With a command, the general offensive began. The ships fired missiles at fixed intervals, while three warships slightly lowered their altitude, using the lunar horizon to shield themselves from the enemy vessels.
Tang Haifeng went all out, launching all his remaining missiles in one go. For a moment, the space above the moon was filled with blue missile trails and expanding smoke, the warships flickering in and out of visibility amidst the continuously lit exhaust flames. The scene was unprecedentedly breathtaking.
By any measure, this was humanity's first space battle, an event of immense significance.
Many soldiers, caught in the thick of it, were overcome with excitement, unable to contain their emotions.
But just then, the enemy ship suddenly rotated halfway around, followed by a flash of light. A gap appeared on the horizon, and a blurred trajectory of light shot through it, instantly striking the Bay training ship. It sheared off a layer from bow to stern along the ship's spine. Had it been a moment slower, it would have pierced from end to end.
Ou Zhanpeng was terrified, Ling Xiao was dumbfounded, and Tang Haifeng's face turned ashen. His voice, hoarse and strained, cut through the radio: "Dive, keep diving—"
His words still echoed when the enemy ship once again pierced the horizon. The blurred trajectory grazed the side of the Polaris, narrowly missing the warship.
"Damn it!" Ling Xiao's assault boat had nearly been caught in the crossfire, and he spat out an expletive.
Ou Zhanpeng's heart leaped into his throat: "Ling Xiao, are you alright?"
"How could I be alright? You scared the life out of me," Ling Xiao said, still shaken. "I thought this distance was safe. I almost died, you know. Hey, what were those aliens thinking? Their range was clearly sufficient, so why didn't they just attack earlier?"
Ou Zhanpeng immediately felt relieved; the fact that Ling Xiao could still be so flippant meant he was fine. "It's not surprising. Maybe they don't deem us worthy. Or perhaps they were busy repairing their ship and didn't have time to bother with insignificant beings like us."
He had another thought he didn't voice: the enemy ship had fired only two shots and then gone silent. This could be due to mechanical issues, or perhaps they didn't want to waste precious energy.
After all, it was only half a warship. Even if the aliens' technology completely surpassed humanity's, their ability to reach the moon was already extraordinary. If they could still maintain peak combat capability, that would be truly defying the heavens.
"Whoa, well done!" Ling Xiao couldn't help but praise. "With this analytical skill, you're wasting your talent in an assault boat. You'd be a better fit as an advisor to Commander Tang."
Here we go again!
Ou Zhanpeng resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Alright, stop the chatter!"
It was only because assault boats had separate communication channels that they could talk like this. Otherwise, their nonsensical chatter over the radio would surely earn them demerits later.
"Okay, okay, I'll shut up, alright?" Ling Xiao muttered sullenly, but soon couldn't resist himself. He deliberately lowered his voice, "Ou Fei, it's not that I'm praising the enemy and belittling us, but the aliens' methods are incredibly powerful. Our weapons are like child's play in their eyes. Can we actually succeed?"
Ou Zhanpeng harbored the same worries. Ling Xiao had indeed hit a nerve, but the way he blurted out his thoughts without any reservation made Ou Zhanpeng wonder what he was truly thinking.
He chose his words carefully, speaking slowly. "I think, perhaps, when aliens come to our world, it's like us going to a primitive tribe. The gap is undeniable, but it doesn't mean there's no chance at all. Think about it, if a primitive person pokes you twice with a spear, would you die?"
Ling Xiao was stunned. "What the heck, you can explain it like that? I'm truly impressed!" Although it was a bit of a stretch, it did sound somewhat plausible.
As they spoke, the missiles had flown across more than half of the moon, launching their final assault on the enemy ship.
Just as the missiles were about to cross the 280-kilometer defensive line, the leading missiles detonated prematurely, releasing a blinding flash of light and a large amount of smoke. (PS: Please don't ask in the comments if smoke can be used in a vacuum. I truly don't want to explain it again.)
These were chaff rounds, designed to use intense light and smoke to disrupt the enemy's vision. The smoke also interfered with radar waves, making it one of the most crucial defensive measures for space warships.
Space warships, while different from surface vessels, shared many commonalities, which was why many of their weapons and equipment were adapted from those used on surface ships.
The smoke had a continuous release time of only eight seconds. After that, the fleet detonated a second chaff round.
This move indeed caught the enemy off guard. Unable to aim precisely, they could only fire by instinct—as Ou Zhanpeng described it, it was like a primitive man throwing a handful of sand into a modern person's face.
Some missiles were destroyed by the enemy ship, but more broke through the defensive line, launching their final assault on the enemy vessel.
Everyone's emotions grew tense, anticipating the moment when a miracle would occur.
One hundred kilometers...
Thirty kilometers...
Ten kilometers...
One kilometer!
Victory seemed to be within humanity's grasp. Ou Zhanpeng instinctively held his breath.
A missile broke through the smoke and struck the enemy ship with a thunderous impact, erupting in a brilliant burst of flame!
Following that, a missile hit the enemy ship every two seconds, the flashes of explosion continuous.
Success!
At that moment, no one could articulate their exact feelings. The radio was filled with cheers.
But they soon realized something was amiss. The missiles weren't hitting the enemy ship; instead, they were exploding tens of meters away from it, leaving the enemy vessel completely unaffected.
Once, and then again.
The explosions, which should have been spherical, were normal in all other directions, but in the direction of the enemy ship, they formed an outwardly concave arc, as if something had enveloped the enemy vessel, blocking all threats from the outside.
Everyone was stunned by the sight. The cheers died down. Was this the legendary shield?
Pessimism spread rapidly. Interception from afar, shields up close—how could they possibly win this war?
Tang Haifeng's expression was grim, his face taut.
He was still waiting, still hoping for the final outcome.
After a short while, the second wave of the offensive neared its end. The moment the last missile hit, the dark void was suddenly illuminated by an intense light, an expanding ball of brilliance that instantly engulfed the enemy ship.
This was a nuclear explosion, the flash of a mushroom cloud!
The sense of despair vanished, but no one cheered. Everyone stared intently at the screen, once again anticipating a miracle.
However, the satellite's camera was burned out by the intense light, leaving the screen blank.
Tang Haifeng jumped up. "Launch the reconnaissance drone, quickly!"
A drone ejected from the ship, rapidly gaining altitude. The horizon continuously lowered in the camera's view. Before long, the enemy ship on the other side of the moon came into sight.
Although the surface of the enemy ship showed clear signs of scorching, it remained suspended in the lunar sky.
"It's over, completely over!" Ou Zhanpeng said, stunned, voicing the thoughts of everyone present.
At that moment, countless hearts felt an icy chill.
The command center was silent, save for the constant hum of equipment.
Was this how it ended?
Tang Haifeng's eyes were bloodshot, his spirit broken.
Just then, a surprising voice suddenly cut through the silence: "Commander, the enemy ship is descending! The nuclear blast worked!"
Tang Haifeng's head snapped up, his eyes blazing with renewed energy. "Excellent!"
In an instant, everyone felt re-energized.