Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

Looking at the increasingly smaller landing zone on the war map, Griffin sighed. He had intended to save on armored forces, but in the end, he still had to send them all up there.

I just hope the enemy doesn't deploy anti-aircraft positions nearby, so that he can lose fewer war machines.

But why... did Saint Otto show no sign of worry?

Griffin rested his hands on the table, his face down, looking at the map. He turned his eyes to the side and saw Komi with his eyes closed, looking drowsy.

If Komi hadn't embarrassed himself, Griffin could understand his performance, but he did cause quite a few casualties among the combat suit troops.

Although it is unclear whether the Redemption-type combat suit is the brainchild of the Sage of Sem, Griffin can determine from many details that the combat suit must be from the elite of the Komi unit. The landing craft they carry are covered with many beautifully patterned armor plates, just to ensure their survival rate during landing.

Could these combat suits really turn the tide of battle? Could their shotguns, which can only suppress infantry groups and lightly armored soldiers, really carve a path through the surging waves of dead?

Griffin was highly skeptical of this. He had excellent mechanical priests under his command, and these learned priests could determine, simply by observing the appearance of the Howler Shotgun, that the weapon's lethality was not much higher than that of the laser gun.

"Perhaps the Roarer shotgun is more effective at suppressing the enemy than the laser gun, but sir, don't forget that this is a live ammunition weapon. Providing ammunition for this weapon and distributing it throughout the army is a difficult task. In comparison, I still suggest that you purchase laser guns and energy magazines, and use the saved energy and resources to purchase more heavy weapons."

These were the priests' exact words, and Griffin remembered them very clearly.

The distress signals coming from the ground were getting more and more urgent. Griffin could no longer suppress his curiosity and wanted to ask Komi what kind of backup plan he had that made him so calm.

Chapter 516: The Song Guides the Way

Just as he was about to speak, he heard a soft snoring coming from the direction of Komi.

Sleeping...asleep?

Griffin's expression froze, and after hesitating for a long time, he was unsure whether he should wake Komi up.

After a long pause, he ordered his adjutant beside him, "Get the armored units ready..."

"Yes!"

Is Komi asleep?

Judging from their behavior, this was indeed the case. For those who could often stay by his side, Otto and Marcus were both very sleepy. When there was nothing important, they could sleep for five days and five nights without showing any signs of waking up.

In reality, however, Koken is not sleeping; he is simply reducing the pressure on his soul to control his different incarnations and concentrating more of his energy on one task at a time.

As Otto fell asleep before Griffin, Markars, far away in the Immaculate City, also drifted off to sleep. Now, Komi's conscious mind appeared in the Eye of the Faraway Fortress via the Primal Throne, personally overseeing the long-distance unfolding of the Soul Path.

Will this succeed?

Koji wasn't entirely confident either. He had Jack suddenly appear in the Eldar Ark, but the distance wasn't far. If Jack didn't get lost in the Ark, he could quickly reach Koji's location and launch an attack using his fighter jet's speed.

The distance is now ridiculously far; it would take two long-distance warp jumps to cross the gap between the edge of the void outside the Eye of the Far East fortress and Ironbreaker.

Can the Soul Path reach this distance? Can the Soul Path beacon guide the fighter jet to its destination? Everything requires experimentation...

Komi took a deep breath, and together with Fetia, he controlled the changes in the Soul Path of the Far Eye Fortress. The Soul Path that was spread throughout the fortress was concentrated into one point and extended towards the direction of the Iron-Cutting Star.

Soul Path... Soul Path... This structure, shaped by the soul, envelops Komi's consciousness. But what envelops the Soul Path?

Although there is no clear evidence, Komi believes that the Soul Path, like his Pure White Hall and the Spirit Race's Web Path, exists in the subspace, but is not noticeable due to its special nature.

Guided by the cries of souls, when enough people die on a battlefield, the echoes of souls scattered across the battlefield will become the key to the unfolding of the Soul Path.

Gu Jian remembered some details of how the ancient sages used the Soul Path over long distances. His consciousness traveled along the extended Soul Path, and then he suddenly discovered that finding an accurate soul call was much harder than he had thought.

It's not that they're rare, it's that they're too many...

The ancient saints of the past could instantly distinguish the nature of these souls' cries and even describe the details of the deceased's death. Gu Jian could not do that. Although his soul was strong, there was still a huge gap between him and a true god.

The fighting was even more brutal than that of the Iron Star, and the number of dead in places far exceeded that of the Savawen world. The final echoes of the dead souls before they fell into the subspace caused Komi, who touched them one by one with the tip of his Soul Path, to have splitting headaches.

