Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 494 Attack
"The Lothartel hunters are not very willing to come back."

A few hours after the first batch of boarding torpedoes that survived the barrage pierced the alloy hull of the Indomitable Star Fortress and began to release hundreds of Uluvent berserkers shouting "Blood sacrifice to the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull!" into the flying fortress, Adalic Vannus, who was in charge of the infiltration operation, sent this message back to Hongsuo who was cleverly hidden behind the fleet through the relay transmitter installed at the landing point.

The warsmith's assessment took less than a second. "Have you cut off the supply line? How many of them are unwilling to come back? Based on your observation, why are they unwilling to come back?"

Wannas' reply came quickly. "Looting. I think the Ultramarines have too much supplies. They want to transport more loot to the rear."

"Mark the guidance coordinates, and then begin to retreat with those who are willing to come back. In two minutes, the positions in the dock area will launch a saturation bombardment on this place and other locations."

"In this way... we can probably only withdraw at most half of the Losatl hunters."

"That's half of it," Hong Suo told him. "You just need to tell them clearly that if they don't retreat, their lives will be in danger, and those who are willing to follow you will not die. The rest is their own struggle, not your responsibility. You are a front-line special operations commander, but not their babysitter, Vannus, prioritize your own mission!"

"I've finished it." Adalic Vannus, wearing black armor, crouched in the shadows at the intersection of the ventilation ducts inside the Indomitable Star Fortress with a frown on his face. Diagonally below him was the Cathedral of Valor, which was also the location of the command center. He placed the neurological potion boxes that Hongsuo had given him at the intersection. According to the potion master, these potion boxes would be opened "when necessary", and the potions inside would evaporate from liquid into a thin mist, which would quickly spread throughout the fortress along the air circulation system.

Although the former Raven Guard had doubts about the feasibility of this operation - the Star Fortress had its own air monitoring and purification equipment, the Astartes armor also had an internal recirculation breathing device, and the last line of defense was the Space Marines' own third lungs and pebble kidneys, which were insurmountable barriers for ordinary medicines, but he also admitted that in a battle that still retained the combat traditions of the 30th millennium to date, few people would use their advantages to arrange combat plans like Hong Suo, so that he was uneasy about the possible consequences of such a combat plan.

Although the Alchemist expressed a certain degree of restrained ridicule at the Raven Guard's waste of talent when he heard that the Shadow Master and his brothers had never done such a thing, he also had to assure Vannas, "This is definitely not an Extinction Order-style poison that will instantly liquefy people after contact. It will only serve as an insurance policy. After all, we still have to reclaim this fortress." Only then did the Shadow Master agree to place the potion boxes for him.

Of course, Vannas would not have heard Hongsuo's mumblings, such as "I would like to try the effect of the Extinction Order-level potion. After all, there is no need to consider the follow-up arrangements, but my armor shows the warning label left by my father. That's it. The Lord of Iron is always so merciful. I will also let his mercy and glory spread throughout the universe."

"You are too cruel, Hong Suo. You have frightened me since the beginning of the war. You let the Blood Skull Berserkers die one after another just to open up a landing site that we will never really use. You also deployed artillery and bombing before the mercenaries and pirates retreated. You treat your gene brothers the same way. Tell me, are the warriors fighting for you just a collection of data and tables in your eyes?" Wannas asked, holding the last box of potion in his hand, "What are other people in your eyes?"

"The battle is at its most intense. Every second you delay will increase the variables of this battle by dozens or even thousands of times. More people may die because of your hesitation. But you only choose this time to ask me to explore my spiritual world?" The master of medicine replied sternly, "Don't be so nagging here!"

"I must know." Although his tone had softened, the Shadow Master still demanded an answer. "I am very, very uneasy about placing these boxes for you!"

