Chapter 350: Fire
When the Swarm ceased firing after realizing their attacks were ineffective, Diallo interpreted this as their surrender. Confident in his invincibility, he immediately ordered the fleet to maintain formation and advance at full speed.
“Your Highness, I still believe we should proceed with caution,” Aslit advised.
“Relax, Aslit. According to the intel, electromagnetic railguns are the Swarm’s only long-range weapon. Oh, I almost forgot—they also have that primitive launching contraption, right? Hahaha! Forgive me, I genuinely thought such devices only existed in ancient history. I can’t fathom how a spacefaring civilization like the Swarm would still use something so outdated.” Diallo laughed heartily. “And I hear its accuracy is abysmal.”
Privately, Aslit was also puzzled. The supposed “catapult-like” weapon mentioned in the reports seemed implausibly archaic, especially for a civilization deemed significant by the suzerain. Her instincts told her that something was amiss. She shared her concerns with Diallo.
After a moment of consideration, Diallo reassured her, saying, “Don’t worry. Even if that thing somehow has perfect accuracy, it’s still a physical projectile. Against our repulsion fields, it’s utterly useless. Besides, such a device would be impossible to conceal. Looking at the Swarm’s current deployment, there’s no way they could hide something like that at this range.”
“But what if they have other weapons? For instance, creatures capable of firing lasers,” Aslit pressed.
“Aslit,” Diallo said sternly, “as a proud member of the great Daqi, you shouldn’t be asking such questions! Even we haven’t solved the problem of long-range energy weapon power supply. Do you honestly believe the Swarm has? I’ll concede they have some unique innovations and potential for the future, but for now, in the face of my fleet, they must bow!” He dismissed her concerns with an air of finality, turning his attention back to the rapidly approaching Planet Izumo.
The Daqi fleet maintained their incredible speed, undeterred by the Swarm’s actions. Under Diallo’s command, they closed the distance to 500,000 kilometers from Planet Izumo—a perilously close range in space combat.
At such a distance, calling it “point-blank range” might be an exaggeration, but given the technological level of the combatants, it was undeniably dangerous. Energy weapons could traverse this distance in mere seconds, ensuring any battle fought here would be brutal and decisive. For the slower side, retreat would scarcely be an option.