[The next phase of the mission will begin in two hours. Now announcing the next phase of the chessboard mission.]
[Garrison the hive city for as long as possible, The longer you hold out, the more generous the rewards will be~]
[Garrison for one day - Grade C Reward: You will receive 500 cans of antlion meat, "Clean, healthy, and delicious."]
[Every Astra Militarum soldier who ate it while they were alive said it was great.]
[Garrison for three days - Grade B Reward: You will be rewarded with one World Eaters gene-seed. Injection will result in sterilization and the potential to inherit the World Eaters' bloodlust effect.]
[Garrison for five days - Grade A Reward: Obtain one STC construction template for a Lasgun.]
[This technology ensures that even an industrial world that has just entered the industrial age can produce Lasguns.]
[Garrison for one week - Grade S Reward: Dark Age of Technology panacea, capable of curing all diseases, including Nurgle's viruses.]
Standing before the game table, Caleb looked at the rewards on the screen and couldn't help but want to complain.
Are these first two even rewards? They're more like punishments.
Antlion canned food, if you tried to sell this junk, no one would want it.
On the Earth of this era, it's pure garbage. The country isn't exactly short on food right now; if you're going to eat this ghostly stuff, you might as well just pick up some cockroach eggs and eat those instead.
Caleb's evaluation was that this junk belonged at the same table as Corpse Starch—and from a safety perspective, it might even be worse than Corpse Starch.
As for that World Eaters gene-seed, only a brain dead idiot would want it.
World Eaters gene-seeds are notoriously unstable nowadays, most gene-seeds from Chaos factions are pretty unstable.
While it would significantly enhance combat capabilities, once you go off the deep end, you'd be no different from a mental patient.
If he actually implanted that thing, Caleb would have to consider buying a plane ticket to Little Saint James and getting over there immediately.
He might just end up offering blood to the Blood God and skulls for the Skull Throne the moment he landed, making major international news.
Well, the first two were just jokes, but the last two were truly incredible.
Take the Lasgun technology—as long as you hand it over to the state, the relevant authorities would definitely take you very seriously.
And the latter could be considered an extra life. As long as you didn't die on the spot, consuming it would allow you to resurrect where you stood.
In this era, it's absolutely an elixir of immortality; one dose and your health bar is instantly full.
Clearly, this mission was a case of aiming for the best while securing the second best, as long as he could hold out for more than 5 days, the rewards wouldn't be too bad.
From the mission description, this hive city is destined to fall.
Unless the Red Angel Gate is destroyed, the Chaos Legions will be endless.
"Ugh, 2000 deployment points is just too little!"
"I can't deploy nearly enough troops and manpower. It's going to be extremely difficult to counter the potential enemies!"
Caleb understood that trying to push forward with this few troops was almost impossible, even with a Primarch. The only choice now was to defend.
As long as he held out for 7 days, he would have completed this endless stage mission.
[This game is about to begin. Note: This is an endless defense mission!]
[The Chaos Legions will invade incessantly, and each wave will be stronger than the last!]
[Please hold out for as long as possible. The duration of your defense will affect the progression of your subsequent missions.]
"Hmm...!" Caleb nodded slightly. "Looks like it's still story mode!"
"I guess I need to carefully manage my deployment points, Fortunately, I borrowed pieces from the First Legion, otherwise I wouldn't even know what to deploy right now!"
At that moment, the Lion, sitting on the cathedral steps, was lost in silence.
His keen hearing could even pick up the screams and cries for help from several streets away.
But she did not move, for she still couldn't understand what had happened to the Imperium.
"Your Excellency, please come in!" Behind him, a stooped Ecclesiarchy priest invited the Lion into the sacred hall.
The Lion merely glanced inside through the main doors and was struck speechless by the massive statue within.
A colossal statue symbolizing the Emperor stood there.
The Emperor's statue had no face carved, but the iconic golden laurel wreath already revealed his identity, and the devout believers below were worshiping the Emperor as a god!
He frowned slightly.
In truth, he didn't fundamentally object to ordinary people worshiping his father as a god.
But his father had once stated that he disliked such behavior.
In fact, because Lorgar's actions had delayed the Great Crusade, his old man had even bombed the man's Perfect City to rubble.
"What a towering and magnificent statue!"
"I am curious, since you worship him so much, why have you not carved a face for him?"
The Lion didn't dare reveal his identity; even during the 30k era, the vast majority of ordinary people had never seen the Emperor.
Rashly claiming to have seen the Emperor would indeed be difficult to explain, and it might even expose his identity, something the secret-keeping Lion had no desire to do.
