"Level One Battle Alert! Level One Battle Alert! All personnel to battle stations! All personnel to battle stations!"
The loudest Level One Battle Alert warning sound quickly spread throughout the entire ship via all sound array devices and speaking tubes even before the torpedoes were launched.
On the Unyielding battlecruiser, alarm lights flickered in various compartments, Sailors and armed forces ran about, and drummers began beating their drums for battle, the urgent rhythm being pleasant and exhilarating.
Upon hearing the Level One Battle Alert and battle drums, Horatio instantly opened his eyes, immediately got up, put on his officer's uniform, and walked out of the lounge.
"I think you should be feeling better now," Farida said, smiling as she looked at him.
"I slept well, my mind is clear. Has anything happened in the meantime?" Horatio asked, adjusting his collar.
"Don't worry, everything was perfectly resolved. What could possibly be difficult for me?" Farida said with a proud smile, gesturing for a servant to bring Horatio the prepared hot refreshing tea and sandwiches.
Actually, there were some minor issues in between, but to let Horatio sleep a bit longer, she didn't hesitate to lower herself to consult with an Warrant Officer, and ultimately the matter was resolved satisfactorily, allowing Horatio to sleep soundly for two hours.
"You're quite considerate." Horatio smiled, looking at the hot tea and freshly cooked food in front of him.
"Hmph, I suggest you eat quickly. We're about to engage, so don't choke."
"Hmm, it tastes very good." Horatio took a bite of the warm, soft, freshly cut steak sandwich, praising the generous ingredients inside.
Farida maintained a smug smile, solemnly and gracefully holding her hands behind her back, vigilant towards the Void.
Wearing black long leather boots, she occasionally tiptoed forward, clearly in a joyful mood.
Inside the Command Bridge.
"Watch the movements of that blasphemous warship! If it doesn't change course, accelerate and ram it!" Rear Admiral Edward commanded.
Six torpedoes sped forward, right on the Murder-class's intended course. Even if it fired at full power to intercept, at least three would directly hit its midship hull, followed immediately by the Unyielding's sharp, massive ram, its dark blue disintegration field buzzing.
The Murder-class Cruiser retreated in the face of the imminent high-threat target.
She abandoned the pursuit of the heavily damaged Cobra-class Destroyer and began a hard-to-port turn, both evading torpedoes and increasing distance from the charging Unyielding.
The timing and spread of this torpedo volley were perfect.
To evade, the Murder-class Cruiser had no angle for its main cannons to fire on the damaged cobra-class, buying time for the smaller ship's Void Shield to restart and for it to escape.
"Thank you very much! Captain Peru!" The female Captain of the damaged cobra-class sent a communication expressing her gratitude.
"You worked hard, Captain. Keep your warship outside the battle line."
"Understood, Commander!"
Apart from the ships originally assigned to perimeter patrol and those forced to join the patrol due to damage, the other two intact auxiliary warships began to change course, re-converging on the Unyielding to collectively hunt the Chaos warship. They fully implemented the tactical principle of 'retreat when the enemy is strong, strike when the enemy is weak'.
The Imperial Navy are experts in Void combat. Well-trained Captains and Naval Officers know precisely how to use flexible wolf-pack tactics to tear apart the pawns and traitors of the Evil God.
Commodore Edward Peru, as the Commander of this hunting fleet, coordinated the tactics and battle methods of each ship.
The warships were coordinated and unified, their battle stations determined, and each warship had its own mission.
The frigates maintained vigilance around them, continuously detecting the Void, while using their weapons to wear down the enemy ship's Void Shield until it overloaded.
Destroyers used torpedoes to block the enemy's course, forcing the enemy ship to change direction into a position favorable for Imperial Navy operations.
The Unyielding would undertake the primary engagement task, heavily damaging the enemy ship at medium range, prioritizing the disablement of its systems. Once the Avenging Blade arrived, it would coordinate with the Blood Angels Second Company for boarding operations.
cruiser-class warships all have two thrones: one for the ship's Commander and one for the fleet Commander's generals.
