Chapter 340 Further Investigation and Report:
Kalamanda heard that the soldiers of the Krieg Death Corps were all taciturn and died in silence.
And Captain Han Xing Li is obviously an exception.
He talks a lot, even incessantly.
The nobles of the hive city were obviously suspicious of the two cavalry units that came to support them - it's already the space age, and people still play cavalry? Are you two here to make fun of me?
Tariha from Attila was obviously not good at speaking. His strong body odor and his low Gothic accent were also very out of tune with the nobles of the hive world.
Then Captain Hanxing from Krieg, a hideous but young and talkative Death Corps officer, began to talk to these nobles about his cavalry philosophy.
"This is a heavily genetically modified version of the original Terran warhorse, now very different from its ancestors. They are designed to withstand more severe battlefield conditions, with a much stronger physique than ordinary horses, and its hind legs are able to cross trenches and advance through thick mud or rubble."
The young cavalry officer spoke eloquently:
"Many additional biological modification organs enable them to survive in the most polluted or toxic environments. And under the design of the Mechanicus's biological magi, these war horses are also equipped with sharp hooves, permeable lungs, subcutaneous organic armor, and a fully integrated drug injection system consisting of analgesics, powerful stimulants and other palliatives."
First of all, we must change the nobles' stereotypes about war horses and tell them that these are biochemical products of the Mechanicus, with high technological content, and are not weak and primitive ancient horses.
Hearing this, Tarjiha hastily added:
"It's the same with us."
The warhorses of Krieg's Death Riders are a kind of biological riding beasts that look like horses, while the warhorses of Attila's Barbarian Riders are the result of millions of years of continuous improvement and breeding of primitive horses.
There is still a certain gap, they are actually not the same.
"Excuse me, Captain Lee."
A male noble asked,
"The functions you mentioned can be performed by sentinel mechas and various tanks. I still don't understand why the Death Corps retains the cavalry organization?"
"Well."
Li Hanxing hesitated for a moment and said:
"In fact, the Krieg Death Corps is not equipped with sentinel mechas. Death troopers are our sentinel mechas. If you have actually participated in a war, you will understand that logistics support is a complex, serious and difficult subject. When the cavalry is in a suitable environment, the requirements for logistics support will be much lower than the sentinel mechas and various tanks you mentioned. And we are not powerless when facing armored vehicles."
Both tanks and sentry mechas need to burn promethium, while biochemical war horses only need to eat meat and grass, and the requirements for logistical support are indeed smaller in some environments.
Tarjiha then added:
"We have fought tanks, many tanks."
Kalamanda did not interrupt. He just stood by and listened quietly to the discussion between the Hive nobles and the two guard commanders. As a pragmatist, Kalamanda felt that it was extremely stupid to discuss whether cavalry was useful in the era of space warfare. Since the Military Affairs Department had already sent two cavalry units, it was an established fact, so the only thing to consider was how to use them.
Fight what kind of battle you have.
How does discussing the significance of cavalry help in warfare?
"Ahem."
Karamanda coughed lightly, interrupting the endless questioning of Li Hanxing by several nobles. Captain Yefu was already annoyed by these guys who had no actual combat experience but liked to talk about war on paper. He looked at Li Hanxing and asked:
"Captain Li, what do you mean by 'a full company'? How many soldiers do you mean?"
That's all Kalamanda cares about.
"My company consists of sixty-five men, including a five-man command group and six ten-man squadrons, Captain Kalamanda."
Li Hanxing replied.
"What about you, Colonel Tarjiha?"
Kalamanda looked down at the commander wearing leather gloves, boots and a leather robe, and felt that calling him "Chief" might be more appropriate than "Colonel".
"The 264th Attila Barbarian Cavalry Regiment has a total of 3,000 Barbarian Cavalry and a corresponding number of war horses, Captain."
Tazhiha replied in a muffled voice.
"How did you get here?"
Kalamanda continued to ask.
