From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man - Chapter 436

“Retreat!!”

After the remnants of the expeditionary fleet completed the third round of artillery salvos, Delatir decisively issued a retreat order.

At this moment, if they stayed for one more second, the risk of annihilation would increase.

“Yes!!”

The crew members on the bridge responded quickly, their faces full of tension and concentration.

Therefore, as soon as they received the order, all the crew members immediately turned the Paris-class around and accelerated towards Campbell.

At the same time, the communications officer quickly passed Delatir’s order to other warships to ensure that each ship could retreat in a coordinated manner.

When everyone looked out through the observation porthole of the bridge.

The view outside the window quickly changed from the dark universe and the overwhelming plasma artillery group to the earth-like planet Campbell with a blue atmosphere.

In addition, everyone could vaguely see the remnant fleet that kept a distance, and immediately turned the ship around and retreated as planned.

The Paris class, which was originally at the forefront, now directly took on the responsibility of guarding the rear.

If you leave the bridge to observe, you can see that the Gauss secondary guns on both sides of the ship have turned their muzzles and continued to output sparse firepower to the biological fleet that was not visible to the naked eye, which made the Paris class seem more and more isolated and helpless.

As the retreat unfolded in an orderly manner, the plasma artillery group attack from the Arach biological fleet poured down like a rainstorm, and almost half of the firepower was concentrated on the Paris class.

Boom. Boom——!

In a moment, several plasma artillery groups hit the energy shield of the Paris class again.

Ka——Hua——!!

The next second, the energy shield emitting a light golden light quickly shattered and disintegrated due to overload, exposing the main body of the Paris class directly to the universe.

Moreover, not only the Paris class, but also the main force of the remaining fleet was also under fierce plasma attack.

Among them was a frigate transport ship. When it was about to break through the atmosphere, the tail engine was severely damaged by the plasma cannon group.

Boom!

The tail engine caught fire instantly, and the violent impact made the hull unable to maintain its original state, and it began to roll out of control.

When breaking through the atmosphere, the cost of this loss of control is extremely fatal.

The rolling hull and the atmosphere produced violent friction, and the flames immediately enveloped the entire frigate transport ship.

Boom! !

Then, the crew faced a desperate fate and could not react at all. There was no chance of escape, and the entire frigate transport ship exploded completely.

The fragments of the sunken ship were scattered like stardust, also burning with flames, and fell to the surface of Campbell like a meteor.

The people in the Paris-class bridge were all in pain and helplessness when they witnessed their companions fall.

Moreover, the energy shield of the Paris-class was overloaded, and it would take at least fifteen minutes to return to normal.

Before the shield was restored, if the Paris class was attacked by one or two plasma cannons, the result would be a devastating blow.

So now they can only leave it to fate and put their hope of survival on Carmen Ibanez, who is at the helm of the entire ship.

This pressure is like an invisible mountain pressing on her shoulders, making her feel extremely heavy and her expression even more solemn.

Therefore, Carmen concentrated her energy and eyes, her eyes never left the hard light screen in front of her, and her hands tightly grasped the joystick, as if her soul was closely connected to the hull of the Paris class.

Soon.

Under Carmen’s control, the Paris class quickly adjusted the hull, with the belly facing the surface.

After she confirmed that the heat protection system was operating normally, she quickly muttered in her mind whether each step was wrong, or whether it was not opened or closed.

Because the process of breaking through the atmosphere is crucial, the hull must remain absolutely stable at this time, and it cannot adjust the direction at will like in outer space. Any slight mistake may lead to disastrous consequences.

And at this stage, Carmen could not rely on driving skills to intervene.

“.”

As the hull gradually tilted downward, the atmosphere in the bridge became extremely tense, almost to the point of “you could hear a pin drop”.

All members held their breath and prayed quietly, hoping that at this critical juncture, they could avoid the attack of plasma.

Everyone’s heartbeat seemed to echo throughout the bridge, and it seemed to form a kind of almost suffocating oppression with the slight vibration of the hull.

