Chapter 436: The Embers of the Phoenix
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With the roar of the engine, it was more like the moaning rales of the bellows-like lungs of a fever patient. , and the bones of the dead made a crunching and tooth-grinding sound like steel; there were some drop pods, Thunderhawks, Predators and Land Raiders that looked strangely bulging and bumpy. Black shadows, a twisted combination of steel and carrion, began to emerge from the gray-green clouds that hung nightmarishly on the ground toward anyone unfortunate enough to encounter them.
Now, the first company of the Death Guard Legion began their official all-out attack after the life-hating attack of the Plague Army cleared the front of the battle line for them.
This is the establishment of the First Great Company from the ancient legion period, even if we do not count the ships they brought that twisted and expanded in space, the huge number of demon engines, the filthy miasma of subspace, and all kinds of Variations of plague drones and some beasts cultivated from chaos eggs and other strange and deadly weapons, they also have a full complement of a thousand Death Guard warriors.
Coupled with the two powerful warbands they specially brought this time, the military strength and numbers of Nurgle believers have indeed formed a theoretical threat to the Iron Hands warband formed under the guidance of the Codex Astartes. Almost a two to one ratio.
If according to Medusa's current intelligence, there are only seven clan companies available and the number of trained recruits is still small, it is almost three to one.
The timing of the Death Guard and their allies' arrival on the battlefield is so coincidental, and their deep penetration into the system defense is so silent. If it is combined with the previous betrayal of Lacuan colluding with Hamonk and Karagu, It's hard not to think there might be a connection.
This also made some originally neutral Steel Hands have deeper doubts. But there is no time to discuss and interrogate these at this moment. The warriors and fearless warriors of Hamonk and Karagu were required to forcibly implant additional control modules and install a large number of bombs on their bodies, ready to be used to break up the enemy's lines as needed - yes, because of their clan commanders Due to their suspicious behavior, these fighters are not trusted, so such treatment is considered appropriate in the simulation calculus at this time.
Hastam Hammonk, who was still imprisoned in the Iron Council, was immediately taken away when the attack was discovered. He joined the fortress's simulacra holy chamber (note 1) and gathered with the council. of cables.
The Iron Captain's power armor reactor energy source was also unplugged, leaving him with only a small battery that was barely enough to operate the life support system. For Hastam, whose entire body is more than 95% mechanically prosthetic. , now not only does it make it difficult for him to move, but it also prevents him from disturbing the thinking of the Iron Hands commanders with his unclean voice and thoughts.
Medusa Mortal Auxiliary Army - These unfortunate mortals suffered heavy losses in the poison gas attack of the Plague Army that had just purged the world. They noticed the vicious weapons used by the opponent and immediately re-adjusted according to the situation of the First Plague Company. Little did the Iron Hands know that the followers of Nurgle had worse things waiting to bestow upon them.
The steel and ceramic hatches that had become unnaturally rusty and rusty due to the strange subspace energy opened one after another. Wave after wave of huge enemies that exuded a strong stench slowly walked out of the Thunder Eagles and personnel carriers.
The muzzles of rusted bolters continued to emit gunfire, and the bullets were filled with plague or infected bile. The Nurgle warriors slowly entered the attack with the daemon engines and plague beasts around them. position and began to advance towards the defense line where the Iron Hands had regrouped.
Unlike the Insurgency and Plague Marines, who have not undergone any obvious changes in size, the Plague Marines of the Death Guard look like nothing more than a sickly and deformed afterimage of their former glory.
Black and red rotting entrails overflowed from the belly of the riddled power armor, hanging on the edge in an orderly manner. Fresh maggots were actively writhing happily in their power armor, while fat plague flies surrounded them. Flying up and down around them, playing hummingly.
Although it seems impossible that each Death Guard is still alive or has any strength to raise a gun and shoot, they are so unclean that they continue to impart the blessings of fatherly kindness and happiness to all who witness them. How beautiful the blessings are, but in essence, they are still space warriors who have received complete surgery and training. The skills and strength needed in war have not disappeared with the blessings their bodies have received.
The Plague Army and the Separatists began to move, taking their demonic auxiliary armies in different directions. Now, the front of the Iron Hands' front is using the legions from thousands of years ago. The 1st Company of the Death Guard kept advancing and attacking with the kind of ruthless, tenacious efficiency that characterized them.
The Clan Commanders of the Iron Hands soon discovered that this was the most troublesome group of Death Guard they had ever encountered.
The usually invincible armored swarm barrage of firepower that the Scions of Medusa have always been proud of will be detonated prematurely by the clouds formed by plague drones and rotten insect swarms, or because the shells fall into too wet The sticky fleshy shell forms a soft socket without triggering.
In the past experience of fighting against Chaos, the flamethrower, which was very effective against the warriors of Nurgle, performed poorly in the thick corrosive acid mist and the thick liquid blocks that began to fall from the sky——
The people of Medusa, who had never seen such "rain" falling from the sky, were surprised to find that the eternal black clouds in the sky of their hometown began to show a strange yellow-green light, and poisonous plague raindrops began to fall from them. .
The auspices of the battlefield emitted a desperate scream. They detected some kind of high-energy subspace warning signal. Even if they only "detected" it from a distance, these unfortunate machines began to produce terrifying, rapid Rotten and rusted, as if they had been stored in some abandoned doomsday place for a long time.
A huge ancient black shadow was slowly lowering in the orbit above their heads, pouring blessings from the loving father towards Medusa's dense atmosphere and clouds.
That is the Plague Chaos Ship Terminus Est, the blessed land of the Father, the flying sanctuary of Nurgle, one of the most terrifying legends and most vicious horrors in the Empire, all A desperate omen for planetary governors and system lords.