No...it's still not clear enough...

It's still not clear enough...

Laughter! Pleading! Praying! Screams! Wailing! The roar of guns and cannons, the sound of swords slicing through flesh!

These voices appear here and repeat there; fighter jets need the guidance of Soul Beacons, and my Soul Path also needs something more distinctive to guide me...

Forward, forward, forward...

Suddenly, Komi remembered the song. He had originally promoted the song to concentrate the soul power of the sub-orcs in order to emulate the orcs' Waaagh stance. Now, he realized that he was the only one in this dark galaxy who had taught his troops to sing this song, making him truly unique.

Koken thought it was feasible to use singing to guide the soul path forward, so he immediately sent a wisp of his consciousness to activate Otto's sleeping body.

He opened his eyes, abruptly stood up, and quickly left.

Otto's actions startled Griffin, who was closely monitoring the battlefield. Before Griffin could even offer a greeting, Otto left the command room under Komi's control and sent a message to the Punisher.

"Faces, let our choir sing! Our warriors need their encouragement!"

Inside the Exterminator, the sinful nuns who had been rescued from the brink of chaotic mutation by Koji clasped their hands together in front of their chests. They stood in neat rows on the singing stage, and as the melody emanated from the trumpet in front of the angel statue's mouth, they took a deep breath and sang the battle song of the past with the most confident and high-spirited posture.

"Forward! Forward! Forward!!!"

The emotion conveyed by repeating simple words three times is not simple at all. These words are the beginning of the high-spirited and indomitable fighting spirit that follows, and the key to connecting the thoughts and souls of those singing the same song.

The singing from the choir carried throughout the Exterminator; the mechanics busy on the tarmac, the sailors working on the deck, and the soldiers gathered in front of the landing craft all heard the convicted nuns' chorus.

Their heads swayed to the rhythm, and they unconsciously hummed softly, the sound echoing not only throughout the ship but also in their souls.

This connection traveled further, giving even the struggling Gat a surge of energy. Ella, who was being discriminated against by other friendly forces, sang angrily in the cockpit while hacking the onrushing dead to pieces with the large cleaver attached to her multi-barreled howler shotgun. The song then echoed through the battlefield, reverberating from the speakers of her combat suit.

The unified singing echoed, as awe-inspiring as the orcs' collective shout of Waaagh. Even the Star Guardians and family private soldiers who had never learned this song were infected by its simple melody and uplifting emotions. Fighting the dead with their laser guns and bayonets, they forgot the terror of death. This was an emotion unfamiliar to them, who were used to the solemn and sacred songs of the state religion.

A soldier struck by a black beam of light fell to the ground. Seeing his comrade's gruesome death, he wanted to aim the laser pistol at his own head to end the inevitable pain, but the shouts of "Forward!" spurred him on.

He slammed his hand on the solid, barren ground and shouted angrily at the dead, "Forward! Forward!" Then he drew his fighting dagger and charged forward, allowing the two dead controlled by the black stone to finally rest in peace before the sharp point drained the elements from his body and burst forth.

The singing seemed to spark a counterattack on the devastated battlefield. Griffin immediately widened his eyes and asked his adjutant, "What's going on? Have our armored units already landed on the ground?"

The adjutant was also puzzled. He immediately replied, "Sir, our armored forces will take at least six more minutes to reach the ground. This counter-offensive is the result of the landing forces' own efforts."

"How is this possible... They were retreating step by step just now, and now they can launch a counterattack?"

"Sir, it might be because of the sudden singing," the communications officer monitoring the battlefield reported from the side.

"singing?"

"This is it..."

The messenger played the song for Griffin, and after only a few seconds, his expression changed, his cheeks puffed out, and he made gagging noises.

Griffin's unusual reaction left his adjutant and the other officers in the command room bewildered, and the communications officer, realizing something was wrong, quickly stopped the singing.

Once the sound disappeared, Griffin's expression improved. He patted his chest to suppress the nausea and explained as everyone stared at him.

"I was so moved by the courage, loyalty, and striving spirit in the song that I lost my composure..."

After hearing the explanation, the confusion on the other people's faces dissipated considerably, and they developed even greater admiration for Griffin. They felt energetic and excited when they first heard his singing, but it was far from enough to make them want to vomit.

Lord Griffin is truly a loyal servant of the Emperor, to be able to resonate so deeply with this song.

The messenger couldn't help but speculate, "After Saint Otto left, this song echoed across the battlefield. It must be a sacred hymn he composed himself! This reminds me of the sacred expeditions of the past, where those imperial saints used songs of piety to boost morale, unite desperate hearts, and ultimately defeat an invincible enemy!"

