Emperor's Bane

Chapter 136 Gathering
When the Primarch of the No.18 Legion walked into the hexagonal meeting room of the [Indomitable Truth], this wide space that could accommodate dozens of Astartes fighters was actually narrowed by contrast.

This meeting room is restored in proportion to the appearance of the oldest knight fortress on Caliban. When he was a knight in the deep forest world, the Primarch of the First Legion was there. Most of the knights on his home planet were united in the fortress, leading these brave and noble people to wipe out the wave of giant beasts that had caused disasters for thousands of years.

The masonry and marble fortress thus enshrined the original dream of the Lion King of Caliban, and when he turned his hunting ground from the empty forest to the never-ending galaxy, the Primarch naturally Moved this stronghold among the stars.

The tall figures of lions and fire dragons are projected onto the stone walls all over the alcoves by the dancing candlelight, and the majestic figures are constantly changing between the solemn sculptures and the skulls of giant beasts, imprisoning these candlesticks The iron cage was suspended above their shadows, mercilessly lighting up the cold stone room, and lighting up the primitive utensils made of stone, steel and hardwood in the four corners of the room.

If it weren't for the star map in the center of the room that was still shining with light blue and scarlet light, no one would believe that such a room would appear at the very core of a huge warship that spans the sea of ​​stars. place.

"How many people did you bring, Vulcan?"

Before Zhuang Sen walked to the star map, he first carefully checked whether the situation on the front line had changed significantly when he left. After confirming that the most important nodes had not changed, the Lions Only then did he focus his pupils on his blood brother again.

"forty thousand."

Without any hesitation, Vulkan's thick lips squirmed, and gently spit out this weighty number.

"I need to leave some necessary garrison forces on Nocturne. Apart from that, my entire legion will be at your disposal in this war, Jonson."

The Lion King nodded. He was very satisfied with this number. He knew that it was indeed Vulcan's exhaustion of all his talents. He had almost reached the limit of his strength. I am afraid that the Lord of the Nocturne Star was the same as himself. The new blood from the parent planet was also brought here.

Different from what the world imagines, at the time they are in, that is, about No. 70 Terra Standard Years when the Great Crusade began, the so-called Astartes Legion is indeed different from what ordinary people can imagine It can be said that the [Legion] is very different.

In the standard of the empire, [Legion] is an absolute symbol of strength, an invincible symbol that can make any opponent raise the most instinctive despair and fear from the depths of his heart, and can crush a kingdom or even a kingdom with just a light wave. The emperor's hammers of the world, and the most fundamental reason why they are so terrifying is the crushing brought about by absolute numbers.

If there is not a huge force of millions, tens of millions, or even more, then it is not worthy of the name of a [Legion].

The Legion Astartes, however, was a notable exception.

Looking at the entire galaxy, the total number of Astartes who are now fighting the world in the name of the emperor is probably only 80 million, or even less.

As the undisputed strongest legion at this moment, the Dark Angels have a huge force of 15, and under Jonson's heirs, only the Luna Wolf, Ultramarines, and Imperial Fist can reach [[-]] scale.

Further down, the Iron Warriors and the Word Bearers, as a powerful legion with a prosperous home planet and stable seeds, their number also exceeded [-] early, but because these two legions have some problems caused by the Primarch. Unique problems, such as obsession with religion or bloody tactics, cause their army growth to always be slower than those of their most prosperous brothers.

Surprisingly, the White Scars at this time also possessed the same level of strength as the Iron Warriors and the Word Bearers. This may be because of the long history of the Fifth Legion: as early as the beginning of the Emperor's Great Crusade, at that time The Fifth Legion named Star Hunters was the largest legion. At least [-] fighters welcomed Jaghatai Khan's return, and in the following years, this number expanded to [-].

And further down, legions such as the Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Death Guard struggled to expand their legions due to bloody wars and obsession with members in certain worlds, which is why most Astartes Legions The usual posture: Not everyone is like the ambitious Ultramarian, who holds a large number of worlds tightly and can take over one side at any time.

And those legions in the worst situation, such as the emperor's sons or thousand sons, their number fluctuates around several thousand people. Considering the intensity of the war of the great expedition, such a force is not even suitable for an expeditionary front alone: You know, the battle of strangling Duran, which seemed to be going smoothly, cost the Dark Angels and Space Wolves at least 2000 casualties, which is fatal enough for those weak troops.

"4 million people..."

Zhuang Sen muttered softly, this number is not much different from what he expected before. According to the estimate of the Lion of Caliban, he will get about 30 reinforcements from Salamanders and Space Wolves. Combined with bits and pieces of the other Legions, and his Legion, it would be an invincible army of three hundred thousand Astartes.

With this power, even if the Randan people see through his plan, he can use his hard power to eat up any invading enemy.

"Yes, 4, my brother, tell me, what do we need to do in this war?"

Vulkan's question kept echoing in the stone room, like the hum of a fire dragon lingering in the valley for a long time, Zhuang Sen looked at his brother quietly, he seemed to want to speak immediately, but hesitated.

