Lieutenant Colonel Mel Gomes followed the order soldier through the maze-like twists and turns of the traffic trench and headed towards the personnel shelter.
Along the way, he saw many busy hive city residents, mostly women and children, constantly carrying some metal scraps.
After asking, he learned that these scraps would be transported into a temporary arsenal to produce crude weapons and ammunition. Considering that this was already an upper-level hive, but seeing so many civilians, it was obvious that the commander of this place had already
Moved civilians to safer locations.
There is no doubt that this will definitely infringe on the interests of the upper-class nobles of the nest, and Mel Gomes can't help but believe the rumor a little more.
After walking south along the supply channel for a while, they arrived at a wooden house with a closed door. The guards around them turned a blind eye to the people approaching. The orderer entered a four-digit password on the rune panel on the door frame.
, the door hissed open.
Mel Gomes quickly entered without waiting for the people inside to invite him, and the door behind him closed again.
Later, the colonel of the Auxiliary Army of the Astral Knights Chapter found himself standing in a dark room. The walls of the room were dirty, there were several pieces of tattered furniture, and four sets of heating coils were evenly distributed in the four corners of the house.
, buzzing in an effort to fight the chill in the air.
The upper nest is no better than the lower nest. Because of the altitude, it is very cold most of the time.
Mel Gomez took off his cloak and scarf and hung them on hooks hammered into the dirty frozen wall. The heavy pressure of taking off the coat made him feel relaxed, but it did give him outside
Adequate warmth and protection.
Countless times since landing, Mel Gomes has felt incredible things again and again.
"If you want to sit down, please do so, Colonel."
In the middle of the room, a figure stood, under the dim oil lamp, seeming to be studying a detailed map of the hive city.
Mel Gomez pulled a wooden chair that was about to fall apart from the small table in the middle of the room and sat down carefully, fearing that the thing would suddenly collapse under his buttocks. Until the chair fully accepted his weight, he
Then he took off his big-brimmed hat and placed it on the dirty table, and took out a shiny silver wooden comb from his pocket.
As he was accustomed to do after taking off his hat, he combed his oiled black hair with a wooden comb, reaching behind his ears with each stroke.
The figure turned his head and when he saw this, he purred from his throat.
Maier does not think he is vain. He believes that maintaining a good personal image is a necessary condition for fulfilling one's duties. This is probably a kind of self-respect.
"I really didn't expect that the first reinforcements to come were the Astral Knights and Chapter Master Soshyan. Is this the Emperor's blessing?"
The man's voice was hoarse, but his tone was very relaxed, as if he had put down a heavy burden.
"I almost thought I wouldn't be able to hold on anymore."
"Commissar Sebastian Yarek, Master Soshyan often mentions you. He praises you as a great and dedicated warrior with a fearless heart."
"That's really ridiculous. The last time I saw Chapter Commander Soshyan was twenty years ago."
Mel Gomez looked carefully at the man who turned around. This guy was like half a beast. His black beard was messy and obviously in urgent need of some wax, and his hair was only a little stronger than harvested crop stubble, like leather.
The tough face has several minor scars, distributed on the forehead, left eye and jaw.
All in all, the colonel concluded that if the other party took off his political commissar uniform, he would look just like a thug from the lower hive.
"Would you like a drink, Colonel?"
"I can do either. If you have any, I can get some coffee."
"Can only black tea be used?"
Then, a waiter appeared, and Alex just raised his chin towards a cupboard behind him.
"Okay, let's get down to business. What did Captain Soshyan ask you to bring?"
"First of all, he sincerely admires your actions of holding on to the nest for a long time, and commends you for your outstanding performance in this war. You will receive many medals in the future."
"Medal."
Alex shook his head and glanced at his chest. There were already more than a dozen hanging there.
"In the three-month defensive battle, I lost at least 3 million soldiers and more than 500 million civilians were killed. I don't deserve such congratulations at all."
Mel Gomes was stunned for a moment. In fact, considering the fierce battles he had experienced in the past, in a battle of this level, this number was simply frighteningly low. After all, any large-scale battle in the empire was worth tens of millions.
Casualties - only for soldiers, civilians are rarely counted.
But from the political commissar's tone, it's clear that he is really angry about the battle losses?
"Your reaction really surprises me, Commissar. I thought you would be satisfied with the score. To repel an Greenskin assault of that size with just a few militiamen? You should get a medal."
Yarrick laughed, if the bark that came out of his mouth could really be called a 'laughter'.
"Obviously you have no idea how fucked up the situation is here, no one briefed you on the way here?"
Mel frowned.
"Perhaps you can explain it to me better."
"We are overwhelmed in terms of strength, equipment is in poor condition, and supplies are completely self-sufficient. The food production plants have lost all production raw materials, and there is no more energy for them to continue production. Almost all the animals in the hive have been eaten.
After a while, we may have to consider cannibalism, and the only thing that brings hope is my faith in the Emperor."
Alex sniffed, and the aroma from the teapot nearby attracted him.
"I thought you could bring enough supplies and personnel."
"The sky is full of green-skinned fighter planes. I'm very lucky to be here this time."
Mel Gomes felt a little helpless when he said this. The command headquarters led by Space Marines did have a plan for large-scale air support, but perhaps it was because they were caught off guard by humans from the air during the battle in the Gray Desert.
The greenskins learned wisely and built a large number of fighter jets like crazy.
On the human side, due to the special system of the empire, fighter planes are under the control of the navy. Only the orbital defense station has a small number of fighter planes, but those fighters cannot even make a splash when thrown into the atmosphere.
Therefore, after losing air supremacy, the large-scale aerial supply plan can only be declared dead.
"But hearing these depressing words coming from a commissar really bothers me. I rarely tolerate pessimism. In fact, I firmly believe in the power of the Emperor and firmly believe that with good command and morale,
There is no goal that Imperial soldiers cannot achieve, and I certainly don't need to remind you of my authority."
Faced with words that were almost threatening, Alex just looked back at the colonel fearlessly.
"Really, what authority has been given to you by the Soshiyang Chapter Commander?"
Mel Gomes frowned, he didn't want things to come to this point.
In fact, not long after Soshyan obtained the command of the planet's armed forces, a large number of complaints accusing Yarrick of murdering hive nobles were also sent to him.
Based on his understanding of Yarek, Soshyan did not think that the political commissar was a cruel and indiscriminate person, let alone believe that he would betray the empire, but since there were such rumors, he had to make a statement.
The task undertaken by Mel Gomes is, on the one hand, to bring his password and subsequent deployment, and on the other hand, to find out the truth of the matter. If Yarick really failed in his duty, or if there is any
If there is a serious violation of the rules, Maier will use the teleportation beacon he carries to summon a team of Space Marines to carry out punishment.
It's not that Soshyan has a cold nature, but that there is no room for mistakes on the battlefield, especially in such a critical position, he would rather take extra precautions.