The piercing air-raid sirens blared over Semirren City once again!
The city's residents filed into air-raid shelters in an orderly fashion, waiting for this wave of bombing to pass.
This had happened many times already. Ever since the war began, Semirren City had been bombed almost every day. However, Galactic Republic fighter formations had mostly carried out precision strikes against military targets—air-defense missile positions, armories, munitions factories, command centers, and the like—causing relatively little damage to civilian facilities.
The main reason was that most carrier-based aircraft deployed by the Galactic Republic fleet were V-19 Torrent light fighters and ARC-170 heavy multirole fighters, while Y-wing bombers were few in number. This was also one factor behind the gradual shift in the Republic fleet's combat doctrine.
One direct consequence was that before Knight-class Star Destroyers and Imperial-class Star Destroyers entered large-scale service, the Galactic Republic fleet's ability to attack planets was diminished. In this new generation of combat doctrine, that role was meant to be filled by Star Destroyers, whose firepower was several times greater than that of Hunter Class battlecruisers.
But this time, the situation was completely different from before!
Thousands of V-19 Torrent light fighters dove from high altitude like a swarm of locusts, carrying out a brutal bombardment of every military target throughout Semirren City! What was more, some fighters did not even spare the broad streets and plazas, raking them with blaster cannons and dropping aerial bombs!
In barely more than ten minutes, Semirren City was blanketed by billowing smoke and towering flames! Surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft shells of every caliber, and laser beams rose from the ground like rain falling upward! Yet the Republic fighter formations circling overhead showed no intention of leaving. After expending all their ammunition, they turned back, while a fresh wave of fighters had