Chapter 61: Consolidating Resources
Chapter 61: Consolidating Resources
Hearing Lucan's words, the one hundred refugees below the stage couldn't believe their eyes.
To be able to live in the uphive… something they had never even dared to dream of was actually happening to them.
And Bishop Holter, at the side, slowly descended from the stage.
He walked towards a refugee who was kneeling on the ground. He crouched down and said with a smile:
"Your name is Andrew, isn't it? I hear that during this time, you have been leading the people near you in prayer to the God-Emperor to soothe their emotions? You have done very well!"
"Ye-yes, Bishop Holter… I have always believed the God-Emperor would not abandon us! As long as we remain pious, He will surely come to save us!" Andrew stammered nervously.
"You are worthy of the God-Emperor. In the name of the Bishop of the Ecclesiarchy of Agathos, I invite you to become a priest under my command. Are you willing? You will have the opportunity to serve the God-Emperor more closely!"
Holter helped Andrew to his feet.
"God-Emperor Above… do I really have the chance to join your church?"
"Of course. You have already proven your worthiness!"
"I am willing! Of course, I am willing! Praise the God-Emperor! I too can become a priest who preaches His word!"
Subsequently, Holter went through the crowd, found several other devout believers, and invited them to join the Ecclesiarchy.
This was something Lucan and Holter had arranged beforehand. The Ecclesiarchy was currently so short-staffed that it couldn't even maintain normal church operations and sermons. This action both won over the people's hearts and replenished their manpower.
After extending the invitations, Holter once again returned to the high platform.
"Today is an exceptionally important day for Agathos! I, Holter Reyes, in the name of the God-Emperor, and in the name of the Imperial Bishop of Agathos, solemnly declare that a Living Saint has been born on Agathos! The God-Emperor has granted me a divine oracle, and that person is none other than your Rogue Trader, Lucan Mongorte!
Rejoice, believers of the God-Emperor, citizens of the Imperium! You will follow him into a future of glory and splendor!!"
Holter's news truly ignited everyone's fervent emotions. If Lucan truly receiving the God-Emperor's grace had only been speculation before, then Holter's words completely solidified it.
Almost everyone had heard the legends of Living Saints. They were powerful, just, and were the God-Emperor's representatives and avatars in the mortal realm. No wonder their Rogue Trader was willing to change their lives and could even slay those Astartes who were called angels.
The formal operation to retake the underhive began, and the uphive's industrial zones went into full production.
One after another, combat suits were transported off the Barracks' production lines at a visible rate. Unfortunately, the number of Mechanicus Tech-Priests on Agathos now was too small; many Tech-Priests in the underhive had been the first targets of attack at the start of the uprising.
Even with Pavian leading the remaining Tech-Priests to work through the night, their processors smoking, the production of composite materials like ceramite still couldn't keep up.
There was no other choice. They could only use some conventional, existing metals to manufacture combat suits for the ordinary PDF, while the lower-yield ceramite armor was provided to the elite troops.
Even so, the coverage rate of combat suits for the troops entering the underhive had already reached 30%, and this number was increasing at an extremely rapid rate every day.
The Starport on Agathos also continued to produce Banshee fighters. The only problem was the shortage of pilots. Pilots who originally only flew shuttles and transport ships were temporarily conscripted for Banshee flight training.
Many areas of the underhive had ceilings high enough for aircraft to fly. The Banshee was originally designed for riot control, making it perfect for dealing with the underhive traitors who lacked heavy equipment. Their stealth capabilities could also be used for reconnaissance missions for the troops.
And the Factory also began its own production.
However, Lucan did not choose to produce Thors. Although Thors were very powerful, they required extensive training for their operators. Such heavy units were primarily used for frontal warfare, which also made them unsuitable for operating in the underhive.
And highly mobile vehicles like Hellions and Hellbats were temporarily made redundant by the Firebats. The main objective was a steady advance, clearing and securing each area. As for missile turrets, there were no air targets for them to engage.
Therefore, Lucan had the two Factories he built begin full production of Widow Mines and Siege Tanks.
The hive was not short of people who could drive tanks; after some training, they could operate Siege Tanks. And siege mode was perfect for countering the enemy's human wave tactics.
Not just Chaos cultists, but also the Genestealers they would soon face, often relied on numbers to win.
And Widow Mines could automatically complete their mission without requiring scarce manpower to operate.
[Widow Mine: 10 tons metal materials, 10 minutes/unit]
[Siege Tank: 100 tons metal materials, 2 hours/unit]
With one Factory, a sufficient number of Widow Mines could be produced.
This unit, which could burrow and cloak, was practically tailor-made for Lucan's current situation.
High production rate, great firepower, and the Sentinel Missiles fired after burrowing were shockingly powerful, complete with AOE splash damage, and exceptionally effective against light-armored units! It could even, like the Marauder suit, self-synthesize ammunition after its missiles were expended via an internal automated production line.
The Widow Mine, only half the size of a Marine, was a perfect tool for ambushes.
Just burying them in the ground perfectly solved Lucan's current manpower shortage; they would take care of any approaching enemy on their own. As the saying goes, "With Widow Mines at home, you'll never fear a hammering when showing off."
For Lucan, exchanging equipment for lives was a very cost-effective matter. In the God-Emperor's eyes, a human life might be an insignificant currency, disposable without a second thought. But for Lucan, a soldier was worth at least a hundred-dollar bill, while equipment, in contrast, became a cheap consumable.
The high production efficiency allowed Lucan to continuously produce a massive number of Widow Mines in a short period. And with the Factory's non-stop production, there were already 200 Widow Mines lying quietly in the warehouse, awaiting orders.
Large quantities of weapons, equipment, and resources were mobilized. The food transported by Caligos began to be processed and then distributed to every person.
Lucan looked at the resource allocation report Rebecca brought to his desk and was only then astonished by the disparity in living standards between the uphive and the underhive.
He truly saw what it meant when people said that what leaked from the fingers of the uphive masters was enough for the sump-scrappers of the underhive to live well for a long time.
If calculated according to the standards before the Agathos rebellion, by cutting the quality of life for the uphive nobles by 50%, the existing food supplies on Agathos could last for an additional two months.
One must remember that although the nobles, with their sprawling families, were not few in number, their population was less than a ten-thousandth of the refugees'.
"Cut it! Cut it by seventy percent for a start!"
"Won't this cause dissatisfaction among the nobles?" Rebecca asked worriedly.
"Dissatisfied? With a fifty percent cut, they can still eat bread! What's there to be dissatisfied about?! What I myself am eating now is no better than that. You go and tell those nobles that their Rogue Trader is eating the same as them. Do they think they deserve to eat better than me?!"
Lucan was furious. How many more people could be saved if these nobles ate a little less?
(End of Chapter)