Chapter 2656: Old Survivors (1/2)

Two different fleets were locked in struggle!

Task Force Umbra along with extra forces dispatched by the Praetor Clan and the Planat Clan barreled down onto the Golden Skull Alliance's fleet with hatred driving them onwards.

The Fridaymen hated the Larkinsons and their leader!

The Praetors and Planats resented the Crossers!

Much of the excitement that took place in the beginning phases of battle centered around the Komodans. The result of the artillery duel between the Transcendent Punishers and the elite ranged mech troops of the Friday Coalition had far-reaching effects.

Despite involving a relatively small quantity of mechs, the clear advantage secured by the Ylvainan artillery mechs left them free to train their prodigious firepower against the advancing carriers and mechs of the opposition!

That did not necessarily mean that the thousands of other Fridayman ranged mechs were incompetent. They just excelled in a different form of combat. They placed less emphasis on long-ranged precision and more on medium-ranged suppression and skirmishing.

The rifleman mechs of the 1002nd Holvein Grenadiers, 77th Corundian Giants and other elite mech regiments numbered much more than the contingent of 125th Destiny Hammers and 219th Witch Slayers.

Yet much of their laser beams and gauss rounds slammed ineffectually against the thick hulls of the opposing starships.

While the damage onto the Larkinson vessels kept accumulating, the lifespans of the targeted combat carriers in question did not diminish fast enough!

Even if the combat carriers finally succumbed under all of the weight of fire, their destruction accomplished little else besides robbing their owners of a bit of cover.

Escape pods launched towards the rear minutes before the vessels drifted out of control or ruptured when their structure was methodically torn apart.

Billions of pieces of debris flung in each direction as other starships exploded as critical power reactors or other volatile components reached critical levels!

Not every evacuating crew member managed to make it back to the Spirit of Bentheim.

Plenty of escape pods were shot down by errant attacks or deliberate shots.

Deadly debris could also shred the vulnerable shells keeping their occupants protected against the hazards of space.

Sometimes, escape pods arrived at the flagship of the Larkinson Clan intact, only to deliver a corpse as an intense burst of radiation turned its occupant dead!

The battle was becoming more and more tragic as the range between the two fleets continued to shrink!

As destruction rained down on both sides, a group of expert pilots gathered together in the hangar bay of the largest capital ship on the battlefield.

The Hemmington Cross was at least a kilometer longer than the Spirit of Bentheim. The fleet carrier was also considerably thicker, though that came at the expense of mobility and other properties.

The ship endured significant attacks from the beginning. The Praetors and Planats had focused much of their firepower on the pride of the Cross Clan, but their bombardment only resulted in surface damage.

The ship may not be as well-armored as other fleet carriers, but she was still a vessel built for war!

It was not a problem for the huge vessel to endure the firepower outputted by thousands of enemy mechs for an extended amount of time!

If that wasn't enough, the Crossers also adopted the same tactic as the Larkinsons. Numerous combat carriers flew in front of the Hemmington and used their considerable bulk to block the enemy from compounding the damage inflicted onto the Crosser flagship!

Of course, the Crossers did not have much luck in felling the enemy capital ships eithers. Both the Praetors and Planats had committed one fleet carrier each to this operation.

The Praetors had dispatched two different capital ships. The first one was the Vindicator 35, a fairly average fleet carrier with a total capacity of 500 mechs. Despite her lack of strengths and weaknesses, the Vindicator 35 was a versatile and useful capital ship that served the Garlener clan well.

The second fleet carrier was even bigger. Capable of carrying 700 mechs, the Palmis Crislin was almost just as ludicrous as the Hemmington Cross. She also happened to possess the same faults as her armor and mobility were not very good.

The Planat Clan dispatched just a single capital ship. Compared to the other capital ships, the Soaring Eagle performed below average, reflecting the relative weakness of the Planat Clan. Capable of holding 450 mechs, the Soaring Eagle was a fleet carrier that was past her time. Her aging hull may still be serviceable in contemporary battles, but she was destined to be replaced at any time!

If the two clans of the Becker Tribe only brought these capital ships, then the Crossers would have gone on the offensive by now. Yet the clans that had turned their coats had also brought 51 combat carriers, though several of those vessels were already taken out of action!

Both sides knew that this was just the prelude. They had clashed many times after the Cross Clan lost its warlord and ace pilot. They roughly knew what both sides were capable of. As clans who used to be part of the same tribe, the intelligence they possessed on each other mechs, starships and mech pilots was still relevant.

The Crossers knew that they were the disadvantaged compared to their opponents, but they were already used to these circumstances.

Different from before, the Cross Clan now gained the confidence to reverse the expected outcome!