Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes - #608 - Chapter 600: War on the Gothic Starry Sky (4) Chess Game, the Vision of the Imperial Fist

Without a moment’s pause, the next one to appear was the Imperial Fist…

Well, it doesn’t take much time to absorb the memories of the Imperial Fist, and in reality it’s just an insignificant moment.

But when Calvin opened his eyes again, he became more determined than before, because a truly in-depth and professional naval career gave him a completely different perspective.

“What a chess game,” Calvin read.

As he said, the core focus of the Death Guard and the Imperial Navy’s battlefield in the Gothic Galaxy is the central settlement that revolves around the stars.

The offense and defense of the two sides around the specific planetary worlds belonging to the settlement area are like a chess game from the middle to the middle. In the complicated and intertwined offense and defense, murderous intentions prepared by each other for the other are brewing.

As we all know, the planetary worlds in the settlements were precisely tuned according to their respective mass and gravitational relationships as early as the advent of the Mechanicum.

And this precisely placed planetary community dynamically revolves around the central star of the galaxy in a relatively fixed relationship.

Therefore, until the Grand Fleet officially entered the battle and was attacked, the focus of the Death Guard Legion’s attack had been changing and adjusting;

But the direction of their attack was firmly locked on the hive world closest to Goth – Pesma.

As Mortarion’s clearest strategic intention on the stage, the Empire will naturally not allow him to get what he wants.

The fleet directly under the Tribunal, headed by the Silver Dawn, is a mobile force that cooperates with the relatively fixed orbital defense to form a relatively complete fixed-mobile elastic defense system.

And when the Glory Queen-class battleships from both sides appeared on this relatively narrow battlefield, the deployment of troops here had already reached the limit of marginal effect in the eyes of the commanders of both sides.

stalemate, game;

Intersperse, strangle.

The layers of defense on the periphery of Pestma allow the fleet directly under the Inquisition to be confident and maneuver calmly on the flanks of the battlefield;

Until the key central star fortress is exposed to the army’s front, they will have enough tactical space to move around and will not really be involved in the decisive battle of the fleet.

This is also the task that Calvin gave Tabers. Now it seems that although the layout of this part is not perfect, there are finally no mistakes or omissions:

Their position is just to make up for the defensive line in the direction of Pesma, which is most lacking in flexible counterattacks and flank blocking. As for the real defense, it still has to be left to the local defense fortress group in Pesma.

This also resulted in the Inquisition fleet being reluctant to fight closely, forcing the Death Guard to neither focus on breaking through the frontal defense line nor to catch this assassin wandering on the battlefield.

Therefore, the Legion characteristics of the Death Guard forced them to continue to invest in Pestma’s defense;

Three hours after the battle began, fallen Astartes and even the headquarters of the Death Guard Corps began to appear on many space weapon platforms in Pestma.

But an iron law of war is that the winner is king.

Any law, when it is known to everyone, itself becomes possible to be broken.

Mortarion, Death Guard Legion.

In Calvin’s eyes, during the Great Crusade era, these two were not as outstanding as the Night Angels and Luna Wolves; nor were they as distinctive as the Imperial Fists and White Scars.

But in the final analysis, this is also a complete army that once independently supported a strategic direction and commanded trillions of troops.

Even if Calvin looked down upon Mortarion’s character, he did not dare to regard common sense as truth in front of this war master.

There is no need to say more about the principle of using all your strength when a lion fights a rabbit, and it would not have been ignored by Calvin, who lived in two lifetimes.

Therefore, out of caution, after seeing the situation here, Calvin kept his body still, and slightly slid his fingers towards the person. While turning his head, he looked at the Imperial Fist beside him.

Such familiar body language, full of details and code words unique to a high-ranking officer who has served in the Imperial Fists for more than 400 years.

There is no need to say anything else, just a look is enough.

Terentius, who was born as a guard of the Phalanx, almost instantly saw that gesture and entered the context of internal communication within the battle group. At the same time, he also returned to his original years as a champion swordsman on the Phalanx.

And the brass-colored helmet inlaid with emerald green laurel leaves almost subconsciously responded with the same code word, then nodded concisely, and strode towards the communication deck without thinking.

