141: Chapter 141 You're Surrounded!

It was approximately three hundred meters long and sixty meters wide.

The entire hull featured the highly recognizable Gothic cathedral style typical of the Warhammer Imperium of Man.

A massive ram was embedded in the bow, and the sides of the hull were lined with launch ports for Macro Cannons.

Its stern was currently spewing a blinding blue ion exhaust trail.

Flanking this flagship on both wings...

Followed three armed destroyers, also of considerable size, but clearly modified from large heavy-load merchant ships.

Aside from these few pieces of scrap metal that could barely be considered warships...

The remaining forty-odd ships were all fifty-meter-class assault landing craft used for troop transport!

Lin Li looked at the opponent's aggressive posture and was directly amused by the absurdity of it all.

"Good heavens. This couldn't be that House Rofis sending a fleet to suppress the rebellion and deal with us, could it?"

Lin Li pointed at the shabby, broken ships on the screen.

"They sent these pieces of junk? Are they looking down on us, or is their family so poor they can't even afford a decent meal?"

Lin Li watched the fleet slowly approaching on the screen.

The urge to cause trouble, inherent in his role as the Great Commander of the The Fourth Calamity who loved showing off, flared up instantly.

Furthermore...

Currently, the players hadn't even built a vehicle capable of reaching the sky, and they temporarily lacked any space combat capabilities.

It was clearly unrealistic to directly assign the task of intercepting enemies in outer space to the players.

Once this fleet entered the orbit of the Outpost planet and began indiscriminate orbital bombardment...

The newly built Shahe Town and Coastal City would undoubtedly suffer severe losses.

Lin Li rubbed his chin and turned to look at Iron Man 73 standing nearby.

"Old Seven."

A dangerous light flickered in Lin Li's eyes.

"Go and preheat sea breeze no. 9. Take me up for a little stroll."

"Don't use that Mass-Energy Conversion Cannon. That would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. If the power isn't controlled properly and blows the enemy ships to dust, it'll be bad. I'm counting on capturing those ships to expand our Shelter's fleet roster."

73's emotionless electronic voice sounded steadily:

"Understood, Creator. To crush scrap metal of this level, sea breeze no. 9's conventional weaponry presents no difficulty on a physical level."

"Oh, right."

Lin Li walked to the elevator entrance, suddenly turned back, and revealed a smile.

"It's a pity for just the two of us to go show off in such a grand first space battle. Go to the surface and recruit a few players to join us on the ship. Take them to space to broaden their horizons. They can serve as witnesses and come back to brag about us on the forum."

Deep space.

The House Rofis suppression fleet was sailing slowly through the pitch-black universe.

Inside the command deck of the fleet flagship...

Colonel Colonel Andrei's face was as grim as still water. His rough fingers held a low-quality synthetic tobacco, which he smoked silently.

Thick smoke shrouded his face, which was covered in old scars.

Just beyond the wall of the command deck, in the adjacent compartment, came the deafening sound of heavy metal music and the unrestrained laughter of young men and women.

It was the young masters and noble scions of House Rofis, who had come along with the expedition, holding a boring pre-battle ball.

Hearing the piercing noise, Colonel Andrei only felt a wave of irritation.

An adjutant approached with a tactical pad and reported in a low voice:

"Colonel, based on our current speed, the fleet is expected to reach the low orbit of the target junkyard planet in four hours."

Colonel Andrei nodded with a cold face, saying nothing.

The adjutant looked at Colonel Andrei's expression, then listened to the music next door, and couldn't help but advise in a low voice:

"Colonel, why bother getting angry with them? This assignment is just a formality. Go over, offer a toast, and keep these young masters and ladies happy. When we return, what high position in the fleet won't be yours for the taking?"

Colonel Andrei's fingers holding the cigarette paused.

He turned his head and gave the adjutant a cold glance.

"My rank was earned back then on the edge of the Ghoul Stars, fighting Chaos Pirates with real blades and guns!"

Colonel Andrei's voice was low and raspy, leaking suppressed fury.

"You want me to toast those decorative fops who don't even know how to fire a gun and only know how to coast on their bloodline? Do they even deserve it?"

Rebuffed, the adjutant could only shake his head helplessly and turn back to continue gathering orbital intelligence.

Colonel Andrei's temper was famously foul throughout the fleet.

As one of the few commoner generals on Mobius Prime who had risen entirely through solid military merit...

Like all doers, he was suppressed heavily by the local noble clans.

Despite having the rank of Colonel and excellent command talent, he could only serve as a mistreated captain on this old system defense boat.

In contrast, the children of great families, without any military merit, could command the most advanced cruisers just by doing a bit of 'polishing' their resumes.

Facing such a mess, how could he have the good temper to wait on people?

Colonel Andrei took a heavy drag of smoke and crushed the cigarette butt into the ashtray.

Then, he pulled two balls of soundproofing cotton from his pocket and stuffed them firmly into his ears.

He truly could not stand the decadent noise of the ball next door.

