Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

Its interior could accommodate twelve soldiers, but the Chimera that Komi was not full of people. There were only Miyan, Ishi, Commissar Tran, and the captain of the Holy Monastery's combat nuns, a black-haired nun named Nancy.

The Holy Grail, now dulled, was placed in a shrine. Sister Nancy, her hands clasped around the Emperor's icon, prayed silently. Nuns in other vehicles and members of the convent were also making efforts for this.

Komi sat in the main seat commanding the Chimera armored vehicle, pondering how he could use his status as a saint to put the Red Mining World on the right track, instead of wasting it meaninglessly.

First, we must reorganize the mobilization forces, at least ensuring that those lacking supplies can be deployed to the battlefield at full strength, rather than sending multiple remnants together to their deaths on the front lines.

Then, the task was to provide basic food security for the people of Hive City, so as to prevent another tragedy of cannibalism before the orcs were wiped out.

Finally, we need to examine the Underhive to see which family is connected to the Underhive's Waste Gas Gang, as the enhancement of psionic energy by that waste gas is no joke.

The connection between the top of the hive and the upper hive is a massive elevator, with a hundred-meter-tall imperial statue standing around it. Numerous thick chains, large enough to hold the chains binding the Titans, are suspended on it, moving slowly through an ancient gear structure to the mystical hymns of the Mechanicus.

"Look here, there are hundreds of Leman Rustanks that I can see... If only they could be deployed to the front lines, we could save so many lives." Miyan looked out through the firing ports of the armored vehicles and was furious to see that these powerful war machines were completely unscathed, with no bullet holes on their exteriors and no scratches on the painted markings.

This army has been stationed here for a long time, but has not fought a single proper battle, instead guarding the interests of the nobles.

Mi Yang closed his eyes in resentment and sat down to the side, no longer offering his opinion.

Koji looked at Commissar Tran and remembered that a few days ago this serious guy had told him about the many struggles that had taken place at the top.

"The orcs are divided and fighting fiercely. To the shame of the throne, we are also on the verge of the same thing, with civil war imminent..."

Chapter 65: I'm not taking this medicine.

civil war...

Komi sighed. This really is a specialty of the Empire; one has no choice but to try it.

The united imperial army was full of ulterior motives, with each faction harboring its own secrets. Koji was too lazy to even comment on things like the Demon Tribunal raising demons.

After recovering the technological legacy, the Church of the Mechanic left the battlefield without any consideration for the devastating losses that would be inflicted on friendly forces without their cover.

The Dark Angels become extremely nervous upon hearing even the slightest news about the Fallen Angels, relentlessly hunting them down and executing all those who know the truth as well...

So what attribute does this chaos fall under? Are the top nobles unknowingly betraying the emperor, or are they operating the Red Mining World with an inhumane but far-sighted mindset?

Komi took a deep breath, thinking that perhaps all the problems could only be solved by stepping into the top of this nest.

Candles of varying heights were placed around the elevator, and the monks of the Cult of the Machines blessed the ancient machine with incense burners and sang hymns to ignite its passion and get it running.

The elevator stopped, the gate didn't open, the vents were open and hissed as air exchanged, and a cold electronic announcement sounded a few seconds later.

"The air quality is clean; please have personnel conduct further cleaning."

The gate opened at that moment, revealing a long corridor. An officer led his soldiers up quickly and opened a small medical kit in front of Komi.

Inside lay enough mud-red pills for everyone to have one. Before Komi could even ask, Commissar Tran picked one up and explained it to Komi.

"This is a resistance drug developed by the Cult of Mechanism, which can prevent people from being infected with the plague. This stuff is really useful. Major Faraday didn't get a single one, so he almost died in his ward when the plague besieged the city."

Komi also picked up a pill. He examined the texture of the muddy red pill and sniffed it, only to smell a strange bitter smell.

As I prepared to put the pill back, I felt a heartbeat-like pulse in my fingers, as if the pill was resisting returning to the medical kit.

Komi pondered for a moment, then put the pill in his pocket and said to the somewhat puzzled officer in front of him, "I don't think I need to take this medicine, but I'd be happy to accept it as a gift."

"Uh... According to regulations, people of your esteemed status who enter the top ranks must take medication to ensure the purity of this final land..." the officer said somewhat obsequiously, as it was his duty.

However, Koken did not want to eat these things of unknown origin, especially since his own blood contained the properties of an antidote.

Without Komi needing to make a move, the six taciturn nuns took the lead at the front of the group. Although their nun-type power armor was designed specifically for humans, it lacked the sense of power of the Space Marine power armor.

However, the rigorous training these nuns received in the convent compensated for a certain quality that their power armor lacked, and the six of them aimed their explosive guns directly at the officers and soldiers blocking Komi's path.

