Even though the caliber was only 1/5th that of the Mars Type IV Macro cannon, it was still considerable. Giant shells, dozens of meters in diameter, slammed into the hull of the Incessant.
Horatio and Farida could see the blasphemous symbols on the shells from the external camera screenshots displayed on the control console.
"Prepare for bombardment!" Horatio shouted into the sound array system.
Crew members on the shallow decks began to run towards anything that could serve as cover.
The rusty crimson shells tore through the outer steel plates, and crew members directly hit by the shells were instantly engulfed by flames, turning into a puddle of blood on the deck.
Falling debris continuously rained down from above, most of which was caught by the anti-fall netting, preventing injuries.
Some shells became lodged in the deeper core armor without detonating.
These sturdy and sacred steel plates, blessed by the machine god, successfully blocked the residual power of the explosions, protecting the armor command platform and the crew on the gun decks.
Two shells hit Horatio's subordinate No. 4 gun compartment, and one shell hit No. 3 gun compartment.
The huge explosive fire and chaos displayed on the screen made Farida cover her mouth in surprise. She looked at Horatio with a panicked expression and stammered, "What do we do now?"
"Watch," Horatio demonstrated to Farida.
He communicated efficiently and briefly with the sound array and other departments' Midshipmen.
The damage control team immediately sprayed a water-foam extinguishing mixture onto the burning areas. After the fires were out, the Engineering Department's Midshipman directed the technical Acolytes to split into two groups: one group checked the Macro cannon's condition, and the other began welding repairs on the damaged areas.
"Gun crews, report damage!" Horatio then said to the two Warrant Officer gunners.
After a brief tally, they successively gave their answers.
"Portside No. 3 Macro cannon crew suffered 46 casualties, the cannon is undamaged!"
"Portside No. 4 Macro cannon crew suffered 102 casualties, the cannon is undamaged! But we need to replenish some indentured laborers; some were crushed by falling debris."
Horatio quickly reported the casualty figures to the Macro cannon Officer, who integrated the numbers and passed them to the Lieutenant of the Operations Department, and then arranged for reserve crew members and indentured laborers to be sent to each gun crew, ensuring that both Macro cannons could continue to operate at maximum efficiency in subsequent combat.
"Report losses," Captain Peru asked sternly.
"Portside Macro cannon crews sustained light casualties, Macro cannons are undamaged. Portside Lance crews sustained light casualties, No. 1 Lance is slightly damaged and is being repaired," the Lieutenant of the Operations Department only reported what the Captain needed to know, omitting the casualty figures.
"Deck structure slightly damaged, casualties light."
"Engine room undamaged, good condition."
"Our ship's four Macro cannons scored direct hits, the enemy ship's Void Shield is at least half overloaded!"
"Increase firing rate! Helmsman, maintain as much distance from the enemy ship as possible, we are a bit too close."
"Yes! Maintain distance! From the enemy ship!" The Helmsman began to show off his superb steering skills, avoiding the Murder-class's S-shaped evasive firing.
'Combat Order: Firing Rate Priority'
Horatio looked at the order that popped up on the control console.
"Activate automatic tractors!" Horatio gave the order.
The gun crews were equipped with automatic tractors, huge mechanical arms that would automatically load shells, but maintenance was very troublesome after each use, and it was prone to causing 'machine soul displeasure,' so they were not kept on for extended periods. They were generally only activated when the two ships were close, in pursuit of a burst firing rate.
In this situation, Horatio did not need precise calculations; he only needed to ensure that the gun crews could fire at the enemy ship with the fastest speed and basic accuracy.
With an angry roar from the Macro cannon, the Unyielding shattered the Murder-class Cruiser's last remaining Void Shield with just three volleys.
"Their Void Shield has dissipated! Open fire! Let us strike them with the Emperor's Sword of Retribution!"
Farida was getting the hang of it; not only could she quickly complete the tasks Horatio assigned her, but Horatio even sent her to try commanding the No. 4 gun crew.
With her excellent education, she understood things very quickly. Just by observing and trying her hand, she mastered almost all the procedures.
[This little girl is quite clever.]
Horatio reviewed all her operations; there were no mistakes, allowing him to confidently give her room to perform.
