Legacy of the Void Fleet

Chapter 420: Ch

"No, absolutely not!" one of them quickly added. "If the Indigo-class dreadnoughts rush ahead, wouldn’t that mean you yourself would be leading the charge as well?"

"That will not be happening, Prince!"

"Silence, all of you!" Kronos spoke as he looked at his subordinates, frustration written all over his face. "Who is the commander of this operation, huh? Is it you or me? Tell me," he asked.

The Vice Admiral replied, feeling troubled, "It is you, my lord. Obviously, it is you."

Kronos nodded his head and leaned over his seat before asking, "So why are you not following my command? And even doing things like that? Tell me, Admiral, what are you here for? Are you not a soldier at your base?"

"Th-that I am!" the Admiral replied with certainty while frowning his brows.

"Then what is the duty of a soldier? Is it not to obey the orders of their superior? Or to brush them off like you, huh?"

"Silence, all of you!" Kronos spoke as he looked at his subordinates, frustration written all over his face. "Who is the commander of this operation, huh? Is it you or me? Tell me," he asked.

The Vice Admiral replied, feeling troubled, "It is you, my lord. Obviously, it is you."

Kronos nodded his head and leaned over his seat before asking, "So why are you not following my command? And even doing things like that? Tell me, Admiral, what are you here for? Are you not a soldier at your base?"

"Th-that I am!" the Admiral replied with certainty while frowning his brows.

"Then what is the duty of a soldier? Is it not to obey the orders of their superior? Or to brush them off like you, huh?"

The Admiral was stunned, the Vice Admiral was stunned, and the others were stunned as well.

"No, no, my prince! I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that you are far too important, and nothing should happen to you! I wasn’t disobeying the order... it’s just my worry for your safety..." the Admiral hurriedly rejected the accusation and stated what he had meant from the start.

Of course, Kronos also knew about his intentions, but this was way too far even for him. He was not a kid, and he certainly couldn’t and wouldn’t stay behind the battle lines anywhere.

After all, he too was a proud member of this grand race and belonged to the imperial bloodline as well. A bloodline that had brought their race this far with their grit, and he certainly wanted to continue this tread and not fall behind.

Above all, he had faith in the ship he was setting up, that it would withstand whatever attack fell upon it, at least for this battle.

And above and beyond that, he had a role to fulfill given by his grandfather, a person he didn’t want to disappoint. A person he had to prove himself before, that he had what it took to become something more than just a prince.

Also, this was his chance to truly create a great merit for the race and increase his prestige, so why in hell would he sit back when he knew he could win this battle while staying at the front?

Not to mention, it was far cooler to stay at the front and command.

"Enough, Admiral! I get your intentions, but keep them to yourself from now on! I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I neither have the calm for that, nor do we have the time for it.

Focus on what matters and not this. Don’t forget, at the end of the day, I am also a member of the Asura race, and battle is a sacred duty for every member of our race. Participation is a must!"

"Anyway, we are about to exit hyperspace and re-enter real space."

Kronos, not wanting to speak any further, looked from the corner of his eyes toward the holographic screen near him, which showed three minutes before they exited hyperspace.

The Admiral and the others could only sigh and accept the order in defeat, and calm soon returned to the command bridge.

And just like that, three minutes passed.

The fleet of one thousand and five hundred ships exited hyperspace and found themselves just around the corner of a planet not far away. It was the size of Saturn and was also a habitable, or rather potentially habitable, world.

For now, however, it was completely barren, with dark black and brown soil spread all over its surface and gigantic storms moving around the deserted planet.

The fleet quickly settled into a perfect formation. This time, Kronos took charge himself and began separating the fleet into three segments... no, four segments.

The first segment was the vanguard, which contained Kronos himself in his flagship, as well as the other two Indigo-class dreadnoughts alongside various Tier 3 battleships, battlecruisers, battle carriers, and destroyer-class ships, bringing the total ship count close to 350. Mixed among them were other peak Tier 2 destroyer-class vessels as well.

Following the vanguard, on both flanks, were smaller sub-fleets.

On the port side was a smaller sub-fleet made entirely of peak Tier 2 ships, numbering exactly 400, along with a peak Tier 2 battle fortress taking the lead charge.

The same formation existed on the starboard side, with the exact same number of ships and specifications.

Meanwhile, at the back of the fleet remained another battle fortress, followed by 300 peak Tier 2 ships, which stayed at a greater distance, though not too far away from the vanguard and its flanks.

The fleet quickly settled into a perfect formation. This time, Kronos took charge himself and began separating the fleet into three segments... no, four segments.

The first segment was the vanguard, which contained Kronos himself in his flagship, as well as the other two Indigo-class dreadnoughts alongside various Tier 3 battleships, battlecruisers, battle carriers, and destroyer-class ships, bringing the total ship count close to 350. Mixed among them were other peak Tier 2 destroyer-class vessels as well.

Following the vanguard, on both flanks, were smaller sub-fleets.

On the port side was a smaller sub-fleet made entirely of peak Tier 2 ships, numbering exactly 400, along with a peak Tier 2 battle fortress taking the lead charge.

The same formation existed on the starboard side, with the exact same number of ships and specifications.

Meanwhile, at the back of the fleet remained another battle fortress, followed by 300 peak Tier 2 ships, which stayed at a greater distance, though not too far away from the vanguard and its flanks.

Slowly, the fleet closed the distance in silence.

Meanwhile, the Orc fleet remained completely unaware of it. They were all currently in a relaxed state, chilling and doing random things, not worried in the slightest about being attacked or suffering losses.

During this time, the fleet rapidly closed in toward the Orc forces until less than a hundred thousand kilometers remained between the two fleets.

"Commander! The Orc fleet is now within our line of coverage and fire!" suddenly an officer shouted across the command bridge of the flagship Indigo.

"Good." Hearing this, a surge of excitement boomed inside Kronos, along with a slight trace of fear in his heart, though it was quickly overtaken by the excitement rising within his blood.

"Lock onto their battle fortress with the three Indigo-class dreadnoughts and thirty Tier 3 destroyers, supported by the four battleships and eight battlecruisers.

Following that, lock onto the other high-value targets with the rest of the Tier 3 ships. Have the flanks do the same.

And in ten seconds from now, I want every weapon system fired!"

"Yes, Commander!" multiple officers replied at once.

Outside the ships, the already glowing enormous main weapon systems, as well as the secondary systems of the Indigo-class ships and the other Tier 3 vessels, began shining with even greater intensity. Even the Tier 2 ships within the vanguard sub-fleet, along with all the Tier 2 ships on both flanks, started glowing at another level of power.

For a moment, it almost seemed as if even the space around them was trembling, though it was merely an illusion caused by the overwhelming energy gathering across the fleet.

"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0... FIRRRRRRREEEEEE!" Kronos shouted at the top of his lungs excitedly.

And just like that, with a thunderous BOOOOMMMM, thousands upon thousands of weapons fired at once.

Different kinds of projectiles rushed toward the Orc fleet carrying destructive momentum. Be it kinetic shells, intense plasma bolts, pulses of energy, or the destructive red-colored lances of the Crust Breaker Cannons, everything surged forward like a tide of annihilation.

And like flashes of light, perhaps even faster, all the attacks directly struck the unprepared Orc fleet first, slamming straight onto their unprotected hulls.

Explosions instantly rose around more than 2,500 ships and the five battle fortresses, whose shields were fortunately active. But under the intense impacts of the Crust Breaker Cannon’s red lances, the shields continuously lost their integrity before finally collapsing altogether.