Emperor's Bane

Chapter 997 Starting the Meat Grinder

Once again, the warp demonstrates its seemingly fragile yet pervasive influence on reality.

The gods, perched atop the throne of chaos, diverted their energy from their eternal game and began manipulating the pieces they picked up at random in the real universe, yet they so easily influenced the most important war in human history.

When the combat reports from the Minerva and Harken systems reached the Ruby King, Horus was no less surprised than Rogdorn.

"I really don't know how to describe it."

The Wolf God extended a finger, idly toying with the projection of the Sun Starfield in front of him: among the millions of worlds in the core of the Empire, Minerva and Harken, these two temporary strategic centers, were highlighted. They were almost right next to the radiance of Holy Terra, which explained why they deserved the Primarch's attention.

Now, these two twins, who have always been mentioned together since they were placed on the strategic conference table of the war commander, are starting to show differences.

The Haken Galaxy turned crimson, signifying that the Shadowmoon Wolves' army held the upper hand. Although the Holy Terra's army had not been completely driven out, they had lost the ability to launch tactical attacks.

The Minerva system remains blue, although some parts of it have been stained red: this means that the Sixteenth Legion's offensive is fierce and has made visible progress in the Minerva system, but control of this strategic location is still in Terra's hands.

"This is not the result we expected, but at least it's not the worst."

After pondering for a few minutes, his gaze sweeping over the space, shipping routes, and the armies and fleets deployed by both sides around the Minerva and Harker star systems, the Wolf God finally nodded resignedly, acknowledging that his meticulously planned war had once again gone wrong.

Well, that's not surprising.

In fact, even during the Great Expedition, military plans devised by the empire's brightest minds were rarely 100% implemented: unexpected factors and troublemakers were commonplace in war, and Horus had long been accustomed to them.

However, when it came to the war with Terra, the frequency of such unexpected factors seemed to increase significantly?
This is no longer an illusion.

Since he and Lemanrus turned against each other, not a single war has gone according to plan.

Although Horus, as a military commander, had never suffered a defeat in this war against Terra, and his followers maintained the high morale of the victors, as a general who had experienced the entire Great Expedition, he keenly sensed some elements that were gradually slipping out of his control amidst this seemingly smooth and beautiful scene.

The feeling was as if an unseen third party was maliciously manipulating the power struggle between him and Dorn.

Shepherd God rubbed his temples to calm the surging spiritual energy in his mind.

He didn't delve deeper into this issue; the war at hand was the most important thing.

However, he'll figure it out once he's done with his work.

Horus stroked his lips with his fingertips.

He was no fool. Although his progress in this area was largely due to his own exploration after receiving the soul power personally bestowed by the Emperor, the Lord of Shadowmoon Wolf still vaguely sensed something amiss thanks to his innate empathy.

He was almost certain that the Emperor and the Seal Keeper had concealed the truth from them about at least one thing.

The warp must contain more than just primal energy. Such a vast expanse must contain more complex systems, elements, and even intelligence. Considering how much destructive power those mortal psionic beings can wield, the power of the intelligent beings that may exist deep within the warp must be even more unimaginable, perhaps even comparable to humanity's dark age of technology.

Could they be the ones interfering in this war?

Or is it that what gives Macado the confidence to wage war against him is his ally in the warp?

Zhan Shuai kept these questions to himself.

He knew that if he were to take control of Terra, there would be a lot he would need to investigate thoroughly.

Horus will be merciful to those who were once his only enemies, whether they were the Marksmen, Dorne, or other Highlords. But for those who instigated this civil war between brothers, the Wolf God will only leave them with absolute wrath.

But now, he must first suppress his anger: or direct it at the Imperial Fist's defenses.

"What did the intelligence department say, Marohurst?"

A series of somewhat dragging footsteps pulled Horus out of his fantasy world: for the Shadowmoon Wolves, who valued speed and agility, such discordant footsteps could only come from one person.

The term "twisted one" refers not only to the mind but also to the body, which is unable to fully recover from severe injuries.

But this does not diminish his shrewdness and competence.

Horus liked to entrust him with the tasks of gathering intelligence from the front lines and purging internal spies: Malohrist always handled these shadowy tasks very well.

"The whole story is now clear, sir."

The Twisted One bowed and then presented Horus with a thick stack of documents, which Horus reviewed while the Twisted One stood beside him explaining them.

"Based on reports from our informants and spies in Minerva, Haken, and various worlds near Terra."