However...

Just as the cotton was stuffed in...

The entire command deck suddenly erupted in red light!

"Woo—! Woo—! Woo—!"

The piercing, highest-level combat alarm instantly echoed in every corner of the flagship!

Colonel Andrei ripped out his earplugs and stood up abruptly from his command chair.

A Defense Force officer in charge of radar monitoring ran over, drenched in sweat and stumbling, his voice cracking with extreme terror:

"Colonel! The Divination Array has issued a highest-level warning! At four o'clock, an unidentified vessel has suddenly appeared!"

"There is high-intensity energy heat signal leakage! The system determines the target is likely charging its orbital main cannon!"

Colonel Andrei strode to the monitoring station, staring intently at the blinking red dot on the old green display.

He glanced at the reading on the rangefinder, his face full of disbelief:

"Charging at a distance of five hundred thousand kilometers?! Are you freaking kidding me?!"

Five hundred thousand kilometers! What did that even mean?

Though this flagship's other functions were as trashy as scrap metal, its scouting capability was exceptionally strong.

This was because a large sum had been spent to equip it with a Divination Array even more advanced than those of the regular Astra Militarum.

If it were any other defense boat, they wouldn't have detected even a shadow at this distance!

But detecting it was one thing; firing was another!

A physical distance of five hundred thousand kilometers...

Even with the Imperium Navy's most advanced Macro Cannons and Lance arrays, an attack would have lost its potency due to energy decay and ballistic deviation long before it could even graze a hair.

Let alone performing a precise orbital strike!

Just as Colonel Andrei was filled with doubt and uncertainty...

The doors to the command deck were pushed open roughly.

The group of noble youths from the ball next door, holding wine glasses and with disheveled clothes, swarmed in.

"Colonel Andrei! Why did the alarm go off? Did the natives from that junkyard come out to die in their broken ships?"

The leading noble scion shouted excitedly, gesturing wildly,

"Quick! Order all main cannons to fire! Blow them into fireworks for me! I want to use that image as a side dish for my wine!"

Hearing the incessant chirping noise around him, the veins on Colonel Andrei's forehead throbbed.

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!!!"

Colonel Andrei let out a deafening roar that instantly cowed the pampered nobles.

"The enemy is five hundred thousand kilometers away! We have no weapons here that can reach that far! Do you idiots understand?!"

The second Colonel Andrei finished speaking...

In the command deck's public communication channel, a dull explosion noise suddenly came through, followed by a report filled with despair:

"This is the left-wing formation! Assault Landing Ship No. 23 has been hit by an unknown high-energy mass projectile! Armor penetrated! Reactor detonated... All hands returned to the God-Emperor..."

Accompanied by violent static, the communication was completely cut off.

The entire command deck instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The noble scions who had been clamoring just moments ago saw their drunkenness vanish without a trace, replaced by a fear that left them pale as paper.

A precise beyond-visual-range sniper strike from five hundred thousand kilometers away!

One-shotting a landing ship! What was this?!

"Colonel!"

The radar officer shouted in terror,

"That ship opposite us... has started charging again!"

Colonel Andrei broke into a cold sweat.

This was simply a one-sided slaughter!

Who was the opponent?

What weapon were they using?

He was completely in the dark! This ultra-long-range strike capability and precision were exaggerated to a point that defied common sense!

Under the immense pressure, Colonel Andrei turned around abruptly.

He grabbed the collar of the noble scion who had led the shouting and was now slumped over in fear, hoisting him up by force.

"Tell me! Who exactly did your family offend?! What is the background of the enemy on that planet ahead?!"

Colonel Andrei roared with bloodshot eyes.

The noble scion had never seen such a scene; his legs shook with fear, and a yellow liquid even seeped from his crotch. He couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time.

Just then, a clear young girl's voice came from the back of the crowd:

"That place is just a junkyard for collecting scrap."

The girl who had previously been to Governor Cromwell's office walked out with her Catachan guards.

She looked at the holographic star map. Though her face was pale, she remained relatively calm. "My brother said that there are absolutely no warships on that planet, not even armed merchant ships."

"This mysterious ship with ultra-long-range strike capabilities definitely did not come from that junkyard!"

As soon as the girl finished speaking...

The communication channel once again broadcast a ruthless death report:

"Landing Ship No. 44 destroyed! No signs of life!"

Hearing this report, cold sweat broke out on the girl's forehead as well.

But she looked carefully at the damage coordinates on the star map and seemed to have keenly discovered something.

"Uncle Colonel Andrei..."

The girl swallowed hard,

"The ones destroyed were all small troop landing ships with no defensive capabilities. That ship has the firepower to one-shot us, but it hasn't attacked the shielded flagship or destroyers..."

"He is establishing dominance. That enemy seems to be only deterring us, forcing us to stop."

After listening, Colonel Andrei glanced at the girl.

He knew she was the current Governor's younger sister, a rare noble who still had some brains.

