259: Chapter 259 Withstanding the Train Cannon Fire! Lu Chen Fights to the Death in the Same Position

"Don't relax," Lu Chen said, alerting everyone in the Cockpit. "The vanguard has collapsed; the crusher should be coming out now."

No sooner had he spoken.

A large signal source appeared on the panel at the eight-kilometer boundary to the north.

Its signal cross-section was even larger than those two lv.4 fortresses combined.

"Lv.5," Zhou Yuan's voice tightened. "The crusher has entered the eight-kilometer radar range, one degree west of true north, distance exactly eight kilometers, speed twelve kilometers per hour."

Twelve kilometers per hour.

Slower than the vanguard formation.

But that was a 2,200-meter-long steel behemoth on the move.

"It's advancing," Zhou Yuan continued to call out. "Seven point nine, seven point eight, seven point seven."

"Direction?"

"Directly facing the Polaris, no deviation."

The crusher had not stopped because of the vanguard's rout.

It continued to push forward.

"Cheng Zheng." Lu Chen activated the comms.

"Here," Cheng Zheng replied on the other end.

"The crusher has entered my radar."

"I know." Cheng Zheng took a breath on the other end. "The Furnace's remote monitoring confirms that the crusher accelerated after the vanguard retreated. Iron Crown probably thinks the vanguard's probing has already exposed the Polaris's firepower configuration, and now it's time for the main force to step in personally."

"What's the range of the crusher's 300mm main gun?"

"Twenty-five kilometers."

"It's eight kilometers away from me and still closing in." Lu Chen clarified the situation. "It needs to get within twenty-five kilometers to fire, but it's already within my thirty-eight-kilometer range."

"You want to strike it first?"

"Yes." Lu Chen looked at Zhao Tiezhu. "Switch target, crusher, one degree west of true north, distance seven point six kilometers."

Zhao Tiezhu's fingers adjusted the Fire Control Console.

"Target locked, crusher, large signal cross-section, lock-on precision extremely high."

Loading countdown: thirty-one seconds.

"Fire when loading is complete."

"Understood."

Thirty-one.

Twenty-eight.

Twenty-five.

"City Lord," Zhou Yuan called out as a warning. "The crusher has opened fire."

Lu Chen's gaze returned to the panel.

"What? It's still seven point five kilometers away, how can it reach us with a twenty-five-kilometer range?"

"It's not the main gun." Zhou Yuan read the data rapidly. "It's the secondary battery. The 180mm secondary guns on the crusher's broadside have a range of twelve kilometers; seven point five kilometers is within range."

A large number of small signal sources shot south from the crusher's position on the panel.

"Incoming count." Zhou Yuan's voice was trembling as he reported. "Over 120 rounds, 180mm caliber, very wide coverage."

120 rounds.

The crusher's single secondary battery volley was 120 rounds.

"Phalanx CIWS," Lu Chen looked at Zhao Tiezhu.

"Automatic interception activated." Zhao Tiezhu stared at the close-in defense panel. "With 120 rounds incoming simultaneously, the instantaneous interception limit of the four Phalanx CIWS units is 16 rounds per second. It will take seven to eight seconds to intercept them all."

"Will any slip through within those seven to eight seconds?"

"Yes." Zhao Tiezhu gritted his teeth. "The estimated leakage rate is five to ten percent; six to twelve rounds will break through the interception net."

Six to twelve 180mm shells.

Hitting the Reactive Explosive Armor.

"Can the Reactive Explosive Armor hold up?" Lin Wan asked from behind.

"Yes." Lu Chen did not hesitate. "A 180mm armor-piercing shell has a penetration depth of about 350mm. The Reactive Explosive Armor reduces that by over sixty percent, leaving an actual penetration of less than 140mm. The Polaris's outer armor has an equivalent thickness of 300mm; 140 against 300 won't penetrate."

The Phalanx CIWS opened fire.

Four tongues of fire sprayed a barrage wildly, weaving a dense net of fire above the Polaris.

The incoming shells were shattered in the air one by one.

The light of the explosions merged into a single sheet in the night sky.

But there were indeed shells that slipped through.

The first stray shell slammed into the Polaris's port armor.

A loud bang rang out.

The entire city shook.

