Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Xiong Jiu walked out, followed by Xiong Wei dragging more than a dozen Dark Spirit Clan prisoners whose limbs had been broken.

The armor was removed, and the poison blade, syringe, torture devices, and suicide sacs hidden in the tooth sockets were all taken away.

Both the neck restraint ring and the psionic suppression lock are present.

Just then, footsteps came from the other side of the corridor.

Ash Velos and Salathian Thousand Strings appeared almost simultaneously.

The two Slaanesh demons' eyes lit up the moment they saw the group of Dark Eldar.

Ash took a few steps closer and felt a surge of pleasure as she looked at the sudden, uncontrollable fear on the face of a Dark Eldar.

"Look, our owner even brought us gifts."

As the Dark Eldar were dragged out by the Bear Guard, they were still cursing in the Comorian accent, threatening that the Conspiracy would return for revenge, and that Hymonculus would skin these clumsy giants and turn their hides into banners.

Upon seeing Ash and Qianxian, they were both trembling with fear.

A dark Eldar tried to retreat, its severed leg dragging blood across the ground.

"The Keeper of Secrets..."

Qianxian grabbed the neck collars of the two prisoners and dragged them back to his residence like toys.

"You've got the wrong title. Call me Queen!"

Soon, the corridor echoed with the gleeful laughter of two great demons, and the barely suppressed screams of terror from the Dark Elf race.

Similar tests were conducted simultaneously on multiple battlefields.

What Lawson needs is data.

As the most basic and most likely standard platform among the six combat suits to be deployed on a large scale, the XV8 must be tested and tested under different enemies, different terrains, and different mission pressures to identify problems.

The Dark Eldar targets high-speed targets and melee threats.

The Orcs were tested on numerical superiority, sustained firepower, and ammunition management.

On the edge of the Empire's dark side, at a blackstone mine.

The three modified XV8s are tasked with occupying a hillside and attracting orcs from the surrounding area.

Following the route provided by the swarm, the cornerstone drivers formed a triangular firing point, relying on the rock strata, abandoned minecarts, and temporary shield nodes.

The first wave to charge were the orc boys.

Several dilapidated red motorcycles circled around from the side, their drivers so excited they almost threw themselves off.

Three XV8s opened fire: pulse missiles targeted the front ranks, small missile magazines were used to engage motorcycles and the Orc leader, and fusible short-barreled missiles were reserved for heavily armored targets that got too close.

The first chariot burst out of the ravine, its front end adorned with a rotating saw blade, and its cargo compartment crammed with orcs wielding large spears.

Three XV8s switched fire, the tanks exploded, and more orcs were drawn to the explosion, while the shouts from the hillside grew louder and louder.

A moment later, half the valley was filled with green leaves.

Several aircraft swept in from low altitude, their wings strapped with a jumble of rockets.

As the three XV8s retreated, they launched their last batch of missiles into the air.

The first aircraft's fuel tank was punctured, and it crashed into the orc horde while trailing flames. The second aircraft fell at an angle, smashing several war chariots.

The three XV8s on the hillside looked like they had reached their limit.

The orc boy howled and charged upwards, already close to the summit.

Just then, the blue lights of the thrusters simultaneously lit up on both sides of the hillside and at the back of the abandoned mine shaft.

Twelve XV8 squads have appeared.

Thirty-six modified XV8s simultaneously unleashed their firepower from hiding spots, mines, and the back of rock walls, all pressing towards the most densely populated area in the center of the valley.

As the pulse swept across, the front ranks of orcs fell in droves.

Missiles continuously bombarded the tank group, while hot-melt short tubes systematically took down the tin can and the orc leader.

The orc was stunned by the attack, then became even more excited.

More green-skinned miners surged out from the depths of the mine, their tanks roaring, rocket launchers firing wildly, and several lumps of iron mechs pieced together from scrapped mining machines were also pushed out.

It's time to evacuate.

Thirteen squads simultaneously dropped smoke grenades, mixing in heat sources and metallic dust to disrupt the orcs' crude aiming devices. The greenskins fired into the smoke, their bullets flying wildly.

By the time they reached the top of the hill, the thirteen XV8 squads had vanished.

All that remained were wrecked war chariots, smoking mine tunnels, and a group of orcs so enraged that they began to shove each other.

The test data was quickly compiled and presented to Lawson.

Its advantages are clear: good mobility, stable long-range firepower, and modular mounting that can be quickly adjusted according to the target.

Three units per group provide basic firepower coverage, and thirteen squads can wipe out a light orc war group in a short time.

Its weakness is also clear: it's not good in close combat.

When facing Dark Eldar, Orc leaders, Chaos Champions, or individual Tyrannosaurus Rex, once they get close, their joints, thrusters, and weapon attachment points become vulnerable.

