Doomsday: I Build a Space Fleet

Chapter 301 Space Hunt

"Enemy warship detected. Radar system shut down. Optical observation system activated."

All the warships performed the same operation, at which point only a few deep-space satellites and a few radars for fixed weapons remained in scanning mode.

"Cleveland, gather enemy information and conduct weakness analysis."

As the enemy drew closer, Cleveland's intelligence became increasingly comprehensive. By the time the enemy warships were fully encircled, all enemy information had been collected, and a weakness analysis was underway.

However, the enemy information they gathered overturned some of the previous judgments made by Lorraine and the others.

Based on the information gathered, this warship appears to be more like a small port filled with ships capable of long-distance voyages. Its overall shape is extremely slender, with a triangular structure resembling a bridge in the middle of the hull. On the left and right sides of the same location, there is a pair of short wings, and below the two pairs of short wings, two flat, small warships are parked diagonally.

The enemy fleet consisted of five smaller, heavier warships at the bow and six shuttle-shaped warships fixed at the stern.

Its main body is pieced together from the wreckage of several ships and outposts. The overall shape is a slender cylinder with an uneven surface, about a hundred meters thick. The only thing that can be accurately identified is the main gun installed in the very center of the hull.

Looking at the data displayed on the screen, Lorraine's face twitched slightly.

"Commander, it looks like they're using the main gun of a large spaceport as the keel and primary weapon of the entire ship."

"I see. Instruct all ships to activate Plan B."

"Yes."

The cockpit fell silent again. Lorraine and Olivia leaned forward, their fingers resting on the control panel, waiting for the enemy to pass the target.

"10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1, 0!"

Lorraine and Olivia pressed the button simultaneously, and as the flagship's main gun fired, the battle plan was uploaded to their own data link.

In an instant, a light purple, spindle-shaped shield rose from the surface of the enemy ship, perfectly enveloping the slender warship.

Looking at the shape of the opponent's shield, Lorraine instantly realized the technological gap between the two sides.

"We can fight them. They're only using level 7 advanced technology; they're still a ways from level 8."

However, it was a bit of a pity for Lorraine, as 80% of the smart mines failed to penetrate the enemy's shields and instead remained within the predicted coverage area of ​​the enemy ship's circular shields.

The dense barrage of shells slammed into the surface of the enemy's shield, the violent explosions only causing a ripple in the shield.

But then, something terrifying happened to the silicon-based life on the ship: 42 smart mines, spewing invisible flames from their tails, slammed heavily into the enemy vessel.

Thanks to the extremely sophisticated camouflage system and near-zero energy fluctuations of these intelligent mines, these high-speed moving mines were only detected by the enemy's detection system when they were only 50 meters away from the enemy ships.

"Intercept! Full firepower on defense, quick!"

"Execute the separation procedure; all ships must separate immediately!"

Fortunately, these people have been roaming the stars as pirates for many years, and 80% of the anti-aircraft gun positions, as well as key positions, are manned. The moment the order is given, lasers of various colors and different types of ammunition burst forth.

Subsequently, more than 20 mines exploded in space, and the remaining mines, relying on the aftershocks of the explosions, approached the enemy ships even faster.

As the connection between each warship and the main body was severed, the remaining 18 torpedoes struck the enemy ship.

These mines are all fusion bombs. The outer shell and internal support structure are all made of semi-activated metallic hydrogen. The mine is 5 meters long and 0.8 meters in diameter. The yield of a single mine is 50 kilotons. When it explodes, it will also be accompanied by a certain degree of electromagnetic pulse.

Even if this type of fusion mine explodes within a range of 100 meters, it can still cause effective damage to enemy ships.

When the firelight subsided and the enemy ships reappeared in the optical observation of the other ships, the extent of damage to the enemy ships was not as great as expected.

After careful observation, the damage report of this attack also appeared on the flagship.

"The damage efficiency of triggered mines is 72.3%, and the damage efficiency of destroyed mines is 23.5%."

At this moment, alarms sounded throughout the enemy ships.

"The third, ninth, seventeenth, twenty-fourth, and thirty-fifth energy supply units were damaged, resulting in a 30% decrease in functional efficiency."

"Seventeen compartments have been damaged. The isolation measures have been activated, and the damage control team is on its way to repair the leaks. It is expected that the repair of all compartments will be completed in 6 hours and 12 minutes."

"The main engine is damaged, and the propulsion efficiency has dropped to 55.3%. High priority. It is expected to restore full functionality in 4 hours and 55 minutes."

