"Second salvo ready!"
"Light spear charged to 98%! Macro-cannon ammunition loading complete!"
"Target locked on the Orks flagship!"
On the bridge of the Gemstone, the officers' voices trembled slightly.
Outside the window, the enormous green iron pot was still approaching at an alarming speed, and the molten metal dripping from the ship's hull looked like the saliva of a monster.
Dominic still held his glass, but he had long since lost interest in drinking any more.
The confidence and composure on his face had vanished, replaced by an almost stiff solemnity.
That salvo, powerful enough to destroy any capital ship, was swallowed whole by that strange cauldron.
This was beyond all his understanding of war.
But as a nobleman of Ventria and a rear admiral in the Imperium's navy, his inherent pride did not allow him to show the slightest fear.
Even if the opponent is an evil god from the Warp, he must stand here and fight to the very last moment.
"Fire!" Dominic's voice remained firm.
"Boom!"
Another devastating salvo.
The three Skyfire spears, like three giant blue dragons, tore through the universe once more and slammed into the Anna.
Following closely behind was a steel torrent composed of armor-piercing explosive shells weighing hundreds of tons.
Just like last time, the giant cauldron in the center of the Anna once again opened its abyss-like maw.
All attacks were once again swallowed up without any suspense.
The iron pot closed, its surface bulging and twisting violently, emitting a teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound.
This time, the iron pot was deformed even more severely, with several small cracks appearing in various places.
A dark green, viscous liquid seeped from the cracks and condensed into beads in space.
But it still didn't break.
"Prepare for the third salvo, keep firing, don't stop!" Dominic shouted.
He didn't believe that this broken pot could absorb attacks indefinitely.
Everything has its limits.
As long as we keep attacking, we'll eventually break through it.
Before long, the third salvo arrived as scheduled.
This time, the Gemstone even used its reserves of Melta Bomb and plasma torpedoes.
An even brighter light illuminated the dark universe.
The Anna opened its massive maw once more, swallowing all the attacks.
"Click~"
A crisp sound reached the bridge of the Anna.
A huge crack finally appeared on the edge of the iron pot.
The captain of the guard shouted excitedly, "It's injured!"
Everyone on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief, their tense facial expressions relaxing somewhat.
Even Dominic's tightly clenched lips curled up slightly.
Indeed, nothing is impenetrable by the Imperium's cannons.
But their relaxation lasted only a few seconds.
The huge crack was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
A dark green, viscous liquid gushed from the crack, quickly filling it completely.
Not only that, after swallowing three salvos, the Anna's size actually swelled up again.
The already enormous ship is now nearly half again as large as the Gemstone.
The green light on the ship's hull became even more dazzling, and the Waaagh! Energy it emitted became even more violent.
The atmosphere that had just begun to liven up on the bridge of the Gemstone froze again.
Everyone stared Daidai at the Anna on the screen, a chill running from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.
What kind of monster is this?
It can not only devour attacks, but also become stronger by devouring attacks?
Dominic's face turned somewhat pale.
His heart began to pound uncontrollably.
This was the first time he had ever experienced a feeling called "fear".
This is a human instinct when facing the unknown.
He participated in countless wars and faced numerous powerful enemies.
He once single-handedly killed Chaos Space Marine and led a fleet to break through the encirclement of other Orks warlords.
His confidence stemmed from his experience in numerous wars and his encounter with a wide array of enemies.
But faced with such an utterly illogical and indestructible monster, any courage or tactics seem utterly pale and powerless.
But he cannot back down.
He is Dominic Ventria.
His pride wouldn't allow him to back down.
"It only has one ship." Dominic took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"No matter how bizarre and blasphemous it may be, it's still just one ship."
"Moreover, it has become completely disconnected from the Orks ' main fleet."
"How difficult can a boarding force on a ship be, even if they're Orks?"
"As long as we hold the Gemstone, and wait until it's exhausted, that will be our victory."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a power that calmed people down.
The officers on the bridge gradually calmed down.
Yes, it only has one ship.
The Gemstone was one of the Imperium's most powerful battleships, with nearly 100,000 elite soldiers on board.
Even if the Orks were incredibly powerful, they couldn't possibly capture the Gemstone in a short time with just one ship's worth of troops.
" Third Escort Squadron, listen up!" Dominic shouted into the communicator.
"Move forward immediately and stop the Anna! Delay its advance at all costs!"
"All combat personnel on the Gemstone, listen up!"
"Close all valves and activate the highest level of defense protocol!"
"Prepare for a boarding action!"
"For the emperor!"
"For the emperor!!!"
The soldiers' thunderous shouts came through the communicator.
The Gemstone immediately went into battle alert.
All armed personnel began to shift towards the approaching Anna.
Countless soldiers took up arms and set up defensive lines in various passages and compartments.
The Tech-Priest prayed incessantly, wiping the weapons and armor with holy oil to soothe the restless Machine Spirit.
Ralfa drew his Power Sword from his waist, his gray eyes fixed on the Anna outside the porthole, his muscles tense, ready to engage in battle at any moment.
Meanwhile, the captain's cabin where Dominic was located was already heavily guarded.
Upon receiving the order, the Third Escort Squadron's five Sword-class Frigate immediately turned around and charged straight toward the Anna.
The Sword-class Frigate is the most common corvette in the Imperial Navy and also the most well-rounded small warship.
The five escort ships spread out in a fan shape, charging at high speed while unleashing a barrage of fire from their close-in weapon systems and laser cannons at the Anna.
Countless bullets and lasers struck the Anna's thick armor, sending up tiny sparks, but leaving not a single mark.
The Anna didn't even bother to open its massive jaws, ignoring the five escort ships' close-up attacks, and continued to approach the Gemstone.
"Increase the firepower! Give them a good beating!" the captain of the Third Escort Squadron roared.
He knew their mission was to buy time.
Even if it means ramming it with our own warships, we must stop this monster.
Five escort ships rushed to a position less than ten kilometers away from the Anna.
Just then, the Anna suddenly stopped accelerating.
The large cauldron in the center of its hull slowly opened once more.
This time, no light spears or cannonballs came.
That irresistible suction force erupted from the cauldron once again.
But this time the target wasn't the barrage of artillery fire, but those five escort ships!
"Warning! Warning! Extremely strong gravitational field detected!"
"Turn the engine up to maximum power!"
"We're being sucked in!"
"Damn it! The power system is fine, but we just can't shake off this suction!"
The captains of the five frigates simultaneously issued similar alarms.
They all ran their engines at maximum power.
The frigate spewed out dazzling blue flames from its stern, trying to break free from the suction force.
But it was all in vain.
That suction force was too strong.
Like countless invisible chains, they tightly bound the five escort ships, dragging them little by little towards that abyss-like maw.
"Damn it, then accelerate and crash into it!" the captain ordered desperately.
But it was too late.
As they were drawn into the cauldron, it began to close.
Then, a chilling scene unfolded.
The closed cauldron began to spin, squeeze, and crush wildly.
Green light seeped out from the cracks in the pot.
The energy bars of the five escort ships' Void Shield plummeted at an alarming rate under the wear and tear of that green light.
" Void Shield energy at 50%!"
Thirty percent!
"Ten percent!"
" Void Shield Overload!!!"
In just one minute, the Void Shield of all five escort ships collapsed.
Without the protection of the Void Shield, the frigate was like an oyster with its shell peeled off, revealing its soft interior.
The Anna was like an impatient gourmand, not caring about anything else, just devouring this rare delicacy.
"Click, click~"
Only the crisp, cracking sound of metal popping echoed inside the large pot.