dmims Chapter 28 Iron 7's Rebellion
Chapter 28 Iron 7's Rebellion
On the command deck of the Queen Glory-class battleship HMS Dawn, Hector had just received a summary of intelligence from several advance squads under his command.
All the clues have their own characteristics and differences, but they mostly point to the same name.
Menelaus.
The nobles called him a sinner deserving of death, while the revolting miners regarded him as a pillar of strength and called him their liberator.
All the squads had highly consistent intelligence; they could only confirm that the other party was a man around twenty years old.
Besides, no one could figure out Menelaus's true identity, nor could they track him down.
Even from the fragmented memories of the murdered miners, the Astartes could only see the man's appearance hidden under layers of disguise; he never revealed his true self.
Menelaus was always a loner, and his whereabouts were shrouded in mystery.
Rumors circulated that whenever he appeared in a certain place, riots and rebellions would inevitably follow.
Those who worshipped him would be executed on the spot, and local nobles and noble slaves would be hanged, thus instigating a complete upheaval.
"It seems there is indeed evidence of this rebellion, my lord."
Holmes flipped through the complete intelligence report, which included the team's deductions and analysis, and spoke in a deep voice.
To prevent intelligence delays that could lead to missed opportunities, the Second Army Corps has a unique intelligence mechanism.
This means that while soldiers jointly transmit information from the front lines, they can also simultaneously attach their personal situation analysis and subsequent predictions, and wait for orders from superiors during operations.
The annotations they passed up indicated that most of the soldiers in the legion had a favorable impression of Menelaus and sincerely admired this warrior who single-handedly ignited a wave of rebellion and was extremely brave.
However, there were also Astartes warriors like Sarpedon, who came from the lower nests, who held Menelaus in utter contempt for his actions and considered his ideas naive and reckless.
Just then, a messenger stepped forward quickly, bowed deeply to Hector, and behaved with utmost respect.
"My Lord, Governor Ahoka of Planet M-2535-B requests to establish a communication meeting with you."
"The information we received earlier was also from him."
"Connect to his holographic projection."
Hector's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.
The messenger immediately relayed the order, and the next second, a blurry, stuttering holographic image slowly lit up, with the silhouette of Planet Governor Ahoka appearing and disappearing in the light and shadow.
Even when facing Primarch Hector directly, Ahoka's face showed no trace of the astonishment or honor that one would normally display. His expression was calm and still, devoid of both liveliness and flattery, nor numbness and dullness, only the restraint and subtle probing of a stranger facing off.
Upon seeing Hector, a different kind of light flashed in his eyes.
"I...I..."
Shila-
Shila-
A piercing electrical noise suddenly exploded, the inexplicable interference was irritating, the communication screen went black instantly, and the call was abruptly cut off.
Hector's gaze sharpened, and he subconsciously glanced around.
The other soldiers in the command cabin all looked puzzled, assuming it was just a routine communication malfunction and not noticing anything unusual.
wrong.
This is no ordinary malfunction!
"Sherlock Holmes".
Hector's tone suddenly turned low, and a chilling pressure instantly enveloped the entire command deck. He was certain that his intuition was correct.
"Immediately order all soldiers in the cabin to self-isolate and undergo investigation. Order the Fourth and Seventh Companies to deploy at least eight combat regiments to the planet's surface, seize strategic points, and construct defensive positions along the entire front."
"Once the positions are set up, the Ripper Titan Legion is ordered to first deploy Dire Wolf-class and Warhound-class Titans to land and engage in combat."
"Order the Sears Knights to stand by."
Holmes was startled, instantly realizing the gravity of the situation. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately began to relay the Primarch's urgent military orders.
…………
…………
Meanwhile, the Tieqi underground mining tunnel.
The Salpedon squad did not receive any orders from the Primarch; Hector unilaterally severed all communication between the two parties.
This means that the Hector's fleet will still be able to receive information from the advance force, but the fleet will no longer issue orders, and communication between them will be terminated.
Navigating swiftly through the complex tunnels and dodging several burials of ore, the Salpedon squad arrived at the abandoned mines numbered 88, 86, and 93.
The three men dispersed on Salpedon's orders and stood in front of Mine No. 93.
Salpedon made no attempt to conceal his footsteps; the weight of his footsteps, like that of a small cart, crushed the stones instantly, making a sound and a noise.
"You are Menelaus, the liberator of the Iron Seven, the instigator of the rebellion."
Although he was asking a question, Salpedon looked at the people not far away who were gnawing on nutrient paste and flesh and blood, and he was absolutely certain of his guess.
Menelaus's concealment was quite clever, especially since this was his familiar territory.
During this time, Salpedon also relied on his own abilities to find many older miners and learn from them about the place where the rebellion first broke out.
Unfortunately, it was a mining area, and the news spread so badly that many surviving miners learned that nobles had died there.
"I am Menelaus," the man said, standing up.
He was not intimidated, nor did he launch an angry attack or mockery upon seeing Salpedon.
Instead, it was unusually calm, like talking to a friend, saying what day of the week it is and how nice the weather is.
This made Salpedon think more highly of him.
He removed his cold helmet, revealing his skin, lowered his head, and looked down, his eyes fixed on the two objects in Menelaus's hands.
The most common and ordinary nutritional paste, and...
"Human flesh? I originally thought you wouldn't eat these," Salpedon said.
Eating human flesh is nothing unusual in this universe; humans themselves are an important resource, whether they are alive or dead.
The aliens are obsessed with gaining intelligence by consuming human flesh and brains.
Humans also eat other humans. The most common example is the creation of machine servants modified from humans, and also in extremely harsh situations where logistics are severely disrupted or difficult.
Humans are a good source of biomass. If the starch in the bottom nest and on the front lines of fierce battles truly contains corpses rather than just titanium, an industrial byproduct, then it can be considered a good choice for rich taste and nutrition.
Astartes also consume corpses, and they do so with the help of the eighth procedure, gene-detecting nerves.
By consuming flesh and blood, especially the brain, they are able to recreate parts of the deceased's memories in a way that allows them to access information.
However, Salpedon never imagined that Menelaus, the man whom Iron Seven regarded as a liberator, would eat human flesh.
Even though Salpedon didn't think much of the other party.
"I have never considered them as one of my own kind," the man said, waving the human flesh in his hand.
"To me, they are just creatures that look like humans, so naturally I can bring myself to eat them."
"After each of my actions, I would drag away the nobles I had killed and eat their flesh and blood."
"Hmph, are you deceiving yourself, Menelaus?" Sarpedon scoffed without hesitation, exposing Menelaus's lie.