I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 231 The Player's Clever Ideas

The Ultramarines sergeant distributed several data panels to the new recruits, including Reinhard and Walker.

"These are the minutes of our previous meeting where we discussed this issue. You can take a look at them first."

Reinhard took the data panel, and a series of operational plans marked "rejected" immediately appeared on the screen. They reviewed the records and found that the command center had indeed racked their brains to solve the problem of the Tyranid spore fog.

Option 1: Increase the amount of toxic gas released to neutralize the suspended particles in the spore fog through aerial dispersion.

Reasons for rejection: Excessive cost and immense logistical burden. More importantly, the denser concentration of poison gas would also severely impair the senses of the suicide bombers and extreme warriors, while simultaneously corroding their valuable equipment.

Option 2: Deploy a large number of ornithometers at the forward positions to mark the precise movements of the insect swarm through echolocation.

Reasons for rejection: Spores themselves absorb and interfere with sound waves, leading to significant errors in detection results and chaotic, disorganized data. Moreover, such a sophisticated instrument suffers alarmingly high losses under the firepower and charges of the Tyranids, making it overly complex and impractical.

Option 3: Conduct periodic covering artillery bombardments to clear open areas in front of the position with flames and explosions, forcibly creating a visible area.

Reasons for rejection: Ammunition consumption is immeasurable, while the effect is obviously poor. It would be better to save the shells and wait for the Terran to arrive before requesting fire support to directly strike the swarm. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

Every plan had undergone rigorous simulation, but was abandoned due to insurmountable flaws. A deep silence fell over the command center once more; the power armor's respirators emitted a faint hissing sound, while the civilians frowned, the atmosphere heavy.

“Speaking of which,” BUG’s voice suddenly broke the silence, sounding somewhat abrupt, “why not try using a light?”

"lamp?"

Upon hearing this, no one present, whether Space Marines or those on the brink of death, could immediately grasp the meaning of "bug." The word was too simple, too everyday, to seem out of place in such a serious military meeting.

"You guys should know this, right?" BUG saw everyone's blank looks and began to explain with gestures, "It's common sense! When it's raining or foggy and visibility is low, just use a flashlight! Even if it can only illuminate a few meters ahead, it's still better than being completely in the dark."

He became increasingly excited as he spoke, his thoughts becoming clearer: "Perfect timing! We've moved our position to higher ground, giving us a commanding view. We can set up dozens of high-powered searchlights there, and when Tyrion arrives, we can turn them all on and shine them down at once, wouldn't that solve everything? This way, it won't even affect our own soldiers, because the light source comes from behind them, so it won't be dazzling. We'll also solve the problem of night fighting; with the lights on at night, it'll be like daytime!"

"We can just put a few dozen searchlights on the high ground and that's it. We won't even need any complicated cover. Searchlights aren't worth much anyway. If Tyrannosaurus wants to shift their precious long-range firepower from attacking us to attacking those broken lights, wouldn't that be even better? It'd be a huge profit!"

After he finished speaking, the command post fell silent.

The soldiers, trained in military affairs, instinctively wanted to refute this suggestion, which sounded...too simplistic and even somewhat childish. But when the words came to their lips, they couldn't think of any compelling counterarguments.

On closer inspection, this suggestion seems... well worth a try.

That's why they say mentally ill people have broad thinking. Even professional soldiers who have been trained in countless military regulations might struggle to come up with such a far-fetched battle plan, no matter how hard they rack their brains.

"Great!" The player [Assimilation Complete], who was the class leader in another group, slapped the bug's butt and laughed loudly, "What's that saying again? Even a fool can have a stroke of genius!"

"Go to hell," BUG laughed and pushed him away. "Can't you say something nice? You should look at someone with new eyes after three days of separation, don't you understand?"

The Ultramariner sergeant ignored the players' antics and swept his gaze over the other Astartes present: "What do you think?"

One of the Space Marines spoke first: “It’s crude and simple, but I think it’s worth a try. It costs almost nothing to implement, yet it could have a miraculous effect.” “I think so too,” the sergeant nodded. “Sometimes, we really shouldn’t overcomplicate things.”

As night fell, the sky over Plantim took on an eerie and unsettling hue. Purple spore clouds released by the Tyranids mingled and churned with green poisonous mist projected by the Dead Ones, distorting the moonlight and starlight into morbid hues.

Outside the new hilly position, two men who had served as sentries lay in makeshift foxholes, gazing up at the familiar sky.

One of them sighed and said quietly, "Sigh, if only we had looked at the sky more before destroying Plantim's ecosystem. Now when we look up, all we see is green or purple, our poison gas or Tyrannosaurus spores. The blue skies, white clouds, and starry nights we saw when we first arrived are gone forever."

"After this war is over, in about ten years according to Earth time, you should be able to see it when you come back." Another person going to his death yawned and replied lazily, "Trust the Ultramarines' reconstruction capabilities. They are unparalleled in infrastructure construction and post-war recovery."

"That depends on whether we can win..."

As the two were chatting idly to relieve the boredom of their sentry mission, a muffled explosion suddenly came from afar.

"boom--!"

The sound wasn't particularly loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

The two men, who were sprawled on the ground just a second ago, changed their postures simultaneously like springs, crouching behind cover and raising their laser guns instantly, entering a state of alert.

"Did you hear that noise just now?" the first person asked in a low voice, his sharp eyes scanning the wilderness ahead, which was illuminated by the eerie light.

“Hmm, it sounds like the position we left before we evacuated during the day,” another person listened for a moment and judged. “Someone planted a bomb before leaving? Damn it, are they playing with explosives?”

This kind of thing is not uncommon on the battlefield. Some players like to leave some "little tricks" when retreating, making things difficult for any pursuing enemies.

“I’ll go check it out; after all, we’re both sentries.” The one who spoke first stood up decisively, checked his weapons, and said, “You stay here and stay alert. If I don’t come back in ten minutes, then Tyrion has arrived.”

"Okay, be careful."

He crouched low and quickly disappeared into the shadows of the hills, making his way towards the old position.

Time ticked by, and the last sentry in the foxhole stared intently at the friendly forces indicator on the communicator, watching the green dot representing his comrades recede into the distance.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes...

Suddenly, the green dot representing the teammate disappeared without warning.

Almost at the same instant, a faint light flashed across the hilly position behind him, and the player who had just gone to scout was resurrected next to the squad leader with a "whoosh".

He didn't even need to say a word. The squad leader next to him was resting with his eyes closed against the ammunition box. He opened his eyes the moment the respawn light appeared. He glanced at his newly "respawned" subordinates, showing no surprise on his face. He simply stood up calmly and dusted himself off.

"Get ready to defend," he ordered the rest of his squad. "I'm going to inform the company commander that Tyron is here."

(End of this chapter)