Chapter 148: The Final Showdown

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Although various types of energy weapons were mainstream in interstellar warfare, the development and use of other types of weapons did not stop.

Everyone knew that energy weapons were not effective against shields. Sometimes, other methods were needed to break through the enemy’s defense.

The probing beam attacks of the Voyager and the ancient Voyager were deflected by each other’s shields. The damage caused might not be able to keep up with the recovery efficiency of the shields.

There was basically no place to hide in the empty space. They could only rely on their own sensing equipment to predict danger.

The radar of the commander of the Voyager fleet detected several red dots representing enemy weapons surrounding him from a strange angle.

He didn’t need to guess to know that this was the enemy’s guided weapon. Although it was a little funny that missiles were still used in the interstellar era, such simple weapons could sometimes play a different role in the battle.

For example, now, the missiles had surrounded him and blocked every exit.

It was almost impossible to dodge them by maneuvering. In this sublight speed battle, the speed of the missiles was much faster than most spaceships, and there was no air resistance to affect them.

Taking on these explosive weapons that carried high-energy explosives would undoubtedly put the battle in a disadvantageous position.

However, it was easy to deal with such a simple weapon. As long as they were destroyed halfway, it would be fine.

The commander of the Voyager fleet also launched missiles, intercepting and destroying some of the missiles on the way. The remaining missile threats were dealt with by the spacecraft’s point defense system.

Then, he took the initiative to approach the enemy, using light beams and guided weapons to cover himself. He was prepared to rely on the only kinetic cannon on this small spaceship to launch an attack.

This kind of cannon that only relied on sufficiently hard shells to carry out direct physical attacks was no longer common in interstellar space. Very few people could get close enough to ensure that the cannon could hit.

Compared to all kinds of guided weapons, although it was also a consumable item, the storage area of ammunition was much smaller than that of missiles. At the same time, it could cause considerable damage to shields and ship armor. Its disadvantage was its range and hit rate.

However, in a close-range battle between small spaceships, this was one of the indispensable weapon systems.

Not only had the enemy entered the firing range of his kinetic energy cannon, but he had also entered the firing range of the enemy’s kinetic energy cannon.

At this moment, his blood boiled once again.

The exciting close combat made him feel like he was fighting pirates in disguise a long time ago. It was much more interesting than sitting in the simulation room and moving the fleet every day.

The alarm in the cockpit suddenly sounded, and his eyes focused. The basic combat Al of the spaceship forcefully changed its flight angle at the critical moment and brushed past the kinetic cannon.

The red cannonball flew past the window. At a close enough distance, he seemed to be able to see the patterns on the cannonball.

However, under the cold sweat, his body was getting hotter and hotter.

He still had a surplus of guided weapons, but he had released most of them, most of which were cluster missiles used to deal with small boats.

This kind of saturated attack was indeed quite effective, especially against small battleships.

However, the ancient Voyager was not afraid at all. They also released all the remaining guided weapons, but they were not used to intercept the enemy’s missiles, but to go straight for the enemy’s spaceship itself.

They were all fighting with the mentality of risking their lives, but the mechanical consciousness of the ancient Voyager had a better effect at this time.

The synthetic evolution allowed their digitized consciousness to be stored in the cloud. Putting aside the philosophical issues, as long as the database was not damaged, they would not really die.

In terms of the length of his life, the commander of the Voyager lost. He couldn’t ignore the missiles that swarmed toward him. In order to be the winner, he had to live.

For this reason, he had to try his best to dodge. At the same time, he diverted some of the guided weapons’ targets and defended against the incoming missiles together with the point defense weapons. This led to a loophole in his saturated attack.

Although the ancient Voyager’s saturated attack was no longer comprehensive due to the interception of missiles, he had more energy and space to target the enemy.

So the kinetic cannon fired again. This time, the attack was very effective. The Voyager spacecraft, which could not dodge in time, was hit directly by a kinetic warhead.

The complete shield was penetrated by the powerful bullet, and the spaceship’s armor began to crack due to the physical impact.

Although the bullet itself bounced off after the attack, the damage it caused to the spacecraft was the first fire in the endless loop.

Underneath the fallen armor was the spacecraft’s main body. Although the shield was still recovering, the area that had been opened by the kinetic energy warhead was much weaker.

At this time, there were very few guided weapons left on both sides, but the spaceship of the Voyager had suffered a lot of damage.

Compared to the intact spaceship of the ancient Voyager, it was already at a disadvantage.

However, the trauma did not make the commander of the fleet of the Voyager discouraged. On the contrary, his fighting spirit was ignited.

This was the kind of battle he wanted, not the boring task of commanding the fleet to move and then feeling numb to a string of numbers.

