"Waaagh!!!"
Amidst the earth-shattering roars of the greenskins, a ridiculously large number of various giant cannons, so many that they filled every crack and void in the warships, fired simultaneously. The greenskins' cannons often lacked accuracy.
This was due to the poor craftsmanship of the Tech-Priests and Big Meks who built the cannons. It was also because the Ork Boyz, who operated the complex cannons, would often just roar and pull the trigger, hardly ever aiming at their targets. However, what they lacked in accuracy, they made up for in quantity. If firing ten times only resulted in one hit, then the greenskins would choose to fire a hundred times, a thousand times, overwhelming the enemy ship with sheer numbers. Ork Boyz were often very good at such operations.
The battle taking place in space was silent. No matter how tremendous the commotion when the ork warships fired in volleys, the Ishimura and the other armed merchant ships could only know they were under attack through radar and detection systems. "Detecting a large number of shells incoming."
"Don't rush to intercept; have the armed merchant ships raise their Void Shields." The Commanders in charge of this space naval battle knew that even if they fired all their missiles to intercept, it would be far from enough. Tech-Priests and Big Meks could, at any time, fashion a highly destructive shell from the junk at hand. Therefore, letting the armed merchant ships equipped with Void Shields withstand this wave of attack was the correct choice. The missiles in their inventory were better suited for attacking the ork warships.
"Boom!" On the bridge of the Ishimura, the sound of the giant shells impacting the Void Shields was automatically simulated. The surfaces of the Void Shields projected by the armed merchant ships continuously flickered with ripples and flares, as all physical shells were swallowed by the Void Shields and transferred into the Warp.
"I wonder which unlucky warship or demon will be hit by these shells," Marcus muttered softly. Attacks redirected by the Void Shields into the Warp could indeed strike ships that were originally innocently navigating. Furthermore, attacks occurring in the present, once entering the Warp, could appear in the past or future due to the uncertainty of time and space within the Warp. Shaking his head, Marcus refocus his attention on the intense battlefield.
A timeless tactic, 'boarding,' was popular in the Warhammer world. The prevalence of boarding tactics was largely due to the existence of Void Shields. Due to the Void Shields' characteristic of blocking fast objects but not slow ones, slower boarding vessels could pass through. These boarding ships would then have to brave ship-mounted firepower and pay a huge price to complete a boarding assault. The greenskins were also experts in boarding combat. Seeing that the cannon volley could not break through the Void Shields in a short time, the Ork warships once again released an overwhelming number of carrier-based aircraft. Their numbers were so dense that they completely filled the radar display screen. They were packed with Ork Boyz, already eager for a big Waaagh!
"All ships, fire at will, full interception." The order was quickly transmitted to all ships. ADS Railguns and laser cannon arrays opened fire, beginning to intercept the incoming Waaagh of Ork carrier-based aircraft. Fires representing death continuously flickered in the void. One after another, fearless Ork carrier-based aircraft, along with the Ork Boyz inside them, were all blown into dust.
"Target numbers are too high; full interception is impossible. It is estimated that Ork boarding will succeed in five minutes." The Commanders looked grim, having anticipated this.
"Have armed merchant ships No. 1 and No. 2 gather Tyrants and Stalkers, and prepare for engagement." "Yes, sir!" The two armed merchant ships at the very front of the line, which had been continuously maintaining their Void Shields, would be the first targets of the Ork boarding force. The Commanders, who had anticipated this, had placed a large number of Tyrants, Stalkers, and other organic biological weapons inside them.
"We must launch a counterattack!" Some Commanders couldn't sit still; in their opinion, they had to regain the initiative.
"Are you crazy! What do we have to launch a counterattack with?! Just those few thousand missiles left?" Someone immediately retorted. For a time, the communication channel was filled with heated arguments.
"Ahem!" Marcus's light cough interrupted the ongoing debate. "Don't forget, we still have allies."
No sooner had he spoken than, on the other side of the orbit, far from the Ishimura and the other armed merchant ships, the red Adeptus Mechanicus warships began to move. As he was not a Questing techpriest or a Great Sage, Biological Sage Halifus's fleet was not large, consisting of only four warships. Two of them were Cobra-class destroyers, one was a Tracker-class surveillance cruiser, and the remaining Lunar-class cruiser was Halifus's flagship and mobile research base.
"Techpriest, the Ork offensive is intensifying, we…"
"Just proceed as planned. Also, do not disturb my research casually." Inside a research chamber on the Lunar-class cruiser, a Mycelium sample squirmed before Halifus. Even at the moment of engaging the Orks, he remained immersed in his research. "Yes, sir." The Tech-Priests responsible for reporting slowly withdrew.
Countless servitors began pushing huge shells into the macrocannons, and various torpedoes were also loaded. The powerful lances mounted on the Lunar-class cruiser also began charging.
"Toll the Great Bell once! Pull the lever, and push the piston and pump! Toll the Great Bell twice! Press the button, start the engine, ignite the turbine, inject life! Toll the Great Bell thrice! Sing in unison, praise the Omnissiah!!!" Within the Adeptus Mechanicus ships, prayers praising the Omnissiah resounded. As the prayers ended, the destructive weapons mounted on the ships began to unleash the Omnissiah's wrath upon the greenskins.
The macrocannons fired in volleys, and a large number of torpedoes (which were actually missiles) were launched. The lances, infinitely more dazzling and lethal than ordinary lasers, also began to focus, finally forming thick beams of light that blasted towards an approaching ork 'Fear' warship. In an instant, the lance struck the 'Fear' warship's Void Shield, causing it to ripple extensively.
"Waaagh! It's the Red Robe Shrimp's ship!" Upon this attack, several ork warships immediately broke away from the main force and Waaaghed towards the Adeptus Mechanicus warships. In the eyes of the greenskins, the Red Robe Shrimp, covered in mechanical parts, was also a very good target for battle.
"The Adeptus Mechanicus fleet has begun its attack; one-third of the Ork warships have been drawn away from the fleet." With this attack from the Adeptus Mechanicus, the frontal pressure on the Ishimura and the other armed merchant ships immediately lessened considerably. The Commanders, who had previously held differing opinions, also stopped their arguments, their faces beaming with joy.
"The battle has just begun—"