"Sir, we have arrived in the Rostov System. Shall we surface and exit the Warp?" A void ship, having just completed its journey within the Warp, was now finishing its voyage, and the captain was asking the Inquisitor on board for permission to end the jump.
The Inquisitor glanced at the chronometer in his hand, nodded, and said, "Permission to exit the Warp. Surface to the Mandeville Point."
Hearing the Inquisitor's command, the captain immediately began to issue orders.
Immediately after, a strike cruiser, designed like an Inquisition Black Ship, exited the Warp at the Mandeville Point of the Rostov System.
The moment it exited the Warp, its Void Shields were not active, making them most vulnerable at that time.
Precisely for this reason, in the Imperial Navy's tactical doctrines, ambushing and striking enemy vessels that have just exited the Warp at the Mandeville Point is a very classic and practical tactic.
After all, the enemy usually cannot evade the first strike, and if the torpedoes are launched well, they can easily cripple the enemy, gaining an advantage in naval combat.
However, this Inquisition Black Ship seemed to encounter no enemies and quickly moved away from the Mandeville Point and its vulnerable state after Warp transit.
With the Void Shields back online, the Black Ship recovered its status and prepared to advance towards the only Imperial World in this system.
"Sir, xenos vessels have been detected near Rostov II! One light cruiser and three frigates! A Tech-Priest light cruiser and an Ecclesiarchy light cruiser-class armed merchant ship are engaging them!" The captain, having discovered the ongoing naval battle around Rostov II from the routine auger matrix scan, quickly reported to the Inquisitor.
Upon hearing the captain's report, the Inquisitor's expression immediately changed, and he loudly ordered, "Damn it, how are there xenos here? We must support Rostov II immediately!"
"Yes, sir." The captain responded, while having the ship's comms officer contact the two warships on Rostov II via the vox-array, and at the same time, instructing the Enginseer to prepare for a short-range jump, intending to save travel time this way.
Imperial void ships equipped with Warp drives, in addition to entering the Warp for long-distance faster-than-light travel, can also perform short-range jumps within distances ranging from a few light-years to several tens of light-years.
These short-range jumps do not require deep penetration into the Warp; they are more akin to skipping across the surface of the Warp and are typically only used for fleet tactical maneuvers.
Of course, for Rogue Traders or merchant fleets, this method can also be used for faster-than-light travel without Astronomican guidance or without entering the Warp.
This Black Ship quickly entered jump-state, and because it was maneuvering within a star system, it arrived near Rostov II's synchronous orbit in a mere flash of light.
At this point, the naval battle occurring here had entered a white-hot phase.
One xenos frigate was destroyed, but the Ecclesiarchy ship's Void Shields had failed, and its originally beautifully decorated hull was covered in scars.
Meanwhile, the other side's Forge Ship was still entangled with the xenos light cruiser, occasionally providing fire support for the Ecclesiarchy ship.
However, while this protected the Ecclesiarchy ship from being destroyed and heavily damaged, it also affected the Forge Ship's firepower output, making it difficult to inflict effective damage on the enemy vessel.
But with this cruiser-class Black Ship joining the battle, a heavy weight was thrown onto the scales of victory.
—
On the ground, Alex quickly received the good news of the Inquisition Black Ship arriving to provide orbital support.
This made him exclaim, 'This must be the Emperor's might,' and also gave him ample confidence in the outcome of this war.
"A cruiser has arrived. Although it's an Inquisition Black Ship, it can still end the game," Alex said to Gutierrez with a relaxed tone.
"That's not bad. It looks like the naval battle will be decided soon. Once orbital bombardment resumes, the enemy will quickly be routed." Gutierrez also breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but lament, "If Mai Mai's frigate hadn't left, we wouldn't have been so passive in this fight."
"A Sword-Class isn't enough. There's a Scythe Class and three Elegy Class ships in orbit. Mai Mai and Twilight joining the battle would at most add a slight advantage to our side, but it wouldn't bring about a quick victory." Alex shook his head; he had a sufficiently clear understanding of the situation in space naval combat.
Although a Warhammer World frigate would be considered a large warship in other less exaggerated space naval combat settings, in the 40k era's naval battles, the role a frigate can play is truly limited.
It's like in a certain naval combat game, only warships of at least light cruiser class and above can hold their own in naval combat and avoid being used as cannon fodder.
As for frigates and destroyers, these light, small ships are truly difficult to survive in the bombardments between those behemoths, often several kilometers long.
After all, if they were to be focused by cruiser-level firepower, one volley would be enough to destroy a frigate-class small ship.
"If only we could have large ships too, even a Moon-class!" Gutierrez couldn't help but sigh. If they had a Moon-class, the orbital naval battle would have ended long ago.
"The Ecclesiarchy has ordered three for us. They should be delivered in a few years, after all, they're just Moon-class, even a Feral World can build them." Alex, on the other hand, held a sufficiently optimistic attitude about this, even being able to joke about it.
But amidst the jokes, he also seriously discussed the topic of warships further with Gutierrez: "My original plan was for us to build our own shipyard, even if it could only build small ships below frigate class.
However, Sage Donya and I discussed this before, and the Adeptus Mechanicus is very strict about certain procedures and nominal matters.
So, for now, if we want to build a shipyard and gain more autonomy in weapon and equipment production, we still have to achieve it through Ovilia, after all, she is nominally an Adeptus Mechanicus Sage, even if she is a Tech-heretic."
"So you mean we need to cultivate our relationship with her?" Gutierrez's expression changed slightly; if possible, he did not want to be beholden to others.
"Although I'm reluctant, for now, we can only proceed this way, unless we bring another person into the fold and have him come over as a Tech-Priest's pawn." Alex shook his head. Although he didn't mind inviting others to the 40k era, the problem was that suitable and trustworthy candidates were not easy to find.
Even though he had already made some arrangements in the 3k era, the time flow there did not have an acceleration option, and many things were not progressing as quickly.
"Then why don't I ask in the group and see who has time recently? I recall that 32 seems to be back from XZ; she might have time." Gutierrez suggested a candidate.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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