Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Then, entire populations of several villages and towns vanished overnight, leaving behind only cut locks, spilled food, and a small number of poisoned needles.

The governor's office called it a rebellion, the planetary defense forces called it a gang, and the clerks called it heresy.

But those who know a little about the truth of the galaxy have guessed another answer.

Dark Eldar.

On the seventh night of the third month, the answer fell from the sky.

A Dark Eldar raiding party traversed the high-altitude cloud sea and descended along the mountain ridge.

Dozens of raider motorcycles spread out ahead, followed by several small raiding boats, with slave nets, poisoned blade launchers, and paralyzing grappling hooks hanging from their hulls.

Captain Vesalix sat aboard a modified poisonblade boat, with strings of Imperial human finger bones hanging from either side of his helmet.

He loves this planet.

Remote and dull.

The defense forces reacted as slowly as rats in the sewers of the capital.

Last time, they captured more than two hundred miners, and the planetary defense forces didn't arrive at the scene until the next day. They even mistook the tread tracks left by their own people for enemy armor movement records.

"Tonight, we'll focus on the southern grain-producing area."

Vesalix gave the order via the channel.

"Prioritize young laborers, preserve their limbs intact, and don't administer too high a dose of toxin; Hymonculus doesn't like dead goods."

A few laughs came from the channel.

One of the raider riders asked, "Will those humans resist?"

"You can reward them with a little courage and then break off their fingers one by one," Vesalius said.

There was more laughter.

They have already seen the lights of the target village.

It was an imperial agricultural settlement, built around a granary, a water purification tower, and a small church, with only a few low walls and two old searchlights on the outside.

The defense forces set up sentry posts at the intersection, and four soldiers were dozing around a brazier with their guns positioned far away.

Vesalix raised his hand.

The Marauder motorcycle began to accelerate.

They had to complete the assault, paralysis, capture, and evacuation within ten minutes.

By the time the defenders got out of their bottles and blankets, they had already returned to the net lanes with the wailing slaves.

As the first motorcycle crossed the dry riverbed, a beam of blue-white light shot out from the shadows of the hillside.

The motorcycle exploded on the spot.

The rider was thrown into the air by the impact, and before he could land, the second wave of fire hit the side of the raiding boat behind him.

The small boat went out of control and crashed into the ground, the slave nets and poisoned dart ammunition exploding together.

"spread!"

The Marauder motorcycle split into three groups in an instant, flipping close to the ground.

The Dark Eldar reacted quickly, identifying the direction of the fire almost immediately after the attack.

On the hillside, three mechs, each over three meters tall, rose from behind the camouflage netting.

Broad shoulders, short torso, back thrusters, weapon attachment points on both arms, and a shield generator that gleamed faintly in the night.

Vesalix squinted.

"Titanium group?"

The deputy replied, "It doesn't look like the standard model."

"Whatever it is."

Vesalix's voice turned cold. "Tear them apart, capture the pilots. Tau pilots fetch a good price in the Comoros."

Three modified XV8s moved simultaneously.

The shortest distance for lateral movement, takeoff, landing, and cross cover.

The Dark Eldar were fast, but the three mechs were too well coordinated.

Whenever a Marauder motorcycle attempts to flank, one of them will preemptively fire at the end of the route.

The third motorcycle exploded.

The Poison Blade boat released a row of crystal poison needles, which struck the shield of the first XV8.

The shield flashed, the aircraft took two steps back, and another one immediately took its place, firing missiles in succession, forcing the Poison Blade boat to take off and evade.

Vesalix's complexion began to worsen.

This is no ordinary Tau team.

Tau pilots prefer to keep their distance, rely on fire control systems and drones, and are often forced to retreat when encountering the faster Dark Eldar.

But these three mechs were like three silent iron stakes, with a very limited range of movement, and their firepower was so tightly intersected that not even a Bloodwing Bat could fly in.

"Don't use your own body to fill the firepower net!"

