The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The scene of 28 heavy conversion beam cannons firing in unison was incredibly shocking. That entire area seemed to be engulfed in a supernova, and the massive Tyranid Hive Ship couldn't withstand even a single blow, losing more than half of its body instantly. The wreckage tumbled amidst the fading light.

Ulan Huda's Bangula had repeatedly hinted that he hoped Solzhenitsyn could acquire such weapons from the Leagues of Votann. Although the Adeptus Mechanicus also possessed conversion beam weapons, they couldn't produce them at a ship-scale level. The largest was the conversion beam cannon on the Mega-Gargant class Knights, which were extremely difficult to manufacture, with a high failure and scrap rate.

According to Bangula, human technology had significant gaps, making it difficult to build and complex to use. It required skilled calibration to operate and a dedicated plasma reactor core system for power.

This was because the weapon's operating mechanism required ejecting a stream of antimatter particles subjected to neutron bombardment, immediately initiating an atomic chain reaction that converted any positive matter it touched into an equivalent amount of energy, destroying the target with a blazing annihilation explosion. However, the antimatter beam itself was very dangerous and had to be kept extremely stable and precise to achieve a lethal effect without endangering friendly forces. Therefore, the conversion beam weapons manufactured by the Adeptus Mechanicus could not be used while moving.

But the Leagues of Votann seemed to have a very complete tech-tree. Their conversion beam weapons could not only be made very large but were also very safe and could be used while moving. The Mechanicus across various locations had coveted this technology for many years.

But why would Solzhenitsyn take such a risk?

Besides, technology wasn't so easy to steal. Once or twice was fine, but if it happened too often, the other party wouldn't be stupid, and in the end, it would just lead to a breakdown in relations.

In addition to the heavy conversion beam cannons, the Longbeard-class's high-energy beam arrays were also very formidable. Moreover, they were deployed on all four sides of the "sleeve," meaning they could attack enemies in all directions without needing to turn. Furthermore, the Longbeard-class had a very powerful weapon at close to medium range: triple-barreled heavy ion beam cannons. They were deployed in the middle of the ship's hull, with a total of four large turrets, totaling 12 heavy ion beam cannons. They could fire long bursts of plasma instead of the usual ion clusters, capable of inflicting terrifying damage at medium range, piercing the carapace of a Tyranid Hive Ship with a single shot.

Solzhenitsyn watched as the Hive Ship leading the invasion of Westeros IV was torn into three pieces after being hit by just two volleys from three Longbeard-class vessels.

With such firepower, without activating void shields, most of the Empire's existing warships would likely not be able to withstand a single accurate volley from a Longbeard-class. The firepower of this "armed transport ship" had undoubtedly reached the level of a top-tier battleship.

But this was not the most powerful warship in the Greater Thurian League's mercenary fleet, because behind them were two warships: the Ironhammer-class and the Butcher-class, the most powerful and rarest of the Votann military ships. Only the most powerful commercial alliances in the Votann Kin had the financial resources to build and maintain them. The Ironhammer-class was a very typical Votann warship, with a thick and sturdy hull, full of a sense of power but not so angular. Its armament was similar to the Longbeard-class, but it had a huge main gun at the bow. This main gun also ran through two-thirds of the ship's hull. It was Votann's ultimate ship-based main gun, the plasma annihilator cannon, which was the same model as the Abyss-class's spinal main gun. However, the Ironhammer-class was less than half the length of the Abyss-class but could fit this terrifying giant cannon inside, demonstrating the ship's ingenious internal design and superb technology.

Compared to the Ironhammer-class, the Butcher-class was slightly longer, basically the longest military ship of the Votann. It could be roughly divided into three sections: the front combat section, distributed with spinal gun batteries and laser arrays; the middle section was very unique, being a ring embedded in the hull. This configuration formed a huge contrast with the Votann ships' mainstream compact design. This ring in the middle of the ship's hull was the Butcher-class's true weapon, because it was the launcher for the powerful "Vengeance Oath Heavy Missiles." These large anti-ship missiles were still a mystery. Solzhenitsyn could only guess that they were some kind of plasma hypersonic missile. As for why an additional and unsafe external launcher was added, Solzhenitsyn didn't quite understand, because it could easily become a weakness in defense, while the rear of the ship was where the power section and bridge command center were located.

Overall, in terms of direct firepower, the Butcher-class was inferior to the Ironhammer-class, or even the Longbeard-class, and its defense didn't seem to be very good either. But the Volkyn-Lord said it was a very powerful capital ship, so the article was obviously about the missiles.

But all the way here, the Butcher-class's missiles had not been launched. It only used artillery for long-range support, not knowing if it was to hide its strength.

As for the last of the fleet, naturally were the Warrior-class and the Ranger-class.

Although the number of the Greater Thurian League's mercenary fleet was not large, its firepower was truly amazing. It actually directly broke through a Tyranid fleet that was trying to sneak attack Westeros IV and quickly approached Westeros V.

"Sir, unknown communication request."

"Accept."

As Solzhenitsyn walked to the communication panel, a ripple of water appeared in the air. Soon, a broad face appeared. He had thick hair and a beard braided into strands, a thick nose, and bright eyes. Without seeing his height, one could tell he was a Votann.

"Hello, esteemed Solzhenitsyn Alexey, Chapter Master. I am Barak Byrno, special captain of the Greater Thurian League. According to the military employment contract you signed with the League, I and my Wavebreaker (Ironhammer-class), as well as other ships, and all ship personnel, fighters, and other equipment, will serve you, obey your command and arrangement."

The Ironkin of the Votann Federation do not have a clear rank system, including their fleet. Therefore, distinguishing who is the commander mainly depends on the level. Special captains generally serve as commanders of the huge Ironkin joint fleet.

It could be said that the Greater Thurian League sent their most experienced and best-performing fleet commander.

Obviously, what they valued was not the little money from the military employment order, but the extremely rich profits from the Aeldari crafts trade.

"You arrived in a timely manner, Commander Byrno."

Solzhenitsyn glanced at the tactical display and continued:

"Before launching the formal operation, we must first evacuate the population from the two planets, so I hope you can lead the fleet to hold Westeros IV first. Wait until the evacuation is completed on Westeros V, then transfer the population of IV. After that, the Tyranid's attention will be drawn here, and then we can launch the operation against the Sandheim system."

The Votann commander's face showed no expression, just nodded and said:

"Everything is up to you, Solzhenitsyn Alexey, Chapter Master."