The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 2648: The Disturbed Tomb

“Reinforcements should be increased in the Acid Lake Marshes. It's not friendly to most organic lifeforms. Don't you have a legion of combat robots on hand? Deploy them in that direction to block potential attack routes of the Genestealers. It's best to establish some fire bases to block the main entrances and exits of those marshes. Although they are not afraid of corrosion, they are still afraid of being swallowed by the mud. To march, they must take solid roads, making their movements easily predictable.

Sorskyan was not so much discussing as directly ordering. Prezemyslaw replied after a moment of silence:

“I have already issued the orders.”

“Very good.”

At this moment, Sorskyan's gaze swept over the other figures around the display. They were all company commanders of the White Templars, who had been silent until now. He needed to hear their thoughts, because he had noticed that this war, or rather this forge world, had some oddities. He wanted to see if the company commanders had the insight.

“Everyone, the situation on the battlefield is now basically understood. Judging from the scale of the enemy's attacks and the subsequent expansion trend, this group of Genestealer aliens codenamed 'Black Limb' is quite large, probably numbering in the millions. They have also captured a large number of mechanical devices and weapons, making them a force to be reckoned with. What are your thoughts? Feel free to speak.”

After a brief silence, Second Company Commander Wang Lajike was the first to speak:

“The aliens in the No. 3 Sacred Furnace Mining Area and the Slag Mountains have home-field advantage. These bugs must have been breeding in the underground of the forge world for hundreds or even thousands of years. They are very good at earthwork. I am sure these places have long been riddled with holes, so it is not suitable for large-scale ground operations. The focus should be on Trevnick City. Now the aliens there have been isolated, and we can concentrate our forces to annihilate them in one fell swoop, first weakening the enemy's strength, and then turning to attack the Slag Mountains. It is best to use orbital bombardment to flatten them or reduce their height. After occupying this place, launch an attack from the north and east on the Coke Oven City where the enemy is entrenched, turning them into rats in a bellows, leaving them with no room to dodge.”

After he finished speaking, Sixth Company Commander Sparbad immediately took over and continued:

“I have a question. Why can't they go through the underground tunnels to support the troops in Trevnick? Does the Forge Master know the reason? Or have they already provided support, but you don't know it yet?”

Faced with such an inquiry, Prezemyslaw's simulated voice generator replied in a helpless tone:

“Indeed, we don't know the reason, but the enemy in Trevnick City certainly has not received support, because after the Huntsmen sealed off the Radiation Waste, the enemy in Coke Oven City launched countless ground infiltrations. They exhausted all means to try to break through the blockade, but were all detected and destroyed by the heroic Overlords. And the enemy in Trevnick has not taken the initiative to attack again, but only defends the area they occupy. According to various intelligence and the intensity of enemy activities, it can be accurately inferred that the enemy has not used the underground tunnels.”

“That's too strange.”

Third Company Commander Barez gestured with his hand, measuring the distance between the two cities.

“The two cities are not too far apart. Even if the original tunnels cannot be used, they should have dug new ones.”

“It's not just this that seems strange. Since the aliens have been lurking in this world for so long, they should be very patient. Either they don't riot, or once they riot, it should be very deadly, like an assassin seeing blood seal the throat, but judging from their offensive and subsequent actions, this lethality is seriously insufficient.”

Fifth Company Commander Osluka elaborated on his views.

“In other words, their preparations are not sufficient enough, and the accumulated power is not enough to overthrow this Forge Master, or they are too arrogant.”

“Or something is forcing them to act.”

First Company Commander Nadir said the most crucial thing.

Sorskyan nodded in satisfaction, looked at the Forge Master who was rubbing his mechanical hands together, and smiled:

“Forge Master Prezemyslaw, the warriors are used to speaking directly and are not intentionally rude. Please forgive them.”

“It's okay, it's okay.”

“Forge Master Prezemyslaw, besides the Genestealer aliens, is there anything else on the forge world?”

“This——”

“The original intention of establishing Ekvoria was some ancient relics. After so many years, you should have discovered something, right?”

“Uh, yes, there are some.”

“Is it convenient to take a look?”

After hesitating for a moment, the Forge Master still inserted a mechanical tentacle into the display, and then a series of images were projected.

Seeing these things, the smile on Sorskyan's face gradually faded, replaced by coldness and hatred.

Somewhat unexpected, but also expected.

“As expected, Necron Space Undead!”

In the picture, you can see the sages studying some stone slabs and obelisk fragments with mysterious symbols, as well as a few dismembered metal skeletons, and small beetle and spider-like machines.

It's no wonder that Ekvoria kept this matter so tightly under wraps, after all, this belongs to the category of alien research. Although many, many people in the Mechanicum are doing this, it can't be put on the table—that's how things are in the Empire. If it's not weighed, it's not even an ounce, but once it's weighed, even a thousand pounds can't stop it.

“When did you discover the tomb of the Space Undead underground?”

“About 112 years ago, standard Terra time.”

“So, it was discovered during your tenure?”

“Yes.”

“Did you never suspect that the Genestealer riot was related to the Space Undead?”

“We thought it was just a relic.”

“Have you had any contact with this kind of alien before?”

“Only the intelligence and information collected from various sources. The forge world has only organized two exploration fleets in history, but neither of them has achieved much.”

Then Sorskyan pointed to the picture.

“Then where is this place now?”

“It's under Coke Oven City. We completely lost contact after the alien riots.”

“Have you found any active Space Undead appearing?”

“No discoveries so far.”

After listening, Sorskyan supported the edge of the display with both hands, and was silent for a long time, as if thinking about something, until three minutes later he nodded slightly, then straightened up and said:

“Everyone, then the matter is already very clear. This is not just an alien riot. The Genestealers are even 'victims' in a sense. On the surface, the Tech-Priests should have accidentally awakened the Space Undead tomb sleeping underground, and then they drove the Genestealers to the ground. But things are far from that simple. There are no eyewitness records, which means that they most likely did not come to the ground. This is very abnormal. The Space Undead have extreme hatred for the living. Every time they wake up, it means the beginning of a massacre. There is no reason for them to only attack the Genestealers and not attack humans.”