"But in our mixed company of Emperor's Children and Iron Hands, this kind of unauthorized modification is absolutely not allowed."
Kasjia said seriously, facing the neatly lined up Iron Hands before him.
Last time, the mixed company of the Iron Hands' First Company and the Emperor's Children, led by Kasjia, had achieved very good results.
Although they had not been able to defend the designated landing site, in the face of the unexpected Titan-beast enemy, they had been able to skillfully use guerrilla tactics to tie down the enemy's main force.
Before Ferris had recaptured the space elevator, they had successfully controlled the enemy's advance, and had even been able to destroy one of them.
Even though the Gardinerian Titans were very different from the Imperial ones.
But no matter how different, it was still a Titan.
For Kasjia to have cut off the other's shield generator with his personal ability, and ultimately to have destroyed it, was already pushing the limits of an individual Space Marine's combat.
He had also sent a team of Emperor's Children's motorcycle detachments into the city for interference, and had ultimately completed the negotiation for a peaceful occupation with the other's High Lord.
If it weren't for the Gardinerians' feigned surrender, the whole process could have been called the perfection of perfection.
Therefore, Kasjia, who had been highly praised, had also gained more command authority over the troops in the mixed force.
"Sigh!"
Hearing Kasjia's prohibition, a wave of sighs came from the ranks.
As Iron Hands, they all hoped to be closer to their Primarch, Lady Ferris.
But they had just happened to be assigned under this Son of the Emperor, and their commander had so easily rejected the gift from the Primarch!
Watching the other Iron Hands all happily receiving new and cool mechanical arms and other mechanical limbs, equipped with a large amount of weapons and equipment.
Only their First Company was being restricted by this Emperor's Children's commander from being modified. It was really infuriating!
Kasjia: "The First Company of the Iron Hands voluntarily gives up mechanical modification."
Voluntarily?
Haha, that's very voluntary.
To be thinking of pimping out one's own body all day long was really a bit too horrifying.
"Perhaps you will think my request is too much."
"But the question I have for you will never change—if mechanical modification is really so powerful, and can make an ordinary Astartes burst out with combat power far beyond that of a normal person..."
"...then how come the Iron Hands legion doesn't have a single Space Marine who can beat Arcur Tona?"
With Arcur's luxurious record against the Iron Hands, all voices for modification were directly suppressed.
As he spoke, Kasjia glanced at Arcur, who was standing at the head of the Emperor's Children legion.
[Then let the prophecy come true.]
[I have long had this resolve.]
He remembered the discussion between the three of them and Amal yesterday.
Kasjia sighed softly in his heart.
But now was not the time for sentimentality.
He looked at the restless Iron Hands below and continued.
"As far as I know, even though her whole body has not undergone a single modification, she has not left a single scar!"
"But what about in actual combat? Not even a Dreadnought, whose flesh and blood is almost entirely covered by steel, can defeat our powerful Captain Arcur!"
"Wait a minute!"
Solomon Demeter, the adjutant of the Second Company of the Emperor's Children, raised his hand and asked.
"Lord Commander, how do you know that our teacher, Arcur, has not a single scar on her entire body?"
He had found a blind spot.
A major blind spot!
With Solomon Demeter's words, the entire training chamber was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Kasjia: "..."
You!
Don't ask this kind of question when I'm talking about something serious!
"Ahem, of course, that's what she said herself."
At that moment, he heard a disappointed hiss from both legions.
"That's not the point!"
"In short, as humans, our natural bodies contain enough potential!"
"If we give up on being ourselves and place our hopes on external things like steel, expecting steel to be able to exert a power that we, as humans, can never exert..."
"...then we will be forever trapped in this small steel body, unable to advance even a single step."
Kasjia said with passion.
But looking at the expressions of the Iron Hands below, it seemed that not many of them were really listening.
After all, in the face of a quick way to improve combat ability, not many Iron Hands could resist the temptation and believe Kasjia's empty words.
Even though they knew that Kasjia would not allow them to modify their bodies to a greater extent...
...but many had already begun to calculate in their hearts how to "cleverly" lose an arm or a leg on the battlefield to get a spot for mechanical modification.
