The Deathwatch is a force under the Inquisition specifically for combating xenos.
So when Davi Luo executed the nobles in the name of the Inquisition, the entire Tower Top immediately completed a stable transfer of power.
At the same time, Davi Luo also informed Sith of his next mission: in three days, Sith needed to lead an elite force as auxiliary support for Davi Luo, who had lost an Astartes, to accompany him and another Deathwatch member to the Lower Hive.
During this period, Sith could replenish his forces as much as possible, and Davi Luo also needed to gather enough intelligence and access permissions for the Hive City to prepare for entering the Lower Hive.
And now, it was Sith's third day after arriving at the Tower Top.
The original noble guard army had dyed their uniforms black and were all incorporated into Sith's command as new recruits.
As for the rebels, facing a Tower Top that wasn't of great value, they retreated after several attacks.
The dark blue sky remained as usual.
The fresh air from high above turned into a cold wind, sweeping across the buildings and invigorating the spirit.
The massive Tower Top Plaza.
Dense crowds of new recruits were undergoing training.
In addition to veterans and the already elite guard army, there were even more conscripts from the refugees.
On the plaza's high tower, Sith looked down at the soldiers covering the entire ground like ants, while Bruno continuously introduced information from a report in his ear:
"Fortunately, this noble was unwilling to abandon his Hive City, so not only did he not take the supplies, but he even hoarded quite a bit."
"These resources are enough for us to make up for our losses and expand our forces to 150,000."
"Additionally, although there are enough uniforms, the newly joined guard army seems to be intentionally learning, spontaneously dyeing their uniforms black."
"Even the conscripts followed suit and dyed theirs black."
Sith raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this, not expecting that a choice made out of necessity earlier, after Sith had led the Legion for so long, had gradually formed into a Legion culture.
So much so that it seemed soldiers weren't worthy of being called soldiers of the 101st Regiment unless they wore a black uniform.
After Bruno finished speaking, he handed the report to Sith.
Taking it, Sith quickly scanned the list. The weapons and equipment section was fine; it not only allowed Sith to fully re-equip his troops but also expanded five more infantry regiments.
Furthermore, these soldiers were no longer in the state of barely having one gun per person with extremely scarce heavy firepower.
Sith's twenty-five infantry regiments were fully armed according to Astra Militarum specifications, and he even equipped an artillery regiment.
In future battles, he could finally unleash an artillery barrage before drawing his blade and engaging.
However, the corners of his mouth, which had been gradually turning upwards as he scanned the list, instantly froze when Sith saw the final supply item.
"Why is there so little food?"
He was even surprised, as there was so much military equipment, it didn't make sense not to stockpile food.
Bruno pouted and explained helplessly:
"If these supplies were only for the nobles and the guard army, they would last a hundred years."
"But now, if you add the refugees who fled up here, it's only enough for one month."
Sith heard this, and instead of resolving his confusion, he became even more puzzled.
Pointing to the conscripts below, who were training intently because they had food, and several refugee camps in the distance, Sith frowned:
"Did these refugees not eat before we arrived?"
Bruno was helpless:
"They ate."
"Then what did they eat before?"
"They ate refugees."
Sith: "..."
His brows instantly relaxed. Sith looked at Bruno's even more obvious helplessness and suddenly felt that his previous question was a bit naive.
Bruno sighed, pointing to a factory in the distance that was still emitting thick smoke even though the Mid-Lower Hive had completely fallen:
"To sustain themselves long-term, the nobles installed a starch factory at the Tower Top."
"Before we arrived, the only food for the Tower Top refugees was the corpse starch produced inside."
Sith followed his gaze, and after seeing the factory, his hands dropped helplessly.
Because the factory was currently a bustling scene with abundant raw materials, and on the main road leading out, carts of starch were being transported continuously.
And surprisingly, most of it was not flowing to the refugee camps, but to Sith's various Legion garrisons.
Sith could only remain silent at this moment, quietly preparing to accept reality, but when he returned the list to Bruno, Bruno opened his mouth and then closed it, appearing somewhat hesitant.
