Chapter 119 03.0118: "What man can resist a giant cannon?"

As Horatio stepped onto the gun deck, the soldiers saw the officers' uniforms and collar insignia and knew that their superiors had arrived, so they saluted the two officers.

The air in the cannon cabin did not smell good. Even though there was a smoke extractor, it still smelled like a mixture of gunpowder, engine oil, and sweat.

Farida also frowned, but did not complain.

"Why do these people look so strange? Horatio, are they... mutated?" Farida felt a little worried as she looked at these abnormal sailors in front of her.

Horatio seemed much calmer.

He discovered that many of the crew members here were ‘sons of the void.’ The ‘natives’ of these warships had lived on the warships for generations, and many of them were born in the tides of the warp, with their bodies mutated. Some of them even had pure black pupils without whites of their eyes, which was a mutation of the human body in order to adapt to life in the void.

But the Imperial Navy doesn't care about this. As long as these crew members continue to serve the Imperial Navy conscientiously, they can survive, and live better than most Imperials. Otherwise, they will be completely wiped out.

They may have witnessed the replacement of hundreds or thousands of captains, and some of their families even have a longer history than the battleship. Commodore Peru said that when he was still a candidate officer, he served on the Indefatigable, and he had such deep feelings for the battleship that he was even unwilling to be promoted to major general.

Because once he became a rear admiral, he could no longer be a captain. He didn't want others to control his warship.

"They are 'Sons of the Void', and there will be some mutations on their bodies, but don't worry, just follow me closely." Horatio said calmly.

Farida carefully crouched among the strange-looking crew members, almost clinging to Horatio's back.

"..." Horatio felt a soft and elastic touch coming from behind him, but he just frowned slightly and pretended to know nothing and walked forward.

Each gun in the macro battery array is located in a separate armored emplacement.

The two cannons are constructed with several layers of thick alloy armor plates. Even if one gun group unfortunately explodes in the barrel, it will not explode to the gun positions on both sides.

The space in the armored plate was not wasted, and it was arranged into cargo holds, crew living quarters and cabins. According to the regulations, each macro gun was commanded by a warrant officer, and each artillery fort consisting of two macro guns was commanded and dispatched by a senior warrant officer or a reserve officer.

Horatio could recognize that he was commanding two Mars IV heavy macrocannons, whose caliber was twice as large as those of the light macrocannons on the frigates, and an Emperor-class Titan could stand upright inside them.

The port side macro guns No. 3 and No. 4 were in one battery, the 'Second Port Side Macro Battery'.

He and Farida took the elevator to the artillery command platform. This sturdy command cabin was located above and between the two giant cannons and was made of thousands of tons of heavy alloy steel.

There were many armed sailors standing guard along the way, which made people feel safe. There was an independent air purification system in the cabin, and once you entered, there was no unpleasant smell outside.

The command platform is large, with most of the space given to mechanical equipment. Several advanced meditator arrays and large display consoles are the core hub for issuing commands to the artillery group.

There were several officers' lounges in the back, and Horatio took a look inside. There were clean and tidy beds, mahogany desks and chairs, velvet sofas, showers and bathtubs.

There are also leisure and entertainment items such as regicide chess, billiards, chess cards, books, etc.

In the pantry on the command platform, there are robed servants standing. Their job is to meet all the needs of naval officers, provide them with meals, drinks, and anything they need.

There is a huge three-defense porthole 30 meters in front of the front. Its length and width represent the maximum firing range of the two macro cannons. Any target that appears in the field of view of the porthole can be attacked.

On the wide deck about 50 meters below, there were thousands of indentured laborers in shackles.

These people were tied into several rows like boat trackers, and the sailors who served as supervisors supervised their work with whips, and would be whipped if they were slack in the slightest.

Excluding these contract workers, there are hundreds of crew members in charge of this cannon, plus armed sailors standing guard and patrolling with guns. There are nearly a thousand people in each gun compartment, and these are all crew members under his charge.

"Sir, I am the gunner of the No. 3 macro cannon on the port side. The entire clan is at your service. You can authorize the artillery transfer order at any time." Seeing the substitute officer coming, the gunner saluted Horatio and Farida. His face was pale, and his fingers were long and sharp. It was obvious that he was also a mutated Son of the Void.

Judging from his rank and clan emblem, he is a warrant officer and the patriarch of the clan commanding 'Portside Macro Cannon No. 3'.

Soon, the chieftain of the No. 4 cannon on the port side came to Horatio and saluted the two reserve officers. He was also a chieftain.

