Coping

Without the advantage of protection, careful planning of energy allocation is essential in close-quarters combat.

"All ships, start engines, maintain formation, turn bows 50 degrees to port front! Tell each ship to ensure power supply to the main guns! Then prioritize powering the engine systems, and use the remaining power to fire from the secondary guns!"

The energy beam was not very effective against the Duoqi warship, perhaps because the attack was launched at the bow, where there was Repulsion Field and exceptionally thick Reactive Armor made of high-energy-resistance material.

Among the civilizations that the Duoqi Civilization encountered, various Energy Cannon were a relatively common form of attack. While most civilizations might incorporate Electromagnetic Cannon into their planetary defense systems, they were rarely deployed on warships. This was because the projectiles from these cannons would be a significant burden for long-range cruise fleets.

For example, Swarm of tens of thousands of Ancient Class Zerg can unleash a salvo of shells weighing tens of thousands of tons. Several salvos could destroy a warship. Putting aside the value of these projectiles, the very question of how to quickly replenish them is a major problem. Perhaps only Creep Swarm with a supply method like creep can withstand such consumption.

Therefore, when designing the Duoqi Race warships, the Reactive Armor installed was naturally primarily for protection against energy attacks.

"Your Highness, the flagship has sustained 11% damage. The Reactive Armor at the bow is severely damaged, with Reactive Armor number three and five being penetrated. Several compartments behind it are also damaged, and 31 crew members have been sucked out of the ship and are currently undergoing emergency rescue. However, the overall structure is intact, and the damaged compartments have been sealed off." As Dialo's Adjutant, Aslite calmly organized the information she received and reported it to Dialo.

"Have the Qishaya focus on covering the damaged parts of the flagship! Without protective suits, those crew members are probably doomed. Send a few Drone to check, so as not to affect the fleet's operations later."

"Receive!"

"How many warships did we just lose? How many warships couldn't keep up with the fleet's movements?" Dialo rubbed his head. At such close range, with the energy weapons at maximum power, it was equivalent to taking full damage; the losses must have been quite severe.

"Your Highness, the statistics are in. In that last attack, we lost a total of thirty-four warships, and thirteen were severely damaged and rendered inoperable."

The damage was much less than expected, and Dialo quickly figured out part of the reason after a moment's thought.

The fleet's overall angle was such that the bows of the ships were facing the direction of the attack, while the engines were mainly concentrated at the rear of the ships. If the energy beam hit the main engine, it would essentially penetrate the entire ship, which is why the number of ships damaged was greater than the number of ships rendered inoperable.

Those warships that have lost their operational capability are probably not far from exploding, and there is little point in rescuing them.

Even so, Dialo had previously estimated that the losses under that level of firepower would likely exceed a hundred warships. However, the actual losses were less than half of his estimate, indicating that the energy weapons of the Swarm were not as powerful as he had imagined.

This is good news.

"Your Highness, charging complete!" Aslite suddenly called out from the side.

"Fire!"

The Duoqi Fleet's cannons roared, and the second wave of attacks had already been launched, but the Swarm remained silent.

"It seems the Zerg are far less efficient than us at weapon charging, which is another piece of good news." Dialo raced as he silently calculated.

"Aslite, use the Reactive Armor on our right front side to withstand the second wave of Zerg attacks. Give those damaged warships five minutes to evacuate. If they're not on board by then, well, good luck to them!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

On the other hand, regarding the Swarm...

After being attacked a second time.

"How much longer will it take for our weapons to recharge?" Sarah's tone was completely emotionless. This wasn't a real-time strategy simulation game with a goofy Overlord; she quickly adjusted her mindset.

"Your Majesty, the fastest it will take is another minute."

Sarah nodded. "Record all the data on the energy weapons; the Scientific Research Department needs this information."

Please rest assured.

This is the first time the energy weapon has been shown in public. Previously, it had been kept hidden and only tested on a small scale in an underground experimental field. However, the experimental range and other aspects there could not compare to actual combat.

This is the first time that we've fired at a target hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, so some flaws are inevitable. Furthermore, the radar Fire Control System that it's paired with has always been connected to Electromagnetic Cannon, which has led to some discrepancies in aiming calculations. The Energy Cannon's related systems also require a lot of data support.

This is also why the Duoqi Fleet suffered far less damage than expected after enduring a round of fire.

However, now that the new equipment has been revealed, and each attack generates a large amount of data that is recorded, it is believed that with the Swarm's research reserves, the Energy Cannon system will have a complete supporting system to complement it in the next war.

"Your Majesty, some of the enemy's warships have been damaged, and their personnel were unable to evacuate in time and were sucked out of the ship. These are some video and images we have captured," a Blade reported.

"What is this thing? How can it be so ugly!" Sarah's serious face twitched slightly. Bombarded by Rowan's aesthetic sense, Sarah's aesthetic sense had changed from the Rat-folk aesthetic of fur, beard, and long tail to exoskeleton armor and long legs.

Although there are many strange insects and creatures in the Swarm, none of them are humanoid. The Riken Race we encountered before, apart from their skin color being slightly different from the Overlord's aesthetic standards, were otherwise quite compatible.

But this new race was a bit too much; its cracked red skin and three eyes merging into a line made her somewhat defensive.

I quickly sent some pictures and videos to the Overlord to share, then forcibly adjusted my mindset and looked seriously back at the battlefield.

If Sarah's inner monologue were known to Dialo and Aslite, who consider themselves handsome and beautiful, it might have a good mocking effect, leading to some mistakes in their command.

Meanwhile, another side was also staring at each other in bewilderment.

They were the Riken, Riken Race munching on sunflower seeds and drinks while watching the show. When the Zerg's Electromagnetic Cannon was disabled, they all thought the Zerg were doomed. But the Swarm's sudden display of Energy Cannon almost blinded them. The surging energy beams and the range far exceeding their own Energy Cannon severely damaged their confidence.

If the Swarm had revealed this tactic earlier, they wouldn't have lasted this long. It turns out that all along, they were just playing with each other. From the very beginning, the two sides were not on the same level, and the Zerg swarm didn't even have the ability to force them to use their full strength. They couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

Thank you, Shanyang, for the 999 book coins.