Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

Koji didn't stand on ceremony, bowed, and opened it.

There was no enticing aroma, only lingering heat.

It contained some food that looked like mashed potatoes and luncheon meat, mixed together with a little water.

Recalling his life as a miner and in the army, this was the most luxurious meal Komi had ever seen. He looked at Miyan earnestly and asked, "Is this something I can eat? I remember this was specially allocated to Commissar Enho."

“Commissar Enho has already returned to the throne, but if he were still alive, he would definitely have rewarded you with this. He loved heroes.” Miyan said concisely, taking off her helmet and tidying her short black hair before putting it back on. Even so, she did not reveal a trace of gentleness. “It’s a pity that Commissar Enho himself did not become a hero, nor did he see you become one.”

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy. Komi put a mouthful of muddy food into his mouth. It was bland and tasteless, with a crumbly texture. Only the warmth of the food could comfort his soul.

Upon noticing that Mi Yang was still watching him, Gu Jian blushed slightly. Then he heard Mi Yang's dreamlike voice, "Gu Jian...did you see the Golden Throne just now? Did you see that sacred, vast, boundless golden light?"

Chapter 14: Those who descend to the lower nest will not die for those who ascend to the upper nest.

If my memory serves me right, this should be the second time Komi has talked about the Golden Throne with Miyan.

The first time was Komi's explanation for easily killing the burly orc, and if nothing unexpected happened, Komi thought he would say the same thing the second time.

But Miyan asked again why? Was it because her faith was wavering?

Because her prayers and pleas went unanswered, because she could not see the boundless golden light of the Golden Throne.

The Golden Throne, in the human empire, or rather, for ordinary soldiers like them who didn't need to know much, was merely a hazy, unreal dream, woven together by strict political commissars and fanatical bishops, allowing no one to doubt or refuse it.

If anyone were to actually see the Golden Throne, it would likely be the dead, so it's perfectly normal for the living to have doubts and anxieties.

It's like medieval religions telling you about the beauty of heaven, but they can't show any living person whether heaven truly exists.

Miyang Gujian met her gaze, and after a long while, Gujian said, "Yes, I just saw the golden light. It guided me to rush forward and kill that Hundred Old God."

Mi Yang had no doubts. She let out a soft breath and said with a mixture of envy and admiration, "Yes, heroes always receive the emperor's reward."

“Don’t say that about Lieutenant Miyan. You were very brave, and you also showed your loyalty to the Emperor in the fight against the orcs and mutants.” Koji quickly comforted him, and then added, “I think the Emperor is just too busy, with too many battlefields to focus on, so he couldn’t notice your contributions in time.”

Mi Yang shouted angrily, punching Gu Jian's shoulder, but judging from her raised eyebrows, Mi Yang did not blame Gu Jian. "How dare you talk about the Emperor like that? I'm going to take over the duties of the Executive Committee."

"Please don't say it's whipping, I'm afraid of the pain."

"You're being punished by being forbidden from enjoying the food bestowed by the Emperor." Mi Yang snatched the lunchbox from Gu Jian's hand and stuffed the half-eaten nutrition bar back into his hand.

Just as Koji thought Miyan would take a few bites from the lunchbox, the purple-eyed Cardian handed the lunchbox back to Koji, saying, "Eat quickly, or it will get cold."

Mi Yang turned and walked away. Gu Jian stuffed a mouthful of mashed potatoes into his mouth and watched her graceful back.

"The Cardians... are really interesting."

......

Thick forehead bar.

In the orc camps today, the Thick Forehead Bar is a holy place second only to the battlefield. It has the largest fighting arena for relaxation, and offers the strongest fungal liquor. Even the spores on the plate are spicy enough to be incredibly satisfying.

The orcs devoured spores and various roasted meats, howling loudly about how they had crushed the skulls of several shrimps in the previous battle.

All the noise disappeared in the crackling sound of electricity. A platform rose rapidly from the corpses in the fighting arena that had not yet been cleared away. A lot of black smoke and crushed gears were kicked out. The bastards immediately went in and worked hard to repair it.

"Ahem... I've brought you some new information from the leader of the Yaaagh War. The lads from the Waaagh Army have discovered a small opening. Do you idiots who only know how to eat and waste wine even know what this means?"

"Does that mean we have more fights to fight?"

"That's right! You little bastard, you're quick-witted!" The orc on the stage showed obvious surprise. He had always regarded the orcs here as fools. "Do you remember the boss's teachings? The one that was posted on the bar wall."

The orc turned around and saw the orcish motto, spoken by the leader of the Toothbrush and meticulously carved by the Butt Spirits, hanging there.

It's better to retreat to a spacious place and unleash your full potential than to have limited space to defend yourself.

