"Report, Boss! One of our T2 Ishtar-class ships was destroyed by that Blizzard Zero! One shot! Just one shot!" A terrified shout echoed through the internal communication channel.
The Bearded Pirate Captain's heart sank.
One of his T2 Ishtar-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyers was destroyed? He knew that the five T2 starships in his fleet were his lifeblood. He wouldn't feel bad losing T1 starships; he could always buy more. But each T2 starship was incredibly expensive. He had saved up five years of the pirate fleet's earnings just to buy this one T2 Ishtar-class from the black market. And now, in such a short time, it was gone?
"You better not be joking with me! That's a T2 Ishtar-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyer! How could it be destroyed by one shot?! If you dare to talk nonsense again, believe it or not, when we get back, I'll cut off your manhood and pickle it!" the Bearded Pirate Captain roared, utterly unwilling to believe such a fact.
"Boss, it's true! The enemy's Blizzard Zero has a 1200mm caliber cannon—a full 1200mm caliber! Oh my god, I've never seen such a large-caliber super cannon in my life!" The pirate captain's voice was trembling.
A 1200mm caliber cannon? The Bearded Pirate Captain's heart trembled. He knew that at this moment, his subordinate wouldn't be joking with him.
"Bao Family, Cui Family! Those noble brats—they tricked me!"
He now pushed all the responsibility onto his employers. Their intelligence was incomplete; this was no 'useless baron' at all.
"When I get back, if the commission doesn't triple, I'll attack their planet and defile their wives right in front of them!" the Bearded Pirate Captain cursed.
Unfortunately, he would never have such an opportunity again.
During the pursuit of the Aircraft Carrier Starship, the Interstellar Drone Swarm destroyed several more of his T1 starships. Especially one particular T2 Interstellar Drone bomber—the power of its bombs was equivalent to the main cannon of a T2 starship! Moreover, they specifically targeted one position and bombed it repeatedly. Often, three of these T2 Bumblebee-class Heavy Interstellar Drones, combined with the attacks of the T2 Killer Bee-class Medium Interstellar Drones, could easily destroy a T1 starship within minutes.
"Report, we… have lost another T1 Blue Sparrow-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser…" The subordinate reported cautiously.
The Bearded Pirate Captain clenched his fists.
"Report, we have entered firing range. We can attack the Aircraft Carrier Starship!" A subordinate reported good news.
The Bearded Pirate Captain immediately ordered: "Fire! Fire! Fire! Tear that damned Aircraft Carrier Starship to shreds!"
"Yes!"
The laser main cannon equipped on the T2 Gray Shark-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser locked onto the Aircraft Carrier Starship and immediately opened fire. Because the Aircraft Carrier Starship was slow, it was basically unable to evade this laser shot.
Just as the space pirates were waiting for the Aircraft Carrier Starship to be hit, the laser, while still some distance from the Aircraft Carrier Starship, collided with a certain light screen, exploded, and dissipated. The Aircraft Carrier Starship was completely intact.
The space pirates were stunned.
"What… what's going on?" The Bearded Pirate Captain hysterically grabbed the pirate crew member in charge of the weapons module.
"I… I don't know either," the pirate crew member said, looking innocent.
The Skinny Lieutenant, however, uttered two words in disbelief: "Star… Star Shield… "
Star Shield?
The pirate crew members present reacted.
"It's a Star Shield!"
"That sight just now was indeed a Star Shield!"
"But how can a T2 Carrier Starship have a Star Shield!"
"Could it be… this is a T3 Carrier Starship?"
The Bearded Pirate Captain listened to the pirate crew members' discussions and roared, "Shut up!"
Then he looked at the Skinny Lieutenant: "Isn't a Star Shield a feature only T3 starships have? This Aircraft Carrier Starship doesn't look like a T3 Carrier Starship at all!"
"Judging from the scale and combat power of the Interstellar Drones it's equipped with, it's indeed not a T3 Carrier Starship. But that just now was indeed a Star Shield!" Sweat dripped from the Skinny Lieutenant's forehead.
At this moment, the direction of this interstellar battle had exceeded their expectations.
"Then what do we do now?" the Bearded Pirate Captain demanded.
