In the sky, the warships of the Imperial Fleet spread out in orbit, continuously raining down lance strikes upon vast swathes of fallen territory on the ground, carrying out systematic extermination.
Yet, looking down from beneath these warships towards the Hyberia Hive Sector, Sith, standing atop the spire, felt the lights of the church behind him brighten once more. In his eyes, there was only a confusion he couldn't fathom.
Because from here to Hyberia, an aerial corridor formed by transport craft directly connected Sith's position to the safe zone.
*Snap*~
Snapping to attention and saluting, an Astra Militarum officer, his uniform impeccably crisp, offered a respectful salute to Sith, who was still the commander of a Planetary Defense Force regiment.
"My Lord, these are the resupply materials for this batch, totaling ten thousand sets of fully enclosed combat suits."
Sith withdrew his gaze from the aerial corridor and looked at the officer before him, who not only saluted but whose face clearly showed respect and admiration.
If not for the officer's rank insignia plainly indicating he was two full grades above Sith, Sith might have even thought the man before him was just some low-level Astra Militarum logistics officer.
Somewhat uncomfortably, Sith raised his hand in return salute, took the manifest, signed his name without even looking at it.
After all, when an entire commendation list had been delivered earlier, Sith had already been rendered completely numb.
Though its scale couldn't be compared to renowned Legions like the Krieger or Cadia, in terms of equipment quality alone, Sith's previously nameless and disregarded Planetary Defense Force had suddenly leapt to the top echelons of the Astra Militarum.
Now, aside from the Penitent Storm Troopers, whose total numbers galaxy-wide barely reached the million mark, probably only the Battle Sisters, lavishly funded by the Ecclesiarchy, could surpass Sith's troops in terms of equipment quality.
And even among the Penitent Storm Troopers, Sith had never heard of any warzone deploying five thousand of them at once.
One must know that even in the brutal 'Berkeley Horse Campaign', the presence of just two hundred privately-equipped Stormtroopers in power armor was considered the height of extravagance by all, including high-ranking Astra Militarum officials.
And now, Sith didn't have two hundred, but a full five thousand!
Stormtrooper equipment nearly represented the pinnacle for Mortals. Its supporting gear was extensive and might sound complex, but after Sith reviewed the individual kit list, he had a more direct summary in his heart for the elite force his men were about to become:
Namely, a Mortal force capable of facing Astartes head-on!
Or rather...
Little Astartes!
Handing back the manifest, the Astra Militarum officer opposite him snapped to attention and saluted once more. Then, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face. After opening his mouth several times, he suddenly straightened up again.
Sith had just returned the salute. Seeing his superior, who was clearly senior enough to be his commanding officer, salute yet again, he was taken aback, unsure whether to return the salute or what to do.
Before Sith could react, the officer had already taken out a pocket watch, opened it, and respectfully presented it to Sith.
Sith looked inside and saw a beautiful young woman and a golden-haired child.
"Uh... is this... also part of the supplies?"
Sith couldn't wrap his head around it, but the officer opposite him wore a sincere expression:
"These are my wife and son. If you have a moment, my Lord, I hope you might sign your name on their photograph."
Sith: "..."
The corner of his eye twitched. Although his radio occasionally received reports of the Empire's sudden, frenzied coverage of him, Sith truly hadn't expected the Empire's propaganda machine, once fully mobilized, to achieve this level of effect.
Sith couldn't understand it, but Calgar thought more deeply than Sith.
After all, while the Astartes were innately powerful, they were far too distant for Mortals.
Yet Sith was not only a Mortal like them, but even their unit designations had appeared multiple times on the same manifest.
This sense of proximity was precisely why Calgar had chosen to elevate Sith!
Because people are always more willing to resonate with their own kind.
Sith hurriedly signed his name on the blank space beside the faces. Watching as the name that had carved through the sand sea and consecutively cleared two Hive Cities finally landed within his most important pocket watch, the officer let out a deep sigh of relief.
Carefully closing the watch, the officer gave Sith another earnest salute. Finally, holding the manifest signed by Sith, he turned and walked towards the transport craft, now filled with refugees ready to return.