Vesalix hissed and changed tactics, "Throw those two big shots down there and teach them a lesson!"

The hatch of the raiding boat at the rear was wide open.

Two massive, painful engines crashed down on the front lines.

They resemble deformed monsters stitched together from living torture instruments and mechanical shells, with twitching nerve bundles hanging from the shells, and thick, bent limbs dragging hooks and giant injection needles.

The firepower of the three XV8s immediately concentrated, with high-energy beams and micro-missiles raining down on the Pain Engine.

The shield flickered violently, and charred flesh and armor fragments flew everywhere.

But these two inhuman creations showed no sign of retreating, stubbornly withstanding the barrage of firepower capable of melting tanks, and crushing forward like two walls of blood and sighs.

"Now! Stick it on!"

Using the massive body of the Pain Engine as cover, the Dark Eldar riders finally found the fatal blind spot.

Several Hellwalkers leaped from low-altitude gliders, their venom-laden chain blades hurtling towards the joints of the XV8 on the left.

Once the distance was closed, the three XV8s finally showed signs of weakness.

To avoid the grappling hooks of the Pain Engine and the poisonous blades from all directions, they were forced to abandon their perfect firepower formation and retreat all the way back, eventually being driven into the depths of the abandoned warehouse area.

Behind them was a high metal wall that had collapsed halfway.

The engines of pain are approaching from both sides.

Ahead stood Vesalix and dozens of extremely excited Eldar raiders.

The encirclement was completely sealed off.

Vesalix patted the vehicle beneath him, then slowly removed his helmet, revealing a pale, sharp face.

He looked at the three machines whose armored surfaces were already scratched, his eyes filled with the mockery of a predator.

"Running? Why aren't you running anymore, you little blue tin can?"

He tapped the motorcycle's armor with his poisoned blade, his voice echoing through the warehouse, "No matter what paint job you've changed, or what weird weapon interfaces you've modified, once the Tau mechs are engaged in close combat, they're just pieces of meat waiting to be slaughtered on the altar. Melee trash, forever melee trash!!"

The surrounding Dark Eldar erupted in a sharp, piercing laugh.

"Now, open the hatch and get out yourself."

Vesalix licked his lips. "I'll be merciful and leave your eyes open, so you can watch your limbs being dissected and reassembled. Hehe, how interesting!"

"Little one, please don't cry, or it won't taste as good..."

The air was silent for two seconds.

Then, the external speaker of the middle XV8 suddenly turned on.

Extremely standard Imperial language.

"We won't cry, and we hope you won't cry later either."

Vesalix's smile froze on his face.

Humans? Imperial language?

The voice inside the mech continued: "You're right, we're useless in close combat right now."

"So, the BOSS taught us that when we encounter aliens that like to fight in melee, we should call in professionals to handle them."

Vesalix instinctively sensed an extremely dangerous aura of death, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Kill them all! Now!"

But it was too late.

Three XV8s simultaneously raised their left arms, and three silver-gray static force fields unfolded at the same time in the corner of the warehouse.

The next second, the first bear guard crawled out from inside.

The five-meter-tall, heavily armored behemoth shattered the hard concrete ground. The anti-gravity centurion's heavy armor produced a suffocatingly heavy sound as it slammed into the front of the tower shield, and the shockwave it generated directly knocked over the first few Dark Eldar.

In his other hand, he held a massive adamantite-powered hammer that was emitting a deadly buzzing sound.

Then came the second place, the third place...

Thirty bear guards strode out from behind the three static force fields, like a steel siege wall compressed behind a light curtain, violently pushed into reality.

When the massive tower shield landed like a city gate, completely blocking the warehouse exit, Vesalix finally realized they were in deep trouble.

(The yellow one is an XV8)

P.S.: 1.2 words updated today.

Chapter 237 A Walk in the Forest, Old Friends Return!

Fifteen minutes later, the stasis platform on the outer layer of the inner court of the warning star lit up.