Emrys thought long and hard about how to quickly deal with the Chaos fleet besieging the hive city of Avakal, and it seemed this was the most suitable method.
Boarding!
That's right, it was that simple and unadorned.
But it wasn't entirely about blindly jumping in, or else it would be pure suicide!
That was a combined Chaos fleet, not just one or two warbands, but over a dozen Chaos warbands, including mortal auxiliary troops, low-tier daemon legions, and so on. If they were to charge in head-on, let alone Space Marines, even the Lion himself would probably be skinned alive!
The Lion was also well aware of the risks of this plan, but he still chose to trust.
Since that was the case, Emrys naturally wouldn't betray the trust of this Primarch. He cleared his throat and laid out the complete plan.
"After the portal opens, everyone will need to put on their power armor and disguise themselves as members of Chaos."
At this point, he looked at the Lion.
"Of course, the lord doesn't need to teleport directly; just wait for my signal."
"No problem," Krast nodded. "Isn't it just pretending to be a Chaos warband? We're good at that!"
It must be said, they did have some talent when it came to impersonating Chaos warbands.
A warband that worships the Blood God… too simple.
Emrys was satisfied with the answer and continued.
"Your objective is simple: find the engine room of the Chaos warships, and then find a way to destroy the ships' engines. That way, even if they have a numerical advantage, losing the advantage of their warships will make them no longer a threat."
Although the Warhammer Universe is mostly known for boarding actions, it is still essentially space warfare.
No matter how large the numerical advantage of the Chaos side, without the power of their warships, they would be nothing more than chickens and dogs before the Imperial Navy.
The Imperial Navy fleet was the true power that held the balance to decide the outcome of a war!
Even an Emperor-class Titan, an existence hailed as a Machine God, would be nothing more than a single round of concentrated fire in front of the Imperial Navy fleet.
So, as long as the Chaos warships could be crippled, the rest could be left to the Imperial Navy.
Krast also highly approved of this plan; though the risk was great, as Emrys said, the reward was also extremely high.
"And then, there's me…" Emrys paused, then continued, "I will disguise myself as him, and then try to find the lord of this Chaos fleet. You will wait for my signal, and once it's given, immediately destroy the engines simultaneously!"
"You're going for… a decapitation strike?" The Lion's expression changed slightly, his deep pupils looking at Emrys.
"That's right, merely destroying the engines of the Chaos warships isn't enough."
Emrys nodded slightly, organizing his thoughts, and continued.
"Destroying the engines can only cause them confusion.
If the Chaos fleet decides to make a desperate stand, choosing to forcibly land and engage us in ground combat in the hive city, the war will only be dragged out longer, which would be disadvantageous to us."
"Therefore, we must synchronize and, while destroying the engines, kill the lord of this Chaos fleet.
This will throw their command system into disarray.
Only in this way can the Imperial Navy and the Astra Militarum take advantage of the ran to completely annihilate the Chaos forces of this fleet, and at the same time ensure that when we support the Rock Fortress later, we will not be harassed by residual Chaos forces from behind."
Emrys outlined the complete strategic objectives.
First, destroy the engines of the Chaos fleet to create opportunities for the Imperial Navy.
Second, decapitate the Chaos lord to disrupt the command system, thereby creating an opportunity to totally annihilate this Chaos fleet, and simultaneously secure the rear.
After speaking, Emrys turned his gaze to the Lion.
"This is my plan."
"Quite an appetite, planning to swallow such a large Chaos fleet in one go?" The Lion frowned slightly, his eyes darkening.
"If we cannot resolve this Chaos fleet in one go, then we will be attacked from both front and rear."
Emrys' tone grew a bit more serious.
Avakal's geographical location was very special, situated precisely on the edge of the Great Rift, midway to the Rock Fortress.
This meant that if they couldn't deal with this Chaos force in one go, then when they led the fleet on a distant expedition, they could very likely be stabbed in the back.
At that point, with Abaddon's black Legion in front and a Chaos fleet behind, the situation would be even worse.
The Lion had clearly considered this point, and his brows remained tightly furrowed.
According to his character, he would have preferred for both fleets to line up, and then, relying on his excellent command abilities, crush Chaos head-on.
But… the Lion seemed to recall something, letting out a helpless sigh.
"It's a good method, but war is not a game.
You can't always take risks; sometimes, a straightforward engagement is more necessary. Do you understand what I mean?
"Understand… what the heck," Emrys muttered to himself, but on the surface, he said he understood.
"This time, let it be. Execute your plan."
The Lion patted his shoulder, saying earnestly.
"Your way of thinking is only suitable for small-scale warfare. When you experience large-scale wars, where you need to command hundreds, even tens of thousands of legions, this method won't work. You need to learn more deeply. After this war, I will personally teach you the essentials of commanding large-scale operations."
?
Emrys twitched the corners of his mouth. Could he say he didn't want to learn?
Why should he, a Rogue Trader, have to learn the experience and essentials of commanding large-scale operations?!
But Emrys knew very well that anything said by the Lion was not something he could defy.
"Once you find the Chaos lord, summon me immediately."
The Lion handed over the freshly wiped "Sword of the Lake," not forgetting to instruct.
"Don't be reckless, understand?"
"Alright!" Emrys smiled as he took the sword. He had never intended to duel the Chaos lord alone.
With a Primarch, such a 'gold-medal enforcer,' he would have to be insane to try to solo a Chaos lord. The plan was finalized; now it was time to execute.
Krast and the others quickly donned the power armor of the fallen Chaos warriors. Of course, to avoid being 'corrupted,' Emrys had specifically applied psychic and defensive runes to each of their black carapaces.
After doing all this, Emrys turned his gaze to Zane, who had been under control.
"You… what are you going to do?!"
Zane felt a shiver run down his spine; the human was looking at him as if he were an experiment.
"Don't be nervous, relax."
Emrys showed a kind smile, then stepped forward and clapped a hand onto his chest.
Bang!
From Zane's perspective, the surrounding time seemed to slow down.
But soon, he realized something was wrong: how was he floating in mid-air, and… his body was still in place?!
This is… his soul?!
Zane's face changed drastically, and he instinctively wanted to escape, but an orange chain appeared out of nowhere, directly shackling his neck. "Why run?" Emrys, holding the chain, yanked him down from mid-air.
"You'd best be obedient.
Otherwise… I can't guarantee that after your soul is annihilated, you'll still be able to return to the Warp and be resurrected by your Blood God."
As he spoke, to prove the truth of his words, he even cast several curses.
Zane, under the curses, immediately felt his soul weaken, as if it were about to be completely annihilated, and he let out a terrified scream.
"That's right, just like that."
Emrys smiled, holding the chain, and said gently.
"Be good, otherwise… I'll throw your soul before the Golden Throne and let you properly repent for your sins before the Emperor."
Zane trembled with fear, hastily nodding.
"I'll cooperate, I'm willing to cooperate with you, please don't make me see the Emperor!"
"Very good."
Emrys 'tamed' Zane and turned to the others.
"Get ready, we can depart."
But where his gaze fell, he found that all the Dark Angels, including Krast, were looking at him with a strange expression.
Evil sorcery that manipulates souls, this was a blasphemous psychic technique only Chaos sorcerers knew, so why did Lord Emrys also know it?
"What's wrong?" Emrys asked curiously.
"…No, nothing." Krast secretly glanced at the Lion, and seeing that the latter was expressionless, he swallowed his words.
Never mind, it's not important.
It's just Chaos sorcery; their Dark Angel foundation isn't exactly clean either.
As long as no one knows, it doesn't exist!
Krast clenched his fist, thinking that there was now one more secret to keep!