Next.

I don’t know if they are really lucky, or if the accuracy of the space plasma worms is really too poor.

In any case, during the most critical “reentry phase” of the Paris class breaking through the atmosphere, that is, when the hull enters the atmosphere at high speed, it will generate extremely high resistance and heat, and it did not suffer direct attacks from the plasma artillery group.

Not long after, the Paris class passed the reentry phase safely, and then was about to slow down and approach the capital city on the surface.

At this moment, everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and feel fortunate.

But——

Boom. Boom——!

Just as everyone was immersed in a brief calm, a sudden roar broke the silence.

A plasma cannon ball hit the top of the Paris-class ship, and the explosion was deafening.

Although the power of the explosion was not as strong as expected, it only caused the Paris-class hull to sway and vibrate severely, but even so, the sudden attack still made every member in the bridge feel uneasy.

The radar observers and communications officers even closed their eyes tightly, seeming to think that the Paris-class was also facing the end of falling apart.

Carmen quickly took over the control, grasped the joystick with both hands, and tried his best to stabilize the balance of the ship, return it to normal state, and avoid rolling out of control.

Just seconds.

The Paris class returned to stability under Carmen’s operation and reunited with the remaining fleet that entered the atmosphere early.

At this point, everyone can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

In fact, the blow just now did not cause the Paris class to explode directly like the other three frigate transport ships. It was obviously not simply lucky.

The deeper reason is that the “behavior” of the plasma cannon group in outer space is very different from its behavior in the atmosphere.

When the plasma cannon group quickly breaks through the atmosphere following the Paris class, it will first collide and interact with air molecules, causing the plasma to scatter and attenuate.

Under normal conditions, plasma cools rapidly and the charge combines with surrounding air molecules to form an ionized gas that loses its plasma properties in the atmosphere.

However, the energy of the plasma cannon fired by the plasma bugs is extremely high, which means that the cannon does not immediately lose its plasma characteristics when it enters the atmosphere, but its power is greatly weakened.

It is precisely because of this characteristic that the Paris-class, which uses alpha titanium alloy armor, was able to withstand this direct hit and avoid complete destruction.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 by

“Okay, okay.”

“Finally survived!”

After reuniting with the remaining fleet, the atmosphere in the bridge was completely relieved. Many crew members couldn’t help but sigh at the aftermath of the disaster.

Carmen also took a few deep breaths, controlled the Paris-class to slow down, and sailed toward the capital city with the remaining fleet.

“Communications Officer.”

At this moment, Delatier, who was also recovering, glanced at the dark night scene outside the port window, then turned to the communications officer and ordered:

“Inform Major Kennedy to be prepared. The swarm fleet is expected to take full orbital control in twenty minutes at most.”

Delatier knew that they would face hundreds of millions or even tens of billions of insect sea offensives at that time. Although he did not want to speak directly to avoid affecting morale, his words revealed the sense of urgency in his heart.

“Yes, Captain.”

After receiving instructions from Delatier, the communications officer immediately contacted Lyon, who had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing that the communications officer had completed the operation, Delatier continued to ask:

“What’s going on with the Human Empire?”

“After the other party stated that they would send reinforcements, there was no reply.”

There was a hint of worry in the communications officer’s tone, and it was obvious that the actions of the Human Empire made him feel uneasy.

“I haven’t detected any warp speed tracks here,” the radar operator added, staring at the hard light screen with a frown on his face and said:

“At this stage, only the biological fleet of the Arachi Zerg is within Campbell’s gravitational range.”

Delatier also frowned, pondered for a moment, and then expressed her opinion:

“The Human Empire has advanced technology for jump navigation. Perhaps the other party’s reinforcements are still on the way, and they may arrive in Campbell soon.

If the reinforcements sent by the Human Empire were led by the archangel, the insects would have been burned to pieces. “

Her words triggered the thoughts of the bridge members, and then the Primarch with white wings who could fly freely in space came to mind—

Sanguinius.

