Chapter 434: One Man Makes an Army

"How did a Titan Legion disappear?"

The warsmith, Sotarn "Forgestone", stood on the bridge and asked a heart-piercing question.

"Who the hell can tell me?"

The Iron Warrior waved his arms and roared:

"How the hell did a fucking Titan army just disappear without a clue?"

A circle of Black Oilers, Chaos Space Marines and Fallen Titan pilots stood around the bridge, but no one could answer his question and everyone was silent.

As to why the detachment was completely wiped out, no one could give the War Blacksmith an answer. In fact, many people still cannot believe that a Titan Legion, a Knight Family, and five mixed conventional cruisers... could really disappear inexplicably and unclearly.

Nor can it be said to be "unclear".

At least the astropath in the Vickerstrek family transport cruiser provided them with some information before his death: the Iron Pagoda Warship boarded three Chaos Strike Cruisers, and within five hours, all three warships lost contact... and then, nothing happened. As for how the Untamed Lord Titan Legion on the ground was defeated, they didn't know.

Because the Chaos Knights didn't pay attention to the ground battlefield at all - the Iron Pagoda also boarded the transport cruiser, causing them to be in a state of panic. Fortunately, the Space Marines who boarded the transport cruiser were eventually defeated by the Plunder Knights. After that, they were busy escaping from one star system to another, and the Space Marine fleet chased them all the way...

"What a mess!"

Sotan cursed:

"It's fine if we lost the battle, but we didn't know anything about the enemy's equipment, deployment, or manpower... We lost without knowing why, it's a complete mess!"

"Shut up, Sotarn."

A black oiler retorted,

"Didn't you notice the key word? The Vickerstrek family said 'boarding'. Your fighters boarded the ship but never fought, so they lost orbital air superiority!"

"Indeed."

"I agree."

The oil guys who were annoyed by the scolding all agreed.

"Then tell me how to explain the ground forces..."

The Warsmith was about to rant in anger, but stopped himself and said through gritted teeth,

"Alright, fine. You think an unknown Astartes Chapter can defeat the Iron Warriors in a boarding battle? Then please open your eyes and see clearly how the Iron Warriors crush those false emperor's lackeys..."

"My lord, the enemy fleet is approaching again!"

An Iron Warrior stepped forward and said.

That Astartes Chapter is here to harass us again?

"Or is it a tentative attack?"

Sotan Brown was interrupted in the middle of his words. He glared at his men with a little dissatisfaction and asked.

"No, sir, not a test attack!"

Another Iron Warrior ran over and shouted,

"We have observed that the entire Pseudo-Emperor Navy in the Hive World Airport has been dispatched. A battlecruiser and two light cruisers have all left the port. They want to attack from both sides!"

"What the hell…"

Sotan Bronn felt very uncomfortable.

It's not that he was afraid of the other party, but the series of arrangements made by the other party made him very passive.

Before, he wanted to sit back and wait for the other party to come and lift the siege of the Hive World, which would have been a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. However, the other party ignored the Hive World and insisted on attacking the Dark Mechanicus's marauding fleets everywhere, forcing the Black Mechanicus to put pressure on him collectively, and he had no choice but to divide his forces.

Now he wanted the other side to just focus on those plundering fleets and ignore the Hive World. It would be best if he could take down the Hive World in one fell swoop, and then free up his hands for a decisive battle between the two sides. However, the other side ignored the galaxy's plundering fleet at this time, and concentrated on rescuing the Hive World.

Every step was the opposite of what he did.

Sotan "Forgestone" Brown felt as if someone had strangled him, as if the other party saw through him completely and blocked his path with every move.

This feeling is really annoying.

"Damn it."

Sotaen smacked his lips and whispered to himself.

"It's just one last push..."

As a siege master of the Iron Warriors, the Warsmith knew very well that the morale of the defenders in the hive world had dropped to a critical level. Uprisings and riots were happening one after another. As long as he continued to wait patiently for a while, the hive world would collapse on its own, and he would be able to take the planet without bloodshed...

Just at this moment, that group of guys came, not only appeared in the galaxy, but also with great fanfare and swagger. The defenders, who were already on the verge of collapse, suddenly regained confidence because of the arrival of the reinforcements, and even dared to launch a counterattack... The hope of taking over the hive world without losing a single soldier was dashed.

