Warhammer: Striving to Be a Grinding Man

Chapter 187 The Cyber ​​War (4)

Deep within Wangshu. The cold white lights of the foundry hall illuminated row by row along the arc of the refined gold framework, spreading downwards from the highest point of the dome, like a layer of luminous liquid infused into the veins of the metal.

Enp Shakra's spinal data bus reconnected to the interface panel on the seat base. A dark gold stream of data climbed along the cables, passing through the gold-plated interface between the back of the neck and the skull, seeping into the body mostly covered in machinery. The locking mechanism of the adamantite joints emitted a short servo hum before returning to steady motion.

Enpu opened his eyes.

The optical lens slowly extended its focal length from standby mode, scanning the data cable interface status lights on the armrest of the seat to confirm that they were all within the green zone. He pressed the communication button. The recipient was a pre-set list of core high-level personnel, and the confirmation pulse was transmitted back within seconds.

The message is brief: Great Sage Enpu has awakened. Forge Hall. All high-ranking personnel who can attend must arrive on time.

Vera was the first to arrive. As she passed through the shielded gate, the hem of her deep red robe still bore the creases from the shuttle's journey to the berth, and the data antenna on the back of her head flickered erratically between standby and active mode—a trace of the reports she had been receiving en route. She stopped five steps from her seat, not daring to approach any closer.

Ellis followed closely behind. Dressed in a dark gray clerical sage's robe, he stood slightly behind Vera, his right fist pressed against his chest in a gear-like salute.

Then came Cole, Marcus, Edric, Luce, Phyllis, Maggie, and more than ten high-ranking technical priests.

They rushed from their posts and formed a semicircle in front of the Enpu Chair. No one spoke loudly. Before the Great Sage Enpu, all daily affairs were automatically folded into the background.

Vera spoke first. Her antennae extended briefly before retracting before she spoke. "Cohen—no," she paused for less than half a second, "Great Sage. Everyone is concerned about the throne."

Enp's loudspeaker resonated smoothly with the amplification array: "The Emperor's psionic broadcasts have spread throughout the galaxy. The High Overlord Council's mobilization order has also been issued. The entire Solar System, the Astronautical Army, and the entire Imperial Astartes Chapter are converging on Terra. The Empire is mobilizing all its forces for the Cybernetics War."

No one interrupted him. Only the low hum of the cooling pumps and the faint sound of circulating air flowing through the adamantite skeleton remained in the foundry hall.

"The Emperor has awakened. This is a sacred war concerning the future of all mankind."

Vera was the first to recover. "How are you? News from the entire Empire's Star Language is in complete chaos. Also, the Silver Shroud squad stationed in Garros set off weeks ago. I saw those nuns leaving with red eyes. Everything has gone mad."

Marcus's voice came from the right flank of the crowd: "Lucis demands that the Titan Legion of Garros begin the consecration ceremony. His tone was urgent, not a request, but an announcement. I have already ordered the formation of the Garros Expeditionary Fleet. Rellano is currently training the Phoenix Legion and therefore couldn't make it. The Astartes operation has not yet begun."

Edric continued, "The expeditionary fleet consists of the Fireseed, the Phoenix, three light cruisers in Garros, and four escort ships. Currently, we have no more forces in Garros; most of our forces are in the Webway and the Shattered System."

Liz's voice came from behind the crowd, her mechanical tone carrying her usual caution: "The Astartes surgery itself is not the problem, but the success rate—"

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear enough.

Everyone gave a brief overview of their respective fields. Enp looked around at everyone present, his optical lenses scanning each face.

"Terra's intention is clearly to mobilize the entire power of the Solar System. Garros is located on the edge of the Misty System and is not within the direct mobilization order of the Solar System. The Emperor's order is: outside the Solar System, maintain combat readiness as long as possible, and only deploy mobile elite forces for support; otherwise, too many forces will only clog the Throne's logistical lines. Therefore, our position is not in Karasta."