"Pass on my orders! All fleet, cut engine thrust! Hover in place!" Colonel Andrei ordered decisively.

As the fleet came to a halt...

The radar officer immediately reported:

"Colonel! The opponent has stopped charging the main cannon! But... they are approaching us at full speed!"

The noble scions panicked: "What on earth is that thing? What does he want to do?!"

A short ten minutes later.

"The opponent has approached the ten-thousand-kilometer warning line! They're slowing down!"

The communications officer suddenly ripped off his headset, his face full of shock,

"Colonel! There is an unknown abnormal frequency forcibly intruding into our entire fleet's broadcast channel! The firewall can't block it at all!"

Before he could finish speaking...

A burst of "crackle-crackle" static noise sounded from the command deck's speakers.

Then, a slightly lazy, even somewhat amused young male voice echoed clearly in the channels of all ships in the fleet:

"Hello, hello? Can you hear me?"

"This is Outpost No. 586, also known as the 'junkyard' in your words."

"Making an announcement: Mobius fleet ahead, listen up. You have been surrounded by our single ship."

"Now, immediately shut down your engines, lay down your weapons, and surrender. Otherwise, you will all be eliminated."

Just after this cold declaration was finished...

In the communication channel, because the background pickup microphone wasn't turned off...

A burst of noisy, excited shouting unexpectedly and incongruously came through:

"Holy crap, Boss is awesome! That line was so freaking cool!"

"There's definitely loot on those ships! Boss, let me press the firing button for the electromagnetic cannon! I haven't fired a ship's main cannon yet!"

"Why bother with warnings? Wouldn't it be better to just blow them all up and take them back as scrap metal for steelmaking?"

Hearing those flippant voices in the channel that sounded as if they were treating war like a field trip...

Colonel Colonel Andrei was about to go insane with rage!

A single ship surrounding a fleet?!

Treating regular troops as scrap metal?!

What level of arrogance was this!

This was grinding the dignity of an Imperial soldier into the dirt!

"Don't even think about it!!!"

Colonel Andrei grabbed the communication microphone on the command console and roared into the channel,

"By forcibly opening a broadcast, you have already exposed your exact coordinates! You arrogant bastard!"

Colonel Andrei turned around and issued a fight-to-the-death order to the entire fleet:

"Defense boats, destroyers, hear my command! All Macro Cannon arrays, lock on coordinates! Fire everything! Tear him apart!"

As the order was given...

The broadside armor of the three destroyers and the flagship opened one after another.

Massive Macro Cannons spewed blinding fire amidst the roar, and tons of solid shells, like dense rain, slammed hard toward the silver-white ship ten thousand kilometers away!

The ships' hulls vibrated violently from the recoil of the Macro Cannons firing.

Colonel Andrei stared fixedly at the explosion fire on the large screen, clenching his teeth.

However...

A few minutes later.

The radar officer turned his head, bringing news that led to utter despair:

"Colonel... the attack was ineffective."

"The opponent didn't even make an evasive maneuver. Our Macro Cannon fire was all blocked by an energy field that appeared out of thin air."

"The opponent... possesses a Void Shield! A Void Shield! Zero damage!"

Hearing this news, Colonel Andrei closed his eyes in pain.

Facing a warship equipped with an electromagnetic railgun, other powerful weapons, and even a miniature Void Shield...

They, with these old defense boats, were like barbarians holding fire sticks.

But as a soldier, he could not just wait to be captured.

"Boarding action..."

Colonel Andrei opened his bloodshot eyes and gritted out the order,

"Prepare the assault boats! Fully armed, we will forcibly board and engage in melee combat!"

Just then...

The command deck's communication channel was once again forcibly intercepted.

The young man's voice turned cold: "It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin; you have already lost one chance."

"Final ultimatum. Surrender quietly immediately. Otherwise, you will all be eliminated."

This cold death ultimatum completely shattered the remaining traces of wishful thinking in the command deck.

Colonel Andrei was about to open his mouth to continue issuing the suicidal boarding order.

Suddenly...

There was a crisp "click."

A cold gun barrel was pressed firmly against the back of Colonel Andrei's head.

Colonel Andrei's whole body stiffened.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye.

He saw the noble scion who had just wet his pants in fear, now possessing unknown strength.

He had drawn the gilded laser pistol from his waist, and though his hands were shaking, he pointed it at Colonel Andrei's head with utter ferocity.

"Colonel Andrei... in my capacity as an heir of House Rofis, I command you to surrender immediately!"

The noble scion's face was covered in cold sweat, and his voice was sharp and somewhat distorted,

"If you want to die for your ridiculous soldier's honor, that's your business! We are still young, and we want to live! Surrender now!"

Colonel Andrei's mouth hung open.

He looked at his own man pointing a gun at him, and at the noble children around him who were nodding frantically in agreement.

This iron-blooded officer, who had shed countless amounts of blood on the battlefield, only felt an indescribable sense of absurdity and sorrow well up in his heart.

His lips moved, but for a long time, he couldn't say a single word.