On this point, even the former archenemy civilization, the Watcher, could not give him such a feeling.

Only now, when he focused all his energy on doing something meaningful, did he feel like a pioneer who had stood tall over the long years and not fallen, rather than a degenerate hedonist.

His laughter echoed in the cockpit. He ignored the damage to the spaceship and used the method of exchanging injuries with injuries to fight the enemy.

The two small spaceships were biting each other in space like mad dogs. Although they seemed to be evenly matched, the commander of the Voyager fleet, who had been damaged first, was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.

However, the other young Voyagers who were watching the fierce fight were all shocked.

It was hard for them to imagine that the fleet commander, who looked like an old man who was always in a gloomy mood and was about to die of old age, was so good at dogfighting.

Many of them were rookies who had just entered the interstellar battlefield for the first time. In the past, they had abused robots, and they had never thought that they would have to personally enter close combat.

At first, they thought that the fleet commander was just a guy who only knew how to stand behind the scenes and read the battle reports coldly. But now, it seemed that this old thing had a hot-blooded side that was rarely known.

Through their memories and some related information, they understood that this was an ancient ritual that could determine the ownership of a name.

This might be the final showdown for the Voyager. A duel between two individuals was something they had never imagined or experienced before.

If they had been immersed in the virtual world, they might not have paid attention to this matter. But now, as witnesses, their numb hearts actually became a little restless.

The feeling of being in the middle of history gave them a sense of participation. Even if they did not participate in the duel, their blood was rekindled.

And this passion was one of the driving forces for the long journey.

These young people began to cheer for their fleet commander in their cabins. Even though they knew that their commander could not hear them, they still wanted to help him.

They hoped that he would not win this battle as a leader but as a warrior.

The cheers were still echoing, and the glorious showdown was about to come to an end.

Both sides had almost run out of ammunition. There were still many kinetic energy cannonballs in the galaxy that were flying toward nothingness. They would continue to move forward until they were captured by gravity.

However, the spaceship that showed its weakness first finally showed signs of defeat under the accumulated damage.

Its shield system had been completely damaged, and it could only rely on its armor and hull to withstand the attack.

Although the suicide attack was effective, the ancient Voyager’s spaceship still retained a portion of its shield, which could block dangerous attacks at critical moments.

However, the commander of the fleet of the Voyager smiled in the cockpit. He had not enjoyed himself so much in a long time and now was the perfect time to fulfill his long-cherished wish.

“Dying in space, some people would think that this is a lonely way to die, but for me, this is the most romantic thing.

“My praiseworthy life was spent in space. It was never cold to me, only gorgeous beauty and warm memories.

“Is there anything more romantic than letting the universe be my tombstone?”

The old commander adjusted the control mode of the spaceship to complete combat Al control, removing the restriction of protecting the pilot. Then, he closed his eyes and charged at the enemy.

A kinetic energy shell hit the cockpit, which was no longer protected by armor, causing a huge explosion.

Although the ancient Voyager was surprised that the enemy did not dodge, he quickly let down his guard when he thought that the duel was over.

However, the broken Voyager spaceship did not stop moving forward. The death of the pilot did not affect it at all.

Although the cockpit was the main control area of the spaceship, there was a backup control area in the core position of the spaceship. That was the core of the basic combat Al.

The spot where the pilot was located was actually bait. It was just that this was the place where the robots usually stayed. This time, there was a real person.

An accident happened at the last moment. The ancient Voyager, who was confident of victory, suffered the final blow of the broken spaceship.

A kinetic energy shell passed through the damaged part of the shield and hit the weak area where the armor had fallen off due to the previous continuous attacks.

The most unfortunate thing was that the torpedoes used to attack large battleships were placed there. Under all kinds of wonderful reactions, the torpedoes that were supposed to be extremely stable exploded unexpectedly, blowing up the small spaceship.

After that, the broken Voyager spaceship was also completely destroyed by the enemy’s beam attack before its death, turning into a pile of space debris.

The superluminal interrupter was still operating here, but the people here did not care about the outside world. They were only recalling the process of the duel, unable to extricate themselves for a long time.

In the Milky Way, the ancient Voyager who had already invaded the home galaxy of the Voyager and was preparing to launch a land invasion of the Source of Knowledge seemed to have sensed something and looked at the distant starry sky.

Li Wenyuan, on the other hand, witnessed everything that happened in the Beacon of Infinity galaxy through the sentinel array. Then, he recorded a new file in the database: A glorious showdown.

He felt that it was indeed a memorable event. The replacement of the old and the new would come to an end after this showdown.

“This is truly a rare ending on the Milky Way stage….”