Vera looked at him: "If Garros doesn't participate in the expedition, how do we respond to Lucius?"

"Gallos will not participate in this expedition to Terra." Enpu's voice was unwavering. "Gallos's reply: The Garlos Titan Legion's readiness level remains unchanged, and long-range deployment will not be carried out for the time being. The reason—the Garlos Forging Director is currently on Terra, in Karasta, participating in the Webpath War under the Emperor's leadership and the glory of the Om Messiah. Lucis and Garlos are one and coexist. We have already set an example for the Forging World and Industrial World Cluster of the Misty Starfield. What we need to do now is maintain stability in the rear. You need to communicate this in the name of Sage Enpu, and Lucis will naturally make a clear and definite assessment of it."

The room fell silent again for a moment, processing the deep, allegorical information. Vera's brain antennae rapidly extended and contracted several times. Cole's gaze fell on the Thinker mainframe indicator light behind Enp's chair, as if silently comparing the information he had just heard with the existing intelligence framework.

Marcus had already realized what was happening, and his voice rang out: "Should the ambush operation within the network be suspended? Twelve coordinate star systems have been confirmed and await your instructions."

Enp answered without hesitation: "Pause. Garros needs to remain quiet at this stage. The coordinates are sufficient for now. After I return from Karata, we will construct secondary gates for Maradona and these twelve coordinates to stabilize the base."

He paused slightly, fine-tuning the focus of his optical lens, and fixed it on Lucé: "Tell Rellano: the seeds of the Phoenix Legion have been sown. He need not rush. The Emperor is in Karata, the Royal Guard is in Karata. Garros' Phoenix Legion will not be absent, but the order of appearance is up to us."

Lu Sai nodded slightly, his knuckles clenching and unclenching at his sides, but he didn't speak.

Enp turned to Marcus: "Garos's alert level is raised to level two. If any threat of war arises, regardless of its origin, immediately request aid from Lucis. Go further, request aid from the entire Misty Sector. You can directly cite the Emperor's order to defend Garros as evidence. They can verify this with Terra. They have no leverage to question it at this critical juncture. This is a clear Emperor's order; the entire Misty Sector's defense of Garros is a prerequisite."

The transmitter paused for a moment. Enp leaned back in his chair, his voice a notch lower than before, yet clearer to everyone: "I must return to Karasta immediately. Remember—Galos is the source of the Web War. The Empire can mobilize the entire fleet of the Solar System, summon the Empire's most elite forces, and exhaust Mars' reserves. But the Web began its repair here. No matter how Karasta turns out, the source remains here. Once the war reaches Galos' homeland, that will be our true battle for survival."

No one spoke in the room. The atmosphere became extremely oppressive.

Enp's spinal data bus began to disconnect from the seat base in stages. The adamantite joints retracted segment by segment, and the focal length of the optical lenses slowly contracted towards standby mode. Vera spoke before Enp's optical lenses completely closed, allowing the final pulse to reach its destination: "In the name of the Emperor and the Ohm Messiah."

Enpu did not answer. The optical lenses closed, the dark gold trace of the data cable receded along the spine, and the standby indicator light on the adamantite seat changed from blue to green.

Vera turned, her gaze falling on Marcus. "Keep a close eye on the Web Path yourself, and make sure it remains completely hidden." Her voice regained Vera Nazari's crispness—no longer the format of a report to the Great Sage, but the format of issuing an order. "Cohen's meaning is clear: prevent the war from reaching Garros as much as possible."

She surveyed the room: "I'll handle Lucius's response. The reason, as the Great Sage said—Terra's side—is that the Garros Forge Director is currently involved in the Webpath Wars in Karasta. Garros has already made sufficient contributions to the Empire. Any questions can be directed to the Throne. Meeting adjourned. Return to your posts and await further instructions."