"What is certain is that our previous reconnaissance of the Minerva and Harken star systems was without error. Their total troop strength and fortress distribution were within expectations, and our original battle plan was more than sufficient."

"I see."

Horus nodded.

Ever since the Wolf God decided to set up a meat grinder in the Minerva and Harken star systems to eliminate the last mobile forces in Rogdorn's hands, all military deployments of the Shadowmoon Wolf Legion have been operating for this purpose.

In terms of troop strength, the Wolf God risked leaving the country's defenses weak by transferring 200,000 reserve troops from the Wolf Kingdom to the front lines of the Solar War. Although the harassment from the pirate fleet composed of space wolves active in Fenris's homeland meant that not all reinforcements arrived in time, the War General still maintained an absolute numerical advantage at the front.

In certain regions of the universe, such as Minerva and Haken, the ratio of Astartes between the two sides has reached five to one or even ten to one.

Even after achieving this, Horus still felt it wasn't enough. No one knew better than him how troublesome the Imperial Fist was hiding in the fortress.

To further increase their chances of winning, the Wolf God made a deal with his less-than-trustworthy ally, Omega, who claimed to be another lord of the Hydra Legion: the Shadowmoon Wolf Legion's new offensive would be launched simultaneously with the Hydra Legion's uprising in Holy Terra, thus covering each other and keeping the Marksman and the Imperial Fist busy.

Having established such an advantage, the Wolf God had no doubt about his capture of these two strategic locations.

In his plan, the forces led by Company Commander Abaddon of the First Company and Company Commander Targost of the Seventh Company would simultaneously conquer the sovereignty of the two Terran portal worlds, but they would not completely drive out the Terran army: instead, they would leave Rogdorath's mobile forces a space to land and launch a counterattack.

Minerva and Harken are the last true line of defense that Holy Terra can use to hold off Horus. Dorn cannot afford to lose this place, and even knowing it is a trap, he must come here to fight Horus: the elite of the Imperial Fist will have to face the Shadowmoon Wolves hiding in the fortress they built themselves, and shed their blood for it.

Once Dorne's elite forces are worn down in this meat grinder before the gates of Terra, Horus can calmly support other battlefields, dragging his brothers who are slow to complete their duties to Terra: he needs them to create an overwhelming numerical advantage, thus breaking through the seemingly impregnable fortress of Emperor's Fist on Holy Terra.

This plan sounds perfect.

And it also succeeded in part: the Harken Offensive, personally overseen by Abaddon, was not only successful, but even a little too successful.

This Lord of Gastalin, with the strong cooperation of the naval fleet and local spies, successfully breached the Imperial Fist's permanent fortress complex in Haken through forced airborne assaults and tunnel raids. He even conquered most of the territory in the entire Haken system in one fell swoop. If Abaddon hadn't realized something was wrong and pulled the brakes, the Seventh Legion would have been completely annihilated in Haken.

At that time, even if Dorn wanted to retaliate, he probably wouldn't be able to find a suitable foothold: Horus's meat grinder plan would inevitably be affected.

On the other hand, the offensive of the 7th Company Commander Targost on Minerva was met with a head-on blow: he commanded more troops and fleets than Abaddon, but not only did he fail to capture the Imperial Fist's fortress on Minerva, he also failed to completely sweep away the outer perimeter of the guard zone. Although the Shadowmoon Wolves managed to capture several tactically valuable fortresses with their superior numbers, the goal of conquering the entire Minerva planet or even the entire star system was still a long way off.

This raises another issue: Minerva's conditions are indeed enough to make it a meat grinder in the eyes of a Warmaster, but if Shadowmoon Wolves are the attackers in the meat grinder, and Imperial Fists can hide inside the fortress, then it's hard to say whose blood will be shed.

This is much more serious than the problem in Hacken.

Horus even sent his servant Agnes to the Minerva front to investigate whether Targost had neglected his duties.

"But according to Agnes's report, Targost did not make any major mistakes during the battle."

"His only problem was that after failing to capture the fortress complex in the Minerva system, he became too anxious and doubled down on his forces to complete his orders, which resulted in even more losses."

"But apart from that, the failure was not his fault."

"Did Agnes say that?"

Shepherd Wolf nodded.

He knew his servants well; Agnes would not defend Targous, and neither would Malhohurst.

Even though he was the company commander of the 7th Company, if Targost had really made any command mistakes, they would have dragged him to their court for trial long ago.

That's thousands of casualties; a mere company commander can't withstand such a huge loss.

"That's right, my lord."

