The Battle of the Sigma Sea

Like swords clashing, the Hyperion and the Delta Squadron flagship, the Nemesis, narrowly missed each other on their starboard sides, all of their twin laser cannons, plasma cannons, and J23 Ship-to-Ship Missile Launcher firing simultaneously.

Between the two towering steel warships, tongues of fire powerful enough to level a city crisscrossed. The Delta Squadron flagship's steel armor was already riddled with wounds, from which bright red plasma streams and sparks continuously spewed out. Scorched and broken steel fragments, as well as the warship's electrical components and instrument panels near the hatches, were sucked into outer space.

The two colossal steel warships, the most unparalleled among the Terrans, continued to collide, their dazzling light repeatedly illuminating the bridge of the Hyperion where Augustus stood.

The Hyperion rocked as if it were a ship in a raging storm, the upper deck of the bridge and the main deck were impacted, and a terrible, sharp wail came from the steel structure that collided with the Nemesis. Those who were not in the command chair and acceleration seat were thrown about, some with broken heads.

From this vantage point, Augustus could clearly see the formidable hull of the Nemesis and the yellow smiley face painted on it, Hyperion's roaring broadside guns were blasting holes and bullet wounds larger than a person into its orange-grey surface.

Delta Squadron's flagship had clearly been severely damaged by the powerful ramming of the Hyperion; its sturdy steel armor had crumbled off like charred scales.

"Tychus, you can set off once you're ready." Augustus braced his hands on the railing next to the tactical control console to avoid falling over from the continuous collisions and shocks between the two ships.

"I've been waiting impatiently for this for ages, lads. Draw your guns, get ready to board, and give Delta Squadron a good kick in the ass. Back in the day, they chased us like dogs in Mar-a- Sara and Antiga."

Tychus Finley stood on a launch bay of the Hyperion, a cigar still dangling from his lips, with a row of boarding ships behind him.

These boarding ships were built by the Kel-Morian Combine during the Guild Wars. The bow of the boarding ships has a multi-layered foam layer and shock-absorbing structure to cushion impacts. They are equipped with magnetic attachment devices and laser melting and cutting guns to forcefully break through the ship's armor.

These ships were originally developed by the Kel-Morian Combine Mining Guild to deploy exploration vessels to mineral-rich asteroids to determine their mineral reserves. As standard, the Kel-Morian ships were inexpensive to build and had simple, reliable systems; however, their thin armor was certainly no match for the firepower of battlecruisers.

Generally speaking, even during Guild Wars, boarding ships piloted by fanatical Kel-Morian Combine Guild Guards have an extremely difficult time getting close to Confederacy warships, even when their own Fleets has an overwhelming firepower advantage. In the best-case scenario, no more than one-third of the Kel-Morian ships can successfully approach enemy ships.

Behind Tychus, elite Revolutionary Army soldiers with War Pigs insignia on their Power Armor and Nova Squadron special operations troops in bright purple armor stood ready for action. Some of the boarding ships also carried Ghost operative, engineers, and pilots, whose mission was to take full control of the entire Nemesis after the boarding battle.

As the flagship of a long-established Confederacy Navy squadron, the Nemesis outperformed other Confederacy warships built during the same period in all aspects.

The commander of Delta Squadron was also directing the entire Fleets from the bridge of the Nemesis. If he hadn't died in the first ramming, capturing him would have been enough to demoralize the Confederacy Fleets.

"Navigator, thrusters at half speed, maintain distance from the Nemesis," Augustus ordered.

"Shield fully charged." His command was quickly relayed.

"The defensive shields are fully charged," a bridge crew member replied.

"Continue," Augustus said firmly, "Continue to increase the shield's energy output."

"Yes, sir."

Under Augustus's command, the Hyperion's shield energy continued to surge, and the temperature inside the ship also increased. Energy released from the Solar Core in the engine room flowed through energy pipes deeply embedded in the Hyperion's decks, and the shield covering its surface shone brighter and brighter.

