The Realm War:Chronicles of Illirian Book 1

Chapter 17:Round 1

100 Dyrakos capital ships and 4000 fighters exited an ultraspeed tunnel, and flew towards Korukal, where the remaining Realm forces were waiting for them. One of the capital ships that was larger than all the others stayed back, with a protective ring around it, while the rest moved into attack position.

The 38 Realm capital ships and just over 1800 fighters met them. On the ground, a massive Dyrakos army charged the walls, which were defended by a mixture of Lidaer, Kveaita, Rokotai, Jorkal and Vanraael soldiers, with Commanders Orvelios, Teitar and Etreon in the center. Paellor, Teolara, Valaeon, Lumaira and Tairon were spread out on the parapets, each of them responsible for a section of the wall.

The wall mounted cannons fired on the approaching soldiers, shredding through the vanguard.

Several hundred Dyrakos fighters altered their course, heading for the walls. A dozen frigates and corvettes met them, along with a hundred fighters. The air defense cannons assisted as well, and most of the attackers were shot down, with few casualties for the defenders.

The wall mounted cannons kept firing, cutting down waves of enemy soldiers and tanks. The battle seemed to be going well for the Realms.

Emboldened by the successful defense, four allied battleships and 400 fighters attacked the left flank of the Dyrakos armada, taking down a few squadrons and unleashed volleys of sunbeams on the inferior shielded destroyers.

The Dyrakos destroyers were not optimized for defense. Their extra weaponry, powerful though it was, was meant specifically to target weaker capital ships, or for at least 4 of them to swarm a single battleship. Against a group working together, they had no chance without support.

Before the bulky Dyrakos battleships could aid them, the allied flank attack resulted in the loss of at least a hundred fighters and 10 destroyers, with only 29 allied fighters lost and some damage to the battleships shields.

When several Dyrakos battleships finally arrived, it was too late. The faster allied warships fled back to their defensive positions. The officers commanding the Dyrakos warships pursued them. They were quickly punished for it. Five of them were heavily damaged, and the other three turned back.

Before reinforcements could be sent out, the allies sent several dozen boarding craft, escorted by several battleships and fighter squadrons. The boarding crafts landed, and soldiers rushed to the bridge, overwhelming any Dyrakos defenders. They reached their destination, and were ready to take the five ships back for repairs, but at that moment, a small force separated from the enemy armada and attacked them.

The allied soldiers were reinforced by a group of the Realm capital ships and a fourth of their fighters. The Dyrakos fighters, due to their lack of shields and poor maneuverability, were severely outmatched by their allied counterparts. The alliance fighters easily spun around them and shot many of them down, while they themselves lost only a few.

It was different with the capital ships, though. The Dyrakos battleships, bulky though they were, were far more powerful than their alliance counterparts, and their destroyers, while not particularly well shielded, were very well armed, and quite nimble, outperforming the Alliance battleships and cruisers in that regard.

Still, despite all the Dyrakos advantages, the edge Alliance fighters had over them, proved to be decisive. Once the remaining enemy fighters were taken care of, the Alliance ships surrounded the enemy and overwhelmed them. They returned back to their defensive positions, with 8 captured Dyrakos warships in tow.

The rest of the attacking enemy ships came into pointblank range, and the intensity increased drastically.

Several Alliance corvettes and frigates were immediately destroyed, along with 10 cruisers and four battleships, along with just over 300 fighters. But they had taken with them almost the entire attacking force.

When the surviving Dyrakos ships retreated back to the rest of the armada, only around 50 or so large warships remained, whereas the Alliance still had 29 fully functioning capital ships. The gap between them had decreased drastically.

On the ground, the dark army had finally reached the walls, and did a significant amount of damage, leaving only 19 of the 30 wall mounted cannons, and around two thirds of the defenders. All that had come at a severe price, though. Nearly a third of the attacking force had been destroyed, along with many officers.

Demoralized, they retreated, and the defenders cheered, clapping each other on the backs, and sending taunting shots at the retreating army, killing a few more before they were out of range.