Black Wolf commander's flagship.
"Interstellar stealth bombers!" the Black Wolf commander's trembling lips spat out this ship-type.
"Attack! Attack! Lock onto these interstellar stealth bombers!" the Black Wolf commander roared out in rage and hysteria.
And just as this T3 flagship he was aboard was making ready to counterattack —
Upon the bridge there rang out warning-tones.
"Warning! Warning! The ship is under high-intensity electromagnetic interference; multiple ship-system modules have developed malfunctions and cannot operate!"
"Star-shield system malfunctioned."
"Main-gun system has met with electronic interference and cannot be controlled."
"Point-defense gun systems all paralyzed."
"Energy system is in a stalled state."
"The ship's internal comm network has lost signal."
The Black Wolf commander watched as the bridge's lighting suddenly went dark; and then the emergency power supply came into use, its dim, gloomy radiance lighting up the bridge before him. All the crew upon the bridge were, at this moment, each a face of it-defies-all-reason. And the Black Wolf commander, for his part, stared blankly at the scene beyond the ship, captured by the deep-space telescope before him. He saw 20 white T3 interstellar drones, at this moment, circling around his flagship, giving off a kind of particle-radiance. He recognized this type of interstellar drone — they were electronic-interference interstellar stealth drones, a very rare sort of technology. It was precisely because of this interstellar drone that his flagship's multiple systems had directly been paralyzed.
"Heh heh heh… hahahaha…" The Black Wolf commander, his spirit as good as fled, slumped down into the captain's chair; by now he already knew clearly his own end.
He had lost. He had utterly lost. The Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion here would be wholly annihilated by the enemy! Even his own flagship would be captured by the enemy.
Captured?
Upon the interstellar battlefield, for the flagship to be captured by the enemy fleet — how shameful a thing that was. Only a pity that now, with his flagship's systems paralyzed, he couldn't even manage the means to self-destruct and go down with the ship. As for some small personal explosives — on the strength of such weapons, to try to destroy the hull of a T3 interstellar warship? Best not to daydream.
The Black Wolf commander moved his hand to his waist, and drew out a beast-blade. It was a beast-blade fashioned from a wolf's fang. Though it was now the interstellar age, for the beast-folk tribes, every tribe would preserve some of their traditional rituals. And this beast-blade was, precisely, meant for those interstellar soldiers of his who might well be captured by the enemy.
But when he actually held this beast-blade and pressed it to his own throat, this Black Wolf commander was afraid. He, too, feared death. The beast-blade in his hand dropped to the floor; he laughed aloud in self-mockery. And he'd fancied himself the Black Wolf Tribe's finest interstellar warrior.
The Black Wolf commander stared at those Black Wolf Tribe Third Legion interstellar warships being slaughtered in the deep-space-telescope image, and at those interstellar drones and interstellar stealth bombers around his own flagship. He came to be at peace.
An enemy of this kind — his loss was no injustice. Interstellar missile ships. Interstellar battleships. Interstellar battlecruisers. And those beyond-belief interstellar frigates. Never mind a legion fleet of his — even the strongest elite fleet of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's fighting-strength might well be wholly annihilated here.
Having thought all this through, this Black Wolf commander, on the contrary, came to have another notion. He was curious just what the origin of this interstellar fleet that had assailed him was. He wanted to meet the commander of that interstellar fleet. He wanted to see just what manner of person the fellow who possessed such beyond-belief, terrifying interstellar warships was! Just what manner of person the fellow who'd defeated him was!
Otherwise, he'd die with his eyes unclosed!