Warhammer: Starting with Industrial Revolution

When Ronin's fleet broke through the atmosphere of the Caron II, the scene before them plunged the entire command room into a deathly silence.

This is a planet completely different from Vatos VII.

The entire sky was a murky dark red, and the gale-force winds carried iron ore dust that raged wildly through the air.

The land below was scorched and dry, devoid of any vegetation or water source, with only crisscrossing dry riverbeds and endless mountains of slag heaps.

The numbers on the monitoring equipment kept fluctuating: the surface temperature was 54 degrees Celsius. However, according to planetary data, the temperature here would plummet to minus 30 degrees Celsius at night.

Without proper protection, a single breath here will cause someone to cough up blood from the iron-containing dust, develop severe silicosis within three days, and die within a month.

Even if you manage to escape the harshness of the air, the extreme temperature difference can bake you dry during the day and freeze you into an ice cube at night.

A young staff officer, peering out the porthole at the hellish scene, couldn't help but gasp: "My God, can anyone really survive in a place like this?"

Compared to this place, Vatos VII, with its Death Forest, lakes, and polar ice caps, is truly a paradise.

"Can our protective suits fight normally in this environment?" Ronin turned to look at Viktor beside him.

Viktor stared intently at the ground below, the red light from his optical prosthetic eye flashing wildly, his face filled with barely concealed excitement.

The mining world, where the Mechanical Church desires everything.

This place not only has inexhaustible rare mineral resources, but also may contain undiscovered relics from the Dark Ages buried deep underground.

Only when Luo Ning spoke again did he turn his gaze away and say calmly:

"Don't worry, Lord Ronin. This level of environment is nothing compared to the Dark Age armor. Although we have a limited number of our new armor pieces and can't equip everyone, the Imperial standard armor brought by Commander Mason will provide effective protection. Conservatively speaking, we should be able to hold out for a week."

Hearing Viktor's words, Ronin finally felt relieved.

He wasn't particularly benevolent towards the people, but if the troops suffered casualties due to environmental factors before the war even started, then this operation would truly become what Mason called "suicide."

The fleet continued its forward flight.

Soon, the main hive of Caron II came into view.

The mining world's hive cities are completely different from the industrial hive cities of Vatos VII.

It was essentially a massive open-pit mine. The governor's mansion was built on the outermost surface of the mine, while the lower city extended downwards along the mine, its depths unfathomable.

Countless mine tunnels, like a spider web, are spread throughout the underground of the entire planet.

But what truly sends chills down your spine is not this hellish environment, nor this despairing mine.

Instead, it is the boundless, ever-surging green ocean that surrounds the entire nest city.

"The intelligence is incorrect, Lord Ronin." Victor's voice turned somber. "There are definitely more than just 100,000 greenskins here. At least 200,000. A tribe of this size will likely produce a very powerful warlord."

"Lord Ronin, in the name of the God-Emperor, do we have the capability for orbital bombardment?" Bishop Moras approached, clutching the imperial emblem on his chest tightly, his expression extremely grim.

Luo Ning shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "Forget about orbital bombardment. These dilapidated transport ships don't even have a single intact main gun. It's a miracle they managed to get us here safely."

"Besides, even if we could bomb it, we can't do it," Victor added coldly. "One shell would destroy the entire mine nest, burying millions alive. And the shockwave from the explosion would scatter green spores all over the planet. At that point, you couldn't solve the problem even if you prayed until you died."

Bishop Moraes glared at him, but was momentarily speechless.

Luo Ning couldn't help but smile wryly. As the two of them collaborated more and more, their disagreements also increased, and bickering became the norm.

The two men, one a believer in the spirit of machines and the other in the emperor, had vastly different ways of thinking and stances.

But this time, he was definitely more on Viktor's side.

Bishop Moraes was excellent at spreading the faith, but he was lacking in military strategy and vision.

Without saying anything more, he picked up the communicator and tried to contact the garrison command of Caron II via an encrypted channel.

Now, they desperately need to know the true situation inside the hive.

"This is the Imperial Border, Valtok Sector, Vatos VII Planet Reinforcement Fleet. I am Commander Ronin. We are here to provide reinforcements. Can the Kalon II Defense Command receive this message? Please respond."

A long five seconds of silence.

The communicator only crackled with static, mixed with faint gunshots and explosions in the distance.

Just as everyone's hearts sank, a hoarse, weary voice, yet filled with unbelievable joy, suddenly rang out:

"This...this is the Second Kalon Defense Force...Colonel Fisher...repeatedly...this is Fisher! Received! We received you!"

The sound was intermittent, with dense gunfire, soldiers' screams, and panicked commands in the background, as if the communication would be cut off at any moment.

Everyone in the command center breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as there is still a response, it means that Calon II has not been completely lost.

"Thank you for your hard work, Colonel Fisher," Ronin replied immediately. "I brought with me the entire garrison and reserves of Vatos VII, totaling two hundred thousand men."

On the other end of the communicator, a near-frenzied cheer erupted instantly.

Colonel Fisher's voice trembled with excitement, brimming with tears: "Reinforcements actually came... I thought... we had been completely abandoned by the sector, by the Empire... Thank you, Lord Rhonin... Thank you... We thought no one would ever come again..."

Ronin completely understood his feelings, but he had to interrupt him: "Colonel Fisher, report on the situation. What's the current status of the garrison? What's the situation in the hive?"

"It's bad...it's really bad..." Fisher's voice dropped instantly. "The defense force now has less than 10,000 men left, and they're almost out of ammunition. In many positions, the soldiers are fighting the greens with stones and bayonets. The lower level of the hive has been completely taken over by the greens. We've blown up all the passageways, which has temporarily slowed their advance. Most of the civilians are concentrated in the middle level, so they're relatively safe for now...but they won't last much longer."

The situation is more critical than we imagined.

Luo Ning turned to Garan: "Has the landing site been confirmed?"

"It's confirmed, sir." Garan pointed to a marker on the holographic map. "There's an open plain twenty kilometers south of the hive capital, far enough away. As long as the advance troops establish temporary fortifications, they can hold the landing zone and allow the follow-up troops to land smoothly."

"Okay." Ronin nodded and spoke into the communicator, word by word, "Colonel Fisher, we are now beginning our landing 20 kilometers south of the hive. Once we have established a foothold, we will immediately launch an attack to draw the Greenskins' main force's attention. You must hold on."

"Understood! We will hold out until the very last moment! For the Emperor!"

Communication was cut off.

Luo Ning looked at the vast green ocean on the holographic map and took a deep breath.