The situation near the Church of the Celestial Woman was finally pacified after Horatio set sail.
Vice Admiral Alexander Hood straightened up wearily, rubbing his aching temples.
He had only cleaned up the mess, but the work wasn't over. He now had to re-man the armed forces and send them back to the battlecruiser Sacred Will.
Then he would board the battlecruiser with his General's Guard, take a hot bath in the luxurious and extremely spacious officer's quarters, and get some good rest.
Once all the Sailors had re-boarded and resupplied, he would command the Sacred Will battlecruiser to set sail, deliver the roster documents to Commodore Peru, who had already pursued the enemy, and provide him with support, if the void battle hadn't concluded by then.
Moreover, the course was precisely in the direction he needed to go towards Lucius, so it wouldn't be a detour.
Near the Church of the Celestial Woman.
Naval Officers of the Sacred Will commanded the armed forces to assemble. Priests of the Ecclesiarchy were performing initial purification rituals on the armed forces who participated in the battle of the Church of the Celestial Woman using incense and holy water.
"Sigh, there's no helping it. I hope it doesn't delay our departure too much." Lieutenant Stirling sheathed his command saber. The scent of incense mixed with the unpleasant air of the Middle Hive made his nose quite unhappy.
"Lieutenant, the armed forces have assembled." The Armaments Master reported to him.
"When will the shuttle arrive?" The Lieutenant pulled out his canteen, took a large drink, then wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"In half an hour."
"Let's wait here then."
"Are you, the soldiers of the God-Emperor, the officers and men of the Sacred Will who are about to participate in the expedition?" A large, well-dressed Bishop, accompanied by his grand retinue, slowly approached.
"Yes, Your Grace, Bishop." The Lieutenant straightened his appearance and saluted the approaching Bishop.
The Bishop was dressed in an elegant, pure white robe, wore a Bishop's miter, and held a golden pastoral staff inlaid with a string of precious gems.
"Your holy Naval Officers have just endured a battle against demons. Before setting sail, you must return to the church for a cleansing ceremony, just in case. Any negligence could cause terrible losses to the holy expedition."
"Your Grace is right, we cannot leave any hidden dangers for the main fleet's expedition. We trouble you, Your Grace, Bishop." The Lieutenant, after weighing the risks with the Naval Officer next to him, nodded, then turned and gave orders to the armed forces:
"All personnel, fall in! Quick march!"
"This is the sacred duty bestowed upon me by the God-Emperor, so there is no trouble at all." The Bishop pressed his hand to his chest and bowed, showing respect for the expeditionary soldiers.
The armed forces, led by the Naval Officers, marched in unison towards the nearest Ecclesiarchy church.
There, the Naval Officers and Voidsmen-at-Arms who participated in the suppression operation sat on antique long benches.
Acolytes in gray hooded robes gently closed the church doors.
The dignified Bishop, holding a huge Ecclesiarchy scripture, praised the God-Emperor from the pulpit, while Acolytes carried lit incense burners, following the Priests who sprinkled holy water on the Naval Officers.
The smoke of the incense permeated and lingered around the Naval Officers, accompanied by the murmuring of chants.
In the void.
Horatio's right hand rested on his saber, his left hand behind his back, as he instructed Farida on how to use the instruments before them.
After the bitter battle at the Church of the Celestial Woman, he now felt somewhat fatigued; the electrical signals in his brain told him he needed a rest.
[Fighting one major battle right after another, my energy really can't keep up.]
"It's so big, is that a Blood Angels' battlecruiser?" Farida asked.
Horatio, who had been resting his eyes, heard the question and looked up, seeing the Avenging Blade battle barge being overtaken by the Unyielding through the large, thick blast-proof viewport.
"Yes. It's the largest void ship held by a Space Marine Chapter, considered a battlecruiser-class vessel. It has five heavy Macro cannons on one side, three single-barrel all-directional bombardment turrets on the spine, six torpedo tubes, and a large hangar."
