21st Century Goguryeo

The chance that these destroyers, only able to travel at 30 knots, would be able to flee from the path of the Korean Navy warships was low. The ships of the Korean Navy possessed various anti-warship missiles that could travel hundreds of kilometers at supersonic speed. The only thing the U.S. destroyers could do was to face the Korean Navy head to head until they could get reinforcements from the Pacific Fleet.

<By now, the fighter jets from three of the aircraft carriers must have taken off. They'll also probably be preparing to attack with the anti-warship missiles that have the longest range. If we can just endure for another 10 minutes, everything will be okay.> Captain Landen Donovan sorted out his thoughts calmly, even though he was still surprised.

He shouted into the headset that he was holding. "From now on, I'm giving each ship's captain the commanding rights. Regarding target designation, make sure to keep using the datalink to attack different targets."

Even though several troubling events were happening at once, Captain Donovan tried his best to stay calm and made the best decision he could have made in the current situation.

"O-objects expected to be b-bullets detected from the enemy fleet! A total of 44, no, the number keeps increasing. 56 bullets, confirmed 67 bullets! From those, 21 of them are flying toward this ship! Activating the automatic interception system." As the battle information officer reported, he decided to convert the system to an automatic interception system. The situation was that urgent.

"Deputy captain!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Take charge of the bridge. I'm going down to the combat information center."

"Yes, sir."

Currently, the objects flying toward the eight Zumwalt-class destroyers were compact plasma cohesive bombs that were fired from the 100-millimeter Squitte C-2 gun. They were flying at great speeds, comparable to the metal bullets fired from the 256MJ railgun—a terrifying speed of almost Mach 10.

The eight new-generation Zumwalt-class destroyers had a higher interception rate and unlike the older destroyer models, it was equipped with the 8MJ-class railgun for CIWS (Close-In Weapons System) purposes. The problem, however, was the number of bullets that needed to be intercepted. It didn't matter how powerful the anti-air defenses were, it was impossible to intercept 100 percent of the 22 compact plasma cohesive bombs that had a diameter of 100 millimeters and a length of 1,500 millimeters.

If there were other destroyers of the Pacific Fleet nearby, with their support, it would have been possible to have an interception rate of close to 100 percent. However, the distance between the rest of the Pacific Fleet was around 88 kilometers—the result of going at full speed for a whole 20 minutes to get closer to the 2nd Fleet.

In other words, because of Captain Donovan's recklessness, the only option the eight Zumwalt-class destroyers had to survive was gone.

Captain Donovan ran through the narrow hallway and the stairs, and arrived at the combat information center. He walked toward the battle information officer, who was busy giving orders.

Because of the urgent situation, the battle information officer didn't even glance at him, much less salute. He continued to concentrate on his given task. Captain Donovan, who was well aware of the situation, was careful not to be a distraction. He watched, standing at the side.

The first thing that was to be done in this situation was to intercept the enemy bullets flying toward the ship under the battle information officer's command.

"11th, 12th, targets succeeded! 13th failed! 14th failed! 15th succeeded in intercepting!" The fire control officer reported the situation in real-time, looking at all the information being displayed.

<Papapapapang! Papapapapang! Papapang! Papapapapang!>

The two 8MJ-class railguns on the Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) sprayed intercepting metal bullets toward the dark sky, to the point of overheating.

Moments later, beyond the horizon, in the dark sky, dark red dots, seemingly made from air friction due to the high speed appeared one by one. They soon flew toward the Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) as if they were being sucked in by gravity.

<Boom!>

The Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) had become a target in just a few minutes. A few kilometers away, the first dark red dot exploded in the air. It had been shot down by the metal intercept bullets sprayed by the 8MJ-class railgun.

But one by one, more dark red dots appeared. They soon overtook the Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) warship.

The Son Byong-hi (CG-1103) and the Cha Yi-suk (CG-1104), both Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin-class destroyers, were continuously firing compact plasma cohesive bombs from the two Squitte C-2 cannons. It was revenge for the metal bullets from the railguns that had attacked them a few moments ago.

The Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) warship's battle information officer tried his best to fight back, but as expected, it was impossible to intercept all 22 small shells in such a short amount of time.

<Boom!>

A compact plasma cohesive bomb, shaped like a triangular pole, flew in from the right and hit the bridge of the Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014), shaking the entire ship.

The shock of the impact, created by just acceleration, was truly huge. The bridge area, made from spaced armor, was ripped into pieces as if it was just a piece of paper, and large flames erupted everywhere. The misfortune didn't end here, however. As the timer ran out on the bomb, the compact plasma cohesive bomb that had buried itself deeply in the ship revealed its true power.

An enormous explosion occurred from inside, and heat that could instantly melt metal moved throughout the interior of the ship. The battle information officer, who had tried his best to intercept the bullets, as well as Captain Landen Donovan, who was unable to do anything, but pull ally captains and subordinates into the depths of hell, were burned to death from the sudden burst of heat. It was an absurd way to die.