This means that the Hyperion's energy transmission system is operating at double the overload capacity. If it were using its original old pipes instead of the Protoss energy transport circuits and pipelines re-laid by the Protoss Khalai engineer Karax, many of the warship's systems would have been melted by this terrifying energy.

"Deploy the shields." When the progress bar on the main screen stopped at 1000%, Augustus could feel that the warship was already overburdened.

The Solar Core in the engine room, which had once powered the Ark of Nassin's Memory, emitted a dazzling flash, Hyperion was almost completely covered in golden light, with an unprecedented peak energy output far exceeding that of any Terrans engine.

Any Confederacy fighter that attempted to approach the Hyperion's shields was instantly melted like a candle in a fire; even the Nemesis's hull was scorched black.

"Deploy the shields!" a technician shouted as he typed the command into the control panel.

Like the might of the sun god.

The Hyperion's shields suddenly expanded, enveloping the Nemesis like a golden bubble that had suddenly inflated.

In an instant, the shield, composed of the actual energy of the Solar Core, spread out like wings of light, and the shockwave that swept across the Nemesis continued to spread, quickly affecting multiple Confederacy warships in the vicinity, creating a golden ripple in the universe.

The expanding shield transformed into a shockwave of energy that swept across the surrounding Confederacy fighters, turning them into burning flames and overflowing electricity.

Two Delta Squadron warships, which were on their way to support the flagship, were the first to be hit. Being older warships, they were still using steel armor instead of Defensive Matrix to protect themselves. The spreading energy shockwave was like a whip that struck their hulls hard, and violent explosions immediately spread across their surfaces.

The Delta Squadron flagship, the Nemesis, closest to the Hyperion, had its armor scorched black in an instant, peeling off its hull like charred scales. All weapon systems went silent at that moment, and explosions and flames filled the ship, the flowing flames resembling splattered blood.

"Tychus," Augustus called out.

"Heh, just you wait and see. When it comes to fighting, the Confederacy will have to take a backseat." Tychus lit his cigar, closed his mask, and walked toward one of the boarding ships.

Large numbers of the Revolutionary Army boarded ships and sailed out of the Hyperion's docking port, heading towards the Nemesis's docking port and spaceship berths. The defensive facilities of these compartments were rendered useless by the Hyperion's attack.

"Full speed ahead, shake Nemesis!" Augustus commanded as hundreds of boarding ships full of the Revolutionary Army rushed toward the battered Nemesis.

"We still have an entire Terran Confederacy Fleets to deal with."

With Augustus's command, the Hyperion accelerated and sailed away from the Nemesis.

As Augustus watched the Nemesis speed away, he saw several Confederacy Navy soldiers emerge from a crack in the ship's hull, like grains of sand expelled by oysters. Some of them were clearly still alive, while the rest were corpses and remains blown to dust in the explosion.

If the Hyperion continues its attack on the warship, it will inevitably meet its doom.

Accelerating away from the Nemesis, the Hyperion once again plunged into the battlefield interwoven with bright orange bullets, only to fall into the dense firepower of more than twelve Confederacy battlecruisers.

In this epic encounter, the Hyperion faced the firepower of half the Confederacy Fleets as it continued to penetrate their lines. Learning from the experience of the Nemesis, even though the remaining Confederacy warships could have completely surrounded the Hyperion, most of the captains tacitly chose to yield, making way for it to continue its advance.

In reality, this might be one of the few opportunities they had to destroy the Hyperion, as its shields had become noticeably dim.

The Hyperion's breakthrough into the center of the Confederacy Fleets threw the enemy formation into chaos. With the loss of more than ten capital ships and its flagship severely damaged, the Confederacy Fleets is now in retreat.

This was the first time the revamped Hyperion had appeared before the Confederacy Fleets, and the Confederacy Navy still couldn't figure out what changes had taken place on the warship.

"What kind of human weapon could possibly penetrate the Hyperion's shields? Perhaps only Earth's native technology could do it." Arcturus was astonished by the incredible changes the Hyperion had undergone. He knew that initially, this warship was just an ordinary Confederacy Behemoth-class Battlecruiser had crashed in Umojan territory due to a navigation system malfunction.