This is the current situation of naval warships. Perhaps when the Indefatigable was first used as a Moon-class cruiser, the first batch of crew members on board were complete strangers.

As these crew members who lived on warships for generations experienced countless intermarriages and reproduction, they gradually and imperceptibly formed blood clans.

Whether it is the gun position, engine, or cabin, many of them are in the form of clans. Even under a macro cannon, there will be a command clan, a loading clan, a maintenance clan, and a maintenance clan...

Although this clan form is not officially recognized by the Imperial Navy, these crew members are undoubtedly the ones who know best how to operate and maintain these equipment.

They do not share the secrets of their clan's duties with anyone other than their officers.

This also means that if all members of a clan are killed in a battle, they are likely to completely lose all the operating knowledge of the weapon or equipment. The main task of the candidate officer is to familiarize himself with the various business skills of the warship before becoming a commissioned officer. Therefore, he will be sent to take charge of the command and know the specific operating procedures.

"I declare that this gun position will immediately enter the second combat alert navigation watch status." Horatio put his hand on his sword and ordered the gunner majestically.

"Follow your orders, sir!"

[+The second macro-cannon array on the port side is in place+] Horatio took over the ship's dedicated communication line and reported to the operations officer inside the ship.

[+Received, Candidate Officer Cochran, the Emperor expects you to perform your duties diligently+] Officer Macropao responded.

【+Yes! +】

Horatio immediately began to make preparations for war based on what he had learned from books.

[+The second ammunition supply group on the port side, this is the second macro artillery array on the port side, I have issued an ammunition transfer order+] Horatio said to the reserve officer at the weapons department post through the communication device.

[+The second ammunition supply group on the port side has received it and is distributing macro cannon ammunition+] a candidate officer replied.

"Work hard! Don't try to be lazy!" The supervisor waved the long side and yelled at the contract workers.

The contract workers were struggling to pull the cables that pulled the shell cranes, transferring the shells from the transport train to the shell racks.

Horatio not only has these rights, but he also has a key on him. This huge key gives him the right to open the armory under his feet and call to arms the crew in his cabin.

But generally few people would do this, because once the guns are fired, some of them will always be "missing" to a greater or lesser extent, and these may very likely become accomplices in crew riots or attacks and assassinations.

Farida had been observing Horatio. He was wearing an officer's uniform and a bicorne hat. He was serious and his every move and gesture was majestic. His right hand was on his sword the whole time, and his left hand was waving to give his orders.

He looks quite handsome like this, Farida thought.

But soon, the huge, slowly opening barrel caught her attention.

"This cannon... is so big." Farida let out a small exclamation, and she couldn't help but wonder in her heart how big the shells it fired must be.

"The inner diameter of this heavy macrocannon is large enough for an Emperor-class Titan to walk around inside." Horatio said to Farida, looking at the muzzle of the gun.

"That's right, sir." A gunner praised, "You are right. This great weapon is more powerful than any ground equipment."

"What's the fastest rate you can fire?" Horatio asked.

"An average of one shot every five minutes, sir. We are the best macro cannon clan on the entire ship!" said Macro Cannon Captain No. 5 proudly.

"So are we. We can even be dozens of seconds faster than you!" said Captain No. 4, unwilling to be outdone.

"When the alert sound comes, let me see what you can do."

"As you wish, sir!"

Command bridge.

"Reporting to the captain, we are still 15 kilometers away from the Vengeance Blade and 21 kilometers away from the enemy ships. The traitor warships have fled westward to the vicinity of the planet Valga, but our closing rate is faster. It is expected that we will overtake the Vengeance Blade in 2 Terra hours and catch up with the enemy ships in nearly 3 hours." The bird captain reported.

"Very good, sail at full speed. We will disable its engine first, and cooperate with the Blade of Vengeance to destroy it! The maximum speed is allowed to be 11 void knots, and the escort squadron is deployed to scout the front line! When the distance between the enemy ship and the enemy ship is 1 kilometers, sound the battle alarm!"

"Understood, Captain!"

"Captain Sterling, do you think Horatio is trustworthy in the artillery?"

"No problem, Captain." Lieutenant Sterling narrowed his eyes slightly: "He is a generalist."

Captain Edward nodded and said, "Okay, the battle will test him. Let's see if he is as good as you reported last time!"

The Indefatigable's plasma engine spewed out long bursts of blue light as it rushed forward.

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(End of this chapter)