Chapter 402

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

The moment the communication channel connected, a low, bellows-like breathing sound came through first, accompanied by the faint hum of mechanical components operating.

Volken's voice was hoarse like a leaking bellows; he had to pause every few words to catch his breath.

Yet his tone was steady, not a trace of panic detectable:

"Major General Adult, long story short."

"Those infected escort ships and destroyers up ahead are bait."

The bridge fell silent for an instant; everyone instinctively turned toward the main screen.

Those bloated, rotting ships clumsily adjusted their cannon mouths, firing glob after glob of slime shells that sluggishly smashed into nearby Imperial vessels,

exploding into patches of filthy light spots on the void shields, yet the shield values dropped only imperceptibly.

"Reason." Dominic was concise.

"I've seen the exact same tactic, Anvarheim." Volken's breathing grew heavier, as if recalling some extremely unpleasant memory.

"Traitors corrupted by the Plague never show their trump card right away."

"What they excel at most is making you see a few friendly ships gone rogue first, making you panic, making you fear the plague spreading, making you pour all your firepower onto your own people."

"Look closely, these infected ships were all from the same batch that received starport supplies three days ago."

"The pathogen was planted in the supplies long ago; when it would erupt and how many ships would erupt was all calculated by them."

"Deliberately infecting the outermost escort ships first, then spreading inward, was to create the illusion that 'the plague spreads rapidly.'"

"Forcing us to contract our formation and concentrate fire to clear the infected ships."

Dominic's gaze fell on the formation array on the screen.

Indeed, the seven infected ships were distributed precisely on the outermost layer of the Eastern Anchorage Zone, like a ring of discarded rotten meat casually thrown away, just blocking the main fleet's route toward the starport.

They moved sluggishly, their accuracy was abysmal, they couldn't even maintain void shields; they looked like a group of out-of-control Waa'gh, seemingly posing no threat other than disgusting people.

But if the fleet really closed in to focus fire, it would be equivalent to actively sticking themselves in the enemy's face.

"Nurgle's fleet also relies on close-quarters boarding as its core tactic." Volken's voice continued, carrying a dread etched into his bones.

"Their ships look slow, have no shields, but are actually ridiculously tough."

"Once they stick to you, they blow open shields with corrupted torpedoes, boarding troops rush into the cabins, and the whole ship will be thoroughly corrupted in half a day."

"These infected ships right now don't even count as a vanguard."

"The real main fleet must be those dozen-odd ships that drilled out of the Warp rift, waiting for us to get tangled with the bait so they can sneak up and stick to our faces."

"Listen to me, Major General Adult."

"Fighting these plague gods, you can't bunch together, and you can't be reluctant to give up that bit of starport territory.

"Spread the formation, open the distance, use macro cannons and light spear arrays to target the distant fleet, don't waste time on the bait."

"The more reluctant you are to let go of population-dense landmarks, the easier it is for them to wipe you out in one pot."

"This is the lesson bought with hundreds of millions of lives in Anvarheim."

When the words finished, only heavy mechanical breathing remained in the channel.

Volken didn't say another word, as if he had completely handed the decision over to Dominic.

Dominic didn't reply immediately; instead he turned his head to look at the Mechanical Priest and Silent Sister Elaine beside him.

"Test results."

The Mechanical Priest's optical lens flashed dark red, the data stream before him scrolling rapidly: "Confirmed, Major General Adult."

"Enemy shell void shield penetration rate is under 1%, almost ineffective against the shield system."

"Corruption effect is concentrated on the physical contact level; as long as the shield holds, it will not cause hull infection."

"The infected ships' Warp fluctuation energy level is low; the corruption core is not on this batch of ships."

"A stronger corruption source is indeed still at the Warp rift, slowly permeating into the Reality Universe."

Sister Elaine also nodded slightly, tapping out a concise string of sign language:

【I agree with Colonel Volken's assessment.】

Both of them affirmed Colonel Volken's statement.

The last trace of doubt in Dominic's heart vanished.

He looked at the main screen, his gaze passing over those rotting bait ships, settling on that constantly surging dark green Warp rift farther away.

The rift was still expanding; faintly, the outlines of even larger, more distorted hulls could be seen slowly emerging, like giant beasts submerged in rotten water, slowly rising toward the water surface.

He indeed really wanted to charge down right now, drag Keli Feng before him, and force him to confess everything about the Gene Thief, Frost Dragon, and Xenos collusion.

But that is ultimately internal Imperial suspicion, an account that can be settled later.

Right now, a blatant Chaos Fleet is blocking the Star System Gate; the Evil Gods' Plague Fleet intends to drag the entire planet into rot and death.

As a Major General of the Imperial Navy, as a warrior of the God Emperor, he has no reason to obsess over internal disputes first.

"Relay orders to the entire fleet."

Dominic's voice was steady and powerful, instantly overriding all the noise on the bridge.

"Abandon the Starport Anchorage, all combat units immediately disperse, open distance in a fan-shaped defensive formation."

"Each ship maintain at least five hundred kilometers spacing, close-range clustering prohibited."

"All macro cannons, light spear arrays, cease fire on infected friendly ships."

"Fire Calibration, Target, Fleet at Warp Rift Exit, Coverage Fire."

"All Fighter Groups launch, Hunting Patrol in Outer Airspace, Intercept any Corrupted Warship attempting to approach our formation."

"Tell Colonel Volken, Flame Spear Ship temporarily assigned to Pioneer Strike Group, under his Unified Command of Left Wing Remote Firepower."

A string of commands issued clearly, without a shred of Delay.

Officers on the Bridge sprang into action, call-and-response voices on the Communication Channel replacing the earlier panic.

The massive Imperial Fleet began moving in an Orderly fashion.

Warship after warship adjusted course, leaving the Dense Anchorage Zone around the Starport Surroundings, spreading out into the vast Space.

Like a Giant Net slowly unfurling, Encirclement of the emerging Nurgle Main Fleet.

Dominic stood at the Porthole, watching the turning fleet outside, Cold Gaze.

Keli Feng's account can be settled later.

But now, he must first send all these Chaos Scum who dared intrude into Imperial Territory back into the Embrace of their so-called "Kindly Father".