Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

In his opinion, the best place for demi-humans to go is the suicide squad, to charge alongside those scum-like criminal legions, or at most to be assigned to an infantry squad, becoming the lowest-ranking privates to serve the emperor for life.

As for becoming an officer? If someone told Colonel Hayes today that a demi-human could become an officer, he would definitely consider that person a madman and shoot them on the spot.

Colonel Oro was no fool; he was sensitive to the common human aversion to demi-humans. Knowing that Colonel Hayes didn't want to have much interaction with him, Colonel Oro got straight to the point, abandoning all formalities and stating their purpose directly.

"Saint Otto responded to Lady Fris's request and dispatched our group to support you in breaking through the enemy's defenses. Now, could you explain the current war situation to me?"

"Ah... okay." Colonel Hayes swallowed hard, and somewhat reluctantly led Colonel Oro to the tactical map.

Upon seeing the jagged battle lines and the scattered, fragmented points of light, Colonel Oro's eyes gleamed with a thirst for battle, and his two ears twitched slightly.

Colonel Hayes pointed to a spot and said, “This is one of the enemy’s core defensive areas. Behind the lines of bunkers, gun emplacements, barbed wire, and mines are the enemy’s weapons production areas. Every day, four tanks come out to reinforce their lines. We have launched nine assaults here, and each one has ended in failure.”

"The next raid will be successful."

Colonel Oro spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, an attitude that displeased Colonel Hayes, who felt that Colonel Oro was subtly criticizing him for his incompetence.

Colonel Hayes pursed his lips tightly, swallowing his resentment. He wanted to know what gave Colonel Oro the confidence to speak like that, since their 27th Assault Regiment was not some third-rate unit that was only issued laser guns.

Their organization includes three reconnaissance companies composed of Sentinel mechs, two petrified lizard artillery support companies, and one Leman Rustank assault company.

Even so, they failed to capture the enemy's positions and even lost a significant amount of territory during the enemy's counterattack.

Despite Colonel Hayes's somewhat unfriendly gaze, Colonel Oro remained smiling and replied, "Our victory was achieved for no other reason than the brilliance of Saint Otto and the mercy of the Savior."

It's too illusory...

Colonel Hayes was a devout man, but that didn't mean he would consider mental strength as everything that led to victory.

He stared intently at Colonel Oro, trying to tear through his confidence with his gaze, and then said seriously, "When will you launch your attack so I can send troops to support you?"

Colonel Oro tilted his head back and thought for a few seconds. The swaying ear caught Colonel Hayes's eye, making him want to reach out and grab it to stop it from swaying.

"Hmm... I don't need your support."

"What?" This answer was not what Colonel Hayes expected. He forced a smile and pressed on, "What did you say?"

Colonel Oro looked at him and said calmly, "I don't need your support." Seeing that Colonel Hayes didn't understand, he added, "The movement of your troops will alert the enemy and make them readjust their defenses, which would be bad. I plan to launch an attack before they know that our troops have entered the battlefield, and catch them off guard."

Colonel Hayes's lips twitched slightly. "A surprise attack? May I ask when you prepared your heavy weapons?"

"What heavy weapons?"

"Artillery, armored vehicles, aren't you ready?"

“Our regiment doesn’t have these bulky pieces of equipment.”

"What..." Colonel Hayes almost choked. "Without this equipment, how are you going to launch a surprise attack? Do you really think your flesh and blood can crawl across that kilometer-wide no-man's-land? Do you think you can survive the enemy's machine gun and artillery fire?"

Colonel Oro simply pointed to the ceiling, his other hand on his chest, and answered with fanaticism and piety, “The merciful Savior is protecting us in the sky. His messenger will destroy humanity’s enemies. All we have to do is guide his messenger and eliminate those ants that are not worthy of his attention.”

Colonel Hayes couldn't understand, and Colonel Oro didn't explain further. He saluted him and quickly left, clearly intending to lead his troops to attack immediately, just as he had said before.