"Which one has better firepower compared to our battlecruiser?"
"This Doomsday-class battlecruiser we are currently on has four heavy Macro cannons on one side, two Titan-forged heavy lance weapons, two void-ripper lance turrets on the spine, six torpedo tubes, and no hangar.
Our ship's weapon firepower is slightly inferior to the battle barge, and we lack a hangar. However, their bombardment cannons are not weapons that can easily achieve precise firepower at medium to long range, and our ship has better maneuverability, offering diverse tactical choices."
Farida nodded, then asked, "So what tactics do you think we'll use for this battle?"
"Our frigate squadron will go in like warhounds and bite them, using torpedoes to force them to change course, hindering their maneuverability and acceleration. Then the battlecruiser will catch up and open fire at medium cannon range, engaging them, and finally letting the Blood Angels end the battle with a boarding action."
"I hope the battle truly goes as you predict." Farida said this, but she had no doubt about Horatio's professionalism in Naval command.
He was no longer the young man from the Lower Hive who knew little about the Navy; after more than half a year of tempering, he had clearly become a true Imperial Navy Officer, a graduate of the Loyalist Academy's command discipline.
Horatio pulled out the pocket watch Thei had given him; its hands glowed, allowing him to see the time even in the dark.
"Still about two hours."
"Two hours for what?"
"We should catch up to the enemy ship in about two hours."
Farida nodded, her eyes very serious.
Horatio looked out at the deep, boundless void through the observation viewport and let out a long breath.
[What kind of ship is the enemy? A cruiser? But there are many types of Chaos cruisers; the hull type is still unknown.]
On the command bridge.
"Captain, according to the parameters sent by the frigate, we have captured the accurate coordinates of the enemy battlecruiser. The frigate captain identified it as a Murder-class Cruiser." Lieutenant Stirling received the briefing from the communications department:
"Our ship is 18,960 kilometers from the target, closing at a rate of positive 1.6, bearing +0608, phase ZD."
Captain Edward narrowed his eyes.
"Which means the enemy battlecruiser is directly in front of us, and maneuvering from starboard to port."
"Yes, the navigation department has corrected the yaw angle. The enemy battlecruiser's maneuver is because our destroyer fired the first wave of torpedoes."
"Very good, let the hounds go forward and bleed them thoroughly first. But instruct all frigate captains not to get too close to the enemy; maintain medium cannon range to prevent boarding actions."
"Yes." The Lieutenant called the Lieutenant from the operations department and had him relay the Captain's order to the communications department, to be sent to all frigates.
"We're almost there too. For now, maintain second combat readiness, and await my orders at any time, Lieutenant."
"Understood, Captain."
Inside the port side second gun emplacement command platform.
The flashing alarm lights overhead reflected on Horatio's face. Standing before the display console, he received the enemy ship's parameters from the command bridge.
[Murder-class…] He looked at the information on the data pad, silently repeating it in his mind.
The Murder-class Cruiser was once one of the most praised ships in the Segmentum Obscurus, but she has now become one of the Imperial Navy's most hated enemies.
She is an ancient warship, with a spindle-blade hull, and at least 500 were produced.
It is said that due to a design flaw, almost all Imperial ships using this design defected to the Fallen during Warp travel, causing many losses to the Gothic Sector during the Gothic War.
The Murder-class is a powerful warship, with 16 alternating small-caliber macro-cannons on just one side.
Although these ancient macro-cannons are inferior in caliber, lethality, and firepower to the Mars-pattern heavy Macro cannons of current Imperial Navy cruisers, their ample firepower is absolutely abundant. If a frigate gets too close, it will quickly be torn to shreds.
Not to mention its bow also has a terrifyingly powerful heavy lance twin-barrel cannon, which, if it hits the hull, can instantly vaporize a large section of armor and internal structure.
"Both broadside gun emplacements, high-speed standard rounds, load and pre-position." The loudspeaker blared the alert.