The lion's gaze lingered for a while, and finally came to his other silver-haired blood relative. At this time, Morgan had just walked to a stone platform at the edge of the room, and took out the wine and cup from its vacant belly bag. This made the Primarch frown: he didn't remember alcohol in his conference room.

The lion's eyes followed his psychic consultant all the way back to him from the edge of the room, until Morgan put the cup in front of everyone and poured the wine.

【In any case, Your Excellency Vulcan and his legion are our honored guests, and even more our combat brothers who fight side by side with us. 】

The lion of Caliban had a solemn face, watching his blood relatives push two glasses of wine in front of him and the fire dragon lord respectively.

【And no matter what time it is, it is not a polite behavior to leave guests and brothers empty in front of you, is it? 】

After saying that, she turned her head and looked at the Fire Dragon Lord.

[Please try it, Your Excellency, maybe it's not...perfect, after all, the war is urgent, this is already the best we can come up with. 】

Zhuang Sen looked at the wine glass in front of him, watching the wine like flowing red tears swaying in the clear glass.

When did he have these things in his conference room?
The lion king cast doubtful eyes on Morgan's face, but Ms. Spider just spread her hands slightly in mid-air, betraying a colleague who was personally guarding outside the room without hesitation.

【Your Excellency Coswayne is an excellent steward, he always covers everything. 】

While Zhuang Sen's eyebrows were still twitching because of this answer, the Lord of Fire Dragon had already carefully pinched the rather small wine glasses in front of him and drank them all in one gulp.

Some sour.

The wine in the glass may not even be called a sour throat for the Primarch, Vulkan blinked his red eyes, wanting to pour out some thanks, but apart from the fleeting sour taste, He really didn't get any more flavor out of the wine.

During the few seconds of Vulcan's silence, he heard Morgan's apologetic voice. The silver-haired mortal seemed to be carefully observing his face, and keenly captured the moment of freezing.

[I want to apologize to you, Your Excellency, but in a hurry, I can only come up with these. 】

The Fire Dragon Lord only saw sincerity on Ms. Spider's face. Her blue pupils were covered by slender eyelashes, and she could only vaguely see the sparkling color like the surface of a lake.

Vulkan remained silent, and the delicate thought hidden under his rough appearance was working because of Morgan's words and the meaning of this glass of sour wine.

Almost in the next moment, Vulkan figured it out. At this moment, Zhuang Sen's eyes were still hovering between the wine glass in front of him and his two blood relatives. This beast that could not understand most emotions was even a little dazed.

"Where did you get these things?"

[The grapes I cultivated by myself are in my own room, but because of the urgency of the war, I can only pick these immature crops to make an imperfect sour wine. 】

[Many things in reality are always sudden, which will disrupt many things, and then make everything turn into an imperfect result like this glass of wine. 】

[But we always drink it. 】

The Primarch of the First Legion stared at the swaying liquor of her own blood, guessing what she was implying, while on Morgan's other side, the Dragon Lord was already laughing.

"Actually, you don't have to be so tactful, Ms. Morgan."

"Although I have been trying to be a fighter, and I have always been unsuccessful, I have also learned a few things. I know that war will not be compromised with anyone's ideas, so if I am It's a sour drink here, or even a purely bitter one, and I'll drink it."

"This is the purpose of my coming here. Someone must drink the bitter wine. Since the emperor has given me great power, then I should bear more for those who have no power."

"Tell me what you need me to do."

The Lord of the Fire Dragon looked at the Lord of the Dark Angels who was staring at him and Morgan, and still hadn't fully reacted. There was a smile on his dark face, which looked a little ferocious, but gave people an incomparable sense of security. .

"Never mind, Zhuang Sen, I am not afraid of casualties, and none of my heirs will be afraid of this. If Salamander's [-] warriors can exchange for the peace and tranquility of the countless worlds behind us, then I would like nothing more."

Zhuang Sen blinked his eyes, he nodded a little numbly, his last gaze was still on his two blood relatives, and he was thinking in vain about what kind of consensus the two people had reached in the two sentences just now, and what mutual agreement they had with each other. What information was poured out.

But in the end, he still didn't stay in this field that he might not be good at for too long. With a few taps of the Primarch's finger, the star map in front of everyone suddenly changed, countless galaxies and worlds were ignored at a high speed, and Instead, the Taxus galaxy they were in was infinitely magnified and magnified until a huge world filled every corner of the star map.

"Tax V is the only world in this galaxy that barely meets the colonization standard. Its volume is roughly the same as that of Saturn in the solar system. There are only deserts and dried up oceans on the surface. The only water sources are concentrated in a few peaks. top glacier."

"I set up the main battlefield of this war here. My fighters have built a strong enough permanent fortress group in this world. I can assure you of the sturdiness and performance here, unless those aliens use it to destroy the entire The weapons of the world, otherwise even the largest fleet salvo will not be able to fundamentally threaten this place."

While speaking, Zhuang Sen zoomed in on the world on the star map, allowing Vulcan to clearly see the vast desert, rolling hills, and the tower surrounded by mountains and valleys on the Taxus V star. Surrounded by the core fortress with only a few entrances.

