Chapter 338: I reckon

Battle Moon.

Although NuoWa failed to obtain more detailed information, at least Robert knew it was a kind of super battleship of the green-skinned orcs.

Besides the interrogation results provided by NuoWa, his father also mentioned the keyword "Battle Moon" to him.

It's indeed scrap metal.

But if it's a piece of scrap metal with a diameter of at least a hundred kilometers, more than ten times larger than humanity's Olympus Class, the situation becomes somewhat tricky.

Because such a warship, built with unknown technology and inseparable from the Waaagh stance, is truly enormous, it is therefore called a "Battle Moon".

According to the original plan, Robert personally led troops here, preparing to make contact with the Velin tribe residing on the planet named Otieno.

Either destroy them or cooperate.

Unexpectedly, upon first arriving at Otieno after leaving the Rift Space, they discovered the green-skinned orcs had "helped" them make the first choice, attempting to wipe out this Velin force.

However, this move by the green-skinned orcs actually also provided a certain "help" in disguise.

After quickly considering countermeasures, Robert immediately left the porthole, hurried toward outside the bridge, and, scanning the crew present, loudly said:

"Notify all departments to prepare for battle; all warships obey Captain Kaise and first take care of that scrap!"

"Yes!"

All personnel were ready for a big fight, including Jacob Kaise, who sat in the captain's seat and is regarded as a legend by modern naval officers and soldiers.

Leaving the bridge.

Robert, accompanied by the Ever-Victorious Army Guard equipped in full ancient Roman-style terminator gear, with helmet plumes and white cloaks on their backs, hurried toward the ship's hull.

——————

…

Hangar 01 of the DawnGuardian.

"Alpha, Charlie, and Cali Squadrons, prepare for launch; expected to reach optimal position in 180 seconds. Delta, Juliet, and Romeo Squadrons standby; all ground crew, perform checks to ensure…"

"Did you all hear the broadcast? Ah?! Hurry! Hurry wiggle your fat, wrinkled buttocks and get into your precious rides!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Inside the hangar was a clamor, with the broadcast repeatedly issuing orders and squadron leaders shouting.

On every deck, ground crew bustled about moving ordnance and conducting checks, as well as pilots wearing pressure-resistant, pressure-protective suits.

One pilot, whose helmet sides bore olive branch paint, was tapped on the shoulder by his squadron leader during roll call, then sprinted to a Viking fighter fixed by a mechanical arm, painted blue, with the nose likewise bearing an olive branch and an inverted 'Ω' insignia.

Using the ladder provided by ground crew, he quickly entered the cockpit.

Seated, he fastened his protective suit and ejection seat, then with his left hand sequentially pressed three buttons, looked up, and with his right hand gently pulled a red lever.

"Boom—…"

Accompanied by a slight shudder of the airframe, the engine ignited successfully, and the opening hatch gradually lowered and closed, sealing the cockpit.

The pilot continued to adjust things, causing several holographic screens to appear beside him, while outside, ground crew had withdrawn the ladder and released the mechanical arm's grip on the fuselage.

After confirming everything was normal, the pilot gave a thumbs-up to ground crew, then eased his breathing rhythm, striving to stabilize his mindset while waiting…

"Beep—!"

The hangar blared a shrill alert.

The HUD helmets of all pilots in Alpha, Charlie, and Cali Squadrons instantly displayed the words "Launch Clearance".

Seeing this.

The pilot immediately throttled the Viking upward, away from the deck, turned to join his Alpha Squadron formation; then the whole squadron accelerated in unison, bursting through the vent membrane out of the hangar into a space already filled with various-colored trajectories, artillery batteries, and explosive fire.

Leaving the hangar.

He then pulled back the stick, leading his four wingmen to disperse from the squadron and swiftly reach a position above the DawnGuardian's hull.

Taking advantage of the good visibility here, the pilot used his HUD screen, covered with various markings, to survey the entire area.

All he saw ahead was the orc fleet led by the Battle Moon, approaching them in no discernible formation.

They possessed hundreds of ramshackle warships and hundreds of thousands of equally dilapidated fighter craft resembling 1940s human aircraft; their attack style was rather "backward", mostly solid shot and shells, yet their speed was surprisingly high.

In contrast, our side.

Although outnumbered, Commander Kaise still divided the fleet into two parts.

The main force, led by the DawnGuardian with twenty warships in a V formation, engaged the orc fleet head-on.

