Book 10: Chapter 17: The Attack

“Woo…” A roaring sound, like that of a large fan spinning at high speed, came from the testing room. A dazzling light connected the “Seventeenth Fallen Angel” to the metal target in the testing room like a rainbow.

Wherever the rainbow lightly touched the metal target, that part would directly vanish, leaving behind a smooth, round hole. With numerous holes overlapping, the metal target’s jagged edges looked as if they had been bitten by a fierce beast. Soon, the entire target disappeared and turned into a pile of metal fragments.

Single-soldier weapons in the Gospel World had developed to such a level that they no longer relied on gunpowder technology, but rather on Gauss and particle beam technology. Among these, Gauss technology—electromagnetic projectile weapons—was basically already in the phase of being phased out.

This wasn’t because Gauss weapons lacked power, but rather because the initial velocity and range of the projectiles were insufficient. In space, there is no atmosphere or gravity to restrict movement, so any spacecraft here could reach incredible speeds. Gauss weapons, known for their high speed and accuracy on planetary surfaces, naturally couldn’t compete with particle beam weapons here.

Even without the explosive sound of gunpowder, the high-speed spinning of the spherical cannon still gave a very shocking and dangerous sensory experience.

“Sherlock, you’re a genius. What do you call this newly designed weapon?” After stepping out of the machine body, Qin Lun looked with satisfaction at the young-faced Ordnance Officer before him. He never hesitated to praise those who could help him.

“The scientific name is ‘Alternating Current Coaxial Coil Cannon,’ codenamed ‘Tapered Phased Dense Array,'” Sherlock said, curling his lip. He didn’t share Qin Lun’s enthusiasm for a Gauss weapon that was already outdated in space combat.

The young and proud Ordnance Officer placed his hand on the seven- or eight-meter-tall black sphere, feeling the cool touch of the composite metal, and shrugged. “But I prefer to call it ‘Cold Storm.'”

Having been watching Sherlock act playful, Vera—who had been unusually quiet today—couldn’t resist her curiosity. She patted the “Cold Storm” and turned to ask reluctantly, “Sir, are you really not considering replacing the Gauss barrel with a particle track? Maybe Sherlock could make some changes based on the original design…”

Hearing this, Sherlock couldn’t help but puff out his cheeks and glare at the beautiful young lieutenant officer. Gauss weapons and particle beam weapons were fundamentally different; they couldn’t just be easily modified.

Qin Lun didn’t refuse right away. Figuring out how to maximize a weapon’s potential was the Ordnance Officer’s job, not the user’s. Even if he was a super shooter, at most he could only push the weapon to the limits of its design.

“If we switch to a particle track for ‘Cold Storm,’ could we make the particle beams attack from blind spots when necessary?” Qin Lun asked thoughtfully.

“Impossible,” Sherlock replied. “The biggest advantage of particle weapons is that they hit as soon as they lock on—high firing speed and high accuracy. Because of this characteristic, they’re quite ‘direct’ and can’t perform blind spot shots.” Although Sherlock didn’t want to make further changes to “Cold Storm,” he still explained dutifully.

“However, Vera does have a point. Your psychic control is a BUG ability, and combined with the vector thrusters on ‘Cold Storm,’ even if we switched to particle beam devices, it would be hard for blind spots to exist.”

What Qin Lun called blind spot shooting actually referred to the curved shots and ballistic refraction of Gauss bullets. Hearing the expected explanation, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“Then forget it,” Qin Lun said indifferently. “If ‘Cold Storm’ loses its blind spot attack capability, it wouldn’t be any different from other particle track guns—it would just be more flexible and versatile to operate. The design of the Bingren Mecha itself is meant to deal with enemies at close to medium range.

At that distance, combined with the high mobility of the mecha itself, the concept of ‘lock-on and hit’ becomes false. The initial velocity of Gauss weapon bullets is enough to handle enemies. For me, a ‘Cold Storm’ capable of blind spot attacks is the best configuration.”

“Alright then, as long as you’re satisfied!” Sherlock flashed a bright smile. “By the way, sir, the special weapon designed to deal with Jannamer has also been made based on the characteristics of the Descendant Apostle. Would you like to take a look?”

“Sure!” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed with interest as he followed Sherlock into another heavily guarded armory.

In this much smaller, dust-free laboratory, a silver spear over seventy meters long, resembling a medieval knight’s lance, lay quietly inside a tempered glass case.

“Is… this it?” After the impressive display of the “Cold Storm,” the simple appearance of this spear surprised Qin Lun, and he couldn’t help but turn and ask, “Are there any other changes inside the spear?”

“Hahaha!” Sherlock laughed heartily, holding his stomach, and proudly lifted his chin toward Vera, whose face had darkened. “You lost, Vera! The sir did ask exactly that. Remember, you owe me breakfast for a stellar week… Ouch!”