“You are offending a saint who bears the Emperor’s will. You insolent fools, get out of here now, or your end will be a swift and clean execution.” Sister Captain Nancy said emotionlessly, which made her and the fighting nuns beside her seem even more terrifying and dangerous.

The officer's face was somewhat pale, clearly having heard of the fighting nuns' fanatical spirit.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the officer stepped aside. He preferred to take the punishment of 50 lashes and a 15-rank demotion for dereliction of duty rather than be riddled with bullets.

With the final gate opened, the true extent of the situation was revealed to Komi.

There aren't many buildings here, but they are all tall and magnificent. Neat streets separate these buildings, and at the end of their intersection is a building with a circular dome.

The powerful and wealthy Jin family lived under that circular dome, enjoying the sunshine of the natural sky.

Those dozens of spires that envelop the top are the treasures of the Mechanicus and sacred ritual sites for their communication. The tips ripple with energy waves that spread out like water, forming a sturdy shield to block the invasion of orcs and traitors.

These shield devices, built on the foundation of planets, are far more powerful than the models that warships that fight in the void can install. They remain unmoved even when bombarded by macro cannons and light spears.

Those observatory-like structures are planetary anti-aircraft cannons; the Seeds of Destruction inside their barrels can overload and destroy even the most robust warship shields.

The troops marching on the top streets are better equipped, and some officers are even qualified to use Hellfire Guns as weapons. Their composition is also much more complex.

These soldiers, wearing close-fitting bulletproof breastplates, often have the crests of various families engraved on their shoulders; they themselves are members of these long-established families.

If the upper and lower districts are like small cubicles that divide people of different levels of wealth and types of work together, then the top district is the living place of an entire aristocratic family.

Those who are closer to the family patriarch by blood and relationship have a greater chance of inheriting the position, and these marginal family members, whose bloodline has been diluted by generations of outsiders, become the warriors who protect the family.

They need to rely on their own achievements and strength to allow their small family to rise to a higher level within the intricate family tree.

The fresh air was so clean that after smelling it for a while, Komi felt a chill in her throat.

Stone's reaction was more severe; he even treated the fresh air as suffocating poison gas, frequently holding his breath to reduce the number of times he breathed.

“Those moss plants look so strange, like razor blades,” Stone said, pointing to a park.

Gu Jian looked at the grass growing by watering and didn't know how to answer. Logically speaking, his knowledge was limited to the messy things in the lower nest and the bottom nest.

The highest command headquarters of Red Mining World stands near the dome, with its doors opening a crack for people to pass through amidst flashing red warning lights before closing again.

The command center is the heart of this fortress-like building and the location of many advanced devices. The Thinker, responsible for processing data, operates stably under the control of the mechanical priest.

The keyboard used for interaction was covered with geometric runes whose meanings were unclear to Komi, and the screens, rippled with green electromagnetic waves, flowed with a sea of ​​data like a waterfall. It would be difficult for ordinary people to reasonably analyze this massive number by relying solely on their eyes and memory.

The largest Thinker resembled a throne, with cables of varying thickness extending from its back, either piercing the ground or suspending in the air. General Derek, with his short hair, had been waiting there for a long time, and his tired face, marked by dark circles under his eyes, broke into a smile upon seeing Komi.

Chapter 66: Now we can talk about this.

General Derek pressed a button on the throne-like Thinker, causing the machine to generate a shield. This thing had no defensive function; it could only completely isolate internal and external sounds.

"Greetings, Sage Komi." General Derek's attitude was quite respectful, but not obsequious. He controlled his tone well, making himself appear as a humble nobleman.

Gu Jian wasn't too concerned about what aristocratic habits General Derek had picked up; he just wanted to quickly find out the situation at the top and see if Red Mining World would unite as one to eliminate the orcs and traitors.

After hearing Komi's words, General Derek frowned and sighed, then said to Komi, "Based on the intelligence sent by our frontline soldiers, the current civil war among the orcs is quite strange."

"How to say?"

"Before the civil war, the orcs were mainly ruled by two warlords: one was the now-dead Tooth, and the other was the smaller Ironeye. After Tooth's death, his vast orc tribe was torn apart, and they fought fiercely for the warlord's throne."

Ironeye wanted to use this opportunity to consolidate the power of the Fangs, but our hive city separated him from the Fangs, so Ironeye's influence over the remnants of the Fangs was very limited.

"Does this mean he has the ability to integrate the orc tribes, but just needs more time?"

“Here’s the thing, we’re currently shifting our main force toward the Iron-Eyed Orcs to prevent their main force from joining up with the remnants of the Toothblow.” General Derek raised his hand, and a mechanical monk operated the Thinker behind him to display a detailed and constantly changing tactical map on the screen.