“Ignorance is bliss…” Colonel Hayes murmured as he watched Colonel Oro’s departing figure. He then pointed at Lieutenant Locke and ordered, “Have the troops stay on the defensive line and not move. Since he wants to go it alone, let’s give him the chance to put on a show.”

Lieutenant Locke wrote down the order and issued it, shaking his head and sighing, "This place, full of metal scraps, is about to have another bunch of rotting corpses."

"It's just demi-humans who died, nothing to feel sorry about. It's just that their equipment, if only we could have kept it..." Colonel Hayes sighed, took out the cigarette he hadn't finished smoking from his pocket, straightened it, lit it, and took a few more puffs.

“They don’t like us…even though we came to help them! You were too kind to them just now. If it were me, I would have said something to humiliate them! We’ve been fighting for so long and haven’t been able to advance an inch!”

Colonel Oro's adjutant followed behind him, muttering complaints. Judging from his appearance alone, this adjutant was not yet worthy of being classified as a demi-human by the Empire, but if classified by blood type, he was already a demi-beastman who could donate blood to make craft beer.

Colonel Oro patted his adjutant on the shoulder. “Don’t be so harsh. They are also the Savior’s faithful servants, they just haven’t received His merciful gaze and help yet. We are here on the Savior’s will, to help them and cleanse our own sins.”

“A sin.” The adjutant shook his head. “I really don’t know how you are guilty. You are so noble and brave. It’s so sad to regard you as a sinner. Many truly pure people should learn from you instead of hating you.”

"Hehe... You can't say that. Before I received the mercy of Saint Otto, I was no useful person. It was he who asked the Savior for an opportunity, an opportunity for me to walk from the abyss into the light."

boom...

A shell landed right in the trench, and the explosion interrupted Colonel Oro's words.

Several soldiers from the 27th Assault Regiment were hit by artillery shells and instantly turned into fragments that flew into the sky. Their blood and dirt mingled with the air as they fell.

Some unlucky guys were hit by shrapnel, with big holes punched in their arms and legs, and one even had a large gash ripped open in his stomach.

The severely wounded soldier collapsed to the ground, trying to push his overflowing internal organs back into his wounds with his hands, but it was no use. He would soon die from the pain and blood loss.

Colonel Oro waved his hand, and one of his accompanying medics immediately rushed forward. He opened the medical backpack on his back, took out a well-sealed bottle of Beast Brew, and used it in two parts. He first poured it on the wound, and then roughly fed it to the soldier. When he saw the soldier choke and spit out a few mouthfuls, he scolded him with great distress.

"Stop howling! You lucky bastard, it's good that you ran into me. It means the Savior is merciful and doesn't want you to go join him, understand?" The medic cursed as he pried the soldier's hand open and then picked up something that looked like a large stapler to staple the rotten skin together at the wound. The soldier wanted to roll around in pain, but he couldn't move under the medic's iron arm.

In the Exterminator's forces, no one was stronger than the medics.

After finishing all that, the medic placed a small bottle of Beast Brew next to the wounded soldier. "Alright, your life is basically saved. But there's still a risk. See this? If your stomach hurts later, open it and take a sip. If you feel a little tipsy, your life is saved. If you finish this small bottle and are still in pain and sober, then you really deserve to die."

"Can I really survive?" the soldier asked, his voice trembling. Crawling back from the brink of death was far more terrifying than actually dying.

Colonel Oro was not affected by this little incident. He quickly ordered the soldiers of the 55th Special Operations Regiment into the front trenches. Their charge was not supported by artillery or whistles; all they heard were the faint sounds of crushing sugar and swallowing craft beer.

The offensive began silently, with the 55th Special Operations Regiment launching a storm-like assault on the 27th Assault Regiment.

They numbered only a little over a thousand, scattered into squads of five, moving far apart across the battlefield.

This drew disdain from Colonel Hayes, who was observing them through binoculars. He commented that the 55th Special Operations Regiment's attack method was utterly ridiculous.

