At this very moment, aboard the Morning Wood.
Adam stood up from the captain's throne and softly gave the order: "Activate the ship-borne Auspex for a full-range scan."
Under his investment of resources regardless of cost, the already excellent performance of the elite Auspex—its sensing range and precision—far exceeded similar equipment on Imperial Battleships.
In almost a microsecond, on the bridge's holographic projection, the onboard high-intelligence Machine Spirit instantly activated. In a flash, it clearly marked the dynamic positions and approximate shapes of every enemy target in this star system, even using highlights to indicate threat levels in sequence.
Sybilla subconsciously looked up, comparing the ship outlines on the holographic projection one by one with the T'au warship intelligence she had just flipped through in her mind.
The next moment, she was laughed out of anger.
"——What on earth is the Ordo Xenos of the Ultima Segmentum doing? How come these ships basically don't match the data?"
That's right; those xenos ships in the holographic image were completely different from the models that appeared during the T'au Empire's Damocles Gulf Crusade.
Within the holographic projection, a large number of new-model warship groups, of which there was no trace in the intelligence, had now faintly turned their bows, pointing the various ship cannons mounted on them from afar at the appearing ship.
"You can't really blame those Inquisitors for that."
Adam, who knew the inside story perfectly, couldn't help but immediately complain.
"These warships are all the latest products developed by these xenos within the last century; they might not have been built for very long at this point."
"Ah?"
Inside the bridge, everyone reacted instantly, dumbfounded.
"There is nothing worth being surprised about. The scientific research and development speed of these xenos called the T'au is just that ridiculous."
Adam's tone was calm as he slowly explained.
If you put all the civilizations of this galaxy together, the common point for most of them is that their ancestors were once great.
Moreover, they can pull some "wonderful little tools" out of that ancestral heritage to open the eyes of other races.
Whether it is Humans, Necrons, Aeldari, or Orks, it is the same for all.
But as a new face on the stage of the Dark Galaxy, adhering to the principle of "The galaxy is a big stage, come if you have a gimmick," the T'au have one thing even more ridiculous than ancestral heritage.
——That is a speed of technological R&D so godlike that it defies logic.
During the Damocles Gulf Expedition period, the T'au Empire was still using old-style warships, mostly converted from merchant ships. They were once beaten by Imperial warships until they couldn't take care of themselves, suffering extremely heavy losses.
It is worth mentioning that the "Lunar-class Nemesis" meme originated from this, although at that time, for the T'au, the Lunar-class cruiser was not completely impossible to deal with, just rather troublesome for T'au starships.
However, more than a hundred years have passed now, and the T'au are no longer what they used to be.
The technological development speed of the Earth Caste is astonishingly fast. Using only a short period of ceasefire, they immediately—as if out of thin air—developed the Hero-class cruiser to match the Lunar-class cruiser. Even in a very short time following that, the Custodian-class carrier, which matches battleships, was already launched.
A Tech-Priest named Zachary Santiago commented on this:
"In the past 6,000 years, the T'au have achieved achievements in social, physical, and cultural progress that other intelligent races would take a hundred thousand years to achieve."
The subtext was:
"I don't understand it; they must be cheating."
"Then do you know the specific intelligence on these ships?"
Looking at the xenos warships of various models and sizes floating quietly in space, Leonardo's brow furrowed.
"Of course I know."
Adam's finger pointed and swiped on the holographic sandbox, listing them like family treasures, "The Hero-class cruiser is the new model the T'au used to match the Human Empire's Lunar-class cruiser, though because it lacks Void Shields, its combat power is slightly inferior."
"This one is the Emissary-class light cruiser, powerful and flexible, often used to transport important personnel like Ethereals and Water Caste diplomats."
"This one is worth mentioning: the Custodian-class carrier. Its firepower can basically match a Human Imperial battleship; its weakness is that its broadside firepower is thin."
He wanted to continue introducing them with great interest, but Leonardo shook his head.
"Looking at it this way, I suggest Lord Adam act cautiously. We have only one warship, and we are facing a complete fleet of one battleship plus multiple cruisers; it is better to avoid a frontal confrontation. With the ship's maneuverability and speed, we can easily play these xenos in the palm of our hand."
That's right; this was indeed very sensible advice.
However, Adam gave a cold laugh.
"Avoid a frontal confrontation? Dream on!"
There was no way to respond to this.
Everyone was speechless.
Suddenly, the voice of the Machine Spirit echoed in the hall.
"Communication incoming."
"Now this is interesting."
Adam, who probably guessed what the T'au would say, said with great interest, "Connect it."
A holographic projection of a blue-skinned Water Caste diplomat wearing a bamboo hat appeared before everyone, speaking:
"Gue'la, you have stepped into T'au Empire territory. For your life's safety, with your current strength, it is absolutely impossible to oppose our fleet. Immediately abandon your weapons, allow us to board and disarm you, and embrace our Greater Good——"
Before his words were finished, Adam signaled the Machine Spirit to cut the communication and turned his head to look at the bridge crew.