While the heat of the first bomb swept through the ship, the second compact plasma cohesive bomb hit the stern of the ship through the fire.

This time, it seemed that the timer went off at the point of impact. Explosions followed the shock of the impact, and the bomb exploded at the same time. The stern of the ship ripped into two pieces and flew into the air.

At this, the stern side of the Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) suddenly started to tilt, and soon the whole ship was being pulled into the sea.

The members of the crew who were lucky enough to survive opened the exit that led outside, and jumped straight into the sea without a second thought. However, only a small amount of crew members were able to jump out into the sea using the exits. Unlike normal warships, the side of the Zumwalt-class destroyer was made up of a solid wall, which meant it didn't have many exits.

In no time, the Paul Hamilton (DDG-1014) sank into the sea, leaving just its front protruding. The situation for the other destroyers was also pretty much the same.

The Douglas MacArthur (DDG-1006), which had been in charge of the right corner of the diamond formation, was directly hit by four compact plasma cohesive bombs. It was destroyed into a shapeless heap of metal and sank into the ocean without a trace. The Plate II-class Rayburn (DDG-1012), which had been in charge of defending the front, had vanished as well, only leaving behind numerous parts floating on the sea.

Besides this, the Barry (DDG-1007) and the Stout (DDG-1009) and the Fitzgerald (DDG-1016), which had been in the center, spewed out huge flames, leaving just a mass of ruins, floating on the waves without any ability to sail on their own.

Only the Curtis Wilbur (DDG-1008) and the Mitscher (DDG-1011) succeeded in intercepting 100 percent of the plasma cohesive bombs. Even though allied destroyers around them were shot down and were either engulfed by flames or were sinking into the ocean, they expressed their relief and happiness when the bombs were intercepted successfully. This happiness didn't last long, however—40 bullets shot from the Squitte cannons were flying toward them with their death just moments away.

This entire slaughter happened in less than 10 minutes. When the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and the F-35C Lightning II fighter jets that were urgently dispatched from the Calvinson (CVN-80) had arrived at the area, the eight Zumwalt-class destroyers had already sunk into the ocean, only leaving behind numerous broken parts.

When the Pacific Fleet was told of the situation, they were filled with shock. 32 out of the 64 dispatched F-35C Lightning II fighter jets, equipped with the supersonic-speed AGM-158S SRASM airship missiles on both sides of the lower internal armory, lowered their altitudes sharply while releasing radar jamming waves. When they had reached a certain altitude, they opened the fairing of the internal armory, and using the target information they received from the Atlas reconnaissance satellite, fired AGM-158S SRASM missiles one by one.

*SRASM: Short-Range Anti-Ship Missile

The AGM-158S SRASM was based on the previous AGM-158D LRASM but was newly developed to fit into the small internal armory of the F-35C model while being able to travel at supersonic speed. This SRASM had been jointly developed by Lockheed Martin and NASA, and it had only been a few months since it had been put into use in actual battle. It was a shiny new supersonic-speed airship missile dedicated for the F-35B and C's use.

<Shooowaaa~ Shooowaaa~ Shooowaaa~>

The AGM-158S SRASMs exited the internal armory, creating red sparks in unison. They soon left the sight of the pilot, leaving behind a trail of white smoke.

The AGM-158S SRASM had been developed to be a smaller missile due to the small internal armory space. Its speed was close to Mach 5, but its range was only 250 kilometers, much shorter than expected.

It was because of these reasons that the making of these missiles faced objections from the Air Force, and even cancellation. However, Lockheed Martin and NASA had persistently persuaded those in opposition and finally succeeded in putting them to use in actual battle. They had reasoned that it was a weapon that had its merits since the fighter jets that would be carrying them would be stealth fighter jets, which would allow them to approach within the missiles' range, as well as avoid the enemy ships' radar.

There was, however, one more top-secret reason why those in opposition of this missile had finally been persuaded. The AGM-158S SRASM's range had been considerably shortened due to the small internal armory space compared to other supersonic-speed missiles, but the speed of these missiles could be increased up to Mach 8 using the supplementary engines attached to four locations of its body.

This feature could also be used as a propelling force to evade intercepting missiles. These two modes were a very big merit, as they could choose between them freely depending on the battle situation.

Currently, the location that the F-35C Lightning II fighter jets had fired the AGM-158S SRASM was 250 kilometers away from the 2nd Fleet, which was the maximum range of the missiles. This distance meant that out of the two modes, the mode that boosted speed couldn't be used.

The 64 AGM-158S SRASMs flew above the ocean, skimming the water at the speed of Mach 5. The waves that had been calm without any wind blowing over them, immediately began to move, soaring up toward the sky.