Another row of massive, menacingly contoured Federation Capital Battleships, their bows flickering with the cold light of energy charging!
They had been perfectly concealed behind the Vanguard Fleet until now.
At this moment, the vanguard parted like doors swinging open to either side.
Exposing their pitch-black, fully charged colossal gun muzzles, unobstructed and aimed directly at the frantically charging Demon Claw Fleet!
The energy light gathering at those muzzles was even more blinding, more condensed than during the first volley!
Clearly, they had long been prepared, waiting only for this moment to reveal themselves and call the roll!
The ferocity and resolve on Commodore Hamilton's face instantly froze, transforming into incredulous horror.
"Another wave?
How many T5-class Battleships do they have?"
"Sensors!
Can we get a lock?
Calculate target distance immediately!"
He roared into the communication channel, an ominous premonition rising in his heart.
"Unable to achieve stable lock!
Target distance...
still maintained between 2.05 and 2.1 million kilometers!
Exceeds the maximum range of all our Main Cannons!"
The despairing voice of the fire control officer confirmed Hamilton's worst fear.
Hamilton's mind felt drenched in ice water, instantly comprehending the Federation Fleet's entire scheme!
Eight ships?
No, far more than that!
The enemy had hidden even more T5-class Battleships behind their vanguard,
precisely to prevent his own forces from immediately choosing to retreat or maneuver upon seeing an overwhelming number of Capital Ships at the war's outset.
The eight Battleships from the first beyond-visual-range salvo.
Were both a show of force and bait, fixed stakes.
Attracting and pinning the attention and charging momentum of the Demon Claw Fleet.
And when his own side, thinking they had caught the enemy's Main Cannon recharge interval, desperately closed the distance...
The enemy's already prepared second echelon of Capital Ships just happened to emerge from behind the curtain.
And because they always occupied a position further back in the fleet, they always maintained that fatal, insurmountable distance gap of over 200,000 kilometers from the charging Demon Claw Fleet!
"Layered bombardment... echelon firepower..."
Beside Hamilton, an experienced staff officer muttered, face devoid of color.
His voice filled with bitter realization.
"Commander... this, this is practically... a stellar version of the firing squad!"
Firing squad!
An ancient, brutal tactic from the line infantry era.
Perfectly recreated by the enemy Commander using stars as the battlefield, Battleships as musketeers, and hundreds of thousands of kilometers as the interval!
The first row of soldiers (the first batch of T5 Battleships) fires, then steps back to reload (recharge).
The second row of soldiers (the second batch of hidden T5 Battleships) steps forward and delivers a second volley from an absolutely safe distance at the charging enemy!
And the charging Imperial Fleet was like cavalry charging a line of muskets.
Possessing only speed and courage, yet always unable to bring their sabers (Main Cannons) to bear upon the enemy!
In the vast, nearly frictionless battlefield of space, this tactic of maintaining a fixed range advantage through formation depth, once established, becomes a one-sided, hopeless range slaughter for the charging side!
"No!!!"
Hamilton's eyes widened with fury.
Watching the tactical screen, he saw the energy readings from the Federation's second wave of battleships' bows climb to their peak—a truly despairing sight.
All his tactical countermeasures, all his determination to charge forward, seemed so pale and laughable in the face of this overwhelming firepower superiority, built upon a technological generation gap and meticulous calculation.
Hamilton's evasive command hadn't even fully left his throat when the second wave of destruction descended!
More concentrated, more deadly than the first, blinding white beams tore through the void like spears of judgment cast by a cosmic deity, crashing mercilessly into the desperately turning Demon Claw Fleet!
The flagship Venom Fang bore the brunt of the assault!
Four massive, suffocatingly thick heavy particle beams struck almost simultaneously, slamming into its already faltering forward energy shield!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!"
This was no longer a dull struggle of strength but an almost overwhelming, shattering force!
The shield, already depleted to 65% energy, emitted a sharp, agonized shriek upon the first impact. The azure barrier flickered violently, flashing on and off as web-like energy cracks spread across its surface.
The second and third strikes followed in rapid succession, causing the cracks to spread and widen uncontrollably!
In preparation for its counterattack, Venom Fang had diverted a significant portion of its energy to its main cannon charging systems, leaving its shield generator critically underpowered.
The fourth particle beam struck like the final straw that broke the camel's back, piercing straight through the already riddled shield!
"Crash—!!!"
A terrifying, amplified sound, like shattering glass, erupted on an energy level.
Venom Fang's forward shield finally overloaded and collapsed, exploding into a shower of rapidly dissipating, scattered energy fragments.
The shield status bar instantly plummeted from orange-yellow to a glaring deep red. After a frantic fluctuation, the value locked firmly at 1%!
A single volley had nearly depleted the shield's energy!
The next attack, even if just one or two secondary cannons, could deliver the fatal blow to this Imperial flagship!
The lights on the bridge flickered and dimmed, replaced by an emergency red glow.
Violent tremors threw everyone off balance. Sparks from exploding instruments flew in all directions, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning and molten metal.
Hamilton was thrown hard against the control console, his forehead cut and blood streaming down his cheek, yet he remained oblivious.
His bloodshot eyes were fixed solely on that alarming 1%, filled with cold despair.
Yet, in this wave of attacks, Venom Fang's plight could still be considered fortunate.
Less than fifty kilometers to its flank, the T5-class battleship Terror Claw faced a truly catastrophic fate!
Three heavy particle beams, as if calculated with the utmost precision, struck almost within the same millisecond, hitting the exact same coordinate point on the forward right shield of Terror Claw's hull!
The first particle beam struck, causing the shield at the corresponding point on Terror Claw's hull to cave inward in a deep, arc-shaped depression.
The pale blue shield surface flared to a blinding intensity, its surface force-field patterns twisting wildly as the internal energy structure instantly destabilized. The shield core's hum turned hoarse and grating.
The second shot followed in close succession, striking precisely the same depression. The overloaded shield shattered and vaporized with a thunderous roar.
It tore open an energy void several meters in diameter on the outer hull, the surrounding remnants of the force-field ripples still faintly trembling in the void, but this breach vanished in an instant.
The third, death-like particle beam pierced through at that exact moment, following the unprotected opening to collide solidly against the Terrorclaw's hull armor.
There was no sound in the vacuum, yet all who witnessed the scene heard in their minds the sound of metal vaporizing under extreme heat.
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