Chapter 418 Tactical Master Fu Qinghai

Geras Space Station.

The Iron Pagoda's fleet, along with the fleets of other Astartes Chapters, was stationed a long way from the orbital defense facilities of the Zhelas Space Station.

This is a small forge world.

Some people may wonder how a space station can become a forge world? The reason is actually very simple, because Zhelas is a gas planet, lacking a solid planetary surface, and there is no way to "land". No one can survive on the surface for a long time, so naturally there is no way to build buildings.

However, gaseous planets can also be rich in resources. With proper use of professional cloud mining equipment, the mineral resources of gaseous planets may be easier to mine and refine than those of rocky planets. There are four gaseous planets in the solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are all affiliated casting facilities under the rule of Mars. The Jupiter Shipyard and the Saturn Shipyard once produced the Glorious Queen-class battleship and the Abyssal Fury-class battleship.

Therefore, the vast majority of urban buildings in this forging world are located in the orbital space surrounding the planet.

So you can imagine how powerful the firepower of its orbital defense facilities will be, just like an iron hedgehog.

A complete planetary defense system is generally divided into four layers from the outside to the inside. As soon as the Iron Pagoda fleet entered Mandeville Point on the outskirts of the Zheras system, it saw many destroyed combat satellites. A pile of twisted and broken ruins hovered in the void, obviously destroyed by other Astartes fleets that arrived earlier. This is the outermost layer of the planetary defense system - combat satellites and deep space outposts.

Richer and more important worlds might even build space fortresses near Mandeville Point.

Subspace jumps are very unstable. Fleets of several regiments arrived one after another. The regiments that arrived first have destroyed the outermost defense system, so what they are about to face is the orbital defense facilities.

A planet with abundant resources and strict defense has two layers of defense systems in space and two layers of ground defense systems in the atmosphere: a surface defense facility that can attack the planetary orbit upwards; and a nest defense facility, which is the last line of defense for the city. Due to its special nature - there are no urban buildings on the surface of a gaseous planet, the Zerlas Space Station does not have the latter two defense systems.

The upside is that several Astartes Chapter fleets might not have to worry about attacks from the planet's surface.

The downside is that the Zheras Space Station has put almost all of its resources into orbital defense facilities.

The Honourable, bridge.

Fu Qinghai frowned as he looked at the screen of the auspicious instrument. It was a majestic and spectacular space city, with more than a dozen super-large orbital stations connected in series to form a grid-like honeycomb area, with a large number of track plates laid out to cover the orbital space outside the planet. In addition to the infrastructure such as the airport, space dock, and orbital elevator, he also saw...

Densely packed lance turrets and macro cannon turrets, torpedo launchers and defensive laser silos are everywhere, not to mention the clusters of close defense weapon arrays.

"It seems that Grand Marshal Hexu Luo has indeed chosen a battlefield suitable for the Astartes to fight."

Sid Nora also appeared on the bridge at some point, looking at the planet projection, and said,

"Although the Zheras Space Station is also a forge world, it has no solid surface, so it is destined to not have a Titan Legion. But as far as I know, during the Great Crusade, the expedition fleet discovered that the Zheras Space Station possessed some kind of heretical technology, and the average intelligence level of their cybernetic legion far exceeded that of other cybernetic mechas of the Mechanicum."

The intelligence level exceeds that of ordinary intelligent robot soldiers...

It's obvious that abomination intelligence was used.

Fu Qinghai sneered in his heart.

Sid Nora continued:

"According to records, this Forge World was very warlike and was unwilling to submit to the Empire at first. It even used biological weapons on the Hive World of Kakandira, turning it into a death cemetery. After the defeat, the Mechanicus only allowed them to retain the most basic weapons manufacturing capabilities, which led to the Zheras Space Station surrendering to the traitors during the Iron Calamity Campaign."

Hexu Luo had indeed chosen a battlefield that was most suitable for Space Marines. Space Marines could not fight against Titans, and the Zhelas Space Station happened to be a forge world without Titans. Titans were not Gundams and could not fight in space. Orbital space was different from the surface of a planet. Every inch of artificial space there was valuable, and there was no room for Titans to display their power.

Sid Nora means that after entering the Zhelas Space Station, there is a possibility of encountering the Cybernetic Legion?