“You two made a bet about me?” Qin Lun gave Sherlock a hard knock on the head and turned to Vera with exasperation. “Be careful, or I’ll tell Vice Officer Fuyutsuki!”

“Heehee, sir, you’re so kind—you definitely wouldn’t tattle like a child!” Vera giggled, hugging Qin Lun’s arm while shooting a fierce glare at Sherlock.

Qin Lun shook his head with a wry smile. After getting familiar with him, these two had become more and more at ease. After all this time, he had also learned why there were so many young teenage soldiers on the Faith.

This wasn’t because the Gith were exploiting their resources to the extreme. In fact, after over a thousand years of recovery in the Scorpius Galaxy, the Gith weren’t short on population to organize a space fleet.

However, after developing the semi-biological, semi-mechanical Bingren Mecha, the Gith discovered that younger generations had a higher natural sensitivity to Jannamer biological tissue. As they grew older, this talent would fade. That’s why most pilots operating the semi-biological mechas and the Ordnance Officers responsible for maintaining them were young teenagers.

“Sir, the power of this spear-type weapon lies not in its design, but in the material it uses,” Sherlock said, finally turning serious after laughing for a while. “Its material comes from matter ejected by white dwarfs—it’s a type of high-density, high-mass radioactive metal.”

“White dwarfs?” Qin Lun was slightly startled. “Can the Bingren Mecha carry this kind of weapon? Will it affect the mecha’s performance?”

White dwarfs are stars in the late stages of their life cycle, with volumes similar to planets like Earth, but masses equal to or greater than stars like the Sun. White dwarfs eventually develop into neutron stars and black holes.

Even with technology as advanced as the Gith’s, it was almost impossible to approach such ultra-high-density and high-mass celestial bodies.

“It can,” Sherlock replied. “We’ve installed anti-gravity devices inside the spear body so the mecha can carry it without issues.” He touched the glass case holding the spear, a rare look of fervor on his face. “However, its radiation will penetrate the mecha and harm the Bingren pilot inside. Once they pick it up, the pilot basically has only one day left to live.

Back then, it was precisely by relying on this type of weapon that we broke through the Jannamer’s tight encirclement, allowing our civilization to survive in the Scorpius Galaxy. The Gith heroes who voluntarily took up this weapon and went to the battlefield jokingly called it the ‘No Return Spear.’ In terms you’d understand, sir, that would be the ‘Reaper Spear.'”

“Since this spear has strong radiation and causes great harm to Jannamer biological tissue, what about the full-bio-mechas we use…” Qin Lun frowned slightly. The Descendant Apostles weren’t Gith heroes capable of self-sacrifice; there was no way they would use something like this.

“Sir, you’ve misunderstood!” Sherlock explained with a smile. “The radiation from the Reaper Spear is fatal to the Gith, but it doesn’t affect Jannamer organisms or the Gith Angel clones. The Reaper Spear doesn’t kill Jannamer through radiation.”

“Oh?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow, looking at the young boy with interest as he waited for further explanation.

“Jannamer themselves survive by devouring planetary life and energy. They’re least afraid of elemental radiation, even if that radiation comes from ultra-dense matter of white dwarfs,” Sherlock said, spreading his hands with a grin.

“However, for Jannamer, the Reaper Spear is like an indigestible diamond. Once it pierces the core of their biological body, it’s like having a stone forcibly stuffed into the heart—how could they not have a myocardial infarction?”

“Heehee,” Qin Lun laughed at Sherlock’s easy-to-understand analogy.

After seeing the Reaper Spear, he began to understand why the Gith, including the shrewd Captain Marx, had so much confidence in the Descendant Apostles. Because even without any special abilities, as long as the Apostles could pilot full-bio-mechas equipped with the Reaper Spear, they would be a super weapon against Jannamer.

…

Three days later, on the bridge of the Faith, Captain Marx stood straight in front of his seat, his expression serious as he watched the large projection screen ahead, which displayed live footage monitoring the Faith’s catapult bay.

There sat a small spacecraft, entirely black and peculiarly shaped, clearly different from the other auxiliary ships of the Faith. The armor plates on its surface lacked the metallic sheen of ordinary warships, instead showing a special texture resembling biological muscle tissue, crouching on the catapult track like a giant beast.

“Advancing requests takeoff!” The voice of the air crewmember sounded slightly tense over the bridge.

“Approved for takeoff!” Seeing the questioning look in the air crewmember’s eyes, Captain Marx remembered that his beautiful vice officer was also on that ship. Collecting himself, he personally issued the takeoff command.

“Takeoff approved. Command Advancing to ignite engines. Catapult countdown beginning: 59, 58, 57…”

“Boom!” As the catapult bay lit up with a dazzling light, the Advancing, like a giant beast, trailed a long streak of flame from its rear and shot out of the bay like an arrow.

About ten light-seconds away from the Faith, a charming and dazzling space ripple appeared in front of the ship. After a flash, the entire vessel entered hyperspace dimension and disappeared from the universe.