The Heavenly Lion Battle Group did not send many people this time, only one company.
However, this was not a small number, as it was rare for an entire Space Marine Chapter to be deployed in a single battle.
For a Space Marine Chapter, defending its homeworld is one of its primary missions.
Each Chapter usually stations at least one company on its homeworld to ensure its safety.
This company is not only responsible for defending against potential invasions but also for maintaining the Chapter's base, training new recruits, and managing the Chapter's resources and heritage.
The homeworld is the foundation of the Chapter, and losing it means the Chapter would lose its cultural and historical roots, making this mission crucial.
However, the primary duty of Space Marines is to respond to threats across the Imperium.
Due to frequent warfare in the Galaxy, Chapters often receive a large number of distress signals.
Whether it is Xenos invasion, Chaos rebellion, or other threats, Space Marine Chapters need to respond quickly.
However, the number of distress calls far exceeds the Chapter's ability to respond.
Each Chapter typically has only about one thousand Space Marines, and the vastness of the Galaxy and the diversity of threats mean they must disperse their forces and rush from place to place.
This continuous "firefighting" state means that Chapters are rarely able to maintain full strength.
According to Guilliman's codex, a standard Codex Chapter should have one thousand Space Marines, but this is often not the case in reality.
Most Chapters can usually field around eight hundred Space Marines, which is already considered "full strength."
For Chapters that have experienced intense combat, their strength may be further reduced to five or six hundred.
Casualties, slow recruit replenishment, and frequent battles make it difficult for Chapters to maintain ideal force levels.
Furthermore, the Space Marines' combat style exacerbates this problem.
They typically conduct rapid strikes with small, elite units, a tactic that, while efficient, also means that each battle can result in significant casualties.
Even if a Chapter can cultivate new recruits through Gene-Seed, this process is extremely slow, often taking years or even decades to train a qualified Space Marine.
Therefore, the Space Marine Chapter's strength is always in a strained state.
Under this major premise, the Heavenly Lion Battle Group being able to send a company to participate in this Expeditionary Force truly shows great sincerity and indeed demonstrates its loyalty to the Imperium.
Precisely because of this, Alex sympathized more with the Heavenly Lion Battle Group and hoped to offer protection to this Chapter.
And to persuade the Heavenly Lion Battle Group, Alex specifically called upon Gutierrez and Aarn, hoping that these two Astartes, both of the Imperial Fists, could persuade the Heavenly Lion Battle Group from the perspective of battle-brotherhood and being Dorn's Sons.
The heads of these Dorn's Sons were as stubborn as can be, and Alex did not want things to escalate to an uncontrollable point.
"Welcome, Captain Anatoly," Alex cordially welcomed the Heavenly Lion Battle Group's Captain, though the expression on his face did not seem particularly friendly.
Captain Anatoly of the Heavenly Lion Battle Group, clad in golden Power Armor, removed his helmet with calm and steady movements. He hung his helmet on the magnetic lock at his waist, nodded slightly towards Alex, and said in a deep, powerful voice: "Hello, Planetary Governor."
Anatoly's address to Alex was very intriguing.
At this time, Alex, as the supreme Commander of the Expeditionary Force, was indeed a Planetary Governor, but from any perspective, his current identity should be "Lord Inquisitor."
This title was the legal basis supporting his authority as the supreme Commander of the Expeditionary Force, and also a symbol of the authority granted to him by the Inquisition.
However, Anatoly chose to address him as "Planetary Governor," which was clearly a deliberate evasion, and could even be seen as a subtle provocation to the Inquisition's authority.
Behind this address lay the long-standing conflict and distrust between the Heavenly Lion Battle Group and the Inquisition.
Space Marine Chapters have always prided themselves on independence and autonomy, while the Inquisition seeks to restrain them through authority and rules.
Anatoly's address undoubtedly implied that the Heavenly Lion Battle Group did not fully recognize the Inquisition's authority, and even harbored a certain degree of hostility towards it.
Alex remained extremely calm in response.
He did not react to Anatoly's address in any way, nor did he show the slightest displeasure.
He merely nodded faintly, signaling Anatoly to sit down.
After sitting down, Alex went straight to the point and asked: "Has the Heavenly Lion Battle Group not yet realized the mistake it made back then?"
His tone was calm, but his words carried an undeniable questioning.
This question directly referred to a controversial action by the Heavenly Lion Battle Group in the past, an action that the Inquisition had deemed a serious violation, almost leading to a direct conflict between the Chapter and the Inquisition.
Anatoly's reaction was extremely intense.
His eyes instantly sharpened like blades, and his voice was deep but filled with suppressed fury, every word squeezed out as if from gritted teeth, like a volcano about to erupt: "Mistake? Are you, the Inquisition, so arrogant as to believe that was a mistake?"
Clearly, Alex's words were like a sharp thorn, deeply piercing Anatoly's sensitive nerves.
In his view, the Heavenly Lion Battle Group's actions were to protect the interests of the Imperium, an embodiment of honor and duty.
And the Inquisition's accusation was not only a negation of their actions but also a blatant insult to their honor.
Alex looked at Anatoly before him, shaking his head helplessly, his voice tinged with weariness and regret: "No, you misunderstand. I am not saying that your decision to oppose Inquisitor Apollyon's Exterminatus order during the Hatar Rebellion was a mistake, but that your public condemnation of the Inquisition was a mistake."
He continued: "If you had privately contacted the Imperial Fists, and then sent someone to Terra to appeal, demanding that the Inquisition review the rationality of the Exterminatus order, there would have been no problem at all.
Even Inquisitor Apollyon would have been subject to internal cleansing by the Inquisition for issuing the Exterminatus order.
But you publicly issued a series of condemnations against the Inquisition…"
At this point, Alex's tone became tinged with sarcasm, "Tsk tsk, do you really think the Inquisition doesn't care about its reputation, or needs to explain to you how it should conduct its affairs?"
His gaze sharpened, and his voice became colder and more unyielding: "As an Imperial oversight body specially chartered by the Emperor, the Inquisition is only ever accountable to itself and the Emperor.
While your efforts are great, your actions are destined to be futile, and will even backfire, making the Inquisition detest you."
Anatoly's fury was fully ignited, his voice thundering: "So what? Did those who died die in vain? No matter what your Inquisition decides, the Heavenly Lion Battle Group will never compromise!"
His words were resolute, like an unyielding stone, hard and immovable.
However, Alex shook his head again, a deep sigh of helplessness in his voice: "What if the Inquisition decides to eradicate your Heavenly Lion Battle Group? What if you resist the Inquisition?
With the Inquisition's power, I could even now declare you traitors and excommunicate the entire Chapter."
His tone carried a chilling sense of reality, as if stating an unchangeable fact.
He continued: "Even when you arrived in the Mariupol Sector, there was an internal Inquisition order notifying me to find a reason to send you to your deaths, to be consumed on the battlefield.
If I didn't have a past connection with Dorn's Sons, I really wouldn't bother with these matters. You stubborn-headed people are simply too difficult to communicate with."
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