Chapter 108: Data Think Tank
Company Commander Bright invited Norton to tour the Data Repository with the same enthusiasm he'd shown before, sharing the work without reservation.
Norton was satisfied, and he paid attention as Bright explained the operation in detail.
Norton understood Primarch Omegon's bombing tactics inside and out. He knew the core principles, and he'd seen the operation flow from start to finish.
He'd reviewed many of the program codes before, so when he examined the vast arrays of logic written by Primarch Omegon, he immediately grasped their meaning. The entire information process behind the bombing tactics had been codified into executable programs. But there were still novel elements he hadn't encountered.
Among them were numerous algorithms combined to achieve accurate prediction.
After studying the program codes, Norton looked at the smiling Bright and asked in surprise, "With these algorithms integrated, can the data alone really predict the locations of the Hrud underground cities?"
Company Commander Bright nodded. "Of course. We've already identified the approximate locations of many underground cities based on vast amounts of Hrud data over these past months. Imperial Navy's geological drilling teams confirmed that most of our predictions were correct."
"If I didn't know about these program codes and algorithms, I'd have thought the Primarch possessed prophetic abilities!"
Pritchard, the tech-priest who had approached at some point, spoke beside them. "This is not prophecy. It's calculated through logic and data. Within the Mechanicus, logic-engines can complete this work as well."
"Since you can do it, why—" Norton knew the tech-priest before him was capable of such things, so he wondered why it was necessary.
Pritchard said calmly, "The Alpha Legion's data volume is so massive that I cannot handle it alone. Lord Omegon's bombing tactics require extensive data analysis. Establishing the Data Repository shares the burden with him."
"The algorithms in these program codes are common to me, but I never thought of using them to predict the locations of xenos underground cities."
Both Norton and Bright thought, So that's how it is.
No wonder this Data Repository wasn't worried about scrutiny from outsiders. Neither of them felt anything but satisfaction at sharing the burden for the Primarch; they were happy to do this work.
Pritchard observed the Alpha Legion warriors around them, analyzing data with focus and efficiency. He knew this was only the nascent form of the Data Repository.
With Primarch Omegon's wisdom and the Alpha Legion's proficiency in intelligence analysis, he understood clearly that this organization's status within the Legion would become increasingly important. That was the inevitable result of the massive data analysis required by the bombing tactics.
...
On the other side, Omega finally arrived at the Iron Warriors' war base and met Perturabo.
The two Primarchs met again in the command hall. Omegon saw Perturabo, who had grown cold and heavy as steel. He knew the man before him had not only aged thousands of years under the Hrud's entropic fields, but his temperament had undergone a fundamental change as well.
First Company Commander Forrix was about to speak when he saw the two Primarchs fall silent. Then Primarch Perturabo spoke, his voice cold and sullen.
"I have designed a war machine that can burrow underground. Are you here for this?"
He took out a stack of weapon design schematics as he finished speaking.
Primarch Omegon found the cold atmosphere irritating and said lightly, "I heard you fought a major engagement against the Hrud army on the plains. I came specifically to see how my brother was faring."
"I'm fine."
Primarch Omegon watched as Perturabo held the design schematics and looked at him.
He continued, "During this time, my subordinates and I have also designed a tactic to strike the underground Hrud. Interested in hearing about it?"
Perturabo crushed the schematics in his hand and said in a deep voice, "You also designed a war weapon that can fight underground? Show it to me. Let's compare whose weapon design is superior."
"I haven't designed a war weapon that can fight underground. I adopted a simpler method, underground bombing by drilling holes and deploying hydrogen fusion warheads." Primarch Omegon had no interest in competing with him.
Forrix and the other Iron Warriors looked interested, so Omegon explained the method in detail. Everyone listened. Then Warsmith Dantioch laughed and asked, "Lord Alpharius, how do you know how many Hrud are underground and the locations of their underground cities? I think that's the key, isn't it?"
Omegon explained, "My tactic is this: whether there are Hrud in the underground fault zones or not, deploy a hydrogen warhead. This method is straightforward and convenient for everyone. As for how many Hrud were killed or whether the underground cities were destroyed, we don't know."
Upon hearing this, Dantioch and the others were speechless.
Bombing without even knowing if enemies were underground seemed wasteful at best. They hadn't expected Primarch Omegon to have avoided deeper calculations or more refined planning.
"Take the schematics. The Iron Warriors have their own way of war," Perturabo said in a deep voice. He turned away, no longer acknowledging Primarch Omegon's presence.
After taking the design schematics, Omegon nodded to everyone present and left immediately. No unnecessary words were spoken.
Soon after, Perturabo and the others heard reports from their subordinates that Primarch Omegon had departed in a Thunderhawk gunship.
Perturabo gave no further thought to the Alpha Legion. He led his own Legion to conduct their war with grim determination until every Hrud on Shadowtooth was annihilated.
Returning to the war base, Primarch Omegon sat in his office, examining the underground war weapon schematics. They depicted a vehicle with a massive spiral drill at the front and a troop compartment at the rear.
Perturabo had indeed designed a war weapon capable of burrowing directly underground. From its structure and operating principles, it could be mass-produced.
"This man truly is a genius born for weapons," Primarch Omegon said, tossing the schematics onto the table.
From the adjacent balcony, Alpharius walked in slowly. "Ho, I didn't expect you to rate Perturabo so highly. To devise a method like drilling holes and deploying hydrogen warheads, brother, you're also a genius with unconventional ideas."