In the face of a quick way to become stronger, not everyone can hold on to their original heart.
The speed of the legion's fall was far beyond Kasjia's imagination.
Although he knew that the Primarch would have a great influence on her legionaries, to actually encounter this situation was still a bit heartbreaking.
More talk was useless. The general assault on the few remaining stubborn fortresses of the Gardinerians was about to begin.
In this final battle, the Gardinerians would use more of the dark technology they had not seen before.
The real battle had not yet officially begun.
"Prepare for landing. We are about to join the battle as the vanguard of the legion."
"And in this battle, I must remind you all: the enemy's remaining resistance is very likely to be stronger than you imagine."
"If you do not prepare in advance, you will face immeasurable casualties."
"I hope you all understand this."
Kasjia said, his expression grave.
The warriors were gathering near the capital of Gardiner.
In front of this heavily bombarded city, a faint blue defensive barrier was spread against the endless torrential artillery fire.
Even from the outskirts of the city where Kasjia was, one could see the giant, UFO-shaped tower in the center of the city, which was controlling the shield generator.
Compared to any of the shield generators they had seen before, it was a bit too huge.
According to the intelligence obtained in the previous negotiations, this super-large psionic shield generator was the foundation of the Gardinerian Empire.
In their several thousand years of pocket empire history, there had been other xenos or human interstellar empire invasions.
But they had always been able to hold on until the end and complete a counterattack with this powerful shield system.
And now, it was the same.
Every moment, there were countless genetically modified psykers in the capital, being thrown into it as fuel for the shield.
Such a terrifying investment had brought it an unbelievably powerful endurance.
To overload it, it was not enough to rely solely on the macro-cannons, lances, and vortex torpedoes on the warships.
This was also the reason why Ferris had ultimately chosen to land on the surface for a decisive battle after several days of orbital bombardment.
The battle began with a rain of missiles that blotted out the sky.
Coordinated with the artillery fire from the giant warship in the sky, countless missiles, from the Fire Wasps Titan Legion of the 413th Fleet and the Mortis Dreadnoughts of the Iron Hands, launched a blanket barrage at the shield.
At the same time, the laser cannon beams from the Annihilator-pattern Predator tanks, coordinated by Ferris's precise operation, also fired along with it.
The thunderous Medusa cannons and Earthshaker cannons' heavy artillery, the Baneblade tanks' Baneblade cannons... in short, an endless barrage of artillery fire, far beyond the wildest imagination of the Gardinerian High Lord, was aimed at the Gardinerian's shield and began to suppress it in an instant.
Even though the Gardinerian shield had an almost endless supply of energy, in the face of such terrifying firepower, the faint blue light it emitted also became more and more dim.
The overload of the other side's psionic force field was now just a matter of time in Ferris's eyes.
[That's right, that's it.]
[The weak can only submit or die. Mercy has no effect on them.]
[Only great power is the most eternal truth in this world.]
Looking at the Gardinerian's crumbling capital fortress, which was about to be turned into ruins in the next second...
Ferris couldn't help but "think" in her heart.
Even if excessive mechanical modification would make her, or the entire legion, lose a part of their humanity.
But from the moment she had set foot on the Great Crusade, from the moment she had fought against other xenos, hadn't she already chosen to abandon a part of her humanity for the sake of victory?
What was the difference between now and then?
SHING!
Suddenly, as if it were a final, desperate struggle, the shield generator, which was about to dim, suddenly became bright in an instant.
The shield was not only not overloaded, but it had become even stronger.
What on earth was going on?
The same doubt, at this moment, welled up in the hearts of all the ground troops.
"Gardinerians!"
"Their ground forces are advancing towards us!"
An alarm came from someone on the communicator, and the armed forces from under the cover of the giant shield also gradually appeared in everyone's field of vision.
The final counterattack from the master of Gardiner had begun.
"All soldiers of the Ultramarines, charge with me!"
The commander of the 413th Expeditionary Fleet, the Ultramarines Chapter Master Cicero, led his Ultramarines and charged at the forefront.
The shame of the Ultramarines can only be washed away by the blood of the enemies of the Ultramarines.
