"A mysterious fleet from the Warp has been detected in front of our fleet; they seem to be trying to stop us from finding the Emperor."
"Tactical analysis in progress. Local Chaos Gods of the Warp fleet detection sensors are at maximum power and have completed scanning. They are preparing to attack the Emperor!"
"Analyzing enemy combat power. Combat power analysis complete: the weak fleet can be directly eliminated."
As a top-tier combat AI, it was precisely like this; merely scanning the enemy was enough to completely uncover all their secrets.
"Commence battle!"
While the battle in the real universe raged, a fleet engagement also erupted in the Warp. Four retaliation-class battleships slowly advanced, their main Lance weapons beginning to charge.
Immediately, four massive particle beams flew towards the opposing chaos Fleet. In just an instant of engagement, a battleship in the Nurgle Fleet was directly annihilated.
Compared to the Dominion Fleet, which had already detected the enemy and begun clearing threats with long-range Lance weapons, Nurgle's Fleet had not yet discovered the Dominion Fleet; they had only just suffered an attack. Two battleships in their fleet were destroyed.
Nurgle Fleet Commander—Plague Lord Mortarion's adjutant, Grolax III, stood on the puss-ridden bridge, his decaying face twisted in shock. He had never witnessed such precise and lethal strikes.
—A chaos battleship was instantly wiped out without any warning, not even managing to send a distress signal.
This was the most terrifying part, and this was a battleship! In engagements with the Imperium, how could a battleship be so easily destroyed? It should at least last a month or so, right?
They had lost a battleship so easily. This was not good news; it proved that the enemy was terrifyingly powerful.
"Where are the enemies?!" Grolax roared, yellowish-green pus dripping from the corners of his mouth. "Why aren't our detectors responding?!"
"M-my Lord…" a Tech-Priest covered in boils stammered in reply, "The scanning system shows… no enemy vessels in the surrounding airspace…"
"Nonsense!" Grolax smashed the Tech-Priest into a pulp with his staff. "Keep searching! Activate all defensive systems!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Warp, the Dominion Fleet's four retaliation-class battleships were arranged in a perfect tactical formation. cruisers began to fly around the battleships, preparing to engage the enemy alongside them.
The Dominion's powerful intelligent combat AI provided the Dominion Fleet with the best combat planning and strategies. With the intelligent combat AI, the Dominion Navy didn't need to overly concern itself with the combat power of its warships.
The intelligent combat AI could handle everything; the Dominion Navy was only used as a reserve force, or rather, to prevent any unforeseen changes in the intelligent AI.
After all, the Dominion had also experienced the Men of Iron Rebellion, although that rebellion was suppressed by the Terran Dominion under the Emperor's leadership.
The Dominion's fleet consisted of 4 battleships, 8 strike cruisers, 16 destroyers, and 32 frigates.
And the fleet Nurgle dispatched was not small in scale.
This Nurgle Fleet consisted of 40 warships, including two battleships, four large cruisers, six heavy cruisers, eight cruisers, ten frigates, and ten special units.
This diversified fleet configuration ensures maximum effectiveness in different combat scenarios. Whether it's for large-scale orbital bombardment or rapid strike and harassment missions, it can effectively counter enemy threats.
Terminus Est: As the flagship of the Nurgle Fleet, the Terminus Est is equipped with powerful weapon systems and defensive capabilities, capable of inflicting severe damage on enemy fleets. Weapons: heavy turrets, missile launchers, plague launchers. Defense: thick armor, capable of withstanding significant damage. Special Ability: can spread deadly plagues, causing severe damage to enemy fleets and planets.
Chaos Battle Barge: This battleship is a heavy unit in the Nurgle Fleet, possessing extremely high firepower and defensive capabilities. Weapons: heavy turrets, missile launchers, high-explosive turrets. Defense: thick armor, capable of withstanding significant damage. Special Ability: capable of large-scale orbital bombardment, causing severe damage to enemy planets.
