Chapter 943: Retreat to advance
“Well——”
Soshiyang’s eyes swept across the Dark Angels and Gray Knights in front, and he was also making calculations in his mind.
Everyone present is a soldier. Naturally, they all know that in a battle, if all parties go their own way, they will only hold each other back. There is bound to be a need for someone who can have an overview of the overall situation, or at least formulate an overall strategic plan. people.
But battlefield command is a very delicate thing, especially for the Astartes Chapter.
If it is the Imperial Navy or the Astra Militarum, the matter is often simple. It is either an appointment from the Terra Department, or the decision is made based on the position or military rank.
But the Astartes are different. It is not necessarily the level of class that determines the command of a battle. Just like the World Engine War that Soshyan participated in, so many chapter leaders were present at that time, but The command of the battle ultimately rested with the Seventh Captain of the Ultramarines.
Although it is the result of everyone's recommendation, there is no doubt that such results are often due to qualifications, reputation, and even background. As for strength-
Everyone is Asta Especially, no one will easily admit that they are inferior to others.
Of course, some war groups will choose to use duels to determine their commanders, but this method will inevitably hurt the harmony if the war groups are not from the same parent group culture.
Soshyan was unwilling to make this choice unless he had to.
But these two people in front of me are not easy to get along with.
Not to mention Azrael, as the leader of the founding chapter of the Dark Angels, even though his qualifications are slightly lower than Soshyan's, his background is much deeper, and he even brought in the Stone Fortress. , from the current strength, it is also the largest among the three war groups present.
As the Grand Master of the Gray Knights, Joan Herrard naturally possesses strong authority based on the particularity of the Gray Knights alone, not to mention that the opponent's service may have exceeded Thousand years of experience and qualifications are far beyond what Soshyan can match.
But he is not willing to give up the command easily. After all, if he wants to find a flagship later, it will undoubtedly be much easier to have the command.
Of course, Soshyan is not completely without advantages. At least he has "legitimacy". After all, it was the planetary governor who personally handed over the command, which makes sense on the surface.
So, at this time, some strategies are needed.
"Oh, you can't say that, Chapter Commander Randall."
Soshiyang sighed softly, turned to Randall and said:
"I With only a few years of service to the empire and no meritorious achievements, how dare you steal the position of commander? Chapter Master Azrael is young and promising, and Grand Master Harold is experienced in many battles. They are both more suitable than me. .”
Azrael was stunned for a moment, and then glanced at Belial. The Deathwing Grand Master just raised his eyebrows without much expression.
Azmodai always looks like a sculpture.
“I have never accomplished anything, so I dare not say that.”
Azrael knew about the Second Armageddon War that Soshyan had just fought. He felt that if he stood up at this time, he would appear too arrogant - the Dark Angel's usual restraint and calmness were clearly revealed in him.
Hearing Soshyan's words, Herald also frowned.
"I don't have so much vanity, everything is just to serve the emperor."
The look in Randall's eyes when he looked at Soshyan changed immediately. He probably guessed what the acting army commander was thinking, so he smiled and said :
"In this case, everyone should not be modest. The leader of the Soshiyan Chapter is responsible for the main strategic deployment of this battle. The specific tactical plans will be decided by each Chapter independently. If we encounter major decisions, we will discuss them. Just make a decision.”
The people present were all smart and quickly understood Randall’s thoughts.
In other words, Soshiyan makes the overall deployment, mainly commands the Astra Militarum and the mortal forces, does not directly interfere with the Dark Angels and Gray Knights, and discusses and votes when encountering major decisions or large-scale joint operations.
It's a very middle-of-the-road compromise, but certainly easier to live with.
Azrael nodded first, Herald was silent for a while, and finally nodded.
In this way, the title of Soshyan battlefield commander is confirmed.
Next, everyone came to the strategic command room of the orbital station. Although the decoration here was still so old, the equipment had been repaired, and the huge holographic image of the Pavilion Star appeared in the center of the command room. Then Soshyan gave a brief introduction to the situation on the Planet of Pai. When he heard that a large number of demons had appeared on the planet, Joan Herald looked very unhappy.
No one understands the difficulty and terror of demons better than the Gray Knights. Facing a world that is about to be completely swallowed by Chaos Demons, a brotherhood alone may not be able to cope.
So he was secretly glad that the Astral Knights, White Templar and Dark Angel were all here.
Azrael said nothing as he listened to the briefing, just frowning.
After Soshyan finished speaking, he was the first to ask the question very politely.
“Are there any survivors on the planet now?”
Soshyan nodded.
"Yes, there are many explorer fortresses on Paidu Planet. Although most of them have been breached, some should still remain."
As he said that, he asked Colonel Stryker to Called.
The Catachan man was also startled when he came. He suspected that he might be the person who had seen the most Astartes Chapter Leaders in Catachan history, especially the one with silver armor. He was curious, but his instincts told him not to ask.
“This is Colonel Stryker of the Catachan 183rd Regiment, the former Governor of the Death Star, and the supreme commander of the Resistance Army.”
After hearing Soshyan's introduction, Azrael nodded towards Stryker. No matter what, it was an amazing thing for a mortal to persist for so long in a world where demons were rampant.
Joan Herald's eyes were much more complex, with admiration, suspicion, and even a touch of murderous intent. That strange look made Stryker feel as if he was being executed. The executioner stared.
"Colonel Stryker, let me introduce to you the distribution of the existing resistance forces on Paidu."
"Uh, oh, okay. The remaining explorer fortresses and camps are now Mainly concentrated in the Red Sand Mountains, there are still six remaining. It seems that there are four or five remaining fortresses in the area of the planet near the North Pole. However, long-range radio communication is good and bad. It has been half a month since we last received news from there. It seems that some fortresses have survived in the Skua Mountains on the southern coast of the mainland."
"Have you ever fought against demons?"
Joan Herald asked suddenly, leaving Stryker unable to react.
After a few seconds, he nodded hastily.
"Most people have fought with those ghosts. They are very difficult to deal with. Sometimes they cannot be killed. It is easier to deal with them by burning them."
"Are there many defectors?"
Strike frowned.
"Honestly, there are quite a few."
"During the battle, the proportion of people who went crazy or insane was high."
"Hey, I really don't have it. According to statistics, it’s quite a lot.”
The more Stryker answered, the more he felt like a prisoner. The tone and eyes of this silver-armored warrior made him very unhappy, but he couldn’t express it.
Although he was a Catachan, he was not stupid enough to get angry at an Astartes Chapter Master.
Stryker may not be able to hear the subtext of Joan Herald, but the three Chapter Masters who know the Gray Knights can vaguely guess the murderous intention hidden in it.
What happened after the First Battle of Armageddon, ordinary people, even ordinary Astartes may not know, but there will always be someone who knows, after all, the Space Wolves and Chapters involved in the incident There are many "big mouths" in the city itself.
The three chapter leaders who happened to be present all had relevant records in the chapter.
(End of this chapter)