After learning that Ferris would launch a general assault on the Gardinerian main planet, the recovered Chapter Master Cicero had taken the initiative to apply to be the vanguard of the ground forces.
He wanted to engage in the first wave of combat with the enemies who had brought them shame.
And he would not be short of teammates by his side.
The psyker units from the Thousand Sons, led by Amal, were at the side, using psionic shields to provide cover from the distant artillery fire.
"My Emperor's Children, motorcycle fire support, flank and cover our friendly forces' advance!"
At the same time, the mixed formation of Emperor's Children and Iron Hands, led by Kasjia, was also following the Ultramarines to launch an assault on the enemy's fortress city.
After the first wave of offensive had failed to overload the Gardinerians' large-scale shield generator, Ferris had immediately chosen a second operational plan.
An elite squad would break into the city and destroy the enemy's large-scale shield generator from within.
A boarding action.
But it was clear that the Gardinerians' last-ditch ground combat forces were also no pushover.
At the head of the troops were a large number of suicide tanks and troop transports carrying a large number of suicide soldiers.
These soldiers were similar to the Gardinerian assassins that Kasjia had encountered on the warship before, but compared to those high-end goods, these suicide infantry, who won by numbers, clearly could not stop the advance of the Ultramarines much.
"Watch out! There are a large number of Gardinerian four-legged Titans ahead!"
Dozens of the four-legged Titan-beasts that Kasjia had encountered before were blocking their path.
It seemed that the High Lord of Gardiner had used all of his trump cards.
But today was different from the past: before, Kasjia and his team had only had a few hundred men, but now, a thousand-strong Ultramarines chapter was at the forefront, the various clan units of the Iron Hands were holding the center, and there were also sorcerers from the Thousand Sons providing support and shields at the side;
Not only that, but there was also a large amount of heavy fire support from the Iron Hands legion behind them... the strength of the two sides in the battle had undergone a dramatic change.
Before, even Kasjia had had some difficulty dealing with three Titans.
But now, they looked no different from cannon fodder: as soon as they rushed forward, they would be quickly overloaded and then quickly fall.
Turning into a fallen steel ruin, slightly hindering the advance of the Ultramarines' vanguard.
Of course, it could only be a slight hindrance.
"What a terrifying fire coverage and legion coordination."
Kasjia was a little dumbfounded.
Even if their Emperor's Children only harassed from the side, the Gardinerians' defensive line would be turned into ruins under the endless artillery offensive.
In a war of this level, individual strength still played a small part.
The key was still the fire coverage from farming!
Kasjia was beginning to agree with Guilliman's theory.
If he could really execute it like this, and not just rush up to duel with people in actual combat.
Hiss... it seems he, Kasjia, had also done this.
Never mind then.
As one obstacle after another was cleared by the vanguard of the Ultramarines, the core army of the Gardinerian High Lord was finally exposed to the view of Kasjia and the others.
"Heavens... what is this thing?"
Dr. Zomboss's ride?
The one that the Gardinerian High Lord was riding was an extremely large, super-giant walking tank.
This walking tank was shaped like a spider-beetle, supported by several giant mechanical legs;
And on it were arranged a large number of huge, giant particle cannon main guns, which could, from a very long distance, pierce through all the obstacles they encountered on the battlefield.
Except for Ferris's iron hands.
The power of these large cannons was not even inferior to the top-tier particle cannon used to assassinate Ferris at that time.
If it weren't for the fact that Big Sister Fei's iron hands had an almost cheating-like strength, if any other Primarch had come, they would have been seriously injured if not killed by this one blow.
And it wasn't just the giant tank that the master of Gardiner was riding. Their feet were also covered by a large number of infantry fighting tanks and predator tanks;
Not only that, but there were also a large number of biologically modified soldiers in light, carapace-like power armor, holding huge shields and engaging in bloody melee with the vanguard of the Ultramarines.
And after a large number of head-on, hard battles, even Chapter Master Cicero had also suffered multiple injuries.
"Cicero, be careful!"
Kasjia shouted.
While cutting a charging infantry fighting tank in half, Cicero had not noticed at all the high-speed suicide Rhino armored vehicle coming from the side.
....
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