"The structures of Zones 3, 6, 8, and 12 are damaged, and the main gun efficiency has decreased by 14%. This is the second highest priority, and it is expected to recover to 97% in 3 hours and 14 minutes."

"The sensor array is damaged, resulting in a 37.4% decrease in efficiency. This is a high priority issue, and it is expected to recover to 87% in 56 minutes."

"The ship's power supply lines are damaged, and the available energy output has dropped to 77.2%, the highest priority. It is expected to be restored to 85% in 1 hour and 12 minutes and to 95% in 2 hours and 47 minutes."

"Close-in weapon system (CIWS) damaged by 60%, secondary guns all damaged, high priority. CIWS is expected to recover to 75% in 1 hour and 35 seconds. The average repair time for each secondary gun is 1 hour and 22 minutes. The total estimated time is 11 hours."

"Heavy gunboats No. 1 through No. 5 were damaged to varying degrees, all of which were minor damage, resulting in a 5.4% decrease in overall combat efficiency."

"The outer armor layer of the No. 6 and No. 7 stealth bombers was severely damaged, the main propulsion was damaged, and the optical and camouflage systems are temporarily unusable. They are currently under repair."

"Gunboats 8 through 13 sustained moderate damage, resulting in a 13.2% decrease in overall combat effectiveness."

Amidst the angry shouts of the enemy ship's crew, the flagship and four escort ships revealed themselves from multiple directions, approaching the enemy ships under the cover of 60% fixed weapons.

Meanwhile, the stealth ship quietly followed behind the five ships, searching for a suitable angle of attack and preparing to release heavy fusion torpedoes when the opportunity arose.

When Lorraine discovered that the enemy heavy gunboats had left the main ship's shield range and begun combat,

The three twin-mounted 720mm electromagnetic railguns on the flagship then turned and attacked one of the better-positioned heavy gunboats.

The two upgraded frigates each chose a heavy gunboat as their target, not with the aim of quickly breaking through the shields, but to prevent the other's actions as much as possible.

The other two heavy frigates, while selecting a heavy gunboat as their target, turned their twin-mounted 600mm electromagnetic railguns and the flagship's three secondary guns to fire together.

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Meanwhile, the fixed weapons on the periphery of the battlefield were unleashing a barrage of fire on the enemy's main ship, suppressing the enemy's attack while restricting the movement of smaller ships within the enemy's shields.

Thanks to the transport ships that were constantly moving before the war, the battlefield was surrounded by a large number of standard ammunition supply boxes and external components of cooling systems. The human warships could fire wildly without restraint, without worrying about the overheating of the cannons or the lack of ammunition.

Despite the intense firepower, the enemy's main ship's shields remained unmoved, while five gunboats operating outside the main ship's shields were fleeing in disarray, attempting to escape back into the main ship's shield range.

Faced with these heavy gunboats on the verge of having their shields breached and attempting to escape, the five warships that were continuously maneuvering simultaneously activated all of their 2000mm caliber firing cells.

5艘战舰一共有40个2000毫米的发射单元，这些发射单元内装满了轻型飞弹，这些飞弹的弹径为1000毫米，而一个2000毫米的标準方形垂髮单元中可以安装4枚该型飞弹。

Flames erupted continuously from both sides of the ship as a total of 160 light missiles whistled into the space between the heavy gunboats and the main ship, constantly hindering the movement of the heavy gunboats.

Under such intense artillery fire, the enemy ships' actions changed.

This change was detected by Cleveland and subsequently uploaded to the flagship's combat information center. After extensive analysis, the change in enemy behavior was quickly confirmed.

"All units, feign weakness, slow down the rate of fire, and order the mech squadron and carrier-based aircraft to prepare for attack."

"The destroyer led the assault ship to maneuver to the other side, preparing to encircle three sides while leaving one open."

"yes!"

Amidst the shadows of numerous ships, a batch of ammunition supply boxes silently arrived near the vessels, were attached to the vertical launch ports, and began to be loaded with missiles.

This time, the missile configuration has changed.

The improved frigate has four of its six launch cells loaded with light missiles, while the other two are equipped with heavy anti-ship missiles.

Of the eight launch cells on the heavy frigate, six are loaded with lightweight missiles.

Of the flagship's 12 launch cells, only 8 are loaded with lightweight missiles.

Time passed slowly, the intensity of the battle gradually decreased, but the situation became more tense.

The enemy's main ship was large, but it was extremely difficult to maneuver without its subsidiary ships, and its large-caliber main guns were completely useless.