The stooped Ecclesiarchy priest let out a soft sigh.
As the saying goes, the Emperor appears differently to everyone—he has a thousand faces for a thousand people. To rashly imprint a standard appearance would be a highly sacrilegious act.
Statues should maintain a sense of sacred mystery; therefore, almost all Ecclesiarchy cathedrals do not carve the Emperor's features.
"So, Your Saintship, I wonder what the Emperor you saw looks like?"
"You are one blessed by the Emperor; perhaps the appearance you describe is closer to the Emperor's true face."
Lion fell silent. In that moment, the atmosphere of the entire cathedral became as quiet as death.
Many Battle Sisters were still kneeling before the statue, praying silently. Many people who had fallen into despair during this hopeless battle were also here, devoutly pleading for the Emperor's protection.
Smugglers from the hive city, minor nobles with a bit of money, factory workers from the Zhongcheng Munitorum, and even some street rats from the lower levels.
Everyone prayed to the Emperor in their own awkward ways, everyone remaining as quiet as possible, praying that this disaster would pass.
"Everyone, bow before the Emperor's devout chosen of the gods!"
"Do you see the golden light upon her?"
"That is the blessing bestowed by the Emperor, the proof of being the chosen of the gods!"
At this, the people who were still bowing to the statue began to shift their gaze toward the Lion.
They were instantly captivated by this young and beautiful woman, regardless of gender, they all turned their worship toward the Lion.
And amidst this, the Lion heard many strange prayers.
"Praise the Four-Armed God-Emperor, praise the Great Devourer!"
"The Emperor will protect you and bless you!"
"O great chosen of the gods, please show us a way forward!"
"Hold on, what?" The Lion's brow furrowed. He could see at a glance that some of these human-looking guys were not human at all!
His father only had two arms. This guy was saying his father had four arms—wasn't that pure sacrilege?
Lion raised his longsword and lifted the chin of the fellow who had spoken of the Four-Armed God-Emperor.
His gaze was still incredibly devout, but the man was bald, with no hair whatsoever on his scalp.
"What did you just say?"
"Praise the Four-Armed God-Emperor!"
"How many arms?!"
"Four arms!"
At this point, some people already felt something was strange.
Doesn't the statue above only have two arms? Why would this guy say four?
The Lion's soul had only just arrived in this body; he didn't understand what Tyranids were.
"Sigh!" Lion sighed. He guessed that modern humanity had been away from his father's personal light for too long.
To the point where even his image had become extremely distorted.
"Since you are so devout, are you willing to prove it with your life?"
"Countless people have fallen into despair amidst the roars of Chaos, Can you use your strength to prove your devotion?"
*Thump!*
The genestealer in front of him immediately knelt. The heavy impact even left a deep bloody mark on its forehead.
At this moment, its performance was so devout that even the other believers thought this was a truly pious follower of the God-Emperor.
*Rumble!*
The sound of artillery fire could already be heard in the distance. The Astra Militarum in the city were engaging the Chaos cultists.
The battle had reached a fever pitch. This place was close to the Dream of the Red Angel, so it was bearing the brunt of the first wave of the Chaos invasion.
"Take up your weapons and follow me!"
"For the Emperor, everyone take up arms and fight!"
Whether it was some kind of magic or not, these people actually took up weapons under Lion El'Jonson's persuasion.
Even if their combat ability on the battlefield was just cannon fodder, sometimes being able to tank a bit more damage or draw a little more enemy attention could very well create combat opportunities for the Primarch.
That's just how it is in 40k; many times, human lives are the true shields.
Anything that can be settled by spending human lives isn't considered a problem.
True despair comes from a foul world that cannot be moved, no matter how much you sacrifice.
These strange genestealer actually picked up the weapons they had previously prepared for a coup.
These weapons even included factory-made Las-weapons...
Some genestealer were even wearing the flak carapace armor used by the Astra Militarum.
Don't ask why the genestealer were willing to fight for the Lion.
They simply didn't want this planet to be ruined by Chaos.
The Hive Mind never really liked inedible Chaos demons. To keep their food from being tainted by filth, they had no choice but to fight for their meal.
[The Lion has recruited a squad of Genestealers. The unit has been incorporated into friendly units.]
[The Lion has rallied a squad of retreating Astra Militarum. This unit has been incorporated into allied units.]
"What?"
Seeing two new units added to his combat roster, Caleb was almost rendered speechless by the Lion's maneuvers.
No, wait, what does it mean "the Lion recruited Genestealers"? Are we really going to have genestealer guard the gates while the Primarch dies for the state?