The distance between the two ships was only about 800 kilometers. Both sides' Void Shields were dissipating energy, and at this point, the only defense was the ship's armor. The battle had transformed from boxing into a brutal bayonet charge.
Every shell and Lance energy beam was a sharp knife piercing the hull. Horatio had the gun crews focus their fire on the enemy ship's Macro cannon arrays.
A single giant Mars-type Macro cannon shell could blast away an enemy's small-caliber heavy gun turret and tear apart the surrounding compartments.
Beams surged, shells flew, and ship wreckage floated everywhere. Crew members from both sides were constantly sucked into the dark void and suffocated to death.
No one could spare a thought for those unfortunate souls. If there were fewer people, replacements were drawn from the standby crew. Once the war machine started, individuals were merely tiny screws in its operation, and there were over a hundred thousand such screws.
Blood floated in mid-air, congealing into beautiful, perfect spheres, but they were quickly shattered by the rushing damage control teams and crew members. Everyone was incredibly busy.
Even the close-range secondary cannons of both sides joined in sweeping the enemy ship's breached decks. The intensity of the engagement was far fiercer than that of a dozen Imperial Guard artillery regiments combined.
This was an eye-opener for Farida. All the battles she had witnessed were mere skirmishes compared to the exchanges between Void cruiser-class warships.
She was witnessing and experiencing the ferocity and terror of humanity's largest war constructs.
The Murder-class's bow-mounted heavy Lance twin-barreled cannon fired, this being the most vicious and deadly weapon on this class of warship. A single volley had more destructive power than four Imperial Lance turrets combined.
Blinding crimson energy struck the Incessant, creating a terrifying 'smiley face' directly beneath the bridge.
"Report status!"
"Eight large crew quarters and one indentured laborer section have been penetrated. By the God-Emperor's grace, all crew members are at their battle stations, so casualties are only a few hundred who were sick and resting. However, a thousand indentured laborers in one section are all dead," the Lieutenant of the Service Department reported.
"Our ship has inflicted significant damage on the enemy ship. Six of their starboard Macro cannons have been destroyed! Their power supply system has also been damaged!" the Lieutenant of the Lookout Department reported joyfully.
"Report!" the Navigation Department officer suddenly shouted, "The enemy ship is suddenly accelerating!"
"Emergency evasion! Helmsman, hard to port! Power Department, maximum engine thrust!"
"Hard to port! Emergency evasion!"
In the void, the Murder-class Cruiser suddenly overloaded its engines and charged towards the Incessant.
The Incessant quickly turned, its plasma engines spewing out larger, more brilliant golden light.
Within the portside second Macro cannon array.
"Fire!" Horatio roared his command, his voice a little hoarse.
Two shells flew towards another of the enemy ship's giant gun turrets that was firing.
The dazzling golden fire from the explosion reflected in Horatio's eyes. The previous volley had ignited the ready ammunition in that enemy turret.
These Khorne Cultists' firing was not precise; they blindly relied on fierce firepower to compensate for their shortcomings, but they clearly forgot to close the fire doors.
The flames from the two Macro cannon explosions rapidly spread into the propellant chambers, triggering a chain explosion that ripped open approximately 260 square meters of the hull's surface, destroying everything below, plus another turret.
Near a thousand-degree fire raged within the enemy ship's gun compartments, and many people were burned to death without understanding what was happening.
The enemy ship's damage control team forcibly sealed the doors of nearby compartments and cut off the oxygen supply. Many Evil Cultists couldn't escape and could only wait to be roasted alive by the encroaching inferno or poisoned by the toxic gases produced by the burning.
Horatio seemed to hear the miserable screams of the Evil Cultists. Nothing could purify these evil beings more effectively than fire.
"It's retribution," Horatio snorted expressionlessly.
These Evil Cultists would undoubtedly pay the most painful price today for their actions in Abyss Port, and he would personally avenge his fallen comrades and the murdered civilians.
"All compartments! Armed Reserve!" The voice of the Lord Lieutenant came through the loudspeakers.
"Horatio, what is an Armed Reserve?"
"The enemy ship is preparing to board."
Horatio briefly and quickly explained to Farida, then used the megaphone to shout to the two gun compartments:
"All Naval Armed Forces personnel within the gun emplacements immediately report to your posts and prepare for anti-boarding combat!"