With this core as the center, a large number of forts and fortifications built by the Dark Angels have expanded to the scale of the mainland. Thousands of immortal citadels have been planned by the sons of Jonson in the past few months. Most of them are protected by thick defensive barriers, and the huge engines supporting these barriers are safely placed in specially thickened fortresses.

Johnson randomly clicked on an individual in this powerful armed group, and introduced its data in detail.

"This is the A-13 fort complex, which is responsible for guarding the giant engines that maintain the defensive barriers of the six surrounding areas. It consists of three main forts, five combined forts, and more turret forts. Its center is equipped with 600 mm The main gun of the caliber is covered by a 500 mm thick special alloy plate on all surfaces. There are at least three layers of permanent fortifications under each fortress. The permanent concrete canopy of each layer is as thick as 4000 mm. The passage is connected with a small railway, and there are more dark forts. All the fortress turrets are installed sunken and have an absolute advantage in shooting range. As for the arsenal and giant engines, they are placed in a space at least 50 meters deep underground. Unless all the defenders are killed, it is impossible for Ran Dan to destroy them, and as long as the engine does not stop working, it will take a very long time for the alien fleet to really damage the fort itself."

"And this group of fortresses belongs to the most ordinary group among all the fortress groups. Compared with the real core fortress, it is like a child's shirt and a knight's armor."

Vulkan listened to his brother's long speech, and his eyes were fixed on everything shown on the star map: the fortress is towering, the walls are erected, and countless fortresses are densely covered in most of the world like spider webs , has become an unimaginable excellent battlefield for strangling the alien army.

"Stunning, my brother."

"I originally thought that only the Iron Warriors or the Imperial Fist could do this."

Johnson smiled.

"I don't dare to be greedy for credit, Vulkan. In fact, there are indeed fighters from these two legions who are currently in my fleet. They have contributed more to these fortresses than my descendants combined."

Jonson still remembers Morgan's idea of ​​[putting the Iron Warrior and the Imperial Fist together at the fortress construction site], and its effect is indeed good: it just takes a lot of work time and raw materials.

Vulkan carefully observed these majestic war fortresses, admiring their magnificence and strength as a blacksmith, but he didn't indulge for too long, and soon, his red pupils glowed again. Turning back to Jonson.

"So, I thought, this is the battleground of my Legion?"

Faced with this question, Zhuang Sen couldn't help but paused. He instinctively swept his eyes aside, only to find that his other blood relative was just observing the fortress on the star map for himself, ignoring his words. look.

The lion coughed lightly.

"Yes, my brother, I need your legion to be stationed here, and I will also send some of my sons, but not too many. Your warriors need to fight with mortals."

"Sounds good, with strong fortresses and reliable comrades in arms: I don't think I need more things, so what is our task?"

"... persevere, persevere at any cost."

Zhuang Sen was silent for a while, and finally spit out this cold word.

"I will use my method to hide a large part of the navy's power in the void until those fleets of Ran Dan's alien [break through] all my defenses and come to this world, and your task is to stay here and cooperate For other troops, Randan suffered enough casualties, so that they had to continue to transport landing troops."

"The fleet I left behind will keep interfering with them, ensuring air supremacy in a certain area, and at the same time preventing them from inflicting a truly devastating blow on this world, until Ran Dan puts enough or enough important power on the surface of this world. At that time, I need your legion to bite them at all costs, and my legion will appear and support as quickly as possible, and annihilate the main force of Ran Dan who cannot escape on the surface and low-earth orbit of this world."

"Vulkan, I will not hide from you, my brother, this will be a very dangerous and tragic mission, your legion needs to resist Ran Dan's main force for an extremely long time, and give them enough damage—— I am not sure what that number will be, but I will give you all the warriors in my Legion who can help in the defense, and I hope that the Salamander's front will be impregnable."

"Randan's fleet may be larger than we think, so I can't really determine how this war needs to end, but anyway, my brother, if there is a fatal omission on the front you are in charge of and danger, please speak out in time, I will change the plan as soon as possible, we don’t need to let all the Randan aliens die here, we just need to let them shed enough blood.”

Zhuang Sen's words were a little confused, but also a little excited. He stared fixedly at his blood brother. Facing this gaze, Vulcan nodded equally seriously.

"give it to me."

He just answered like this.

Jonson looked at him and nodded too.

"give it to you."

Then, some trivial things were constantly brought up in the conversation of the Primarch, and the time passed like this, until Coswayne came to inform that the fleet of the Space Wolves appeared at Mandeville Point, the fire dragon The Lord suddenly remembered another question.

"Then, Jonson, my brother."

"What kind of role is our brother Leman Russ in your plan?"

Faced with this question, Zhuang Sen didn't hesitate much, he didn't speak, but showed a playful smile.

"I gave him a role, bro."

"A role that suits him well."

"A character well suited to... a wolf and his pack of crazy cubs."

Vulkan blinked, and he looked to Morgan, eager to get a clearer answer.

What answered him was Morgan's smile and slow whisper. Obviously, Morgan had been informed of every step of the plan.

【Wolf...】

[Of course I let them make trouble. 】

(End of this chapter)