Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Many times, Dantioch would seriously think about a question, that is: Are Iron Warriors like them more suitable for defense and construction than for attacking and destroying?

The War Blacksmith had been thinking about this issue as early as after he built the first fortress of his own. However, when he was under the command of Perturabo, Dantioch never dared to reveal these thoughts. .

There are only two reasons. First, although the Fourth Legion often sends various troops to station in various fortress worlds, these are the means by which the Primarch exiles those who have failed or are not valued. Generally speaking, Perturabo's desire for offense and destruction far outweighs defense and construction: at least he does so in public.

As for the second point: Useless thinking like Dantioch's is itself an extremely disgusting behavior by the Lord of Steel. In Perturabo's eyes, soldiers with random thoughts are like blistered bad steel, unbearable. Very useful.

Therefore, although the war blacksmith felt a greater sense of accomplishment than destroying a hundred fortress worlds when he saw the fortresses being gradually completed through his hands, he would still keenly use this sense to carefully Hide well to avoid discovery.

He didn't know if his battle brothers were as against their will as he was, or if he was really an outlier among the Fourth Legion: and his battle brothers and his genetic father himself were really a group of people who valued destruction over creation. characters.

…

Dantioch didn't know.

He only knew that the company in front of him had indeed repaired the fortress under their feet perfectly, and their repair work was also very smooth: if Dantioch were to lead the army to capture this fortress, , he thought that it would take at least three to five days to get some signs of success, but now the repair work only took less than two hours to achieve perfection.

Looking at the two large battalions, whether they are from Olympia or Salamas, the recruits are commanding each other next to the concrete, construction slaves and three-story excavation machines. They don't care at all. War The blacksmith actually felt a certain sense of relief: at least the recruits he taught were not completely separated from the Fourth Legion headquarters. They still had some tacit understanding stemming from blood and customs with their battle brothers thousands of miles away.

Dantioch didn't want to be the one who divided the Legion.

But the war blacksmith's good mood did not even last for a moment. When he raised his vision and looked at the gray sky in the distance, the caves full of bullet holes, and the huge gap in the city wall, Dantioch One could feel his brows rising steeper than the tallest peaks on Olympia.

The war blacksmith's heart was like the scene before him. The weak light could not block the endless gloom. The same was true for his entire army. The soldiers just numbly devoted themselves to their work and did not know more about the situation. The other officers were walking in the damp and cold ruins of the fortress, silent.

There is no other reason.

Because it's so quiet here.

When two large battalions and a regiment of the Queen's Guards landed on the surface of this nameless world, what greeted them was neither the warm hospitality of the friendly forces nor the crazy counterattacks from the enemy. The airborne capsule and landing craft were in a dead silence. Stopped next to the ruins of the fortress, sandwiched between this majestic castle and the wide river not far away.

The advance troops saw a shocking scene outside the castle: a Typhon siege tank and at least three Land Raiders, lying on the apparently captured position, their armor, gears and even scars all gone. Only the rusted structures are left, as if these powerful engines of war have been abandoned here for tens of millions of years.

The further you go in, the more terrifying the situation becomes: the collapsed city wall is not due to the baptism of gunfire, but more like the steel itself cannot withstand the corrosion of time, and the remains of the Iron Warriors scattered on the ground are either broken into several sections or torn apart. It was shattered, the indestructible power armor cracked into oxidized fragments, and the bones became debris floating in the wind in the air.

Going deep into the center of the fortress, Dantioch saw a scene that almost destroyed his Heart of Steel: They saw a long-dead Dreadnought mecha on the last line of defense. It melted from the inside out. The chassis collapsed due to unknown reasons, and the interior was empty. Only organic matter like nutritious porridge was scattered everywhere next to the steel tomb, and the ground was full of drag marks: everyone knew what this meant.

Dantioch was glad that he only brought a few officers forward here. He heard the sound of almost retching from the throats of these veterans, and the clenching sound of Kelvaren's fists on the side. anger.

At this time, everyone discovered something was wrong: an Astartes company was annihilated and the entire army was wiped out. It was not uncommon in the Great Crusade, but Dantioch and others searched the entire battlefield. Not even a single remains of the attacker was found, but traces of the battle could be seen everywhere.