"Following Boss Yatu's teachings, we took the initiative to back down, which turned the battle from those hidden pipes into a carnage in the streets and squares. This allowed more kids to participate, which is why Boss Yatu has been able to grow stronger and stronger, while that stingy Boss Tieyan could only cower on the sidelines, angry but unable to speak out!"

"Teeth Boss is the most Waaagh! The most cunning!" The orcs cheered, raising their glasses.

The orc on the platform gestured for them to be quiet, because he hadn't finished speaking yet, "But now those weaklings have cowered again, retreating before we even got a chance to fight them. Now we're going to have to fight in some back alley."

But with the Waaagh military discovering a small opening, we can fight those shrimps in another direction. Then there will be two exciting battlefields for everyone to enjoy!

Upon hearing such good news, any orc would roar with joy. The enormous sound waves pierced through the iron dome and reached the human positions further away with almost no attenuation.

The excited orcs seemed eager to share this good news with the humans, and today was the eve of a more intense and magnificent battle the following day.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Tu Kuai, who had become the commander of the 777th Mobilization Corps, angrily pounded the sandbag with his fist. He was more tormented by the emotions in his heart than by the pain in his hands.

The rubble adjutant came over, put his hand on the clod of earth's shoulder, and told him not to be stubborn. An order is an order, and as soldiers, they could only obey.

"Fuck the orders!" Tu Kuai shouted, on the verge of collapse. When he said this, the conscripts lying in the trench recovering their strength all had the same expression on their faces, as if Tu Kuai was their mouthpiece.

Clutching the rubble uniform, Sergeant Tuku stared at Lieutenant Waju with furious eyes. "Do you know how I became the commander of the mobilization corps? I joined the corps two years ago, pulled into the ranks in the black oil mine tunnels. Orcs were fighting right next to us. I was hiding in a pit waiting to react when a gun was shoved into my hand."

The regimental commander died, the political commissar died, the communications soldier died, and all my comrades from the same tunnel died! In the end, I was the only one left alive, so I became a squad leader and eventually a sergeant! Do you remember how many people died when we advanced to this point?

Sixty thousand lives! Sixty thousand worthless lives snatched from the lair! Now those idiots sitting in the house issue an order, and we have to abandon everything we have and go back to square one! Tell me, what's the point? Tell me how I can not be angry about this!

The rubble adjutant remained calm, much like the opposite of the clod sergeant. "You're angry, and so am I. But what can we do? We're just conscripts. The higher-ups will only order us to use our lives to wear down the orcs' bullets and defenses. Just like they used to order us to risk our lives mining those hard ores."

The sergeant in the clod collapsed to the ground, covering his face with his hands. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he called over the adjutant in the rubble and said, "We shouldn't be risking our lives for the good life of the Nestlings and the Tower Nobles."

The rubble adjutant's lips curled slightly. "That's right, we shouldn't continue fighting for them. Those who hide in the back, living a peaceful life and waiting for peace to arrive, do not deserve the Emperor's protection."

"The orcs have killed so many of our people, they should kill some Nesters and nobles to change things up."

Chapter 15: The Orcs Have Arrived

Thump thump thump... thump thump thump...

Every day, such sounds could be heard from the darkness. Mi Yang guessed that it was the construction work of the orcs when they were building the road.

Mi Yang had originally planned to lead these people to carry out sabotage operations, but when Gu Jian explained that he had encountered a temporary camp of two or three thousand orcs on his reconnaissance route, she abandoned her plan to take the initiative.

With just over five hundred of them, they probably wouldn't even be able to get close to the orc camp before being riddled with bullets by various guns.

Komi's close-combat skills were indeed quite good, but he was ultimately just a mortal, and a perfectly timed bullet could easily take his life.

We must wait for reinforcements and equipment.

In the past few days, Mi Yang has been constantly testing the walkie-talkie he seized from the orcs, and the signal has finally penetrated the complex structure of the lower nest and reached the upper levels.

"Buzz... This is Sergeant Miyan from the 88th Mobilization Regiment. We've detected construction noise from orcs clearing a road and are requesting personnel and equipment support..."

Waiting for a response is always agonizing, especially when it involves the lives of countless people, and it's incomparable to a simp waiting for his goddess to reply.

Miyan forgot the teachings of respecting machines, gripping the walkie-talkie tightly and tapping the ground with his toes.

Five minutes later, the walkie-talkie crackled to life again. “Buzz... This is... Buzz... 37th Communications Station... We have received and uploaded the battle report from Sergeant Miyan of the 88th Mobilization Regiment. We are now relaying the command’s orders to you.”

Mi Yang was in high spirits and listened attentively with focused attention.

"Buzz... Given the intense battle situation, the General Headquarters is unable to allocate manpower and resources. We hope that the 88th Mobilization Corps will not tarnish the Emperor's Glory, but will hold its ground and wait for the situation to change... Hold firm, and there will be a way."

