Although they were unsure of the mutant force's exact location, a rough coordinate was enough for the Heart of Steel, whose support gun bays had been fully refitted with 155mm artillery.
The instant Chu Guang gave the order, an alarm warning everyone to brace for the shockwave blared across the airship's deck, and the entire crew sprang into action.
The hydraulic mount of the autoloader in the main gun bay rose, pushing an orange-yellow 400mm rocket-assisted shell into the barrel.
At that moment, on the deck.
The enormous short-barreled cannon clicked and clacked as it slowly turned under the pull of its motors, aiming far to the west of Pinecone Farm.
The automated fire-control system was entirely under Xiao Qi's control.
Based on the rocket-assisted shell's propellant load, the quantum computer had calculated every possible trajectory under varying air densities, wind speeds, and humidity levels.
The players all stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at the towering cannon, their eyes full of anticipation.
As though answering that anticipation, three seconds after the alarm stopped, a dragon-sized tongue of fire erupted from the massive barrel.
The expanding blast wave and smoke swept across the hundreds-of-meters-long steel deck before being thrown into the sky by the turbulent airflow. The flash of white light was almost blinding.
Although the Heart of Steel had participated in many battles, not every player had truly witnessed this industrial behemoth raise its head and roar.
At the sight of that world-ending power, many newcomers boarding the airship for the first time let out exaggerated cheers, while some excitedly whistled.
"Awesome!"
"You call that a shell?! That's a goddamn cannon-launched missile!"
"The shockwave from that shot is insane!"
Seeing those clueless newbies, Guigui planted her hands on her hips and teased them with the smug air