Volume 16 Tower of Babel Chapter 972: Silent March
Late at night, 11:30, Mukach Fortress.
The "Skadi" set sail silently, and the 760-meter-long ship slowly accelerated and crossed the night sky.
There was no impassioned oath-taking rally, nor was there a soul-stirring oath-taking rally. Just like a routine cruising mission, the Orca-class heavy cruiser "Skadi" sailed out of its berth. The red and green navigation lights on both sides and the tail of the ship flashed several times and then went out. The optical camouflage armor on the outside of the battleship was activated, and the entire battleship merged into the night sky in just a few seconds.
Alpha Centauri , or the Earth that wandered into this galaxy, originally had no satellite - the moon was blown up by humans when the Earth left the solar system due to gravitational interference, and one of the "double moons" of Alpha Centauri is an asteroid that was captured by the Earth's gravity 60,000 years ago.
But the humans of the Alpha civilization discovered that the mass of this asteroid was much larger than the moon of the past - the moon's gravity only caused tides, but under the gravity of this asteroid, tsunamis occurred frequently on Alpha, and coastal areas were uninhabitable and unproductive all year round.
In order to eliminate this "negative impact", the Alpha civilization collected a large amount of resources in this galaxy and created another "artificial moon" based on the mass, density and volume of this asteroid. In this dual-satellite system, the gravity of the two "moons" restrained each other, forming a delicate balance.
In the following tens of thousands of years, the Alpha civilization continued to transform the Twin Moons, turning them into two super fortresses with powerful firepower... However, after the Alpha civilization disappeared due to the "paradox", the security system of the Twin Moons was locked. Not only was it impossible for anyone to enter, but even if they got a little close, they would be attacked violently.
In the "Alpha Civilization Relics List" compiled by the Relic Hunters Association, there is a relic of the "outside" level - the zero-level SSS-level relic "Double Moon".
So far, no one has successfully landed on Shuangyue... Ark once sent a fleet to try to force a landing on Shuangyue, but after triggering Shuangyue's automatic defense mechanism, the fleet lost sixteen warships including the flagship in just thirty seconds and had to abandon the battle plan.
In the following decades, the Ark made countless attempts, but none of them were successful.
Major General Alexander looked up at the dome of the bridge. The bridge of the Skadi was fully enclosed, buried deep in the middle of the ship in the safest place. However, the dome, walls and floor of the bridge were all made up of real-life screens, which could project images captured by the cameras outside the warship. After turning on the panoramic special effects, people in the bridge would even have the illusion that they were floating in the air.
There is no trace of the double moons on Alpha because the thick radiation clouds block everything - it is difficult to see the sun even during the day, let alone the moon which shines by reflecting sunlight.
The night on Alpha is very dark. There is no moon or stars. The sky is like a thick black velvet curtain, wrapping the entire planet and not letting in a single ray of light.
The engine power of the "Skadi" is hundreds of times greater than the original one it replaced, but the noise is so low that it is almost negligible. The more than 700-meter-long behemoth is as quiet as a giant whale diving into the deep sea. Looking up from the ground, no trace of it can be found at all.
The Mukach base is not very close to the Ark, but for an aircraft carrier, it is only a few hours' flight away.
The orderly in full combat uniform had just taken away the empty coffee cup when the huge outline of the Ark appeared on the horizon. The dark giant looked like a mountain range stretching across the plains... but at this moment, Alexander felt that it was more like a giant beast lurking in the darkness.
"Forward three, target, the south side of the Ark." Major General Alexander said in a deep voice, "All detection units should keep an eye on the ground movements, and all carrier-based aircraft teams should be ready to attack at any time. The main guns and energy shields should enter the pre-charging state. "
According to reports from drones and reconnaissance aircraft, the fleshy fungal blankets covering the surface of the Ark have the ability to mutate into anti-aircraft weapons. After detecting the approach of air units, they will condense an organ with a structure similar to a crossbow. This organ uses bones as bow arms and tough tendons as bowstrings. The range can reach three kilometers, and the power can easily penetrate the armor of a fighter jet.
