When the warships launched these armor-piercing projectiles, they had already used conventional power engines to accelerate to 0.6 times the speed of light. The projectiles were even slightly faster than the spaceships. These alloy iron rods advanced, cutting through obstacles. The space-based artillery emplacements were highly intelligent weapon systems, primarily designed to defend against warships and large weapons. They were completely helpless against armor-piercing projectiles less than a meter long. They couldn't hit them, and they couldn't defend against them. Even capturing their signals was extremely difficult because the projectiles didn't have any signals at all. They were given extremely high initial speeds by the warships and electromagnetic rails. They had no propulsion systems, no communication systems, nothing at all. This rudimentary design actually increased their survivability.
Interstellar mines are even less effective against armor-piercing projectiles. These interstellar mines only have a simple friend-or-foe identification system, and their attack relies entirely on close-range explosions upon impact, achieving the same effect as armor-piercing projectiles, except one is offensive and the other is defensive.
Space-based artillery and interstellar mines are helpless against armor-piercing projectiles, but armor-piercing projectiles can deal with them. The armor-piercing projectiles are aimed directly into the interior of the Wind Star territory, and any obstruction in their path will be hit by the projectile stream. Once hit by the armor-piercing projectile, the high temperature of tens of thousands of degrees will immediately melt the outer shell of these weapons. The armor-piercing projectile goes straight to the inside, followed by the detonation of the high-energy explosives inside the armor-piercing projectile. These explosives, with a yield of only a little over 100 kilograms of TNT, cannot even damage the surface of a warship, but the explosion inside the space-based artillery and interstellar mines has a significant effect, and the chain reaction caused can render these things completely useless.
If these explosions could be seen from a distance, they would resemble a grand fireworks display. It would take armor-piercing shells a year and a half to completely clear this passage, meaning the warships would need to hold off the Wind Star Civilization fleet for a year and a half.
Because interstellar wars involve vast distances between opposing forces, large-scale battleship convoys and exchanges of fire are only possible with overwhelming power or utter madness. In this war, the Wind Master Wind Star warships are distributed across a three-dimensional region of one light-year, with distances between them ranging from several thousand kilometers to millions of kilometers.
Given this dispersed deployment, it's not surprising that a war could last for decades or even centuries. This is why the Wind Star Civilization's warships carry supplies for hundreds of years. Even if all of Wind Star's warships were to participate in the war, they could easily hold out for ten or eight years without the deployment of large-scale offensive weapons.
The most important thing now is to wait for news from Hu Yunhang so that the S378 Civilization can take the initiative to move forward. One part of the fleet can entangle the Wind Star fleet, while the other part can raid the Wind Star territory, thus relieving the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao. Hu Yunhang has been near his destination for more than two months and has not yet found the so-called S378 Civilization.
This gave Hu Yu a bad feeling. The Wind Master were already locked in combat with the Wind Star warships. Both sides were performing warp drive at irregular intervals, stirring up space and forcing more warships to rely on conventional engines for maneuvering. The warships weaved in and out of each other, waiting for an opportunity to attack. They were like moths drawn to a lamp, flitting back and forth, soaring freely in the starry sky.
Over 10 billion satellites were released in this region, providing warships with more accurate coordinates and collecting battlefield information. They were constantly destroyed and re-released. When the strength of the two sides' warships was similar, whoever had more satellites and whose satellites were more powerful would gain more initiative.
Old Li from within Wind Star sent another message: ten million of the 50 million Wind Star warships responsible for guarding the civilized territory had been dispatched, carrying ten million armor-piercing shells, seemingly to intercept them and prevent them from opening up the passage into the civilized territory.
If these armor-piercing shells are intercepted at this point, it will be even more difficult to penetrate the territory of Wind Star. The current battle is merely a prelude to waiting for the armor-piercing shells to open a passage. Fighting outside the defensive perimeter, the Wind Master have no advantage whatsoever. Once the passage is opened, the Wind Master will find an opportunity to break into the interior of the Wind Star Civilization. At that time, the Wind Star warships will certainly not dare to attack indiscriminately, while the Wind Master will not have such concerns, and their chances of victory will greatly increase.
" Old Li, it's time. Let's prepare for the rebellion."
"Yes, General."
Within the territory of the Wind Star Civilization, Feng Jun (Merchant Old Li ) found the Minister of Industry. The Minister of Military Affairs had already departed with the fleet, leaving only control of the fleet to the Minister of Industry. These warships were the Minister of Military Affairs' trusted confidants, whose loyalty was absolutely reliable.
"Sir, I just received news that Human Civilization has invaded our Wind Star Civilization."
"Master Feng is really well-informed."
"My lord, it's hard for me not to know. Everyone in Wind Star knows this now."
"Sigh, things happening around here can't be kept secret. Besides military personnel, there are also many maintenance workers at the defense perimeter. Their security clearance is very low, so the news might have come from them."
"That's not important, sir. Now our chance has come."
How so?
"With Human Civilization invading and most of the fleet deployed overseas, the headquarters is in complete chaos. If we go to see the President now, we can find a way to smuggle weapons in, and I also have a way to deal with the President's personal guard."
"Real?"
"Sir, look, what is this?"
Feng Jun took out a bone-made pneumatic firearm. This bone was from a wild animal on Wind Star; it was hollow, sturdy, and could withstand 20MPa of pressure. All parts of this pneumatic firearm, including the bullets, were made of this bone, allowing it to evade access control scanning. Normally, entering and leaving the area around the head of state would require a strict search, but now, with so many people entering and leaving the head of state's building, only some unfamiliar faces were searched. Even high-ranking guards like the Minister of Industry, who almost daily met with the head of state, dared not waste time searching them, as the ministers' affairs were extremely urgent and could not be delayed.
"Lord Feng, what is this?"
Firearms, as primitive weapons, have been abandoned by the Wind Star for many years. Only Human Civilization has not abandoned these primitive firearms to this day. For Human Civilization, firearms are more of a symbol, a kind of hope. They have little practical significance in interstellar combat. Even if firearms are needed, they are more powerful laser guns or electromagnetic guns. Electromagnetic guns, in particular, use explosive rounds of various yields that explode immediately upon hitting a target, causing serious damage. They are more like cannons than guns.
The light weapons used by the Wind Star People for daily guard duty are mostly laser weapons and particle beam weapons. Due to the differences in civilization, these laser weapons and particle beam weapons are vastly different from human firearms.
"Please look, sir."
Feng Jun (Merchant Old Li ) immediately began assembling the pneumatic gun. Its structure was very simple, consisting of only a bottle filled with compressed gas and a straight pipe. However, for ease of movement, the pneumatic gun was designed for continuous fire. The bullets were bone balls. A pressure of 20 MPa acting on a sphere less than 5 millimeters in diameter was equivalent to a 200-kilogram weight pressing on a chopstick. The force was not very great, but it was more than enough to deal with the Wind Star People.