Sith noticed, and the silent expression he had just worn was once again replaced by confusion.
After all, it was rare for something to make his foul-mouthed adjutant hesitate even to speak.
"Speak!"
Sith couldn't wait for Bruno to speak on his own and gave a direct order.
Bruno, who had been holding it in for a long time, finally let out a breath and spoke with a strange expression:
"Ana, there's a technique for processing large quantities of starch using promethium, chemical waste, and corpses."
Sith's eyes lit up. After all, who knew how long they would have to stay here? You can never have too much starch.
However, as Bruno's expression remained strange, Sith's initial brightness gradually faded as he realized.
Because among these three raw materials, the most normal one was *corpses*!
Sith's face was stunned. He stared blankly at Bruno for a few moments, no longer needing Bruno to explain, and turned directly to walk downwards.
Sith wanted to see what kind of monstrosity this starch really was!
Soon, Sith brought Bruno to a new recruit camp.
As Ana's experimental site, these new recruits became the first guinea pigs.
In return, they received an unlimited supply of ample starch.
At this moment, Ana was standing among the crowd, admiring her great invention.
Unlike other camps where food was almost instantly devoured, every soldier here had solid blocks of starch in their bowls, complemented by a decent amount of grease, which made the soldiers eat with satisfied expressions.
The soldiers were busy eating and didn't have time to react, but when Sith arrived at the camp, he froze directly.
Because at this moment, Sith felt as if he was leading not humans, but a group of Tau Commanders wearing the wrong equipment!
"Why are all my soldiers blue???"
The Tau of the Tau Empire have blue skin.
Sith couldn't help but speak directly, and Bruno was also speechless, his face utterly helpless.
Ana, on the other hand, seeing Sith come to inspect her masterpiece, had an even more radiant look of pride on her face.
Walking over with her head held high, Ana looked at Sith with eyes full of anticipation, hoping for his praise.
But Sith looked for a long time, unable to utter a word of praise. After several movements of his mouth, he pointed at the soldiers and couldn't help but ask:
"Ana, are you sure your starch is fine???"
Ana hadn't expected Sith's first words to be questioning rather than praise.
She paused, but didn't get angry. Instead, she rationally accepted the client's query and turned to carefully inspect her product.
Walking in front of the soldiers, Ana almost activated all her observation equipment, even releasing two servitor skulls to scan all the soldiers.
Even Ana herself manually pried open a soldier's eye to check their eyeball.
Her auxiliary mechanical arm behind her wasn't idle either; under a soldier's wide eyes, a thick needle was plunged into the back of their neck, directly drawing a can of blood.
And without that can of blood, this soldier became even bluer.
Sith watched Ana's seriousness and breathed a sigh of relief. What if Ana was colorblind? What if this half-baked Adeptus Mechanicus could fix it?
However, Sith's expectations were not met. After wasting half a day, Ana returned to Sith with a serious, even solemn expression, then holding various parameters that Sith couldn't understand, she stated with absolute certainty:
"Commander, my starch is fine!"
Sith: "...???"
His cheek twitched uncontrollably. Sith even thought he might have seen wrong, so he rubbed his eyes and looked carefully again.
When Sith confirmed that these soldiers had indeed turned into 'Tau Commanders' from eating, this time he didn't hesitate and pointed directly at the soldiers:
"But they're all blue!"
This time, Ana's confusion regarding Sith finally disappeared, replaced by a look of sudden realization.
Nodding slightly, Ana said with a clear understanding:
"If Commander is referring to that, from a biological perspective, my magnificent starch indeed has a tiny flaw."
"But from the perspective of your soldiers' professional careers, my starch is perfect and pure!"
Sith's eyes instantly widened, not expecting that he was involved in this.
Sith couldn't help but ask:
"What if they don't die?!"
Ana's face finally showed anger at this, even expressing the fury of someone being blamed:
"Don't die?"
"Isn't that a question you, sir, should reflect on?!"