Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes - #614 - Chapter 606: War in the Gothic Starry Sky (10) Pesma, the Brewing of the Demonic Tide

After 80 hours of day and night travel, the Purifiers led by Turab took a shuttle and then transferred to the battle barge prepared by the Imperial Fist after leaving the starport of Blackstone Fortress.

The Imperial Fists who were stationed in Blackstone Fortress also used their own channels to convey orders to the troops who obeyed them.

On the battlefields along the way, both the Imperial Navy and the Astra Militarum used counterattacks to prop up the barriers before the Purifier force’s warships arrived;

Amidst the silent sacrifices of countless people, the Gray Knights led by Turab finally arrived at the temporary command hub in orbit by starlight after two planetary rotation cycles of Pesma.

In the command hall in the Star Fortress, the star’s light has lost its temperature after a long distance, and is shining coldly on the crowd through the huge portholes.

The planetary governors and generals of the local defense forces in scarlet military uniforms stood on the periphery of the crowd, while the center of the crowd was occupied by a patch of defense gray belonging to the Astra Militarum.

In the center of the hall, on a square-sized holographic sand table, landforms that have been scaled down hundreds of times depict continents and oceans. On the dividing line marked by bright green and dim blue are countless mountains, rivers, farmland, and mines. fields…and thousands of dense highlights.

Every place there is a shrinking human settlement. And all of this is ultimately composed of a huge urban agglomeration centered on several towering hive cities.

boom!

The steam gate was opened violently, causing everyone to become subconsciously quiet. As far as the eye could see, two local judges from Pesma were walking at the front of the team amid the rapid collision of metal pendants on their robes.

Behind them was a special group of Emperor’s Angels painted in the original color of steel.

“Another team is here!” The local planetary governor’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart felt a little heavier.

He and his subordinates did not recognize the identities of the Gray Knights, but the meaning behind the arrival of Astartes warriors from two different chapters in their fief was equally heavy for him.

“It’s them.”

The Major General of the Astra Militarum in the center of the crowd lowered his head slightly, avoiding Turab’s gaze as he walked around.

The iconic primary color of steel on the opponent’s power armor, as well as the Tribunal mark contrasting with the iron-gray color of the breastplate, allowed the general, who also came from Blackstone Fortress to take over the battlefield, to immediately recognize his identity. .

And unlike everyone present who was intimidated by the majesty of the Tribunal and did not dare to greet the judges, he just subconsciously glanced at the Laurel Crusader helmet on Turab’s head and knew that Pesma at this moment, Once again, the owner was quietly changed.

Talos raised his head from his meditation and looked at the oncoming giant.

Turab, who was a full head taller than him, had no interest in taking off his helmet in full view of the public. He just nodded slightly to him and stood beside him majestically.

Talos, who was already prepared for Turab’s arrival, did not say any more nonsense and directly expanded the tactical sandbox at hand again to an angle that both of them could see.

The plain behind the mid-ocean ridge of the main body of the first continent and the seaward plain of the second continent;

The mineral industrial area of ​​the third continental plate, the main bedrock plain of the fourth continent…

The dots of red and the signs indicating the cleaning process did not make Tulabo feel at all relaxed.

Because in the center of the entire map, the disease emblem stretched across the largest man-made ocean, he felt the urgency of time more and more when his eyes touched the industrial systems of several hive cities around him.

At the same time, as the supreme leader of the Purifiers, he also arrived at Pesma and resumed remote communication with the legion. He continued to receive alerts from other planets on his personal terminal.

This clearly indicated a fact to him and the entire Gray Knights – when the plague was included in the Death Guard’s weapon list, it was not just Pesma who had to tighten his nerves.

And this is indeed the case. When the Death Guard’s second offensive was launched, along with the abscesses parasitic on the battleships were thrown into space, not only Calvin, but also all the psykers in the Gothic galaxy could See the nearly substantial power of decay surging in the subspace.

That is an omen, and it is also the power of decay originating from Nurgle’s Garden, cheering for another reincarnation of life that conforms to their “aesthetics”!

As a result, more psychics or those who were “lucky” to awaken their psychic physique at this moment, all entered Nurgle’s field of vision on this night.

Only a few legal psykers, or those who had received the empire’s orthodox education and had established basic spiritual defenses based on faith, were lucky enough to escape this disaster.

What gives the Empire a headache is that the former is a source of danger that has not yet erupted. Most of them are illegal psychics active outside the scope of the Empire’s management.

Although Pesma’s planetary government had already conducted an emergency evacuation, the upper-level command structure was evacuated in a short period of time and moved to this star fort.

However, the hive capital rulers at the lower level, as the real executive level, are showing a more or less suspicious state under the background that they cannot leave their posts.

Some of the areas where the orbital prevention and control system has confirmed that disease seeds have landed have been included in the scope of preparations for attack by Talos.

“What measures have been taken?” Turab looked at Talos, and his mind was spinning with possible countermeasures to be prepared.

Two teams of Grey Knights had received orders from the psychic link while his mind was racing. They were riding on frigates and approaching the orbits of those mission areas.

As the head of all the Purifiers, he needed to evaluate the potential contamination level of the entire Pesma from Taros’s previous defense measures in order to prepare for the next troop mobilization.

“Martial law, the Ministry of Justice troops are on high alert; systematically sort out the middle and lower hives, and reconfirm each channel and key resource point while establishing defenses at the edge of the bottom nest’s actual control area.

All the on-duty judges have been dispatched, and the Storm Guards are supervising the specific implementation progress of each hive;

Wormwood agents have been dispatched and are conducting further supervision and investigation of the upper layers of all planets, including the Ecclesiarchy!”

Taros is also an old man who has cooperated with the Inquisition for a long time, and he has also used the power in his hands to the extreme.

Turabo raised his arm and nodded slightly while listening to the orders issued by the former. But both he and Taros knew very well that these means alone were still not enough to resist the infection from the evil god.

In fact, these routine precautions are the best they can do.

However, the pollution from Nurgle always appears in places that ordinary people cannot predict.

“Well done, I have nothing to add.”

Turab’s words made Talos feel relaxed, which was an affirmation of his ability.

“Be prepared for the worst.” He said to the leader of the Purifiers, who was also a rare high-ranking officer in the entire Grey Knights Legion who had already been awarded the title of champion.

In his eyes, everything he could do had been done, and the battlefield below really belonged to the supernatural realm, where he had to fight face to face with those demons.

And in this realm, the person in front of him was the responder sent by the Primarch, and the responsibility for the safety of the entire planet and even the Gothic Galaxy was about to fall on the shoulders of this champion swordsman.

“Understood!” Turab nodded, and then looked at the adjutant behind him.

In the psychic link, an order to “patrol the entire planet in small teams on warships, and be ready to intervene and launch orbital strike operations at any time” was completed at the moment of eye contact.

At the same time, the other Grey Knights who stayed in the preparation area and waited for orders also walked towards the various docking ports of the Star Fortress in an orderly manner but with different purposes, just when the surrounding people were caught off guard.

“I will watch your back!” Turaber took his weapon from the adjutant and assured Talos.

He also looked past Talos and looked at the distant starry sky.

“But simple defense is never a long-term solution, and the real counterattack needs to wait for the preparation of that master.”

Update.