Warhammer: Empire Reboot

"Commander, we've made initial progress in echo detection. If we have more time, we might be able to analyze it..."

Abaddon didn't let him finish speaking.

He grabbed the Dark Sage's head and slammed it hard into the surface of the communication altar.

The metal and skull split apart together.

Sparks flew from the data cable.

The surrounding slave star-speakers screamed.

The Dark Sage twitched and slid down, half of his mechanical head already destroyed.

Abaddon looked at the remaining sages.

"I don't need to hear 'maybe'."

“From now on, for every time you fail, I will destroy a sage.”

"After dismantling the sages, dismantle your apprentices."

"Once the apprentices have finished dismantling it, they will feed your database to the demon."

Worash lowered his head and did not interrupt.

Abaddon turned and returned to the tactical table.

Lawson's full-band broadcast could no longer continue to operate unilaterally.

War is fought over fleets, manpower, supplies, beliefs, and also over voices.

If an enemy can always rant in front of the entire dark side of the galaxy, and the Black Legion can only listen, then that is a wound to morale.

The wound must be stitched up.

If it can't be sewn up, then cut off the person who caused the problem.

"If you can't do it, kill them all and bring in a new batch!"

Lawson didn't care about the gossip outside.

After Huron withdrew his troops, many forces in the shadows of the Empire speculated about his next move.

The Red Pirate believed he might use this opportunity to threaten the Great Whirlpool.

The Black Legion believed he was helping Dante out of a predicament.

The court held that he had once again overstepped the normal imperial command structure.

These voices all entered the swarm's thinking.

Lawson watched it. Then he turned it off.

He has no interest in explaining to those people outside right now.

The Agrippina sector is not yet fully established.

A true war beast must first grow bones, then muscles, and finally open its mouth to bite.

Inside the tactical hall at the top of the tower, a star map covered half the hall.

Three hundred and eighteen human worlds hung before Lawson.

Each planet has a corresponding status.

Population. Food. Water resources. Minerals. Trade unions. Governor's residence. Orbital defense network. Remnants of the Ministry of Justice. State religion system, starport status. Corpse disposal capabilities.

Number of cornerstone sequences deployed.

Construction progress of the green culture pool.

The results of the thief screening.

Chaos pollution index.

The T-001 is connected to more than a dozen data cables, and its mechanical eye flashes continuously.

Access the meeting via Agrippina remote projection.

The first thing Lawson looked at was the chitinous inner armor upgrade report.

The total amount of chitinous energy in the final count of the Castor-7 cleanup operation was approximately 130 million points.

For a regular combat suicide soldier to complete the chitinous inner armor implantation, it requires thirty points of chaos energy plus thirty points of chitinous energy.

The bear guards are larger, and their skeletal, muscular, and internal organ pressure-bearing structures far exceed those of ordinary combat assassins. They require twice the amount of chitin energy, reaching sixty points.

On paper, this expense is substantial.

Kolosen's current total number of combat orders is only 210,000.

Even if we include the Xiongwei, Baihu, Chilong, Xuanwu, Luan, Taotie, Bian, Yazi, Zhulong, Suanni, as well as some infiltrators and fleet boarding suicide soldiers, completing the chitin inner armor upgrade for all personnel would only consume a small portion of the inventory.

What truly pleased Lawson was that the upgrade's effects were very direct.

The chitinous inner armor is not the outer armor.

It is embedded under the skin, in the intermuscular spaces, in the outer layer of bone, and in the protective positions of vital organs.

It will not affect power armor compatibility.

It also won't allow the assassins to transform like aliens.

It only gives them an extra layer of survivability when they lose their outer armor, encounter melee piercings, explosive shrapnel, demonic claws, or gene stealer attacks.

The combat sequence already possesses enhanced physical attributes comparable to the Imperial Guard.

With the addition of chitin inner armor, their melee survivability will continue to increase.

Especially the Lurker faction.

They often wear Chaos Power Armor, lurking within pirate fleets, traitorous warbands, and Dark Mechanicus shipyards. Often, they cannot use standard Imperial heavy armor, nor can they expose their living metal linings.

Chitinous inner armor allows them to survive longer in the first counterattack after being exposed.

For the infiltrators, surviving for three more seconds might be enough to open the stasis anchor point, causing the White Tiger and Yazi to retaliate.

Lawson scrolled down the report.

The first-line foundational sequence has also begun to be implanted with chitinous endoscopy.

Not all foundational sequences are implanted.

The quantity is too large, and there's no need for it.

There is no need for water resources coordinators, grain bureau clerks, administrative archivists, and ordinary ration station staff in Chaohu to consume such resources.

The highest priority is given to frontline, high-risk positions.

The cornerstone of pioneering on the frontier planet.

A cunning screening method for gene sniffing is the cornerstone.

The Nest Purification Team.

Corpse union investigation team.

Smuggling Investigation Team of Singapore and Hong Kong.

Ministry of Justice Evidence Database Takeover Team.

Deep Pipeline Repair Team, Mining Planet.

These people frequently face ambushes, mutants, chaotic gangs, remnant pirates, cunning hybrids, and alien contamination samples.

In the past, the foundational sequence was not the combat sequence.

Once ambushed in close combat, the survival rate is not high.

After the chitinous inner armor is implanted, they can at least hold out until the combat sequence arrives.

This is Lawson's logic of war.

Not every node needs to be strong enough to crush the enemy.

But at every critical juncture, you must be able to withstand the first blow.

As long as the first cut is successful, the swarm intelligence will react.

The assassin network will then come into play.

The static force field will light up.

Next, the enemy will no longer be facing a clerk, but an entire war machine.

T-001 reported: "The first batch of frontline cornerstone sequence implantation is complete. It is expected that the implantation of all high-risk positions will be completed within fifteen standard days. There is still a large surplus of chitin in the inventory."

"The stability of the alien material is better than expected. The risk of contamination is lower than that of the demon material. If more pure-blood samples can be obtained, the toughness of the carapace can be further optimized."

"Very good. Keep revising."

Upgrading the chitinous inner armor is just the first step.

More importantly, the foundational sequence also found signs of gene-stealing invasion on two other edge planets.

One is a mining planet.

The Chicken Cult hides deep within the Punishment Mine, attempting to spread through convict laborers and the mine's black market.

One is a small agricultural world.

The sect disguised itself as the "Harvest Brotherhood" and spread the so-called four-armed icon of abundance among serfs and low-ranking priests.

Neither of these locations has reached the depth of Castor-7, which has been around for a century.

Lawson did not give them time to develop.

Gene sniffing-type foundational sequences are highlighted in red.

The lurking node has been confirmed.

The Suanni sealed off the altar.

The White Tiger and Yazi made a short-range breakthrough.

Within three days, both sects were wiped out.

The mining planet executed 270,000 polluting individuals.