The Scientific Power Behind Every Shot

However, even with this, it would still be difficult to hit the target at a short distance of twenty light-seconds. Therefore, the Escort Ship first used missiles and Electromagnetic Railgun to interfere with, or rather, block the movement route of the opposing Probe Spaceship.

Then, the shipboard AI took into account various factors before finally turning the muzzles of several guns, each capable of firing two clusters, toward that Void space and pressing the salvo button.

Compared to using Energy Weapon to predict and strike, this coordinated attack significantly improves the hit rate.

This coordinated attack method is common in human warships and often appears in simulation training; it has simply been brought to the real battlefield.

The results are obviously good.

In less than an hour, more than 80% of the more than 1,000 Probe Spaceship were destroyed. The remaining hundred or so Probe Spaceship, in the chase with the Self-Detonating Drone, were eventually blown to bits by the Self-Detonating Drone due to the difference in acceleration caused by mass factors.

Of course, the Probe Spaceship was also equipped with weapons, and it used its Energy Weapon to destroy many of the pursuing Self-Detonating Drone. However, these suicide drones usually did not pursue alone, but rather formed small teams of two or three to attack the target.

Due to their speed and unavoidable nature, Energy Weapon have become the primary weapons in engagements. Since laser Energy Weapon kill targets through high-temperature burning, there is a time-to-hit issue. Therefore, when using Energy Weapon in salvos for long-range strikes, the time-to-hit factor must also be taken into account.

For example, scientists previously estimated the effective kill parameters of human-made laser Energy Weapon to be 20 light-seconds in distance, corresponding to a 2-second hit time. Therefore, when Escort Ship engages a target Probe Spaceship, this parameter must also be taken into account.

In other words, after the laser Energy Weapon fires at the predicted location, it needs to adjust its firing angle for two seconds.

To put it more vividly, imagine a person sitting in a car shining a flashlight on a bird in the sky. If this person wants to keep the flashlight shining on the bird for two seconds, he must keep twisting his hand.

The same principle applies to space combat; simply slinging a missile across the target won't cause effective damage. Therefore, those two seconds contain a multitude of mathematical, physical, and astronomical parameters, including but not limited to predicted values, flight speed, angle, spatial dust levels, Gravity distortion of light angle, and micro-magnetic field interference. In short, behind every shot lies the technological sophistication of a civilization.

The moment the two sides made contact, what appeared to be a series of battles between warships and aerial fire was actually a contest of computer technology and battlefield information between the two sides.

Without relying on luck, the team with the stronger computer combat AI will have a higher hit rate. Whether a hit is fatal depends on materials technology and firepower intensity.

Of course, in the initial contact, since the Kun-Tai Civilization mainly used Probe Spaceship to infiltrate and collect information, and the humans were only destroyed by Self-Detonating Drone, the difference in Materials Technology was not immediately apparent.

"Mo Tuotuo Lord Pierce, this is the first-hand information transmitted back by the probe!" As Pierce's first assistant and advisor, it was Mortot who reported the latest situation to Pierce. After entering a state of war, Mo Tuotuo was much calmer than before, but to the others on the ship, his Ultrasound volume was still very loud. "Although none of our first batch of Probe Spaceship were able to break into the Asteroid Belt, they still obtained some information about Human Civilization's warships."

"Your Lord Pierce, look," Mo Tuotuo walked with a hunched gait to Pierce's side, pointing to the data in his hand, "It is within an effective kill range of human warship energy cannons, approximately 20 light-seconds. The time it takes to penetrate the outer shell of our Probe Spaceship is 1.33 to 1.53 seconds."

"Our Quake-Class Warship have much better armor than the Probe Spaceship, so their small ships pose no threat to us. However, we don't know about their Quake-Class Warship, because the two human Quake-Class Warship haven't fired yet, so we haven't gathered any concrete information and can only make a preliminary judgment based on their caliber."

"Experts' assessment is not very optimistic. They believe that within a 20 light-second range, an energy cannon of that caliber could pose an effective threat to our armor within 1.8 seconds."

Since the Quake-Class Warship haven't officially entered combat yet, their maneuverability is unpredictable. So, Lord Pierce, what should our next step be? Should we deploy a second batch of probes for a surprise reconnaissance mission?

When Mo Tuotuo spoke, his head, which was level with his shoulders, was almost touching Pierce's stomach, but he didn't care, and neither did Pierce.

"No, once is enough. I understand their intentions." Pierce touched his scaly skin, shook his head, and explained, "Human Civilization is trying its best to prevent our probes from entering the Asteroid Belt. The purpose of doing so is obvious. There must be an ambush fleet of theirs in the Asteroid Belt."

Mo Tuotuo was puzzled. "Forgive my bluntness, Lord Pierce, but since we know they have an ambush, shouldn't we continue to send probes in to investigate? Otherwise, how will we know how many warships they have hidden inside? You should know very well that as a civilization, they couldn't possibly only have two Quake-Class Warships."

"That's right. So before our main fleet actually enters the battlefield, they will definitely concentrate on stopping our probes. In that case, the loss of our probes would be too great, and it would be a losing proposition." Pierce analyzed for a moment, and then said resolutely, "So I'm going to take a gamble! I'm going to go all in!"

"Fight?" A member of the Kuntai People staff said with displeasure and disbelief, as if he felt that a war between two civilizations should not be fought with something so uncertain.

"Yes," Pierce sighed, taking in the Kuntai People air. "We have no way out, Ou Sangsang! We're running low on fuel. We have to force their main force out for a decisive battle. If we can't force them out, we'll charge in and force them out. We can't fight like a normal war, step by step! This is our only chance of winning."

"What about betting?" the staff officer asked again.

"I bet they're like us, interstellar refugees who came to Aldebaran, so they also have a group of Residential Spaceship. As long as we know the location of their Residential Spaceship, we can force their main force out for a decisive battle!" Pierce's eyes sharpened.

"The same as us? How is that possible?" the staff officer said in disbelief.

"What a coincidence! That's why I suggested a bet." Pierce shook his hands, seemingly expressing his helplessness. "The probability is small, but it's possible. Don't forget that broadcast from the Milky Way Galaxy Axis Alliance!"