In First Captain Kaesoron's disbelieving eyes, the warp gate, which had been dormant for an unknown number of years, suddenly erupted with a strong light.
"Something is coming out of the gate!"
"It's xenos! Xenos warships!"
A cacophony of noise instantly covered the entire encampment on the Silent Star.
No one would have thought that their luck would be this bad.
To be attacked by xenos in the few days that the main expeditionary fleet was away.
And looking at the forces Horus had left them...
A Lunar-class cruiser, five hundred Emperor's Children.
And a few powerful Macharius-pattern heavy tanks.
Haha!
We're doomed!
Kaesoron showed a smile of resignation.
But... not necessarily!
What if, what if the xenos coming out of this gate were very weak, and they could easily handle them?
Right, what if?
The last bit of hope in Kaesoron's heart vanished without a trace when he saw the kilometer-long hull of the xenos warship passing through the gate.
"Now... it's really over."
"They're here."
"Notify our warship to retreat immediately. Do not engage."
"Notify all detachments under our command to fall back to the first defensive line built at the foot of the mountain and prepare to engage the enemy."
"Chemosian Guard, deploy automated aerial servitors."
"Fifth Company Scout Detachment of the Emperor's Children, fall back. Notify the Mechanicum outpost to evacuate personnel."
In a Space Marine Chapter, the Fifth Company is usually a battle company, and scouts are in the Tenth Company.
But the Emperor's Children were different.
They only had five companies.
Not even a full Chapter.
Kasjia commanded the deployment of the troops below through the communication device.
Although he had little practical combat experience from a normal Space Marine's perspective, others had undergone their augmentation in their youth. He was different.
He had actually led troops on Chemos for thirty years and had learned command from Fulgrim for thirty years.
In fact, almost all the officials of the Imperium had misunderstood one thing.
The reason there were only guards and no army on Chemos was not because Fulgrim's outstanding diplomatic skills had won over all the factions on the planet.
It was because those factions that were unwilling to be won over had been permanently eliminated by Kasjia and his Chemosian Guard.
"...Finally, remember to send a communication signal to those xenos. It would be best if we can resolve the issue through negotiation and cooperation."
"Over."
"You forgot to notify Horus's expeditionary fleet to return for support, Kasjia," Arcur reminded him as Kasjia ended the communication.
"Return for support?"
"Why would we need the expeditionary fleet to return for support? Master, you don't think we can't handle them, do you?"
To this, Arcur hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Of course we can't beat them. Isn't that obvious?
The xenos fleet had completely passed through the gate, blotting out the sky. There were more than ten ships in total.
Their warships were very distinctive: several kilometers long, teardrop-shaped, and brightly colored.
And these warships were just escorts.
The xenos flagship they were guarding was several thousand meters long.
Although the ship's hull was not equipped with void shields or other similar types of shielding, the large-scale optical weapons they were armed with could still cause unimaginable damage to other ships.
And just as Kasjia was ordering the deployment, the enemy's drop troops had already begun to descend from their ships.
A full several thousand fully armed xenos had landed on the surface of the Silent Star.
And on the human side, five hundred Space Marines without orbital support, how could they fight against a xenos army with battleship support?
To be able to hold out until Horus's support arrived under these circumstances would already make one an extremely outstanding commander.
But Kasjia actually seemed to think he wasn't afraid of the other party?
"The enemy has rejected our communication request."
The xenos' attitude was already very clear. They were here to wipe out the remaining human forces on the planet.
These xenos looked like assembled crystal clusters, and their weapons were also very advanced: the focused crystal in their hands fired a powerful energy beam that could melt or cut through almost any obstacle it encountered.
It was much more effective than the flashlights on the Imperial side.
ZHEW!
With countless beams of light streaking across the sky, not long after they had landed, Kasjia's forward outposts collapsed under their laser fire.
Their laser weapons were simply no match for our fortifications!
At this rate, even if Kasjia had the foresight to advocate for the construction of the highest-level, iron-clad defenses, under the terrifying laser weapons of the enemy, the fall of the entire defensive line was probably just a matter of time.
In the light of countless laser weapons, the solid defensive line was already riddled with holes.
If they didn't retreat soon, they might be buried together under this steel and stone.
"Command received. Preparing to retreat."
The mortal auxiliary leader who was holding the line with Kaesoron replied to the communication device.
Following the fall of the forward scout posts, the first defensive line was also crumbling under the enemy's fire suppression.
All commands for the front line had been given.
But there were no combat instructions for their elite veterans of the First Company of the Emperor's Children.
The message left for them did not give them any combat arrangements.
Instead, it ordered them to retreat to the second defensive line and to observe and learn the Chemosian Guard's response plan.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"I know the veterans are not convinced that I can be the legion's Lord Regent," Kasjia said unhurriedly inside the fortress.
"Therefore, I never planned to let the Space Marines fight this battle."
Kasjia explained to the puzzled Arcur.
"With just these few thousand mortal auxiliaries?"
"That's right. Just with our mortal auxiliaries—the Chemosian Guard."
It was time.
Kasjia looked at the battle below, his eyes filled with confidence.
Let them witness for themselves the advanced tactics from the ancient 3rd Millennium.
Now, it was the 31st Millennium.
In these ages, countless advanced things had been lost.
It was not just technology that was lost, but also tactics.
"Tactics? What tactics?"
"When humanity was still in its primitive society, our ancestors were at a disadvantage when fighting large carnivorous animals," Kasjia did not answer her question directly.
"But our clever ancestors learned to play to their strengths and use tactics—scaring them with fake shouts, chasing them down over long distances, and ambushing them with traps."
"From then on, the weak humans became hunters; and the fierce beasts became prey."
"Even without muscles stronger than the beasts and sharp fangs and claws, our ancestors could become the kings of all creatures."
The essence of defeating an enemy has never been to engage in a head-on, life-and-death struggle.
It is to preserve one's own effective strength and to eliminate the enemy's strength as much as possible.
"But it's a pity that after possessing strong armor and invincible weapons, arrogant people have gradually forgotten this principle."
Always using their strongest, hardest horns to clash with each other.
Expecting that only the strongest, hardest, and fiercest way of winning can be considered a true victory.
(Of course, the real reason is to sell miniatures.)
But what about the truth?
The truth is never glorious: only the winner gets to talk about the truth.
"Interesting."
"But I still think I'm more suited for dueling."
Sword Saint Arcur never cared about these things.
Her tactic was always one thing—charge up and challenge the strongest enemy leader to a duel.
If she won, she would win the battle directly. If she lost...
...uh, she had never lost.
Therefore, this tactic had never failed her.
It couldn't be helped.
If the xenos were fierce beasts...
...then she was Wu Song.
-------
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