The crowd began to move. Crimson robes and dark gray uniforms clashed in the cold light, and the sound of boots hitting the terrazzo floor converged towards the exit.

Vera didn't leave immediately. She stood two steps in front of the Enpu chair, watching the body that had entered a state of quiescence, lingering for a moment under the standby indicator light. The data antenna on the back of her head remained completely retracted during that silence.

Then she turned and walked out of the foundry hall.

Karata.

When Cohen's consciousness flowed back into this body from Enpu's body through the high-dimensional anchor point, the first thing he sensed was the temperature circulation system inside the body temperature power armor maintaining a constant temperature and humidity, and the tactile sensation of the sacred bone ground was transmitted up through the soles of his boots.

He opened his eyes. Above him was an arched dome made of sacred bones, like an inverted giant cauldron, several kilometers in radius, completely covering a section of the Eldar ruins.

This fortress was personally constructed by Cohen weeks ago. He devoted only intermittent time to growing the skeleton of the sacred bone layer by layer, spreading the protective layer of the boundary membrane, and embedding a radiant gold lining at key points. This was to establish a command core for the Military Affairs Department in Karasta that could not be easily removed and could shield the Warp from view.

The military command's frontline command system had been destroyed several times by the Chaos Assassins. The first incident occurred in the ruins of an Eldar tower on the edge of Karatha. The first theater commander was holding his daily situation assessment meeting, with over two hundred staff officers gathered around a massive tactical platform. A demon seeped out from a crack in the middle of the tower, silent and invisible, like a flattened beam of light flowing from a crevice in the wall. It unfolded in the center of the projection platform, completed its hunt, and then vanished. The entire process lasted only a few dozen seconds. Only three survived, propelled from the tower windows by fragments of the exploding projection platform.

The second commander died in a giant fortress-like mobile command vehicle. He learned from his predecessor's mistakes and no longer maintained a fixed location.

But the Chaos Hunters, guided by higher-ups, tracked the convoy's movements. The entire convoy was ambushed while traversing a desolate wasteland of spirit bones; the wasteland was razed to the ground by the force of the Chaos, and over three thousand commanders of various ranks perished.

In fact, in Karata, the entire mortal population was under the direct gaze of the Warp at all times. From a high-ranking general to the most ordinary pilgrim, they were all exposed to the Warp's direct gaze because of the cracks in the Web.

In the star-studded Karasta, the logistics requirements section of the Mechanicus and the Military Affairs Department states: "A command post is needed. A command post that can isolate warp exploration, a true fortress."

The Martian Mechanicus was at a loss; none of the materials currently available could effectively shield the subspace. A Mechanicus sage offered a solution: network materials. The Military Affairs Department then consulted Cohen for his opinion.

Thus, this fortress was built in the heart of Karasta. Starting with the ancient relic structure, it grew layer by layer, encased in an outer membrane, lined with a shimmering golden skeleton. Communication cable interfaces were embedded in the walls, and data bus routing nodes were embedded in the dome's mezzanine. The dome, with a three-kilometer radius, took shape, its interior space large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of staff officers and hundreds of Thinker terminals operating simultaneously. Physical cables extended outwards from the fortress's base, traversing the ruins, connecting command posts at all levels with the front lines—physical cables were previously the only reliable means of long-distance communication within the network.

As Cohen stepped out of the fortress, he glanced back. On the surface of the arched dome, countless pre-installed interfaces were being activated row by row by the tech-priests. The bases of small weapon arrays were arranged along the dome's curve, their cannon barrels gleaming a dark gray in the cold light, their muzzles slowly rotating as they were being calibrated, returning to their positions after completing the locking procedure. The pale golden halo of the outer membrane spread steadily across the dome's surface, like a slowly flowing glaze, dissolving the dark purple chaotic energy seeping from the depths of Karasta before it even touched it. This fortress's strength far surpassed any of the Empire's prefabricated fortresses, especially that membrane—originally a barrier directly facing the warp in the Old Ones' underlying structure, and circulating throughout the network nodes, it possessed extremely strong resistance to demons, warp energy, and psionic corruption, essentially a living anti-demonic shield.

