Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 193 Void Fleet
The world of Morse. Imperial forces harass Randan with irregular artillery fire, keeping him constantly on the defensive.

The alien warriors still held onto hope, expecting the fleet to break through the human blockade and take them away from the battlefield.

Because of this faint glimmer of hope, Alien Warmaster Lolos lacked the courage to fight a desperate battle against humanity on the ground.

This is the worst thing to do in war.

They had no will to fight to the death, nor any plan to escape.

The soldiers' morale and courage were worn down day by day, and the once sharp army lost its fighting spirit, degenerating into mediocre people who only wanted to survive.

Within the hive capital, the relentless attacks by humans are driving the spirit of the Randan elite to the brink of collapse.

Ran Dan's highly developed nervous system and tenacious mental strength inevitably began to decline and become fatigued.

The alien's arrogance was shattered, its thoughts filled with pleading. When it looked up at the sky, it prayed that human shells would not fall.

In war, winning hearts and minds is the best strategy, while conquering cities is the least effective.

Atum relentlessly tormented Randan, gradually weakening his fighting strength and paving the way for subsequent battles.

When the army stormed into the city, it found not the ferocious Randan, but a group of fragile aliens waiting to be slaughtered.

In the void, Doom personally oversaw the operation, directing various battle groups to seal off the void front and resist Randan's onslaught.

Although fleet battles lack the bloodshed of hand-to-hand combat, they are even more dangerous.

In ground combat, the battle situation may suddenly change due to an outbreak at a certain point, which may boost morale and alter the course of the battle.

However, such a situation is impossible in void fleet operations.

Steel ships are cold and indifferent, carrying the massive bodies of humans, and are unlikely to erupt due to minor variables.

Alternatively, it can be interpreted that fleet commanders do not want any unstable variables within their fleets.

The battles of the Void Ships are adventures of meticulous calculation.

Factors such as weapon range and power, maximum ship speed, shield overload threshold, maneuver angle, and overload range are all fixed.

Fighting a war with unpredictable factors within fixed circumstances.

Doom sat firmly on his command throne, like a high-precision machine, constantly calculating the variables of the defense line and directing the fleet's actions.

Fleet casualty figures continue to rise; the cold, unforgiving universe is testing every warship and every person.

Humans and Randan clashed along the lines he had drawn.

Light spears and plasma flashed incessantly, and the engines emitted plasma radiance that shone brightly, causing the temperature of the surrounding space to rise due to the battle between the two sides.

The brutal tug-of-war left the blockade line littered with the wreckage of warships, tangled together by their mass attraction.

The war never stopped, and the wreckage of destroyed warships gathered together in space, becoming natural shelters for the warships.

With his extraordinary thinking, Doom deduced the battle situation and made ingenious arrangements, luring the Randan fleet into a trap.

He must concentrate fully on destroying the Randan fleet before the boarding forces arrive.

If the boarding operation succeeds, Ran Dan's fleet will most likely leave, with a small chance of fighting to the death.

Regardless of the method, Doom continuously achieves tactical victories, ultimately leading to his strategic victory.

In one corner of the holographic galaxy map, astronomical telescopes are constantly tracking it, even though there is nothing there on the surface.

The stealth reconnaissance ship that boarded the fleet has now shut down its main engines after its initial acceleration and is drifting forward by inertia.

Within the holographic image, a cold countdown timer calculates the remaining time to reach the destination.

Doom glanced at the screen and saw the arrival time of seventy-two hours. He took a moment to focus on the Void battle and considered his next move.

He now faces two choices.

Once the boarding party reaches the designated location, Doom can choose to send a fleet forward to draw more of Randan's ships to provide cover for their operation.

But it could backfire. The prolonged tug-of-war and the sudden, unusual behavior only made Ran Dan more vigilant.

Remaining inactive is a safe approach, preserving the existing situation and minimizing the variables in the operation, but it increases the risk of defection.

Once the operation begins, Ran Dan will inevitably conduct a comprehensive search of the warships to reduce the risk of exposure for the receiving ships.

The supporting warships were defenseless and would inevitably be destroyed once discovered, meaning the boarding party would never be able to return.

"Ten ships formed a 'fist' force and advanced to outflank the enemy's flank from the side of the defensive line."

After five seconds of deliberation, Doom decided to launch a frontal assault to lure the fleet that was surrounding the Battle Moon to Randan.

Six hundred Imperial Guards, twenty Destroyers.

Such enormous losses are unbearable, not to mention for the Emperor, even for himself. "Notify Atum that the Void Fleet has launched an attack. Randan on the ground will definitely take action. He must be wary of Randan's counterattack."

