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"The fleet has exited warp space and is currently engaged in combat with the enemy. All crew members, please prepare immediately and return to your posts. Astartes, please proceed to the hangar immediately and prepare to board."
"protect yourself."
Caesar spoke to Sylvie, then took off running and disappeared from her sight.
Sylvie watched the direction the other person had left in for a while before returning to her room. She closed the door, sat on the bed in a daze, and only moved after several minutes.
She bent down and pulled a box from under the bed. Inside the box, a statue of an emperor was revealed.
"Great Emperor, guardian, guide, and lover of mankind... please bless him."
-------
On the bridge of the Wolf Shepherd, Lin Qi stared grimly at the holographic projection in front of him, looking at the hundreds of red dots that appeared on it, pondering his next countermeasures and tactics.
"grown ups."
A communications officer approached and handed Lin Qi the intelligence he had just compiled.
"All ships have activated their Void Shields to the fullest extent. Apart from the initial twelve escort ships that were destroyed before they could react, the remaining ships have only suffered a maximum of 23% structural damage."
"Order the damaged ships to retreat immediately. All capital ships should move forward and deploy their Void Shields to withstand enemy fire."
Lin Qi calmly issued the order, took a deep breath, and then looked at Horus beside him, nodding slightly.
No one expected that they would be ambushed by the Chaos Fleet as soon as they emerged from the warp.
The point of escape from subspace was meticulously measured and calculated, and theoretically should not be known to the enemy, because this point is not within the star system where Galmyk resides, yet it could be known here and used to set up ambushes...
Either there's a traitor within the fleet, or the enemy has used psionic techniques.
Lynch leaned towards the latter. Although the Alpha Legion, as a member of Chaos, was indeed very powerful infiltration, the presence of Horus meant that unless Alpharis or Omega came in person, their infiltration would be impossible to avoid detection.
Do you think you can defeat me by ambushing me? You're overthinking it.
"Lord Lynch, the Nova Cannon is ready."
"Launch all of them! Send all these traitors to the heavens!"
"Yes, sir. Convey Lord Lynch's orders: all Nova cannons, fire immediately! Send all the traitors to their deaths!"
The massive cannons at the bow of the ships began charging, and plasma macro-bombs ripped through the air, hurtling towards the enemy fleet at near-light speed. Accompanied by a spectacular display of fireworks, the ambush fleet was easily torn to shreds.
"Notify the fleet: attack at will! Leave no survivors!"
-------
"The ambush failed."
"I know."
Why did you arrange this ambush?
"It's just to prove something... Don't worry, Hong Suo, since I've entrusted the defense to you, I won't go back on my word. Except for this time, I will strictly follow your plan from now on."
"That's good. The peculiarity of the Great Vortex means we don't have to spend decades or even centuries preparing for such a ritual as we would in a completely real universe. We just need to hold on for a month, and once it's all over, Kayan, we'll each get what we need. That's the best outcome."
Hearing the war blacksmith's words, the Black Legion's wizard smiled slightly and nodded.
Indeed, this is the best possible outcome.
Chapter 171 The Dance of the Spirit Race
After the naval battle, which lasted for thirty-two Terran hours, ended, the void was filled with the mangled remains of ships.
The corpses included those of Chaos and those of the Empire. However, the former made up the majority. After all, given the overwhelming disparity in strength, if it weren't for the initial ambush, the Empire's fleet, under the command of Lynch and Horus, might not have suffered even the loss of a single ship.
However, an easy victory does not mean they will have an easy time in the battles to come.
In the conference room of the Wolf Shepherd, for the first time since the start of this expedition, Lynch asked representatives from all forces to gather together.
However, the atmosphere in the conference room was somewhat heavy at the moment. Whether it was the chapter commander of the Astartes Chapter, the pilot of the God Machine, or the knight representing the Free Blade, they were all silent, and no one spoke or took the lead in expressing their opinions.
Finally, the person who joined this group in silence was either the organizer of this meeting or someone else.
"Tell me what you think."
Lin Qi looked around at everyone, his tone lacking the tension of an impending battle, only a calm one.
“I have given you all the known intelligence. We will be able to reach the skies above Galmyk in a day at most. And when that time comes, I will no longer change the established strategy based on the opinions of any individual.”
Silence remained, but the expressions of some of the people present changed noticeably. Three minutes later, just as Lin Qi was pondering whether he should take the initiative to call on someone to offer their opinions, a flat and awkward voice suddenly echoed in the memory room.
"Lord Lynch, I have something to say."
The first person to speak was not Astartes, but a mortal.
This was an ordinary man wearing a gray military overcoat, with a handsome face that appeared to be around thirty years old. He wore epaulets indicating his military rank, and coupled with the gas mask placed in front of him and his inexplicably lifeless eyes, Lin Qi immediately recognized the man's identity.
During this expedition, he joined the Krieg 7th Siege Regiment of the Astral Army.
Van Nassou Moritz.
This is the colonel's name, and according to Lynch's intelligence, people who know him well, such as the political commissar of Krieg's 7th Siege Regiment, will call him by his name Moritz in private.
“Colonel Moritz,” Lynch said, looking at Colonel Krieger. “Speak your mind. As I said, everyone is free to speak their minds now, and I will actively listen to your opinions.”
"Regarding this war, I heard that Your Excellency has decided to launch a direct assault?"
