"You can spend more time elsewhere instead of wasting it on these mortals."
This was a suggestion from the Inquisition's permanent representative aboard Titan II long ago, when these mortal forces were first established.
This is not a discriminatory suggestion, but the heartfelt words of these experienced judges.
After undergoing advanced mechanical modifications and life-extending surgeries, their lifespans have broken away from the mortal limit of a hundred years, but it is difficult for them to reach the nearly unlimited lifespan of the Astartes.
They are unable to reach the top and are unwilling to return to the mortal world. This is a sad and true portrayal of this group of people.
They cannot give up their mortal feelings and memories like the Astartes, but they still have to endure the destined separation of love and hate.
So when this old inquisitor, who had lost all emotional sustenance in time and was like a lonely soul, saw Calvin's behavior, he couldn't help but give him this advice:
"Since you have reached the top, please don't have too much contact with mortals. It will be bad for you and them."
The old man's suggestion was certainly well-intentioned, but unfortunately Calvin was not as simple as he imagined.
Calvin, who has lived in two lives, has a more thorough understanding of himself. He may not yet know how to deal with these people who are destined to leave.
But since they are on the edge of order with him, where there is no Ming Dynasty today, he has the obligation to let these mortals who are enemies of the order and chaos behind them know that their efforts will always be remembered, and their existence will not be easily dismissed.
Forget.
"I can indeed do this, but I would rather be with them."
This was Calvin's answer at the time, and it was also what he had been doing since he took over the position of Lord of the Castle and received the first batch of arriving mortal auxiliary troops.
No matter where they came from before, no matter what abilities they had, since they are willing to take up arms again after living a peaceful life, they deserve Calvin's respect.
You know, once they respond to the call of the Gray Knights, it means that they must face Chaos in the next battle, and the price is that they are destined to be used as battlefield consumables.
This black and gold uniform representing the Order of the Hammer of the Inquisition looks luxurious and solemn, but the heavy fate behind it is really something that not everyone can bear.
The old man never tried to persuade Calvin again. He knew that in this country with too many smart people, there must still be some sense of existence for some fools.
The empire needs the wisdom and courage of Prometheus, but the same burden and persistence as Sisyphus are equally valuable...
"My comrades, you should know that what we are facing will be a war with no retreat."
This was the first thing Calvin said to all the officers present after he walked into the command room.
No slogans, no passionate mobilization.
Calvin believes that these warriors who are still willing to respond to the call of the Tribunal after living in mediocrity for more than ten years do not need this.
All he has to do is explain their mission and meaning clearly, and point out the worst situation they will encounter.
And these people did not disappoint him. The words he deliberately said at the beginning did not win a single wavering look among these veterans.
These soldiers wearing the black uniforms of the Tribunal are all survivors after the battle with Chaos.
Since they are still willing to stand here, there is no need to doubt their will, and their determination has never changed.
They just asked Calvin with silent eyes where the enemy was.
Calvin was very satisfied with this response, and this is the attitude he needed:
It’s not a show of bravery, nor a declaration of anger. It’s the determination of knowing that one is going to die but not changing one’s face.
As Calvin waved, the largest screen behind him lit up, and the target of their trip—the map of this nameless, deserted world—was displayed on the screen.
"The map comes from the latest feedback from the front. Taking into account the time difference in interstellar communication, the error is about a week. Our goal is to prevent these chaotic bastards from causing harm before the naval fleet led by the Forbidden Forces withdraws from the Orps battlefield and arrives.
More destruction..."
Calvin stood in front of these veterans, most of whom were over 150 years old, and told them about their combat goals and timeline.
The video receiving equipment under the podium was working amidst the rustling low-frequency noise, transmitting his body posture and words simultaneously to the military camp in the cabin below in real time. All the soldiers who were preparing for war and mobilization also stopped.
Work joined the ranks of listening.
They are either bending over their backpacks, sitting on camp beds and counting their ammunition, following their squad platoons to assemble on the playground, or praying for relatives whose names are unknown in the distance.
But at this moment, each of them stopped what they were doing and listened to the voice from the bridge.