In this nightmarish swamp scene, there is a figure holding a scythe and thick black smoke rising from behind, appearing in the poisonous miasma in the center behind the front.
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The Lakuan clan’s Conquest Hall shut down all non-essential energy and quietly flew past the watch that had become silent. Site and world of Mechanicum research.
These originally powerful flying stations and planets are now silent.
Their fate is unknown, but the dense, cloudy subspace reaction signals may indicate something.
Under the orders of "Ferrus Manus", they now used an uncommon route to head straight to Medusa, trying to take the attacker's back path to reduce the pressure on the frontal battlefield.
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“What?!” shouted the young Fulgrim, although he was allowed to observe the meeting by the noble Primarch, but he Such rude behavior in front of the throne of Ferrus, who is now praised as "the great", still attracted the unceremonious locking of the sights in the bionic implant eyes of a group of Iron Hands.
“You decided to give priority to sending new troops to the ground to occupy a landing site?! But that is the rear of the Death Guard! It is filled with high concentrations of corrosive poison gas and plague! The kind that will melt You’re not sure whether their power armor can resist the chemical poisonous gas of flesh and blood! The concentration of the plague virus clearly exceeds the normal design defense limit! And why are the recruits of the Dofok clan included?”
He pointed angrily at the three-dimensional star map of the war zone in the center, and zoomed in on one of the scenes. It showed that the originally desolate and dead ground of the planet - well - you can't say that it has not become vibrant, right? The green-brown swamp is gurgling. Bubbly and bubbling, the corpses of the defenders were rolling, as if they were about to give birth to some "strange" "life".
"At this time, calculations show that the loss to the battle group can be reduced by two to three percent, while the success rate is still high." An Iron Father responded indifferently, "I The other forces will be invested later, so that the greatest strength can be used where it is most needed."
"Why? That's not yours! A new recruit? Isn't the new blood the future of a legion?"
Another Iron Father then stood up to answer his question.
“It is true that people who do not understand often say that we are cruel. But we have truly evaluated the military and resource value of all those who ask for help. We despise those who are too weak to expect their own survival. We We will also be cursed by countless sympathetic people. But people don't understand. We can choose to save only those who can make us or them stronger, so that we can save and use the greatest strength where needed. Or you can choose to waste your strength on self-aggrandizing benevolent tasks, but be helpless in preparing to prevent the enemy's final blow. In this case, who is more cruel in terms of the result? The conclusion is to leave everything to our mechanical calculations to get a logical solution.”
"You..." Fulgrim gritted his teeth as neat as mother-of-pearl, his face flushed, "Then let me support them!"
"What?"
"I will take people down to support them! If it fails, I know what your plan B is. You can drop a bomb and turn me into powder together." He sneered, "Isn't this just what you wanted?"
The silver giant sitting on the mechanical throne frowned his thick eyebrows, "You are leading a man? Where did you come from as a warrior?"
Clone Phoenix pursed his lips. , but finally proposed, "My Phoenix Guards. They are in the cell, I can command them, and the equipment is ready."
He looked around. The expressions of the Iron Hands commanders were hidden behind implants and steel, but it was clear that the atmosphere of suspicion and distrust was growing stronger.
The communication data between the silver giant spirit and the golden Garuda is flowing back and forth rapidly.
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Old friend, were you so impulsive when you were young?
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I'm not sure. But I envy him quite a lot, Gorgon. If, I mean if, our brothers are all on Terra, like the original trajectory, growing up together, rushing to the star sea together, fighting together, maybe one of us Maybe many people are more impulsive than him, like children, before they grow up.
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Sounds... very happy.
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…Yes. But that's just a possibility.
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So, are you going to suggest that I refuse his invitation to fight? He will most likely die.
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I would suggest you agree.
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I thought you were going to say "no."
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"No". Gorgon, this was the opportunity he had found for himself, and he saw it clearly. I'm going to give him that chance.
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I understand.
"As you wish."
The Iron Hands' fierce protests were suppressed by their Genefather.
"Go ahead and make your preparations. A cluster of airdrop pods composed of new recruits and heavy-duty servitors will attack with you on the airdrop deck."
The young cloned phoenix breathed a sigh of relief and clicked nodded.
Before he walked out of the hall, Fulgrim hesitated.
He turned around.
The new mechanical prosthetic eye that Ravus had just replaced shrank its aperture behind his equally brand-new eyepiece, and the muscles of his unconscious sneer ached under this expression: You see, the fallen are weak, traitors. He is a traitor, he must want to find an excuse...
"I'm sorry."
The bright and burning spirit of Fulgrim, who touched everyone in the Chemos Wilds in the past Phantom suddenly spoke rapidly but brightly and clearly.
His lavender eyes stared at everyone in the hall sincerely and regretfully.
"I still don't think I'm wrong and should apologize for it, but maybe this is the last chance, and those battle stories I've read about the old days tell me it's better to speak up because you don't know if it's going to happen next time. I can still stand here. "
"So, my apology is just for my vague statement that brought the topic to a serious part, and I need to clarify that to you at the time. I want to point out that we are all pursuing the path of perfection in our physical existence, but perhaps we have begun to deviate to the opposite extreme. I don't want to question the loyalty deep in your soul. Iron, you must also be careful that quantitative changes in the body will bring about confusing qualitative changes. The measure to prevent abuse is to be vigilant and strictly moderate from the beginning, but..."
Zi Yi. The ember of the Phoenix himself shook his head as he spoke. He smiled mockingly, stopped what he was saying, then turned and left, heading to the prison on the lower deck to gather the remaining sons of the ancient Phoenix to make final preparations for the war.
The Iron Hands watched the young Phoenix leave in silence, and no one responded.
(End of this chapter)