However, as the enemy's main ship underwent repairs, the firepower from the enemy main ship increased, and the six gunboats began to retaliate and attempted to operate outside the shield range of the main ship.

The five warships' maneuver window is getting smaller and smaller, and the shield recharge rate is starting to fall below the consumption rate.

However, all the commanders and soldiers remained fearless in their maneuvering against the enemy, demonstrating an extremely strong fighting will and the "fact" of their own relatively weak strength.

During this period, crises continued to arise, and the ambush fleet, which was on the move, tried to launch an attack ahead of schedule more than once, but the commanders of the five warships at the front line refused.

Two hours and 58 minutes after the start of the battle, the assault fleet had reached its designated position.

"Order: All personnel of the mech squadron and carrier-based aircraft squadron shall be deployed."

"Order: All personnel of the mech squadron and carrier-based aircraft squadron shall be deployed."

The catapult tracks of the flagship and two heavy escort ships slowly opened, releasing a total of 21 space combat mechs from the three ships. At the core of the fleet was Platinum's custom-made mech.

Meanwhile, the Bifang aerospace aircraft platform, located to the side and rear of the flagship's initial position and in a state of light stealth, opened its catapult hatch and launched all 48 carrier-based aircraft from the hangar.

While waiting for the arrival of the two carrier-based aircraft squadrons, Cleveland began to adjust the firing rate and targets of each ship according to the battlefield situation, ensuring that the five gunboats could quickly and simultaneously break through the shields when the main attacking fleet was firing at full power.

The 48 carrier-based aircraft shut down their main engines and used only their attitude control nozzles, relying almost entirely on the initial velocity provided by the electromagnetic catapults to fly.

After a 20-minute taxiing process, 48 ​​carrier-based aircraft arrived at their designated positions in stealth mode.

Upon receiving the signal, the main attacking fleet unleashed its full firepower, breaking through the shields of five enemy heavy gunboats in just two salvos from its main guns.

Seeing this, the enemy's six gunboats quickly began to advance, preparing to cover the retreat of their own heavy gunboats.

At the same time, all 28 vertical launch cells of the five ships in the main attack fleet were opened, launching all 112 light missiles loaded in the cells.

Twenty-one space combat mechs followed the missile and launched a rapid assault. This time, they were not equipped with specially designed heavy anti-ship weapons; instead, they were all equipped with dual-mode laser weapons, prototype plasma sabers, and huge high-frequency ship-cutting swords.

Faced with the dense intercepting fire of the enemy's main ship and gunboat group, only 2 of the 112 missiles hit the 5 heavy gunboats that had already been breached, but they successfully covered the operations of 21 air combat mechs and two carrier-based aircraft squadrons.

At this point, the enemy's six gunboats had already separated from the main ship and were only 3 kilometers away from rejoining the gunboat group that had already breached its shields.

However, a series of explosions occurred in front of the enemy gunboats. Due to the enemy gunboats' excessive speed and inability to turn in time, two of the six gunboats were hit by mines behind them.

Shield capacity reduced to 82.3%

Shield capacity reduced to 79.8%

At the same time, the enemy's main ship, which had regained some of its comprehensive combat capabilities, also began to turn.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland, with the help of its flagship's multi-spectral radar array and deep-space observation satellites in the surrounding area, keenly detected the unusual behavior of the enemy's main ship.

"Uneven high-energy fluctuations detected on the enemy ship's hull!"

"The enemy ships have begun to transform and their speed has increased, with the maximum speed expected to be 197.2% of the original speed."

"War Situation Center!"

"yes!"

Olivia and Lorraine were focused on their work and didn't pay much attention to the enemy warships.

One minute later, analysts at the combat information center submitted a report to the two men.

"The enemy's main gun charging rate has been greatly increased, its maximum range has been reduced, its rate of fire has been increased, and the damage per shot has been decreased."

At this moment, the forward section of the enemy's main ship, 232 meters long, began to separate. Analysts made supplementary comments after detecting newly uploaded information from Cleveland.

"An unidentified energy fluctuation was detected on the separated hull, suggesting that the enemy's separated hull has the function of enhancing energy gathering or strengthening energy sustainability."

"Order: Ambush fleet to begin attack, stealth reconnaissance ships to remain stationary."

As the enemy began to turn, the ambush fleet, led by two reconnaissance ships, was now within a 30- to 60-degree range to the left rear of the enemy flagship. The assault ships on the far side of the Earth could already see the main propulsion units at the stern of the enemy flagship.