They knew that it was this person who reactivated them from the remote abandoned planet; it was this person who did not deny their existence because of their status as mortals.
This is the person who is willing to tell the meaning of his battle before the war to those who are destined to serve as cannon fodder most of the time; this is the person who is willing to call them comrades-in-arms.
"I will lead my compatriots to land first and open a basic landing ground for you after finding the target. From then on, it will be your responsibility to defend on the spot."
After Calvin finished explaining the complex environment on the planet and the corresponding combat equipment recommendations, he put down the laser pointer in his hand and said to everyone present.
"You need to hold the predetermined defense line until the last second before zero hour. There will be no reinforcements and no follow-up supplements. Are there any problems?"
"No!"
"Okay, then collect the weapons and equipment according to the scheduled plan." Calvin looked up at the huge mechanical timer on the wall, thought about it in his mind and said:
"There are still 16 hours until the start of the operation. I hope you will come up with a specific action plan as soon as possible. What do you want to say?"
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While looking around, the commander whose number was number 1 spoke:
"Since this operation is mainly about defending, we want to take away all the automatic fire turrets in the weapons arsenal."
"Approved!"
"We also have a huge demand for land mines and kinetic energy weapons." Another officer also said,
"Approved! Is there anything else?" Calvin continued to ask.
"The first batch to land is best to be armored troops. Their tanks can be used as fixed forts."
"Melta weapons and incendiary bombs! Those sons of Nurgle will love this!"
"It's best to temporarily install a front blade on the tank, which will allow us to build fortifications as soon as possible!"…………
With Calvin's encouragement, everyone put forward their suggestions, and Calvin copied them all and approved them all.
After summarizing the specific list of supplies, he looked around the entire headquarters and said:
"I have given you the supplies, weapons and equipment, as long as they are in the inventory on the battleship, I will give them to you. So in the next actions, I don't want to see requests to retreat, and I don't want to see the data of casualties and losses reported.
, I just want results! Can you do it?"
"Your will."
With a simple response and a long-lasting aquila salute, Calvin turned around and left the command hall.
There are still complicated pre-war preparations waiting for him in the Gray Knight's barracks, and that is his main battlefield.
"How prepared is the choir?"
Communication with his compatriots was much simpler. Calvin omitted worries about their morale and combat effectiveness and directly asked the questions he was most concerned about.
"The Psychic Choir has just taken a break from the active interference in subspace and can now enter the preparation stage of the ceremony."
This is the news Gavins just received from the bridge.
"It's not fast enough. If we push again, we must ensure that we are in place within three hours. We only have twelve hours of ceremony time at most, so we can't waste it here."
Calvin said without thinking, and he ordered Gavins to urge the direction of the bridge again to get the choir's manpower in place as soon as possible.
"But that will cause permanent damage to the choir members..." Gavins said with some embarrassment.
"Injury? That's better than death. If the ceremony I want is not in place, I will ask them to pay ten times the price for each additional death list! Tell the cantor that it's time to fight! As long as you can't sing to death, give
I will sing to death!"
"Yes!" Gavins turned and left, starting to contact the bridge as he walked out.
"How many 'baby carriages' were brought out in this operation?"
Turning his eyes to Golden, Calvin picked up the topic.
The 'baby carriage' he is talking about is a weapon unique to the Gray Knights. It is a humanoid war machine composed of adamantine, ceramite and a compact and powerful plasma reactor.
Or you can also understand it as enlarging the size of the Holy Shield-type fearless power armor to a state beyond 10 meters.
In the Gray Knight's armed sequence, its official name is positioned as "The Dread Knight of Heaven's Punishment".
With a weight of 45 tons and a height of more than ten meters, it can barely be compared with the smallest human incarnation of Mecha Ohm Messiah - Knight Titan.
But the actual combat direction is different from that of the Knight Titan. This humanoid weapon is controlled by a gray knight wearing a full set of power armor through a nerve cable. It has a reaction speed that far exceeds that of the Knight Titan and a more violent and powerful close combat capability. p>
From the beginning, its positioning was not to serve as a large vehicle for the opponent. Its original intention was to effectively kill giant demonic individuals whose size far exceeds that of mortals.
