With the reconnaissance fleet hidden in advantageous positions at the front completely wiped out, the main fleet that had just formed an attack formation at the rear instantly lost most of its observation data.
At the fleet's main position, on the ten-kilometer-long central flagship, the red-skinned, big-headed commander-in-chief was in a state of astonishment.
"What did you say?"
The communications soldier swallowed hard and relayed the results he had just received.
"Sir! All signals from the forward reconnaissance naval group have disappeared..."
Although the news is surprising, the person who can become the commander-in-chief must be an exceptionally capable individual.
In this place where all ethnic groups live in fear and uncertainty, nepotism and backroom deals are inevitable, but the most important factor that determines a person's high position is ability.
The commander immediately realized what was happening.
"Connect to the entire fleet channel, quick!"
"Connected."
The communications officer quickly adjusted the channel coverage, ensuring that the commander's image appeared on one side of the main screen of all warships.
"All warships, open all optical observation windows, each ship immediately sprays transparent, heterochromatic interference dust, repeating the spray at 30-second intervals... Switch scanning bands, in numbered squads, with the forward and rear fleets respectively using high-frequency ray detection, field wave radar, and quantum arrays..."
The slower-reacting warships were still processing the information, while some elite warships protecting the outer flanks had already quickly begun operating according to the commander's orders.
The colorful but highly transparent dust, which did not obstruct vision, was first released from the jets around each ship. Then, the previously sealed crystal windows and armor slowly opened to reveal viewing openings.
"Dust came into contact with an unidentified object! We saw it! There's a monster!!"
An observer shouted from the outermost warship, which was over a thousand meters long.
"Secondary gun turning! Secondary gun turning! Quick charge start!"
The captain roared out the order.
"What about observation radar?"
"I can't see anything, there's nothing on the radar!"
The observers kept switching between different observation methods.
"Bang!"
The entire warship trembled as other monsters descended upon them while their attention was drawn to the monsters in the distance.
"Sizzle~~~"
A sickening metallic tearing sound rang out as the bridge roof was ripped open.
The air pressure inside the bridge was unbalanced, and all non-fixed matter was flying wildly out of that opening into the vacuum outside.
Ahh ...
Ah~~~~
Several crew members who were not secured in their safety seats were sucked into the air, flailing their limbs helplessly as they tried to grab onto something, but could only crash through the gap.
But before they were completely sucked into space, they were grabbed by a giant claw.
The alarm inside the bridge was beeping.
The electronic voice kept repeating "Air pressure imbalance~ Air pressure imbalance~".
Everything happened in just a few seconds.
The captain was strapped to the chair, struggling to maintain an upward-looking posture.
Above, a giant creature resembling a bizarre insect peered into the bridge through a torn hole. Its mouth-like organ opened and closed, chewing inside, where the crew members who had just been thrown out were located.
"Bang~ Bang~"
Another tremor struck the rear of the warship; it must have been from other monsters.
The ship's hull was pierced again, and the path to the escape ship on the screen had turned red.
The other warships should have seen it by now, Mom. Take care of yourself!
With this regret, the captain pressed the button to self-destruct the ship.
The warship expanded and, a few seconds later, exploded into a shower of light.
Meanwhile, a large number of monsters were discovered by the fleet. The radar system's observation was very limited, mainly relying on dust reflection to create images on the radar screen, or looking directly through the observation window.
It's not that radar is useless; these monsters seem to be able to change their physical state, and many radars that could detect them will become ineffective after a while.
The battle in the outer cluster has fully commenced. However, compared to the agility of the so-called "devouring beasts," the fleet has become a target at close range, especially since these monsters use the fleet as a springboard, making their movements even more unpredictable.
On a space destroyer, all secondary guns were firing, relentlessly attacking the worm-like monster that was tearing apart another warship in the distance.
At such close range, as long as you can aim and fire, with the initial velocity of the shipborne kinetic energy weapon, even the most monstrous monster should not have time to react.
Unfortunately, this is only in theory.
Just as no one can dodge a bullet at close range, but can dodge the hand that shoots.
Due to the severe failure of the tracking and aiming system, the gunners were all operating the guns manually, making it difficult to keep up with the speed of the monsters and aim accurately, resulting in increasingly heavy casualties for the fleet.
"Pawn~pawn~pawn..."
The kinetic cannon, which had been firing continuously, suddenly stopped firing because the bridge of the space destroyer had been torn open, and several sharp proboscissors had pierced directly into the bridge.
The crew, including the captain, were drained before they could even react. Their skin and bones disappeared from the tips of their mouthparts, leaving only their uniforms flying toward the gap in the bridge.
The flagship has not yet been attacked by monsters, but the torment on the bridge of the command center is even greater than that of the engaging fleet.
"The right-wing main battleship Starry Sky self-destructed; the frigates Gale I and III exploded due to proximity; the destroyer Blue-class exploded due to proximity..."
"The destroyer HMS Roar (left wing) is in a state of silence; suspected crew members have perished..."
...
Every message was overwhelming for the commander. In less than ten minutes, the main battleships and auxiliary ships were destroyed one after another, and few of the abandoned ship escape ships were able to escape. These were all space elites, especially an experienced captain.
In the distance, space seemed to be hosting a bloody, smoky death convention.
Even so, he had to maintain his dignity and composure, otherwise everyone in the command center would collapse.
"The mothership space fighter cluster is beginning to deploy!"
Finally, there's some good news.
"Order: Main battle escort ships to follow the fighter jets, and secondary guns of the warships on the left and right flanks that are still under control to cooperate with the fighter jets in attack."
The commander breathed a slight sigh of relief, hoping that the appearance of the fighter jets would be effective, as the sacrifice to gain these ten minutes was far too great.
and.
He looked worriedly at the left side of the main screen.
The number of radar-detectable monsters flying from the meteor shower is getting closer and closer, and the meteor shower itself is even changing its course and approaching the fleet.
At this point, the fleet in engagement was already "locked down" and had no way to break free or evade.
Even more critically, the fighter jets, on which high hopes were placed, yielded little result. Although they were more agile, their small size prevented them from being equipped with large gyroscopic acceleration systems. The cannons relied mainly on propellant thrust, and their kinetic energy was far inferior to that of shipborne weapons, resulting in insufficient destructive power.
It can be effective against some soft-bodied devourers and small devourers, but it is either ineffective or misses when hitting large, agile individuals.
Missile-based powered weapons are like using a cannon to kill a mosquito when they cannot be tracked; they either miss or detonate prematurely.
Therefore, the greatest victory achieved so far actually relied on the self-destruction of the main battleship.
Upon receiving this result, the commander sighed, his large red head appearing even more somber.
A large number of monsters have begun to appear around the main formation. Through the observation window, a behemoth with a shell as big as a destroyer opened its belly, and countless tiny insect-like devouring beasts were released from below. Powered by the gas ejected from its tail, they flew densely toward the flagship.
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