A bunch of empty words...

Even Sergeant Miyan, who held the command in the highest esteem, couldn't help but feel disappointed by such a response.

Standing by the door, Komi heard the commotion on the walkie-talkie and couldn't help but complain, "Judging from this, we've been abandoned and become a lone army that's about to be wiped out."

“That’s right, a lone soldier.” Mi Yang agreed with Gu Jian’s opinion. She was expressionless and showed no fear of the inevitable death in battle. She was only worried that the command’s cold treatment of the situation would make the already unclear battle situation even worse.

"So what do we do? Charge out and fight the orcs? Or hold our ground and wage a war of attrition? Or perhaps..."

“If you’re going to desert, I’ll shoot you without hesitation, even if you get the Emperor’s attention.” Mi Yang’s tone was cold, leaving Gu Jian no doubt that she would draw her gun and shoot at any moment.

Komi gave a wry smile and shook his head, following behind Sergeant Miyan, saying, "The Kadians have no cowards, and coincidentally, I don't want to be one either. Let's kill as many orcs as possible before we die, so that even if we return to the throne, we'll have something to brag about."

Three days later, the construction noise stopped.

The day after construction stopped, the once-silent Xiachao became incredibly lively, with gunfire never ceasing. The mobilization troops scattered in other areas and the Xiachao people who were hiding and struggling to survive were certainly in grave danger.

The incessant howls of the orcs and the screams of the humans gave many conscripts nightmares. If it weren't for Komi's calm and collected demeanor, they would have abandoned their positions and fled long ago under the constant psychological onslaught.

The battle would come eventually. Just when only skin and bones remained of the burly orc corpses hanging there, the rumbling footsteps of orcs surged from the darkness, crashing against the rough defenses of the 88th Mobilization Regiment like waves.

First came howls, then bombs with completely random flight paths. Some flew back into the orc horde, some landed in front of the defensive line, and some landed inside the defensive line.

These seemingly unreliable bombs have an extremely exaggerated amount of explosives. If even one of them successfully detonates, the resulting shockwave and fireball can easily kill any unlucky person who hasn't found cover.

"Watch out!" Gu Jian shouted, pulling the bloodthirsty Mi Yang into his arms and then hiding in a makeshift shelter. The next second, the spot where Mi Yang had been standing was hit by a grenade.

After the explosion, dust settled on our heads, and smoke filled our noses.

Without a word of thanks, Mi Yang broke free from Komi's protection and charged out again, wielding a laser pistol and a longsword, to eliminate every enemy she could see.

Because of the presence of Miyan and Komi, the mobilization corps repelled the orcs' offensive time and time again. The orcs came in droves, leaving behind many corpses as they fled.

Under such a war of attrition, no matter how valiant the 88th Mobilization Corps was, it could not change the course of the battle.

Four days later, only 80 men remained alive in the entire mobilization corps. Suddenly, all kinds of supplies that were scarce for the entire corps were plentiful. Knowing that they were going to die, the mobilization soldiers began to spend lavishly.

If we don't eat or use it ourselves, are we going to leave it for the orcs?

Mi Yang's face was now as black as an old miner's. The long-term shouting of orders had made her good voice hoarse. If she coughed up blood, Gu Jian wouldn't find it strange at all.

Komi's condition was also not good. Such a high-intensity battle had taken a toll on his good miner's body. His muscles were exhausted and sore. Several times he was almost chopped to pieces by the orcs because of exhaustion. If it weren't for Stone's reckless rescue, Komi would have fallen into a pool of blood long ago.

The only thing to be thankful for is that I haven't gotten sick yet. If I caught a cold at this time, it would be really deadly.

Komi savored the bland mashed potatoes and luncheon meat mixture, feeling that only eating something warm made him feel alive.

Compared to Komi, Miyang next to him seemed to be in poor mental condition, and was somewhat dazed as soon as the battle ended.

Maybe he's just tired?

Gu Jian didn't understand; he just kept his head down and picked at the food in his hands.

"Komi...we killed a lot of orcs, didn't we?"

"Yes...that's right, we killed a lot of orcs."

"Does this mean he is qualified to return to the throne?"

Komi choked on his words, pounding his chest and saying, "Sergeant Miyan, don't talk about such depressing things while eating. Think about something happy, that way you can recover your energy faster."

"Want something happy?" Miyan still looked half-asleep, her head involuntarily resting against an empty ammunition box. "My happiest moments were on Kadia. I'd leave early for training and come home exhausted and sweaty at night. My parents would have hot water and food ready, smiling as they asked how my training went..."

Mi Yang mumbled something for a while, then fell asleep, exhausted.

Komi looked at the wall in front of him, riddled with bullet holes, and pondered how he could survive in his isolated and helpless situation.