Legacy of the Void Fleet

Meanwhile, back aboard the Eclipse...

The wait was finally over.

Grand Admiral Ezra was ready to do something he wasn’t in favour of just ten minutes earlier. Oh well. It wasn’t as if he controlled how events unfolded. Who could have predicted that Grand Admiral Kael would run into such a massive military buildup—one that was still growing by the minute?

The pressure on Kael was mounting, though he handled it with ease—as was expected given the sheer strength of their weapons. Still, the weight of the situation was undeniable.

Ezra couldn’t help but imagine the expression Kael would make when facing such a vast fleet. He would surely grumble, ”Damnit, why am I so unlucky? First, I lost that high-stakes mission gamble, and now I’m at a loss compared to the other seven again. Damnit, Lady Luck, do you have no care for me?”

Shaking his head, Ezra refocused as he reviewed the final details of the report Kael had sent to him and the others. At the same time, the Minotaurs—and the Tier One powers present who were vastly stronger than them—began dispatching ships in massive numbers. They were likely moving to secure their other systems as a precaution against the escalating threat.

This wasn’t mere speculation on Kael’s part. He had likely already infiltrated the communication channels of these powers, gathering intel directly from the source; it was as reliable as reliability gets. From the look of it, the coming days were going to be hectic—as they should be—but it would be rather interesting.

The fact that this region had become a focal point for the entire galaxy was an intriguing development. Once they dealt with the trouble brought by those five Tier 1 powers and the Minotaurs, they would likely be known throughout the galaxy. Such fame could be a double-edged sword for their empire, but as a cunning smile formed on Ezra’s face, he dismissed the concern. With their sheer strength, being known would be nothing but an advantage.

But in any case , It wasn’t a disastrous situation—but it wasn’t an ideal one either.

They had all the time in the world before. Now, because of what Kael had encountered, Ezra was forced to alter his plans and make amendments he deeply disliked. Still, there was no avoiding it. If he wanted to capture a few more systems quickly—before being dragged into a prolonged conflict that would slow everything down—then this was something he had to do.

Whether he liked it or not.

As these thoughts raced through his mind at breakneck speed, the captured Minotaur ships had already rejoined the vanguard fleet. The left and right flank fleets continued pushing toward the remaining Minotaur battleships, carefully keeping their distance from the Eclipse’s main battery range to avoid friendly fire.

Seeing this, Ezra nodded.

”Let the Nova Cannon show its might,” he said calmly. ”Wipe out the last remnants of their strength right before their eyes. Let their final, futile hope be crushed along with it.”

He paused, then added coldly, ”As for those who survive—let them run. There’s no need to chase them. They will be our messengers of death.”

”They will tell their people of the suffering and destruction their fleet has endured. Let them spread fear among their own. Let them learn of our strength, and let them feel helpless against our might—long before we even arrive.”

”Eclipse, lock onto the target!” he commanded, addressing both his secretary and the ship’s command AI.

”The target has been locked for some time, Grand Admiral,” she replied smoothly. ”It’s simply waiting for your word to light up the battlefield a bit. It’s getting rather dim out there to see.” She smirked. ”Shall I let it through that big, bull-headed star fortress?”

Ezra’s mouth twitched at the remark, and he couldn’t stop himself from shooting her an angry look. It clearly said: You’re still speaking like that. Can’t you be serious for once, especially for an advanced AI?

As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she blinked her eyes and smiled even more dazzlingly.

The gesture caused a brief flicker of discomfort in Ezra, which he quickly washed away. Clearing his throat, he straightened and gave the order.

”Fire.”

Eclipse, as if not yet done with it, quickly covered her ears and said, ”Grand Admiral, can’t you lower your voice a bit? You know I can hear you just fine if you speak normally. Why are you shouting like that?”

She tilted her head slightly. ”The Minotaur can’t hear you anyway, if that’s what you’re doing it for. In any case, firing in three... two... one...”