Clearly, there was no need for any pre-battle mobilization.
Everyone involuntarily gripped the weapons they carried, enraged to the point of exploding by this sudden provocation and insult, with extreme hatred surging in their hearts.
Slay them! Slay them! Slay them!
Blood for the God-Emperor! Skulls for the Golden Throne!
Even Leonardo, who had just advised Adam to be careful, was now silent, looking at Adam along with the others, waiting for his command.
Seeing this, Adam gave a light laugh.
"Forward!"
"Isn't the space ahead quite spacious? Crush right through for me!"
After perceiving that the human warship had hung up the communication, and that the opponent had not only rejected their proposal but instead charged at high speed toward their own fleet, the T'au fleet group reacted immediately.
Under the efficient command of advanced AI, all T'au ships acted as a perfect whole, quickly adjusting their formation in space, pulling into an arc that could fully utilize the advantage of their bow cannons.
The next moment, they all aimed at their ship and roared fire.
A vast number of heavy Ion Cannons, Railgun projectors, and dense missiles and guided torpedoes controlled by AI formed a silent torrent of firepower in space, surging toward the high-speed ship.
Without a doubt, with such a terrifying scale of volley, even a Human Imperial battleship appearing in the Battle of Damocles Gulf could never remain unscathed——
What was happening?
Inside the bridge, Adam slowly took a cup of tea out of thin air, drinking it leisurely and unhurriedly.
He asked the Machine Spirit: "How do you feel right now?"
The Machine Spirit's voice remained calm, echoing in Adam's mind, even making a joke only he could understand.
"Reporting: someone is knocking on the window."
Yes, knocking on the window.
This description couldn't be more appropriate.
The shields covering the Morning Wood consisted of three types, nested and arranged in layers in a brand-new way never seen before, amplifying each other.
Void Shields from the Human Empire, "Waaagh energy" heavy shields from da Orks, and Quantum Shields from the Necrons—they simultaneously shielded the ship firmly, like God's firmament.
In this way, even if the ship looked like a light cruiser in appearance, its defensive power at this moment was enough to rival the Empire's strongest flagship, the Gloriana-class Queen battleship.
With the T'au's current concentration of ship-cannon firepower, if they wanted to break through this thick layer of heavy defensive walls, they were thinking a bit too much.
You can have anything in your dreams.
And at this moment, the T'au were also clearly stunned by this illogical sight. The fleet clusters outputted firepower desperately, but could only watch helplessly as the ship approached them continuously at an unbelievable high speed.
A Warden-class frigate perhaps summoned its courage and launched a charge toward the Morning Wood, attempting to close in to fire, break through its shields, and gather intelligence.
However, this was merely "home delivery."
Before it had even closed half the distance, just as it prepared to adjust its posture, circle around, and attempt to attack from another angle, a green light beam probed out from the launch tubes on both sides of the Morning Wood's shaft.
Precise as a long whip lashing out in the vast space, the thick "whip body" immediately entangled this poor frigate like a tentacle.
The next moment, a violent pulling force completely sucked it in, like spider silk sticking to a flying little insect, and then snapped it back.
This was the Ork "Klaw of Gork."
The T'au, who had been dealing with Orks since they first left their home planet, were no strangers to this kind of Ork technological equipment. But what made it hard for them to believe—and even made Commander Valeros on the mothership widen his eyes, doubting he was having a hallucination—was:
How could Ork technological equipment appear on a Gue'la ship?
Facts would not change in the slightest due to their will to deny them.
The ship suddenly accelerated, as if having no inertia at all, its massive hull disappearing in space like a ghost.
When it was observed by the T'au again, it had already covered a significant astronomical distance.
And behind the Morning Wood, that Warden-class frigate from the T'au had already vanished, completely pulverized into bits of stardust, like a cloak or like the tail flame of a comet, drifting behind the ship's pure white hull, dancing glowingly.
At this time, the Morning Wood's ram was covered in a faint layer of brilliant green light; upon it, a large number of flickering energy clusters flashed violently, finally slowly disappearing like stars hidden behind dark clouds.
Inside the captain's quarters, Adam put down his teacup and shook his head helplessly.
"How come I didn't feel anything?"
"I thought it was a speed bump!"
"Go tell that to my C'tan Phase Ram!"
_____________________
Omake 1 :
"What is the damage?"
"Shields holding at 98.7%," the Machine Spirit reported."They are merely polishing the shaft, my lord."
"Good prepare the vox I want to send a message. Ahem-"
"Attention all ships of the T'au Empire! This is your regularly scheduled reminder that the Morning Wood is approaching at ramming speed. If you look to your left, you will see approximately eight hundred metres of pure, Emperor-blessed shaft coming right for your face.
Recommend you pucker appropriately. No safeword will be accepted. The Greater Good ends here. Blood for the Golden Throne. Skulls for the—actually, just skulls. We're keeping the blood. It's good for lube."