"After our scan, we found that there is no intact warship in the harbor of the Zheras Space Station."

The one who spoke was a strange Space Marine.

Half-body holographic projections of several chapter leaders appeared above the table, discussing the attack plan.

"Pay attention. Those macro cannon arrays and light spear arrays on the orbital defense facilities are obviously temporary installations. Apparently, the rebels on the Zhelas Space Station have dismantled all their warships, and the weapon systems of the warships have all been piled on the orbital defense facilities."

The Space Marine reminded everyone.

This is a one-and-done gamble.

Fu Qinghai thought to himself.

The enemy's choice was extremely extreme. They had completely abandoned the option of sending a naval fleet to attack and had dismantled the warships' weapon systems to strengthen their defenses.

"Everyone, we don't need to completely destroy the entire orbital defense facility. We just need to concentrate our firepower to open a gap, a critical breakthrough, so that our soldiers can enter the interior of the Zhelas Space Station, and then..."

A Space Marine in red armor said.

Fu Qinghai knew him, the chapter leader of the Bloodthirsty.

His thinking is very clear:

Space naval battles cannot bring out the advantages of Space Marines, and a fleet composed of several chapters is unlikely to be able to defeat a Forge World that is on high alert. All it takes is to open a gap to allow Space Marines to enter, and after entering the interior of the Zhelas Space Station... it will be the familiar boarding stage.

This was a standard siege battle, and no one present mentioned the plan of besieging the enemy and cutting off their supplies. First of all, this was not in line with the character of the Space Marines. Secondly, the other side was a planet and we had a fleet, so it was obvious who had more supplies. Finally, the other side was a forge world, where water could be obtained through gaseous planets, and food could be synthesized through chemical industry or cultivated through biological engineering. Obviously, the other side could afford it more.

"I agree with this plan in principle."

Fu Qinghai thought for a long time and finally spoke:

"But the specific details still need further consideration."

Several regiment commanders looked at Fu Qinghai.

His chapter flagship was the largest in the fleet. But the chapter leaders were well-informed and did not show much surprise - some chapters even had the Glorious Queen-class battleships. The Ultramarines sank the Word Bearers' flagship, the Ash Chronicle, and after salvaging and repairing it, they gave it to their subsidiary chapter, the Nemesis Chapter, as the chapter flagship.

With wealthy families like the Ultramarines in front, owning an Emperor-class battleship is nothing.

"What do you think?"

the Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers asked.

"Everyone, please look, what is this?"

Fu Qinghai pointed at the holographic projection in front of him. On the huge earth-gray gaseous planet, a brown patch was slowly rotating and moving. Fu Qinghai raised his hand to enlarge the holographic projection and saw that the edge of the patch was about to approach the long pillars connecting the Zhelas Space Station and the surface of the planet. The pillars bounced open and retracted back into the Zhelas Space Station.

The brown patch is a cyclonic storm on the surface of a gas planet, which can be seen from tens of thousands of kilometers away, showing how huge the storm is. This phenomenon is very common on gas planets. For example, Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a characteristic mark on the surface of Jupiter. That cyclonic storm has lasted for 350 years on Jupiter, and its diameter is twice the diameter of the Earth.

Those long pillars are obviously space elevators, but compared to ordinary manned space elevators, they are larger in diameter and connected to cloud collection equipment at the end. They should be the channels for the Zerlas Space Station to absorb clouds from the surface of gaseous planets. These giant gas transportation pipelines are like roots hanging under the Zerlas Space Station, absorbing nutrients from the planet to provide blood transfusion for the space station.

"I seem to have discovered a loophole in the defense of the Zerras Space Station."

Fu Qinghai pointed at the long pillars and said.

A gas pipeline from the planet to the orbit?

Without Fu Qinghai's explanation, several experienced interstellar warriors immediately understood his idea.

"What are you going to do?"

The Flesh Tearers Chapter Master asked.

"Do you have a Terminator unit?"

Fu Qinghai asked.

"Yes, I have."

"Of course."

Several chapter leaders spoke up.

Who doesn't have a Terminator? Although we are all sub-groups, everyone has a share of the Second Founding of the Army. We must have a few tactical dreadnought armors of varying levels, otherwise we would be too poor.

"So you guys have jet bikes?"

Fu Qinghai continued to ask.

All the chapter masters fell silent for a moment.