"Not every war requires strategy..."

The Warsmith recalled the motto that the Primarch Perturabo had once told him, and whispered:

"In that case... let's fight!"

Any war, no matter how complicated the game is beforehand, will eventually end in a head-on battle.

Seeing this, several black oil guys looked at each other. After a silent and secret data code exchange, the leading black oil guy spoke loudly:

"Lord Sotarn Bronn, we are about to send the Titan Legion to forcibly land on the surface of the Hive World. Please cover us and help break through the orbital defense."

There was no tone or intonation in the black oil man's voice. It was like a bland, stylized voice broadcast. There was no intention of negotiation either. It was just a notification.

Sotarn Bron was a little surprised. Why did these short-sighted and selfish black oilers suddenly decide to fight to the death with the Imperial defenders at this time? But he had no reason to object - the Titan Legion was useless in a space naval battle. If the black oilers themselves did not care about the losses, then they could just go to the ground and attack the Imperial defenders in the hive to force the navy fleet to return to defend - in short, they would just muddy the waters.

"Okay, we'll land as planned."

The Warsmith nodded.

As a qualified Space Marine officer, since he had made a siege plan, he naturally also had an assault plan. A temporary decision to land on the hive world would not cause the troops to be in a rush, and they could just follow another backup plan.

At the command, the crews of the Chaos warships quickly mobilized and manipulated the warships to turn. The Chaos Space Marines rushed to the armory, ready to welcome the boarding and anti-boarding operations. The technological heretics of the Dark Mechanicus returned to their ships, ready to lead the Titan Legion to land on the surface of the planet...

…

The Hive World of Exelos II.

The capital of the Ni Deline sub-star zone, this planet that has never had much presence in the Iron Belt, suddenly became lively today. Warships of various types were fighting in the void, maneuvering back and forth, and artillery fire was intertwined.

The Chapter fleet and the Imperial defenders attacked from both sides.

The rebel fleet launched a landing without fear.

The battlefield suddenly became chaotic.

The Titan Legion's transport fleet, under the cover of Chaos warships, sent landers into the planet's atmosphere. Giant landing capsules comparable to small transport ships landed in the wasteland outside the hive city, and steel giants walked out one after another.

After lining up, the Titan Legion raised their weapons, propped up a void shield wall, and began to advance towards the hive city.

This was the main hive city in the hive world, with the most crowded population and the most complex defense facilities. However, with a total of 22 Titans, no hive city could stop such a force. Among them was a Warmaster-class Titan's Wallbreaker model, a special improved model specially designed for close combat. It was surrounded by other Titans and approached the high walls of the hive city step by step.

Shells, plasma and lasers rained down on the void shield like a storm, and soon the void shield covering the entire hive city was shattered. The overloaded "transparent bubbles" exploded, and colorful lightning flashes spread in the air. Before these strange images completely dissipated, the Titans' firepower was projected onto the mountain-like hive city.

Towers collapsed, beams and columns were breached, and the three-dimensional and towering hive cities were being peeled off layer by layer. Without the support of certain key structural parts, the hive cities collapsed block by block, and tens of thousands of hive residents were crushed to death by collapsed buildings in a single bombardment.

The scene inside the city was even more catastrophic: ruptured exhaust pipes caused toxic smoke to spread, and the explosion of water storage tanks caused large amounts of clean water to wash away and flood the streets. The exhaust fans and exhaust valves had stopped working, and within a dozen minutes, the air people breathed began to become dirty and they began to feel suffocated.

In the face of the firepower of the Titan Legion.

Hive cities are so fragile.

At this time, the command center is located in the airport.

"The main city of Hive No. 1 is under attack!"

"The rebels are still advancing."

"Requesting support, the planetary governor requests support!"

"The Ulesh Grenadiers say they can't hold off the Chaos Titan Legion. The outer defenses have been breached, and that Wallbreaker is approaching the wall. We need the Dawnbreaker Titan!"

Urgent messages came one after another.

The commander of the imperial garrison frowned.

"Have the Star Travelers completed their deployment?"

The commander looked at his staff.

"The Tech-Priests said that the Dawnbreak Titans are heading towards the main city of Hive One at full speed, but... but they can't guarantee that they can stop the Gatekeepers and Tamers."

