Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

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The bad news is that Hades' fleet is located southeast of the Eye of Terror, exactly one full Eye of Terror away from Medusa and Caliban.

At Hades' strong suggestion, Phenus sent a small team to the two planets to request reinforcements.

Hades was absolutely certain that a backup plan was necessary and essential.

As for whether the backup plan can arrive in time... Hades thought, this is a matter of doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate, although the current fate is most likely to be subspace chaos.

Hades paused, recalling the message the Emperor had given him on Prospero's track.

If the legions of the Word Bearers and the Iron Warriors still largely follow the iteration pattern, then the total number of ships in the two legions should now be slightly less than twice that of the Iron Hands, and with the addition of the ships of the Silent Order, this number would reach around 1.6.

Among them, the Iron Warriors' ships tend to be heavily armored, and the price of high defense is reduced mobility. Meanwhile, the Word Bearers have not yet received ship replenishment from the Warlords, so the number of Word Bearers' ships is relatively small.

Hades pondered the message from Thor—no, they didn't have to face the enemy's full force, at least not in the early stages.

However, the Steel Hand is not entirely at a disadvantage. Almost every ship of the Steel Hand is crammed into factory or laboratory-like buildings, which often gives them firepower beyond their original level.

Influenced by the preferences of the Medusa Queen, the Steel Hand's warships consist mainly of battleships and medium-to-large armored cruisers.

The Silent Order, on the other hand, mainly consists of battleships and medium and light cruisers. They are usually assigned special missions and appear as an auxiliary force to other large legions. The Silent Order is well aware of their role, so each ship has been modified in terms of engine and concealment system, and equipped with anti-phantom defense field.

Hades' ships are better suited for raids, or in other words, surprise attacks.

Hades stared at the Word Bearers leading the way in the distance on the Bird Servant Instrument, his left eye flashing red as countless data surged in. The fleets of the Silent Order and the Iron Hand changed formation, and soon the entire fleet closed into a wedge shape.

The Iron Hand fleet remained in the open, while Hades specifically ordered the Iron Hands to activate signal and light jamming mechanisms to cover the Silent Order scattered in the shadows.

【coming. 】

Phenusmanus said softly,

It was like walking into a deep jungle, with branches twisted from steel bars stretching luxuriantly into view. The distant stars cast blurry shadows on their heavy, dark gray hulls. Across the vast void, Hades could clearly see those silvery, symmetrical symbols, resembling both helmets and skulls—those were steel warriors.

The master of this star system had arrived, and the Word Bearers squad, who were leading the way ahead of the Iron Hand, immediately sank their ships downwards, waiting impatiently for the Iron Hand's attention to be diverted.

"Don't worry about them."

Hades said abruptly.

Fenus stared at the Bird Servant, nodded, and continued to command the fleet forward. The Word Bearers squad, finally spared by the Primarch, gave a brief, polite notification to the Medusa Lord, then immediately ramped up their engines and decided to leave.

Hades muttered a few words to himself, then shook his head. The Word Bearer Thor was still in their hands. The departing figure of this squad was truly resolute.

This is a good thing.

Hades thought to himself, while remaining on edge, waiting for the Iron Warriors' ships to enter. The fleet continued to advance cautiously, and the outermost flank ships had already transmitted back blurry maps of the defensive formations on the distant planet.

They walked step by step into the starfield of the Iron Warriors. These dark gray behemoths surged in from all directions, amidst the magnificent nebulae, the long belts of debris, and the shadows on the back of planets, always maintaining a cautious distance from the Iron Hands.

It was like a polite distance, or perhaps... Hades blinked, watching the wolf pack trailing far behind their prey.

They sent a brief meeting notification.

Phenus opened his mouth,

I asked them to provide an accurate map of the Steel Hand star system, but they brushed me off.

Hades' voice rang out.

“They want us to go as far in as possible. The further in we go, the thicker the encirclement becomes, and the harder it will be for us to retreat. At the same time, if the eye of fear is opened, the impact will be even stronger.”

"But they don't want us to go too deep,"

The sound paused for a moment.

"The deeper we go, the more dangerous it becomes for them. They don't know when we will speed up and rush into their precious obelisk gallery."

"This is a game of strategy,"

Hades stared intently at the Bird Servant Instrument, its red dots flashing, each dot representing a ship of a steel warrior.

"It all depends on how much Peturabo wants to embezzle."

Phenus frowned.

They know why we're here, and we know why they're here.

“Yes,” Hades said, “a delicate balance. If Perturabo didn’t know our intentions, he would have chosen to try to win you over rather than lingering on the edge of the fleet’s maximum attack range—which has been marked as a target since the beginning of the Iron Hand.”

Hades remained silent, unsure whether Perturab knew the Order of Silence was also present. He leaned towards the assumption that Perturab knew, for if he had been dragged into Chaos's presence, he would certainly know Hades was here.

But the biggest problem isn't there. The real problem is that Hades and his party don't know exactly how far the Eye of Terror has expanded, or when it will erupt.

This is the most difficult problem, and for Hades, the solution is naturally to reach the anchor point as quickly as possible.