"What can such a loosely organized attacking force do? Are they trying to put on a farcical show of being overwhelmed by the enemy? Without a human wall, how can they launch a powerful volley? Five men scattered with their firepower will only drive my regiment's political commissar crazy! I can't think of any other use for them!"

Chapter 521: The Talent of the Sub-Beastmen

Concealed Blood Sugar is a military supply made from the blood of a special demi-human. After consumption, it makes the user's presence very inconspicuous. Although it does not achieve invisibility, the fainter aura and heartbeat can effectively deceive the long-distance scanning of the oracle.

The sky remained obscured by thick clouds, preventing sunlight from reaching the ground; only lightning and distant explosions could pierce the darkness.

Soldiers of the 55th Special Operations Regiment moved through the darkness, lying prone and motionless when the light flashed, ensuring they remained undetected until they were within 200 meters of enemy positions.

Colonel Oro did not cower in the rear. He could clearly hear the sounds coming from the enemy's distant positions through his animal ears. The decorations on his helmet that were used to protect his animal ears were quite flexible and could even rotate with his ears.

Colonel Oro lay on the ground with his eyes closed, focusing his attention on his ears.

"Hey! You bastard, that's my food! How dare you reach in and steal it?"

"Oh! My lord, please spare me! I'm starving! I swear it won't happen again!"

"Next time? You want a next time?"

A knife pierced his throat, shredding his carotid artery as well. Soldiers in the enemy trench watched with amusement as a slave was drained of his blood, laughing and mocking his pathetic struggle.

Hearing these commotions, Colonel Oro's expression turned grim. The enemy troops they were fighting could no longer be called human; they were ruthless and insane in battle, showing no mercy even to their own people.

Based on Colonel Oro's current knowledge, the rebels of Ironstar are divided into the following tiers.

First, there were the rebel leaders, the most devout followers of the evil god, whose bodies were deformed, with bone spurs growing from their shoulders and piercing their shoulder armor. In addition, their minds were twisted; atrocities unimaginable to ordinary people were commonplace for them, and roasting prisoners alive, slicing them up, and eating them was considered the gentlest method for them.

Some of these leaders even possessed the power of blasphemy to influence the battlefield; an ominous halo often appeared behind their heads, and every command and prayer sent tainted voices like needles piercing the minds of Imperial soldiers.

Below these leaders are soldiers and mutants. The mutants, who were once oppressed, are propagated by cultists as the lucky ones who have received the gospel of the gods. The increasingly mentally unstable traitor soldiers also regard the mutants' hideous appearance as a symbol of honor and use the blasphemous methods they know to get closer and closer to the mutants.

The rebel soldiers' actions were futile; when they dedicated their bodies and souls to a dark faith, they would inevitably become mutants, only the timing would differ.

Even lower than these traitorous soldiers are the auxiliary soldiers, who can also be called slaves. They are often pitiful people who have doubts and worries about the belief in evil gods, but pretend to believe in them under the threat of traitors. As time goes by and corruption deepens, fanatical believers will emerge from among these slaves, and their status will rise accordingly.

The slaves hoped that the imperial army would rescue them from the tyranny of the traitor, but they never imagined that they had been regarded as corruptors to be killed by the empire. Even Koken did not have the energy to distinguish who among such a large number of slaves was pure and who was pretending. He could only put their souls into the Pure White Hall to avoid further torment.

Colonel Oro opened his eyes and whispered to his adjutant beside him, "The rebels ahead are eating. There are at least sixty men crammed into that trench. Some are standing in the trench, and some are hiding in the foxholes to avoid the shells."

The adjutant looked up and said, "There are three barbed wire fences blocking our way. Each fence is about three meters wide and about six meters apart."

“These things can’t stop us.” Colonel Oro chuckled, patting his thigh. “We can easily jump over those barbed wire fences and find a foothold inside.”

