[Congrats on getting the B rank reward!]
[Would you like to implant this Gene-Seed?]
"No!"
"Even if the seed is clean, I don't want it!"
"Anyone who wants to be a War Hound can be one, but I wouldn't dare risk implanting an unstable Gene-Seed!"
Caleb rejected the reward; it was less of a reward and more of a gamble.
While implanting a World Eaters Gene-Seed didn't necessarily mean descending into madness, as long as that risk existed, it wasn't worth the gamble.
In reality, Gene-Seeds weren't purely genetic creations; they were very likely part of a bargain between the God-Emperor and the Warp.
The current Blue Star might not even have a God-Emperor. If he truly went mad, things would become very difficult to predict.
He fixed his gaze on the battlefield, At this moment, after Lion El''Jonson had finished off the daemon-possessed World Eaters Champion, everything had settled into a temporary calm.
The original army had been repelled, and the World Eaters had suffered heavy losses. They were forced to wait for reinforcements from their warships.
Due to the Orbital Defense Facilities within the hive city, the warships couldn't get too close.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Navy was also putting up a desperate resistance, occasionally, a Macro-cannon shell would fall, enough to level an entire area on the ground.
The Void Shields of the hive city's core region were humming. This Hive core, built during the Dark Age of Technology, was still fulfilling its mission.
Those seemingly thin shields protected the people here, Without these Void Shields, this Hive World would have no value left to defend.
"Quickly, quickly! Continue to consolidate the defensive lines!"
"Keep pouring the Plasteel bunkers for me!"
"We must consolidate the line and repel the next wave of invasion!"
"And you recruitment commisars, you must conscript enough soldiers from the remaining population!"
Currently, there were still some citizens inside the hive city. They were very lucky to have survived the first wave of the daemon invasion.
However, the subsequent daemon incursions would be continuous, The remaining Astra Militarum had to absorb part of the Hive population to replenish their forces.
The previously stalled armories had finally begun to operate, as many light weapons were continuously produced via STC Templates.
The Adeptus Mechanicus was re-blessing these god-machines. Fortunately, the machine spirits within the machinery were relatively stable and willing to continue churning out endless weapons.
Colonel Bokant extended a mechanical arm and lit a dry cigarette, Now, besides coffee, only this could soothe his exhausted nerves.
Looking at the holographic tactical map nearby, Colonel Bokant could only marvel at the speed of the enemy's troop concentration.
Previously, the red dots on the entire map had been wiped clean, but after just one day, the map was filled with red dots once more.
They were surrounded once again by these damned Chaos abominations, In addition to the large numbers of Berserker Warbands, several crimson markers were particularly eye-catching.
Generally speaking, the crimson markers placed by that mysterious young woman signified powerful enemies.
Once such a marker appeared, it meant that mortals were incapable of dealing with it.
The only thing their Steel Legion could do was delay such enemies, stalling them as long as possible until the Angels of the Imperium could find the time to handle them!
In the past, he had never seen an Astartes, but after these past few days of combat, he understood that the gap between an ordinary human and an Astartes was simply too vast.
Armor, mobility, and reaction speed—none could compare to the enemy.
The battlefield coordination of the Astartes also far surpassed that of ordinary humans.
Every shot of theirs was so precise; even if the enemy was several kilometers away, they could use the large-caliber Bolters in their hands to accurately strike the enemy's head.
The disparity between the two types of troops was like heaven and earth. It was extremely difficult for mortals to overwhelm a structured Astartes Chapter through sheer numbers.
"Your combat proficiency truly disappoints me!" Lion's voice echoed throughout the War Council.
He scrutinized the Colonel coldly.
"I have seen the way heroic mortal units fought in the past..."
"Though they were weaker than my soldiers, they would never be as helpless as you are when facing Chaos Space Marines!"
"Your combat methods are far too rigid, With sufficient weaponry, you should have a much more saturated offensive!"
Lion placed the pieces representing the 473rd Steel Legion on some less critical defensive lines.
He didn't particularly trust these mortal armies.
One must realize, the Solar Auxilia of the 30k era would never have fought like this.
Having their lines nearly broken by a few 'tin cans' was just too pathetic.
The Solar Auxilia of old could hold their own even against Traitor Legions.
Often, they could hold out until the Space Marine Legions finished the battle on the main front.
And now?