Some key engineering nodes have proposed strengthening close-combat capabilities, adding powered punches to the XV8, thickening the forearm armor, enhancing leg servos, and adding ramming structures.

Lawson rejected them all.

The value of the XV8 isn't in charging into enemy ranks and throwing punches.

Forcibly converting it into a close-combat platform would slow down the speed, increase the weight, reduce weapon mounting points, and increase maintenance complexity.

In the end, what will be produced will be a hodgepodge that is passable in all aspects but inadequate in all aspects.

The foundation sequence is not the Titanium group of the Fire family.

Once the Fire Suit is engaged in close combat, the pilot can only use the thrusters to forcibly create distance or wait for teammates to rescue them.

The cornerstone sequence has a static force field, swarm control, combat sequence, and rapid support from the Bear Guard.

Close-quarters combat should be left to those who are meant to engage in close combat.

The XV8 is responsible for luring the enemy to a suitable position, destroying their vehicles, suppressing their firepower, marking high-value targets, and holding out until reinforcements arrive.

When it is necessary to break through the enemy lines, the White Tiger and the Red Dragon will arrive.

When it's necessary to stop the monster's charge, Xiong Wei will arrive.

When it is necessary to hunt down the commander, the Lurker and Kisame Mod will arrive.

The XV8 doesn't need to do everything.

It only needs to make what it does best stable enough, cheap enough, easy enough to repair, and suitable for mass production.

Once this judgment is confirmed, the finalization process speeds up.

The T-series, 30,000 cornerstone engineers, and the Tu's technology team borrowed from the Vision Enclave underwent dozens of rounds of collaboration.

The Turks engineers insisted on preserving the original balance of the propulsion system and refused to allow Imperial materials to be used to excessively increase the weight of the machine.

The foundational engineering milestones require reduced maintenance difficulty and the elimination of some manual fine-tuning items that Fire drivers are accustomed to using but are not suitable for the hive template.

The T-series is responsible for integrating the swarm interface into the core of the cockpit, allowing the driver to complete all operations without relying on personal judgment.

With all three parties making concessions, the first version of the XV8 Cornerstone Standard Combat Suit was finalized.

Slightly heavier than the original Tau, but with more stable defense, slightly reduced extreme mobility, and increased continuous combat time.

The cockpit is fully adapted to the body size of the human foundational sequence.

The weapon hardpoints are compatible with pulse, imperial fusion, small missile magazines, and some explosive modules.

In close combat, only the most basic self-defense structure is retained.

With the assistance of O. Visa and the Tu team, the first XV8 modification production line on the main planet Agrippina has entered stable production.

The sixty casting worlds completed the first round of division of labor—exterior armor frames, thrusters, weapon hardpoints, cockpits, shield interfaces, maintenance nests, and training pods were each separated and produced in different worlds, and then assembled through folded logistics.

The other five combat suits also continued to be produced.

The XV25 was modified into a cornerstone stealth reconnaissance platform, responsible for reconnaissance behind enemy lines and artillery fire guidance.

The XV88 was incorporated into fortress defense and assault systems, serving as a medium-sized railgun platform capable of advancing alongside the front lines.

Cold Star was converted into a small number of war zone command nodes, and Kisame cooperated with the Lurker Legion to carry out decapitation missions.

The turbulent positioning system provides rapid response and heavy firepower support to planets, but has low production and heavy maintenance requirements. However, it can hold its ground in key positions.

Lawson looked at the test report and was very satisfied.

Once these models are put into mass production, his war structure will undergo a fundamental change.

The 210,000-strong combat force remains the edge of the blade.

The foundational sequence evolved from administration, fire control, logistics, and the wireframe to a large-scale mid-tier armored force.

With hundreds of millions, or even billions, of cornerstone nodes equipped with various types of combat suits, the ordinary battlefields on the dark side of the Empire will no longer rely on a small number of elite troops to put out fires.

Every major planet can have a well-organized army of cornerstone combat suits.

Regular battle groups handle the toughest challenges, while the cornerstone combat suit groups cover the entire battlefront.

Just as the various models were being deployed to different battlefields for testing, a report from the periphery was delivered to Lawson.

The report comes from a fringe planet.

The planet's designation and old name are both noted on the file.

Kamas.

Lawson pulled up a more detailed star map, his gaze lingering for a moment.

Kamas?

This name sounds familiar... who is it related to...?

…………

Kamas was once just an ordinary mining world on the dark side of the Empire.

It has several old industrial cities, three agricultural belts with barely enough output, and a ore route leading to a neighboring star system.

The Governor's Office submits tax returns to the Empire every year, the State Church priests chant prayers under the clock tower, the Planetary Defense Force guards the rusted orbital gun emplacements, miners trade their lives underground, and the Bottomhives live on rations and the black market.