Chapter 127: Dragon War, Enemy Slain

Chapter 127: War Dragon Slashes the Enemy

"System check complete, all readings normal," Aretha’s voice resonated steadily in Liu Shaoyu’s ears.

"Thomas, activate the combat systems. Have Xu Meng patch in the holographic feed," Liu Shaoyu commanded methodically.

Liu Shaoyu began to test the controls of the War Dragon. "Excellent, everything is in order. Thomas, it is up to us now," he said after the inspection.

In truth, Liu Shaoyu felt a slight tremor of nervousness. Why? Because this was a completely new style of combat. The War Dragon, as a new weapon, required novel tactical methods, and there was no prior experience to draw upon. Everything had to be figured out on his own.

"Entering combat mode. Thomas, stay sharp! Don’t let me down!" Liu Shaoyu instructed, though Thomas seemed to ignore the warning entirely.

"Combat mode engaged, authorization synchronized. Battle radar syncing now." With Thomas’s voice, the enemy’s positions appeared on the screen before Liu Shaoyu.

"Since you are so intent on trouble, Thomas, let’s show them what we’ve got. Engine loading... Thrust at maximum!"

The enemy on the other side could never have imagined that they would encounter Liu Shaoyu and the relentless War Dragon today. Perhaps it was Liu Shaoyu’s lucky day, but for the opposing fleet, luck was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, at the fleet advancing toward Liu Shaoyu:

"Captain, our radar lock has vanished!" The first mate looked back in anxiety, knowing the incompetent man sitting in the command chair could still grasp the implications of that statement. "There shouldn't be any electromagnetic interference in this sector... perhaps..." Before he could finish, the expression on the man in the command chair began to shift.

"Electromagnetic interference? Hmph, do I need to teach you how to handle such things? Continue the advance. All warships, fire long-range missiles at the previously locked coordinates. That thing is so large! I can see it from here! Do you still need radar?" Although Huang Xuan’s tone lacked overt rage, everyone knew he was on the verge of a volcanic eruption.

The wisest choice was to follow his orders and continue the assault; after all, it was his ship, and there was no point in worrying about it for him.

The first mate turned back to relay the orders, though he knew perfectly well that the loss of the lock had nothing to do with electromagnetic interference. He knew the capabilities of this ship better than anyone. Most importantly, how could there be interference in such a desolate place? They had been stationed here long enough to know better.

"Long-range attack ready. Area saturation, coordinates 23541.2754814.9854962.65. Requesting authorization to fire," the first mate recited word for word, demonstrating his meticulous nature.

Huang Xuan couldn't be bothered to respond to such idiocy, simply granting the first mate temporary launch clearance. According to past custom, he was looking forward to the fireworks show.

Truth be told, Huang Xuan had been feeling quite smug lately. The previous incident had been a significant setback, leading to his exile in this godforsaken corner of the galaxy. He had truly believed his career was over, but fate had a way of turning things around. The Federation had gone to war, and the once-peaceful Federation star sectors were now filled with panic. The old fogies back home were in a state of chaos. As for him, he was fortunate that this sector was on the fringe. Huang Xuan, it must be said, had a shrewd mind for business.

Relying on his formidable warships, he had intercepted many transport vessels and refugees fleeing the war, collecting what was colloquially known as a "passage fee." Though sometimes they paid the fee and still didn't make it through, Huang Xuan was generally quite pleased with himself. Furthermore, that meddlesome old man, Ji Liantai, had been recalled, and the first mate was incapable of restraining this arrogant young master. In such a desolate fringe sector, what danger could there possibly be? Even the pirates paid him tribute on time. Huang Xuan had almost convinced himself that this place was paradise.

***

"Impact warning. Impact in 15 seconds."

"Shield energy at 50 percent. Prepare for impact." The order was issued, and the crew worked in unison, none questioning the command. This was a testament to Xu Meng’s growth over the past few years; it was clear the crew held their young captain in high regard—perhaps even more so than they did Liu Shaoyu.

The 15 seconds passed quickly. The crew watched the holographic screens as the roaring fireballs raced through space, as if determined to pierce the massive ship through and through.

However... the moment the fireballs touched the light-wave barrier, they seemed to falter. The leading missiles stalled and disintegrated into dust. The delayed-detonation explosives, sensing contact, triggered one after another. The entire warship was enveloped in layers of scorching light, a sight that brought a triumphant smile to Huang Xuan’s face.

