harleyscars Page 66
Page 66
It's more than just knowing each other.
Lynch took a deep breath to calm himself down, then looked at Salo and nodded.
“I know them. They are called the Word Bearers, traitors to the Empire, and lackeys of the Great Enemy of Chaos.”
“I really didn’t expect them to be there... but this also explains your actions perfectly, Sage Salo.”
At this point, Lynch closed his eyes and pondered for a while, during which he also had a discussion with Horus. Finally, they successfully came to a conclusion.
“Sage Salo”.
"What are your orders, sir?"
“Let’s go somewhere else. Owen, go find Ryan and have him notify all the company commanders, the colonel of the mortal auxiliary force, and all the ship captains to go to the conference room. We need to discuss this situation together.”
In Chapter 85, I made the following arrangements…
Generally speaking, an Astartes Chapter with its own homeworld would not easily take away all of its manpower to wage war against other worlds.
Lynch closed his eyes, leaned back in the chair in the conference room, and communicated with Horus in his mind.
“The Word Bearers,” he said. “If I remember correctly, deep within the Great Maelstrom, there exists a demon world belonging to them.”
“That makes sense then.” Horus frowned. “The only question now is how we should deal with the Word Bearers who attacked the mining station.”
Lynch remained silent, keeping his eyes closed in a meditative posture. Only when a large hand gently touched his shoulder did he open his eyes and nod to Ryan beside him.
Then, he took a deep breath, looked at the crowd that had all arrived in front of him, and said in a deep voice.
"I believe you have all heard about the reason why I suddenly called this meeting. I can now tell you clearly that the α13 mining station has indeed encountered a situation that is beyond our expectations. Therefore, we must now redeploy our support operations."
“No matter what.” Company Commander Leo stood up, his power armor still bearing the marks of the battle with orcs and demons aboard the First Arrow not long ago. “The First Company will always be your sharpest blade, sir.”
"Of course I trust the soldiers of the First Company."
Lin Qi nodded slightly to Leo, his tone filled with a sense of helplessness as he spoke.
"But as I've said before, I don't like fighting battles I'm not confident of winning. If we stick to the original plan, then the casualty reports will probably be unacceptable to me."
After saying this, he looked around at everyone and snapped his fingers.
A servo skull began operating its own projection device, and three high-definition images were displayed on the walls of the conference room.
The first and second pictures depict the orcs and the spirits, respectively, representing the enemies that the people present knew they would face after going to provide support.
Then comes the third picture.
“Those who harbor words,” Lin Qi spoke first. “Traitors to the Empire, lackeys of the Great Enemy of Chaos. I have already distributed the detailed information to the data boards in front of each of you. Remember to check them.”
"Sir, do you mean these traitors also appeared at the mining site?"
Second Company Commander Leonard Guss stood up, looked at Lynch, and asked with a serious expression.
Lin Qi nodded, looking at his burly second company commander. After a serious look, he was somewhat amazed by the man's height, which was a head taller than that of an average Astartes.
A powerful warrior, the saying that the second company commander was the most capable fighter in the battle group was actually quite true.
“According to the intelligence provided by Sage Salo,” Lynch said. “The number of Word Bearers is at least three hundred, and they also have a considerable number of mortal soldiers and cultists who have already betrayed them as support. Their fleet is even more powerful, and they easily crushed the original guard fleet of the mining station.”
Upon hearing this, the second company commander, Gess, frowned.
He glanced suspiciously at the Sage Salo sitting diagonally opposite him, and then spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"Lord Lynch, I have something I'd like to ask Sage Salo."
“Sage Salo, what do you think?”
"I will do my best to answer Company Commander Gus's questions."
“Alright, then Sage Salo, let me ask you, since the enemy is so powerful, how did you manage to hold out? How can you be so sure that if we go to provide support now, the mining station won't have already fallen?”
Gus's question elicited slight nods of approval from many present, who inwardly acknowledged his point.
After all, given the intelligence indicating that the enemy was so powerful, how could a mining station, which had already been completely defeated, possibly have the strength to resist?
Most people still don't want to go there only to find devastation everywhere, only to have made a wasted trip.
Faced with this somewhat pointed question, Sage Salo appeared quite composed. He first nodded slightly to everyone present before answering the question.
"Company Commander Gus, this is indeed a difficult question for me to answer. After all, according to my calculations, even if I return with reinforcements at the fastest speed, which is three days, the probability that the mining station will not fall is only a pitiful 33%."
"But sometimes, the difference lies in doing or not doing. And I have confidence in Sage Evelyn, who is stationed there. I believe that under her leadership, the α13 mining station will not fall. And although the enemy is powerful, we must also see the vulnerability within the enemy's ranks."
"For example, the mining station faces three forces: the orcs, the elves, and the traitors. But is it possible that although we are hostile to these three, they themselves are also hostile? I can tell you definitively that after the Guardian Fleet fell, the fleet fighting the Word Bearers' fleet in the void was the orc fleet."
After Salo finished speaking, he bowed his head slightly to the crowd and sat down again. Those present fell into deep thought after hearing his words, while Lynch waved his hand, indicating that a free discussion was permitted.
The small conference room quickly became noisy. Lynch glanced at Ryan, who had remained silent, and reached out to touch his arm.