Facing the undisciplined World Eaters Legion, they had fought so poorly that their lines were nearly breached by a few 'tin cans', requiring his Terminators to step in and help.
"You must be referring to the Tempestus Scions! I heard rumors of them during my academy training! I admit those mortals are the elite of the elite! But only a tiny fraction of the Imperium can become such elite troops!"
"Regrettably, I am not that kind of top-tier commander. I am not qualified to lead such elite units! But then again, if I were, I probably wouldn't have been able to stay in my home world, such elite troops are only deployed in a few Sector Capitals."
The other's tone was tinged with regret. Colonel Bokant was a warrior who valued honor immensely.
In his eyes, life was not the priority, combat and honor always came before life.
Faced with such questioning from the Chapter Master, he naturally didn't dare to speak up, as the recent battle had indeed not been fought well enough.
Even if his soldiers had shown the necessary spirit, being thrown into disarray by a few Chaos Astartes made the deployment look far too ugly.
"Go and carry out your mission! The main defensive lines will be guarded by my Angels! What you need to do is hold the key traffic arteries. Do not let those damned Chaos cultists reach the armories!"
"Yes!"
Colonel Bokant walked out dejectedly. Even though the young woman before him looked like a mortal, for some reason, the pressure she exerted on him was immense.
One had to admit that now the entire legion, including these Astartes, followed this young woman's orders in battle.
In fact, the young woman's command ability was indeed outstanding. As soon as a gap appeared in the defensive line, she would already have sent reinforcements to plug it.
To be honest, even though he was personally on the battlefield, he didn't have the young woman's reaction speed.
It was as if he were playing a tabletop wargame while the young woman was playing a real-time strategy game.
The latency and disparity between the two were like night and day; she could deploy on the battlefield without any delay, whereas he could only deploy defenses based on the status reports fed back by his soldiers.
After the mortal Colonel walked out, the knight captain confirmed there were no outsiders around before addressing the Primarch by his title.
"Lord Lion~ these mortal soldiers might not be reliable!"
"Why not just deploy them to the front lines as fire-detection points? At least we could use their deaths to figure out the enemy's movements!"
"There is no need."
Although Lion's style of conduct was cold, he would not do something so meaningless.
Treating mortal soldiers as cannon fodder was something done when one's own reconnaissance means were insufficient. Now, he knew every detail of the battlefield as if he had an 'all-seeing eye'.
To let those weak fire-support points vanish would be a bit foolish.
"Ahem..." Lion cleared his throat, then used as deep a voice as possible to establish his authority.
"I am not showing mercy to these mortals; it is just that before me as I am now, such reconnaissance is meaningless! The enemy only needs to step within my field of vision, and they are already seen through by me! What we lack most now is sufficient manpower, the members of our Company barely number a hundred!"
"Including a few predator tanks and dreadnoughts, the defensive area we can cover is inherently limited! The hive city is too large. If our forces are spread too thin, they will surely be picked off one by one by the traitors! As long as these mortal units can buy time, it is an opportunity for me, as long as they can still stall for us, they are considered useful!"
"Understood, Lord Lion!"
"As expected of Lord Lion, where rationality and benevolence coexist. It seems the descriptions given by the Interrogator-Chaplains in the past were incorrect!"
"Your return will surely lead us in the right direction, and you will become the first Primarch of the loyalist faction to return!"
Lion: Is that so?
Lion didn't ask his subordinate this question, but instead turned to ask Caleb.
Clearly, Lion had mastered a certain way of communicating with him. When the other party communicated with him, even the voices on the gameboard would grow a bit louder.
Caleb: Of course! Guilliman is still lying on Macragge.
The other children are either dead or missing for various reasons.
You can be considered the only Primarch in the Imperium today who can grasp the overall situation—at least, that's how it looks now.
Lion: Oh-ho-ho~
Lion then let out an extremely tsundere internal thought. Back then, Horus became the Warmaster precisely because he was the first son to return!
Lion had always believed the gap between himself and Horus wasn't that large. If he had returned a bit earlier, he could have definitely achieved even more dazzling accomplishments than Horus.
Lion: Then, after I've dealt with the traitors on this planet, do you want me to return to Terra?
I have recently heard about the state of the Imperium. You have been sitting on the Throne for a full ten thousand years. Without your guidance, Father, I fear the Imperium has already fallen into chaos!
I will seek out my progeny and then return with my First Legion, I will bring new hope to this desperate Imperium of Man. I believe I can do this!
