As the Captain, no one understood battleship combat better than Wolf here.
Achieving maximum lethality wasn't as simple as shouting "full barrage launch"—there were many intricacies involved.
For example, the defense rate of the three Close-in Weapon Systems on the Drake, and more importantly, their defensive angles and blind spots.
It was like fighting: ordinary people brawled with wild swings.
But in professional matches, it became a contest of the opponent's dominant hand, dominant foot, defensive habits, attack posture, and so on.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a game of chess.
And it was a dual competition of both mind and body.
The same principle applied to space battles.
If that Beam was a killing blow, to achieve the highest-value damage, it needed to accurately hit the Drake's Bridge or Reactor.
As for the other missiles, they served as cover.
The remaining three Transport Ships each also had two Close-in Weapon Systems.
Calculating angles based on standard Close-in Weapon System defense data combined with the Transport Ships' hull shapes...
The computational load increased exponentially.
No wonder he had just seen the other side's keyboard practically smoking from frantic input.
"The calculations are complete. It's time for us to act," Fred spoke up at the right moment.
"Good!"
Hearing this, Wolf's face broke into a brilliant smile.
It was as if he could already see the image of those enemies crumbling in defeat.
Without further delay, Fred's hands soon stopped moving.
The preliminary calculations were finished. It was time to act.
...
Meanwhile, on the Bridge of the Drake-class Battleship, the Blue Cosmos lieutenant was staring at the cylindrical object before him, his face wearing a smile brimming with unmistakable malice and absolute confidence.
The earthworm-like scar on his face seemed to writhe slowly along with his grin, a truly terrifying sight.
"Boss, as expected, they haven't set up much resistance!"
"We've successfully entered precision firing range," the young man serving as Adjutant excitedly reported to his fearsome-looking leader.
Earlier, they had been firing blindly to intimidate the enemy, causing little actual damage.
But now, as the distance closed further, firing accuracy would improve, allowing them to target vital areas like the central axis of this Space colony.
"Hmph, I told you this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," the leader lifted his chin, his scarred face filled with arrogance and disdain, then continued.
"Let our people inside do their best to sabotage their research facilities!"
"May all those who defy human ethics and scorn God burn in hell!"
As he spoke, the leader raised a hand and traced it over his scar.
His features twisted, becoming even more horrifying.
"Got it!" the Adjutant responded, and a cold smile spread across the faces of everyone on the Bridge.
As if he could already see the scene of the Mendel space colony before him engulfed in flames.
The adjutant also chuckled darkly, quickly opening the weapon control system on the screen in front of him.
"Big brother, what should we do about those cargo ships outside?"
The adjutant asked.
"Anyone doing business with this company must all be destroyed!"
The leader said, his eyes growing even more fanatical.
In fact, his words were not without reason.
In his view, most of those trading with this company were Coordinators—they deserved to die anyway.
"Understood!"
The adjutant responded excitedly, even starting to operate the fire control system of the weapons before him before his words had fully faded.
At that very moment, countless red lights representing danger suddenly began flashing violently across the bridge.
Illuminating the entire bridge, the flickering red lights and the constant noise from the control panels made it feel as if they were in hell.
"What's going on!?"
Hearing the sounds, the leader immediately turned his head to ask the adjutant, his reaction remarkably swift.
"We're being locked by a fire control radar!"
The young man serving as both adjutant and weapons controller said.
The ingratiating smile he had worn just moments earlier while flattering had now been replaced by a look of sheer terror.
"From where?!"
Upon hearing this, the leader's ferocious expression was overtaken by shock, and even the earthworm-like scar on his face seemed somewhat comical.
"From behind the asteroid to our left rear!"
"What!?"
The leader let out another shocked roar.
But there was no time left for them to react.
The ship hiding behind the asteroid had completely evaded their radar and now appeared directly behind them.
The rear—the most dangerous position for a battleship.
Of course, there were still means of counterattack; movable turrets and missiles could still strike enemies from behind.
Although this leader was ambitious and his deep-seated hatred for Coordinators often clouded his judgment, he was no fool. He quickly assessed the situation.
Even though the enemy had suddenly appeared behind them, it wasn't impossible to defend against.
"Full speed ahead! Load all missiles, activate Vulcan Cannon automatic interception mode!"
"And turn off this damn alarm!"
Amid the commands, the leader managed to regain his composure from the blaring alarm, issuing orders one after another.
"Don't worry, at most they're just pirates taking advantage of the chaos. Without missiles, they can't do anything to us."
"Even if they've gotten behind us, so what?"
As he spoke, the leader seemed to have convinced himself, his panic gradually giving way to calm.
Even his expression took on a hint of disdain.
This confident demeanor helped calm the rest of the crew under his command once again.
Especially after the terrifying alarm on the bridge was silenced, everyone returned to normal.
However, this calm did not last long. On the screen monitoring the rear of the bridge, they saw objects with burning tails swiftly flying toward them.
And the alarm on the bridge, which had just been turned off, began blaring once more.
"Missiles...!"
After a brief silence, the adjutant shouted loudly.
The mood on the bridge was like riding a roller coaster—just as everyone had steadied themselves from the previous wave of fear, terror once again took hold.
Or perhaps it was even more terrifying than a roller coaster, after all, roller coasters don't claim lives.
Now, as they stared at the densely packed missile trajectories on the screen, everyone felt a surge of dread.
It was the fear of their own lives slipping away.
They had no idea whether the defenses would hold, or rather, when faced with such a direct threat to their lives, most people couldn't calmly calculate the probability of their own deaths.
This was especially true for those in Blue Cosmos, who acted solely on their own desires.