Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Any unauthorized individual or organization possessing power armor is considered treason under Imperial law.

The charge of "unauthorized formation of a Space Marine-level armed force" has one of the most famous examples in the history of the Empire: the Red Pirate King Hugh Lun Blackheart.

Xiu Lun is the chapter leader of the Starclaw Chapter and also serves as the Imperial Governor of the Great Vortex Sector.

Under the cover of his dual identity as legitimate warband commander and legitimate governor, he secretly expanded the warband's strength from the legally mandated one thousand men to several thousand. At the same time, he privately built warships, stockpiled weapons, and recruited planetary governors from surrounding star systems to form an independent military alliance.

As a result, the Empire dispatched three full Space Marine chapters plus a sector fleet to jointly attack.

Shuren's Starclaw Chapter was branded a traitorous chapter, and he himself was forced to flee into the warp storms of the Vortex Sector. He remains one of the Imperium's most wanted criminals to this day.

Hugh Lun was, after all, a legitimate chapter commander and a legitimate sector governor. In the Imperial system, anyone who could reach such a position must have an astonishingly deep political network behind them.

Thus, his illegal military expansion was still suppressed by the empire with swift and decisive action.

And what about Lawson?

He had no Space Marine chapter designation, no High Lord approval, no Mechanicus equipment authorization, and no Imperial Church soul verification certification.

The twelve power suits in his possession were salvaged from the remains of an unknown, unnamed warband, which, according to the court's records, constituted at least five felonies.

If this were the Holy Land of the Empire, a normal empire in the western half of the Milky Way where the starlight still shines, the administrative system still functions, and the Inquisition's witch-hunting ships still patrol regularly, then Lawson's fate would most likely be even worse than Wang Xiulun's.

The ruthless Wang Xiulun at least has the right to be condemned.

Lawson doesn't even qualify to be attacked; the Inquisition will simply classify him as a heretical force and send a squad of Grey Knights to vaporize him, armor and all.

But this is not the Imperial Holy Land.

This is the dark side of the empire.

The Great Rift tore the Milky Way in two.

Almost all warp routes between the Dark Side of the Empire and Terra have been severed.

The light of the Star Torch was completely blocked by the warp storms of the Great Rift, navigators were unable to navigate, interstellar communication was intermittent, and most sectors lost contact with the Imperial Central Command.

No contact means no oversight.

No regulation means no law.

Based on his prior knowledge, Lawson had a clear understanding of the empire's dark side and the situation over the next two to three hundred years.

In the original Warhammer timeline, the Dark Side of the Empire was plunged into a period of chaos lasting for hundreds of years after the Great Rift.

Each sector fought its own battle, and the planetary governors became de facto independent warlords. The Inquisition's power was scattered across countless isolated battlefields, leaving it overwhelmed. Space Marine chapters also operated independently, some sticking to their duties, some seizing the opportunity to expand, and some simply declaring themselves kings.

In such a chaotic world, a new, unorganized warband suddenly appears in a remote star sector. Who will verify it?

Tribunal? They can't even take care of their own star sector.

High Lord Council?

It takes decades for news to travel from the shadows of the Empire to Terra, and another decades for the approval to arrive.

The Cult of Mechanism? Mars itself was also split in two by the Great Rift, and the Forging World on the Dark Side operated independently.

In the shadows of the Empire, an armed force with power armor and sufficient military strength can claim to be whatever it wants, as long as it doesn't actively cause trouble for the Empire, openly declare its betrayal, or worship Chaos.

No one has the ability to verify it.

More importantly, it will be at least two or three hundred years before the dark side of the empire re-establishes contact with the holy side.

Two or three hundred years.

Given Lawson's current rate of expansion, what will be the number of assassins under his command in two or three hundred years? How large will the star sector he controls be? To what extent will his swarm mentality evolve?

When the Empire finally has the ability to verify his identity, assuming that day really comes, the question Lawson will face will no longer be "how to pass the censorship", but "whether the Empire still has the ability to do anything to him".

Lawson went through this set of political calculations in his mind.

He then drew his attention back to the power armor in front of him.

Politics is a matter for later.

The immediate problem is that these armors need to be put into action first.

Swarm intelligence offers a suggestion.

[Swarm Strategies & Technical Analysis]

[Parameters of the Chaos Space Marine's power backpack have been detected. Based on reconnaissance data from Team D and image analysis from Reconnaissance Team C: the Chaos power backpack has interface compatibility with the MK VII Aquila.]

[Recommendation: Obtain a intact Chaos Power Backpack, use its running machine spirit as a guide to complete the activation sequence, and then have the swarm mind take over all control functions through the living metal network.]