He could command his fleet to charge into enemy lines like a cavalry charge, attempting to disrupt the very core of the enemy as quickly as possible. However, if the first raid failed, they would face the predicament of being surrounded with nowhere to retreat.

Meanwhile, the opposing side was unaware of the Steel Hand's plans. For Perturabo, it seemed that the Steel Hand still had two options: disrupting the long line or launching a surprise attack on the anchor point—although both sides knew perfectly well that the first option was doomed to failure.

But Peturabo could not be sure whether Hades was aware of this.

Hades tapped his fingertips lightly on the command table. The data map given to him by Thor the Word Bearer was glowing with a faint blue light. The Eye of Terror, slowly rotating like a whirlpool, was staring at him. A sudden crack shot into the whitish eyeball from the southeast, and at the deepest part of the crack, Kadia was floating quietly. The Gate of Kadia, the most stable route to the Eye of Terror.

And now, their fleet is advancing along this crack.

Hades pondered, scrutinizing each planet on the fleet's current route. The Iron Warriors' infrastructure clearly marked the planets where the Black Stone Obelisks might exist.

The good news is that, because they need to be stationed on planets with Blackstone obelisks, the Iron Warriors have been spread out in long lines. Although key star systems are heavily guarded, this has still weakened the Iron Warriors' strength.

Finally, Hades reached out and tapped a star field: the Belis Corona Sector, located on the only way to Cadia, the last checkpoint, and also connecting several areas where the Black Stone Obelisk might exist. Here, the fleets of the Word Bearers and the Iron Warriors clashed fiercely.

"dispersion……"

Hades murmured, his voice reaching Phenus's ears. Medusa paused for a moment.

I don't think it's a good idea to disperse when the enemy has more ships than us.

Fernus said,

[Actively dispersing means being cut off and then trapped in an encirclement.]

Hades blinked.

"What if their encirclement isn't strong enough?"

Fernus slowly raised his head.

【you mean? 】

“Our opponent, Peturabo, also has very little time.”

Hades said that his gaze was moving, and Phenus saw that Hades' gaze was moving over the points of light that symbolized the Legion of the Word Bearers.

It seems that those who harbor words are not a monolithic group.

However... Hades doesn't have much time left.

Hades suddenly spoke.

"Now let's arrange the fleet. It's best if the two generals aren't on the same ship."

------------

Angerte was holding the scepter, his eyes closed in deep thought.

Loka left them... He was transferred and ordered to be stationed on Cardia, while the Word Bearers' fleet was ordered to stay away from their Primarchs. At least a third of the Legion stayed with Loka, while the rest of the Legion was stationed on the fleet.

As Luo Jia himself admitted, the Fleet of the Word Bearers would be temporarily led by Peturabo, while he needed to focus on studying the new doctrines in Cadia.

Although Peturabo's orders were usually concise and clear affirmative statements, this did not mean that the Whisperers could carry them out well. Lojia himself was not there, and most of the original management team had been exiled. The newly appointed management team all chose to follow Lojia to garrison in Kadia.

Therefore, the current situation within the Whisperers can be described as chaotic, with most company commanders choosing to protect themselves, and the temporarily selected commanders being even more incompetent.

Including the Mothership of the Word Bearers, the Law of Faith, they were sent to the outermost star systems, as if deliberately separating them from the Primarch. If the warriors could remain silent under the leadership of Primarch Loka, the sudden transfer order now seemed more like a sinister conspiracy.

Priests were originally responsible for maintaining the morale of the Word Bearers, but due to the Primarch's frequent changes in doctrine and replacement of priests, these newly appointed priests were unable to even persuade most of their fellow warriors.

Although it appears to be intact on the surface, the Whisperers are essentially in a semi-shutdown state internally.

Their task was not much; Peturabo's orders to the Word Bearers were to guard the outer star systems and establish defense systems in key star systems.

Angortai sighed softly. After that day, he quickly left the Law of Faith and hitched a ride on the ships of the exiles to the Belis Crown District. Relying on his previous connections with the Primarch Guard and the Scepter of Loka, Angortai made contact with many Word Bearers stationed there, some of whom were very supportive of him.

But just as he was preparing to leave, Peturabo's transfer order arrived.

Just three hours ago, the Word Bearers received an emergency dispatch notice. The fleets scattered across various star systems began to assemble and regroup. With engines roaring, the crimson and golden ships rearranged themselves into a fortress, a defensive line. The giant ship at the very center was naturally the Law of Faith, but all the Word Bearers knew that Luo Jia was not on their Glory Queen at this moment.

They were positioned on the flanks, above a more important planet, where the ships of the Iron Warriors floated silently.

Among the ships that were urgently dispatched were the 34th Company, which had originally planned to leave and was staying in Angertai. The original company commander of the 34th Company, Sol, was transferred away, and after the company commander was transferred away, the remaining company was also transferred away from Kadia.

Angerte leaned against the bulkhead, feeling the ship tremble slightly. Starlight streamed in through the observation window. He opened his eyes and squinted at what lay ahead.