"It's so beautiful! The songs of the state religion are always solemn and majestic. I've never heard such a melody before. Saint Otto is not only a master in battle, but also a genius in culture!"

Hearing the praise from everyone, Griffin also showed an approving smile, but there was a hint of coldness in that smile.

He glanced to the side, and his brother Griffith immediately understood, nodded in agreement, and left the command room.

Saint Otto...you've truly given me so many surprises...

On the other side, Komi also managed to find the battlefield of the Iron Star by listening to the song. He could see the chaotic colors that covered the world, and he could also see the souls of the soldiers who died on the battlefield gathered together.

The souls of the newly deceased are not yet corrupted, and have an inconspicuous grayish-white hue. Souls that have been dead for some time are corrupted and are almost indistinguishable from the warp.

As for those who were taken away by the Emperor, Gu Jian didn't see a single one of the golden, glittering souls.

Life is the emperor's currency, but the emperor doesn't seem to care much about these pennies.

Since he can't take your souls, come and stay under my command.

Koken lunged forward, extending his Soul Path along with him, thus creating a close connection between the battlefield and the Far Eye Fortress.

bass!

Gat, Ella, and the other combat suit pilots who were issued beacons saw the round device enveloped in a circle of light.

Gates immediately picked up the beacon and exclaimed excitedly, "Haha! Are those pilots finally ready? Great! These hard-as-nails deserve to be cleared out with their bombs!"

Chapter 517: Men Run on the Ground, Women Fly in the Sky

In the cockpit, Jack gripped the control stick tightly, awaiting the takeoff order.

"Flying Wing, are you scared?"

Jack asked softly, and the interceptor's spirit gave a tired look. Jack knew that Wing was not used to the new equipment on her.

“It’s okay, honey. You’ll be able to take off all that equipment once the mission is over,” Jack reassured her, glancing out of the cockpit. He could see the Fury-class interceptor’s hull being covered by a bone-white substance.

As for what this thing is, you'll have to ask those half-spirits busy on both sides of the fuselage.

"Hurry up, hurry up," Novia urged. She no longer looked like a high-ranking and powerful prophet on the Eldar Ark, but rather like an ordinary human engineer with a beautiful face and sharp ears.

Beside her were some other converted half-spirits, few in number, no more than ten in total. They were the only survivors left from the Ark battle.

Unlike Novia's boundless enthusiasm for work, the other half-spirits seemed like idiots stunned by a cannonball, only playing the instruments they used to construct their spirit bones when called upon by Novia.

From Eldar to half-elf, from enemies to slaves.

Such a drastic change in identity is not something everyone can accept in a short time, so it's no wonder that these half-spirits were struggling to process it, going through their work in a state of depression and numbness. Compared to them, Novia's enthusiasm and obedience sometimes made Fetia suspect that this half-spirit had gone mad.

The spirit bone grows on the interceptor's shell amidst the melodious sound of a flute. This material, rich in psionic energy, can mitigate the effects of the tranquil atmosphere of the Soul Path on the pilot and the machine's spirit.

When the pale spirit bones were completely covered, Jack was ready to enter the Soul Path once again. He would become the vanguard of the ultra-long-range air strike, leading hundreds of fighter jets from the Eye of the Distant Fortress to the battlefield.

drop...

The warning was somewhat jarring, and Jack and the other pilots immediately took off in their interceptors, the thrust from their engines propelling them into the air, level with the open Soul Path rift.

"Listen up, you rookies!" Jack shouted into the fighter squadron's channel. "The Soul Path is a magical technology that allows us to travel from this vast, empty fortress to the front lines of war in an instant. But this technology has its problems. That pale passage constantly emits a kind of slumbering energy that can easily cause you to fall into it and become one with the Soul Path! I require you to keep your minds sharp. The nerve spikes in the cockpit are for this purpose. When you feel sleepy, immediately stab yourself in the leg with the spikes. It's better to be in excruciating pain than to die in a crash, you know? In addition, traveling in the Soul Path will affect your perception. You won't see any color but white. But don't panic. The beacon will clearly indicate our target. Once you leave the Soul Path, put all weapons on safety and unleash all your ammunition on the beacon. Understand?"

"Understood, sir!"

"Very good, let's go now! Enter the Soul Path, let our allies cheer for the overlord of the sky! In the name of our savior, unleash divine punishment upon humanity's enemies!"

"For the sake of the Lord!"

Jack's fighter jet plunged into the Soul Path, with the others following closely behind him.