The other ten ships quickly reversed course, broke away from the fleet, and entered a jump state, vanishing from visual range—no one knew where they went.

Just then!

"All squadrons, listen up!" Robert's voice came over the comms: "I am your Original Body Robert; after the fleet completes a volleys of its main guns, follow me as I charge first into the enemy mass to clear the aerial threat for the fleet!"

His words had not yet faded.

Robert, clad in his external ornate armor, gripped the Flaming Sword in his left hand and the Divine Body wielding a 1200mm caliber laser cannon in his right, leading eighty centurions piloted by the Ever-Victorious Army, appeared above the fleet.

At this moment, Robert first raised the Flaming Sword, then brought it down, causing a flash of the undying flame arc.

Ri—!

Whoosh—!

Boom--Boom--Boom!!

The electromagnetic main gun arrays of twenty-one human warships finished charging and fired in unison, dealing a heavy blow to the orc fleet.

And the vast majority of orc warships, upon being pierced by tungsten-iron shot, saw their "precariously" structured hulls instantly collapse and break apart, with many orcs flung into space faintly visible…

Their verdant bodies were huge and extraordinarily stout, far surpassing ordinary humans; when the explosion's light struck their skin, it made them look all the more "oily and verdigris bright".

Of course, the orc race isn't just made of these hulking brutes; there are actually countless weak, cowardly "goblins" as seen in video games.

Wow!!

The instant they were flung into space, the goblins froze into "ice pops", while the orcs continued to shout madly—but in vacuum, lacking a medium for sound, only their comical struggling motions could be seen, until their oily, verdigris skin was also coated with frost, at which point they completely ceased movement, becoming "natural green" space debris.

As for the Battle Moon locked on by the DawnGuardian, just as it was about to be hit by the main guns, it raised another kind of barrier.

Although it did not succeed in offsetting all projectiles, especially the 50‑ton class ones, it nonetheless mitigated, to the greatest extent possible, the situation where the projectiles would cause continuous damage to the Battle Moon.

Later, the breach where the projectile pierced would be repaired by the countless "technical‑type Orcs", and, defying logic, it would almost instantly be restored to its original state.

"…"

What is this situation??

The pilot controlling a Viking fighter that follows the DivineBody and the Centurion formation, using the far‑vision function provided by the HUD helmet to observe this situation, couldn't help but feel a weight in his heart.

At this moment…

Boom—Boom—!!

A force running along the entire flight line stubbornly isolated both sides, and a shield wall made of countless diamond‑shaped blocks deflected the Orcs' volley of live ammunition.

"Everyone!" Robert's impassioned voice rang through the comms again: "Let these green‑skinned things see the might of the Extreme Legion!"

Speaking, the DivineBody at the tip of the flight line accelerated, its rear thrusters flaring brighter blue, and was the first to engage the green‑skinned Orcs' carrier‑borne aircraft.

The DivineBody again raised its left hand and swung; the Flame Sword unleashed a rolling sea of fire, likewise defying common sense as it devoured and scorched a multitude of enemy aircraft.

Its right hand, wielding a 1200 mm laser cannon, adjusted the barrel angle and pulled the trigger, instantly emitting a straight high‑energy beam that pierced every enemy aircraft and ship in its path, then vanished into deep space, its eventual target—whether a "unlucky" planet or asteroid—unknown.

The Centurion formation was not as exaggerated, but it was still hundreds of times stronger than the Orcs' ramshackle fighters, pushing deep into enemy lines alongside the DivineBody and quickly expanding the victory.

!!

The pilots witnessing all this, as well as the entire carrier squadron, were invigorated, morale soaring, and immediately launched a coordinated slaughter of the Orcs' aircraft.

Humanoid constructs have pros and cons, and a being like the DivineBody, even in space warfare, draws great attention; it can serve as absolute deterrence to the enemy—anyone who sees a hundred‑meter giant feels innate fear—while for one's own side it can greatly boost fighting spirit.

"Ting! Ting!"

The short bursts of the Gauss cannon rang through the airframe vibrations into the cockpit, and this lone sound of the fierce battle clashed with the explosions and flames behind the windward side.

But as a veteran of a hundred battles and an ace, the pilot had long become accustomed to the bizarre sights of space warfare.

The instant he clamped onto an enemy craft and blew it up, he immediately pulled the control stick back, causing the Viking fighter to surge upward at a steep pitch, shedding the two enemy planes trailing behind.

