Chapter 268: The Spear of the Wine God Pierces a Hundred Men

Within the Simulacrum Chamber, as Gabriel's thoughts stirred, he grasped the tactical situation of the 33rd Expeditionary Fleet in an instant.

He could not help but furrow his brows; not only was one Capital Ship under attack by Fulao Battlecruisers, with its hull taking fire after its Void Shield was breached, but even a section of the Void Shield on the port side of the Shadow of Sovereignty had been shattered by an Ether cannon.

【Is Captain Diana Polin in command?

She is an excellent captain, but dealing with the Fulao fleet is too much for her.】

Just as Gabriel thought, Diana had received authorization from the Primarch to command the void battle, but the Ether cannons of the four Fulao Battlecruisers posed too great a threat.

As a "Guanzhe," Diana's Mental Body had received a slight enhancement, and her cerebral cat further boosted her computational abilities, granting her processing power comparable to an ordinary Astartes, yet there remained a vast gap compared to the Simulacrum Chamber of the "Iron Hands."

The shattering of the port-side Void Shield on the Shadow of Sovereignty placed even greater pressure upon her.

For the first time, the hull of the Shadow of Sovereignty was struck by the artillery of a Frigate.

【Lord Ninglu should take over command immediately.】

For Diana, that long second felt like an entire night had passed.

A flash of astonishment crossed her blue-green eyes; there had been enough time for the Primarch to react and issue orders.

【Lord Ninglu did not issue orders; that is his trust in me.】

The female captain calmed herself and issued her orders.

"Three degrees to the left, take it out!"

Her gaze followed the trail of the shell's light on the video screen, and only after seeing the Frigate torn to shreds did she exhale softly.

The female captain realized she could not control the entire battlefield; in such a situation, she should authorize other Commanders to be responsible for local fronts, while she herself should quickly find a breakthrough point.

"Lord Merson, enemy ships A-1 and A-2 are to be handled by the Twelfth Legion."

"Thomas, I request the help of the Librarian to ensure my orders reach every part of the ship faster."

"Arsena, I also need your help to assist me in processing data and refining the battle plan."

The Chief Librarian and the Primarch Attendant, standing before the throne, spoke simultaneously.

"Very well."

Thomas's consciousness expanded, linking the minds of the female captain, Arsena, and the other Librarians on the flagship.

The female captain handed over the data for the two Battlecruisers, A-3 and A-4, to the "Reasoning Student" to process.

The "Reasoning Student's" Mental Body had undergone two enhancements, and with the computational support of his cerebral cat, his processing power approached that of an ordinary Iron Hand.

Five breaths later, the "Reasoning Student" stated the deduction results over the mind-link.

"A-4 is the most suitable target; it has become overconfident after successfully attacking the port side and disabling the Void Shield, causing it to drift away from its escort ships."

"Your reasoning confirms my thoughts."

Diana's eyes shone bright; she decided to issue a risky order, using the Shadow of Sovereignty as bait to lure the greedy A-4 enemy ship.

"Port turn to 3-9-8, inclination two, advance."

"Confirming order, port turn to 3-9-8, inclination two."

The sector Commander hesitated to confirm the female captain's order, as this command would leave the port side facing the bows of the Fulao ships directly.

Unlike the Capital Ships of the Imperium, the Fulao Battlecruisers did not carry weapons on their port or starboard sides; their Ether cannons and other artillery were all located on the bow.

The female captain's order was equivalent to exposing a weakness to the enemy ship, which the sector Commander could not understand.

"Execute the order!"

The blonde female captain said with authority, then immediately cast her gaze toward the Fulao Battlecruiser marked A-3.

"I will handle A-3," Diana heard the Primarch, who had remained silent until now, suddenly speak.

Ninglu had not taken over command from the female captain the moment the situation turned unfavorable; as long as the situation remained under control, he decided not to intervene.

The female captain had not disappointed him; she had decisively authorized the Twelfth Legion to attack on their own while luring the A-4 enemy ship to attack, and he approved of this plan.

To alleviate the pressure on the female captain, and also for the Potion Materials possessed by the Fulao, such as the Dark Night Fragment, Ninglu decided to lead the Honor Guard in a boarding action.

"Prepare for boarding!"

At the same moment Ninglu rose and headed for the Torpedo deck, Merson was also issuing command orders: "Peier, A-2 is to be handled by your fleet."

"As you command, my Lord." After the "Wheel of Fire" campaign, Peier Koscielny, who had been promoted to Company Captain of the Fifth Legion, commanded a detachment.

On the Vostonia Sword, Peier stared at the holographic image, his black eyes searching the void projection.

A few seconds later, his eyes lit up as he stared at the rune marked H-15 Dust Cloud.

It was adjacent to the star of the Cydonia System, a cloud-like celestial body composed of interstellar dust particles, gases, and metallic micro-particles.

Peier raised his left hand, swiftly sketching five trajectories in the center of the holographic image, then ordered the Sound Array Master to send them separately to the two Frigates and three Destroyers under his command.

One of the Destroyers immediately took action, charging toward the Battlecruiser in accordance with the Company Captain's orders.