"First of all, they are not fighting for me. What qualifications do I have? I have a clear understanding of myself. They gathered under my command in the beginning because of the power of the Blackheart King and the pressure of the competition, and now it is because they believe that I can lead them to find the resources they need, defeat the enemy, and win. If I fail to win my first big battle, conspiracy, murder, and desertion are almost foreseeable things to happen. You know it well, don't you? A mob is like sand, and sand can never be condensed into a strong fist."

The Raven Guard raised an eyebrow at his pale features.

The Master Potion Master continued, "The death of these men would only please the Dark Powers now, but I don't care about that, Raven. You have never understood what I have said many times, have you? I have said that only victory dedicated to my father is what I want, and I will not follow any dogmatic way of war that people have known before. When I say dogmatic, I am not just mocking the battle customs of the Astartes Codex and other legions. The victors will write epics, while the losers will remain unknown until they are quietly forgotten. In this universe, silent oblivion is more terrible than death for many people."

A shivering current passed through Dark Crow's spine, and he dived deeper into the black shadows, with only the fingers holding the last dose of nerve potion exposed. "I don't know if I should still follow you and obey your orders, Hong Suo. Now I know that commanders like you will overturn many upcoming battles and even crucial wars." His Adam's apple rolled up and down, "Your battle plan is unpredictable... because you don't really belong to any genetic bloodline that is encoded from the source."

“You should be thankful, Adalic,” Honsou replied. “I now consider myself a descendant of the merciful Iron Lord. You will not be required to return until you have completed your work.”

The last potion box was taped to a hidden spot in the ventilation duct, and the Raven Guard's figure completely melted into the shadows.

"It's done," he said.

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The guard forces of the Inflexible are now concentrated in the invaded Fourth Quadrant, while the pirate fleets harassing them from other directions can only cause some minor damage from a distance. The defense system of the Star Fortress assists the three frigates to constantly drive away various ships trying to approach, like dolphins driving away seals. The remaining supply fleets and navigators' ships have already docked under the fortress in an emergency, relying on the firepower network and the fortress's automatic defense system to avoid being destroyed or occupied like a school of fish hunted by sea beasts.

The pirates seemed to enjoy this hunting game. After Katya Salomba announced her reward for those who could accurately shoot missiles and other weapons at the weak points of the star fortress's defense, more small boats ventured to harass. Several times, bold pirate ships even approached the boarding distance, and their attacks made it impossible for the frigates to support the raided dock area from the void. Even though the well-designed cross bastions of the Indomitable had sufficient firepower and the auxiliary troops were physically strong and had the will to fight, the reckless killing of hundreds of Astartes berserkers still opened up a landing site here. Then, more personnel, machinery and heavy equipment were sent here to start building trenches and huge positions.

The defenders had to split into two groups. One group was here to deal with these pirates who did not pose a particularly big threat but would greatly increase the number of distress signals. The other group, consisting of fifty fully awakened and equipped Space Marines from the 5th Company of the Ultramarines and their auxiliary forces, would go to the Fourth Quadrant dock area to concentrate on dealing with the Chaos Space Marines who had already boarded the ship.

Sergeant Orlanto brandished his sword and hurried to another section after helping a team of Ultramar auxiliary soldiers defend one section of the city wall. There were some cracks on his armor due to the fight with two berserkers just now. Although he won with the advantage of the defender in the end, the rupture of the hose made him feel short of breath. Fortunately, the emergency repair foam in the armor gushed out as expected and immediately blocked the cracks.

The air in the dock area is now severely leaking due to bombing and random firing of various weapons, and is almost a vacuum, but the gravity field is still functioning due to the undamaged core of the star fortress itself, which allows the auxiliary troops to defend, but also allows the attackers to build fortifications.

He glanced at his eyepiece screen, which showed that besides himself, there were seven other brothers left on this side of the wall. The priest brother Sabatina had gone to the other fortress that was under more attack pressure to help them with his scepter, hymns and force. The Inquisitor was not here. It was said that she had something important to confirm, but because she sent all her auxiliary troops, brave warriors wearing scale armor and named Datian Lizard to help them guard here, Oranto tentatively believed that she really had something important to do.