Doom kept issuing orders.

He not only had to command the aerial battles, but also had to consider the ground battlefields and the boarding operations in the distance.

What appear to be three separate battlefields are actually interconnected, where a change in one can have far-reaching consequences.

Upon receiving the Primarch's command, the Void Fleet immediately took action.

The glorious queen warship, the Exemplary of Hatred, broke away from the defensive line and led ten Nur ships to outflank the enemy.

"Execute the Primarch's orders! Maximum speed, outflank and sweep away the alien fleet!" The Lord of the Void Army roared, urging the ship's slaves to begin the flanking maneuver.

The Lord of the Heavenly Army did not hesitate for a moment—the will of the Primarch is beyond the comprehension of mortals.

During the nearly ten-day tug-of-war between the fleets, the Primarch's command capabilities broadened his horizons, making him understand the difference between the Primarch and Astartes.

Although they are genetically related, they are two completely different species.

Aside from the first day of fleet contact, the slightly immature intelligence caused the fleet to lose several cruisers and frigates.

Subsequent commands were swift and clear, even specifying the exact locations of the ships and the exact time for the rotation.

For a week, under the Primarch's command, Imperial ships suffered fewer and fewer losses and achieved more and more victories.

The mixed formation of Nur and Imperial ships allows the Imperial ships to absorb damage first, fully utilizing the Nur's firepower advantage.

Once the Void Shield is nearly depleted, the Nur ships will then hold off enemy fire. By this time, the fleet will be close enough to engage the enemy, allowing the Empire's firepower to be fully utilized.

A single, decisive strike, followed by immediate escape.

Immediately switch ship positions and disengage from combat; the Nur ships will once again unleash their power.

As the coordination between the ships became more and more proficient, there were almost no battle losses in the later stages, only rich and plentiful results.

The Empire and Nur cooperated to destroy nearly a hundred of Randan's main warships and countless smaller warships at minimal cost.

"With this ship at the head, use the spearhead formation." The Lord of the Heavenly Army kept issuing orders, adjusting the formation of the "fist".

Deep within the ship, beside the plasma reactor of the Glory Queen battleship, the mechanical clerics chanted the prayer of the god of machines, stimulating the ship's dormant power.

The Exemplar of Hatred took the lead, accelerating continuously, and launched an attack from the side of the Randan ship.

"No need to slow down, activate the bow disintegration field and charge forward! Attack the enemy from the sides!" The Lord of the Heavenly Army roared, as if carrying the anger of the entire ship.

"Avoid! Avoid!" Captain Ran Dan's mental state fluctuated violently as she issued an anxious command, ordering the ship's slaves to adjust the ship's attitude.

The human attack was too sudden, abandoning the tug-of-war and blockade, and launching a surprise attack on their own flank.

What's going on with that warship? Ran Dan had a million questions in her mind.

As the main warship of mankind, the Abomination Paradigm has attracted much attention from Randan. It has reappeared on the front line after it withdrew from the front line.

How did they suddenly appear on the flank?
It was naturally unaware that after the Exemplar of Abomination withdrew, it immediately broke through the blockade and began a secret flanking maneuver.

The warship anchored at the front line was a cruiser in disguise.

The cruiser was equipped with numerous holographic projections, and the warship's signals were deliberately amplified to disguise it as the Abomination Exemplar.

The disguise was clumsy, but on a battlefield filled with intense radiation interference, it could easily pass for the real thing.

This tactical arrangement was proposed by Bill Gates, the "Iron Man".

Its inspiration actually came from the Randan aliens, whose powerful electromagnetic interference technology.

In the early stages of the war, Doom was almost deceived by their spoofed signals, mistaking them for his own warships.

In the end, it was the Iron Man's brilliant calculations and his reasoned arguments that proved that it was impossible for his own people to exist in that void.

Just as Ran Dan was panicking, the Abomination Exemplar rushed into the battle line, its bow flashing with disintegrating lightning, and its engines roared to full power as it rammed into the alien battleship.

Juice flew everywhere!

The biological warship's body vaporized in the decomposing lightning, the cracking sound of its spine breaking mixed with the hissing of splattering slime.

Semi-biological warships have obvious weaknesses; they lack heavy armor and cannot withstand impacts.

“Target locked,” the Thinker array announced, its mechanical voice reminding the captain of the optimal firing time: “Broadside guns are in optimal firing range.”

"Open fire!" The Lord of the Void Army was equally ruthless, unleashing the Abomination Exemplar's full firepower.

(End of this chapter)