Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 921 (08.920): 'Descendant of the Knight'

“But we’re unarmed…” The lieutenant colonel’s voice was hoarse and urgent. He took a step forward, almost pleading, “We need weapons!”

"I'm sorry, Battalion Commander."

The colonel shook her head decisively. "We're on a forced march and don't have any spare equipment. Let's go outside."

She gestured with her chin toward the dilapidated gates of the monastery above her head. "The battlefield is littered with corpses. Loot what you need from them."

The battalion commander's eyes dimmed. He looked down at his dusty riding boots and sighed heavily, "Well... I never imagined that while we were trapped in the basement, the outside world had turned upside down."

He raised his head and looked at the stone dome of the dungeon, covered with black moss and mold, as if trying to see through the tens of meters high structure to the ground.

"We only felt the ground trembling slightly, unaware that it was a bloody battle that would decide life or death. May Major General Leclerc rest in peace on the Golden Throne... He was a dutiful and good soldier."

"You'd better hurry, Battalion Commander."

The colonel's tone left no room for argument: "The Greenskins' offensive has not stopped for a moment, and our crumbling defenses could collapse at any moment. I need everyone who can still stand to take up arms and fight."

Then, she turned to the side, revealing the tall officer behind her, dressed in advanced dark blue armor with one side of his body covered by a precision-engineered power arm armor, and introduced him: "This is Colonel Horatio Cochran, Lord of the Imperial Navy."

Your entire battalion is here. From now on, you will lead your troops in joint operations with the Imperial Navy.

Upon hearing that he could finally return to the battlefield, a glimmer of color returned to the weary face of the man named Poniatovsky Hunyati.

He straightened his slightly hunched back in the basement, and with the pride unique to cavalrymen, extended his calloused hand, worn from years of holding guns and sabers, to Horatio with great enthusiasm.

"Poniatovsky Hunyati, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Novorodka Regiment. Salute to you, Colonel."

He grinned, revealing his white teeth, completely unaware that he had misunderstood the Imperial Navy's exclusive ranks.

He continued, "If you need the best mounted archers, look no further than us. We are the best mounted warriors in the entire sector."

Horatio Cochrane.

The lord colonel's voice was deep and steady, like the roar of a ship's engine.

He grasped the other's hand, and the power armor, gleaming with a metallic sheen, emitted a barely audible transmission sound, yet the force was perfectly controlled, displaying both respect and authority.

"Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy's Gothic Fleet, captain of the light cruiser 'Swift Skyhawk' and the battlecruiser 'Indulgence'."

He added in a deep voice, "As for equipment, you need not worry. The Imperial Navy will provide it for you. We never lack firepower."
-
"By the Divine Emperor, we have never seen such a fine piece of equipment in our lives!" Poniatovsky's exclamation trembled slightly as he carefully held the exquisitely crafted bolter in his hands, as if touching a sacred object.

Another sleek, precision-engineered laser carbine and a boarding shotgun leaned against an ammunition box beside him.

His men, like a group of starving beggars who had entered a royal banquet, stared greedily at the crates of weapons being unloaded from the Averus landing craft.

They stroked the cold metal of the gun with almost pious eyes, feeling its heavy killing power.

A daring cavalryman curiously raised a standard naval bolt-action rifle.

They had only heard of the Arrow Rifle in legends; it was the weapon of the Angel of Death. They never imagined that one day mortals could wield such a weapon.

He skillfully raised his gun, resting the butt against his shoulder, and aimed at the green-skinned head perched on a flagpole in the distance.

He held his breath and gently placed his index finger on the trigger.

He tentatively placed the pulsating red dot in the center of the holographic sight onto the green-skinned, ferocious head, having no hope of hitting the target on his first use of this weapon—ordinary laser guns would miss by a great distance if the barrel or sight was slightly off, let alone such a powerful live-fire weapon.

boom!
A dull, powerful bang, quite different from the sharp hiss of a laser gun. The stock's shock absorber effectively absorbed most of the recoil, causing only a slight jolt to his shoulder.

"Whoa!!!"

The surrounding dragon riders erupted in a gasp of shock and envy.

The cavalryman who fired the shot stared in disbelief at his weapon, then suddenly looked up at his target.

The hideous head exploded instantly in a cloud of blood mist, scattering bone fragments and green tissue everywhere.

The dragoon who fired the shot looked around at his comrades in astonishment: "I... I hit them?"

"The propellant in the naval bolt gun was precisely quantified."

Horatio spoke with composure, displaying an absolute confidence in the technological prowess of the Imperial Navy.

"The gun body was meticulously tuned over hundreds of years by the most outstanding weapons masters. Its dedicated stock shock absorber, anti-shake device and advanced gas system achieve a perfect balance between accuracy and burst fire stability."

The Imperial Navy adopted it for a more straightforward reason: inside ships where thermoelectric weapons were unusable, it was the armor-piercing explosive weapon that caused the least damage to delicate electrical equipment.

Then he picked up a more rugged and heavy navy shotgun: "Twin-mounted semi-automatic shotgun."

A single pump-action loading can deliver two consecutive bursts of lethal ammunition. It has a large ammunition capacity and supports sequential reloading.

In the hands of a skilled marksman, its rate of fire is comparable to that of an automatic weapon, enough to suppress any enemy behind cover.

This is the all-around king of urban warfare and close-quarters boarding combat.

The Navy carbine is versatile and practical. Paired with a sword and bayonet, it gives you a significant advantage in urban warfare. Trust me, it's far more suitable for close-quarters combat than the Asgardian Army's infantry rifles.

"Such...such good weapons, are we really going to use them?" Lieutenant Colonel Hunyati unconsciously rubbed his uneven stubble with his rough fingers, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. "I remember Imperial law...the Star Force seems to prohibit the use of standard naval equipment."

"I have not authorized you to pilot naval aircraft, Lieutenant Commander. A few individual weapons are still within my authority," Horatio replied casually.

"Oh, I see!" The man exclaimed in realization, then gave Horatio a thumbs-up and grinned wickedly. "We owe you a huge favor, Colonel. If we're both still alive after this war, my cellar has all the best fruit wine in all of Polaberia, as much as you want!"

Now that you mention it, I'm really interested.

Horatio's lips curled into a rare smile, and a hint of genuine interest flashed in his eyes.

"For the Imperial Navy, there is no more solemn gift of thanks than a bottle of fine wine. Wine is the lifeblood of our long voyages; we only drink chlorinated recycled water in the worst-case scenario. But, you also come from Polaberia?"

His focus was clearly on the last sentence.

"Yes, I come from Polaberia! Uh... to be precise, my ancestors came from there, but I was born in Sintira."

But now, I own an estate and a vast estate in Polaberia, which I inherited from my father.

He was a noble knight, a true Imperial Knight! He commanded a combat mech standing a full 12 meters tall! Oh, those were truly magnificent divine machines! Have you ever seen a knight up close? The number of lives he saved is beyond your imagination!

Once the man starts talking, he becomes very talkative, seemingly forgetting the pain on his face: "Then he married a lady named Cintilla, and then, well... that's how I came to be."

“Then,” Horatio leaned closer, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, “do you know anything about the Władysław family?”

(End of this chapter)