Chapter 164 Thunderstrike Fleet Assault_1

8 minutes before the outbreak of the Lagrange battle.

The informatization and intelligentization of space battleships were immensely powerful. Normally, fleets like the Thunderstrike Fleet that specialized in short-range surprise attacks could operate without human pilots.

But in reality, all fleets had to be manned because full-scale remote operation wasn't very practical. In space, signals could be interfered with more easily, and once war started, signal-jamming weapons would certainly be part of the first wave of attacks.

Moreover, the Thunderstrike Fleet was set to operate on the far side of the Moon, devoid of relay communication satellites. Without them, the intelligent systems devoid of remote control were like live targets.

Even with relay satellites, the operational delay time would exceed one second which meant that remote-controlled warfare was highly improbable on the space battlefield.

The Earth Alliance Thunderstrike Fleet, Sixth Squadron, flagship of unit LJ-091A, command cabin.

Inside the Thunderstrike Fleet's warship, the crew members had already entered the deep-sea acceleration fluid.

Thanks to the maturity of brain-computer interface technology, the crew could communicate even submerged in the deep-sea acceleration fluid.

Crew member: "Captain, our attack has been moved up, which means we will be the first to bear the brunt of the Lunar Traitors' first wave of attacks. What are our chances of survival?"

Captain: "That's not what we need to be thinking about right now. The only thing we need to focus on is defeating the Lunar Traitors.

"We're not doing this for ourselves. The Lunar Traitors have exploited us for half a century, and all our suffering has been at their hands.

"This is our moment to pay them back, to fight for sufficient resources, to struggle for enough living space.

"For our brothers and sisters, so we needn't scramble desperately for a piece of synthetic food, a drop of clean water.

"We will take back what they stole from us, reclaim our rightful dignity and right to live!"

Crew member: "Yes, Captain! Even if we all sacrifice our lives, we will become a bolt of lightning in space. We will never bow to the Lunar Traitors."

...

The Moon Decoy Fleet.

The Decoy Fleet was modified from the appearance of 16 semi-second-generation "Authority" class warships.

The vessels' exteriors were nearly identical to the tenth-generation "Emperor" class warships, and their main cannons were capable of firing, but their speed and attack range were far inferior to the "Emperor" class.

The true advantage of the "Emperor" class was in ultra-long-distance attacks which were not much stronger than the "Authority" class at the Earth-Moon distance.

Authority-class warships were operated remotely, attacking predetermined targets with embedded intelligent systems.

Even if remote operation was disrupted, the impact was limited since Earth's military targets were quite specific, particularly after the drills against the Trisolarans.

All of Earth Alliance's false targets were laid bare, but Xiang Gaofeng did not make all the false targets explicit. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before the Earth Alliance or Moon Base personnel guessed that he might have received assistance from the Trisolarans.

Imperial Power warship's remote operation cabin.

Crew member: "Captain, are we really about to go to war with the Earth Alliance now? Why not negotiate with them?

"They've suffered for half a century and are just starting to get back on their feet, and now we have to be the ones to destroy that."

Captain: "Stow your pointless sentiments. Weren't you the most enthusiastic during simulations? Always wanting to go to war to show off your technical prowess?

Crew member: "Perhaps I've always treated war as a game. But when I think about how each of our attacks will result in numerous deaths, I become uneasy.

"Only when facing a real war do I understand the true meaning of 'this is not a drill'. Perhaps none of us is truly ready."

Captain: "We have to give this fight everything we've got. Do you know what the Earth Alliance calls us? They call us Earth Traitors.

"Back when the Moon was still barren, we landed there, risking our lives to build the Moon Base.

"When Earth faced natural disasters, we tirelessly produced food, many sacrificing their lives in the process. Now they call us traitors.

"If they defeat us, all our hard work will belong to them, and we will surely be enslaved by them.

"We now have natural food to eat every day, but once they enslave us, we might not even have synthetic fodder for livestock. How could we bear such days."

"The best way to deal with a vicious wolf is to muster all our strength and kill it. If they want war, then we'll give them war!"

"We must win this battle!"

Crew member: "Don't worry, Captain, we won't show any mercy in combat."

…

The final countdown to the Lagrange Battle erupts.

Earth Spaceport, Thunderstrike Fleet electromagnetic railgun launchers.

"Railgun accelorator energy ready!"

"Fleet ready!"

"Starting acceleration countdown, 5, 4, 3, 2, launch…"

With the final countdown cry, the first squad of the Thunderstrike Fleet, comprised of 16 warships, shot off like arrows released from their bows under the 520G acceleration force, streaking towards the Moon in sixteen white arcs.

Following the rapid advance of the first squad, every 15 seconds another squadron would swiftly follow suit, rushing towards the Moon.

With 5 minutes left until the Thunderstrike Fleet would approach the blockade of the "Emperor" class warships, there was nothing the Moon Base could do to defend or counter in that time.

The Thunderstrike Fleet had almost forsaken everything except for speed and attack power; they couldn't even decelerate after reaching maximum velocity.

Directed Energy Weapons require strong containment and anti-interference capabilities for long-range attacks, so the main cannons need to be large and long.

At close range, as long as there is sufficient energy, a shorter main cannon could also unleash tremendous power, and its targeting could be faster and more straightforward.

One second after the Thunderstrike Fleet engaged, the Moon Base was alerted to the news, and the war officially began.

At the same time, massive components of the Lagrange L1 Spaceport rapidly disengaged and separated at high speed.

The separation of the Spaceport was not only to protect key components from focused attacks but also to lay down space "torpedoes," although there was no longer any need for this plan.

The Earth Spaceport also launched a Directed Energy Laser Beam attack on the Moon's Lagrange L1 Spaceport. Despite the rapid separation of the Moon's Spaceport, it still suffered severe damage.

Parts of the Spaceport structure instantly melted under the scorch of laser beams, creating dazzling streaks of fire, with debris scattering in all directions.

The Moon's Space Elevator was also hit in the first wave of attacks, with the space cable breaking. The Spaceport timely cut off the cable connecting to the counterweight, preventing the Spaceport from crashing into the Moon.

But the 60,000 kilometers long space cable of the Moon's Space Elevator gradually fell towards the Moon, and the fall of the Moon's space cable was different from that of Earth's Space Elevator.

The fall process of the Moon's space cable was not a vertical freefall, nor would the cable wrap around the Moon as it fell. Instead, it fell while swinging like the Moon was waving a 60,000 kilometers long ribbon, slowly descending.

…

The Moon Base didn't care about these losses, nor did the Thunderstrike Fleet. What the Thunderstrike Fleet cared about was the blockade of the "Emperor" class warships.

As the Thunderstrike Fleet rapidly approached the "Emperor" class warships, the "Emperor" class warships could only clumsily adjust their postures.

Five minutes was too fast, and although the "Emperor" class warships' cannons were already aimed at the Thunderstrike Fleet and locked on, the nuclear pump of the cannons and the numerous auxiliary self-check systems had just finished booting up.

The First Fleet's attack of the Thunderstrike Fleet had already arrived, and each of the 16 "Emperor" class ships was hit by a Directed Energy Microwave Weapon.

Instantly, the hulls of the "Emperor" class ships gleamed with blinding light, as if engulfed in blazing flames.

From within those fierce flames, anomalies in the ships' hulls caused explosions, scattering fragments and debris high into the night sky like tragically beautiful fireworks, carrying with them the scent of destruction, casting a shroud over the silent graveyard of space.

Ye Chen and Feng Zi both gazed at the tragically beautiful fireworks of death, yet no one could tell to whom this silent death truly belonged.