Chapter 100: The Ability to Age Rapidly
After a wave of graviton bombs, Alpharius looked at the vast expanse of interstellar fighter wreckage in the starry sky, quite satisfied. Julius the Wise quickly tallied the results of this attack.
"Approximately nine hundred thousand Hrud interstellar fighters were destroyed in one go, and we lost one warship."
Alpharius, while pleased, asked in confusion, "What? How was it lost? Was it affected by the graviton bomb?"
Julius flicked through data screens, and a picture of their own warship appeared, drifting in the starry sky.
Its surface showed signs of mechanical aging, which greatly surprised everyone present.
"It wasn't affected by the graviton bomb. A five-kilometer-long Astra Militarum warship seemed to have suffered an inexplicable attack during the explosion just now. The entire warship showed symptoms of aging and damage, and it can no longer be used."
Omega stood up, looked at the screen, and was shocked. "This is the Hrud's ability to age things rapidly! It can even age a space warship to the point of immobility. How terrifying! I originally thought the Hrud's ability was a short-range, personal ability that only affected living beings."
"This is somewhat beyond my expectations. We need to re-evaluate the Hrud's temporal abilities. Did the tens of thousands of Astra Militarum soldiers on board age and die?"
When Julius the Wise couldn't explain it in a few sentences, Omega directly contacted the captain of the aging warship to request details. The captain saluted.
"Sir, our warship was attacked and aged, making it unable to continue fighting, but all the soldiers on board are fine."
"Do you feel any sense of aging?" Omega estimated that the widespread ability was distributed among the warship's crew, so the soldiers were only minimally affected.
The officer-captain recalled how he felt just now. "Just a little tired, no major impact. Everyone else is the same. We can still continue to fight."
After the communication ended, everyone on the bridge looked at each other. The Hrud's ability was too incredible. It could even age such a large warship to the point of immobility. Just now, a large number of Hrud interstellar fighters had swarmed in, clearly aiming to attack the flagship where they were located.
What Omega hadn't expected was that the enemy's aging ability could work from a long distance. With this experience, they absolutely could not let the enemy approach their space warships.
They tried to destroy enemy warships with graviton bombs to avoid close combat and reduce casualties.
Alpharius and Omega commanded together, and the entire fleet opened fire with full power. While destroying the Hrud's interstellar fighters, the whole fleet charged directly at the enemy fleet.
The Hrud's fleet was not intimidated by the power of the graviton bombs. As long as they got close, their rapid aging ability could destroy the humans' massive warships.
In the starry sky, Omega and Alpharius, as master tacticians, skillfully commanded the fleet. The incredibly flexible Alpha Legion formation quickly dispersed, segmenting and surrounding the Hrud's warships.
The Hrud's warships were generally intra-system vessels, only a few hundred meters in size, putting them at a disadvantage against the Alpha Legion's colossal ships, which were over a thousand meters long.
Considering the enemy's bizarre abilities, the Alpha Legion did not probe. They attacked with full force from the start.
Dense laser beams crisscrossed the starry battlefield. Small Hrud ships were constantly hit and exploded, becoming space debris floating in the starry sky. Countless interstellar fighters flew out like a swarm, engaging in combat with numerous Hrud interstellar fighters.
A large number of warships and interstellar fighters constructed a dense firepower net covering millions of kilometers. Omega and Alpharius constantly monitored the gaps in the Hrud's defenses, tearing and annihilating them.
Space torpedoes and macro-cannons flew out in large numbers. The powerful firepower of the Imperium of Man gradually made it difficult for the Hrud's energy defenses to hold.
Once the Space Marines' warships saw an opportunity, they launched graviton bombs to halt enemy warships.
Omega watched as several graviton bombs sped through the starry sky and exploded around ten Hrud warships. The powerful gravitational wave impact affected the enemy warships' performance, causing them to slow down and become targets gradually.
The greater the target's mass, the more pronounced the effect of graviton weapons.
Within the gravitational wave explosion radius, various precision parts and instruments inside the warship would be damaged and malfunction. Graviton bombs and rapid aging ability had similar effects in combat against warships.
Omega evaluated in his mind: "Graviton technology is one level higher than force field technology. Graviton bombs have reached a strategic level of effectiveness. Graviton weapons are better suited to interstellar warfare. Graviton guns, graviton cannons, and gravity hammers do not have a significant advantage compared to power weapons."
The Alpha Legion, possessing graviton bombs and master-level commanders, clearly had superior combat effectiveness per warship compared to the Hrud's fleet. Under the fierce battle, the Hrud's fleet gradually became space junk.
In just one month, the Alpha Legion annihilated over four thousand Hrud warships and countless interstellar fighters.
The two legions adopted a simultaneous advance tactic, and thanks to their cooperation, Perturabo's fleet also demonstrated powerful combat capabilities in space warfare.
The Iron Warriors' fleet was equipped with various powerful heavy weapons designed by Perturabo. As the Imperium's assault force, their firepower was their advantage.
In terms of combat command, Perturabo lacked flexibility. His legion always used continuous charges and fought at all costs.
After a month, their casualties were actually greater than the Alpha Legion's. Each legion had a different culture, but clearly, this tactical cooperation achieved very ideal results.
The Hrud were left with only over two thousand space warships, most of which were only a few hundred meters in size. The strength of their entire fleet was clearly inferior compared to the two legions. The Hrud had stopped their offensive and retreated to Shadowtooth Star's space for defensive operations.
The two legions' aggressive fighting style left behind large groups of enemy warships and fighter fragments drifting in space.
Inside the Iron Warriors' flagship bridge, lights were bright. Perturabo stood motionless, clad in heavy steel armor. He was still tirelessly commanding the fleet's operations, his brain calculating like a supercomputer.
Primarch Perturabo was a born intellectual. Countless scientific discoveries emerged from his mind without needing to be taught by others.
Perturabo could learn knowledge in various fields such as war, art, culture, politics, mechanics, technology, and philosophy from his own mind, as if countless knowledge was already engraved in his genes.
Among the Primarchs, there were quite a few born intellectuals like him, and even those who weren't could master extensive knowledge and technology in a short time.
The Iron Warriors' Trident were the core members of the legion, holding a prestigious status similar to the Luna Wolves' Mournival. Among the Night Lords, it was the Kyroptera led by Sevatar.
First Company Captain Forrix was a rare Trident member who was loyal and believed in Perturabo. The other two, Harkor and Golg, had long held strong opinions against the Primarch.
After a month of combat, the casualties were not as high as imagined, and the warriors' morale improved significantly.
Forrix suggested, "Our cooperation with Alpha over the past month has been effective. We could invite them to a gathering to discuss and get to know each other. There will be ground combat later, and a major battle is inevitable. At that time, both sides will need further cooperation."
Others thought this was natural. Harkor said, "After observing for a month, the Alpha Legion's fleet combat is very proficient, not like novices. The extensive use of graviton bombs in warfare is quite rare. Meeting the people of this 'Ghost Legion' wouldn't be bad."
After some discussion, they found it feasible.
Warsmith Dantioch looked at the silent Primarch. The others also looked at Perturabo.
Perturabo's mind was entirely on the battlefield, and he wasn't in the mood to manage anything else. He had heard his subordinates' words. After a month, the combat results had not surpassed Alpharius, and he did not want to contact the other party now.
"I'll make the contact." Dantioch was the first to say.
[End of Chapter]
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