Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

The garage was filled with the sound of an old-fashioned agricultural tractor starting up, and the vehicle trembled violently with the roar of the engine.

While Gu Jian was still wondering if there was something wrong with the vehicle, the members of the Super Radiation Gang were all excited as if they had seen a beautiful woman, shouting that the enthusiasm for the vehicle today was unprecedented.

"Little Rust likes you."

These were the last words the members of the Super Radiation Gang said to Komi before boarding the vehicle. They watched with reluctance as the vehicle, which was much older than them, rumbled away and flew towards the huge gap in the central passage.

Komi's voice trembled slightly, his chest resonating with the passion of the vehicle spirit. He looked at the guide child being led by the stone, shook the antidote bottle in his hand, and said, "Take us to the border between the upper and lower nests. Once we get there, all these medicines will be yours."

The child nodded somewhat numbly, presumably having heard many such promises before.

He had no choice but to approach a driver who had been given a package of radiation blood while wearing the chain and give him directions.

The central passage was also quite large. Looking out, Komi felt that his vehicle, which he had obtained, was as insignificant as a plankton floating up and down in a water bottle, compared to the huge pipes and the endless walls of the passage.

We continued upwards, refueling several times along the way.

When a rest is needed, the pilot stops on the pipe. The pilot's skills are quite superb, as he can always find the most stable landing point on the curved pipe.

As they drew closer to their destination, Mi Yang couldn't help but ask Gu Jian about the current state of the battle.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Jian gave Mi Yang an explanation that he considered reasonable.

"After we kill the orc warlord, the orcs should be in a state of division. At this point, they will only be thinking about creating a new leader instead of fighting us. As long as our commander is not out of his mind, I believe they will definitely be able to seize this opportunity to launch a brilliant counterattack."

Speaking of the commander, Komi realized he knew nothing about the supreme commander of the Red Mining World garrison. He asked Miyan, "Our commander is a normal person, right? He can't be some useless guy just here to get seniority, can he?"

Miyan was very displeased with Gu Jian's rude speculation. She frowned and said, "General Derek is a soldier who is loyal to the throne and fulfills his duty with his life. He is not the good-for-nothing you are talking about."

"That's good. Once we go up to a communications station and clear things up, we can get some credit and a better treatment." Gu Jian yawned, waved to Mia, and then curled up to the side and fell asleep quietly.

A few days later, the child who had been guiding them pointed to a closed, gear-shaped door and said, "This is the boundary between the upper and lower nests. Just go through that abandoned vent with the screws loosened."

"Alright, thank you for guiding me, child." Gu Jian patted the child on the back of the head and tossed him the remaining antidote. "We don't need you anymore. Go back to the bottom nest and live your own lives. Oh, right, and this too."

Komi gripped the axe tightly and, before anyone could react, chopped off Lankao's head. His body plummeted down the central passage, shattering against the pipes with a clanging sound.

Mi Yang stared wide-eyed, not understanding why Gu Jian had killed Lankao.

To this, Koken simply said, "This guy's skin and temperament are too different from ours. Bringing him to the army will only bring us unnecessary trouble."

Mi Yang nodded knowingly. She didn't have much affection for Lankao either; after all, this hunter who had lost his armor was no different from a dead man to his family.

After getting off the vehicle, I crawled slowly into the ventilation duct.

You can tell that people frequent this area. There are obvious differences in the dust accumulated between the ventilation ducts. You can find the exit by crawling along the area with the least dust.

After crawling for an unknown amount of time, Gu Jian finally saw the slope the child had mentioned. He slowly shuffled down and saw piles of garbage below the exit.

These pieces of trash acted as a good buffer, with Komi falling first, followed by Miyan and the stones.

Once again, the slightly stuffy smell of mineral powder from the lower nest excited Stone so much that he even knelt down and kissed the ground twice.

Komi stretched his slightly sore and numb body and led everyone toward the wall that separated the lower and upper nests.

Miyan also took out his officer's identification from the inside of his armor early on, wanting to establish contact with the Imperial Army as soon as possible.

They had been struggling in isolation for far too long, and an unbearable sense of loneliness was rapidly spreading through Miyan's heart.

"Look, that's the tall wall!" Stone shouted excitedly, pointing into the distance.