Success rate assessment: Extremely high.

Lawson shifted his gaze from the system panel to the red dot with an eight-pointed star marking the Chaos Outpost on the strategic situation map.

Although these guys are terrifyingly powerful, I'll have to face them sooner or later in order to power my backpack.

Lawson ordered an intensified investigation in preparation for an opportunity.

The fighting continues, and resources continue to accumulate.

By the end of the fourth day, the swarm intelligence sent out a top-priority message.

Chaos Space Marines began moving in organized units into the battle zone.

About twenty-four Chaos Warriors left their stronghold, fully armed, and advanced toward the demons.

It is estimated that seven people remained at the stronghold.

Lawson's eyes narrowed slightly.

The window appeared.

Four hours after the main force of the Chaos Warriors left the stronghold.

Lawson confirmed two key pieces of information: no more than seven Chaos Warriors were observed to be active within the stronghold, and the main Chaos force had penetrated deep into the battle zone and would not return for at least three hours.

A three-hour window.

"A3, A5, A7. Each with one reinforced platoon. Objective: Chaos Outpost. Mission: Capture all available Power Backpacks. Bonus objective: Any retrievable Chaos Gear."

Three reinforced platoons, plus three multi-barreled rapid-fire cannons and an operations team.

The total attacking force numbered approximately 130 men.

To deal with seven Chaos Space Marines.

This troop ratio isn't exaggerated.

The individual combat strength of the Chaos Space Marines far surpasses that of the Orks; 130 enhanced Katachon veterans plus three rapid-fire cannons are barely enough.

Chapter 66 Power Backpack Acquired

Along with issuing the order to attack, Lawson added a special instruction.

"After the battle, execute the Greenskins frame-up plan."

This is a frame-up.

The orc army is passing through the area where the Chaos stronghold is located. It is perfectly reasonable for orc detachments that have broken away from the main force to enter the Chaos stronghold and fight the remaining warriors, given the current chaotic situation.

One of the things the Greenskins love to do most is strip the armor off the defeated.

As for the Imperial standard cartridge cases, the orcs on the wrecked ship were using weapons they had stolen from the human legions, so there was no reason to doubt it.

The raid began in the sixth hour.

The entrance is located at Jia 3 from the east, Jia 5 from the southwest, and Jia 7 from the northwest, forming a three-sided encirclement.

Three metal tubes were simultaneously affixed to the door frames of the three entrances.

The focused jet completely melted through the three alloy doors in 0.1 seconds.

All three entrances opened simultaneously.

Three rapid-fire cannons opened fire simultaneously outside the three entrances.

The barrage of bullets poured into the dome space from three directions.

Two Chaos Warriors who were performing a ritual in front of the altar were simultaneously bombarded by bullets from three directions within the first second.

The terracotta plates of the power armor spewed out dense sparks and debris under the impact of the large-caliber projectiles from the rapid-fire cannon.

The hardness of ceramic steel causes most projectiles to lose kinetic energy after penetrating the outer coating, becoming flat scrap iron embedded in the armor.

Two Chaos Warriors stumbled amidst the barrage of bullets, but managed to regain their footing.

Millennia of combat instincts enabled them to react the instant they were hit; one rolled to the left toward the nearest stone pillar cover, while the other turned and moved toward the altar.

The crossfire from the three rapid-fire cannons did not give them that opportunity.

No matter which direction you move, you will expose your side or back to at least one rapid-fire cannon.

The front of the power armor can withstand rapid-fire cannons.

However, structural weaknesses such as joints, neck sealing rings, and underarm servo pipeline interfaces were gradually exposed under the continuous barrage of bullet comments.

The bullet tore through the hydraulic lines in the knee joint.

His right leg instantly lost its servo support and he tilted to the right.

Its fallen position exposed the neck seal to the firing line of the rapid-fire cannon to the southwest.

Four bullets hit the same spot in less than 0.3 seconds, with the fourth bullet tearing the crack into a puncture the size of a thumb.

The fifth shot penetrated the breach.

The Chaos Warrior's body twitched, then remained still.

The second Chaos Warrior had already reached the altar when his companion fell.

Its carapace was embedded with at least twenty bullets, none of which penetrated, but the continuous impact caused the servo muscle bundles on its back to overload, and its movements began to become sluggish.

A rapid-fire projectile struck the servo pipeline interface under its left armpit from the side.

The projectile tore through the tubing and penetrated the shell.

The barrage that followed focused on the breach that had been torn open, with more than ten projectiles pouring in through the same opening, causing devastating secondary damage inside the armor.

The Chaos Warrior also fell.

The reaction of the remaining five Chaos Warriors was terrifying.