“Yes,” Lynch nodded in agreement. “Although the enemy’s ground defenses are very strong, the overall strategy of winning within a month is inevitable. Our fundamental objective is to stop the evil ritual that the enemy is carrying out on Galmec. Once the ritual is completed, the entire Imperial world surrounding the Great Vortex will suffer a devastating blow.”
“You don’t need to explain these things to me.” Colonel Moritz used polite language, but any normal person hearing his completely flat tone would not find him polite. “I wanted to ask you something about the vanguard of the assault. Have you chosen it yet?”
...Should I say that Krieg is truly worthy of the name?
Lynch sighed inwardly, and then answered Moritz's question.
"Astartes will be the first to land, and we will create a landing zone on the ground for our mortal forces."
"So what about the first wave of troops attacking the city?"
I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush.
Lynch looked at Moritz, feeling quite conflicted.
The Krieg Death Legion is a mid-to-high tier force in the entire Astragalus Army, but its fearless spirit and the soldiers' fervent sense of atonement are among the best in the entire Astragalus Army.
They are extremely good at fighting tough battles, but their mortality rate remains high in every battle.
The reason they are like this is because of a rebellion that once occurred in the history of their home planet.
The Kreig people hoped to exchange their sacrifice for the Emperor's forgiveness and wash away this shameful act.
Therefore, on the battlefield, they are fearless and will launch their own charge even when faced with certain death.
Once generals gained the authority to command them, they would inevitably try to satisfy their demands, throwing the Kree into the battlefields with the highest mortality rates. This had almost become a consensus within the Imperial army.
However, neither Horus nor Lynch were clearly ordinary, simple generals.
"The siege echelons will be allocated according to the specific situation of the enemy. Colonel Moritz, I can understand your fervent desire to serve the Emperor, but please remember one thing: the Emperor does not need pointless sacrifices."
Lynch's words silenced Moritz. He stood upright in front of his seat for more than ten seconds, like a tall tree, before finally sitting down, giving the impression of protest.
Lynch smiled helplessly. In any case, this Krieg man had set a good example. With the first person offering their opinion, others wouldn't hesitate to speak up.
And so it is.
“Lord Lynch.” This time, it was Gabriel Seth who spoke. His bald head gleamed faintly under the conference room lights, causing Lynch to squint slightly. “I also have an opinion.”
"What's your opinion?"
"Since Astartes is leading the assault, I hope we can deploy the Flesh-Tearers first."
"reason."
"...Within my battle group, there is a special company. I think you know that deploying them will instill fear in the enemy, and they will not harm friendly forces."
"...Everyone, what are your opinions on the Flesh Tearers being the first to land?"
The words "special unit" caused many people present to frown. However, they quickly realized that this was some of the opposing faction's little secrets.
"I have no opinion."
"I do not have either."
"There's nothing wrong with the Flesh-Tearer's suggestion."
"I........"
"......"
Most people agreed, and the remaining small group did not object. A rare look of gratitude appeared on Seth's狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face. He looked around at the crowd, nodded to them, and expressed his thanks.
The meeting went smoothly, and the remaining participants began to offer their opinions and perspectives. Requests that could be met were fulfilled one by one, and Lin Qi patiently explained those that could not be met.
After a period of time in Terra, everyone present had reached a relatively satisfactory result. It was at this moment that one of the think tank leaders raised his question, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Lord Lynch." This think tank chief hailed from the Executioner's Chapter, a representative of the savage Dorn's descendants, whose chapter had demonstrated formidable fighting power in their previous battles against the Orcs. "As far as I know, the enemy's planet is currently shrouded in warp magic, significantly reducing the effectiveness of orbital strikes by the fleet. I wonder what your thoughts are on this..."
"I already have a solution to this matter."
"Could it be that........"
“I can’t go into the specifics of the method because it involves some internal affairs of Star Claw. But don’t worry, the person who used this method has already headed to Galmyk. Once we arrive, I believe the rebels’ barrier will be broken.”
-------
For Eldrad Uslan, this was the moment when, as a member of the Death Army, he could fight for a glimmer of hope for the future of the Eldar.
In the past, using his talents, Uslan repeatedly saved his compatriots from dire straits.
He foresaw the crisis in the Ark world and resolved it centuries in advance. He discovered the traps of the Slaanesh demons and warned his people to avoid the tragedy of their souls being devoured as food.
Unlike his pathetic colleagues, Uslan's preventative measures against his prophecies were consistently effective. But it was precisely these repeated successes that made this ancient prophet, who had lived through millennia, realize that his current actions were merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
The Eldar, this pathetic race, are nothing but corpses walking on a path to death. Their glorious golden age has become a mere illusion in books, not only easily shattered but also impossible to recreate.
When the old prophet felt despair, he learned of the existence of Death and the Death Army. At that time, the Death Army was just a small Eldar organization, and Death was generally regarded as a scourge among the Eldar. However, Uslan keenly perceived the organization's potential and joined it, providing assistance to the then-immature Everene.
However, as Evelynn pulls out the old woman's sword from the dragon bone of the Ark world, information about the Grim Reaper is revealed one by one, and the despair for the future of the race resurfaces in their hearts.
Of the five swords belonging to the old woman, four are still within the reach of the Death Army, while the other is personally kept by the thirsty lady.
That means that one of the two methods to awaken Death is essentially impossible for the Death Army to accomplish.
What is another way to awaken it?
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