dmims Chapter 45 The Weight of Life
Chapter 45 The Weight of Life
Outside the city, the soldiers of the 7th and 4th companies, who had been airdropped from the beginning, had already completed the construction of the fortress.
They commanded the mortal auxiliary troops to deploy and move through the muddy trenches, filling the defensive gaps that the Astartes had no time to attend to with their sheer numbers.
While they were waiting for orders, a voice finally came through their communication channel again—the voice of Hector, the Lord of the Legion.
"Prepare for battle, my son."
This shout was louder than any pre-battle declaration. They waved their arms excitedly and chanted Hector's name, their voices sweeping across the battlefield like waves.
One after another, the mortal auxiliary soldiers, dressed in silver-white jackets and coats, and wielding gleaming laser guns and spears, were also cheering and shouting Hector's name.
Some called Hector king; they came from Troy.
Some call Hector the Sons of God. They come from some wild and lost world. The Empire granted them enough autonomy until they were conscripted into the Second Legion and their faith was revealed.
The initial landing armored units began to advance without encountering any meaningful resistance along the way, providing great comfort and confidence to the infantry behind them.
In contrast, the large number of Astartes deployed initially began to return to their designated evacuation points in an orderly manner and to return to orbit aboard Stormbirds.
"Looks like it was just a false alarm, Holmes," Hector said, watching the Stormbirds returning one after another, each carrying at least eighty Dawnbringers.
His advance team had sent him good news: they had found a well-preserved and powerful alien corpse.
Furthermore, based on the information we already know, the number of aliens here is not that large.
Although in terms of individual strength, they were the strongest aliens encountered by the second main expeditionary fleet.
"This is a necessary precaution, my lord," Holmes said.
"Yes, that's a necessary precaution," Hector nodded.
He was initially truly shocked by the Clough Xenomorph's bizarre psychic control, which allowed it to control several of his offspring from such a distance using only a phone call.
"Holmes, if you were in this situation, how would you eliminate the aliens here?"
"..." Holmes remained silent, glanced at Hector, and finally spoke.
"The release of nerve agent extermination gas."
"And orbital bombardment."
After Holmes finished speaking, he silently took a step back.
Hector was able to clearly realize that his offspring were not lying; he genuinely intended to destroy this place with orbital bombardment, at least the upper and middle levels of the hive city.
His hand paused.
Silence fell over the air, with only the sounds of soldiers operating the machines around them.
"These aliens are dangerous," Holmes said after Hector had calmed down.
"They must be wiped out, my lord," said Valentine, the Second Company Commander, with unwavering resolve. "Even at a terrible cost."
It would be far better to launch an orbital bombardment of the hive and directly turn the war of annihilation into an operation against the more Astartes that are sacrificed and dragged into a counterinsurgency war by the abominations.
This is the better solution in terms of time, resources, and outcome.
Hector tapped lightly on the command table, making a rhythmic thumping sound.
"My lord," Valentine called out, his voice tinged with impatience.
"Shut up!" Holmes stopped Valentine from saying what he was about to say.
Hector's words forced Valentine to swallow back the words he had been unable to say.
He fell silent again.
"I am not weak, my son," Hector finally said after a long silence.
His words shocked the Astartes present, and Valentine immediately knelt on the ground, his face full of repentance: "I did not mean it that way, Father."
"That's absolutely not what I meant!"
Hector sighed deeply, and personally helped his son's trembling body to his feet, patting him on the shoulder: "I know, my son, I know."
"Sometimes, you should have enough faith in your father."
"I am neither a cruel person nor a weak person."
"I know that sometimes sacrifice is necessary, just as I faced the alien expeditionary fleet in Troy that claimed to be Agamemnon in the name of the gods."
"I once turned a complete world into a scorched wasteland. I watched with my own eyes as no living thing remained on the surface of that planet. The nuclear explosion caused the earth's crust to shift, mountains to collapse, seawater to overflow, and the stars to burn."
Hector walked to the ship's porthole and gazed intently at the planet Iron Seven.
His pupils involuntarily began to hallucinate the planet he once knew, as if he could see the people on that planet wailing and cursing miserably.
Seventy percent of them probably don't know what happened and continue to live their lives as usual.
"The weight of life," Hector said solemnly.
"My children, you should remember this."
"Indeed, this is a cruel universe filled with war and darkness, but we should not succumb to it. When we wantonly turn our knives against our fellow countrymen, we are one step closer to the dagger in our throats."
"But, Father," Valentine's eyes struggled, recalling the boy's flower that day, "we might suffer even more casualties and hidden dangers."
"My son, Astartes is a great warrior of the Empire, a pillar upon which countless humankind can rely, a trustworthy and revered figure, like an elder brother, not a butcher who knows not the weight of life, nor honor, and whose calculations are precise," Hector said earnestly.
He still hopes that his descendants can understand him, not only because of his kindness, but also because of his own good intentions.
A mad dog that only knows how to kill will not be understood or treated kindly. He hoped that his offspring would still have their own place in the empire after the expedition.
Of course, the realms of Troy and Irios will always welcome the warriors of the Second Legion.
Thoughts wandered through Hector's mind. The body crafted by the Emperor's extraordinary skills left Hector with almost nothing to worry about. While talking to his offspring, he continued to focus his attention on the battlefield of Iron Seven.
Because they finally encountered resistance.
Iron Seven's few tanks performed no better than ants facing a human when confronted by the overwhelming tide of Imperial heavy vehicles.
At least when ants are cornered, they can bite a human hard, and might even hurt them.
The tanks, however, could not do that. They were almost destroyed by the Second Legion before they were even out of their own firing range. The few vehicles that broke through the smoke and dust had most of their armor thickness that was vulnerable to Astartes' own explosive muskets, let alone armor-on-armor combat.
"My offspring won a victory that was uncontroversial, meaningless, and without glory, with blood and gunfire, and it was all the fault of those aliens who refused to die," Hector commented.
"Our weapons are pointed at our own people, and we are bathed in their blood."
"Those damned aliens hiding in the shadows, too ashamed to show their faces, have tarnished this victory and made it tainted."
"Go find them, Valentine. Then kill them, without tolerance, without mercy."