After speaking seriously, the officers below had no idea what was actually said on the other end of the communicator.
But when the horned man turned back around, the previous look of contempt was completely gone from his face.
Because compared to what he had witnessed with his own eyes, he was even more horrified by the scene his subordinates had described.
And the thought that there really were over a thousand knife-wielding lunatics in the supply depot, who had slaughtered their way through the entire passage, made the horned man regret why he had to come out and handle this hot potato.
However, the regret in his heart turned into madness under the scolding from the communicator.
He looked up again, his eyes filled only with ferocity:
"Open fire with everything we have! It's just one armored vehicle. I don't believe it can drive back under such heavy fire!!!"
As soon as the horned man gave the order, the officers below immediately carried it out. The large and small firing points, which had quieted down for a moment, immediately resumed firing under the officers' shouts and curses.
Solid rounds, energy beams, rocket launchers, and even Bolter fire began weaving a net of fire in the air, raining down frantically on the armored vehicle.
The entire vehicle was instantly covered in dense, exploding sparks.
Though the scene looked spectacular, in the eyes of the horned man behind, it gradually turned into terror after a brief moment of hesitation.
"How... is it not exploding?!"
As the commander of this armored vehicle, he certainly knew its limits.
Faced with such heavy fire at close range, the vehicle might hold out for a little while, but it definitely shouldn't last this long!
Yet not only was the vehicle holding out, but the horned man also felt—perhaps it was an illusion—that the vehicle wasn't damaged at all. The barrage around it had been firing for so long, only managing to clean off the patterns on its surface.
Only the rocket launchers, which should have destroyed the vehicle in one hit, barely left fist-sized dents on the hull.
"How is this possible?"
The horned man couldn't understand, and what happened next completely froze him in place!
The Bolter fire machine gun mounted on the vehicle began to roar!
The vehicle rumbled forward, unleashing a barrage of fire with absurd power and density, sweeping directly through the crowded crowd ahead.
Then, as the onlookers instantly turned pale, the passage, which had gathered at least a thousand people, instantly transformed into a corridor of bloody sludge.
Looking across the entire passage, there was only splattered bloody sludge and some unrecognizable human remains.
The surviving crew members, seeing this scene, immediately collapsed to the ground. After exchanging glances, they could only come to one conclusion:
"The machine spirit... it's probably not just 'pleased'..."
...
The Hive City was thrown into chaos because of a suddenly emerging 'Astra Militarum' infantry regiment.
But in the defensive positions not far from the Hive City, as another wave of the PDF fell on the battlefield, the Astra Militarum officers behind them began mechanically executing the soldiers who had managed to escape.
Amidst the crisp sounds of execution, the Astra Militarum command center's desk was piled with intelligence reports confirmed from multiple sources.
The Political Commissar stood proudly and coldly to the side in his splendid uniform, while an elderly white-haired general sat behind the desk, his expression grim.
"So, what we're facing isn't just a band of roving rebels, but forces from an entire Hive City?"
The Political Commissar nodded, and the old general suddenly slumped down.
After all, this meant that all the plans he had devised were, from the very beginning, nothing more than suicide missions.
The thought that he had been fighting for so long, only for it to be a meaningless sacrifice, left the old general feeling utterly drained.
It wasn't that he cared about the soldiers—after all, wasn't dying for the Emperor the same everywhere?
What frustrated the old general was that, at a time when the situation on this planet was deteriorating day by day, he had pointlessly wasted so many troops.
Especially that elite force, far exceeding his expectations, which he had personally sent into a Hive City swarming with rebels.
Just thinking about it filled the old general with a sense of bitter loss:
"If only they could have been used elsewhere..."
As the old general sighed in resignation, the Political Commissar, seeing that he had accepted the situation, remained silent for a moment before reminding him:
"Your Excellency, should we halt the next wave of attacks?"
The old general snapped back to attention, paused briefly, and nodded.