The Twisted One nodded.

Then he stepped forward and pointed Horus to the most important line in the document.

"According to our investigation, the real problem lies in the Imperial Fist's troop strength."

"Although it sounds bizarre."

"But nine hours before Targost led his forces to launch a full-scale war against the Minerva system, a massive fleet from Holy Terra, loaded with reinforcements and supplies for the Imperial Fist, arrived in Minerva: even the Minervans themselves did not expect them to come."

"These are reinforcements sent by Dorne."

Horus was not surprised at all.

“He knows what I’m going to do, so he’ll definitely strengthen the defenses of both worlds.”

"We anticipated this as early as when we were formulating the battle plan."

"Yes, my lord."

The Twisted One nodded.

"Therefore, our estimates of the Imperial Fist's troop strength all take into account these reinforcements."

"But the problem is that the Imperial Fist has sent far more troops to Minerva than expected."

"It can be said that the number of enemy troops that Company Commander Tagost will face is two to three times that we expected."

"Almost no military commander can win with such a huge intelligence error."

"But on the other hand, the Imperial Fist stationed in Harken did not receive any aid or supplies."

"That's why things almost got out of control at Abaddon."

"He thought that even if the fortress fell, the Imperial Fist would still have troops stationed in Harken, but in fact, the last Imperial Fist troops were guarding the fortress."

"That's it..."

Shepherd Wolf carefully examined the numbers.

"Was this intentional on Dorn's part?"

“That’s exactly where the problem lies, sir.”

The Twisted One gestured for Horus to see the next page. “This is not Dorne’s idea. Lord Dorne’s actions are the same as we expected. The reinforcements he sent to Minerva and Hark were roughly as we calculated. However, when the two fleets headed to their respective destinations, they encountered a warp storm at almost the same time and were scattered back to one place after the storm.”

"At this point, they were far from Harken, but very close to the Minerva system."

"This led to all of Holy Terra's resources being concentrated in the Minerva system, and Targost was defeated due to enemy resistance that far exceeded expectations."

"Another storm in the warp..."

Zhan Shuai slowly chewed on the word, like an avenger chewing on the bones of his target.

"Haven't we seen a bit too many warp storms since the start of the war?"

"In terms of frequency, yes."

The Twisted One also had some feelings.

"But data shows that in the thirteen years before the start of this war, the number of warp storms in various parts of the galaxy did indeed show an increasing curve: scholars infer that this is most likely because the brief period of calm in the warp after the Age of Strife is about to end, and large-scale and frequent warp storms will no longer be rare in the future."

"So, in the future, we'll have to be at the mercy of these natural phenomena on the battlefield?"

The Wolf God pulled at the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was both mocking and bitter.

"As if I don't have enough trouble already."

The Twisted One did not respond to the question, but patiently waited for the Wolf God to flip through the document in his hand. After reading it once, he read it again, then put it down and lay down on the chair to rest for a while.

It wasn't until Horus opened his eyes again that Malochist asked the question.

"What should our next move be, sir?"

"First of all, I definitely have to go to the front lines."

Horus stared half-opening his eyes, his gaze unfocused as he looked at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“I know Dorn. After he quells the Omega riots on Holy Terra, he will certainly lead the main force of his legion to the front lines of the war immediately.”

"So, do you think Lord Dorn will personally oversee Minerva or Harken?"

"...That's easy to guess."

Horus remained silent for a long time.

Then he pointed to the star map.

"Do you see that, Marohurst?"

"The current situation is actually quite delicate."

“The Minerva and Harken star systems complement each other, forming a strategic triangle. If one is completely lost, the other will also find it difficult to hold on. This is why I am launching two campaigns simultaneously.”

"But if we were to choose one as the most important among them, it would undoubtedly be Minerva: it is the only way we can get to the Holy Terra. As for Haken? It is equally important, but not indispensable; it exists more as a satellite of Minerva, the only way we can get there."

"Indeed, sir."

The Twisted One nodded.

For the Empire, Minerva has a long and rich history as a civilized world, and its fertile lands have well-developed ports and industrial cities, making it a suitable base for launching an offensive against Terra.

Harken, on the other hand, was much more desolate and dilapidated. Although it could also be considered a civilized city, it lacked any industrial system to support the legion's operations and could not possibly serve as a logistical base for launching an attack on Terra. The difference in importance between the two worlds was obvious.

"so."

Horus concluded.

“I can tell you right now, Malohrist, how this battle will turn out.”