These were the two main battleships of the Nurgle Fleet, and at this moment, the chaos battleship had already been eliminated; it had done nothing.
Under the concentrated fire of the four retaliation-class battleships, it had no chance to react and was utterly destroyed within the Warp.
Beyond this, other fleet details will not be elaborated upon.
Compared to these battleships, except for the large cruisers and heavy cruisers which still possessed some combat power, the ordinary Nurgle warships were as weak as child's play.
Nurgle's Fleet was still searching for the enemy, but beyond their line of sight, the Terran Dominion's fleet, adjusted by the intelligent AI, was preparing its battle formation, and the battleships' Lance main guns had entered cooldown.
The particle Lance was the main weapon of the Terran Dominion battleships; firing it once required a cooldown to re-supply energy to this Lance main gun.
Its destructive power had just been demonstrated: the concentrated fire of four retaliation-class battleships could easily destroy a chaos battleship.
The battleship's energy core continuously supplied energy to charge its main guns, while the Warp generator began to extract chaotic energy from the surrounding Warp to replenish the battleship's energy consumption.
The distance between the two fleets began to slowly close.
"Second volley ready." The cold voice of the Dominion AI commander echoed through the fleet channel. "Target: enemy flagship 'Terminus Est'. All battleships fire in sync."
Four dazzling particle beams once again tore through the chaotic veil of the Warp, precisely hitting the massive, puss-ridden warship. Grolax's flagship trembled violently in the light, its thick armor pierced like thin paper, and its plague launchers exploded one after another under the energy impact.
"No! The paternity's blessings, how could they be—" Grolax's wail was cut short as the entire flagship disintegrated into countless burning fragments in a chain of explosions.
The retaliation-class battleship was a battleship personally designed by Zeke for the Terran Dominion in 2340.
This class of battleship was considered one of the top combat forces in the galaxy at the time. These battleships were equipped with incredibly powerful Lance main guns, designed to destroy enemy small and medium-sized warships with powerful Lances before battle.
Theoretically, the retaliation-class battleship should not have such immense power, being able to directly destroy battleships.
But some things granted it even greater power.
This was in the Warp. The Warp generator amplified the Lance of the retaliation-class battleship with immense power, and the Terran Dominion Psykers on board further added a huge buff to the warship.
With these two factors combined, the concentrated fire of even four retaliation-class battleships could destroy a chaos battleship.
However, despite the brevity of the battle, the Lance main gun was not so easy to charge.
Even in the Warp, where Warp energy could be drawn for charging, the Lance main gun still required 12 hours to recharge.
By the time Nurgle's two battleships were destroyed, the battle had already lasted 12 hours.
"Third main gun charge complete." The AI commander's voice echoed through the fleet channel. "Target: enemy large cruiser cluster."
The main guns of the four retaliation-class battleships once again glowed with dangerous light, and particle Lances carved four dazzling streaks of light through the Warp.
The Nurgle Fleet's remaining four large cruisers twisted and deformed in the light, their thick armor melting like butter, and their plague launchers exploded one after another, staining the entire airspace a sickly green.
"Enemy capital ships 80% cleared." The combat AI quickly assessed the situation. "Escort fleet sortie, execute cleanup operation."
The battle was almost over. As a Terran Dominion fleet, boarding was not an option.
Therefore, they would not abandon their range advantage to engage the enemy in close combat.
If enemies could be eliminated from a distance, why would one charge in for a close-quarters battle?
That would be inappropriate.
Moreover, they had just arrived in this universe and didn't know about such a miraculous tactic as boarding in this world. Boarding in space was truly too audacious.
How could a fleet battle turn into a boarding action? Wouldn't that be abandoning the battleship's most powerful weapon, its main gun?
Of course, that being said, in a little while, the Terran Dominion's warships would soon face the most powerful tactic in this universe.
Boarding!