A piercing light appeared upon this field.
That was the star-shield of a T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser.
Looked at closely, one would find it was a vast shell, striking upon that shield.
The lightning and fire the impact raised were as dazzling as some small fixed star.
Every soul watching had his heart in his mouth in that moment.
The next second, at the place where the shield took the impact, cracks spread out like a spider's web; and thereafter this vast shell, after a brief pause of some seconds, drove forward again.
Though its speed, for the check it had taken, was a good deal reduced.
Yet when it struck this T5 Terror-Blade it burst the hull armor at the point of impact outright, and buried itself within.
And in the turn of an eye pierced out again at the other side.
In the course of it several explosions came within the hull, and thereafter a whole train of sympathetic detonations.
By the look of it, that piercing stroke had struck certain magazine positions.
Though even without those detonations, after such an impact this interstellar warship had in the main lost its capacity to fight.
One shot only!
And a T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser was annihilated.
Seeing this, the other two T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers were somewhat thrown into confusion.
Neither demon captain knew at the first moment how to decide, and could only ask Marshal Red Demon.
Marshal Red Demon's side too was long silent, and the result given at the last was: fight on!
Annihilate this T5 interstellar battleship as fast as may be.
Having their orders, these two T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers could only steel themselves and carry the task on, facing that terrible interstellar warship.
They could only hope that the interval at which this T5 battleship's great cannon could be used might be a long one.
——————
The T5 Holy-Redeemer-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Heavy-Artillery Battleship.
In the shell-loading department of the Redeemer-class 300M-bore super-electromagnetic railgun, the petty officer in charge was checking every detail of the loading in earnest.
"Quick! Quick! Quick! By the captain's order, load another Redeemer impact-type shell!" The department's petty officer called it down the department command channel.
At the same time she raised her head and looked through the transparent floor-length glass at a vast compartment outside.
Of the whole process of loading a shell, 99 percent is in fact mechanical, but the remaining 1 percent wants some manual working.
Some tens of vast mechanical arms came slowly on, dragging a vast shell with them.
Often as she had seen it, when the petty officer saw this vast shell again she could not help swallowing.
For this shell was truly far too large.
A full 300M in diameter!
Before their eyes it was for all the world like a small hill.
Through the whole of it operators at certain working nodes would enter certain commands, and by this the shell was at last smoothly loaded into the vast chamber of the gun.
Next was the charging of this electromagnetic cannon with energy, making all ready to fire that vast shell.
Several minutes later.
The department's petty officer contacted the bridge. "Reporting — the loading of a Redeemer impact-type shell into the Redeemer-class 300M-bore super-electromagnetic railgun is complete. The railgun's charging is complete. Your orders, if you please!"
A voice came from the bridge's end.
"Entering a new direction of attack…"
…………
The two T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers took to a guerrilla fight, roving about this T5 interstellar battleship upon their high speed and never staying long in one place.
They would even, for mobility's sake, give up a needful part of their firepower output.
Because they had seen with their eyes that terrible great-cannon stroke of this T5 battleship's, and dared not guarantee that their own ships, if struck, could bear it.
They could not stake so much.
And in roving thus they would take deliberate care to keep clear of this T5 battleship's bow.
Set against a battleship's high-speed maneuver and turning capacity, these two T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruisers were of course somewhat the stronger.
So the two demon captains' tactic was, by such means, to fly the kite and wear this battleship to death.
So long as your great cannon cannot take aim at me, it is an ornament!
And just as the two demon captains were full of confidence.
Their pupils widened sharply, and their eyes were filled with fear.
For they saw that the great cannon aboard that T5 interstellar battleship was moving — and moving at no slow rate!
"Curse it! That is no fixed gun!" one demon captain cursed in his terror, and at once ordered his own ship to open the distance from this T5 battleship.
At the same time he used his own power of command to draw off the T4 demon interstellar warships about him to help in his defense.
The other T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser made the same answer at the first moment.
At this moment both demon captains of these Terror-Blades were at their prayers.
Not me!
On no account me!
They stared without blinking at that vast barrel turning aboard the T5 interstellar battleship, praying that what it aimed at was the other T5 Terror-Blade, and not their own ship.
At the last.
The muzzle of this great cannon locked upon a T5 Terror-Blade that was attempting to withdraw!
In this moment the states of the two demon captains might be called the one heaven and the other hell.
"Curse it! Quick! Quick! Order the interstellar warships about me to give me cover at once! Quick! Tell them this is an order! An order!" This unlucky demon captain raged and stamped at this moment.
In this moment he could only think of every means to lessen his own danger.
"Reporting — the target is locked!" The deputy captain looked toward Captain Zhao Ruyue.
Captain Zhao Ruyue said coldly, "Fire!"
As the order went down.
This terrible great cannon, at an interval of some 10 minutes, roared again.
A vast shell was flung out at an exceedingly high speed.
Only that this time, ahead of that T5 Terror-Blade-class Medium Interstellar Battlecruiser, a dozen and more T4 demon interstellar warships had already appeared.
And all had opened their star-shields, and every close-in gun was firing, trying to intercept this vast shell.
Only that against a shell so hard past all comparison, next to no interception could serve at all — to say nothing of whether a thing at such a speed could be intercepted.
Even had they struck it by luck, it would have left no more than a cloud of dust and smoke at the point of impact.
Set against that, the T4 demon interstellar warships' interception with their own bodies as a wall of flesh had rather more effect.
Boom!
With the appearance of a vast fireball, the first T4 demon interstellar warship the shell struck lost its star-shield at very nearly the first instant of the collision, and thereafter the whole ship became a fireball.
The thing happened so fast that none of them had caught up with it.