Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes.

Chapter 248 The Core Battle—Storm's Offensive and Defensive Battle

The recovery war initiated by Orpheus has been going on for several months.

Against the background of the huge team of tens of millions of people across the two star regions, the casualties of millions of people in the war are just a drop in the bucket, without any waves.

Today's Priestley galaxy is like a palace with its doors wide open and defenseless;

When the outer defense system is torn apart, the only thing that can stop the human empire is the mobile fleet power.

And the main force of the orc fleet has also been driven out to the fortress group in the center of the galaxy after sinking most of it.

With the influx of troops from the empire, both the warring parties, whether it is the empire or the orcs, have no way out.

The two red-eyed behemoths stared at each other, and while breathing hard, they both looked at the center of the battlefield.

Storm 1, the capital world of the Priestley galaxy, is also the home port planet of the Grand Fleet in the Hassan sector after the empire carefully built a complete defense system and the Halo shipyard here.

The space stations and weapon platforms that used to be in orbit are now occupied by orcs;
And those defensive weapons that are dilapidated but still retain most of their functions have now become malicious knives and arrowheads in front of the imperial soldiers.

There is no other room for the campaign so far, and the fierce struggle for these defenses will be the climax of this campaign.

The main force of the naval fleet is all out, bombing Storm's fortress system with the dazzling laser array on the orbit;
They are closely arranged in the fleet's sailing sequence, and they often complete the shift before the shields of the inner members are about to be overloaded, continuing to maintain the intensity of the bombing.

A large number of torpedoes were transported from the rear, and on the weapon platform of the small frigate, they were released into orbit wave after wave like a school of fish.

The Astra Militarum made the first landing attempt after the bombardment, but was immediately shredded by hidden artillery fire from the second line; most of the ships;

Well, the intensity of fire detection is not enough, this is the unified conclusion made by Calvin et al.

Heavier artillery fire slanted in Storm's direction, but with little effect;

It wasn't until the arrival of the mechanical ark fleet and interstellar fortress Raptor King in the rear that the battle situation improved significantly.

The former is the battle flagship belonging to the Forge World of Reza, and naturally has large plasma weapons stronger than conventional warships of the Empire;

But because of their special battlefield positioning and functions, as long as the war does not enter a dangerous stage, no one is willing to send them to the battlefield.

The latter is a rare strategic unit in the fleet, famous for its defense and firepower.

The defense of the interstellar fortress of the King of Raptors can naturally withstand Storm's defensive weapons for a long time;
But without the order of Calvin himself, no other high-level generals can interfere with the will of these Astartes, let alone try to drive the core property of the warband, the King of Raptors.

Calvin didn't want to do this either, because the preciousness of the King of Birds of Prey, even from the overall perspective of the entire empire, was still an extremely rare resource.

The interstellar fortress is worthless, at least with the industrial capacity of the empire, it cannot be said that there are many stars, at least tens of thousands.

It may not be possible to move, which becomes the only criterion to distinguish whether their core value is precious or not:

Is there an independent engine enough for long-distance navigation, is there a subspace engine and an attached Geiger stand system that are enough to support independent subspace navigation!
Yes, it is the jewel in the palm of Imperial industry, and even the Chapters Astartes will regard it as a treasure;

If not, it is just an ordinary assembly line product of Imperial Industries.

This kind of cumbersome fortress can only be deployed passively. Even ordinary passive defensive deployments require large ships to actively drag them, let alone active offensive deployments.

The King of Birds of Prey is the former one, although it is not as powerful and legendary as Mountain Formation, Black Stone, um, and an unknown Caliban.

But as a leader among the interstellar fortresses, it not only has the outstanding defense of its kind and the excellent self-sustaining ability brought by its huge space.

Under these basic conditions, it also has a complete array of plasma reactor engines and supporting subspace engines.

This kind of strategic-level fortress that can move autonomously and conduct subspace navigation for large-scale dispatch is a treasure-like existence in the eyes of any force.

It can be said that on any battlefield, as long as it exists, even if it is still, it will naturally have the same deterrent effect as the Dinghaishenzhen.

This strategic level of resources is almost non-renewable in today's empire.

If it is not necessary for war, and there is no other alternative.

Calvin wouldn't take his mind off it either.

The loyalty of the Firehawks need not be doubted, they obeyed Calvin's orders.

Within ten hours of receiving his order, this huge interstellar fortress appeared at the position Calvin ordered to deploy—the spearhead of the entire fleet, with its engines turned on at full power.

The Grand Fleet is now ready to launch a fierce attack on Storm 1 again.

Under the cover of the huge body of the King of Birds of Prey, the entire fleet majestically faced the frontal firepower of the defense system and approached him directly!

The mechanical Dawn Heart belonging to Reza World followed closely behind, and the four plasma cannons belonging to its core weapon array completed the final charging preparations at a point closer to the outer edge of Storm's defense line.

Following Calvin's order, the Raptor King suddenly stopped its forward pressure, and began to deflect towards the left wing of the entire defense line;
And on the path of its flashing firepower, the orcs on the outer space station of Storm 1 are horrified to see the light that belongs to the depths of the stars on the main cannon of the Heart of Dawn!
hum!
The huge electric circuit trembled, and the low-frequency metallic resonance resounded through the entire mechanical ark's hull.

From the perspective of a bystander, there were four huge beams of light extending towards the orbit of the planet on the Heart of Dawn at that moment!
The frontal defense line consisting of a Ramirez-class star castle, four large space stations, and dozens of weapon platforms was instantly pierced by this bright light!

The shields of the two space stations in the center of the line of defense were instantly overloaded, and the exploded building debris was like a large cloud of dust, which was broken into pieces under the constraints of the planet's gravity and fell towards the surface.

The main shield of Star Fort was also severely damaged, and distortions visible to the naked eye appeared on this huge fortress.

Of course, the Imperial Fleet would not give up this precious opportunity to approach and shoot. The fleet headed by battleships began to shoot one after another. The dazzling light of the Nova Cannon on the bow of the ship came and went, making the entire galaxy quiet!
"In the name of the Emperor! Attack!"

Admiral Juan roared at the top of his lungs on the bridge of the Grand Fleet.

At the same time, on the other battleships, the generals belonging to the Imperial Navy and the Star Militia Army also let out the roar of war!

The Astartes were much calmer, they just lined up silently and entered the cabins of the landing torpedoes one after another;
Even the large group of gray knights headed by Calvin just stood quietly on the charged teleportation array.

He confirmed the specific coordinates of the transmission array with the direction of the bridge of the Revenant Redeemer again, and then said to all the gray knights in the spiritual energy link:
"Go, it's time for us to play, remember our mission? In the name of the emperor!"

At this time, all the gray knights were in unison holding a halberd with one hand and kneeling on one knee.

Amidst the friction of power armor parts, these gray emperor angels issued the last prayer before the battle to the distant Terra in unison:
"I am the hammer of the world!"

　Second watch, ask for a ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)