"Victory or defeat depends on maneuver during the unfolding phase."
Huron said as he watched the Astartes fleets clash with each other:
"If one side is in a good position, and the other side's commander is smart enough, he will know that it is better to retreat than to be annihilated in a hopeless battle."
Kelkus looked at what was happening on the three-dimensional monitor as if it were an incomprehensible myth.
"They will not retreat, Lord."
"They really won't. Now there is one less chance. Helmsman, prepare to obey my orders and pass through this passage."
"Just go through it like this?"
Kelkus said in a deep voice;
"But my lord..."
"You're worried about the retreating Imperial warships, aren't you, Kelkus."
Huron closed his eyes and breathed deeply and slowly.
He maintained this state for a while, and finally said without opening his eyes:
"The time for the first light spear to be launched is... now."
After Huron finished speaking, several personal bodyguards wearing Terminator armor immediately turned their heads and looked at the projector where weapons fire signs appeared.
"The leading battle carrier, bearing the mark of the Lamenter, will be the first to be hit by the light spears of our defense line... now."
Huron opened his eyes, knowing that all his predictions would come true, and Hamadria lying at his feet
Then a sinister laugh broke out.
Hamadria is a "pet" kept by Huron, a subspace creature with an unstable shape. Its appearances include reptiles, birds, and mammals.
It can give Huron psychic powers and help Huron read minds. It is said to be a reward for Huron's deal with the Four Gods of Chaos, but its power does not stop there. At least its claws can do more than just dig out people's eyes. and tearing apart flesh and blood, said to be capable of tearing apart souls.
Under the orders of the tyrant, the machines in front of the console and the officers at their posts entered a state of frantic busyness.
"There's an Astral Knight strike cruiser closest to us, isn't it?"
"Yes, Master!"
An officer answered immediately.
"It's so easy to predict, and these loyalists have such a poor grasp of tactical doctrine."
Kelkus grunted in agreement, but said nothing.
"Fire the light spear."
Just at the moment when the weapons officer was about to speak to inform the Astral Knights that the cruiser had entered the range of the light spear, Huron gave the order.
"The light spear is firing, Master."
Before the ship began to shake due to the first wave of impact, Huron had already turned his gaze back to the display screen.
The data shows that the battleship's shield is intact and 6% of the energy has escaped.
"The shield is intact! Seven percent of the energy has escaped!"
an officer called.
"Weapon array team, prepare to listen to my orders."
"Weapon array group, ready!"
The bridge shook again, indicating that the Astral Knights strike cruiser Starfire was attacking.
In Huron's vision, it was this ship that would become the rearguard force for the retreating Imperial fleet.
The opponent has completely entered the scanning range of the Ghost of Destruction. Based on the existing intelligence, Huron guessed that these warships must be very fragile. The hulls are empty and lack Astartes to protect the ships.
Because most of the Astartes must have followed Soshyan and joined the Eyes of Hell.
"Launch the boarding bay."
"Damn it!"
Aboard the Starfire, the bridge lighting dimmed and then failed for a few seconds, and the fleet unleashed a barrage of barrages on each other as they crossed each other.
The damage tolerance of small battleships like the Starfire is far inferior to that of heavy battleships like the Specter of Destruction.
"Shield collapse!"
an officer called out, the impact rocking the ship.
"grown ups!"
A weapons officer said:
"Sir, the enemy flagship, the Ghost of Destruction, has launched its boarding module."
Brother Lothar on the bridge made a sound that might have been a sigh.
"All weapon arrays, aim at the landing facility and fire."
Soon, two of the eight runes were the first to disappear on the display of the holographic projector. The others rushed towards their target ship, and then two more disappeared, and finally four hit the Starfire.
Lothar calmly asked to open the ship's communication network, and an officer in front of the console nodded to him.
"Priest Loken, this is the bridge. There are twenty to forty red pirates who have just used the assault cabin to invade the ship. The impact location has been sent to you. Find those traitors and kill them all."
"Received, I will give them a surprise."
Huron indeed guessed correctly, Lothar was the only Astarte on the entire Starfire.
But what he didn't guess was that there were a hundred castle-level battle robots waiting on the ship!
Lothar stood up from the command seat and dragged his heavy steps to the observation deck. Through the porthole, he could see the gray sphere below representing the new Badab.
"Damage report."
"Minor structural damage, primarily to the starboard side."
"The engine room begins to discharge plasma gas from the reactor, discharging energy directly into the void."
"Sir?"
His human bridge lieutenant hesitated.
"Do as I say, mortal."
"As commanded."
"Communications Officer."
"Yes, sir."
"Send an emergency signal to the Unbound Soul to inform the other party that Huron has taken the bait and the plan can proceed to the next step."
When the confused communications officer obeyed, Lothar faced the helmsman.
"Have we vented the plasma gas? Scan the Starfire's self. Does it look like we've lost blood due to a broken reactor?"
The helmsmen bent over the display console.
"Yes, sir."
one of them replied.
"Then start backing up."
"The enemy ship is retreating! A large amount of plasma air masses were scanned, and it is speculated that the enemy ship's power system has been damaged."
"Okay, forget about it."
At this time, Huron had already boarded his own Thunderhawk, the Hatred.
"Report on the situation of the Eye of Hell."
"Hell's Eye has not raised its shield yet, but the signals from various departments are interrupted, and shuttles and Thunderhawks are constantly leaving the emergency escape area."
"Where's Adnus?"
"Lord Adnus is unavailable."
Huron snorted. He didn't think the Blood Forest would die so easily. Whether it was the Astral Knight, the Game Warrior, or the Weeper, unless Malakin himself took action, he didn't think anyone could defeat the Mantis Warrior. Former champion of the Chapter.
In his mind, the only one in the empire who could fight him was Malakin.
As for the mysterious master... Huron vaguely guessed that he might not be on the same side as the Imperial people. As for the identity of the other party, after seeing the beacon of the Dark Angel, he probably had several goals in mind, but it needed to be done after the war. Go check it out.
Others like Soshiyang, in the eyes of the Black Heart King, are nothing more than local chickens and dogs. They were able to kill Copras and high-level possessed warriors, probably because of think tanks, luck, or the number of people.
Therefore, he estimated that there was a high probability that Adnus was still playing hide-and-seek with the Astral Knights in the Star Fortress.
This is a good thing, as it can at least contain some of the enemy's strength.
"Let's all go out, take back the Eyes of Hell, and throw their heads into the cesspit!"
Amid Huron's roar, a large number of landing pods and Thunderhawks poured out from the Red Pirates' fleet, like swarms leaving their nests, rushing straight towards the star fortress without any defensive action.
