Two Chapters, four companies, lost over a third of their forces in just a few days of fighting, with casualties approaching 160 Astartes Monks.
Such a brutal casualty rate would have been enough to make most Legion Commanders frown, even during the Great Crusade.
Aside from Legions known for their abundant forces like the Ultramarines and Luna Wolves, or specialized Legions like the Iron Warriors who view their warriors as expendable, most Legions would feel heartache over such a scale of attrition.
When the battle report was presented to the command center, the datapad in Commander Ventanus's hand was almost crushed.
This Ultramarines Captain, usually known for his composure, rarely showed anger. He stared at the shocking numbers on the casualty list and sternly questioned the Chapter Master of the Blood Knights and the Flesh Tearers, "What do you consider the Emperor's warriors? Disposable consumables?"
Sigismund also silently scrutinized the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers Chapter Masters who had come to report, his gaze as piercing as the searchlights of the Inquisition.
Loken, on the other hand, directly pulled up the holographic tactical map, circling the defensive lines that were forced to contract due to troop vacuum with a laser pointer, his voice filled with suppressed anger: "Look at the mess you've made! Now the defensive depth of the entire flank has shrunk by four kilometers!"
However, facing the accusations of the three Commanders, the two Chapter Masters of the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers displayed an eerie calm.
Chapter Master Yorl of the Blood Knights even stated frankly, "They died well."
Such an answer undoubtedly displeased Sigismund, Loken, and Ventanus. They immediately ordered these two Chapters to remain in orbit, forbidding them from engaging in combat.
But this could not compensate for the problems caused by these two Chapters.
Even more unsettling was the condition of the remaining warriors from these two Chapters' four companies on the planet's surface.
When Sigismund personally inspected the front lines, he found that these Blood Angels' descendants, far from being demoralized by the heavy losses, were instead excitedly preparing for battle.
A Blood Knight who had lost an arm refused the Tech-Priest's offer to attach a prosthetic limb, instead praying to his Chainsword with his single arm.
Another Flesh Tearers warrior was gritting his teeth and enduring something, seemingly whispering someone's name.
When Loken attempted to transfer the remnants of these two Chapters to a relatively safe second line for rest, he encountered collective insubordination.
These warriors preferred to face court-martial rather than leave the most dangerous salient. They seemed intent on dying directly on the battlefield, accepting only the bare minimum of treatment from their respective Chapter's Apothecaries, as if even a little more treatment for their injuries would be a waste.
Ultimately, the three Commanders had no choice but to urgently revise their combat plan: filling the defensive gaps with two companies of Black Templars, while simultaneously relaying the situation of these two Chapters back to Kherson, hoping Alex could deal with them.
—
Upon receiving the battle report, Alex felt a violent headache, his temples throbbing.
The performance of these two Chapters, in a sense, was precisely the fundamental reason why the Terra High Lords Council always maintained vigilance and exclusion towards the Space Marines.
He irritably tugged at the collar of his uniform, feeling a little difficulty breathing.
Disobeying orders, disregarding the bigger picture for so-called honor—how many strategic layouts had been ruined by these stubborn warriors!
Honor and brotherhood—Alex painfully closed his eyes—how many disasters in the The Galaxy / Milky Way had been destroyed by these two seemingly lofty words!
Thinking of this, Alex couldn't help but slam his fist on the table.
Psionic energy, overflowing due to emotional fluctuations, wrapped around Alex's hand, not only shattering the datapad in front of him but also disintegrating the desk along with it into atoms.
This made the staff in the command room as quiet as cicadas, only daring to watch the Inquisitor vent his anger without making a sound.
However, after venting, Alex felt a deep sense of helplessness.
He rubbed his temples, forcing himself to calm down.
The battle was currently tight, and he truly had no more Astartes Chapters to deploy. Unless...
A thought flashed through his mind: deploy the secretly trained Ash Knights into battle.
But this idea was quickly dismissed by himself.
Not to mention that the Ash Knights' current strength was simply insufficient to fill the void left by two Chapters, the potential political turmoil caused by prematurely exposing this secret force would be enough to give him a headache.
Just as Alex was worrying about the front-line battle, even more troubling news arrived one after another.
His private terminal suddenly lit up, and an urgent report from Sea Hare sent a sharp pain through his stomach.
The report indicated that on the frozen world designated as a medical recuperation planet, an exploration team had discovered life signs of some kind of "large green mushroom."
"What the hell..." Alex frowned and opened the holographic image, then gasped.
The image indeed showed green, legged, muscular "large mushrooms"! The outlines frozen deep within the glaciers were all too familiar—they were Orks!
Alex abruptly stood up. He finally understood now why this once-oceanic world had become a frozen death planet.
So, there was an Orc disaster here, and some hero from an unknown era used unknown means to freeze the entire place?!
"Damn it!" Alex couldn't help but curse, slamming his fist on the tactical table.
Beasts! Why didn't they discover it earlier, why at this critical juncture?!
He could only desperately pray that what was frozen in the ice were just ordinary Green-skinned Orc spore creatures, and not the ancient Orcs created by the Old Ones to fight the C'tan and Necrons—those terrifying beings known as Kroak.
(Orks are large mushrooms)
(Kroak, average height 12 meters, can wrestle with Primarchs)
Thinking of this, Alex broke out in a cold sweat.
If it really was the ancient Orc Kroak...
A crazy thought flashed through his mind: simply smash this entire frozen planet into the Necrons' throne world, and then throw a dozen Cyclone torpedoes onto the battlefield, letting these damned xenos and Orks perish together!
One must know that during the Great Crusade, the Orc Empire personally crushed by the Emperor even had an Orc Emperor capable of suppressing the Emperor himself! (Seriously suspect Old Man Huang was acting) And during the Beast War, one Beast could even duel Vulkan, fighting to a mutual destruction!
But whether it was the Orc Emperor or the Beast, compared to Kroak, they were like stunted runts! One must know that the only currently known Kroak in the entire The Galaxy / Milky Way is in the Hand-Sculpture King's museum, and this thing is twelve meters tall!
And the strongest Orc warlord currently rampant in the The Galaxy / Milky Way, Ghazghkull Thraka, isn't even as large as the Beast.
But reason quickly prevailed. Alex forced himself to take a deep breath and began to quickly review the complete report sent by Sea Hare.
He had to quickly assess the severity of this threat, and at the same time, find a way to deal with those two troublesome Chapters on the front line, which made his head ache even more.
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