Chapter 215: The Phalanx Enters the Fray
Countless lances and macro-cannon shells slammed into the massive shields of the Phalanx.
The Imperial fleet, having recovered from the surging tsunami of energy, rallied.
"Broadcast to all surrounding Imperial warships, whether they are from the Cadian fleet, Agripinaa, the Gothic Sector, or any other fleet of the Imperium: rally around the Phalanx and counter-attack! Today, even if we die, we will die on the path of the offensive! For the Emperor!"
The Imperial Navy halted its rout and began to turn its ships around.
Aboard the Phalanx, Captain Garadon had not expected to suddenly appear in the very center of the battlefield. With the warp storm guided by the power of the dark gods, even a vessel the size of the Phalanx could only make a rough warp journey. On the augur arrays, the threat identification signals showed that the Phalanx was completely surrounded by the Chaos fleet. And the biggest target was Abaddon's Blackstone Fortress.
Garadon had fought his whole life and had never seen an enemy fleet of this scale. A trace of doubt appeared in his heart. Could the Phalanx truly withstand this? The massive cannon of the Blackstone Fortress was already beginning to charge, the ancient Eldar technology channeling the energy of the Empyrean.
"Captain! We have arrived within the Cadian system! We are surrounded by enemy warships! The Imperial Navy's fleet has suffered heavy losses!"
"Sergeant, report the repair status of the weapon arrays and fire control systems."
"The external weapon arrays have been completely repaired! The machine spirits are more pleased than ever! Captain! The Phalanx is now ready for battle!"
At this moment, the important control systems of the Phalanx were covered in a dense layer of Purity Seals, as if they were free. The priests of the Cult of the Holy Machine were loudly praising the name of the Holy Machine. The price the Cult of the Holy Machine charged for Purity Seals to outsiders was very expensive, but the cost of producing them was frighteningly low. Any pious tech-priest could inscribe such a seal. At this moment, the various systems on the Phalanx were operating far beyond their original power levels.
"Sons of Dorn! For the glory of our great Primarch and Terra!"
An uncountable number of cannons fired in unison at the Chaos fleet. The massive salvo instantly turned a Chaos warship into fragments. A quantitative change had led to a qualitative one.
Watching the Phalanx rampage through the void, Abaddon continuously urged the Dark Mechanicum hereteks to complete the charging of the Blackstone Fortress as soon as possible. The Phalanx was simply too large. So large that it could not evade the massive volume of fire and could only rely on its thick armor and void shields to withstand it.
The SCVs had long been on standby in various parts of the Phalanx and were rapidly repairing the damaged areas, their industrial clamps and drills spinning so fast they were smoking.
And when the main cannon of the Blackstone Fortress had finished charging, like a dazzling beam of light from a dying star, a huge, bright purple beam of concentrated warp energy struck the shield of the Phalanx directly.
One Blackstone Fortress was enough to glass a planet. Two were enough to destroy it outright. Three could form a link to prematurely detonate a star into a supernova. And under the torrent of a massive amount of warp energy, the shield of the Phalanx was overloading at an extremely fast rate. The void shields began to decay, and sparks flew on the engine deck of the Phalanx. The explosions and shockwaves caused by the overload threw the tech-priests and adepts within into a panic. Only the SCVs were continuously repairing the energy engines and various equipment to prevent them from being completely destroyed.
The SCVs could repair damaged facilities, but they could not increase the maximum power of the void shields out of thin air. Even a pleased machine spirit had its limits. But the SCVs could ensure that the shield recharge rate of the Phalanx was not slowed. The shield capacity of the Phalanx was high enough, and with the extra time the pleased machine spirit had bought them, the hull of the star-fortress had not been directly hit.
Seeing the engines of the Phalanx overload, the Chaos side felt as if their opportunity had come. Lances and macro-cannons destroyed the outer armor of the Phalanx. But the Chaos side also discovered that the concentrated fire, which should have caused massive damage, had not been too severe.
The armor of the Phalanx was regenerating itself!
The SCVs were desperately repairing the armor in all areas, but the continuous fire also destroyed some of the repairing SCVs.
"Warmaster! There's something wrong with the armor of that human Phalanx!!"
Abaddon stared at the massive Phalanx through the viewport. Some of the breaches that had been cut open were actually slowly healing.
"How is this possible?! Is this a new technology of the human Imperium?!"
Seeing this, Abaddon instantly connected all the previous events. The warships on Cadia that should have been damaged had also used this technology! And the attack by Be'lakor and the Iron Warriors had not been without result! It had been repaired!
The situation before him made Abaddon feel a trace of alarm. If this was true, and if the other party were to fight a guerrilla war with him, his fleet might even be completely worn down!!
But Abaddon knew he was not without a chance of victory. The number of his fleet still held a decisive advantage, and the main cannon of the Blackstone Fortress could pose a sufficient threat to the other party! And the other party could not break through his fleet to strike the Blackstone Fortress directly. Nor could they abandon Cadia to fight a war of attrition with them.
Countless boarding torpedoes slammed into various parts of the Phalanx, attempting to destroy and seize the Imperial side's trump card.
But the boarding Chaos forces realized something was wrong as soon as they were on board. The Phalanx at this moment was not only fierce in a fleet battle, but its anti-boarding measures were enough to make the landing Chaos forces' scalps tingle. The Sons of Dorn fought to the death without retreat. They had already set up positions at all the important nodes, waiting for the enemy's arrival. Every Astartes of the Imperial Fists' Third Company was equipped with a Medic, ensuring that they could hold their ground. And the Legion of the Damned, like ghosts, also directed their pent-up vengeful fury at the landing enemy.
The Widow Mines carried by the two Raider corps had long been laid in ambush in various places. The lucky Chaos traitors on the landing decks might step on one Widow Mine. The unlucky ones might even encounter a Thor waiting for them in a huge corridor. To break through each corridor, Chaos had to pay a heavy price.
Garadon looked at the battle report, constantly marveling at the miracle of the SCVs. With these incredible mechanical creations, the combat power displayed by the Phalanx far exceeded its original level. But Garadon knew that now was far from the time to be happy.
"Sergeant, report. Are the void shields recharged?"
"Captain! The void shields still need time to recharge! Although the plasma engines were not destroyed and the machine spirit has been pleased, the cannon blast from the Blackstone Fortress requires the shields to be charged to at least 70% to withstand! The firepower from the other enemy warships is also massive. The weapon systems, propulsion systems, and internal defense facilities also require a large amount of energy supply. We do not have data on the recharge speed of the Blackstone Fortress. I am not sure if we will make it in time!"
Hearing the report, Garadon also made a decision.
"Broadcast to the surrounding Imperial Navy. Use the Phalanx as cover and retreat toward Cadia. We can rely on Cadia's original ground-based defensive firepower and orbital platforms to share the pressure for the Phalanx! We do not need to fight the enemy to the death here! Preserve our effective strength. The reinforcing fleets are on their way. We can not only protect Cadia, but we might even have a chance to annihilate their entire fleet!"
When the Phalanx had departed, Lucan had explained his idea to Garadon. Lucan needed Garadon to tie down the Chaos fleet. Even if Cadia was held, as long as there was time, "Brother Abaddon" could continue his fourteenth crusade. But if there was a chance to annihilate this Chaos fleet here, then even if Chaos could once again bless a Chosen of the Four Gods and create another massive fleet capable of posing a sufficient threat to the Imperium, who knew how long that would take.
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