"The Hades Strategic Core Program stands ready. The 'Hades Domain' will be activated; the captain's authorization is required." The operator of that weapon mode looked to Xue Xiaoxiao.
Xue Xiaoxiao had made ready long since; her palm came down upon the red button within the virtual screen before her.
The next second, a pale red light swept across Xue Xiaoxiao's body.
A mechanical voice rose with it.
Palm-print scan complete… DNA scan complete… iris scan complete… confirming authorizer's identity…
Confirmation complete. Authorizer number two, Xue Xiaoxiao… authorization valid.
Confirm activation of the 'Hades Domain'?
"Confirmed."
'Hades Domain' activated.
Annie, squatting in the corner eating her chips and drinking her drink, raised her head at this point, her gaze fixed upon that holographic interstellar battle image.
Upon it, with this interstellar warship as the center point, a green ring of light was expanding without cease, and soon covered within it the position where the Sacred Wing Legion fleet lay.
And this green ring of light, having opened to a certain range, stopped, and thereafter dispersed.
For all the world as though nothing at all had happened.
Zhao Chen, through the imagery transmitted in, looked at the Sacred Wing Legion fleet opposite. By their outward appearance these interstellar warships showed no change whatever.
"Start up the regular weapon array; lock the Sacred Wing Legion fleet. Open fire!" Xue Xiaoxiao ordered.
Upon this T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought's hull, gun emplacement after gun emplacement extended out and locked upon the Sacred Wing Legion fleet opposite.
The emplacements were, without exception, all of main-gun grade, and used energy shells besides — whose advantage lies in low cost and high rate of fire.
This T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought had already opened fire; yet the Sacred Wing Legion fleet opposite seemed as though its body had been pinned in place, and did nothing whatever.
Even the T4-grade interstellar warships had not so much as opened their all-round star shields.
Those weapons that ought to have stood in combat status, the close-in guns and the rest, all kept at this moment to their initial state — for all the world like soldiers resting with their heads bowed.
The Sacred Wing Legion · flagship bridge.
Of all this the Sacred Wing commander was of course aware.
Just a moment ago, an uncanny thing had happened.
The electronic systems of every interstellar warship of his Sacred Wing Legion had been wholly paralyzed, which had directly cost 3,000 interstellar warships their combat ability — and the overwhelming majority had even had their starship engines stop.
For it must be understood that once a starship engine shuts down, restarting it commonly takes above 10 minutes.
And what do those 10 minutes and more mean?
They mean the interstellar warships are so many living targets, without even the ability to resist.
"Report — incoming enemy attack detected! Attack type: high-intensity energy shells, of power sufficient to destroy the hulls of our T3-grade interstellar warships!" a subordinate reported in a panic.
"Quickly! Quickly! Restart the electronic systems of every interstellar warship! Open the star shields! The star shields!" the Sacred Wing commander bellowed, his heart burning within him.
But however he might burn, it was of no use; the systems within a starship are far too complex, and are not started merely by saying so.
And now, to them, a single second was exceedingly long.
"Report. T3 Light-Shield-class Heavy Interstellar Escort, ship G031, destroyed."
"Report. T3 Light-Ranger-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser, ship G710, destroyed."
"Report. T3 Sun-God…"
News of one interstellar warship's loss after another reached the Sacred Wing commander's ear.
The Sacred Wing commander stepped forward trembling before the captain's chair, and looked at that electronic roster representing the Sacred Wing Legion's interstellar warships.
At a speed the naked eye could follow, one after another turned grey.
Which meant that these interstellar warships had been destroyed.
When he saw several T4 Divine-Envoy-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers turn grey at once, he collapsed to his knees and clutched his head in both hands. "No! No! No! This is impossible! This is impossible!"
This once-insufferable commander, one of the Sacred-Light Legions', was at this moment like a homeless cur, staring dully at the Sacred Wing Legion's ship roster, two-thirds of it already turned grey.
In a bare few minutes… in a bare few minutes…
The Sacred Wing Legion that was his pride had been butchered like so many pigs and dogs, without even the ability to resist.
At this moment the whole bridge had fallen into a confusion, a despair.
And this feeling, like a plague, spreads by infection besides.
Some screamed; some wept; some cried out and wailed like madmen; some, heedless of discipline, bolted from the bridge to run for their lives.
The Sacred Wing commander raised his head and looked beyond the viewport at Sacred Wing Legion interstellar warship after interstellar warship exploding.
And then looked at that terrible interstellar warship in the distance.
And at that golden Owl Dragon crest upon it above all, which seemed so to stab at the eye.
Defeated…
Had his Sacred Wing Legion truly been defeated so?
He had thought of defeat; he had thought of the Owl Dragon Legion laying an ambush for him by long design, of walking into a trap, and so forth.
He had thought of a fierce and bloody slaughter with the Owl Dragon Legion.
Bloody it was now, right enough.
But it was, more's the pity, a one-sided bloodiness.
A one-sided butchery.
And a butchery of 3,000 interstellar warships by one interstellar warship.
Hsss, hsss, hsss.
Just at this moment, a sound came from the communication apparatus.
The adjutant came running over in excitement and looked to the commander. "Commander! By our most primitive means of communication, we have word of reinforcements. Listen, quickly! Listen, quickly!"
"We are the … th legion fleet… will reach the Sacred Wing Legion's coordinate position in about five minutes; accompanying us are besides… Await support, await support…"
The communication came broken and intermittent, far from stable.
Suddenly the Sacred Wing commander roared into that communication in hysteria, "Do not come! Flee! Flee! All Holy Radiance interstellar warships withdraw at full speed, leave this place… withdraw from the Warhammer… Notify the Empire at once — the Owl Dragon—"
Before the Sacred Wing commander's words could finish.
The whole bridge began to shake violently, and the floor began to cave in, and cracks appeared.
And thereafter, there was… no thereafter…
The Sacred Wing Legion's flagship, a T4 Retribution-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship, fell.
And at the same time, over on the other side, that Holy Radiance legion fleet attempting to reach the Sacred Wing Legion lost the communication link it had just managed, with no small trouble, to establish.
"What has happened? We could not make out more than a few words just now — how has the communication been cut?" The legion's commander knit his brows and upbraided the officer in charge of communications.
The communications officer said helplessly, "I do not know either; the Sacred Wing Legion lost contact after sending out that call for aid. We managed to reach them just now, barely, using the most primitive means of communication; but for reasons unknown it was suddenly cut off again. The other party said something, but owing to the signal's instability we could not make it out. If you require it, we can spend a few minutes restoring the content of that communication."
"Go quickly. The Consul is waiting on my word." The commander urged him on.
"Yes."
The commander glanced at their course. In another three minutes they would enter the range from which that coordinate area could be observed.