Senior military officers have been asking the same question frequently in recent weeks: can more of these fortresses be built at other key nodes in Karasta?

Cohen's reply remained consistent: as much as possible, but at this stage, repairing the network should be the top priority. The sacred bone materials consumed by each fortress could extend the network's guiding patterns for hundreds of kilometers, and the network's own healing speed would determine whether Karasta could be effectively brought back under the Empire's control. He had personally witnessed the Old Saint's underlying logic extending on its own, that light trail spreading in the darkness—his job was to ensure the integrity of the cross-section at every critical node touched by that light trail.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl hovered tens of thousands of meters above the fortress, on alert, while a Stormbird was parked outside. Kara stood at the entrance to the passageway, behind her were dozens of elite members of the Storm Assault Team.

Cohen glanced at the queue, then connected to the Black Pearl's communication channel using his power armor and said, "Prepare to depart for the next broken node."

Kara's voice remained consistently calm and unwavering: "The hunting teams from Chaos are becoming more and more frequent. We need to strengthen our defenses."

Cohen didn't respond. The Stormbird activated, boarded the Black Pearl, and headed to the next node.

Behind the Black Pearl, in the fortress's command hall, a new batch of senior military officers were conducting routine information checks. On the holographic projection platform, a situation map of the Karasta war zone unfolded in cold light, with troop markers for each defensive line arranged in overlapping arcs along the cross-section of the Eldar ruins.

A senior general stood at the front of the projection platform, tracing a newly updated defensive line marker with his finger: "The 7th, 9th, and 12th Groups of the Kadian Assault Forces, totaling 1.7 million men, have completed their rotation deployment. They are relieving Krieg's Death Legion of the defensive line on the southern section. Krieg's forces have suffered over 70% casualties."

Another officer confirmed on the data panel: "Your Excellency, the rotation is 93% complete. The full rotation is expected to be completed within six hours."

General Favis nodded and did not press further. The Kadians didn't need any additional instructions; they knew what to do.

Just then, the airtight door on the side of the command hall slid open. A communications courier in a dark gray uniform strode in, clutching a still-flashing signal data panel. Without stopping, he went straight to the main control console, placed the panel on the edge of the table, and said in a low voice, "The forward formation of the Volstoia Firstborn Regiment has arrived at Mandeville Point. The flight path is clear, and the crossing is expected to be completed within forty-eight hours. Their honor guard is en route from Mandeville Point to Terra Liongate Spaceport; they will enter the Throne Room for the Emperor's inspection."

A brief silence fell over the command center.

It wasn't that tense silence—it was something else entirely. The officers' hands paused at the edge of the data panels. Someone put down their documents. A brigadier general clenched his right fist at his side, then relaxed it. It was the unmistakable instinctive reaction of the military officers when faced with the fact that "someone is going to see the Emperor."

Everyone knew what that meant. A force that had passed the Emperor's review would exhibit a visibly enhanced combat effectiveness upon being deployed to the battlefield—not just a tactical improvement, but something much deeper. Faith solidified, will forged into steel. The Krieg Death Legion proved this with its relentless onslaught: multiple Chaos Space Marine chapters were systematically dismantled, their remnants scattering into the rifts deep within Karasta, never to reappear on the battlefield as organized units. Long before the arrival of the Volstoia Firstborn, the Krieg's achievements had been repeatedly cited in internal military reports. The ruins cleared by the Kriegs along the western section of the defensive line remain among the least infiltrated areas by Chaos.

In the shadows at the far end of the hall, a newly arrived staff officer whispered, "If only I could do that in my lifetime—"

'

He didn't finish speaking. The person next to him glanced at him, nodded, and remained silent. Everyone wanted to say the same thing.