Only the refugees were returning. As a benchmark, while Sith received these supplies, he also had to continue holding every position.
After all, at this moment, aside from Sith's forces, there were almost no Imperial strongholds left in the wilds.
Even if Sith did nothing but hold his ground here, in the Empire's propaganda, 'completely overrun' and'still holding firm' were two entirely different narratives.
The transport craft flew away. As night fell, a new batch of transports appeared on the distant horizon, preparing to land.
Sith handed over the subsequent reception duties to Ana and turned to walk towards the crowd currently changing into their new gear.
It was gradually approaching dinner time.
Apart from the still-bright searchlights, with ample promethium supplies, Sith had finally lifted restrictions on lighting.
In the main activity areas now, lights were shining everywhere. Large numbers of soldiers who had finished changing were wearing brand-new fully enclosed combat suits and wielding 'Lucius-pattern Lasguns'—weapons that, with concentrated fire, could even pose a threat to Astartes.
Though the 'with concentrated fire' limitation remained, at least his soldiers finally held something more than 'flashlights' when facing Astartes or advanced xenos enemies.
Sith walked slowly on his inspection. The elated soldiers around him, upon seeing him, quickly straightened up and saluted.
Perhaps since Command had taken notice of Sith, almost all records proved that Sith's 101st Regiment adopted black uniforms.
Therefore, all the equipment sent this time had also been traditionally painted uniformly in black.
Now, a group of fully armed black-clad soldiers merely standing there exuded an aura of killing intent.
Yet, beneath this killing intent, before the soldiers were pots filled to the brim with starch blocks stewed with protein blocks, and cans of synthetic vegetable rations from some unknown planet and production year!
The intense 'meaty' aroma overpowered the soldiers' killing aura.
The sky grew darker, but under the bright lights, soldiers held mess tins full of steaming hot stewed protein. They mixed in the evenly divided vegetable ration cans directly, taking a bite to enjoy a hot meal with 'meat,' 'vegetables,' and'staple food.'
Sith even saw some soldiers who had already finished eating put down their mess tins. They took out the newly issued blankets, leaned against the wall by the bonfire, and basked in the warmth washing over them. Then, they took out Departmento Munitorum supply items and poured out a roll of...
Dried tobacco leaf!
They took scrap paper, carefully wrapped the tobacco, then took a deep draw, lighting it from the bonfire.
Warmth, dryness, fullness, safety...
All of these things, in this moment, transformed into an infinite intoxication for the soldiers, expressed through slightly narrowed eyes and deep, exhaled breaths!
Even for those who didn't smoke, there was synthetic recaf.
Many soldiers gathered in small groups around a pot of steaming recaf. When it began to sizzle and boil, they immediately poured it, each receiving a small cup.
Holding it in both hands as if it were nectar, they drank it down. As the heat and lingering sweetness coursed through their bodies, the long-accumulated fatigue was utterly banished in that instant.
Amidst the crackling of the bonfire, soldiers lifted their heads, lost in Intoxicated, and let out long, satisfied sighs.
Sith withdrew his attention from the soldiers' faces. Thanks to the ample supplies, even the refugees had received a somewhat decent dinner today.
The entire spire top was enveloped in peace. Even Sith was reluctant to break the tranquility of this moment.
But as Sith remained silent, the radio, which had been broadcasting the Empire's 'many great victories,' once again transmitted a slightly staticky, surging electronic voice.
Sith was too far away to hear clearly, catching only fragments. But when words like 'Fleet, Calgar, personal expedition, the weak xenos in space' came through, and the dense Imperial Fleet overhead retracted its lances, beginning to move towards the deeper void farther away, accompanied by even more fervent cheers from the soldiers around him, the ease Sith had just begun to feel... instantly vanished.
The Imperial Fleet overhead, which had brought air superiority to Alert Star, gradually receded into the distance. Watching the soldiers around him likely experiencing their last moment of ease in life...
Sith lowered his gaze slightly and let out a soft sigh:
"Alert Star."
"It's getting livelier and livelier..."