"I will lead the fresh forces of the Wolf Kingdom to the Minerva system, using heavy artillery, warships, and a constant stream of mortal support troops to storm the fortress personally guarded by Dorn. I will outwit and outfight him on that doomed land until one of us has bled dry. Considering the number of cards he has and the number of cards I have, I am confident of victory."

"Moreover, we are closer to Minerva, and our fleet has a greater advantage: this means we can effectively block the Imperial Fist's support fleet, and I can also arrive in Minerva before Dorne and command the Shadowmoon Wolves army to launch a new attack, gaining more advantages for us before the real meat grinder begins."

"In that case, the situation is not out of control."

The Twisted One nodded firmly.

He believed that as long as Horus personally intervened, Minerva's defenses would not remain impregnable.

Even if it means that the Wolf God will temporarily lose control of other fronts in the galaxy.

"It's not that simple."

Horus shook his head.

"Don't forget about Harken."

“Once the Seventh Army recaptures Haken, our troops in Minerva will most likely be isolated, and we will probably have to retreat.”

"So even if it's just to gain a strategic advantage in this war, or to disperse my forces and relieve pressure on the main battlefield of Minerva, Rogdorn will definitely form a powerful Harken conquest legion to try to recapture Harken while fighting a bloody battle in Minerva."

"However, in Harken, they will be on the offensive: this means they have almost no chance of winning."

"But it also means that we can't put all our energy and bets on Minerva."

"The two battlefields complement each other; the collapse of either one will lead to the complete elimination of the other."

"Not to mention, we also need to consider a more three-dimensional issue on a large battlefield, such as the connection and interaction between the two battlefields, as well as the harassment of both sides' logistics supply lines by the naval fleets. Of course, we naturally have the advantage in this regard, and I don't mind having a fleet decisive battle with Dorn over Minerva."

"It is almost impossible for him to deploy the mountain formation."

"The Abyss Fury-class warships have an absolute advantage when confronting the Eternal Expedition."

"Of course, the fleet is not the most important thing."

Horus then changed the subject.

"We also have to consider another issue: while we focus all our efforts on Minerva, changes in other parts of the galaxy may be more capable of turning the tide of the war than the bloodshed in this meat grinder."

"What will the Far East do when we reach a stalemate?"

Will Johnson and Guilliman reach an agreement?

"Without Morgan, they are no longer as formidable, but they remain an invincible force."

"Besides that, when exactly will the White Scars and the Sons of the Emperor's legions be able to conquer Betangamon?"

"I heard they were driven back by Russ again?"

"There have been results, sir."

The Twisted One responded in a low voice.

"The Third Legion has already secured a strong landing point on the main planet of Betangamon and, with the help of the Fifth Legion which arrived later, has repelled the wolf pack's counterattack."

"That looks like it will take several more months."

Horus shook his head, showing no elation at these minor victories.

"What about Saint Gillespie?"

"The angel has just issued a lockdown order: completely isolating Baal from the outside world. It is said that the Ninth Legion is now in complete chaos. Lord Saint Gilles has had to reorganize the entire command chain system and has given priority to promoting Amit and some Terra veterans. It is still unclear what exactly is happening in Baal, but they are indeed refusing entry to any fleet."

"Whether it's us or the Far East."

"They don't even allow their own ships to come out."

"Hmm... then let's leave it at that."

Shepherd Wolf shook his head.

"However, what gives me the biggest headache is Mortarian."

"And what about the Death Guard?"

"Lord Mortalian's main legion recently captured Magdron, which means his army has already crossed the Storm Starfield."

"According to communications from the Death Guard, the Fourteenth Legion's next target is Necromonda, a key stronghold of the Seventh Legion in the southern part of the Solar System."

"but……"

"But what?"

The Wolf God's brow twitched.

Seeing the Twisted One's hesitation, he had a bad feeling.

"However, Lord Mortalian recently ordered Typhons to lead a contingent of elite troops from the legions, roughly one-third of the fleet's total strength, to Taran alone: ​​with the intention of eliminating the Imperial Fist's last major stronghold in the Storm Starfield."

"According to recent news, this fleet has just launched its first offensive against Taran."

"..."

Shepherd God glanced at the Twisted One's expression.

"Not going well?"

"To describe it as 'not going well' is too mild a word."

Malohrist shook his head.

"Based on reports from our informants."

He stated directly: "The Death Guard forces are already deeply mired in the Green Hell in Taran."

"That wasn't a war: it was a quagmire."

(End of this chapter)