The former is occupied by the Captain, while the latter is for the fleet Commander's generals.
But Commodore Peru was unique; he was both the Captain and the battle group Commander.
He sat on the fleet Commander's throne, while his First Officer, Lieutenant Stirling, sat on the ship's Commander's throne, giving specific combat commands to the Unyielding battlecruiser.
"All combat departments, listen up. When the target appears within firing range, begin the first salvo," Lieutenant Stirling shouted to the combat department officers.
"Yes, Lieutenant."
The combat orders had been issued, and subsequent specific details would be released by the officers in the combat department serving as Macro cannon officers, Lance Cannon officers, and Point-Defense Cannon officers to their respective departments, in an orderly and well-coordinated manner.
The Unyielding's Macro cannon officer was a seasoned Lieutenant who graduated from the Abridal Successor Academy's Naval Gunnery Department, considered Fidio's senior. She would issue gun crew commands in the upcoming engagement.
Horatio held his breath, waiting for the enemy ship to appear in the wide porthole in front of him. The width and height of this porthole matched the Macro cannon's maximum elevation and traverse angles; any target appearing in the porthole could be fired upon.
In the Void, the 'Silver Sword' Cobra-class Destroyer, relying on its high speed and agile maneuvering, turned from right to left, circling from the rear to the Murder-class's rear-right flank.
"Commander, my ship will release the last set of torpedoes, forcing the enemy ship to turn right!" The Captain reported his planned tactic to Rear Admiral Edward.
"Do it," Commodore Peru nodded.
At the same time, he shouted to the Helmsman: "After you see the torpedo trails, immediately turn two and a half turns to starboard."
"Understood, two and a half turns to starboard, after seeing the torpedo trails!" The Helmsman gripped the helm with both hands, looking at the scale above, repeating the command in reverse.
The purpose of this was to prevent the operator from merely repeating the command without fully interpreting and recognizing it.
Four torpedoes sliced through the Void, their promethium combustion trails clearly visible.
The Murder-class Cruiser immediately began to maneuver, choosing to turn to the right.
As her course changed, the Unyielding Doomsday-class battlecruiser immediately turned its bow, cutting in at a 40-degree angle, its port broadside cannons slowly turning.
At this point, the distance between them was about one 'Void-chain' (approximately 7696 kilometers).
The Unyielding's Void Ripper Lance Cannon's maximum allowed firing range for combat regulations was 1/4 chain (i.e., ultra-long-range gun range, approximately 1924 kilometers), making it the longest-range gun on the entire ship, but its power was inferior to the Titan-forged heavy Lance Cannons on the broadside.
The maximum allowed firing range for the broadside Macro cannon and Lance Cannon arrays was 3/16 chain (long-range gun range, approximately 1443 kilometers), both being heavy gun emplacements with astonishing power.
Although the number of only four Macro cannons and two Lance Cannons on one side seemed far less than the Murder-class's 16 Macro cannons on one side.
However, just the impact of those four massive Mars IV Heavy Macro cannons, if all hit, would cause more damage than all 16 of the enemy's smaller-caliber Macro cannons hitting.
And the broadside and keel Lance Cannons had a 100% hit rate.
"Distance to enemy ship approximately 3300 kilometers! Closing rate positive 1.3, bearing +0315, phase ZL."
"Straighten up, hold the helm!" The Lieutenant issued a new course.
"Helm straight, hold!" As the Helmsman straightened the helm, the Unyielding's massive body maintained its new course and began to sideslip, gradually approaching the Murder-class while pointing all its port weapons at its prey.
This ensured that the gun crews had enough time to adjust their firing arcs and also maintained a certain closing rate, bringing both sides into firing range.
In the gun emplacement, the lights on the command platform turned blue, while the lights in the gun deck below turned red.
This also aligned with ancient physiological traditions.
Blue light can help people stay calm, while red light makes people feel energized and affects pupil dilation, helping people adapt to darkness in advance.
After all, it was common for power systems to be damaged during combat, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness.
Horatio stood in front of the display console, waiting for the range officer to send the parameters.