They all raised their heads and looked at Fu Qinghai.

What do you mean? Do you have any?

Fu Qinghai smiled:

"My plan is very simple. I will send the Iron Pagoda Terminator to ride a jet motorcycle to the surface of the planet, and then enter the interior of the Zheras Space Station through these giant gas pipelines to create an internal breakthrough and open a gap for me."

Why do you have a jetbike?

This was the first question that came to the minds of the Chapter Masters.

Which Forge World can still produce jetbikes now?

"Isn't there any detection equipment on the surface of the planet? Won't they discover the existence of jetbikes?"

A Chapter Master was the first to raise the question.

Fu Qinghai pointed to the "brown patch" and said,

"I don't think any detection equipment can survive in such a large cyclone storm."

"As you said, this cyclone is huge. How are you going to get through it?"

Another Chapter Master questioned.

"Of course we won't force our way in. By observing the operation of the Zheras Space Station to retract the gas pipelines, it is clear that the activity of this cyclone storm is cyclical. We just need to wait patiently for the cyclone storm to leave and for the gas pipelines and cloud mining equipment to be reinserted into the planet's surface. That will be the best time to invade."

Fu Qinghai explained.

"Even if there is no cyclonic storm, the strength of the gale on the surface of the gas planet is probably beyond our ability to withstand. Have you ever thought about this, Qingshan...Khan?"

The Flesh Tearers Chapter Master asked calmly.

This is a very realistic problem.

For example, the gale on the surface of Jupiter can reach twice the speed of a Category 17 hurricane on the surface of the Earth. This kind of gale is truly "no grass grows wherever it goes". If it were on the surface of the Earth, nothing would be able to withstand this gale. At the same time, due to Jupiter's own large mass, it will attract many asteroids and meteorites. These attracted debris will also be mixed in the gale on the surface of Jupiter, becoming dangerous "bullets" flying at high speed.

Although Zeus is not as big as Jupiter.

But as both are gas planets, they must be similar.

Fu Qinghai smiled slightly.

"I am well aware of these difficulties. We are the descendants of the White Scars. We are the Sons of the Storm! Naturally, this mission can only be accomplished by us."

Fu Qinghai's confident demeanor made the captains in the holographic projection raise their eyebrows in surprise.

Then he changed the subject:

"We haven't reached the surface of the planet yet. We can only know the specific situation there after an on-site investigation. Even if we can execute it according to my idea, this temporary plan is bound to have unexpected events. Therefore, while we arrange for the Iron Pagoda Terminator to infiltrate the surface of the gas planet, we also need to find the weak points of the orbital defense facilities to launch a frontal attack. It is not a feint attack, but a real frontal attack."

Only a frontal attack can attract the enemy's attention, and only a frontal attack can cover the Iron Pagoda Terminator to successfully infiltrate the planet's surface. And if the infiltration plan fails, all the regiments must still conduct a frontal attack in the end.

Everyone fell into deep thought.

"I agree with this plan."

"I agree."

"I agree."

Finally, the chapter leaders expressed their opinions.

Penetrating through the violent gale of a gas planet is a very risky and life-threatening mission. Since the Iron Pagoda Regiment is willing to send its Terminator troops to complete this mission, then others have nothing to say.

Attack head-on as planned.

"Sons of Chagatai, may the Emperor bless you."

The Flesh Tearers' captain raised his hand and pounded hard on the ceramic steel armor on his chest, then said to Fu Qinghai.

"In deference to the blood of Sanguinius, I hope we will meet soon inside the Zerath Station."

The bloodthirsty chapter leader said solemnly.

Fu Qinghai nodded slightly in greeting.

The holographic projections went out one by one. Through the armored portholes, one could see that the fleets of various regiments began to turn around one after another, with the engine nozzles lighting up. The warships were about to go deep into the galaxy and head in one direction, preparing for a frontal assault.

The White Scars and the Blood Angels have a good relationship, because Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan have a good relationship and they admire each other. Of course, the angel is a super warm man, he has a good relationship with all the primarchs, while the Khan is a lonely and cold man, and his only primarch friends are the Warmaster and the pony.

Although both chapter leaders expressed their respect to Fu Qinghai, Fu Qinghai had no intention of getting too close to them.

He recognized one of them.

Nasir Amit.

