Although Talos's idea was tempting in a sense, Soshyan could not accept it.
"No, doing this will break the bottom line of many soldiers, not to mention that we are still fighting against Chaos... and there are many local garrisons and omen militia on the front line. If they know that their families are being killed by the empire in the rear,
Massacre may lead to rebellion and defection, and then our defense line will be in danger."
"Then it seems you have made a decision."
Soshyan sighed softly.
"Taros, take a few people from the 11th Company to investigate over the Red Sand Mountains. If there are Chaos forces active, suppress them on the spot and promote the empire's policy of never purging them."
"Okay, I'll arrange for Bahram and Sablin to go there."
"Speaking of Bahram, I haven't communicated with him about the gray marrow yet. He must be confused recently, right?"
"Don't worry, he is a thoughtful but very loyal person. You made the right choice."
"Ha, it's rare to see you praise someone."
The two talked for a while, and then Soshyan summoned the commanders of the battle group, communicated with Randall, and mobilized some defense areas. In the end, he decided to lead only two companies and some combat robots to the discovered area.
Hidden rally point.
Five days after Soshyan made his deployment and decision——
"Chapter Commander, be careful."
A strong gust of wind ruffled his cloak as he stared at the rebuilt fortress from the Thunderhawk's open assault ramp.
Much of the Traitor Fortress was reduced to rubble and slag, the fortifications leveled to the ground as if they had been systematically destroyed.
Plasma warheads rained down, miniature suns blooming over the razed remains of the fortress. Although its surface was damaged, it was likely that most of the enemy was hiding underground. The bombing destroyed the anti-aircraft guns and turrets, but as always, the attack on this
Removing remains is still a difficult job.
Then, he jumped off the Thunder Eagle and fell the last fifty meters.
When he landed, the glassy debris in the sand pit cracked under his feet, and the Thunderhawk also landed on the ground. The jet wake dispersed the gray fog, and Soshyan's face and hair were covered with a light gray.
A breeze blows from the direction of the sea, bringing the smell of salty sea water.
The strange thing is that the smell of sea water mixed with the smell of burnt meat is surprisingly not unpleasant.
Then, he looked up and saw the clouds burned away by the fierce firepower of the orbiting light spears and plasma, leaving behind a sky filled with sunlight.
Under the indigo sky, he could see the silhouette of the Stormraven gunship.
Looking up, all around were war machines in the air, plasma trails streaking through the sky, and wakes ejected by jet engines when braking.
He chose to use noon as the moment of revenge, unlike at dawn or dusk, when the sun shines brightly on the sword.
"Entrance on the left!"
Captain Maximilian of the Astral Knights, who was at the forefront, roared and gestured to his Terminator team.
"Get the melt on!"
The fort below the fort was well built and withstood the most ferocious orbital attacks.
However, several meters of the ground have been stripped away, revealing curved reinforced concrete tunnels and metal support structures, and the soldiers gathered in one of the areas that opened to the outside.
A team of Terminators carries multi-melta, a bulky weapon with short range but devastating power.
Under the order of the company commander, they opened fire on the exposed tunnel. The combined blasting of high-energy radiation turned the reinforced concrete into steam, leaving a large round hole about three meters in diameter.
Just as Maximilian was about to jump into the tunnel, Soshyan came wearing a Terminator.
"First company commander!"
Mark turned around as Soshyan came to him and drew his sword.
"Chapter Master."
There was a tremor in his voice, which might be due to excitement, but it might also be because he was worried that Soshyan had changed his mind.
But Soshyan's subsequent actions reassured him, and he waved Yilian to continue moving forward.
"Destroy all stubborn enemies."
On the other side of the battlefield, as Talos strode across a pile of rubble that had been turned into molten inner walls, bombs kept passing by him.
Then, the heavier scream of the automatic cannon interrupted the noise of the bombs. This fire came from a crack in a bunker a hundred meters ahead. Because it was in a groove, the bunker escaped the attack of the shells.
, and this is just one of several fortifications protecting the auxiliary fort, which itself is built above a mine.
Soshyan led the first company to clear the underground passages of the main castle, while Talos led part of the eleventh and second companies to clear the remaining above-ground buildings.
So far, it's been an easy job.
But as the aerial firepower ceased, the defensive firepower became more ferocious. Shells exploded on the ground, and roars echoed in the air.
Ustad was observing the stronghold from a corner next to a Land Raider track. The black paint on the heavy personnel carrier's frontal armor was scratched and bruised by direct hits and scattered shrapnel impacts, and the surrounding ground was mortared.
The shell craters were in disarray.
"How cunning."
Ustad grumbled, then grabbed the laser turret on the side of the Land Raider's body and climbed onto the roof. The Space Marine who was manipulating the heavy bomb at the top turned around in surprise.
"Don't look at me, aim at the enemy, and fire!"
Under Ustad's watch, three Landers simultaneously opened fire on the nearest fortifications, but a half-formed wall of blue light blocked the attack, and the laser beams and shells hit uselessly a few meters away from the fortifications.
"Do you know how many people are inside?"
"According to the scan data, we can only see a few dozen at most. These people are enough to control the stronghold. If we can't suppress the target, more people will be useless... It may take days or weeks to
Force them out."
Ustad motioned with his thumb for the gunner on the battery to get up from his position, descend into the Land Raider, go directly to the communications station, and switch the transmitter to the fire support channel.
"Storm Crow detachment, I need a fire corridor, one kilometer wide and two kilometers long, the coordinates have been transmitted."
"Received, Storm Crow detachment will execute immediately."
Turning off the communicator, he stepped out of the car and opened the assault ramp.
As it lowered, he walked to the ground repeatedly crushed by tracks and ravaged by artillery shells. Enemy counterattack fire struck a few hundred meters to his left, where a line of defenses stood before the earth-rending explosion.
, the enemy troops hiding inside and outside the fortress took the opportunity to open fire, spitting out tongues of fire.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a Sikaran battle tank arrived next to Ustad. Its tracks were covered with gravel and mud scraped from the ground, and its exhaust vent popped out like a dragon's stomach.
heat.
Its main gun then fired a ripple of fire at a nearby bunker, slicing the reinforced concrete with ruby-colored beams.
A hatch on the side of the heavy armor plate opened, and Technical Sergeant Rogris stepped out.
"Brother, it seems you are blocked."
"You came just in time."
"The Chapter Master ordered a precise orbital bombardment. Let your men retreat first."
"clear."
Ustad said, stepped onto the huge tank, and then began to issue orders to the soldiers.