Osiris stood at the window of his temporary residence, his optical lens locked onto the massive bow wreckage of Ronker Town, its outline clearly visible in the night.
Within the core of his processing, an invisible countdown is approaching its end.
The final contact with Elias was completed several hours ago, and all preconditions were met.
The intelligent robotic forces lurking outside the town maintained radio silence, like metal embedded in rock, awaiting the command to activate.
He did not hesitate at all.
A highly encrypted and extremely streamlined binary executable code was transmitted directionally to the "Eternal Quest" in orbit through its powerful transmission unit.
The signal content is merely an identifier confirming the start of the action phase.
After the transmission was completed, Osiris' mechanical body remained still, with only the plasma reactor behind him emitting an almost imperceptible humming sound due to the instantaneous adjustment of energy output.
His sensor array was set to maximum sensitivity, receiving all data streams from the external environment, ready to record the impending destruction he himself was about to unleash.
In Necromonda geosynchronous orbit, the cruiser "Eternal Quest" resembles a metallic whale lurking in the void, its five-kilometer-long hull reflecting a cold, hard luster under the light of distant stars.
Inside the bridge, the main control cogitator array completed decoding and verification almost instantly upon receiving the ground signal.
"Execution signal confirmed. Authorization verified. Combat protocol activated." Sekhmet's synthesized voice rang out in the silent bridge, devoid of any emotion, as if stating a given fact.
Inside the massive warship, the pre-entered target parameters were activated instantly.
Bridge operators were making final track adjustments to ensure the ship's hull was pointing at the optimal angle for attack over Ronker Town.
Deep within the weapon deck, the energy conduits emitted a low, charging hum, and the breech of the macro cannon closed heavily under the drive of the hydraulic system, locking onto the fully loaded giant armor-piercing projectile.
"Main weapon array fully charged. Target coordinates locked. Shield penetration algorithm loaded," the weapons officer reported, his fingers rapidly tapping on the control panel to complete the final pre-launch sequence confirmation.
"Execute the orbital strike," Sekhmet gave the final order.
In an instant, the large array of light spears above the bow of the "Eternal Quest" burst forth with destructive light.
Several beams of energy, tinged with a destructive azure, blazed white and pierced the thin atmosphere like thunderbolts hurled by a god, striking the surface of Necromonda with near-absolute speed and precision.
Immediately following, several large cannons on the broadside let out a muffled roar, huge muzzle flashes briefly bloomed in the vacuum, and heavy shells were given terrifying initial velocities, falling along predetermined trajectories toward the marked area below.
On the outskirts of Ronker Town, inside a laser turret modified from the thick engine compartment of a starship, two guards on duty are routinely scanning the wasteland through observation mirrors with multiple layers of protection.
Suddenly, a series of abnormal status indicator lights on the control panel caught one of the people's attention—the readings of the K-7 energy node in the middle layer were fluctuating wildly.
Before he could even issue a warning, an even more piercing orbital attack alarm shattered the tranquility.
The energy detector's pointer swung across the red zone in an instant, emitting a rapid beeping sound.
"Extremely high energy reaction! Orbital source!" a guard roared as he lunged toward the control panel.
According to the emergency plan, he should have activated the area's shield generator immediately, but the control interface showed an unexpected delay—the system responded to the command two fatal seconds slower.
During this brief delay, the first wave of attacks arrived.
Several beams of blazing white light tore through the atmosphere and struck several key nodes on the outskirts of Ronker Town with precision.
Just as the attack was about to arrive, the eerie blue energy barrier above the town hastily lit up—an emergency activation of the starship's remaining Void Shield system.
The energy of the light spear collided violently with the shield, unleashing a dazzling burst of light.
Because the activation was slightly delayed, the shield failed to fully form its optimal defensive configuration and fluctuated violently under impact, its color rapidly changing from dark blue to an unstable bright purple.
"The shield is holding up! But the status is unstable!" shouted the guard inside the turret, while attempting to activate the automatic counterattack protocol.
However, the control system returned confusing feedback: multiple defense units on the east and north sides were underpowered.
This is the direct impact of the failure of the K-7 energy node.
The remaining defense system began sporadic and chaotic counterattacks.
The covers of a few missile silos that were unaffected by the first wave of attacks and had normal power supply slid open, and several orbital attack missiles took off.
Several large laser turrets also adjusted their firing angles, firing energy beams toward the orbit. However, these counterattacks appeared sparse and uncoordinated.
Meanwhile, at the central control substation B-12, the miniature jammers installed by Elias were quietly taking effect.
When the controller attempted to coordinate a concentrated counterattack among the various defense units, inexplicable data transmission stutters and packet loss occurred.
The command transmission was three to five seconds slower than usual, which prevented the counter-attack firepower from forming an effective density.
In geosynchronous orbit, the weapon array of the "Eternal Quest" keenly detected the chaos in the defense system.
The shipborne cogitators quickly adjusted their attack strategy, and the subsequent barrage of light spears was concentrated on several weak points in the shield's energy field.
The macro cannon shells follow a precisely calculated trajectory, striking the same area of the shield repeatedly like a heavy hammer.
The pale blue shield light became extremely dazzling, and the fluctuation frequency reached its limit.
Due to uneven internal energy distribution and subtle delays in the coordination system, the shield system's self-regulation capabilities are significantly reduced.
Warnings of overload on the energy relay nodes that were maintaining the shield were flashing wildly in the control center, but the emergency balancing protocol failed to activate in time.
Finally, under another round of concentrated bombardment from the light spears and macro cannons, the shield let out a mournful cry of despair.
With a violent flash of energy, the entire shield system completely collapsed.
The dissipated energy transformed into an electromagnetic storm that swept across half of the town, causing countless electronic devices to short-circuit and burn out amidst crackling sounds.
Without the protection of the shield, destruction followed.
The subsequent light spears accurately hit the missile silos and laser gun emplacements that were still attempting to retaliate.
The launch silos were transformed into massive fireballs in the secondary explosion, while the macro cannon shells fell like heavy hammers, tearing and twisting the external defenses built on the starship wreckage, ultimately turning into deadly fragments flying everywhere in the explosion.
Violent explosions continued unabated, completely engulfing the outskirts of Ronker Town in flames and thick smoke.
The shockwave traveled along the starship's metal frame, causing continuous tremors throughout the settlement.
Although Elias' sabotage did not directly destroy any facilities, it was like severing the nerves of the defense system at a critical moment, causing the external defense system of Ronker Town, which relied on the starship legacy, to collapse at a much faster pace under the orbital fire of the "Eternal Quest".
Osiris calmly recorded everything.
His sensors detected the collective decay and disappearance of the energy signals from the defense nodes, indicating that the external defense system of Ronker Town, which relied on the starship wreckage, had collapsed and become completely paralyzed in a very short time under the first round of precise orbital strikes from the "Eternal Quest".
The road leading into the town has been forcibly opened amidst the smoke and ruins.