Just as he was about to look up and give the order, the door suddenly burst open!
BANG!
The old general and the Political Commissar immediately turned to look. A panting messenger, carrying a communication backpack, was holding up a piece of parchment to them.
Before the old general or the Political Commissar could react, the messenger spoke excitedly:
"The Hive City... the Hive City has raised the Imperial flag!"
Old General: "???"
Political Commissar: "???"
The two exchanged confused glances before the Political Commissar stepped forward, took the military report, and handed it to the old general.
At the same time, he turned to face the densely packed monitors, scanned them, and pointed to the one in the top-left corner:
"This angle, zoom in."
The technical officer immediately complied. Soon, the image was adjusted to the main screen and magnified to its fullest.
Then, everyone in the Astra Militarum command center stared wide-eyed at what they saw.
Over two thousand blood-soaked soldiers were standing on a platform at the top of the Hive City spire. A massive Imperial flag was being raised again, and beside it was a battered Chimera armored vehicle that had clearly endured countless attacks.
Though the ordinary soldiers didn't recognize the unit in the image, when a conspicuous Tech-Priest appeared, the Political Commissar and the old general immediately snapped to attention after a brief moment of recollection.
"They're actually still alive?!"
The old general was stunned, but immediately afterward, he shot up from behind his desk.
He looked at the Political Commissar beside him and saw the same shock reflected in his eyes.
Because compared to the fact that Sith was still alive, another piece of information conveyed by the image was even more terrifying.
"They... couldn't have..."
"Slaughtered their way through the entire Hive City?"
The old general muttered in disbelief, while even the iron-hearted Political Commissar couldn't help but take a deep breath to calm the shock in his heart.
The entire command center fell into silence. It was only after a long while that the old general sat back down, his face showing even greater resignation:
"What a waste."
The Political Commissar also lowered his head slightly, his expression somber:
"If only we had known earlier..."
They didn't finish their sentences because, at that very moment, a sudden roar from overhead shook the entire ground violently.
Immediately afterward, an overwhelming barrage of anti-air fire lit up the sky.
The old general's expression returned to normal. Ignoring the dust shaking loose from the ceiling, he straightened the military report and moved the blue flag representing their forces on the map, pulling it back significantly away from the Hive City where Sith was located.
Outside the red flags originally representing the rebels were dozens of massive green flags, each as large as a city, and beyond the 'cities,' a green tide covered the entire map.
After doing all this, the old general's gaze fell on the lone, isolated blue flag far from the main force. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed:
"Send them a fighter plane to relay the battle situation. The rest is up to them."
...
At the top of the Hive City spire, Sith watched as a fighter plane roared overhead, dropped a package, and then fled as if escaping. His expression darkened.
Not far away, Bruno and a few soldiers retrieved the package, opened it, and quickly examined the contents. Then, holding a small booklet, Bruno returned to Sith's side.
First was a military report:
"News from the command center. They say another group of alien enemies has arrived, and our main forces are contracting their controlled area."
Aliens?
Sith was taken aback. Aliens meant extraterrestrial races.
And the alien races that had managed to survive until the 42nd millennium under humanity's rule were all 'exceptionally skilled.' Encountering them could make humans smile from the inside out.
Except for the Tau Commander...
But unlike Sith's troubled expression, Bruno's face showed no worry. Instead, he casually held up another small booklet:
"But looking at the alien combat manual issued by the Departmento Munitorum, this group of aliens isn't much of a threat."
Seeing Bruno's confidence, Sith frowned and took the booklet. Sure enough, it bore the authoritative seal of the Departmento Munitorum.
But when Sith opened it with half-belief, the first sentence that caught his eye left him completely stunned:
"When facing Orks, brave Imperial soldiers can easily take them down in close combat with a shoulder throw..."
"Huh???"
Sith looked up, frowning, his eyes filled with confusion at how such words could be combined:
"Orks? Close combat? Shoulder throw???"