The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Before arriving at Amara, Solzhenitsyn was mentally prepared for various welcome ceremonies, so it was still the same. He would only remember a few key people, and the rest would just flash by.

However, Governor Garibren Longen gave Solzhenitsyn a feeling of excessive enthusiasm, and he could probably see how much pressure he had been under during this period. Compared to many mortal rulers Solzhenitsyn had encountered, he was relatively okay, at least diligent.

But on the other hand, the things he did showed his limited abilities.

For example, he emptied all the regular troops from the un-fallen areas of the entire sector and deployed them all on Amara Prime, reaching tens of millions in number. At the same time, he formed reserve teams and militias numbering approximately hundreds of millions according to emergency decrees—these reserve forces were also armed according to the standards of the Astra Militarum, meeting the requirements stipulated by the Department of Munitions, at the cost of draining the armories of the entire sector.

The same was true for the navy. Almost all the warships in the entire sector were concentrated in the Amara star system, and even the daily patrol fleets were withdrawn, which is why Solzhenitsyn saw such old and broken small ships.

He could understand the mentality of doing this, but this behavior was a bit unwise.

It seemed that the governor had not considered at all what it would mean if the Necrons really attacked Amara, and it was okay to win, but what if they failed?

It would mean that the entire sector would have no available troops, no ships to fight, and eventually, the remaining small half would have to give up voluntarily.

Going all-in is a choice that many Imperial commanders like to make, and Solzhenitsyn has repeatedly criticized this military adventurism at the battle group and legion-level meetings. Of course, this is a more pleasant way of saying it, but in reality, it is gambling.

Concentrating forces is okay, Solzhenitsyn often does this in battle. The number of equipment and the number of personnel are always the unbreakable truths of war, but it is necessary to arrange a backup, or a retreat. The most important thing is to know how to fight, to know what these forces are used for.

However, during Solzhenitsyn's questioning, the governor showed an embarrassing, ignorant attitude. He couldn't say what so many troops were doing on Amara Prime, let alone what follow-up military plans and strategic plans there were.

So his only reason for concentrating his forces on Amara was to provide a false sense of security.

Of course, there may also be some deeper political considerations hidden in it. In the current situation of continuous turmoil in the sector, withdrawing troops from other star systems can ensure that the planetary governors will not have thoughts of confronting the sector governor or even splitting.

In this case, Solzhenitsyn didn't waste any words and directly announced that in the name of the Astartes Chapter Master and the Nason Chief Executive Officer, he would take over the supreme military command of the Orpheus war zone and reorganized the Orpheus Military Council—the generals under this governor were also universally incompetent, or mediocre. The military council he organized according to the Empire's war process was filled with more than half of the 'civilian generals' who were waiting to die. They had never touched a gun a few times in their lives, let alone fought a war, and the deployments and arrangements they made came from turning over the Department of Munitions' textbooks.

The reorganized Orpheus War Council was renamed the Amara Supreme Command, and its structure was almost the same as the Expeditionary Force Supreme Command established by Solzhenitsyn during the Great Vortex Expedition. It was also divided into several parts such as logistics and staff, all of which were participated in and led by the most professional personnel.

The whole process went very smoothly. Although the sector governor was a little caught off guard, he didn't object to anything. After all, Solzhenitsyn's reputation and demonstrated strength were too great, especially after he was invited to visit the Randle, he became full of confidence from his original discouragement—with such a powerful, even the Empire's number one, giant ship, what enemy could not be defeated?

So the duality of ordinary people was also manifested in him. Garibren Longen quickly turned from a conservative to a radical, and began to confidently promote the Empire's upcoming counter-offensive.

"Counter-offensive?"

Surrounded by huge star charts, thinkers, and screens, Solzhenitsyn softly read these two words in the war room, his eyes sweeping over the officer who said it, an Amara Defense Force officer with the rank of Major General.

"Yes, sir! The aliens must have stopped attacking because they occupied too much territory and their forces were scattered. Now is a good time to launch a counter-offensive, seize the opportunity when they have not yet gained a firm foothold, and give them the most powerful counterattack! Take back, at least partially, the occupied worlds!"

This officer looked to be in his fifties. With his age and rank, Solzhenitsyn guessed that he should be a noble officer rather than a battlefield officer. Perhaps he hoped to show himself and his military talents.

Having confidence is a good thing, but the premise is that you must have real talent, but this one is obviously a typical 'academic school'.

Solzhenitsyn's silence was an unfathomable signal, and then another person stood up, wearing a naval uniform.

"Sir, I also agree to a limited counter-offensive, at least to establish a cordon around the Amara star system. We have accumulated enough strength now, and a small-scale counter-offensive can also test the enemy's attitude and situation."

This one has some ideas, and it can only be said that, in terms of grand strategy, the average level of naval officers is indeed higher than that of army officers.

After a moment, Solzhenitsyn said slowly:

"Do you think we have accumulated enough strength? How much of the key information and characteristics about the Necron enemy that the General Command sent to the senior commanders have you read?"

No one answered, Solzhenitsyn pointed to Amara Prime and said:

"I have personally seen those troops. With their training level and equipment level, even if they meet the minimum standards of the Astra Militarum, they will only be slaughtered when facing the Necrons."

Then he pointed to Amara III.

"Nearly a quarter of the ships here are in urgent need of entering the port for maintenance and replacement of key facilities."

Then he shook his head.

"Not ready, everyone, you are not ready, our strength is far from enough, soldiers need to be retrained and redeployed, and ships need to improve their combat readiness."

Soon he announced his arrangements.

"According to the permanent fortification capacity, only five million militias will be retained on Amara Prime, and the regular army will maintain a maximum of fifteen million. The remaining troops will be dispersed to other planets in the star system, such as Amara III, for intensive training and rapid construction of more solid underground permanent fortifications. If the enemy really invades, the first thing is to let the ground troops survive the enemy's attack, and then counterattack, instead of like Amara Prime, where one Marco Van Peninsula is stationed with one million troops, and there are no fortifications to protect them, and it is in such a small area, a round of enemy bombing can wipe out all one million people!"