The command center was dead silent.
This exclamation of shock, coming from an unknown source, voiced the thoughts of everyone present.
Faced with the greenskins, the unprepared humans had almost instantly lost the vast territories outside the Hive City, along with millions of soldiers.
Before the Astartes arrived to support them, they had almost accepted the fact that it was impossible to eliminate the greenskins in open field battles.
But just when everyone had resigned themselves to fate, not only was there still a human Legion active in the wilderness, but it had also fought its way through the sand sea teeming with greenskins!
How could this news not horrify the Astra Militarum who witnessed it?
The crowd remained silent, their gazes fixed on the steadily advancing Legion.
It wasn't until hurried footsteps echoed from outside the command center that the crowd snapped back to reality.
The door swung open, and the old general strode quickly into the command center.
Surrounded by Astra Militarum soldiers who hadn't had time to return to their posts, the old general paid no heed to the panicked faces of these soldiers who had left their stations without permission. Instead, his eyes immediately locked onto the display screen.
Seeing that there truly was a unit that had fought through the sand sea, the old general could no longer maintain his composure. He took a deep breath and stood frozen in place.
An officer approached with a freshly compiled report on this unit, but before he could even salute, the old general was already staring at the screen, reading out the designation:
"101."
The officer froze. The old general looked at the regimental banner, still protected within the formation, and his face was left with nothing but silence.
For the old general knew that this unit had not only fought through the greenskin-infested sand sea but had also breached the rebel lines under friendly artillery fire, fighting alone to clear an entire Hive City of rebels.
Each of these battles, any one of which would have been enough to break even the Astra Militarum, had not only failed to crush them but had instead made them stronger.
This time, the old general's eyes no longer held the cold indifference of merely viewing currency. Looking at this legendary unit and the Sith at its forefront, he finally felt a flicker of respect.
But immediately following that respect, the old general suddenly glanced to the side, at a military order placed at the highest level, bearing the highest authority of the sector's Departmento Munitorum.
Seeing the old general look at this order, the faces of everyone in the command center stiffened.
"How are the preparations for the auxiliary forces required by the Astartes coming along?"
The command center personnel bowed their heads slightly. Only the officer in charge of this order steeled himself and spoke up:
"We're still gathering them. It's estimated..."
The old general raised his hand:
"Stop the gathering. We can't break through the xenos encirclement."
The officer stopped speaking, then cautiously looked at the old general.
After that, he followed the old general's gaze to the screen!
"Have the 101st Regiment assist... the Astartes."
Although they had anticipated it, when the old general gave the order, the crowd still sighed inwardly.
After all, fighting alongside the Astartes was not only an honor but also a journey almost certain to end in death.
The officers dared not show sympathy for the Sith's 101st Regiment. They immediately began to bustle about, following procedure to draft the military order to be sent to the Sith.
Soon, the drafted order was delivered to the old general.
The old general picked up a pen to sign it, but his peripheral vision caught the name of the Astartes chapter on the order, and he frowned.
Bowing his head to sign, the old general wrote while voicing his confusion:
"Deathwatch?"
"Why haven't I heard of this Chapter?"
...
Edge of the Sand Sea.
Tens of thousands of footsteps stirred up yellow sand, leaving long trails behind.
A few vehicles sped far ahead, acting as the Legion's eyes and ears.
As another report on the greenskins' proximity arrived, the Sith paused slightly, glanced around, and quickly climbed a sand dune.
Picking up binoculars to survey the area, the sandstorm deep in the sand sea was no longer faintly visible as before. Instead, it now blotted out the sky and earth in the distance, obscuring the entire world.
Even through the binoculars, the Sith could see the frenzied greenskins riding speeding bikes beneath the sandstorm.
Lowering the binoculars, the Sith looked toward the Hive City. Though he hadn't held much hope, seeing the empty land, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
Bruno followed beside him. Seeing the Sith's reaction, his expression also turned grim.
But he didn't complain. Instead, he looked toward another area with large abandoned positions and their shattered fortifications, then looked inquiringly at the Sith:
"Scouts have found quite a few Planetary Defense Force troops hiding in the positions. Should we recruit them?"
After all, they weren't the Astra Militarum; you couldn't expect them to dedicate everything to the Imperium.
The vast positions that once housed millions of defenders now concealed many Planetary Defense Force troops unwilling to continue throwing their lives away.
The Sith glanced in that direction but couldn't even be bothered to raise his binoculars toward the positions.
"Rather than wasting effort rounding them up, it's better to let our soldiers rest a few more minutes."
The routed soldiers were scattered and, already cowardly, preferred to hide rather than retreat toward the Hive City where combat was likely.
The thought of organizing such a group gave the Sith a headache.
Hearing this, Bruno withdrew his suggestion. The Sith put away his binoculars and turned to descend the sand dune.
"Halt the march. Give the soldiers a final thirty minutes of rest."
Bruno was taken aback. He looked at the calm Sith descending the dune, then, moments later, looked toward the approaching green tide of the sandstorm on the other side!
The soldiers finally received a long-awaited rest. They sat on the ground, taking out their last piece of compressed starch and putting it in their mouths.
Pouring in the last of their meager water, they felt the starch and water gradually transform into strength flowing to their limbs.
Not far from the soldiers, within the ruined fortifications of the positions, pairs of eyes silently turned their way.
In one fortification, a relatively spacious area held several dozen soldiers, either crouching or lying down.
Their uniforms differed slightly, clearly indicating they were Defense Force troops conscripted from different Hive Cities.
At this moment, everyone tried to peer through the half-buried ruins at the outside world.
Not only was the command center shocked that humans had emerged from the greenskin sand sea, but even these routed troops, who had once faced the greenskins with confidence bolstered by Departmento Munitorum propaganda, found it terrifying.
Recalling the scenes that transformed their confidence into doubt and then into terror, they felt only sympathy for the Legion outside.
Then, watching the Sith Legion begin to set up defensive lines and occupy some abandoned positions, clearly preparing for battle, the routed soldiers sheepishly retreated again.
Though no one spoke, looking at the other side calmly preparing for combat and then at themselves cowering in the fortifications, while not exactly feeling ashamed, they still felt a bit uncomfortable inside.
The routed soldiers felt conflicted. In the distance, the Sith, facing the unprecedented delivery of some supplies from the command center, hadn't even had time to rejoice before the military order delivered right after the supplies froze the smile that had just begun to form on his face.
In the distance, deep within the sand sea, the greenskins' war cries already shook the heavens and earth.
Soldiers bustled around preparing for battle, but the Sith only stared at the military order and the name of the Astartes chapter on it, his expression somber:
"Deathwatch..."
"Didn't wait for Calgar, but ended up waiting for this unit first."
With a resigned sigh, the Sith finished speaking and raised his eyes to look ahead.
Dense masses of greenskins poured over the sand dunes.
But compared to the greenskins, the Sith saw something worse.
For when a planet attracted the Deathwatch, the greenskins might very well be the easiest xenos to deal with!
And besides xenos, another headache, especially for Mortals, was that the Deathwatch still contained many loyalist Astartes from traitor Legions!
Because, as information strictly sealed by the Imperium regarding 'The Great Rebellion,' if a Mortal learned that the Imperium's Astartes Chapters were not 9, but 18, then congratulations.
You should return your soul to the Emperor!