275: Chapter 273 The Sound of Man

"BOOM — — (EW screaming)"

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

"BOOM! BOOM!"

Huge fireballs exploded in mid-air, scattering light, debris, and molten metal everywhere, like cow dung packed with high-yield firecrackers exploding in an instant — — there was dry stuff, there was wet stuff, and it was flying everywhere.

Clearly, compared to the flagship Roy was on, the "Hatred," which had broken out with them, had used up all its luck in the sea of insects just now — —

It had taken three of those four blind-fired guided torpedoes with its own riddled hull.

Thus, before they could even recover from the tension and excitement of surviving the ordeal, the crew of the Battleship "Hatred" heard a deafening sound, followed by the earth shaking and a piercing screech of friction that instantly filled everyone's ears, and then, boundless light and heat — —

After two massive secondary explosions, it disintegrated right where it was.

As for Roy's flagship?

It was obviously cloaked, happily gambling... yeah right!

Not everywhere is like Wuhan.

It also happily took a hit; what a little glutton.

Fortunately, the torpedoes carried by the Hive Guardians were not like the Levi S9; they were geared more towards fire suppression and rapid strikes, meaning the yield of each individual torpedo was not actually very large,

But even so, this single torpedo was enough to make the "Courage" beneath Roy's feet suffer — — especially since it hit the "Courage's" main stern engine squarely.

Now, this paralyzed Battleship was like a little girl who had just escaped from a goblin nest, covered in wounds and exhausted, only to encounter another unknown danger outside the cave — — completely helpless, the kind that couldn't even move.

The second after the explosion occurred, inside an escort ship a hundred thousand miles away, a clear mechanical voice suddenly rang out from the fire control console:

"Target successfully engaged!"

"Enemy battlecruiser, confirmed destroyed!"

"Remaining signal: one."

The crew member on duty was stunned for a moment, then felt an unparalleled sense of excitement surge through their heart — —

A battlecruiser!

In a place with almost no shipping lanes, industrial bases, or transport hubs, and where the entrance was already blockaded by them, where could a battlecruiser possibly come from? There was only one answer: that missing Imperial fleet, which headquarters highly valued, had finally appeared!

They had found the target!

Almost immediately, a communication was sent post-haste to headquarters:

"Coordinates! (775652, 52452588, 2255582)! Enemy battlecruiser-class unit detected!"

"At least two in scale, our formation has destroyed one,"

"Suspected Imperial fleet vanguard!"

"Requesting reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements!"

...

Unlike the Guardian Angel Legion, which had been lying in ambush and switched to combat mode in an instant, the Imperial flagship, having just escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair, was in total chaos:

"Who the hell stepped on my crotch! Damn it! Don't kick! Don't kick!"

"Medic! Where is the medic! Someone is unconscious!"

"Head of Damage Control! Report the situation!"

"40% of the stern area has lost pressure!"

"The core cylinder is deformed! All contact with sectors E and F is lost!"

"Coolant delivery is abnormal! The already disabled Shield system is rapidly overheating!"

"Oh no!!! It's going to blow!!!"

"BOOM — — Duang — Duang — Clang — —"

"Sizzle — — — —"

One disaster followed another; the sudden secondary explosion caused everyone who had just managed to stand up on the Bridge to be knocked off balance again.

Furthermore, this secondary explosion seemed to have triggered some serious chain reaction. Suddenly, the emergency lights in the Bridge lit up, and alarms rang incessantly.

"Damn it!"

Clutching the bleeding wound on his forehead, Roy stood up from the floor, swearing.

The loud noise from just a moment ago made him feel like his brains had been scrambled. Even now, his ears were still buzzing, and the vibration in his skull didn't seem to have stopped.

His eardrums hadn't burst—this was the first thought that occurred to Roy after he slowly regained his hearing and ability to think.

He then turned his attention to the chaotic Bridge:

Countless figures were scattered about, with fewer than two dozen people standing. Some were clutching wounds and wailing, some had blood streaming from their ears with grim expressions, and others lay on the floor motionless, life or death unknown — — life or death unknown, which meant they were dead.

Only then did he start to notice the alarm sound that had been ringing in his ears; it was the kind of alarm that only sounded after a Warship sustained major, irreversible damage.

Roy finally sobered up a bit. He leaned on the console, took two steps forward, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Head of Damage Control! Head of Damage Control!"

"Where is the Head of Damage Control! Report damage! Hurry!"

"He — — here..."

After a long time, a weak response finally echoed.

A man with a bloodied head pushed off the person slumped over him, climbed up by bracing himself against the edge of the console, and struggled to swipe at it with trembling hands.

His expression instantly turned to terror, and he suddenly snapped to full alertness — —

"Captain!!! It's bad!!!"

"The void energy cracking device has malfunctioned, the fuse has melted, and it has shut down!"

"Also, the middle section of the core cylinder is heavily damaged; now... the Warship is at risk of snapping!"

"Also... also... the secondary explosion effect of the Shield device hasn't ended; if we don't restore cooling within ten minutes, it will explode again!!!"

"Stop, stop, stop — —" Roy waved his hand to interrupt him.

He couldn't help it; every time he heard something, he felt his heart contract violently.

Especially when the phrase "it will explode again" entered his eardrums, he felt as if his life had come to an end.

"Is there any good news?"

Catching his breath, Roy asked tentatively, though he guessed there wasn't.

But the Head of Damage Control swallowed, rubbed the back of his neck, and replied:

"There is one, though I don't know if it counts. The backup coolant storage room has started connecting to the Shield system, the system has closed the throttle valve, so the current Shield system shouldn't have any problems..."

There actually is one?

Listening, Roy breathed a slight sigh of relief.

There was still hope... there should still be hope, right?

But the next moment, an emergency communication from a damage control member came in directly. As soon as the Head of Damage Control answered, a voice filled with tears immediately burst out:

"Report to the Bridge! The coolant in the backup coolant storage room is all waste liquid! And there are empty canisters!"

"We... we are doomed!!!"

Unfortunately, he had the speakerphone on.

Upon hearing this, Roy felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head.

In less than a second, he confirmed who the culprit was — —

"Head of Logistics! Otto! Get out here!"

"No, no! You don't need to get out here yourself!"

"Someone! Drag him out here for me!"

"Tie him up and hang him outside the Bridge!"

"Hang him on the Bridge!"

"Aminos!!!"

No one responded to him, or rather, no one felt it was necessary to respond anymore.

The world went quiet.

In this airspace, there was only a riddled Battleship about to explode, and a large group of small aircraft called in for reinforcements, slowly approaching.

...