The Destroyer's path was not a straight line, but a zigzag, relying on its speed to avoid the attacks of the Fulao fleet.

It grazed the side of the dust cloud region, drawing the Fulao's fire.

When the Fulao fleet aimed its firepower at the Destroyer, the Vostonia Sword and the other four warships bypassed the dust cloud from the other side, launching an attack on the Fulao fleet from the flank.

The two Ether cannons of the Vostonia Sword fired simultaneously, each precisely striking two enemy ships.

A rain of Lances then bombarded the two enemy ships.

The Fulao fleet immediately changed direction to pursue, the five ships scattering as if startled.

The Fulao Battlecruiser predictably locked its target onto the Vostonia Sword, as it was a Capital Ship and had a slower speed.

Like a bloodthirsty shark, it launched continuous attacks on the Vostonia Sword.

The Ether beams flashed with blinding, colorful light, launching round after round of attacks against the Vostonia Sword.

Peier's expression was calm and composed as he directed the Vostonia Sword to turn irregularly to evade the attacks.

"Starboard turn to 1-5-6, inclination four, advance."

"..."

The other five warships, following Peier's plan, returned from different directions to attack the Fulao warships.

Lacking Ether cannons, the Fulao warships were inferior in performance to Astartes vessels; when the commander of the Battlecruiser reacted, he discovered he had already lost all his escort ships.

He panicked and wanted to retreat, only to find all other directions blocked, leaving only the dust cloud region.

After suffering a round of shelling, he had no choice but to helplessly order a retreat toward the dust cloud.

Peier saw the Fulao Battlecruiser's speed drop due to increased drag and electromagnetic interference on the holographic display and issued an order.

"Prepare to board!"

His goal was to capture the Battlecruiser.

Merson's flagship was the Relic-class Warship Vostonia Punishment, which had just been retrofitted with Ether cannons at the Wosituoniya Chuanchang.

After the Vostonia Punishment exchanged Ether cannon fire with the Fulao Battlecruiser, it relied on the range advantage of its other ship-mounted artillery to strike the enemy ship.

Diana's decoy tactic also worked, and the reckless Fulao Cruiser suffered a fierce strike from the Gloriana-class Battleship.

While the 33rd Expeditionary Fleet gained the advantage in void warfare, Ninglu led the Honor Guard to break into the upper deck of the Fulao Battlecruiser marked A-3.

The Fulao Zongdu led a thousand Aether Masters wearing purple-gold robes to block the assault team.

Just as the Fulao Zongdu raised the staff in his hand, Ninglu injected psychic power into the Spear of Dionysus, activating the power hidden within the artifact.

The "thrown" Spear of Dionysus flew in an instant before the Fulao Zongdu who was leading the team.

The Fulao Zongdu stared at the spear; he saw a blinding, colorful light and felt the powerful energy contained within it, which made him feel both disgust and fear.

His expression was grim as he shouted loudly.

A thousand Aether Masters raised their staves, and the Aether Tide surged.

Frost formed across the entire Bridge, and the members of the Honor Guard all felt as if cold, icy tentacles were stroking their souls.

Ether Energy gathered at the head of the staff in the Fulao Zongdu's hand, and he swung it violently.

Boom!

The Spear of Dionysus collided with the Psychic Shield, a deafening roar erupted, and the ears of the Order Shadows rang.

Fulao Warriors and servants bled from their noses and eyes, their corpses falling limply to the ground.

Just as the Fulao Zongdu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had blocked that terrifying spear, he suddenly heard a sound like glass shattering.

He was astonished to discover that the Psychic Shield he had established together with a thousand Aether Masters, he who controlled the supreme Aether mysteries of Fulao, had actually...

Shattered.

The spear flew before him in an instant, and the Field Shield the Fulao Zongdu hastily raised was shattered in an instant.

After the Spear of Dionysus pierced through the Fulao Zongdu, its momentum remained undiminished.

The powerful force attached to the "thrown" spear drove it to pierce through a dozen Aether Masters and dozens of Fulao Warriors in succession.

After piercing through a hundred Fulao in one strike, the Spear of Dionysus finally embedded itself in the deck.

The Fulao looked at the spear in terror; it was like a terrifying evil artifact from myths and legends.

Ninglu vibrated his golden wings and slaughtered his way into the Fulao.

He could not yet freely control the C'tan essence of the Burning One, so to avoid damaging the spoils of war, he did not release flames.

The golden wings spread open, the Living Metal wings sharp as blades; the Aether Masters' Psychic Shields shattered at a touch, and they were subsequently cut in half at the waist.

Golden light flickered, leaving trails of afterimages in the air.

The Fulao fell in swathes, and by the time the Order Shadows rushed to the battlefield, there were no enemies left standing.

"Leave it be," Ninglu said, pointing at the Spear of Dionysus.

Afterward, he drew the Sword of Vaul to hunt down the remaining enemies and had the Dark Night Fragment and other spoils moved to the "Kingdom of Disorder."

In the Simulacrum Chamber of the 52nd Expeditionary Fleet's flagship, Gabriel saw the 33rd Expeditionary Fleet achieve a total victory, and only then did his worried emotions calm down.

(End of chapter)