The staff officer replied in a low voice.

The gap in numbers is too big.

The commander also knew that after the previous battles, the Dawnbreakers were almost a remnant, with only a few Titans left. It was almost an impossible task to stop the enemy from destroying the No. 1 main nest city... Although he didn't understand why the enemy suddenly launched an attack on the No. 1 main nest city.

"Request the Titan Corps to speed up."

In the end, that was all he could say.

At this time, outside the main city of Hive No. 1.

The tall and majestic Warmaster Titan, who looked like a god, had already approached the wall of the hive world. The Titan raised the Kleus siege drill in his right hand and smashed it hard on the outer wall of the hive. As the adamantine drill head spun rapidly, the city base made of chalk and plastic steel quickly collapsed, and the rubble slid down to form a wide slope. Then, the Titan raised the Kleus gravity implosion cannon on his left arm, and a beam of light that distorted light and air flashed by. The thick gravity ray hit a hive spire, and the spire and the turret on it were compressed and collapsed immediately. There was no burning or explosion, as if it was completely crushed by its own sudden increase in weight.

The legendary gravity weapon!

And it's a Titan gravity weapon.

If Qingshan Khan saw this scene.

He could even drool from his mouth.

At this moment, in the void outside the planet.

The three fleets in space were still fighting fiercely. Judging from the number of warships alone, the Imperial army had a slight advantage, but the Astartes Legion and the Imperial Navy Fleet belonged to two different systems. The two sides had no unified command and were only fighting in coordination. It was inevitable that there were some omissions in the coordination, and it was impossible to achieve uniformity.

The Chapter Fleet wanted to get as close as possible to the Chaos warships to board them. The Chaos Fleet was trying to maintain its formation and then split and intersperse. The Imperial Navy tried to distance itself and find loopholes in the enemy formation, aiming its strong side at the weak side, just like in the era of sailing warships, looking for the "T" head and trying to face the enemy broadside... The three parties had different goals, resulting in a very chaotic battlefield, and it was impossible to determine the winner in a short period of time.

"Don't block our path..."

"Evade upwards, upwards! Upwards!"

"Request the Navy to integrate into our communication data link and accept unified command. Request... Be careful of collision!!!"

On the bridge of the Supremacy, Eugene was yelling at the communication array, almost hoarse, trying to control the situation. However, the space battlefield was still very chaotic. The three fleets gathered around the hive world and the fighting distance was very close. They were all maneuvering at high speed, making it very difficult to achieve unified command.

Fu Qinghai sat calmly in the captain's chair.

There wasn't a single Space Marine around.

All the Space Marines of the Chapter, led by their respective company commanders and senior officers, entered the transport deck and gunship hangar to make final preparations before boarding.

The mortal crew members around the bridge were shouting and communicating loudly at their respective positions, and then leaning over to control the huge ship. The intensity of the space battle was transmitted to the bridge in some way. There were countless giant electronic screens around, with strings of green runes sliding down like waterfalls, constantly refreshing and scrolling, updating the battlefield information in real time. These character streams were reflected in Fu Qinghai's eyes, allowing him to clearly understand and grasp the battlefield situation.

The tense and intense atmosphere did not affect him.

Fu Qinghai rested his hand on his cheek, looking indifferent.

Once, during a sand table simulation on the Dagger frigate, Ogedei once told Fu Qinghai: As an outstanding commander, one must learn to jump out of the local battlefield and stand at a higher, farther and more comprehensive perspective to examine the overall battlefield.

All sorts of fragmented battlefield information flowed into his mind through various messy detection channels: a Chaos warship suddenly stopped moving and stopped firing, and the Iron Pagoda Terminators led by Qiao Shida may have occupied the bridge with disabled engines; an Imperial Navy light cruiser collided with a Chaos strike cruiser, and the two warships lost control and crashed into the orbital defense facilities of the Hive World before both fell to the surface; two Chaos warships tried to encircle the battle barge, attacking from the front and the back, and the distance was so close that the naked eye could see the close-in defense turrets and blasphemous reliefs on the armored shells of the other side...

At this time, a piece of information caught his attention.