"Ryan, why don't you go and discuss this?"
"Sir, I am a priest. Military matters should be left to the company commanders."
Ryan shrugged slightly. Lynch had nothing to say about the other party's attitude. After all, professionals should do professional things, and it has always been a taboo in the industry for laymen to instruct professionals.
Lynch himself, when dealing with warband affairs and making plans, always had to discuss and consult with Horus.
Fifteen minutes passed, and the discussion gradually became more unified. Lin Qi glanced around at everyone, took a deep breath, and asked a question.
"Gentlemen... what do you think? Do you still believe we need to support the α13 mining station?"
“Yes.” This time, the one who answered was not Astartes, but Colonel Sami Silvia of the Mortal Auxiliary Army. “Sir, the troops are ready and waiting to slit the throats of heretics and aliens.”
“It’s the same every time,” Leo said.
"The Second Company awaits your orders," Guts replied, standing up as well.
"Three in a row..."
"Fourth Company..."
"................"
"The Lamenters' Legion is always at your command."
The meeting room was filled with a series of responses. Lin Qi looked at the people who had stood up, took a deep breath, and then stood up as well.
"Very good, it seems that everyone has reached a consensus."
He said this, his gaze hardening.
"Then, pass on my orders, and I will make the following deployment adjustments."
"With the first, second, and third companies as the vanguard, along with the Lamenters Chapter led by Chapter Commander Fros, and the Honor Guard led by me, along with the Sage of Salo as the rapid force, we will be the first to support the α13 mining station."
"The Mortal Auxiliary Army has selected five legions to assemble by tonight. They must keep up with the vanguard and confront the traitor's mortal army."
"The remaining companies will organize their veteran soldiers, along with ten corps of ordinary auxiliary troops, as the final support force, and will depart no later than the day after tomorrow."
"The recruit company is defending Badab, do not move."
The servo skull began to eject a long parchment, on which Lynch and Horus had just developed a tactical deployment plan.
“I know you may feel that my behavior is a bit excessive, but there is a saying in Guterra: ‘Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.’”
Lin Qi looked at the crowd before him, his gaze hardening.
"Now, proceed according to the deployment plan, the entire army shall set off!"
Chapter 86 The Battle of Alpha Naval Forces (Part 1) (We Came for You)
Years later, when someone asks Evelyn Ditaskov what happened on that day, she will surely give that person her own answer in sacred binary form.
On that day, the god of all machines bestowed his grace.
[Machine Soul, Steel, Furnace]
They began to cheer, they began to praise.
[God chose to command the armies, tearing apart the aliens and crushing the heretics, bringing new life and a new future to Omnesia's servants.]
May the glory of Omnisaiah endure forever. We witness miracles, and we will become followers of His chosen one in the new era.
...
The α13 mining station was built on a barren planet.
Yellow sand filled the sky, and dust billowed everywhere. Occasionally, a star would suddenly twinkle in the yellow sky before going out again—that was the light produced when the warship exploded. Its brightness was enough to pierce through the boundless void, allowing any creature on the ground to see it clearly when it looked up.
Fat and steel mingled together—that was the fallen mechanical guardian of the cult. Beside him, the orc corpse remained, still roaring. In the distance, amidst the mountains, lay the wrecked remains of a transport vehicle, its design entirely unlike any human technology. A humanoid corpse lay on the ground beside the vehicle, its features blurred by the explosion, but the sharp tips of its ears were still clearly visible.
On the empty ground, a blasphemous camp had been established at some unknown time. Several crosses were installed in the center of the camp, each with a bound prisoner on it. Most of them were human, but a few were tall, thin aliens with sharp ears.
A giant clad in crimson power armor, covered in scriptures, stood up, holding a black-covered book with what appeared to be a grotesque, closed-eyed human face on the cover.
The giant strode forward and walked to a prisoner—a member of the Mechanicus, whose modified body parts had been removed, leaving only his fleshy torso and head.
He was bound to the cross, watching the giant approach him relentlessly, his eyes filled with intense fear.
"No...no...no! I've told you everything I know! Let me go! Let me go!"
"But we didn't find what we were looking for in the place you mentioned."
The giant spoke, placing his hand on the chest of one of the Guardians. As he uttered obscure and complex words, the face on the cover of the book in his hand suddenly opened its eyes.
Excitement gleamed in the human face's eyes. It cheered, and then, amidst the screams of the guards, its remaining flesh and blood began to wither rapidly, quickly turning into a dried corpse that would take a long time to form under the sun and wind.
The face opened its mouth, seemingly letting out a satisfied burp.
The bodies of the other prisoners around them began to tremble, especially the few pointed-eared aliens, or rather—the Eldar, or the Dark Eldar.
The giant glanced at the others, then took the book and left.
He wasn't interested in those spirit race members; the reason he captured them was simply to keep them behind and trade them with another war gang.
He strode into the largest tent in the camp. Inside, there were a dozen or so other giants dressed in crimson power armor, just like him. When they saw him enter, the leader looked up and gave him a faint smile.
"Rick, were you playing with those prisoners again?"
"It's an interrogation."
Sensing the sarcasm in the leader's words, Rick, the Word Bearer of Astartes, responded expressionlessly.
"If we could really extract useful information through interrogation, we would have done so already."