“That’s something you demi-humans can do. I need to eat a candy first.” The adjutant took out a cat-human candy, chewed it, and swallowed it. Afterward, he felt his body become much lighter, and his legs were tense, making him want to jump out.

Colonel Oro patted his adjutant on the shoulder, then turned to a burly soldier and ordered him to throw the beacon into the enemy lines.

"I'm counting on you, Ander."

Ander took out the beacon. He and Colonel Oro were both demi-humans, only their demi-human orientations were somewhat different.

Colonel Oro was a cat-man, slender and agile, while Ender was a demi-human with bull-like features, a sullen personality, and outstanding strength and endurance. He also had a pair of heavy, large horns on his forehead, a feature that had caused Ender great suffering, as the horns had affected the structure of his skull. This also led the Empire to regard Ender and his people as mutants who could not survive even for a second.

It wasn't until the slave trader Foxes boarded the Exterminator and drank a lot of beast brew that his horns, which affected the structure of his skull, slowly separated from his head and became an isolated organ.

For Andre, this was not the effect of the Beast Brew, but rather a response to his devout faith in the Savior and his fight for redemption in His name. A well-shaped skull meant that he could pass the minimum standard required for Imperial mutant censorship.

When there is no war, Ender would grind down his ever-growing horns until they were level with his forehead, or cut them off and make them into handicrafts to sell on the Exterminator.

Ander twisted the beacon to adjust the intensity of its light. This was an unspoken agreement between them and the fighter pilots: when the beacon's light was weaker, the pilots would use lighter weapons to strafe the battlefield; when the beacon was fully turned on, the intense light would allow the pilots to let go of all concerns and unleash their full firepower.

With the beacon expected to be 25% bright, Ander swung his arm and launched the beacon, making a whooshing sound as it flew through the air.

The beacon fell into the trench. They mistook this round thing for a bomb. For a moment, the rebel soldiers forgot about their food and immediately lay down on the ground with their hands on their heads, praying that the bomb's power would not send them and the trench into the air.

There was no explosion, only a faint light shooting straight into the sky.

This was a scene they had never seen before: a traitorous sergeant poked his head out of the foxhole and pointed his pistol at a traitorous soldier as he inspected the beacon.

The traitorous soldier reluctantly approached, and boldly swept his hand toward the light emitted by the beacon, only to find that his hand could not stop the light from shooting into the sky.

"Sir! This thing doesn't seem dangerous. Those imperial lackeys must have thrown a light bulb in thinking it was a bomb, haha."

Listening to the foolish words of the traitorous soldiers in the trench, Colonel Oro couldn't help but let out a mocking smile. He picked up his weapon and waited for the messenger of his savior to streak across the sky.

Chapter 522: Air Raid Warning

"What is that thing..."

Colonel Hayes, who had been observing the battle, also saw the beacon beam through his binoculars. As he and his adjutant Locke speculated about the purpose of the beam, more beams lit up the enemy's positions.

“Ha, this is really interesting.” Colonel Hayes felt he understood the use of the beams. “They are using this device to give us a clear picture of what the enemy trenches look like. This is really useful. I am sure our artillery will be able to aim at those beams and fire.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several cracks appeared in the sky, matching the number of beams of light.

The next second, the fighter jet emerged from the rift, and the pilot adjusted the weapon according to the brightness of the beam.

Hmm... Brightness 25%, looks like this time all I need to do is use bombs and automatic cannons to clear the ground, no need to drop bombs.

Bang bang bang bang!

The barrage of bullets from the fighter jets bombarded the entire defensive line. Explosive shells and projectiles from automatic cannons landed around the trenches, turning the traitorous soldiers checking the beacons into pieces and also suppressing the soldiers nearby, preventing them from even raising their heads.

As for the bunkers equipped with heavy weapons, they were marked with brighter beacons. Several rockets detached from the fighter jets and accurately hit these bunkers. Even if the bunkers were not completely destroyed, the impact of the explosions would prevent the soldiers inside from concentrating on fighting back.

Now! Attack!