The once sturdy and neat high walls used to distinguish the upper and lower nests have lost their former glory. A lot of damage remains on them, with unexploded orc shells embedded in them, and some horrific tears have rolled up the thick alloy of the walls.

But these images are still reassuring, because there are no orc graffiti or mushrooms of various shapes on the walls, and no piles of rotting corpses in the corners.

These powerful facts demonstrate that the Wailing Wall withstood the orcish onslaught and remained firmly in the hands of the Imperial army.

The entire nest is safe and sound...

At least the uppermost and topmost points are unharmed...

Seemingly having thought of this problem, Shi Tou's excited face gradually faded. He followed Gu Jian forward, but his head kept glancing down towards the direction of the nest.

There was silence there, no light, no hope.

Damn it... We're all dead, but the Upper Nesters and the nobles are still alive and well.

Stone cursed inwardly.

Chapter 47: A Group of Lucky Defeated Soldiers

Approaching the war-torn wall, Miyan pinned his officer's badge to his chest and walked at the head of the column.

Komi, who was nominally still the adjutant, stood behind and to the side of Miyan, standing side by side with the conscript Ishi.

Miyan approached cautiously, well aware that soldiers were under immense pressure during wartime, and the slightest disturbance could trigger a barrage of fire.

Having survived the bloody battle with the orcs and the hardships of the bottom nest, Mi Yang didn't want to die so unexpectedly at the hands of his own people.

When they were still 500 meters away from the wall, several spotlights shone on them. It was the same familiar password recognition, but the accents were full of the rugged flavor of Xiachao.

Somewhat downcast, Stone became excited upon hearing the accent. He turned to Komi beside him and said, "It's another mobilization brigade! It's one of our Shimo-no-Kara people."

“Yes, the stone is our Lower Nest people.” Koji couldn’t help but smile with a relaxed expression. Compared to the Upper Nest people who looked down on others, he preferred the dull Lower Nest miners.

Miyan stood at attention, saluted, and quickly gave his unit number. As long as the call came from the direction of the wall and was related to military regulations, Miyan could answer it cleanly and efficiently, something that Komi could not do.

After a long silence that even made Komi feel a little uneasy, the final message came from the wall.

"Alright, you soldiers who have escaped death, you can come in now, but you must report to the fortress command post first, understand?"

After receiving permission, everyone set off. It was only then that Komi learned the official name of the wall: the fortress.

The gate was wide open, and Komi found that the nest behind it was even more dilapidated and desolate than the last time he visited.

The streets were dirty and messy, and no one was cleaning them. The windows of the buildings were blocked by curtains or other debris, making it impossible to see what was inside.

The dark-skinned conscripts from the Lower Nest gathered in twos and threes, their center set around flaming metal barrels.

The conscripts used this to keep warm and cook simple meals for themselves, which might be nutrition bars dissolved in water, or resilient little creatures caught from the corners of the earth.

Stone excitedly waved his arms to his comrades of the same skin color, and in a daze, he felt that his friends from the 88th Mobilization Corps were standing in front of him.

The conscripts returned the stones friendly smiles, but that was all.

An officer who had been promoted from a conscript led a group of soldiers to meet Komi and his group. His first words were to tell Komi to take off his incongruous equipment.

Mi Yang was already tired of wearing these tattered orc armors. With a quick pull and a retraction of her hand, the armor that had shielded her from many bullets was knocked off and placed on the ground.

Strangely enough, this sturdy and durable little thing shattered into pieces as soon as it hit the ground, just like a porcelain vase.

Komi and Ishi did exactly the same, except they kept the axe that had been used to cut down many monsters and humans.

"Very good." The officer nodded in satisfaction at the three men's efficiency. He waved his hand, turned around, and gestured for everyone to follow him to see the commander of the defense of this section of the fortress.

After passing through a narrow blast door and climbing many steps, Komi arrived at the defense commander's office.

This was also a Lower Nester whose skin was stained black by mineral slag, but he appeared somewhat bloated and lacked the lean and muscular lines typical of Lower Nesters.

When he saw Komi and his group, he didn't show any of the sternness one would expect from a superior meeting a subordinate. Instead, he asked with a meaningful smile, "You said you're a sergeant from the 88th Mobilization Corps?"

Mi Yang slammed his heel on the ground, then gave a standard salute to the defense commander and said, "That's right, sir! I am a sergeant from the 88th Mobilization Regiment! This is my adjutant, and this is a veteran from the 88th Mobilization Regiment."