"This is nothing short of a Pyrrhic victory," Augustus said, shaking his head. "The Hyperion's energy comes from the Protoss Ark's Solar Core. Compared to that, our warship isn't even as big as its orbital cannon. Using such a powerful energy source is constantly and rapidly depleting the lifespan of its various systems. After every battle, it has to undergo a complete overhaul."

"If I could still ask the Protoss engineers to help me with the repairs, I would never have used this tactic," he said. "I'll have to avoid Swann for a while, or he'll definitely jump up and slap me in the face."

"Even considering this, it would still take three months to completely replace all the systems on the Hyperion, which are overloaded."

At this moment, the Hyperion was encountering three Confederacy warships head-on. The other side was clearly coming with great force, intending to drive the Hyperion into a corner. Orange-red laser barrages bombarded the golden shield, and ripples swept past the porthole next to Augustus like waves on the surface of water.

The Hyperion's main guns were fully charged once more, and with a single shot, they wiped out a quarter of the midsection of a Beta Squadron battlecruiser. The magnificent steel behemoth was quickly broken in half, and thousands of Confederacy Navy soldiers were burned to ashes.

Even from Augustus's perspective, the Hyperion, equipped with the Ark's core, was quite powerful. At least among warships of similar tonnage and class, the Hyperion was virtually invincible.

Meanwhile, the remaining Revolutionary Army Fleets, under the ever-calm and experienced command of General Horace Warfield, advanced steadily without being exposed to the Confederacy Fleets's firepower in its eagerness to support the Hyperion.

Warfield led his echelon to surround seven Confederacy warships and dispatched a large number of boarding ships to seize the Confederacy warships that were damaged and unable to move. After losing more than half of its forces, the Confederacy Fleets, numb from the heavy blows, was doomed. Unless it received support from other Fleets, most of them would be lost in the Sigmaris System.

Now only less than twenty-two Confederacy warships, damaged to varying degrees, remain to maintain the front. It is undeniable that their hasty campaign in Sigma Rys was a strategic blunder from the very beginning. The Fleets's commander clearly did not understand the strength of the Revolutionary Army Fleets and mistakenly regarded them as the hastily assembled rebel Fleets from four years ago.

"You know, Arcturus, this method isn't a long-term solution. I must find a new warship for this Solar Core as soon as possible." Augustus stood on the bridge, watching the Confederacy warship, which had been cut in half by the Hyperion's main gun, still burning fiercely at the broken end, with countless fragments of crew and equipment being sucked out.

"I've seen the Solar Core —even building a warship twice the size of the Hyperion couldn't contain it." Arcturus still remembered the scene when he first saw the Solar Core; he was indeed almost speechless with astonishment.

Arcturus's understanding of the Protoss was very limited. He had fully estimated the height of the Protoss civilization, but ultimately found himself to be nothing more than a frog in a well.

"All the engineers' overestimations of the Sun's star have proven to be far from sufficient; when it comes to the ability to build warships, we are no match for the Protoss," Arcturus said.

"Fortunately, you've turned this most terrifying enemy into a friend, but we must never let our guard down against a group of aliens. They are not human; those who are not of our kind are bound to have different intentions."

"I know of a type of ship that can carry the energy of the Solar Core." Augustus lay on the control panel, staring at the Confederacy warships disappearing one after another on the radar scan map. His own Fleets was launching a full-scale attack, and the Confederacy Fleets, which found its equipment to be inferior to that of a group of rebels, was still in retreat.

"Protoss? If they had warships like that, why would they give them to you?" Arcturus said.

Augustus, "The Protoss will help me build a new capital ship, and might even give me a Protoss warship outright, but that doesn't mean they'll always help me like that."

"Human relationships are finite. Unconditional demands will make everything look like a naked exchange of interests, and even saints are not immune to this," he said.

"Besides the Protoss, I know of another type: the Xel'Naga warships."

"That will be hard to find." Arcturus shook his head.

"This is merely a temporary measure." Augustus turned to look at Kerrigan beside him.

"Attempt to establish communication with the flagship of Sigma Squadron; I'll give them a chance to surrender."

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