Want to see if there are any more naval forces.
"Aboard two Imperial transport ships."
The conclusion is no.
"Um..."
Kalamanda is thinking about how to arrange it.
At this time, a blind and skinny old man walked quickly into the banquet hall. He was the astropath of this hive city. The old man walked to the side of one of the planetary governors and whispered a few words.
The planetary governor's eyes lit up after hearing this.
Then he turned to face the crowd and announced loudly:
"Good news, good news, everyone."
"The commander of the Iron Pagoda Regiment, Qingshan Khan, has personally come to support us on an Emperor-class battleship. We are saved. The planet Kaelnak III is saved!"
The nobles present cheered and celebrated.
Khan is coming?
Kalamanda was stunned, then looked at the Astropath.
The Astropath nodded and said to Kalamanda,
"Master Kalamanda, please follow me."
......
Pankalis sub-sector, Karnak system.
The Rectification arrived at this galaxy faster than expected, because of the blessing of the relic technology "Subspace Sextant", and another reason -
Navigator Tracy broke through and became a gamma-class psychic, and this was one of the reasons why the Navigator Ambassador authorized the Grey Family to bring her back to Terra.
Considering Tracy's age and her level of psychic power, it is not an exaggeration to say that she is a genius. If it were during the Great Crusade, she would even be qualified to be the navigator of a Queen of Glory-class battleship. Unfortunately, there are only a few Queen of Glory-class battleships now.
The battleship traveled at sublight speed towards the target planet.
Fu Qinghai stood on the bridge, looking at the huge white ice ring outside the armored porthole, and first gained a preliminary understanding of the complex space orbital environment of this hive world.
This is a planet with icy rings.
The white ice ring, with a diameter of more than 300,000 kilometers and an average thickness of four to five hundred meters, is mostly composed of pure white and bright ice crystals, and is also mixed with gray meteorites of varying sizes. It surrounds the entire planet and looks like a huge crown.
Outside the white ice ring, there is also a circle of sparsely distributed asteroid belts, which slowly rotate around the planet, and irregular collisions and compressions are still occurring between them.
The battleship USS Purity first met up with the cruiser USS Warhorse, which was forced to evacuate low-Earth orbit, on the outskirts of the asteroid belt.
"What's going on now?"
Fu Qinghai looked at the other Space Marine in the holographic projection and asked. They were responsible for guarding the Warhorse strike cruiser, which was not far from the Rectification.
"The Khan, the Chaos warband that worships Khorne, owns a Hell-class heavy cruiser with superior shielding and firepower to ours. It's called the Warbringer."
"That orc fleet from the Evil Sun Clan has two Basha-class light cruisers, five Onslaught-class assault ships, and an unknown number of orc monoliths."
"In addition, there is an alien warship the size of a battleship, anchored on the other side of the planet. The Ronin Merchants in the Hive City said that it was a Kroot spaceship called..."
"It's called the War Ball Ship, I know."
Fu Qinghai said.
The Kroot, a kind of space bird-people with alien (devouring and assimilation) capabilities, are one of the most famous Tau forces under the Greater Good. The Tau Empire did not exist at that time, but the Kroot, as well-known space mercenaries, have existed for a long time, and their history is much longer than that of the Tau Empire.
The War Sphere is a peculiar spaceship. No one knows how the Kroot, whose technological level is not very high, built such a spaceship. Some say it is related to the crashed Orc spaceship, while others say it is a gift from an unknown race.
Except for its egg-like appearance.
This spacecraft also has the following features:
Large, with a diameter of nine to twelve kilometers, comparable to the length of a human Empire battleship, and much larger in size.
It moves very slowly, but is said to turn very quickly, perhaps because it is spherical.
Capable of warp jumps, they utilize a type of warp engine unknown to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
The ability to land on a planet - this is the black technology that Fu Qinghai can't understand the most. Such a huge spaceship can actually land on the surface of a planet?