The Reactive Explosive Armor detonated instantly at the point of contact, spraying a layer of metal fragments outward, completely dissipating the kinetic energy of the incoming shell core on the contact surface.

No penetration.

The second round slammed into the front of the roof.

Another loud bang.

The explosive armor detonated again.

No penetration.

The third round.

The fourth round.

The fifth round.

The continuous impacts made the Polaris jolt in place.

But every single round was blocked by the explosive armor.

Eight seconds later, the Phalanx CIWS finished intercepting all incoming shells.

A total of eight rounds slipped through.

All eight were neutralized by the Reactive Explosive Armor.

Zero penetration.

Phalanx CIWS reserve: 2,801 rounds.

Loading countdown hit zero.

"Loading complete."

"Fire."

The fourth thunderous sound rang out.

The target for this round was the crusher.

Seven point four kilometers.

Three point one seconds of flight time.

One.

Two.

Three.

Hit confirmed.

"Hit." Cheng Zheng's voice cut in. "The crusher's frontal armor has a breach, but something's not right."

"What's not right?"

"It hasn't stopped." Cheng Zheng's tone became heavier. "The crusher's frontal armor isn't a single-layer structure. The outer 800mm of homogeneous steel was pierced, but there is still spaced armor and a structural support layer inside. After the shell core penetrated the outer layer, its kinetic energy decayed, and it got stuck in the second layer of spaced armor."

"It didn't penetrate completely."

"It didn't penetrate the core module completely." Cheng Zheng confirmed. "The outer armor has already been torn open with a large hole; if the second round hits near the same spot, it can punch straight through."

"Zhao Tiezhu."

"Here."

"Fine-tune two degrees in the same direction, second round."

"Target fine-tuned, loading, fifty-two seconds."

The crusher was still advancing.

Seven point three.

Seven point two.

Seven point one.

It had taken a Railway Gun shot and its outer armor had been torn open, but it hadn't stopped.

It was accelerating.

"The crusher has accelerated." Zhou Yuan reported. "Speed increased from twelve to eighteen; it's charging."

"It wants to get within main gun range in the shortest time possible." Lu Chen saw through Iron Crown's intention. "The 300mm main gun with a twenty-five-kilometer range is the only thing that can threaten the Polaris. It's only seven kilometers away now, far from the twenty-five-kilometer limit. It's charging because it knows that for every second it stays out there, it takes another hit."

"Let it charge." Lu Chen's tone was flat. "Second shot in fifty-two seconds, third shot fifty-two seconds after that. By the time it reaches five kilometers, it will have taken at least two more hits. Two hits on the same breach and the core module will be finished."

Loading countdown: thirty-nine seconds.

The crusher's secondary battery opened fire again.

The second round.

Another 120 rounds.

The Phalanx CIWS intercepted frantically again.

This time, eleven rounds slipped through.

Eleven rounds slammed into the Polaris, the explosive armor detonating in succession.

The vehicle shook violently.

Teacups in the Cockpit rolled off the table and shattered into pieces on the floor.

The result was still zero penetration.

Phalanx CIWS reserve: 2,680 rounds.

Loading countdown: eighteen seconds.

The crusher was 6.3 kilometers away.

"City Lord." Cheng Zheng's comms cut in. "The Forge's main formation has started moving. The Furnace and the Observer are pushing forward at full speed from thirteen kilometers to the south, heading due north. Expected to enter range in fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes." Lu Chen calculated. "Within fifteen minutes, I can hit the crusher at least fifteen more times."

Loading countdown hit zero.

"Loading complete, fire."

The fifth thunderous sound.

Three seconds later.

Hit confirmed.

"Hit." Cheng Zheng's voice rose. "Same spot, the shell core poured into the breach torn open by the first round, penetrated the spaced armor, and entered the internal structure. Large-scale deflagration has appeared on the crusher's port side, and its speed is starting to drop."

"Is it still moving?"

"Still moving, speed dropped from eighteen to ten, but it's still pushing forward."

This iron beast.

Two shots in the same spot, the core module flooded with shell core fragments, fire and deflagration inside, and it was still charging forward.

"Sixth shot." Lu Chen ordered directly. "Same spot, keep firing."

"Loading, fifty-two seconds."

The crusher was 5.8 kilometers away.

Speed ten kilometers per hour, still slowing down.

It was bleeding.

But it wasn't dead yet.