In other words, the defenders here did not die together with their opponents. The attackers won the battle and were even able to calmly clean up the battlefield: until this moment, they may still be lurking in this world.

In the next minute, Dantioch had a brief but fierce argument with the battle brothers beside him, and came to the conclusion: Since the original body's request was to ensure the normal operation of this sentry world, they would temporarily They cannot retreat. At the very least, they must stay here for enough time before they figure out what kind of enemy caused all this.

The goal of the Astartes was finally finalized, but the War Blacksmith did not dare to forget that they were accompanied by an auxiliary force from Avalon. Therefore, under the great confusion of Kelvaren, , the war blacksmith persuaded his battle brother: repair the castle, block news, set up defense lines, collect intelligence, and most importantly, invite the mortal officers of the auxiliary forces to have another meeting.

"After all, he is Erwin: a remarkable man."

After finalizing the meeting location with the Avalonians in the communicator, Dantioch quickly inspected the repair work of the fortifications along the way while explaining.

"Almost the entire Far Eastern Frontier has heard the story of Erwin, and the Lord of Avalon set him up as a typical example: at the beginning, he was just a mortal native who was an enemy of the Dawnbreaker, but because of his He was pardoned for his outstanding performance in the battle and was incorporated into the Border Guard Corps along with his troops."

"Then? Then this guy relied on his first impression on the Dawnbreakers and his excellent military exploits to climb from the Border Guard Corps to the Queen's Guards step by step. It took a total of almost forty years. Now, he is this The commander of the Pale Rider Legion, and considering that the general commander of these personal guard legions has always been part-time by Mr. Morgan himself, then the commander of the Erwin Legion is basically standing at the top of Avalon's mortal system."

"It only took forty years to go from a defeated bandit to over ten thousand people in three hundred worlds..."

Dantioch sighed.

"Isn't it incredible?"

"Indeed, it's incredible."

Kelvalen smiled sadly.

"After all, I have never seen a mortal auxiliary of the Fourth Legion live for forty years."

"Counting from the day you go to the front line: you will be considered a veteran after forty hours."

"..."

"Remember to be respectful later, Kyle."

"……I try my best."

——————

"So, do we still follow the tradition of the Far Eastern Frontier this time? Your Excellency Dantioch."

The leader of the Erwin Legion may be the thinnest, but also the most confident mortal auxiliary that Kelvaren has ever seen: when he saw this mortal general shaking hands with Dantioch in an attitude of complete equality, At that moment, Kyle Wallen felt like his temples were about to explode.

And when he saw that the war blacksmith of the 14th Battalion not only did not feel uncomfortable at all, but showed respect for this mortal general in his words, the one-eyed war general made up his mind: he would not say anything, just Look at how these two people performed.

"Tradition? You mean mosaic?"

Dantioch smiled.

"Of course: after all, it looks like we still have plenty of time, doesn't it?"

With this approval, Erwin waved his hand outside the room, and several mortal soldiers carried something like a sand table to the center of the temporary conference room. They pressed the button next to it, and the contents of the plate were Based on the terrain information collected previously, and with the help of the gravity device underneath, the grains of sand were arranged into a map of the vicinity of the fortress for the subsequent meeting.

And the word "sand" in Erwin's mouth is related to this sand table.

In the military system of the Far Eastern frontier, there is such a tradition: whenever conditions permit, any military meeting before a war will simulate possible war situations on this sand table-like instrument. All participants can freely The people next to him spoke freely and asked every question he had sharply. The senior military officer needed to break down the strategic intention, crush it, and explain it to his subordinates in detail. The commanders on the front line would also consult him face to face. The purpose of certain strategic deployments by superiors.

In this process, it is inevitable that there will be fierce disputes, so there is a sand-wiping session after the meeting: all participants must jointly knock down the statues on the sand table and grind them into a flat ground to show that in the conference room All the festivals in the war have been wiped out. Next, everyone must work together according to the strategic deployment that has been discussed, and the three armies will work together to share the same hatred of the enemy.

Dantioch also participated in many similar military meetings and sand-wiping ceremonies. At the beginning, the war blacksmith disdained such honorable projects, but when he saw that there were real mortal generals who could point out Ava to his face. After seeing the shortcomings of the Lord of Long's deployment, and when his official career was still prosperous, Dantioch realized some of the Lord of Avalon's intentions in setting up this ancient method.

