Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords! - Chapter 477

Chapter 475 06.0474: ‘Operation codename ‘Wolves eat pizza’’

The implementation of the idea proposed by Father Lati went much more smoothly than Horatio expected.

When Eagle III and Eagle IV returned to report after a round, the other five attack ships confirmed that they had received the holographic battle instructions from the attack leader, and also helped the leader to confirm the relative position of their own attack ships.

The whole process took only three standard Terra hours.

Horatio verified the feasibility of this method and recorded it in his captain’s log.

For those majors who don’t have the hand of command, this is indeed the fastest way.

But for him who has the skill blessing of the ‘void commander’ brought by the iron hand, he doesn’t even need these three hours.

As long as it is a friendly warship within the skill range, he can notice it at the first time.

Moreover, he has long adjusted the routes and relative positions of the other five attack ships on the void sand table through the hand of command, making the encirclement and hunting net more dense and airtight.

The void wolf pack has assembled.

E-96, E-99, E-46, E-47, E-48, and E-101 were on standby.

Five other attack ships belonging to other attack squadrons were also on their way to get a piece of the pie.

But the beginning of this gluttonous feast, the first cut of the cake, must be made by Horatio’s First Attack Squadron.

——

“What is the surrounding situation?” The captain of an armed merchant ship of the Air Clan asked the observer.

“The active detection wave found that there were micro-flying units passing by at a constant speed.”

“What could it be?”

“It may be a passing rock. As far as we know, no such tiny aircraft can fly independently in the void, and units of this size cannot pose a threat to us.” The technical advisor of the Earth Clan said.

The captain of the Qi clan nodded upon hearing this, and used the communication device in front of him to report to the distant trade fleet headquarters: “This is the HX229 merchant fleet, which is on its way to Magnit Star. Everything is normal and there is no threat.”

Magnit is an agricultural world, once an important grain-producing area in the Five Hundred Worlds, and the famous “Magnit Pizza” was born here.

This delicacy quickly became a popular and widely circulated dish in the empire due to its large quantity, rich and diverse ingredients, and can be matched at will, and the cooking steps are convenient and fast. It has the nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats required by the human body.

Its birth is said to be influenced by immigrants who have traveled to Zhendan.

A man named Boro traveled to Zhendan and returned to his hometown. Because he missed the pie he tasted in Zhendan, he tried to replicate it, but due to the problem of craftsmanship, the final product became a large pie with a large amount of Grox meat slices or sausage slices sprinkled on a thin dough, then drizzled with various sauces, and then baked in the oven.

Although it was not authentic, he found it delicious as soon as he tasted it. From then on, it spread throughout the neighborhood, and eventually went beyond Magnit and spread throughout the empire. From Holy Terra to the distant Taiping Star Region, from high-ranking officials to gang gatherings, people can see it and its derivatives on their plates.

But times have changed. Now this place is forcibly occupied by the Tau Empire. A large number of agricultural drone bees have replaced the large number of foreign coolies in the past, and perform intelligent operations over the countryside.

There are still areas where manual operations are retained on the surface. Rather than farmland, it is better to say that it is an experience area for local people to have farm fun. Under the blue sky is a golden wheat wave. The Tau people wearing loose cloth and Guvisa are in groups of three or two, carrying farm tools and talking and laughing, walking towards the farmhouse with smoke curling in the distance. It is a leisurely and pastoral scenery.

However, its recent situation is about to undergo a dramatic change.

After Ometula was almost lost to the attack of the Empire, the Tau Empire’s border expansion command, ‘Tian’, analyzed that the next target of the Ultramarines’ Second Company would be Magnit.

A merchant fleet was destined to deliver a large amount of supplies and weapons and equipment to consolidate Magnit’s defense.

It is an important grain-producing area on the southern border of the Tau Empire, which has important strategic significance for the stable rule of the southern part of the Tau Empire.

As a battleground for military strategists, the Empire has also intended to recapture it for a long time. A war without excessive damage to the planet’s environment is already imminent.

Lina’s father, Colonel Lord Elphinstone, manages the Military Intelligence Command. After she received the news, she immediately notified Horatio.

As the attack squadron with the most fruitful combat results behind enemy lines and the most combat experience, he will undertake the important task of destroying the commercial fleet of Magnit that came to the aid of the agricultural world.

This will affect the Second Company of the Ultramarines, as well as the Ultramar Auxiliary Army and the Astra Militarum Army that will be fighting with them. How many casualties will they have to pay to take the planet? Will it be hundreds of thousands of casualties, millions, or even tens of millions?

These hundreds of thousands of lives and the direction of the war will be entrusted to this young lieutenant commander.

This will be a secret battlefield behind enemy lines that is highly concerned by the top leaders of the Empire.

Horatio also named this operation codenamed “Wolves Eating Pizza”.

——

Horatio sat on the battleship command throne and pretended to close his eyes and concentrate, but in fact he was observing the situation on the void sand table in the dark vision.

He had a thorough understanding of the situation of the merchant fleet. 31 cargo ships were arranged in a nearly square formation, and each of the four corners of the formation was guarded by an armed merchant ship. These armed merchant ships were classified as light cruisers in the Imperial sequence.

There are multiple rail guns on the merchant ship that are always on standby, and the close-in ion cannons on them rotate every now and then to ensure a smooth supply of ion sources. This behavior also silently demonstrates deterrence.

The four armed merchant ships are alert to the surrounding airspace. Since no enemy ships have been found, the fleet has not released the destroyers carried by the gravity grappling hooks on both sides to achieve the optimal sailing speed.

But every two hours, an armed merchant ship will release two destroyers to patrol and guard the surrounding area, with a cycle of 3 hours.

This means that there is almost always an armed cargo ship that will release a destroyer, and when changing shifts, there will even be four destroyers patrolling at the same time in an hour.

After figuring out the patrol cycle and alert mode of this merchant fleet, the tactical plan gradually appeared in Horatio’s mind, perfected, and refined.

“Captain, this merchant fleet is heading from the outer periphery of the star system to the periphery of the star. Our shadow field works best when it is far away from the star, but if it is close to the star, the stronger the sunlight, the greater the reflection fluctuation, which will interfere with the stealth efficiency of our shadow field.” First Mate Collingwood reported.

“How long will it take for us to enter the range that will be obviously affected by the star.”

“310,000 kilometers, at the current speed of the enemy fleet, it will take about 3 and a half Terra days. But if attacked, the merchant fleet is likely to speed up.

After launching an attack at the same time, so many ships will definitely send out distress signals. If we cannot destroy so many merchant ships at that time, when we reach the range of the star, then we will be in danger.”

“That means we have to kill 31 merchant ships within two days, and it is best to destroy as many armed merchant ships as possible at the beginning, otherwise we will have nowhere to hide. Under the threat of the enemy rescue fleet, we can only be forced to watch the cooked duck fly away.”

“That’s right, Captain.”

Horatio crossed his hands: “Catching Grox beasts requires efficiency and order, not to mention these intelligent prey we hunt.”

He stood up and pointed at the merchant-class armed merchant ship that was slowly passing in front of him.

“When the enemy’s next wave of rotation comes, we will take action.”