LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 17 - Luxurious Team
Chapter 17:Luxurious Team
Upgrading the mercenary group has many benefits,such as increasing the limit on natural human members.The most crucial point is that only by advancing 10 levels to become a corps can one gain the authority to purchase flagship-class warships from the military!
Whether it’s a dreadnought battlecruiser or a heavy aircraft carrier,these are the soul of a fleet and a force multiplier!
“Now,take them down!”Lin Zhichen ordered with satisfaction.
“Zzzt~”
The electromagnetic cannon charged and fired electromagnetic projectiles across a distance of two light-seconds.
Two light-seconds was a distance of 60 kilometers.In space,this distance was quite close,but for the combatants,it felt very far.
At least with the pirate ships’radar,they couldn’t even detect the edge of the attack.
Even with the new crew’s poor shooting,missing all five consecutive rounds,the pirates continued to patrol leisurely,completely unaware that they were already under the scythe of death.
The sixth round finally hit,forcing the damaged pirate raiding ship to slow down,immediately making it an obvious target.
After the ninth round of shooting,the pirate ship finally turned into a ball of fire,while its companions were still circling in confusion,unable to even determine the location of the”Qinyuan.”
The power of beyond-visual-range strikes in space combat was evident.Under technological suppression,the enemy couldn’t even find the direction to counterattack.
After fifteen rounds of shooting,the newly promoted junior gunners among the NPC crew finally sent the pirates back into the darkness.
“Not bad!The training effect of real combat is indeed extraordinary!If we relied on the virtual academy for training,they probably wouldn’t have even mastered the skills by now!”
Lin Zhichen nodded,but his face showed a contemplative expression.Despite the speed,it was still not fast enough.Time was of the essence.
The”Qinyuan”quickly advanced and retrieved a basic combat computer.
As a general-purpose shipborne combat computer,it could enhance the efficiency of basic tactical operations.Its effect was significant in large-scale battles,making it essential equipment for any vessel.
This item wasn’t expensive,with a market value of 1 energy credit—better than nothing.
After tidying up the battlefield,the”Qinyuan”continued its journey.
Two weeks later,after continuously destroying five roaming pirate fleets,the”Qinyuan”finally encountered a formidable opponent.
Through the consecutive battles,Lin Ke and Wu Tianyi’s two groups of NPC crew members had been promoted to senior ranks and were handed over to the trio heading towards the asteroid belt.
At this moment,the”Qinyuan”was manned entirely by elite crew members—a luxurious team composed entirely of expert-level personnel!
“Unfortunately,I haven’t learned long-range psionic attacks.With apprentice-level psionics,it’s impossible to project power over tens of thousands of miles,making it difficult to participate in interstellar warfare.”
In the interstellar battlefield,a distance of tens of thousands of kilometers is considered close combat.Normally,both sides engage at distances measured in light-seconds.
Lin Zhichen felt a bit regretful.He had considerable strength,but the time was too short,and he could only utilize a fraction of his potential.
But it was enough.After some time training,he found that he could fully use his psionics to deploy a psionic shield,deflecting some asteroids that came close to the frigate.
If he could extend this ability,he could potentially deflect incoming missiles targeting the frigate,thereby reducing damage to his side.
“Psionics greatly enhance perception,especially the sixth sense-like precognitive abilities.I can now react a full second before danger arrives.”
One second could be enough time for many things to happen.
“Beep beep~”The ship’s radar sounded an alarm,immediately drawing everyone’s attention.
“Reporting,Captain!Target detected in Sector Three,2 light-seconds away from our ship!”The radar observer quickly reported,”Target fleet consists of five pirate raiding ships and one pirate gunboat,over!”
“We’ve finally reached the pirate base!”Lin Zhichen became serious.”Charge along the flank!”
The”Qinyuan”quickly turned and headed towards the pirate fleet.
Soon,despite the cover of asteroids and interstellar dust,the opposing side detected the approaching”Qinyuan.”The pirate NPCs quickly realized they were facing the enemy from the rear flank.
This position is extremely dangerous in space combat because the most vulnerable engines are exposed at the rear of the ship.Consequently,the six pirate ships quickly shut down their engines to decelerate,while trying to turn their bows to escape the awkward position.
But at this moment,the”Qinyuan,”accelerating with the help of its gravity propulsion system,had already reached the firing range.It opened fire from a distance of 2 light-seconds,approximately 600,000 kilometers.
The weapon fired was a small electromagnetic coil gun.Due to power limitations,the projectiles from this electromagnetic gun traveled at only 30%of the speed of light,meaning it took about seven seconds from firing to impact.This is a drawback of kinetic weapons.
Of course,calling it a drawback was relative;it was still better than nuclear missiles.Even in the industrial age,the engines of manufactured missiles fall far short of light speed,requiring at least several minutes of flight time after launch.
In this situation,closing the combat distance was the best strategy.While launching the attack,the”Qinyuan”did not slow its advance at all.
“Zzzt~”
The charged electromagnetic coil gun fired alloy projectiles.After 3.45 seconds of charging,the railgun completed its second charge and launched another wave of three projectiles.
After seven seconds of flight,the first three metal projectiles finally reached the target area.Guided by the basic combat computer and corrected by the gunners’skills,the projectiles accurately hit the pirate ships.
Although the pirate ships were also frigate-class,their overall performance was inferior to the Federation’s standard vessels.According to star network data,most pirate ships lagged about 20%behind the Federation’s standard fleet in terms of performance.
However,this wasn’t absolute.Some pirate fleets from well-established administrative planets had technology far superior to standard warships.
“Boom~”
The electromagnetic deflection shield only slowed the projectiles’advance.The high-speed projectiles then struck the hull.
At the moment of impact,the alloy-forged hull armor suffered a severe blow,immediately erupting into three bursts of fire at the points of impact.Countless metal fragments scattered,and the armor was torn apart.
Such damage wasn’t enough to cause irreparable harm to the pirate ship.Soon,just over three seconds later,the second wave of three projectiles hit the target again.
One after another,the coil gun’s attacks left damage after damage on the pirate ship.The originally relatively smooth side armor of the hull cracked open with one fissure after another.
But after all,it was a warship.The sturdy hull structure still kept the pirate ship intact.The three main cannons on the hull turned to aim at the approaching”Qinyuan.”
The six pirate ships had a total of sixteen small main cannons and one large main cannon.
The refreshed pirate raiding ships were mostly equipped with interceptor cores,each carrying one matter acceleration cannon and two red laser cannons.The pirate gunboat was equipped with one large matter acceleration cannon and one small red laser cannon.