"What do you need, my intelligence-specialist brother?"
"As the twin Primarch of the Alpha Legion, I also possess the talents you have. It's just that in many situations, you turn a blind eye or delegate the work to your subordinates." Alpharius said this lightly, accepting the cup of tea Omegon handed him.
Omegon coughed and ignored the comment, leisurely drinking his tea and resting.
He commanded a Legion of thirty million Legionaries. With so many warriors, there was no need for him to do everything himself.
He glanced down at the schematics again and couldn't help but feel that Perturabo's talent was being wasted. With his abilities, combined with refined tactics and exceptional command skills, he could create an invincible Legion.
But what Omegon saw was an entire Iron Warriors Legion lacking vitality, full of bitterness and coldness. Their tactics were rigid, always resulting in heavy casualties in every major battle.
Perturabo did not value the ordinary Space Marines of the Iron Warriors, nor did he care about the mortal auxiliary forces.
How could a general who didn't value his soldiers lead them well? In these past few months, Primarch Omegon had felt genuine sorrow seeing so many unnecessary casualties among the Iron Warriors.
The establishment of the Data Repository consolidated intelligence processing previously scattered across the Mechanicus assets, making the entire Legion more efficient.
The Alpha Legion did not develop underground-drilling weapons.
Instead, they adopted the Data Repository's predictions and the method of drilling and deploying hydrogen warheads.
Another month passed.
The three continents experienced numerous earthquakes from the massive underground detonations of fusion warheads.
Sometimes the seismic waves converged, forming catastrophic super-earthquakes.
On one continent, a massive rift valley, one kilometer wide and five thousand kilometers long, was blasted open.
Over two months, more than seventy million missiles and a considerable number of nuclear warheads were deployed. Across Shadowtooth, Hrud armies exceeding one hundred thousand in number were now rare.
Omegon sat at the head of the Data Repository's main hall, reading intelligence reports.
Below him, thousands of personnel processed data analysis for the entire planet in an orderly fashion. Company Commander Bright's company had become proficient in executing the Data Repository's operations.
The Legion's warriors did not look down upon Bright's company as Primarch Omegon had feared. Instead, many company commanders visited frequently to learn.
To some extent, the establishment of the Data Repository provided Primarch Omegon's tactics with extremely detailed data support and theoretical analysis.
Many warriors could learn every detail of the entire tactical doctrine from the Data Repository.
They could study countless program codes and numerous algorithms originating from the Primarch himself, clearly understanding how the entire logic executed.
The Data Repository, as it currently operated, no longer resembled an intelligence department; it had become a tactical academy for the Alpha Legion.
Because of this critical function, the Data Repository became recognized as a core asset of the Legion in the eyes of many Alpha Legion warriors. Its status rose rather than fell, and its security classification increased accordingly.
Primarch Alpharius also noticed this development. He personally wrote code for deep infiltration tactics behind enemy lines and integrated it into the Data Repository, hoping to enable more warriors to learn and understand this tactical philosophy.
Bright had gained considerable prominence in the Legion recently. Through dedicated research, he discovered critical intelligence about the Hrud.
Primarch Omegon took the file and sat upright immediately.
During this time, vast amounts of Hrud data had been fed into the Data Repository. Bright, through algorithmic analysis and tireless study of the data, made an unexpected discovery.
The Hrud were indeed connected to the Warp, as Primarch Omegon had initially suspected.
But the intelligence description seemed unrelated to the various daemons he had learned about in the Calixis Sector.
The Hrud of Shadowtooth had, at some unknown point, begun to worship a strange deity. This deity was described as a dark, spherical, anomalous object.
The dark sphere could not communicate with the Hrud, who called it the Dark God.
The Dark God could transform into any fearsome weapon. Intelligent Hrud leaders, along with vast numbers of less-intelligent Hrud, worshipped the Dark God and gained power from it. Gradually, the Hrud civilization grew stronger.
Because of this belief, the Hrud not only built cities on the surface but also in the dark underground.
Encountering such a bizarre Warp entity again, Primarch Omegon considered whether to make contact.
If the Hrud gained their rapid aging ability through worshipping the Dark God, then it was highly probable that the strange dark sphere also possessed temporal abilities.
Judging from Perturabo's condition, the possibility of being affected at close range was significant.
Regarding Warp-spawned entities and false gods, Primarch Omegon generally kept his distance.
However, from the data, this strange Dark God appeared to be present on Shadowtooth. This planet held tens of millions of his subordinates. He needed to prepare countermeasures if necessary.
After considering the matter, Primarch Omegon said calmly, "Bright, you and your personnel will continue researching this Dark God. Try to locate it on Shadowtooth to prevent our forces from making accidental contact."
"Once its location is confirmed, I will obliterate it with an antimatter warhead."
Company Commander Bright had initially thought his research was simply analyzing mythical stories. He was surprised and asked, "Sir, is there really a Dark God on this planet?"
[End of Chapter]
Want to read more than 50+ chapters right now!
patreon.com/cw/Mr_UmU
https://www.patreon.com/Mr_UmU
____
Want bonus chapters? You got it.
Goal: 350 – Achieved: 243 = 2 Bonus Chapters
📌 1 Power Stone on the Book Page = 100 on Chapter Pages!
!! VISIT the BOOK PAGE to donate.