The first Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers was a century-old veteran who had experienced the Great Crusade and the Great Heresy. He had once served as the Captain of the 5th Company of the Blood Angels Legion and was nicknamed "Flesh Tearer". The name of the Flesh Tearers Chapter was derived from his nickname.

The Flesh Tearers are a notoriously loyalist Chapter.

In the 30K era, Nasir Amit once lost his blood thirst and killed an entire team of Space Wolves without distinguishing between friend and foe. He took the initiative to confess, but Azkalon, the captain of the Sanguinius Guard, protected him and did not tell Sanguinius about it - because according to Sanguinius's character, he would definitely tell Leman Russ, which would affect the relationship between the two loyal legions.

In the 40K era, during a battle against an Ork invasion, all the Flesh Tearers were thirsty for blood. Not satisfied with killing the Orcs, they killed all the ordinary militiamen who helped them. This atrocity of massacring civilians shocked the Battle Sisters of the Silver Shrouds who were fighting alongside them. The Battle Sisters did not dare to stop the Space Marines and could only withdraw from the battle. Afterwards, the Battle Sisters of the Silver Shrouds would submit a report to the Inquisition, believing that this chapter should be eliminated.

In fact, even if Baal or Terra did not deal with the Flesh Tearers, according to the Khorne-style violent assault tactics of this chapter, it would have destroyed itself sooner or later - in the 42K era, the Flesh Tearers Chapter, as a Codex Chapter, had only one-third of the number of people stipulated in the "Codex Astartes".

Only three hundred people were left.

…

Right now.

All officers of the Iron Pagoda Regiment gathered on the bridge.

Fu Qinghai looked around and warned,

"After landing at the Zheras Space Station, stay away from the two Blood Angels. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Khan."

Everyone responded in unison.

"If they go crazy at the enemy, leave them alone. If they go crazy at us, kill them. Got it? Never mind the camaraderie."

Fu Qinghai continued to instruct.

"Understood, Khan."

Everyone responded loudly.

"You all heard the tactical arrangements just now."

Fu Qinghai said slowly, and suddenly ordered in a deep voice:

"Qiao Shida!"

"exist!"

The first company commander stepped out.

"You will lead a tactical team of Iron Pagoda Terminators on a jet bike to carry out this infiltration mission. You will also change into assault-type Terminator armor."

Fu Qinghai ordered.

"yes!"

Qiao Shida responded loudly.

Fu Qinghai thought about it, and suddenly changed his words:

"Forget it...you go to my personal arsenal and wear my set of Cyan Mountain Heavy Power Armor."

Qiao Shida was stunned when he heard this, and nodded,

"Okay, Khan."

Qiao Shida and Fu Qinghai are of similar height and build, so it is not a big problem for them to wear his power armor.

"Khan!"

At this time, Lin Yu suddenly stepped out.

The attendant showed a look of struggle and hesitation on his face. Finally, he gritted his teeth and came close to Fu Qinghai and whispered:

"Khan, Old Joe is a native, he only has one life, I am a reincarnation, I have two lives..."

The implication is: he wants to carry out this mission on behalf of the Moon Wolf Warrior.

Fu Qinghai glanced at him:

"But he is better than you."

Lin Yu's face flushed instantly.

"alright."

Fu Qinghai patted his shoulder:

"It's not that dangerous. Whether to carry out this mission or not, and whether the planet's surface is suitable for flight, we will have to wait and see. If it's purely for the sake of suicide, then I won't let any of my subordinates carry out such a mission."

Why doesn't Fu Qinghai go in person?

As the commander of the Iron Pagoda, sometimes his main task is to sit in the rear and command the battlefield while overlooking the overall situation. He cannot always charge into battle at the forefront.

Qiao Shida was very excited to be entrusted with the important task, and immediately went to select the Iron Pagoda Terminator. Soon, a tactical team took a jet motorcycle to transfer to another strike cruiser, the Warhorse. The battle barge led the remaining two strike cruisers and followed the other battle group fleets to the Zhelas space station.

The cruiser, the Warhorse, quietly left the main force and prepared to take advantage of the light of the stars to go around the back of the gas planet after the frontal battle began. The Zheras Space Station only occupied a small area of ​​the outer orbit of the gas planet and could not cover the entire gas planet.

The battle is about to begin.

...

(End of this chapter)