Everyone knew that the first volley of engagement would begin soon.
Farida, being less experienced, was somewhat nervous. Her most direct manifestation was that she spoke much less, and her slender fingers, clasped behind her back, were intertwined.
Although she still tried her best to maintain a dignified appearance, the smile on her face disappeared, replaced by some anxious fidgeting.
Horatio noticed Farida's nervousness.
"Don't worry, it's very safe here," he said, his gaze sharply fixed on the Void, his tone soft but stern, giving a strong sense of security.
"I'm looking forward to the battle, not worried about danger," the girl said softly, slowly exhaling.
Horatio smiled without speaking, continuing his work.
'Based on closing rate, expected to reach long-range gun distance within 5 minutes.'
The display console popped up with messages and parameters from the combat department officer.
"Second gun emplacement, deflect to positive 21 degrees, elevate 14 degrees, load high-speed standard rounds."
Horatio reported the result he had calculated on scratch paper with a quill, and only after it matched the data on the display console did he give the order.
That's right, manual calculation, it's that basic.
Because in this world, even machine souls could be invaded by demons, and machines were considered untrustworthy. Imperial Navy combat regulations required officers to manually calculate and ensure that the data on the display console were completely consistent before issuing orders.
And these precise calculations of formulas and mathematics could only be done by well-educated Naval Officers.
Even an Warrant Officer like a gunnery chief, to fire independently, could only rely on years of accumulated feeling and could not achieve the accuracy of a Naval Officer.
This intuitive gunnery, at long distances, had almost no hit rate to speak of.
This fundamentally determined that unless Naval Officers participated in a rebellion, even if the crew seized a warship, they would still be outmatched by the Imperial Navy warships in Void combat.
"Yes, Sir!" The gunnery chief immediately implemented Horatio's order for the Macro cannon's operation: "Load high-speed standard rounds!!!"
Under the swing of whips, the indentured laborers laboriously pushed the huge traverse and elevation handwheels, and the terrifying dark muzzle slowly moved through layers of mechanical gears.
Although the muzzle's rotation speed was not fast, considering the target was a colossal ship several kilometers long, this was not an issue.
Horatio took out his pocket watch and silently counted the time.
[Approximately 1 minute until long-range gun distance (approx. 1443 kilometers).]
He held the pocket watch, his gaze fixed on the rotating Void.
The Unyielding was accelerating its turn for a better firing arc, but it wouldn't become directly parallel; she was still advancing, trying to close to medium-range gun distance (approx. 962 kilometers).
Therefore, the Lieutenant of the combat department requested the port Macro cannons to fire a right-oblique broadside in the first volley.
[10… 9… ]
Horatio counted with his stopwatch, his gaze sharp.
Farida looked at his serious expression and couldn't help but feel nervous herself.
[3… 2… ]
Horatio took a deep breath and looked at the Void.
The enemy ship's blood-red paint appeared in the firing arc porthole, the pale skulls on it seemingly taunting him.
"From front to back, commence volley fire!" The Macro cannon officer sent the command.
Buzz—!! The first sharp hum of the acceleration coil came from the right, and the command platform trembled.
"Ugh!" Farida let out a small gasp, clutching Horatio's arm with one hand and the nearby railing with the other.
She hadn't expected the heavy Macro cannon to fire with such a huge motion and sound, far exceeding her psychological expectations.
This was still inside the armored command platform, and it was the No. 1 Macro cannon in the distance.
If it were closer, it was entirely possible to shake a person until blood flowed from their orifices!
Buzz—!!! A louder sound came from the adjacent compartment, the vibration intensifying, feeling like a small earthquake.
It was Horatio's Macro cannon array's turn.
Farida grew even more nervous. What would it be like to fire directly in front of her??
Nervous sweat trickled down her beautiful face.
Horatio raised his left hand and swung it down, shouting, "Fire!!!"
"Fire!!!" The gunnery chief repeated Horatio's command, shouting towards the firing control console below.
I've uploaded Horatio's Level One Battle Alert drum alarm tone to the reader group. Readers who need it can find it in the group files ~