It is said that the Kroot people drove the war ball ship to the surface and then used it as a colonial outpost.
In Fu Qinghai's view, the war ball ship is a space city village built with massive armor plates that can travel across the stars. It contains a complete tribe of Kroot people - space mercenaries working collectively. It has strong defense and firepower, but apart from being able to land on planets, it does not have much technical content.
Space naval battles are fought for air supremacy over a planet.
There is no need to say how important air superiority is in war.
Fu Qinghai did not rush to give the order for landing, but stood on the bridge and thought seriously about how to fight this space naval battle.
"I guess there was no fighting between the three families before I arrived, right?"
Fu Qinghai asked.
"Yes, Khan. The war sphere is hovering in the planet's low-Earth orbit. The Orc and Chaos warships are hiding in the asteroid belt, maintaining a standoff. According to our reconnaissance, the Orcs are also rushing to build more Orc Monoliths."
The Space Marine serving as the captain replied.
Essentially a hollowed-out asteroid, fitted with a variety of weaponry, propulsion systems, and targeting arrays, an Ork Monolith is incapable of warp travel and can only fly from planet to planet within a system.
Why was Fu Qinghai so sure that the three families did not start a war?
The reason was simple. The strength of the three fleets was roughly the same: the Orc fleet had the largest number but low quality, the Kroot War Balls had the highest quality but slow speed, and the Chaos Warships were in an awkward position in terms of firepower and tonnage. In short, no matter which of the two families started the war first, there was a possibility that the third family would reap the benefits.
And the key point is that the special and complex environment above the planetary orbit provides cover and concealment, brings more uncertainty, making it difficult for the three parties to fight freely.
The addition of the Emperor-class battleships heralds the arrival of the fourth force. An Emperor-class battleship plus a conventional cruiser is not a force to be underestimated - even if this Emperor-class battleship does not have any carrier-based aircraft.
"The Kroot are a group of space mercenaries. They have no stance and are probably waiting for a good price. The Evil Sun Clan is not the Blood Axe Clan, so there is no possibility of negotiation. Besides, there is nothing to discuss between us and the Aliens and Chaos. These two are 100% our enemies."
Fu Qinghai analyzed.
"Shall we fight, Khan?"
Joe Star asked.
"No."
Fu Qinghai shook his head:
"Let's fight the ground war first."
Even if the Kroot remain neutral, the Orcs and Chaos are both enemies of the Chapter. If they choose to attack either side, they may be attacked from both sides - the Orcs and Chaos are not stupid.
What's more, Fu Qinghai didn't want to let the Suzheng go deep into the asteroid belt for close combat. The orc warships were crudely made, so he could just blow them up one by one from a distance.
Not only would there be no gain from getting in close to board the ship, but the Void Shield would not be able to protect against a collision with a warship. Would we use our precious chapter flagship to withstand a Kamikaze impact from an Orc ship?
That won't work.
"The Purity and the Fiery Horse should continue their probing attacks. Don't let the orcs and traitors get too comfortable."
Fu Qinghai ordered:
"All Space Marines of the First Company, board your jet bikes and follow me to the surface!"
"Yes, Khan!"
…
The Star Language Chorus Room in the Hive City.
Through the astropath's message, Kalamanda is communicating with Xia Long on the Supremacy.
The old astropath relayed Xia Long's words:
"Captain Karamanda, Qingshan Khan orders you and Captain Satfaran to lead the two companies to alternate defenses. Use the transporter deck to return to the battleship Zhengzheng, and then each Space Marine will drive a jet bike to land on the planet again."
"We have jet bikes!?"
Karamanda was startled at first, then immediately responded:
"Tell them I got it."
…
When the Rectification finally reached the planet's orbit, Kalamanda and the battle barge no longer needed to communicate through astropathic messaging and could establish communications directly.
The Space Marines of the 5th and 6th Companies were teleported back to the transport deck one after another, and then set off again on their jet bikes, returning to the hive world.