"The blood of Guilliman." He nodded to Brother Decimus, who was walking towards him. The latter brought him his own ammunition box and stood beside him, looking at the opposite position. "They are building too fast." Although the ground here has begun to show a piece of razed ruins, there are already two trenches, stone walls and other fortifications surrounding the artillery positions on the opposite side. "Are these really the same group of people as those lunatics we just killed?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the gun barrels I see. The caliber of those guns is too large. There is a risk of collapsing this place after a few rounds of salvos." Orlanto evaluated and said, "Can we use the artillery on the bastion to bombard their rear positions and destroy those guns that look bad, brother Decimus?" He stared at the fortifications that were rising rapidly on the flat ground in the rear, "I estimate that they may start the next wave of suppressive attacks in a dozen seconds."

Orlanto's judgment as a veteran was undoubtedly quite correct.

In order to achieve his tactical goals in the shortest possible time and impress the Ultramarines guarding here, the Warsmith ordered the Dark Forgers in his fleet to forcibly remove several bow guns and use a large number of their Daemon Engines and other dark mechanical creations as the chassis for these weapons. He only asked that they could be used in this attack instead of carefully maintaining the weapons. This wasteful or generous act impressed all his men.

In response to this cost-rewarding demand, Tucker, the leader of these Dark Mechanicus believers, was happy to make some twisted behemoths of flesh and metal, which he personally commanded to be transported and hoisted to the position. Demonic flesh and howling mortal souls were entangled in the muzzles of these heavy artillery. Now, under the command of the excited mechanical warlord and his construct troops, they began to fire at the last high wall of the fortress, while more attackers rushed up along the slope formed by the collapsed rubble of the top building.

All the Ultramarines stationed on the Indomitable have arrived here. During the break in the battle, Oranto saw the tall blue figure of the elder brother of Artorion appearing in the gap of the opposite city wall. The Fearless was roaring and punching a slightly smaller Demon Engine off the top of the city wall, while he was stepping on the shattered corpse of a huge alien.

Although the other defenders on the city wall also saw the threat of these artillery pieces, the disparity in numbers was so great that their firepower was suppressed by the troops that Hong Suo had accurately allocated from the beginning. Some smaller artillery pieces were arranged on the flanks to suppress the shooting of the defenders on the city wall. At the same time, the mixed war gangs and tribal troops deployed here launched more frequent attacks and charges on the city wall. The dense firepower made it almost impossible for the defenders to shoot.

But the defenders also had advantages. They were well-equipped, well-trained, and took advantage of the terrain. The situation was stalemate for a while until a series of cannon flashes began to illuminate the faces of everyone in the dock area.

The heavy artillery began firing at the same point.

The wall of the Indomitable was very strong, but it was not designed to withstand such high-intensity close-range firepower, so it began to emit a rumbling sound, just like the collapse of the first section of the wall of the Kalan-Gol Fortress, it began to peel off from the weakest point, and the enhanced vision of the Dark Mechanic Priests would never miss any such tiny signs. The second and third rounds of artillery fire landed more accurately, and everyone on the Indomitable felt a noticeable vibration.

Then, with a muffled sound like thunder from within, a section of the city wall separating the quadrants cracked, like a brick wall repeatedly hit by a hammer. Only the thick steel bars inside were barely maintaining the shape of the wall. People scrambled to flee this section of the city. As a small light spear that had finally completed its energy storage began to shoot, that section of the city wall and everything within a radius of dozens of meters were submerged in the white light of vaporized matter.

The command center's call channels were filled with panicked damage alerts and requests to confirm the survival of personnel in various units.

The attackers waved their weapons on the battlefield, shouted praises, and excitedly waited for the wall to cool down so that they could rush in and start a carnival of killing, without thinking that the star fortress actually had three intact quadrants with equally powerful firepower.

Honsou calmly watched the scene from his bridge, then issued his next order.

"Keep attacking."

(End of this chapter)