Chapter 45: Opening the Path: Zhulong’s First Strike
by xennovel“Captain, command from the flagship!”
“Read it!”
“Zhulong is to execute Sub-Plan 27 immediately—clear a path for the super ion cannon on Europa!”
The communications officer announced the received orders loud and clear.
“Finally, it’s our turn!”
George, standing nearby, couldn’t hide his excitement.
They’d been watching and waiting for a full ten hours, doing nothing.
It was simple, really—Zhulong wasn’t equipped with railguns at all, but it did have a stockpile of ion cannons in all sizes.
The four main guns, each the largest caliber on the ship, could hit targets up to 1.8 million kilometers away and only needed thirty seconds to charge.
On top of that, the ship boasted 168 secondary guns.
These were smaller, but could still reach up to 500,000 kilometers—far beyond any other Federation warship, which rarely topped 100,000 kilometers. Plus, the charge time was just seven seconds.
The firepower was just on another level…
Within 500,000 kilometers, Zhulong could even outgun the Warstar.
Now, though, the Klein fleet was closing in—just 1.9 million kilometers out. In a few minutes they’d be well within range of the main guns.
“Strategy team, do we have the strike plan ready?”
“Ready and set. With an estimated 15 to 18 rounds, we’ll make a firing channel for Europa’s super ion cannon!”
“Weapons officer, it’s all yours next!”
Lin Yu gave a nod, turning to the weapons officer’s station.
“Yes, Captain!”
Meng Fei, Zhulong’s chief weapons officer, was just 27 and already held the rank of Major.
Right now he’d gotten the strike plan from the strategy team and, working fast, had entered all the data—less than three seconds, start to finish.
“Main guns are prepped and waiting for your attack order, Captain!”
That kind of speed was seriously impressive.
Lin Yu was more than satisfied.
He figured even if he did the job himself, it’d still take at least two seconds.
But as captain, there’s no way he could do that himself.
Besides, three seconds was entirely within Lin Yu’s standards.
“Radar, current distance, give it in kilometers!”
“Aye, Captain! Right now, 1.83 million kilometers—targets will be in range in 150 seconds!”
“Keep tracking. When we’re down to the last ten seconds, start the countdown and display it.”
“Understood, Captain!”
Time…
Second by second, it ticked away.
Finally, after 140 seconds, a large holographic ten-second countdown appeared on the bridge.
9
8
……
……
1
0
“Fire!”
With Lin Yu’s order,
Four fearsome blue beams blasted forward, shooting out from Zhulong’s back and belly, tearing across space straight toward the Klein fleet.
At 1.8 million kilometers, it only took six seconds for energy weapons to strike home.
And six seconds just wasn’t enough for any warship at high speed to even think about changing course.
That right there was the biggest advantage of energy weapons over kinetic ones.
Tick. Tick. Tick…
Everyone on the bridge seemed to hear their own heartbeats echo with every tick.
After six of those…
“Report! All four shots hit, evaluating damage now!”
“Assessment finished—four ships damaged, but none fatal!”
Lin Yu nodded when he heard this.
He’d expected as much.
According to captured Klein, their warships were manufactured from specially-processed celestial bodies.
But not just any rocks would do.
Their home system even had its own asteroid belt.
Different from the Solar System’s belt, though.
Almost all the asteroids there were long and narrow, and regardless of their makeup, every single one contained a rare element. This gave them incredible resilience—surviving impacts, enduring heat—you name it.
And the Klein figured it was easier to just capture these asteroids and turn them into warships instead of fussing with steel hulls.
It saved time and effort, and they ended up with even sturdier ships than steel ones.
So even against Tier 3 civilizations with energy weapons, their vessels could take multiple hits.
That’s why the ion cannons could damage, but not totally destroy, the Klein warships. It was all pretty normal.
Truth was, the Kleins had no idea—this element was super rare across the Milky Way. Tier 4 civilizations even classified it a strategic resource.
And the reason their home asteroid belt had plenty went back millions of years. A massive hundred-kilometer-wide meteor had crashed into one of their own super-asteroids.
After countless years, tons of fragments got fused into other asteroids.
Which was why today, so many asteroids in that belt carried the element.
If a Tier 4 civilization ever found out about it, would they march in with their whole armada?
They’d probably curse the Klein out, too.
That kind of resource—why not refine it, alloy it, and turn it into top-tier ships or weapons?
Instead, they’d just hollow out a rock, slap in some engines, and call it a warship…
Hardly one percent of the element’s true value ever got used.
If that’s not wasteful, what is?
Of course, the Kleins were clueless, and as for the Human Federation…
They knew even less.
The Science Department was only starting to get interested and had ordered the collection of Klein wreckage for study during orbital battles.
That’s about it.
——
The sudden strike threw the Klein fleet into chaos.
A 1.8 million kilometer energy weapon barrage—wasn’t that supposed to be the domain of Tier 3 civilizations?
Did this mean the humans were secretly a Tier 3 civilization?
That was terrifying!
The Kleins were plenty confident against any Tier 2 civilization—they could take them one-on-one, even beat them outright.
But against Tier 3?
That was a whole new dimension!
But soon…
“Quiet, all of you!”
The current Klein Clan Chief, Tumelo, stood up and roared.
“We already learned from the humans’ memories that they possess energy weapons!”
“But, Chief, the data we got before showed their energy weapons were primitive—barely functional. Yet now, with this kind of range and firepower, they look like a Tier 3 civilization! Shouldn’t we pull back? It’s way too risky!”
“Throw the coward out the airlock—we Kleins don’t tolerate weakness!”
Tumelo didn’t hesitate, ordering the man dragged away and dealt with on the spot.
He ignored the protesting, screaming subordinate and glanced at the rest.
“Are you all blind?”
“That’s just one ship. Have you seen another one like it?”
“If they had more of these weapons, don’t you think they’d unleash them already to end the war? But they didn’t!”
“That means they’ve got only one of these ships—maybe they didn’t even build it themselves, just stumbled on it by chance!”
“So, there’s nothing to fear!”
“Maintain speed. Keep advancing!”
After Tumelo finished,
he returned to his throne.
With that, everyone else breathed a little easier.
Of course—if the enemy had more ships like that, why wouldn’t they use them?
Just as the chief said.
Humanity only had one ship like this!
Word spread, fast, to every Klein warship.
Panic and fear were swept away in an instant.
The vast fleet…
charged onward!