"Prepare the second—" Huang Xuan was eager to continue the performance, but before he could finish, an anomaly appeared in plain sight.

In contrast to Huang Xuan’s shock, Xu Meng looked delighted.

The 50 percent shield had completely absorbed the impact with an estimated capacitor loss of only 0.15 percent and a recovery time of three seconds. These figures meant that the assault was nothing more than a tickle to the massive vessel.

"Switch to tier-two—" Before Huang Xuan could finish his command, he felt a violent jolt.

"Shield integrity at 35 percent." A harsh alarm blared. Before he could react, the system continued, "Shield integrity at 40 percent."

"Captain! Outside! There’s a giant out there!" The panicked voice caused Huang Xuan great distress, but he instinctively pulled up the external visual feed. One look was enough to make his heart leap into his throat.

"What—what is that?" Huang Xuan was utterly panicked by the sudden appearance of the behemoth.

The giant was none other than Liu Shaoyu, who had finally arrived, though his detour had delayed him slightly.

"My goodness, what did Wang Weifu upgrade the War Dragon with? This thrust speed is double the original! But Thomas, why is this turtle shell so hard?" Liu Shaoyu joked with Thomas while struggling to breach the warship’s shields.

If Huang Xuan could have heard Liu Shaoyu’s question, he would have answered: because it was expensive! This ship might not have been a beauty, but it cost as much as ten standard Huaxia fleet warships.

"Warship data analysis complete. I have a suggestion, if you’d like to hear it?"

"Hmm... go ahead." Ever since the last upgrade, Liu Shaoyu felt Thomas had become significantly more intelligent. After some time, he realized his assumption was not only correct, but that Thomas’s performance exceeded mere intelligence.

Liu Shaoyu felt the vibration in the War Dragon’s gauntlets decrease as he waited for the response.

"Simply put, this warship is extremely expensive. I suggest we do not destroy its armored structure."

***

Even without Thomas saying it, Liu Shaoyu had sensed it. He knew the destructive power of the War Dragon; even without the recent upgrades, the enemy ship should have been pulverized by now. The fact that the shield synchronization rate was still under 70 percent meant the ship was unusual.

Liu Shaoyu had no qualms about second-hand goods—if it was good, he would use it! He felt relieved; Thomas was finally catching on!

Since he had decided not to destroy the flagship, Liu Shaoyu simply forced the enemy’s shields to overload, causing their main engines to shut down. Then, he gripped the "turtle shell" with both hands and heaved.

If sound could travel in space, one might have heard a "Whoosh!" as Liu Shaoyu sent Huang Xuan’s warship spinning through a 360-degree rotation before tossing it directly in front of his own fleet.

"Xu Meng, I’ve choked out his engines. The rest is up to you—it’s a good catch!" Liu Shaoyu said, not waiting for a response before charging his engines and flying toward the next warship.

"Thomas, keep a sharp eye out. Any other good finds?" Liu Shaoyu urged.

He quickly received a negative reply. "Then let’s turn them into scrap." With that, Liu Shaoyu pushed his thrusters to the limit, weaving through the remaining ships until the space was filled with debris.

Liu Shaoyu felt a bit uninspired by the outcome; the disparity between the two sides was simply too great. He didn't want to waste energy testing the War Dragon’s weapons systems before reaching a resupply point, which was why he had resorted to this bare-knuckle violence.

"Alright, Thomas, let’s head back. Dragon-Roamer, I’m returning." Liu Shaoyu initiated the engines and contacted the *Dragon-Roamer*.

Although the battle was over, Liu Shaoyu hadn’t forgotten the guy he’d tossed back. The disappointment of not being able to further test the War Dragon was replaced by the excitement of exploring a new frontier—after all, there had been gains today.

Huang Xuan was feeling incredibly dejected—not because he had been tossed from his command chair to the ceiling and then thrown toward the back of the bridge within a dozen seconds, but because he had no idea what kind of monster he had just encountered!

Everyone on the ship had been tossed about by inertia, and some non-combatants had even lost consciousness. Before they could recover, they heard the grim news amidst the blaring alarms.

"You’re back just in time. Our people are about to board. Want to join us?" Xu Meng asked, raising an eyebrow as Liu Shaoyu entered the cockpit.

Although Liu Shaoyu didn't know why Xu Meng looked so energized, he was certainly interested in that hard turtle shell.

"Let’s go. Let’s take a look."