However… “Wait! There seems to be something wrong!”

Terentius, who was standing at the door of the command hall, was confused for a moment. He looked at the whining ventilation fan in the wide corridor, and then he reacted belatedly:

“Damn it, how does this man know so much about the Imperial Fists!

Even the details of the body language of senior officers before giving orders are the same?

The Chapter’s secrets revealed? Or does the Phalanx have a new cooperation agreement with the Imperial Army? “

The suspicious Terentius almost lost his expression, but the bloodline of the Son of Dorne forcefully reminded him of his mission.

Go back and ask first!

No! Report to the company first!

No! Execute the command first!

Two…no, three different thoughts almost drove this late-stage obsessive-compulsive disorder patient to death.

The sense of responsibility that was consistent with his bloodline eventually prevailed, so he could only use a long breath that was slightly abrupt on his mask to temporarily relieve the doubts in his heart under the strange eyes of the people around him…

At this time, Calvin was still adapting to his new perspective.

The battle taking place in front of the navy fleet had already attracted most of his attention.

Peisma’s anxiety was like a chessboard corner full of chess pieces for the entire battle situation;

And the two parties holding the pieces, after confirming that there was no change for the time being, naturally began to make arrangements in other directions.

So, the Empire had the departure of the fleet and the most critical Blackstone Fortress’s maneuver and redeployment;

The purpose of both was the same, which was to enrich the flexibility and thickness of the entire defense line and optimize the overall deployment of troops to cope with more changes in the future.

The purpose of the fleet was to continue to squeeze the Death Guard on the edge of the Gothic, forcing them to choose between the safety of the fleet and the forces that had been invested in the frontal attack.

The Blackstone Fortress, on the other hand, will leave the gravitational equilibrium point (Lagrange point) that was previously stagnant to protect against alien invasion and save energy, and officially move towards the central area of ​​the galaxy defense system.

This is a clear move, and it can also be called an open plot.

Because once the Blackstone Fortress, as the defender, is successfully deployed to the center of the orbital defense fortress group, it is equivalent to unlimited compression of the firepower of the invading fleet.

It is already difficult to attack a defense system with the support of the Forge World and a complete system, and coupled with the powerful firepower deployment of the Blackstone Fortress, this is a painful price that Mortarion is unwilling to pay with his troops.

And Mortarion will not sit idly by. His way of dealing with the actions of the Gothic side is to send out another fleet that has been hidden outside the galaxy’s vision when the Blackstone Fortress just leaves the rear of the large fleet.

This is also a clear move, but it points to the seemingly stable Blackstone Fortress.

After breaking away from the blockade of the large fleet, the Blackstone Fortress, which is traveling alone, is equivalent to putting itself under the direct attack of the Death Guard.

If Mortarion is determined, then this is a precursor to an extremely brutal landing battle.

Does he have this determination? Of course he does! Calvin has no doubt.

Unfortunately, the Grand Fleet is also in crisis.

As soon as the Planet Killer appeared, it used the fall of two battleships to demonstrate its firepower that was beyond the cognition of the Imperial soldiers.

If it continues to be allowed to shoot at will, it will cause incalculable losses to the entire Grand Fleet.

And it should be noted that as the attacking party that holds the initiative on the battlefield, the main force of the Death Guard Legion has not yet revealed its whereabouts.

Any decision at this moment may affect the direction of the subsequent war, and may even directly cause a gap in the strength of the local battlefield, and then cause a chain defeat under asymmetric forces!

This is undoubtedly a test of Calvin’s strategic determination, and it is also torturing the strategic determination of every Imperial general.

This is the second level of game on the battlefield.

But is that all?

Calvin thought of this and shook his head slightly in denial.

This was just a regular battle, a test from Mortarion, a former Imperial Legion Commander, to him, a newcomer.

Although the current situation was difficult, it was still limited to the military scope that could be understood.

And Calvin knew clearly that only when he could deal with these overt means, he would be qualified to face the true power of Mortarion, a demon primarch who had fallen and ascended to the devil.

Update.