Therefore, it is different from those knights who bear fire strikes on the second line most of the time. Long-range fire support is only a task occasionally undertaken by the Terror Knights.
But you can no longer underestimate the intensity of its firepower. After all, this is a platform that can theoretically carry heavy-duty incineration weapons that can only be used by tanks and Titans.
Any enemy who underestimates his long-range firepower will pay the price under the heavy incineration weapons on his arms.
Not to mention that this level of ion reactor can already withstand the burden of the psychic amplification device. The psychic energy of the high-level gray knights it carries is more effective against demons after amplification.
Yes, every Gray Knight who is allowed to drive this kind of equipment must be a high-ranking member of the Paladin or above.
So whether it's close combat or long-range psychic strikes, he can let the demons facing him know what true destruction is.
In a sense, it’s not an exaggeration to call this the Gray Knight’s specialty version of Humanoid Gundam.
Whether it is melee or long-range, it has no hard shortcomings. Even the large weapons are naturally bulky, which has been fundamentally solved by the Gray Knights' unique precise teleportation capabilities.
Calvin was very satisfied with its combat capabilities, but there was one thing he couldn't complain about: its outer armor layout:
The cockpit of the front torso of the Heavenly Punishment Dread Knight is exposed.
Due to the compact space, after a fully equipped Gray Knight has been installed, there is really no room in his limited space to install additional armor.
In other words, any Gray Knight driving this thing can naturally enjoy a 180-degree panoramic view of the front while being completely exposed in front of the enemy...
"Isn't this just a large stroller?"
Calvin often laughed at the designer of this thing in private because of this, and with his efforts to promote it, this "elegant nickname" quickly spread to the entire Honor Guard.
This is also the origin of the previous conversation.
"Three, one for each strike team." Golden suppressed a smile as he answered Calvin's question.
Calvin glanced at Golden and did not pursue the details. He raised his hand to contact the bridge:
"When will the internal structure diagram of the hulk I want arrive?"
"Soon." Tabers' voice came from the earphones.
"The power of the auspicious instrument of the intelligence collection ship is still not enough, and there is only this ship nearby. Among the detection results from a safe distance, only the outermost structural diagram has been confirmed to be valid."
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"Send me as many as you have, and we'll talk about the follow-up when it comes."
After Calvin finished speaking, he cut off the communication and refocused his attention on his side.
"How is the team's preparation status? Please report the status of the power armor!"
"It's in perfect condition! Only Brother Fair's shoulder armor has some problems, and it has been replaced with new parts."
"Where's the ammunition?"
"The maximum compliance is with the six base numbers, 2:0.5:0.5 for psychic bullets, armor-piercing bullets and conventional warheads. The psychic circuit is in good condition and psychic ammunition can be switched at any time."
This is Tariq's voice.
"Hormonal reserve?"
"Fully filled with 15 bottles, all members confirmed that the replenishment has been completed."
"Power backpack?"
"All members confirm that the charge is over 90%"
……………………
One by one, details were ticked in Calvin's mind, and Calvin still took the trouble to confirm them one by one. Just like in his previous life on the eve of the exercise, this feeling of being both a father and a mother made him intimate and familiar.
.
What is different from the previous life is that what they will face is a real and more cruel battlefield.
His sense of security did not increase with the availability of supplies and equipment, but instead decreased with fewer and fewer items on the list.
How many brothers can be brought back safely? Calvin doesn't dare to think about it, and he doesn't want to think about it.
He clearly knew that for their profession, worrying about casualties was a luxury.
These comrades who have gone through numerous selections and stood in front of him after hundreds of years of battlefield experience do not need him to think this way.
In this universe, sacrifice is no longer a rare thing for humans, and it is even more so for this group of people. In the eyes of the Gray Knights, sacrifice is a beautiful destination.
Because that means they can finally stop this eternal expedition and enter the long, quiet night to enjoy their sleep.
But he was still worried, but he couldn't tell anyone about this extravagant and ridiculous-sounding emotion.
This is the biggest difference between him and the people here, and it is also a manifestation of the goal he has always pursued.
This empire and this race have shed enough blood. If he wants to change such things, he must start now.