Chapter 1129: Unable to Approach

The Star Alliance fleet opened fire.

Torpedoes, Macro-cannon Rune Bullets, and Light Lances bloomed in the void.

In a single volley, the shields of over 20 Fengqi warships collapsed, and their hulls were torn apart.

In the second volley, 17 warships exploded instantly, turning into fleeting fireworks in the void.

"The enemy has three times as many ships as we do. A war of attrition is not in our favor."

Guilliman shook his head: "Olaf will not fight a war of attrition. He is looking for a breakthrough point—my flagship."

As if to confirm Guilliman's judgment, the tactical star map showed an assault formation composed of thirty Fengqi warships breaking through the flank defense line, heading straight for the Xiuluosheng Glory.

Leading them was the Dark Tooth.

Guilliman commented.

"Foolish. Order the Third Battle Group to intercept."

"Yes!"

Bridge of the Dark Tooth.

"Enemy ships intercepting! Ship-borne shields are taking heavy fire!"

Listening to his subordinate's report, Sele'en looked out the observation window.

Three Star Alliance Destroyers were flanking them, and every torpedo strike exploded with blinding light against the Dark Tooth's shields.

The shield readings were dropping rapidly: 85%... 72%... 61%...

Sele'en ordered.

"Do not engage! Divert all power to the forward shields and main gun! Target: Guilliman's flagship!"

The Dark Tooth pushed forward, hard-carrying the flanking fire.

The hull began to vibrate, and the external armor plates deformed and peeled away in the high heat.

A direct hit caused the bridge lights to flicker, and the backup power system activated automatically.

"Port side shields collapsed! Decks three and four are damaged, air pressure is dropping!"

"Seal the damaged areas and continue forward."

Sele'en ordered without changing his expression.

Major Kaierte watched the shield readings drop below 40% and finally could not help but say: "Captain, we cannot break through! Those ships will tear us to pieces!"

"Then let them tear."

Sele'en turned his head, a mad light burning in his three eyes.

"But before we die, we must bite a piece of meat off that flagship. Status of the main gun charge?"

"90%... 95%... Charging complete!"

"Fire!"

The Dark Tooth's main gun, a massive Plasma cannon capable of melting through asteroids, spewed out a destructive Energy Beam.

This beam crossed tens of thousands of kilometers, striking directly at the bridge of the Xiuluosheng Glory.

It hit.

But at the very moment of impact, layers of Energy Barriers appeared around the flagship.

The Dark Tooth's attack was dispersed, deflected, and absorbed, failing to harm the opponent in the slightest.

"How is this possible..." Kaierte muttered.

Sele'en closed his eyes.

He should have thought of this sooner.

How could the Primarch's flagship be damaged by a single shot from a main gun?

"Captain! Enemy ships have launched torpedoes! Quantity... twenty! All locked onto us!"

On the holographic table, twenty red dots were approaching rapidly.

"Full intercept fire! Evasive maneuvers!"

Sele'en roared.

The Dark Tooth's Close-in Weapon System fired desperately, weaving a dense net of fire in the void.

Seven torpedoes were intercepted and detonated, but the remaining thirteen continued forward.

The first hit the port side.

The port side of the Dark Tooth was torn open entirely, and the hull structure began to shatter.

The second and third hit the engine room.

Amidst the chain explosions, the main engines died, and the thrusters went Out of Control.

The fourth hit below the bridge.

Major Kaierte felt only a violent jolt, and then the entire bridge tilted 45 degrees to the right.

The gravity simulation system failed, and he and several officers were thrown against the wall.

Sele'en grabbed the edge of the command console, barely steadying himself.

Looking at the holographic table, the 3D model of the Dark Tooth was collapsing; the port side had completely vanished, the engine room had become a void, and the life support systems were all in critical status.

"Report casualties..."

Sele'en had just spoken when another explosion interrupted him.

This explosion came from within.

The torpedoes had hit the area near the reactor, and a chain reaction was spreading.

On the holographic table, the reading representing the reactor's stability turned from green to red and then began to flash frantically.

"Reactor critical! Imminent meltdown!"

The engineer's voice was filled with despair.

"It cannot be contained! Captain, we must abandon ship!"

Sele'en looked around the Bridge.

Half of the crew were already dead or severely wounded.

Major Kaierte lay beside the communications console, his chest pierced by a ruptured conduit, purple blood spreading across the floor.

He was still alive, his Third Eye flickering weakly, his lips moving, but he could make no sound.

The Dark Tooth was finished.

They had failed.

But at least, they had tried.

Sele'en walked with difficulty to the side of the captain's chair and opened a hidden cover.

Inside was a red button; Sele'en pressed the button.

Sele'en's voice rang out over the ship's intercom.

"All crew of the Dark Tooth, this is Colonel Sele'en. The reactor is about to melt down, and the order to abandon ship has been issued. Those who can evacuate, proceed to the escape pods immediately. Those who cannot... I am with you."

Sele'en paused for a moment, then continued.

"We may have failed, but we have proven the backbone of the Fengqi."

"Tell those who come after that in the void of the Ningjing Huilang, there was once a ship called the 'Dark Tooth', and its crew chose to die standing rather than live kneeling. For the Fengqi Star Alliance."

The broadcast ended.

Sele'en walked back to the observation window. Outside, the Star Alliance fleet was harvesting the remaining Fengqi warships.

Olaf's Oathkeeper fleet had already lost more than half its strength, but it was still fighting.

He saw a Fengqi Destroyer being attacked by a Star Alliance Destroyer; its shields collapsed and its armor melted, but it still returned fire until it finally exploded into a speck of light in the void.

He saw a Fengqi Cruiser ram into a Star Alliance Frigate, detonating its reactor to perish together with the enemy.

He saw... too much.

Too much death.

The reactor reading hit zero. Sele'en closed his eyes.

"For the Fengqi."

A white light swallowed everything.

The flagship of the Oathkeeper fleet, the Oath.

Admiral Olaf watched the points of light extinguishing one by one on the holographic table, the wrinkles on his face seeming to deepen.

Seventeen minutes into the battle, the Oathkeeper fleet had already lost 148 warships, while the Star Alliance had lost only 9. The casualty ratio exceeded sixteen to one.

Olaf's Adjutant reported from the side.

"Admiral, the signal from the Dark Tooth has vanished. Colonel Sele'en is confirmed killed in action."

Olaf nodded, saying nothing.

He had long since anticipated this result.

Using a diplomatic escort fleet to assault the Primarch's flagship was a suicide Task from the start.

But Sele'en had accepted it, because he knew someone had to make the sacrifice to let the Star Alliance see the determination of the Fengqi.

"Battle analysis."

Olaf finally spoke.

The tactical officer pulled up the data.

"The Star Alliance fleet is employing a classic split-and-encircle tactic. They are using one-third of their force to pin down our main fleet, while the other two-thirds concentrate fire to pick off our assault formations one by one.

Their fire precision and shield strength are far beyond expectations; our main guns need to hit the same area more than 20 times in succession to overload their shields."

"Weaknesses?"

"No obvious tactical weaknesses. But if one must be found... their formation is overly reliant on the flagship's command.

If we could paralyze the command system of Guilliman's flagship..."

Olaf interrupted the rest of the tactical officer's words.

"That cannot be done. That is the Primarch's flagship; its defense rating is the highest in the Star Alliance. We have tried; it is useless."

The Bridge fell into Silence.

Everyone knew what this meant: this battle was already lost; the only question was how much would be lost.