Of course, it is said to be a clean slate, but grudges can never be resolved so easily. The dirty activities in the conference room will inevitably interfere with ordinary interpersonal interactions. This move is just to ensure that when formulating military deployment, there will be as few external factors as possible. Just the impact.

What's more: firstly, most of the mortals who can participate in the military meeting are human spirits. If someone wants to hide from these guys and carry out the so-called post-mortem liquidation of his enemies, then his actions will be difficult to conceal. Secondly, Yes, this kind of sand-wiping ceremony often has a less imperial truth prefix.

The vast majority of Avalon Auxiliary Army officers and even a small number of Dawnbreakers will often place a statue of Morgan in the conference room before holding such a meeting. Everyone will jointly swear an oath to this statue and abide by it 100%. Anyone who violates the principles of the sand-wiping ritual will be discovered and abandoned by the original body: This method, which sounds very unreliable, is actually extremely effective, at least for the Dawnbreakers and Avalonians, quite a few of them. Some people really believe this. The Spider Queen has been sung up and down the Far Eastern frontier in a position somewhere between personal idol worship and deity.

"Of course, this sand-wiping ritual actually has a potential use."

Dantioch lowered his voice and whispered to the battle brother beside him.

"In this environment where people can speak freely, it is easy for the participants to identify the best and most reliable people among them by comparing discussions with the actual situation: then when the situation is too urgent to allow for a military meeting, At that time, this group of people will naturally become the core of the command system, and many officers in Avalon were discovered in this way."

"We need democracy, but we also need centralism."

"...it makes sense."

Kyle Valen nodded, and he turned to look at Erwin who was talking eloquently: The Iron Warriors could not imagine how this mortal general found so many convincing and reliable people in such a short period of time. data.

"So, you two: Through on-site investigation of the lost part of the fortress and professional analysis of related instruments, as well as my personal inspection of all battlefield sites, I can currently draw the following definite conclusions."

Erwin's pale fingers wrote and drew on the sand table, leaving shallow marks.

"The alien attack method that attacked the fortress does not belong to any kind of alien known to the empire. They are most likely the Hrud mentioned in the intelligence and will intervene in this expedition. Moreover, their strength is far greater than We originally expected it to be stronger."

"These aliens have at least one or more time-related weapons, because judging from the number of dead personnel and damaged vehicles, the strength of time weapons is not equal. Some warriors only look slightly aged. They died Killings from melee weapons, while other warriors died entirely from aging: this also means that the Hrud have at least one melee weapon that can threaten power armor and Astartes."

"It has to do with their own characteristics."

The warsmith nodded.

"In the command room, I found the information that the former company commander desperately left behind. Although they were unable to contact the main force in time due to the interference of the Hrud people, they used their lives to detect them before all of them died. All information is retained.”

After that, the war blacksmith threw the blood-stained memory disk on the table.

"The Hrud do have corresponding time weapons, but what's really scary about them is the time entropy field they carry: This means that as long as they get close to the target, they can cause the target to fall into aging and corruption, and then consider the outside of the fortress. With the large number of tunnels, we can deduce the reason why the fortress was lost."

"And this force field will increase as the number of Hrud increases: one Hrud can only make the Astartes warriors look slightly older, but when dozens or hundreds of Hrud When people are crowded together, they can turn anything into ashes in an instant.”

"However, judging from the ruins, the number of these Hrud people is not too many."

"As for melee weapons: It doesn't matter, getting close to them is a failure in itself."

Dantioch shook his head and looked at Erwin who was thoughtful.

"What do you recommend?"

The mortal general thought for a moment.

"First of all, after careful consideration, retreating first is naturally the safest choice: because all our inferences have not been tested on the spot and are untenable. If we can return here with an absolutely superior army, that is Responsible for the lives of our men.”

"Avalon's best mortal general, when facing an opponent, would he actually think about how to retreat first?"

There was obvious sarcasm in Kelvaren's words, but to his surprise, the Avalonian in front of him not only didn't get angry, but nodded calmly.

"That's right, sir, no matter what kind of war we engage in, I will give priority to thinking about the army's retreat: Avalon's army is not afraid of defeat and retreat. In the face of final victory, the glory of fighting to the death is nothing. "

"But the Lord of Steel will accept no excuse for flight without a fight."