The Imperial army and the Iron-Eyed Orcs' lines were intertwined, with weak points everywhere that could be broken through the encirclement for both sides. It all depended on who could organize a strong army to cut off the enemy's communication and, in a situation of isolation and helplessness, drag the enemy out of the encirclement until their allies eliminated them.

Koji stroked his chin, and seeing General Derek showing him this information, it was hard not to suspect that the general was going to throw this dubious saint into the front lines.

He remained silent, wanting to hear what the biggest problem was for General Derek in wanting to execute this tactic.

As Kokin had predicted, General Derek's next sentence was to explain how much difficulty the rebellion in Upper Nest had brought to the deployment of troops at the front.

First, a large amount of supplies were intercepted halfway, and as the pressure of the front-line offensive gradually increased, the troops responsible for supply transportation in the rear were in a very urgent situation.

The traitors used the terrain to their advantage and a witchcraft attack to plunder the supply convoy and arm themselves with the remaining weapons.

The victory of the previous few days had routed the traitors, but they were still lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to rise again.

The command could not stand idly by and watch traitors run rampant in the rear once again, so it had to allocate some troops to guard the strategic locations in the various urban areas of Shangchao.

Out of self-preservation, the top nobles also withdrew a large number of their private armies from the front lines, making it increasingly impossible for them to launch a solid counterattack.

After listening for a while, Komi raised his hand to stop General Derek's complaints and said, "So if we want to defeat Ironeye's forces before the orcs recover, we have to launch a risky attack with limited troops?"

“It’s like this…” General Derek gave a wry smile, clutching his forehead in obvious pain.

“Even if I can lead the assault team to hold the position and cut off the communication between the orcs in the front and rear, how can you guarantee that the other armies can advance smoothly? What if I hold this position for months, while you keep failing to eliminate the orcs in the encirclement, or even get counter-broken and encircled? Then this tactic is no different from suicide.”

“Yes…yes…whether it’s defense or offense, the risk of failure is unbearable…that’s why…” General Derek looked at Komi with hopeful eyes. The pressure that had been weighing on him these past few days was suffocating him, to the point that he almost collapsed from excitement when he saw the battle report submitted by Commissar Tran.

He had a gambler's trust in Koga, hoping that the saint could once again perform a miracle and destroy the orcs before they grew stronger.

Seeing Derek's expression, Komi didn't continue to criticize him. As a general, he had already played the best hand he could with a bad one.

The problem isn't with this guy, but with the nobles who always interfere with Derek's military plans.

The abolition of the mobilization law and the redeployment of family private armies to defend the country... these are the things that Komi openly knows. Who knows what outrageous suggestions these nobles have made in private?

Could these nobles be treacherous? Why do they like to stir up trouble at such a critical juncture in the war?

Koji had never been fond of nobles, and hearing Derek's grievances only fueled his anger. He thought he should raise an army and start a rebellion to wipe out all the nobles.

But when he thought about the number and quality of the private soldiers of those families on the top streets, Gu Jian suppressed his killing intent. If this battle really broke out, even if he won, it would only be a Pyrrhic victory.

Whether the title of saint is even relevant to the clan leaders among these private soldiers is debatable. There have been numerous attacks on saints throughout the history of the empire, and some were even posthumously honored by the state religion centuries after their deaths.

This command room isn't necessarily full of Derek's men; among these officers buried in their work, there might be spies planted by these nobles.

We must proceed cautiously; at least we must first appease those orcs.

After pondering in silence for a while, Koken could only recount his feat of killing Yato in detail to boost their morale and also to lay the groundwork for his next plan.

"Do you remember how Yatu, the orc leader, died?"

Derek answered honestly and simply, "There was a civil war among the orcs. One of their leaders challenged him, and then both orcs died."

Komi paused for a moment, then, under the gazes of everyone who were expressing different emotions, he said clearly, "The one who challenged the leader of the Fangtu is none other than myself."

The command room fell silent, save for the clanging of the maintenance equipment and the beeping of the data processors.

Everyone's expression was different. Mi Yang and Shi Tou's faces suddenly lit up. Being able to fight alongside Gu Jian among the orcs was one of the most glorious things in their lives.

General Derek and Commissar Tran had tense faces. They couldn't understand why Komi told this joke. Even if it was meant to lighten the mood, the joke had no funny points and was just embarrassing.

Commissar Tran frowned, and after a long while, he awkwardly clapped his hands and smiled, saying, "This...this is indeed an interesting joke."

“No.” Koji looked at Commissar Tran with a serious and sharp gaze, as if spears were piercing his heart. “I’m not joking. We killed Boss Yatu. We killed the 88th Mobilization Regiment stationed at the small warehouse in the lower nest. The last survivor of that regiment is standing in front of you.”

Komi's words were so serious that everyone followed his lead and continued to ask, "You said you killed Boss Yato... Uh, I don't have any doubts about whether you could defeat that beast, I just want to ask how you, Saint, did it."