As for the detection radius, it is determined by the energy fluctuations emitted by the target. For example, if the target is a civilian drone powered by the lowest level energy crystal, with a flight altitude of no more than 100 meters and a flight time of dozens of minutes, it will be discovered only after it is within one kilometer of the fleshy fungus blanket. But if the target is a heavy cruiser, it will be locked by the anti-aircraft weapons on the fleshy fungus blanket even if it is more than ten kilometers away.
For the fleshy fungal blanket, the energy crystals that release energy are like lights that light up in the dark night. Civilian drones can only be regarded as dim fireflies at best, while the "Skadi" heavy cruiser can definitely be regarded as having the brightness of a searchlight.
"They have already discovered us, but we have not yet entered their range." Major General Alexander said, "Turn off all camouflage methods and save energy. Maximum output power of energy shield and maximum output power of main power reactor energy converter. Forward four, charge!"
The "Skadi", with its optical camouflage armor turned off, suddenly appeared in the air. The four thrusters at the stern of the ship simultaneously ejected blue tail flames hundreds of meters long, pushing the battleship to accelerate suddenly and rush towards the Ark in the distance!
Major General Alexander knew very well that the air defense of those fleshy fungus blankets could not be just those ballistae - those ballistae were very effective against drones or transport planes, but doubling the power of these ballistae was just scratching the surface when facing warships with heavy armor and energy shields. Since the garrison fleet and the first cruise fleet were defeated here, it was likely that these fleshy fungus blankets must have even more powerful air defense weapons.
The enemy was slow to launch an attack, which might have been a trap to lure the enemy deeper, but Alexander decided to take advantage of the situation and rushed directly to the front, pouring all his firepower on the Ark.
In this kind of battle, as long as you can take the initiative, you can gain a huge advantage - "trump cards" may be useful, but if you are suppressed to the point where you can't even play them, then no matter how many trump cards you have, they will just be waste paper.
No matter what anti-aircraft weapons the enemy has, as long as they can be destroyed first, they will not pose any threat to the "Skadi".
The best defense is offense.
Alexander is still very confident in the offensive capability of this greatly enhanced Orca-class heavy cruiser.
"Main gun, aim at the southern edge of the Ark and fire." Alexander sat in the captain's seat, gripping the armrests tightly with both hands, and gave the order.
"Should we attack the Ark directly, Captain?" The officer in charge of fire control turned around and asked, "With the destructive power of our main guns, it is very likely that we can penetrate the fleshy fungal blanket and directly damage the Ark, or even destroy its internal structure."
"Direct attack." Alexander said expressionlessly, "If we cannot recapture the Ark, then our secondary goal is to completely destroy it."
"Got it... Got it!" A trace of reluctance flashed across the fire control officer's face, but he still gave the order to open fire.
On Alpha, the Ark was a symbol of "home", but now they had to fire at their "home", and even destroy it if necessary... As a soldier who had always adhered to the creed of "protecting the Ark even at the cost of his own life", issuing such an order undoubtedly required tremendous courage and determination.
These officers did not know the secrets of Yaguna Tor and Alpha. To them, the destruction of the Ark was equivalent to the destruction of human civilization... What humans lost was not just a " home."
The triple plasma main gun slightly adjusted its angle, and three balls of dazzling white plasma ejected from the muzzle - these three balls of plasma seemed to be flying very slowly, but in fact it took only less than 0.1 second to cross a distance of ten thousand meters and hit the target accurately.
The flames of the explosion shot up into , and the fleshy fungal blanket in the hit area was vaporized in an instant, and the Ark itself under the fleshy fungal blanket began to melt under the high temperature. Steel beams more than ten meters thick melted into molten steel and flowed down... If there were still survivors in the several blocks in the southern part of the Ark at this time, they would probably know what it felt like to be stuffed into a steelmaking furnace.
