After the Emissary-class Cruiser was damaged and stopped responding, the Fire Caste commanders aboard the other ships immediately took charge of their respective vessels.
The fighters previously deployed in large numbers for ground attacks were ordered to retreat and join the chaotic battle.
Only then did the Planetary Defence Force troops on the surface, fighting the deployed T'au warriors, notice the chaos unfolding in space.
Although the Inquisition's Black Ship was only responsible for collecting tithes, that did not mean it was unarmed.
On the contrary, these dark-painted warships regularly fought alongside the Grey Knights and possessed formidable firepower of their own. Although they carried no Astra Militarum regiments capable of fighting on the ground, that did not mean they could not fight in space.
Seeing his escort cripple a new-model T'au vessel after merely deploying its fighters and firing a single shot made Inquisitor Hamm aboard the Black Ship eager to try his hand as well.
Everything was for the Emperor's glory.
The Inquisition's Black Ship gradually turned broadside, its flank-mounted Lance Batteries raining fire onto the T'au Guardian-class warships.
These vessels were the mainstay of the T'au navy, designed and built solely to engage and destroy enemies in fleet battles. Heavily armed and versatile, they carried diverse weapon arrays with firepower comparable to Imperial Cruisers.
Though inferior to Cruisers in size and construction, they could still deliver formidable combat performance and formed one of the core fighting forces of T'au fleets in major engagements.
As the Black Ship opened fire, the Guardian-class warships began returning fire.
Countless missiles streaked through space with dazzling energy trails, hurtling toward the Black Ship amid ion cannon and Railgun fire.
The concentrated firepower afforded by their numerical advantage nearly shattered the Inquisition Black Ship's Void Shield in an instant.
That immediately brought