120: Annihilate the Imperial Vanguard

The hunting net quietly spread in silence.

On the bridge of the Imperial Fleet vessel "loyal will", Rear Admiral Valdo frowned. The nebula environment was harsher than expected, with the sensor screens filled with snow-like interference, and psychic detection was also heavily suppressed. "Increase vigilance, launch more scout planes, and focus scanning on the six o'clock direction and the upper sectors," he ordered. The rigor of the new Imperial Navy, reformed by Guilliman, meant he did not dare to be even slightly negligent.

Just then, the sensors of an escort ship on the fleet's right wing suddenly caught an extremely faint, unnatural energy ripple. "Alert! Starboard side, azimuth..."

Before the words could even be finished!

The nearby "Spatial Distortion Mines" were remotely activated! There was no explosion, but the spatial structure of that area was instantly warped and stretched, then snapped back violently like a broken rubber band! The two Imperial escort ships within the area didn't even have time to react before they were "twisted" into mangled spirals by the terrifying spatial shear force, turning into two masses of twisted metal junk amidst a series of dull implosion flashes!

"Enemy attack! All ships turn, shields at full power! Fire towards the incoming direction!" Valdo was shocked, but his extensive experience allowed him to react quickly. However, the incoming direction was empty, containing only churning nebula gases.

"Port side! Energy spike!" another shout rang out. This time it was a Concept Disintegration Cannon sniper shot from an Infiltrator-class at maximum range! The ghostly blue pulse silently penetrated the nebula, hitting the broadside shields of an Indomitable-class cruiser. The Imperial warship's void shields flickered violently, and signs of "conceptual disintegration" appeared in the hit area, causing energy conduction efficiency to drop instantly.

"Find them! Auspex at full power!" Valdo roared. The Imperial Fleet hurriedly turned, firing blindly toward the general direction, but under the dual effects of nebula interference and Cognitive Fog, the results were negligible.

"fortress-class platforms, activate Logic Interference Array, cover the enemy flagship and primary command nodes," Alpha-01 ordered, seizing the opportunity of the Imperial Fleet's brief chaos.

The crystal arrays on the surfaces of the fortress-class platforms deployed at the Magnetic Storm Nodes lit up simultaneously. An invisible torrent of information, like bone-chilling ice picks, stabbed toward the "loyal will" and its surrounding command ships. Instrument screens on the bridge were instantly flooded with garbled code and error prompts, some communication channels were drowned out by raucous noise, and several Psyker navigators even clutched their heads in pain as their psychic senses were forcibly injected with a mass of contradictory information.

"Is it a psychic attack? No... it's some kind of information weapon! Activate counter-protocols! Switch to backup communication channels!" Valdo ordered sharply, enduring the stinging pain in his brain. The Imperial Fleet's disciplined training showed now; despite the interference, the formation did not completely collapse, and each ship began to execute emergency procedures.

But the Human Federation's hunting rhythm was faster.

"the arbiter and the purifier, move forward to optimal range. Reality Reconstruction Cannon, target: enemy flagship 'loyal will' engine array and bridge area." Alpha-01's command was cold and ruthless. "arbiter-class squadron, provide fire coverage on enemy escort vessels and block their support."

The two titan-class behemoths were like primordial beasts rising from the deep sea. The dark gold Adaptive Order Domain expanded before them, pushing aside the surging nebula matter and revealing their menacing hulls. The heart-stopping composite structures at the prows began to charge again, causing the surrounding light to bend inward eerily.

"Ultra-high energy reaction detected! Dead ahead! It's... it's those unknown capital ships!" The Imperial sensors finally caught a clear signal, but it was too late.

"Reality Reconstruction Cannon, fire."

Silent erasure descended once again. Two invisible "order negation" pulses, at speeds exceeding conventional detection, penetrated the "loyal will's" void shields, which had dropped in efficiency due to interference, and precisely hit the designated target areas.

The engine array at the rear of the hull, along with the complex energy conduits and reaction chambers, vanished into thin air like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser. A third of it was gone, and the remaining structure instantly lost support, undergoing a horrific sympathetic detonation under internal pressure! Meanwhile, the forward superstructure where the bridge was located suffered massive "missing" sections with smooth, neat edges, as if bitten by a giant beast. The command center, personnel, equipment... all were reduced to nothingness.

The "loyal will" instantly lost power and command, its massive hull beginning to roll helplessly and disintegrate within the nebula.

"The 'loyal will'... has gone silent!" The Imperial Fleet's communication channels were filled with shock and panic. The instantaneous destruction of the flagship was a devastating blow to morale.

"arbiter-class, fire at will! shadow-iv, cut into the enemy formation and annihilate them!" Alpha-01 gave the enemy no room to breathe.

Dense Conceptual Disintegration-Resonance Cannon fire was like the Reaper's scythe, sweeping through the remaining Imperial vessels. Without unified command and in a disadvantageous environment, the Imperial Fleet's resistance quickly crumbled. One after another, Indomitable-class cruisers and escorts had their shields overloaded and armor shattered under the lethal energy bombardment, turning into burning wreckage.

A few Imperial ships tried to turn and flee, but the Infiltrator-class vessels already lurking on the retreat routes and the preset Spatial Distortion Mines became their final nightmare.

The battle ended completely forty-seven minutes later.

The Iron Sanctus vanguard fleet, which once represented the edge of the Imperial restoration, along with its well-trained Commanders and crews, was completely and cleanly wiped out in the violent nebula of the Throat of the Void. No large wreckage was left for analysis, only some difficult-to-track basic particles scattered in the ionized gas, which would soon be diluted by the nebula's own movement.

"Iron Sanctus, annihilation confirmed." Alpha-01 watched the nebula on the sensors return to "calm," his voice devoid of emotion. "Recover all deployed equipment and check for any possibility of information leaks. The fleet is to withdraw behind Keystone-9 and stand by."

On the bridge of the arbiter, the brief victory brought no joy. Everyone knew they had just personally severed the scrutinizing "finger" extended by the Imperial Primarch. This might bring a brief respite, but it was undoubtedly a clear and provocative war drum sounded in the ear of a sleeping giant.

"Will the main force of the Indomitable Crusade turn because of this?" the adjutant asked softly.

"Not all at once," Alpha-01 turned, looking at the deep blue territory of the Empire on the star map. "But Guilliman will certainly notice the disappearance of this 'finger.' He will become more vigilant, send more and stronger 'fingers' to probe, and may even adjust his strategic chessboard... And we must become hard enough to break his finger bones before he decides to smash his entire 'iron fist' down on us—hard enough to make him think twice about the cost of that punch."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the depths of the nebula, as if he could see the Primarch's cold face on distant Macragge, re-evaluating the situation.

"The hunt is over, but the war... has just entered a new, more dangerous chapter."