The hangar of the Supremacy was open, and the jet motorcycles emerged from the hangar like a group of densely packed, indistinct black dots, bypassed the beautiful and vast dazzling ice ring, slowed down and entered the planet's atmosphere, disappearing one by one.
…
Hive city, spire area.
Fu Qinghai, with a sword slung around his waist and his helmet in one hand, strode in the richly decorated corridor, followed by Qiao Shida, Kalamanda and Satfaran. The Space Marines' hard and heavy iron boots stepped on the flawless bluestone floor, and the entire corridor was filled with neat and sonorous footsteps.
Push open the door of the conference room.
Fu Qinghai glanced at the people inside.
The commander of the local planetary defense force, two Imperial Guard commanders from different corps, and the planetary governor's personal attendant all stood behind the conference table.
"Everyone, according to the latest transfer order from the Military Affairs Department, from now on, I will serve as the highest military commander of the Kairnak III planetary war zone. Do you have any questions?"
Fu Qinghai asked calmly.
"No problem, sir!"
Li Hanxing and Tajiha stood at attention and saluted together.
The commander of the planetary defense force, who was obviously of aristocratic origin, was stunned for a moment, perhaps because he was shocked by Fu Qinghai's aura. Then he remembered to salute along with them, saying "No problem, no problem" repeatedly.
This is a relationship-based household.
The four Space Marines reached a consensus at the first sight: his opinion would not be considered in any future tactical deployments.
"I heard that a Space Wolves tactical team is coming to support us. Where are they now?"
"Reporting to the commander, according to the astropathic message, they are on a Scimitar-class frigate and have just arrived at Mandeville Point on the outskirts of the galaxy. They are rushing here at full speed."
Li Hanxing answered quickly.
"OK."
Fu Qinghai nodded and said:
"Tell me about the current situation."
Sartre Faran stepped forward and tapped the table several times. A holographic projection of a planet appeared. The Raven Guard warrior waved his hand, rotating and enlarging the holographic projection, pointing to the continent where the Hive City was located, and said to Fu Qinghai:
"Khan, please look."
"We are currently in the inland plains of the planet's northern hemisphere, the largest hive city on the planet Kaelnak III. This is where the orcs are active, and this is where the traitors landed. What we know now is..."
With the introduction of Sartre Fran.
The situation of the planet gradually became clear.
The planet has only one continent, and near the equator is a circle of rotten tropical rainforests with miasma, swamps, and dense jungles. The number of the Evil Sun Clan Orcs is large, and their activities range widely. There are eyewitness reports in the vast plains and hilly areas around the hive. The Chaos Warband has occupied a small satellite city and has been hiding there without moving.
Fu Qinghai pinched his chin and lowered his head to think.
Why are the Chaos warbands who believe in Khorne hiding in a stronghold instead of coming out to hunt skulls and offer them?
The Evil Sun Clan needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. The more scraps there are, the stronger the orcs will be. The more battles there are, the stronger the orcs will be. We cannot delay... but it would be best to find their war boss directly. The decapitation tactic always works well against the orcs.
According to previous intelligence, some people have also seen the emblem and flag of the Snakebite Clan. Where are they?
"not enough."
Fu Qinghai shook his head and said,
"The intelligence is totally insufficient."
The available intelligence was insufficient to support any tactical decisions.
Fu Qinghai raised his head and looked at Li Hanxing and Tajiha:
"The good news is, we have cavalry now."
Fu Qinghai ordered:
"Attila's Savage Cavalry Regiment, Krieg's Death Cavalry, leave the hive and go investigate. I want to know the distribution range, activity area, number of personnel, and firepower of the orc convoy... and observe the latest movements of the Chaos Warband."
"Roger that, sir!"
The two responded in unison.
Fu Qinghai looked at Sartre Fran and said,
"I will give you a tactical team equipped with jet motorcycles. Go and find the war boss."
"Understood, Khan!"
......
(End of this chapter)