In that resolute tone, Lion was incredibly confident.
One wondered who gave him such confidence. This fellow who loved to 'hiss' always held an inexplicable level of self-assurance.
If he wanted to lead the Imperium, he should first fix that hissing habit of his.
Besides, what would Hissing Lion do on Terra?
Could he process paperwork like Guilliman?
Caleb: Cut it out. Terra receives several hundred tons of important documents every hour!
Instead of you coming back, it would be better to let Guilliman come back to handle the paperwork!
You have more important things to do—for instance, the position you held during the Second Imperium would suit you quite well.
It was another sentence that almost made Lion's head smoke. It was as if a child's game of house from the past was being repeatedly brought up and mentioned by an adult.
He used to think his father didn't know about these things, but now it seemed that the Emperor, seated upon the Golden Throne, was not blinded by others but instead had an even clearer perception of them!
It's over, those damned Fallen Angels must have leaked too many secrets!
If this continued, the First Legion would truly have no secrets left!
"Lord Lion, you seem to be sweating again!"
"Is it the corruption of the Chaos abominations affecting you?"
The knight captain beside him had no idea what was going on in Lord Lion's mind right now.
Right now, aside from wanting to kill the Fallen Angels, Lion had almost no other emotions left.
Lion shook his head, then said to his child, "It is nothing. I was just thinking about how many secrets those damned Fallen Angels have actually leaked!"
"I can hear the Emperor's guidance in the back of my mind, and I have realized a terrifying thing: the Emperor likely already knows some of our secrets!"
"That is terrible!"
As soon as the knight captain said this, he felt that the words were somewhat inappropriate.
It sounded like he was subtly questioning the Emperor, which was not allowed in the current Imperium, even in the slightest.
"I'll give you a chance to rephrase that..." Lion glanced sideways at his knight captain.
The knight captain, clad in Terminator armor, was quite sensible.
"Ahem, I mean, Lord Lion, this might not necessarily be a bad thing!"
"Since the First Legion has no secrets before the Emperor, doesn't that exactly prove that our First Legion is truly and faithfully loyal to the Emperor?"
"Hmph, you are right!" Lion lifted his head proudly, as if grabbing onto a life-saving straw.
"Since Father knows, it means these matters are within Father's range of tolerance and within Father's expectations!"
"We are still fighting for the Emperor. Unlike those who do not know the secrets, we are the truly loyal ones!"
"Pfft!" Watching Lion's current antics, Caleb almost died laughing.
And within the Warp, when the Emperor's will perceived Lion's thoughts, he was also moved to a mix of anger and laughter by his child's logic.
He felt like giving this child of his a psychic slap, but upon sensing a much more powerful will controlling the battlefield, he withdrew his hand.
Meanwhile, far away in the Terra Imperial Palace, the skeletal remains sitting upon the Golden Throne suddenly erupted with a burst of chuckling laughter.
The laughter carried a surge of psychic energy, nearly knocking back the surrounding Custodes.
Custodes A: "Did you hear something?"
Custodes B: "Brother, I must be hallucinating!"
"I thought I just heard the Emperor's laughter. I must have been corrupted by Chaos!"
The two slapped their own foreheads and looked at each other, however, seeing that the Emperor's remains had returned to tranquility, they felt at ease again and continued to stand guard in their duty.
In fact, similar things happened from time to time within the Terra Imperial Palace.
The Emperor's body would occasionally emit strange sounds, voices of various emotions, this was also seen by the Custodes as proof that the God-Emperor was still alive.
The strange atmosphere lasted until the fifth day, and on this day, the Chaos faction's war for Armageddon finally reached the stage of total war.
When the Gate of the Red Angel fluctuated once more, what emerged from within was no longer the traitor legions of the World Eaters or red daemons.
It was a massive daemon engine, a harbinger of apocalyptic warfare—it was the descent of a Titan unit.
A warlord-class titan, a type of Titan that had been deployed on a massive scale by the Traitor Legions during the Horus Heresy.
Its height was even greater than that of a Warhound-class Titan, at the same time, its built-in Void Shields could be interconnected with those of other warlord-class titans.
When the first warlord-class titan appeared on the battlefield, even Lion, who had some confidence in the upcoming battle, couldn't help but frown.
He naturally knew how much of an impact a Titan would have on the battle; because of this, he found this imminent presence to be quite troublesome.