Reminiscent of the figure of Sanguinius, especially the god-like combat power and ability Sanguinius displayed, like an unparalleled light, ruthlessly tearing apart the enemy.

Even though the enemy at that time was their federal expedition fleet.

But when thinking about Sanguinius’s combat performance, the crew members still had a smile on their faces, and the pressure in their hearts seemed to be relieved a lot.

Sanguinius was an enemy then, but now he is a reinforcement!

And Sanguinius gave them a strong sense of security invisibly, boosting everyone’s morale.

Although the Araki Zerg is coming like a tidal wave, as long as there is such a presence as support, the despair will disappear.

Dratier, who noticed this change, spoke at the right moment with a firm tone:

“No matter what, we must assist the mobile infantry and try our best to delay the swarm’s attack and give the people of Campbell more chances to survive.”

“Yes, Captain.”

All crew members responded in unison, their voices containing a common sense of determination and mission.

Their original intention of joining the Federation was to protect citizens and civilians.

At the same time, the capital city shrouded in darkness was brightly lit.

Although there is not enough anti-aircraft firepower here, with the remnant fleet that is about to arrive, it is enough to make up for the firepower gap in the capital city.

It’s theoretically Campbell’s summer in the capital city in November.

In the past, local residents and colonists would have taken to the streets to enjoy the breezy night and immerse themselves in the comfortable life after a day’s work.

However, the current capital city is a different story.

The streets were empty, with only motorized infantry, commandos, and mercenaries and police officers affiliated with the Campbell Administration standing ready to deal with the incoming threat.

The once bustling city now seems quiet and tense.

For local residents, the impending Zerg invasion was a nightmare threat. After receiving official notification, they quickly hid in their homes, silently praying that the mobile infantry could withstand this unprecedented catastrophe.

Moreover, more than 80% of Campbell’s total population gathered in the capital city.

Most of the people evacuated from other towns and villages were arranged by Johnson and Campbell’s senior officials in public shelters or subway tunnels to avoid direct Zerg attacks.

At this moment, the whole city was filled with an extremely depressing atmosphere, and the safety of the people seemed to hang on a fragile thread.

Although the capital city became a relatively safe shelter due to its heavy military defense, it was also the most dangerous place.

The IQ of Arachi’s single worm was extremely low, but the will of the swarm was enough to understand that breaking through the defense of the capital city was equivalent to breaking through the lifeline of the entire Campbell.

Then the goal of the swarm will would be very clear, that is, directly pointing to the “heart”-like capital.

On the main road on the north side of the Governor’s Mansion, Lyon and his command team were busy with the final dispatch and deployment.

And on the north side of the main road, there were already more than 200 assault soldiers and more than 1,000 mobile infantrymen, all arranged in the buildings on both sides of the street, forming a dense and solid defense line.

In other words, all armed units deployed in the capital city flexibly used the city’s buildings as bunkers and fortifications to enhance their combat advantages.

Obviously, relying on the flesh to fight against the Zerg in the open area is not only an extremely unwise choice, but also a dead end.

Only the current Federal Interstellar Marshal Dean can make the stupid decision to let the mobile infantry fight against the Arach Zerg in the wilderness.

At the same time, in order to ensure the stability of the defense line, the only more than 100 armored vehicles and main battle tanks of the remnant fleet were deployed at crossroads and other important nodes.

Lyon, who was on the first floor of the apartment building, was using the helmet screen to observe the movements above the capital city.

Countless warship wreckages looked like fleeting meteors, and the night sky was continuously flashing with dazzling blue light.

All signs indicate that the war that broke out in the near-Earth orbit and gravity range was quite fierce, even tragic.

However, when Lyon learned about the war situation from Dratiel, he thought that the losses were still within an acceptable range.

After learning that Arach’s biological fleet was about to occupy the near-Earth orbit, Lyon immediately opened the communication and said to everyone:

“Everyone be alert! It’s time to kill some bugs!!”