At the same time, the view outside the sealed window shifted, showing a stalemate between the human and Orc fleets, and…

Whoosh—!!

A high‑energy beam at least four hundred meters in diameter, emitting a blinding red light, shot out from the direction of the Orc fleet, vaporizing over a dozen Viking fighters and destroying many of their own comrades.

That beam also shattered the energy shield of a Gorgon‑class ship, then melted through its entire starboard side; subsequently, with pressure completely unbalanced and the hull and engines severely damaged, a delayed few‑second explosion erupted uncontrollably.

The spacing between the warships was sufficiently wide; otherwise the beam's damage would have been far greater.

?!

The pilot was deeply shocked.

That was a Gorgon‑class…

Its energy shield power is among the best of all human warships, and even without the shield, its Alpha‑grade titanium alloy armor is 1700 mm thick, truly a battleship.

Yet even such a steel behemoth could not withstand a four‑hundred‑meter‑wide high‑energy beam.

Adjusting the aircraft's angle for offense‑defense swap, the pilot moved behind the two enemy planes he had shaken off and easily destroyed them with the machine gun and missiles.

He conveniently eliminated nearby threats, rejoined his wingmen, and only then did the pilot free up a bit of space, reactivate the helmet's far‑vision, and observe the source of the previously fired high‑energy beam—the Battle Moon.

If the Orcs possessed large‑scale, large‑caliber energy weapons, why didn't they deploy them at the start of the engagement?

Could it be a "learn‑and‑use" situation, copying their fleet's plasma and laser cannons?

Impossible, right…

Thinking of this possibility, the pilot's mind grew extremely heavy.

Nevertheless, after a heavy breath, he quickly steadied his mind, focusing on helping the fleet deal with the Orc fighters, because he saw the DivineBody that had "left" the Centurion formation charging toward the Battle Moon alone.

Although their OriginalBody does not excel in force, it is still an OriginalBody!

It is precisely this "OriginalBody effect"—"with an OriginalBody present, the enemy leader will inevitably be slain by us"—that gives the pilot, and indeed the entire legion, absolute confidence.

In contrast, Robert's side…

Bang!!

Boom!!

The DivineBody's deployed shield burst forth, deflecting all attacks; correspondingly, its stamina and Spiritual Energy consumption were gradually intensifying.

The diamond shield indeed requires no fusion reactor power, but it needs the DivineBody—its "soul"—to maintain and wield it.

At this moment, Robert had no time to attend to himself; he recalled his father's reminder about the green‑skinned Orcs' "I think (I ponder)".

For example, that high‑energy beam just now clearly mimicked his 1200 mm laser cannon, prompting the Orcs to "ponder" that they also need an energy weapon.

As for the railgun…

Perhaps they thought the "visual effect" was inferior to the high‑energy beam, and since projectile strikes are extremely fast, there is no time to "ponder" them, so the Orcs did not consider using a railgun.

Thus, before the casualty numbers kept rising, Robert indeed, as the pilot and the entire legion expected, maneuvered the DivineBody to "decapitate" the Battle Moon.

Just then.

Ten warships that had left the battlefield before the fight suddenly ended their fold‑jump state, appearing on the right side of the Orc fleet and forming a straight "/"‑shaped line; without pause, they coordinated a hard‑against‑the‑front main legion force, launching a synchronized barrage at the unprepared Orc fleet and the Battle Moon.

And it was a cross‑pattern synchronized barrage.

That move, indeed, left the Orcs completely stunned.

In fact, Kaise, who commanded the naval battle, employed a simple tactic: "detour" and "cross".

If it were conventional navigation, the "detour" would inevitably be detected by the enemy, even if the Orcs appear dimwitted but may not be.

But humans, being "wealthy and powerful", have warships equipped with both jump and fold‑jump engines, so when the Orcs couldn't fathom why ten warships suddenly "fled" and reappeared, they naturally formed a crossing formation with Kaise's main force.

While deploying his shield to hard‑against enemy attacks and his own synchronized fire, Robert also successfully surged near the twice‑damaged Battle Moon.

He slung the laser cannon on his back, clenched the Flame Sword bestowed by his father in both hands, forcefully shattered the alternative Spiritual Energy barrier generated by the Battle Moon, then sliced through its metallic exterior into the interior, delivering to the Orcs a "grenade" used by the DivineBody…

Boom~——!

Blue light flared up.

(End of chapter)