Just like that, the whole ship shuddered for a moment as the gigantic single-barrel Nova Cannon, otherwise known as the Star Killer, released its built-up energy. Space around it lit up in a blinding white glow, streaked with hints of red, as a massive pillar of energy raced toward the Minotaur star fortress at breakneck speed.

Almost instantly, the destructive beam collided with the newly formed six-layer energy shield. The shields began to tremble and ripple violently, giving the impression they might collapse at any second.

And in fact, they did.

Within a couple of milliseconds, the first layer failed. The remaining five fared no better. One after another, all collapsed within a second, just before the energy pillar slammed into the already heavily damaged structure of the star fortress.

And with a BOOOOM, it slammed into the thick hull of the star fortress. The armor instantly began to melt under the extreme temperature as the beam of light continued to bore deeper, causing more and more damage the farther it penetrated. The Minotaur itself was killed by the impact, along with the overwhelming heat and the massive internal explosions as system after system failed or was outright destroyed.

The power of the Nova Cannon was so immense that the energy beam punched clean through the thirty-kilometer-wide star fortress and still carried enough force to shove the entire structure back several hundred miles.

As this unfolded, many Minotaur ships that were fleeing toward the star fortress were almost completely wiped out by the Nova Cannon’s path. Others, nearly half of them, were destroyed by the fortress itself as it was violently pushed backward by the sheer force of the attack. As strange and unbelievable as it sounded, that was exactly what happened.

Those ships that had been heading toward the fortress from farther away felt a wave of relief when they realized the distance had spared them.

A few crews, not stunned for long, quickly fled in different directions once they realized the enemy ships were not pursuing them. Thinking fast, they made their escape. Others soon snapped out of their daze and followed, unwilling to remain and die a death they never wanted.

Meanwhile, aboard a corvette some distance away from the star fortress, Helren and several other high-ranking individuals grew more desperate with every passing second. They shouted at the pilot to change course, because the fortress they thought they had left behind was now almost upon them. They had believed themselves out of danger, but damn it... they were very, very wrong.

It wasn’t long before the fortress closed to within just a few miles of them.

Then, suddenly, it stopped dead in its tracks.

All of them froze in shock. None of them noticed at first as the twenty-eight massive propulsion drives at the rear of the fortress began to flicker before shutting down completely. A heartbeat later, an explosion erupted. Then another. Then another.

One after the other, multiple explosions tore through the rear of the fortress. A thick white glow, streaked with red energy, burst outward and surged toward them. In an instant, it engulfed the corvette.

The ship trembled violently—then crumbled apart almost immediately. There was no time to react, no chance to speak, not even a final word before they were consumed by the overwhelming destructive force of the blast.

The energy didn’t stop there.

It continued onward and slammed into a vast asteroid field beyond, triggering massive secondary explosions that wiped out a huge portion of the drifting rocks. Then came yet another eruption—this one from deep within the star fortress itself, as its interior finally gave way.

Even so, it was nothing compared to what had happened in the system where Grand Admiral Ryn was stationed. That time, the star core itself had been completely wiped out by the Nova Cannon’s strike.

This was different.

But only by a slight margin.

Once again, back aboard the Eclipse, reports began to come in.

This time, Eclipse delivered them formally, without any filtering. ”Sir, the primary target has been eliminated. Approximately ninety-six percent of Minotaur forces have been successfully wiped out. Of the remaining four percent, two percent managed to escape, while the other two percent are currently drifting in space.

Their ships have suffered severe damage and are no longer spaceworthy, though interestingly, most of the damage is limited to the flight propulsion systems and upper structural sections.”

She paused briefly before continuing.

”Additionally, the expected commander of the Minotaur fleet, who was attempting to escape the system, was also taken down by the Nova Cannon.”

She straightened slightly. ”All in all, we are effectively finished with the star system’s protective forces. As for the others...”