Before Dantioch could think of any words to calm his nerves, the one-eyed warrior's voice shook the entire conference room.

"You should be very aware of the importance of this sentry world, mortal. What's more, if this is really an unknown opponent, then we should stay here: the real information obtained by a little sacrifice can avoid more unnecessary troubles in the future. sacrifice."

"Judging from the traces, the previous company guarded here for at least eight nights: we have six companies, as well as your entire mortal army."

"……indeed so."

Dantioch stood aside for a moment, and this time, he sided with Kelvaren.

"The Iron Warriors cannot escape without a fight, Lord Erwin."

Morgan's beloved blinked.

"Neither do the Avalonians, sir."

"In this case, pull down all the forces that can fight, heavily guard, and be ready to evacuate at any time: the back of this castle is a broad and solid mountain that cannot be used for tunnel operations, and in front of it is There is a wide river, and we have one afternoon to build a defensive line of forts and trenches across the river."

"It makes sense."

Kelvaren shouted, and then naturally saw Dantioch next to him.

"Which of us should have his camp stationed on these fortifications?"

"I do not suggest that you come, my lord."

Before the war blacksmith could speak, Erwin answered Kyle's question, which made the one-eyed war general look at this mortal with curiosity. He understood the underlying meaning of Erwin's words: let Avalon's auxiliary army be stationed across the river. , to meet the enemy's first wave of offensive.

This made Kyle Wallen laugh.

"Are you sure you don't want the Astartes to guard the most dangerous places, and let you mortals from Avalon do the job: can you do it better than us?"

Erwin just smiled and did not answer the question directly.

"You need to be clear, Lord Kyle: Due to the influence of objective conditions, if there is a crisis in the fortifications on the other side of the river, reinforcements from the fortress need to be dispatched in time, or if there are any military operations in the fortress itself, the mobility of the Astartes will But it is much higher than ordinary people, and if we just stay in the battle line and stick to it, the gap between us will not be that big."

"In this case, the task with a big gap will naturally be assigned to the Astartes warriors, and if the gap is small, it will naturally be assigned to our mortal army: there is no so-called optimal solution to war, only the right and appropriate Inappropriate."

"Even the Astartes cannot cover everything. My lord, if not, why would the Emperor create twenty legions of Astartes with completely different styles instead of making all Astartes look the same? Woolen cloth?"

"..."

Kelvaren narrowed his eyes. He rarely saw someone mention the Lord of Humanity in such an indifferent manner, without even the necessary respect: there are not many such people among the Astartes. See, let alone a mortal?

Furthermore: both Dantioch and the mortal soldiers of Avalon guarding the door seemed to have turned a blind eye to Erwin's [disrespectful behavior].

This made him a little uncomfortable.

"Of course, for the sake of safety, we can also station some Astartes."

"..."

Kelvalen was silent for a moment.

"So, Avalonians, how can you be sure that these mortal armies on the other side of the river can maintain their composure and perseverance in the face of an enemy powerful enough to wipe out an entire company of Astartes?"

"This is not a problem."

Erwin paid a little tribute, but this made the one-eyed warrior frown: he felt a strong arrogance from it. He was not afraid of powerful warriors like them at all, but regarded himself as the same level as the Astartes. The arrogance of a warrior is clearly reflected in Erwin's words.

"I will personally go to the other side of the river to direct the next defensive operations."

"personally?"

The one-eyed warrior smiled.

"As a general, go to danger personally?"

Erwin smiled back.

"Personally, I have always believed that a general should think calmly, but what a general should do more is to let each of his soldiers clearly know that he is with them."

"There is no difference between him and them."

——————

"Astartes officers are not the only ones with the courage to go to the front lines, Your Excellency."

"For a long time, we, the Queen's Guards, have received the same treatment, the same respect and the same pride as the Astartes by the grace of Lord Morgan. So, since we do not have the power of the Astartes, we will I can only have more..."

"consciousness."

——————

(There is another update in the evening. I am trying to finish this plot and jump back to the main plot of Morgan and Perturabo. But no need to wait. I am not sure when I will finish it. This plot still needs a lot of words. After all, Although Avalon's auxiliary army is only a supporting role, it will have a big role in the future, and it still needs to be foreshadowed in daily life)