The defense commander then asked, "I remember that the 88th Conscription Regiment lost contact during the Orc invasion of the Nest a few months ago. We can't find even a fragment with the 88th Regiment's name on it, let alone the remnants."

Miyan wanted to say something more, but the defense commander raised his hand to signal her not to interrupt him and continued, "Your answer just now was very standard, except for being a little outdated, there's nothing to criticize. Considering all of the above, I think there are only the following possibilities for your situation."

First, you are a bunch of deserters who shamefully abandoned your positions when the orcs came and are now living a life of ignominy in the lower lair.

Second, you are a band of defeated soldiers who retreated to a corner of the lower lair to eke out a living after the orcs dismantled your organization.

Third, you are a lucky bunch who have survived the bloody battle with the orcs until now.

Am I right or wrong?

Komi raised an eyebrow. He saw the same arrogance on the face of the defense commander as that of the Uesugi people. That self-righteousness and aggressiveness had already taken root in his soul.

Miyan was trembling with anger at the defense commander's unfounded speculation. She clenched her fists tightly, trying to control her tone and tell the self-righteous commander how great a contribution they had made.

But then she thought, if she were in the position of the defense commander, could she believe in the crazy plan that Gu Jian had made? Could she believe that this seemingly harmless guy was actually a brave soldier who could kill the orc warlord?

Mi Yang opened her mouth and then closed it again, trying to find a suitable angle to elaborate on Gu Jian's achievements.

The commander of the defense was speechless and could only wipe the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Komi with a mixture of nervousness and reverence, treating him as if he were a hero.

But Mi Yang could not be found.

She couldn't find a trace of it, and she suddenly began to hate herself.

He regretted not picking up a piece of evidence that could prove his identity when Komi used a bomb to kill the orc warlord named Yato.

Is it possible that everything Komi did for the empire can only be known to the omniscient and omnipotent emperor?

Seeing Mi Yang's expression gradually darken, and his mouth opening and closing several times without uttering a word, the defense commander's face suddenly turned cold, and a mocking disdain, as if he had known this all along, appeared on his lips.

But he still took pity on them, waving his hand at his officers and saying, "It's good that you survived the orcs. The 88th Mobilization Corps has been decommissioned. You will be placed under the Empire's command according to the new provisional war treaty. I will arrange suitable jobs for you lucky guys."

“You…” Mi Yang was struck in the heart by the humiliation. She still wanted to fight for Gu Jian’s merits, but Gu Jian just signaled to Mi Yang with his eyes not to lose her mind.

Miyan felt somewhat aggrieved, and reluctantly lowered his head to salute the defense commander, saying in a low voice, "Yes, sir, we will obey your orders."

Watching the group leave, the defense commander snorted disdainfully in his office, muttering, "If it weren't for your purple eyes, would I have bothered arguing with you for so long? Damn Cardiacs, what a bunch of belligerent fools."

Chapter 48: The Unforgotten Glory

On his way to report to the barracks according to his newly received military orders, Mi Yang couldn't contain his anger and grievances. He said to Komi, "Why won't you let me explain to him? You killed a powerful orc warlord!"

Gu met him expressionlessly, and only said one sentence that left Mi Yang speechless.

"What banner did we fly when we were mingling with orcs? Was it the 88th Mobilization Corps?"

"It's...it's Boss Ma Gan and his henchmen..."

"That settles it. Although we know perfectly well what's going on, to the Imperial Army's intelligence department, the orcs' collapse was simply due to internal conflicts. A strange leader of the Buttlings and the leader of the Toothfist fought, and both of them died in a devastating explosion. As for the 88th Mobilization Regiment, we were already dead in the first few days when the orcs poured into the Lower Nest through the breach."

Mi Yang found it hard to accept this outcome, and he couldn't understand why Gu Jian could be so indifferent to such a great honor. "Then what we've done... isn't that..."

"Unfortunately, nobody knows about it, but that's not a big deal. There are plenty of things that are unknown to the world."

Mi Yang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his tense face finally relaxed. He said to Gu Jian, "I can't reach your level of awareness. Perhaps you should take this sergeant's position."

Komi hurriedly waved his hand, "Forget it then. I feel that I am only suitable for charging into battle and using an axe to kill those guys I don't like. As for managing an entire team, you should handle that."