A flash of cold mechanical light appeared, and he saw the ship with the steel hand, its plasma engines at the rear glowing with flickering, shimmering blue flames.

Angelte frowned.

The next moment, a piercing scream exploded from the channel of his armor—

It's an electronic attack!

Angertai abruptly removed his helmet, his pupils dilating sharply, reflecting the distant ships moving at full speed, their brilliant yellow light illuminating the very front of the gun emplacements.

----------

This is a war of iron against iron.

The roars and cries of fury were drowned out by the void. The cacophony of the electronic waves had not yet subsided. Without any hesitation, the two steel behemoths simultaneously bared their fangs at each other. Torpedoes filled the sky, tearing through the endless darkness, their trails of bright, dazzling flames painting the entire sky as they charged toward each other's fleet.

Heavy, massive iron cavalry trampled trails of light through the void, and the steel warriors charged straight toward their enemies, while the glorious queen of the steel hands, the steel fist, began to slowly yaw, revealing her port bow to the steel warriors.

The flanking weapons array stared intently at their enemy, an uneasy heat surging within their dark muzzles.

No, now is not the time. The distance between the two armies is still too great. Now is not the time to waste ammunition.

The first spark ignited from the outer edge of the Iron Warriors' fleet; it was the first torpedo detonated by the Cobra-class destroyers' gun emplacements surrounding the giant ships.

The next moment, countless points of light lit up around the two armies, and a silent rain of explosions unfolded. The bow of the cruiser emerged from the light curtain and took the brunt of the explosions with its ram. Small frigates swarmed around the cruiser like sardines, their spines trembling slightly from the explosions.

As the smoke slowly descended, the massive battleship continued its advance, surrounded by smaller boats.

The torpedo barrage just now was nothing more than a substitute for the battle cry for both sides.

The Iron Horse of the Steel Hand turned and charged straight into the gap between the Iron Warriors and the Fleet of Word Bearers.

As if aware of the other side's intentions, the Steel Warriors launched a second round of artillery fire, with torpedoes far more concentrated than before being fired at the Steel Hand. Among the dense barrage of bullets were many special models.

At the same time, the entire fleet of Iron Warriors charged toward the Iron Hand, and the ocean of radio waves boiled and roared out commands.

Having just witnessed the initial clash between the two armies, the Whisperers fleet, stunned in place, seemed to awaken from a dream. Their formations shifted, their cannons spun, and the overseers roared orders for the crew to load ammunition.

"Prepare, the second wave of torpedoes is about to arrive."

Hades' voice rang out like an inorganic mechanical life form, the channel crackling and shimmering. Hades stared expressionlessly at the Bird Servant Instrument, his left eye glowing red.

"003, 002—"

Hades counted down, reminding each captain to prepare for engagement. Unlike the first probing attack, the second barrage of torpedoes carried an absolute purpose: to slow down the Steel Hand. The data from the first initial engagement was enough for the Steel Warriors to calculate a better attack trajectory for the next attack.

But Peturabo wasn't the only one who knew how to calculate.

Hades and Phenus were both masters of calculation. The data in the mothership roared like a torrent, marking the past and future of every move on the macro battlefield. Flashes of light erupted, and waterfalls of light cascaded down the iron-gray walls, illuminating the symbol of the steel hand amidst the explosions.

Explosions followed one after another, the fish scattered and then gathered again, while the giant ship fearlessly charged straight through the blast waves. In the dazzling, hazy light, a strange black scale flickered and then disappeared once more into the iron-gray reef of steel.

The muzzle of the Word Bearer's cannon only began to flash when the Iron Hand emerged almost unscathed from the second wave of barrage from the Iron Warriors.

Hades' eyes remained unblinking; countless flashes of light seemed to be sucked into his dark, empty pupils as if into a black hole. It seemed he was right.

The Glory Queen of the Iron Warriors is not here. It seems that Peturabo only sent half of his fleet, while the Word Bearers have two-thirds of their fleet here, including their Glory Queen, the Law of Faith.

"Plan A."

As Hades spoke, he opened the communication device. Thor the Messager stood beside Hades, looking at him hesitantly.

At this very moment, the ships of the Steel Hand are about to reach the close-range attack range of the Word Bearers fleet, while on the other side, the fleet of the Steel Warriors is also approaching.

The radio waves suddenly pulsated. For Hades, if he already had a Word Bearer, then forcibly intruding into the Word Bearer's channel would not be a difficult thing.

Black mist descended, and a jet-black cloak fell from beneath the iron halo, while pale green arcs of electricity coiled around Hades' throat.

“I, Lord of the Order of Silence, Hades, the Silent One, speak to the Seventeenth Legion, the Word Bearers.”

A emotionless voice rang out, and at the same time, from within the cascade of light, jet-black scythes emerged. Previously concealed beneath thick steel, they now revealed their sharp blades.

"In the name of the God-Emperor and the Underworld King, Perturabo deceived and betrayed the Empire and framed your Primarch, Loka. I have come here in the name of the God-Emperor to reap the souls of the traitors and redeem the fate of the innocent."

“Those who harbor words, do not resist, do not resist, do not resist.”