Watching the Lion already commanding these ragtag forces to deploy a defensive line,
Caleb was even thinking about whether to just drop a batch of First Legion warriors to quickly assist the Lion.
Strangely enough, there was still a full hour before the battle officially began.
Yet the Lion was already prepared to defend this vital hive city stronghold.
This important intersection was located right at the boundary between the Hive Bottom and the Hive Middle.
Not far behind was an elevator shaft leading to the Upper Hive.
It could be said that the position the Lion was holding was a major transport hub.
Normally, there would be Astra Militarum units stationed here, but because the Chaos uprising outside was so severe, a large number of Astra Militarum had been redeployed.
[A squad of Battle Sisters is approaching. Your unit, the Lion, is negotiating with them!]
Suddenly, a unique group appeared near the hive city defensive line.
This was a combat unit composed of Battle Sisters and Sisters Repentia.
They were originally responsible for guarding the nearby cathedral, but having heard news of a suspected Living Saint, they had quickened their pace to get here!
"Priest, is this the so-called Living Saint?"
"Such a frail thing, not even as tall as me. Are you sure she's really that powerful?"
The tall older sister in front used her hand to measure against the other's head.
Currently, the Lion's height, even including his headpiece, couldn't compare to a Battle Sister.
Caleb's piece was originally this height; the young woman Lion's height was indeed a bit too short.
[The Lion's anger meter +1!]
The stooped priest was about to offer an explanation.
But the naturally short-tempered Lion didn't want to waste time with words.
Originally, as a man, he didn't really want to hit women, but now that he was a young woman too, there weren't so many scruples.
"Get lost!"
"I am not short!"
The Lion lashed out with a whip kick, sending the person flying.
Even wearing mortal Power Armor, the opponent couldn't help but cough incessantly.
The ceramite armor on her chest had been dented by the whip kick.
This Battle Sister could tell that the young woman hadn't even used her full leg strength just now.
If the opponent had truly struck with full force, her life would definitely not have been spared.
And after kicking her, this person seemed to be radiating golden light!
"Praise the Emperor!"
As they say, devout believers are all a bunch of masochists.
Even after taking such a kick, this Battle Sister still showed no sign of anger.
Feeling her slightly dented breastplate, the Battle Sister nodded with satisfaction.
"Holy crap, what power!"
"As expected of the God-Emperor's blessing—can such a petite body really explode with such strength!"
"Truly impressive. Before, I thought it was some bloodthirsty demon lost in the lust for slaughter!"
"But seeing how you restrained yourself, I know you must be the Emperor's chosen of the gods, a Living Saint!"
The Battle Sister chattered on, her tone toward the Lion now filled with reverence.
Watching all this on the chessboard, Caleb didn't know why,
But watching the blonde young woman Lion fight felt so right!
"Perhaps your presence can change the tide of battle for us!"
"The traitor invasion is imminent. We must hold this ground and prevent any traitors from passing the defensive line!"
"We will use our lives to buy time, ensuring the God-Emperor's loyal subjects have time to leave this place!"
The way this Battle Sister expressed herself was clearly different from other sisters.
She didn't speak or act in a delicate manner, but rather like a tough guy, which was very much to the Lion's taste.
"State your identity first!" The Lion adjusted the boots on his feet.
They were low-heeled boots with a layer of ceramite armor attached.
Clearly, the current Lion wasn't used to wearing such things; after the kick just now, the shoe had gone crooked.
"I am the Canoness of this Sisterhood company, call me Tyrian!"
"We are the Daughters of the Emperor!"
"Our duty is to garrison the cathedral. Our mission is to never let these damned heretics take a single step into the sanctuary!"
"Hmm?"
The Lion nodded, but then felt a flicker of confusion.
When did the Emperor have daughters?
Even the Astartes wouldn't dare call themselves that.
"The upcoming battle will be under my command!"
"I have received a calling; my father's voice is guiding me!"
For the Sisters, calling the God-Emperor "father" was perfectly normal.
And for Lion, calling the Emperor "dad" was also perfectly normal.
Both sides reached a tacit understanding in that moment, and even command of the troops was handed over to the Lion.
The already small number of friendly units increased slightly.
The sight of genestealer mixed in among the Battle Sisters was truly a comical scene.
[A squad of Battle Sisters has joined the friendly units. The Chaos forces have begun their invasion.]
"What?"
Looking at the 30 minutes of deployment time remaining,
Caleb felt the system must be joking.
His own units hadn't even been deployed yet, and the enemy had already appeared!
It looked like the Lion's troops would have to hold out for half an hour before he could send support!