Baal tendril had fifty thousand hiveships

• Devastation of Baal:

"The Blade of Vengeance spat out a full spread of torpedoes, turning slightly once they were away to glide cleanly abeam the hive ship. As it passed the living battleship, four pillars of blinding light slammed out from the Blade of Vengeance’s dorsal turrets, blasting the hive ship’s head to pieces. The weapons snapped off, leaving the hive ship dying. Thick blood spewed from the front. The torpedoes smashed home as the Blade of Vengeance and its escorts moved upward over the hive ship. Atomic fire annihilated the first three miles of its forequarters. The symbiotic weapons creatures were still firing, but the core of the hive ship was dead. Random eructations of gas spasmed from its thruster spiracles, and it lumbered out of formation, smashing aside dozens of its fellows.’

Beyond the dead hive ship, the void was packed with uncountable enemy vessels.

‘One down, fifty thousand to go,’ said Asante drily."