"A Star Shield can only block attacks from one area… So as long as our starships can attack simultaneously from several other directions, the Star Shield won't have time to defend," the Skinny Lieutenant said.
The Bearded Pirate Captain's teeth had already bitten through his lip, and the taste of blood filled his mouth. He naturally knew this principle. But they had pursued until now, at the cost of several T1 starships, only to finally catch up to the tail of this Aircraft Carrier Starship. What price would they have to pay to attack from the flanks simultaneously?
"Boss, we have no choice now. If we retreat, will that Baron let us go? I've figured it out—that Baron came prepared. He used his flagship to lure us in, then arranged the Interstellar Drone Swarm to attack us. This is a trap!" the Skinny Lieutenant said.
It's either you die or I die. This kind of situation was something space pirates often encountered. In the past, they might still have had the will to fight. But today… thirty-five of their starships besieging two starships. Up until now, they hadn't even touched the enemy's hull armor, and they themselves had already lost nearly a third of their starships! This was too damaging to morale.
"Full speed ahead! No matter what, we must destroy this Aircraft Carrier Starship!" the Bearded Pirate Captain said through gritted teeth.
Having reached this point, they had no way back. They could only fight to the death.
"Report, T1 Blue Sparrow-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser 03's side armor was attacked. Side hull armor strength remaining 50%."
"Report, T1 Vulture-class Interstellar Frigate 11 was destroyed. No survivors."
"Report, T1 Vulture-class Interstellar Frigate 19 was heavily damaged, lost power, and unable to sail."
"Report, the T2 Ishkur-class Interstellar Frigate's left hull armor was blown open with a ten-meter diameter hole. Twenty-three compartments were emergency sealed. Thirty-two people died. The hull's power system was damaged, and its speed is continuously decreasing."
This pursuit lasted for over half an hour.
The T2 Bee Queen-class Heavy Carrier Starship's Interstellar Drone launch and recovery cycles had averaged close to ten times, and its losses had exceeded 30%. But due to the excellent interception combat of the T2 Young Bee-class Light Interstellar Drones, the pursuing space pirate starships were unable to attack the T2 Bee Queen from the flanks. The Star Shield also continuously intercepted attacks coming from the rear.
"Our ship is under attack. Star Shield energy remaining 44%." Accompanied by a shimmering ripple on the Star Shield, the crew member on the T2 Bee Queen nervously reported the numbers.
In fact, on the Bridge's holographic projection, Wendy Chase could see the continuously decreasing Star Shield energy value. It changed from green to yellow, and was about to change from yellow to red. Despite this, Wendy's expression remained unchanged.
"Report! One of the enemy's T2 Ishkur-class Interstellar Frigates broke through our T2 Young Bee-class Light Interstellar Drones' interception and approached our ship's right flank. At the same time, the enemy fleet's flagship, the T2 Gray Shark-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser, is still continuously firing from behind our ship! If both ships attack simultaneously, our ship's Star Shield cannot defend against two directions at once!" The crew member in charge of the Star Shield reported to the captain.
Wendy was silent for a moment, then sharply said: "Mobilize all Interstellar Drones to fully attack this T2 Ishkur! At the same time, the Star Shield will continue to block the attack from the rear!"
Charlotte looked at the order Wendy gave; it was the best course of action at the moment. First, figure out how to deal with the attack from one side, even if the hull might have to take a few hits in the end—at least the overall situation wouldn't be affected.
"Report, Boss! Our ship is already on the target's flank. We can open fire!" The T2 Ishkur's captain roared.
The Bearded Pirate Captain roared frantically over the communication channel: "Fire! Fire! Blast a huge hole in that damned Aircraft Carrier Starship!"
"Yes! Prepare to fire!"
But just at this moment, an astonishing scene occurred.
An interstellar warship rushed to the Aircraft Carrier Starship's flank at an extremely high speed, positioning itself between the T2 Ishkur and the T2 Bee Queen. At the same time, it charged head-on toward the T2 Ishkur at full speed. That 1200mm super cannon seemed to be announcing what was about to happen.
The T2 Ishkur's pirate captain trembled in his captain's chair and screamed in panic: "Fire! Fire!"