Chapter 988: Battle at Planet L-449 (4)

Inside the cruiser that the Sword-class Frigate had grappled with, the fighting was equally brutal.

The Dusk Raiders Space Marines charged back and forth inside the ship, creating massive chaos and pinning down a large number of enemy troops.

However, the absolute disadvantage in numbers could not be ignored.

The number of Fengqi soldiers was too great; they were familiar with the ship's internal structure and could continuously mobilize reinforcements from other areas.

The advance of the Dusk Raiders began to slow, and casualties began to appear.

The squad led by Galadun also encountered powerful resistance.

In a main corridor leading to the engine room, their path was blocked by at least one company of Fengqi Guardian Super Soldiers and a large number of regular soldiers.

Dense Energy Rifle fire, Plasma Weapons, and High-Explosive Armor-Piercing Shells flew toward them.

"For the Emperor! Advance!"

Galadun held his Flamer and fired continuously.

The Dusk Raiders beside him also began to return fire, and both sides engaged in a tug-of-war in this corridor, with lives being extinguished every second.

Just as the battle was at its most intense, a vibration far more violent and profound than any previous explosion erupted from the direction of the Dreadnought-class Light Cruiser!

Immediately following this was a chain reaction of explosions!

A dazzling white light devoured more than half of the hull of the Fengqi Dreadnought-class Cruiser that had been grappled with it!

At the final moment before the explosion occurred, Galadun issued his final order.

"All units, board the Thunderhawk Gunships and continue the fight!"

At the moment before disintegration, several launch bays opened!

Dozens of Dusk Raiders Thunderhawk Gunships flew out, trailing the exhaust flames of their emergency ignition, and charged out of the blast radius!

These gunships carried the Dusk Raiders Space Marines who had survived the boarding action, including Company Commander Galadun himself.

The gunship pilots pushed their engine thrust to the limit, diving toward the nearest Fengqi ships that had fallen into brief chaos due to the explosion!

Board, seize, or at the very least, cause greater destruction!

One Thunderhawk Gunship dodged Close-in Weapon System fire and slammed into the bridge observation window area of a Fengqi Cruiser; at the last moment, the Armor-Piercing Explosive Shells fired by the Thunderhawk Gunship destroyed the armor in that sector, and the gunship forcibly smashed its assault ramp into the breach, with the Dusk Raiders Space Marines inside swarming in!

The Thunderhawk Gunship carrying Galadun chose a Fengqi Cruiser that had been heavily damaged by the close-range explosion.

The Thunderhawk Gunship cut in along the scars in the enemy ship's armor, and the assault ramp slammed down!

"For the Emperor! For the Sixth Company! Leave no survivors!"

Galadun was the first to charge down the ramp, his Power Sword swinging toward the Fengqi crew.

On the edge of L-449 Star, on the bridge of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance reinforcement fleet flagship.

Lieutenant General Horn looked at the chaotic battlefield star map on the main tactical screen, his teeth clenched.

Disgrace! A total disgrace!

He, Lieutenant General Horn, Chief of Staff of the Southern Theater, had led a powerful reinforcement fleet, originally coming with the mission to reclaim lost territory and restore the prestige of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance Southern Theater.

But now, what was he seeing?

Those Xiuluosheng fleets clearly only had a few ships, yet they had already sunk several of his own warships, and they had even launched a direct boarding action, with an attitude of fighting to the death!

"Trash! They are all a bunch of trash! How many men do we have? How many ships? Huh?! To be held here by such a small number of remnants, and to have lost so many warships! If this gets out, our Southern Theater will become the laughingstock of the entire Star Alliance!"

Lieutenant General Horn stood up and pointed at the tactical screen to issue an order.

"Get me those rats that have burrowed into our ships! And those flies buzzing around outside! All of them! Completely! Eliminate them! Leave not one! Use Torpedoes! Use the Close-in Weapon System! Use every means! Blast the infected areas flat! I want them reduced to ashes!"

The Communications Officer said hesitantly.

"General! We still have some soldiers and crew in those areas..."

"Execute the order! For victory, necessary sacrifices are acceptable! They must not be allowed to continue creating chaos! Quickly!"

The order was issued.

Several Fengqi Destroyers near the damaged cruiser began to adjust their angles, and their torpedo tubes opened, locking onto the cruiser where intense fighting was erupting internally.

Other ships also increased their interception fire against the scattered Thunderhawk Gunships.

Horn watched as the light dots representing the enemy on the screen were being cleared, but he felt no joy.

This encounter, which was expected to be a crushing victory, had turned into such a mess; even if he annihilated this enemy force in the end, his performance report would only have a dismal entry.

He could even imagine the disappointed look on General Gelan's face, or even that of the higher-ups, when they saw the report.

"Have the loss statistics been compiled yet?!"

A staff officer reported.

"Pre... preliminary statistics: 10 warships damaged, multiple areas inside have lost pressure, enemies are still active, and our personnel casualties are... heavy. Another four destroyers have sustained varying degrees of damage, mainly from being rammed by enemy Assault Boats or affected by close-range explosions. As for personnel... still being counted, but... it is very large."

"Large? How large?!"

Horn pressed.

"... Preliminary estimate, Guardian combat losses may exceed... 5,000. Regular crew and soldiers... over 100,000." The staff officer's voice grew lower and lower.

"5,000 Guardians?! 100,000 soldiers?!"

Horn was so angry he nearly choked.

And this was only a preliminary count! To eliminate such a small group of enemies, he had paid such a heavy price!

This was no longer just dismal; this was having his face pressed into the mud and trampled!

Just as Horn was losing control of his expression due to these heavy losses, a new report came in.

"General! Emergency! Large-scale warp signals detected! Bearing 2-8-4! Quantity... the quantity is extremely high! Energy signature... cannot be identified! Does not belong to any known database!"

"What?!"

Horn raised his head and looked at the main screen.

He saw that on the edge of the planet, in that previously empty void, warship after warship began to appear.

The bridge of the Fengqi Commander's flagship fell into a deathly silence.

Lieutenant General Horn looked at the fleet on the screen that was rapidly deploying, a fleet thirty times larger than the small one from before, his mouth hanging open, unable to speak!

Those few enemy ships resisting to the death, they were not fighting for victory at all; they were stalling for time!

Using their lives and blood to buy time for the arrival of the main force!

Horn quickly gave the order.

"A... all ships! Emergency turn! Highest combat readiness! Defensive formation! Fast! Faster! Abandon all boarding and clearing operations! All units return to position immediately! Prepare to engage the enemy! Engage!"

The battle alarm once again rang through every ship of the Fengqi Fleet.