"Hit the target, observing the attack effect." The fire control officer shouted, "The attack effect is excellent! The fleshy fungal blanket in the hit area is completely destroyed! But the Ark's main structure has also been severely damaged... The CIC is evaluating the internal environment and other related data."
"No need to evaluate." Major General Alexander waved his hand, "There will be no survivors inside the Ark."
"What?" The fire control officer was stunned for a moment, "General, this news...how did you know it?"
"I know you all still have a little fantasy." Major General Alexander continued, "It is for this reason that I did not announce this news in advance. But that is just a fantasy...Reality is much crueler than fantasy. Now I must tell you that there will be no survivors on the Ark...Even if there are living creatures, they cannot be called human beings."
"How could this happen?!" An officer from the Mukach Fortress widened his eyes and clenched his fists. "The reconnaissance team sent by General Maginot hasn't sent back any news yet. How did he come to this conclusion? There are still 50 million people on the Ark! It's only been a few days, how is it possible that there is not even one survivor? Even if they line up to be shot or use inhumane methods such as poison gas, it will take a long time to kill all 50 million people!"
"Don't apply conventional thinking to the enemy we are about to face." Major General Alexander glanced at the young officer and softened his tone. "Are your family members on the Ark?"
The young officer hesitated for two seconds before nodding: "My parents, my wife, and my daughter who is less than one year old... They are all on the Ark... So, General, I can't accept it... I don't believe it..."
"From now on, forget about them." Major General Alexander said in a deep voice, "If you can't forget, then remember one thing, help them get rid of it, and then help them get revenge."
"Relieve...relieve?" The officer looked at Alexander with red eyes, "General, what do you mean...I, I don't understand."
"There will be no survivors on the Ark, but that doesn't mean those 50 million people are dead," said Major General Alexander. "It's just that for us, they are more troublesome alive than dead."
"Is it some kind of virus?" Another officer from Fleet Zero said, "Once infected by the virus, humans will turn into irrational monsters... just like the zombies in zombie movies. I know that heretical sects have studied this kind of thing, as well as the Seed of Corrosion... Damn it, if these 50 million people are infected by the Seed of Corrosion, then there is basically no possibility for us to take back the Ark. We can only destroy it along with those monsters."
"The Seed of Corrosion...hasn't the heretic sect been eradicated?" the young officer just asked, "General, can you tell me who our enemy is?"
"Now is not the time to discuss this." Alexander stared at the Ark on the screen. "The enemy's counterattack will come soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, a shrill alarm sounded in the bridge - "Attention, a large number of high-speed moving massive objects have been detected, and they are heading towards our ship!"
"Large mass object? Could it be a missile?" Several officers were stunned and immediately gave orders, "Maintain the output power of the energy shield! All anti-missile missile bays are fully opened, fire control radars are fully opened, and close-in defense guns prioritize locking onto targets that break through the energy shield!"
"Enlarge the real scene!" Major General Alexander waved his hand, and the images on several specific screens above the bridge were suddenly enlarged several times.
Under the strong light, everyone discovered that what were attacking the "Skadi" were not missiles, but densely packed oval tumors - these tumors hit the battleship's energy shield like cannonballs, but they were not vaporized immediately, but instead burned fiercely.
This was not good news for the Skadi. These tumors were like the return capsule of a rocket, with a high-temperature resistant ablative layer on the surface... It looked like it was burning, but it was actually protecting the things inside the tumor. Almost 50% of the tumors broke through the energy shield of the Skadi and entered the hollow layer between the battleship and the shield.
The close-in defense guns opened fire at full power, but still could not stop these tumors. Nearly 5,000 tumors fell on the deck of the battleship...
Then, countless monsters of various shapes emerged from these tumors...
"Is this,... ganging up?" an officer exclaimed in disbelief.