From the Hive World Empire Defenders: The Kurissatai Titans and the Untamed Lord Titans have forcibly landed on the planet's surface and are attacking the No. 1 Main Hive City. The city's defenses have been breached, and the remnants of the Dawn Star Titan Legion are on their way to support...

Attacking the Hive City at this time?

Fu Qinghai was a little confused.

Why not wait for the space naval battle to be decided?

If the space naval battle is won, the attack on the hive city can get support from battleships. If the space naval battle is lost, it will be meaningless even if they occupy the hive city - the orbital bombardment will cause them to be burned to death along with the city.

A strike cruiser of the Iron Pagoda Regiment was roaming around the periphery of the battlefield, looking for an opportunity to board. They also sent a message: they had observed the Dark Mechanicus transport fleet delivering a large amount of supplies to the planet's surface.

What is this doing?

Fu Qinghai became even more confused.

"Another Navy cruiser crashed!"

"We have captured another enemy ship!"

The fierce and brutal space naval battle continues.

Good news and bad news keep coming.

Fu Qinghai fell into deep thought.

Ponder what the Dark Mechanicus is trying to do.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came into his mind.

Sid Nora once told him: At the end of the Iron Calamity Campaign, the loyalist forces finally entered the Forge World of High Valia, but no life signals were detected on the surface of the planet. It was like a dead zone, with only a pile of twisted and corrupted loyal Titan wreckage standing. At the same time, the rebel forces gathered in the Forge World disappeared without a trace...

Main nest city number one, with a large population.

The Dawnbreak Titan Legion came to support.

The loyal Titan Legion, all the elements are gathered.

Several key words echoed in Fu Qinghai's mind:

Rituals, massacres, sacrifices, teleportation...

"They want to run!"

Fu Qinghai suddenly stood up from his seat.

"What happened, Khan?"

The people around were startled by Fu Qinghai's loud roar.

The Chaos Fleet of the Iron Warriors is still fighting in space, but the Dark Mechanicus no longer wants to fight. They want to leave here with the supplies they looted!

Fu Qinghai made a bold guess.

As mentioned before, Sid Nora needed evidence to prove her guess to Marshal Hexu Luo.

If the Dark Mechanicus successfully evacuates.

This is clear evidence.

but...

Qingshan Khan would never let them evacuate!

"Zofia, follow me!"

Fu Qinghai ordered loudly, then grabbed the helmet on the table, strode down the bridge steps, and headed straight for the transport deck, while continuing to issue orders:

"The transport fleet approaches the planet's orbit."

"Prepare to deploy the 'Golden Armor of Broken Army'."

Fu Qinghai put on his helmet and stood on the transmission platform.

Still continuing to give orders in the communication channel:

"Immediately contact the defenders in the hive world and inform them that a loyal Titan legion will soon go to the main hive city No. 1 for support. They will be airdropped. Mark my identification signal and alert the air defense forces not to shoot me down."

"receive."

The mortal crew immediately began to make contact.

"Khan, they asked how many large and small Titans there are in this Loyal Titan Legion."

The mortal crew delivered the message faithfully.

"Reply to them: There is one Titan in total."

Fu Qinghai said lightly.

"A Titan!?"

In the airport of the Hive World, the commander was stunned.

A Titan is also called a legion?

What can a Titan do?

"Humph."

On the transmission platform, Fu Qinghai smiled.

He could imagine the other person's expression.

I'm going to tell you today.

What is...

One Man Army.

What is...

One man is an army!

The teleportation platform flashed white light.

Fu Qinghai's figure disappeared completely.

......

　1. Oops, I wrote something wrong. In fact, in the Siege of Terra, after the failure of the rebels, the Emperor's Children and the Death Guard also left the solar system directly through the warp rift, and did not go to Mandeville Point outside the solar system, so the Ultramarines and the Dark Angels did not block them and let them escape to the Eye of Terror. Therefore, the evacuation method of the Dark Mechanicus in the Iron Scourge campaign was not actually original, but there was no communication between the two authors. The description in the Iron Scourge was all kinds of "weird" and "unbelievable"... It was as if the Imperial army faced this situation for the first time. In fact, the Siege of Terra had already happened once. There are also specific differences. The Emperor's Children and the Death Guard should have directly prayed for the help of Slaanesh and Nurgle to open a hole for them to escape from the solar system.

(End of this chapter)