Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 619 Full-scale Battle
The first volley yielded some results.

Several cannon shells were fortunate enough to hit the side of a "Joyful" class raider, causing its Void Shield to flicker violently and its armor plate to dent and crack under the impact.

A blazing spear of light grazed the bow of another cruiser, melting the corrupted statues adorning it into wisps of twisted metallic vapor.

However, this small victory was like a drop of water falling into a furnace, evaporating instantly.

The Emperor's son's fleet launched a counterattack with a frenzied and physically unnatural precision and speed.

Their artillery fire was not uniform, but it exuded a morbid "artistic" quality.

Twisted, iridescent beams of energy, like the spitting tongues of venomous snakes, precisely licked the steel-armed ships.

Spores rained down like a storm, tracking the heat source signal and swarming toward their prey.

The "Steel Shield" was the first to be hit.

After enduring a barrage of several distorted beams and a dozen spore mines, its void shield overloaded, emitting a piercing scream, and then completely collapsed.

Immediately afterwards, an incredibly thick beam of blasphemous energy, comparable in size to a main gun, struck the midsection of the ship.

There was no typical violent explosion.

The energy beam seemed to possess some kind of corrosive and dissociative properties.

The armor of the "Steel Shield" melted and tore apart as quickly as a hot knife through butter.

The ship's structure rapidly disintegrated from the point of impact, turning into basic particles and distorted metallic slurry.

In just five seconds, the entire frigate completely disintegrated in a silent and eerie burst of light, expanding into a cloud of flying metal debris.

The crew members inside the ship didn't even have time to scream.

The Anvil attempted to maneuver to evade.

But countless spore mines and secondary artillery fire had already enveloped it.

The engine was hit, and an out-of-control plasma stream erupted, causing the ship to lose its balance and begin to spin.

The ensuing concentrated artillery fire turned it into a brief but brilliant firework in the void.

The Steadfast Will withstood the most intense attack.

The Void Shield became completely ineffective after flashing wildly.

The ship shuddered violently from the repeated hits, its armor was torn open with gaping holes, and flames from the internal explosions erupted from the breaches.

Captain Stern gripped the command console tightly amidst the turbulence, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He still roared hoarsely through the broken communication channel: "...Data...has been transmitted...For the Emperor! For the Father of Steel!"

Finally, a beam of main cannon fire from the flagship of the Emperor's Son pierced straight through the bridge of the Steadfast Will like a spear of judgment.

The intense light engulfed everything.

The signals from the three loyal ships were completely erased from the tactical network of the Steel Hand.

But the final data transmission stream they obtained at the cost of their lives, like a blood-dripping warning, has crossed the void and reached Medusa.

Almost at the same moment the patrol fleet issued the alarm, the array of psionic obelisks in the orbit of Medusa’s main star erupted with an even sharper psionic shriek, powerful enough to pierce the soul barrier!

Governor Chen Xi's psionic early warning network, located deep within the Karada Fortress, was instantly triggered.

The powerful psionic fluctuations, like a tangible mental shock, swept through the consciousness of all psionicists connected to the network.

Deep within the strategic command center of the Karada Fortress, Chen Xi abruptly looked up from his reverie. A glint of silver psionic energy flashed in his eyes.

The countless data panels floating in front of him froze instantly, then were covered by higher-priority alarm messages.

Without relying on traditional communication, his warning was transmitted directly and synchronously via encrypted psionic links to Ferrus Manus, who stood at the command center of "Iron Will," and to the key neural interfaces of all orbital defense platforms and fleet commanders:

"Warspace rift! Massive invasion! Coordinates marked! Energy signature matched... Son of the Emperor! All forces! High alert!"

The "Iron Will" command center is located in the heart of the Karada Fortress, and is an extremely spacious and magnificent hall with a ceiling height of tens of meters.

There is no natural light here.

The surrounding walls are completely covered by giant screens that constantly refresh data and complex technical readings.

At the center stands a massive holographic tactical platform, precisely displaying the real-time dynamics of the Medusa Galaxy and its surrounding airspace.

The projection is detailed down to every single friendly ship and every defense platform.

Ferrus Manus's massive figure stood like the central pillar of an iron temple, towering before the tactical platform.

The red light of the alarm illuminated her silver-gray face and her Gorgon skin, which shimmered with a metallic sheen, making her appear like a burning statue.

Her cold, silver eyes, like precision optical lenses, swept rapidly across the flood of enemy data, energy signature analysis, and the final images transmitted back by the patrol fleet before its annihilation on the tactical platform.

Her reaction was without the slightest delay or emotional fluctuation.

The sound was like a hammer striking a fine gold anvil, calm, heavy, and carrying an unquestionable authority.

This sound instantly quelled the initial tension and commotion among all the technical priests, officers, and servitude slaves in the command center:

"Intrusion confirmed. Son of the Emperor's main fleet. Size assessment: Level 1 threat."

Her voice was amplified throughout the command chain and even directly connected to the broadcast units of some large ships and defense platforms.

"All units, execute the 'Steel Tempering' contingency plan. This is not an encounter, but a premeditated invasion, a desecration of the Gorgon Sanctuary. They will pay an unbearable price for stepping into this place."

The command was instantly transmitted to every node of the Medusa defense system via efficient data links and psionic communications.

The energy cores of the twenty-seven colossal defense platforms in orbit—including the Eye of Odin, the Eternal Vigil, and the Iron Fang—began to operate at overload, emitting a deep and unsettling hum.

The massive gun emplacements and missile silos were released from physical lock and slowly rotated to aim.

The fire control system is operating at full capacity, and attack privileges are fully open.

The target was the enemy's vanguard fleet, and preparations were made to carry out a saturation attack.

Dozens of mobile weapon stations and fixed artillery emplacements hidden in the outer asteroid belt of Medusa received encrypted activation signals from the command center.

Their optical camouflage coatings failed, and the gun barrels protruded from the camouflaged rock layers.

The power core units were activated one after another.

The order is to fire freely, using the environment as cover to disrupt the enemy's formation from the flanks and rear, and to create as much chaos as possible.

The main fleet of the Iron Hand, docked in orbital docks or hidden in the shadows of the planet—including combat barges and strike cruisers such as the Iron Will, Medusa's Wrath, and Gorgon's Fist, as well as the escorting frigates—ignited their engines simultaneously.

The giant warships, like ancient beasts awakening, began to advance towards the pre-designated "second defense perimeter".

This forms a classic interception array.

The order required the construction of a frontal fire wall centered on the "Eternal Bulwark" battle group, ready to withstand the impact and launch a counterattack.

(End of this chapter)