The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Although he agreed with Sochoyan's plan, Mazal changed the subject.

"But can these four Space Marine Chapters plus one Chapter that has suffered more than half casualties withstand this Tyranid force? Facing that overwhelming offensive, Space Marines alone are not enough. I also know something about the situation in the Archdiocese. The garrison there is more like bodyguards for the priests than an army. Perhaps only the Cardinal Worlds have some decent troops. Not to mention the fleet, there might not even be many ships. The Tyranids' attack method is often to gather first and then disperse, and then gather again when encountering resistance, which means their attack coverage will be very wide."

As he spoke, he picked up the baton on the table and drew lines on the star map.

"After they devour the Sandenheim system, they will continue to penetrate from this direction. The entire front contains at least 12 star systems. This amount of troops and fleet cannot defend all areas no matter what."

Sochoyan tapped the table lightly with his finger, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"As for the troops... Over the years, I have accumulated some auxiliary forces in the Nasan system, which can barely be used. I will find a way for the fleet. However, Zhao-Akada, the forge world closest to the Archdiocese, has a lot of contact with the alliance, and we should be able to get some support from them. In fact, it is unrealistic to directly confront the Tyranid fleet head-on, and we don't need to defend everywhere."

"I'll figure out a way for food."

After hearing this, Mazal pondered for a moment, his brows slightly furrowed.

"I can solve it."

"Sochoyan, what's going on?"

With a ripple of water, a virtual image of a warship appeared above the star map.

"This is..."

"It's actually... an Abyss-class!"

His words were immediately agreed by the people around him.

"Because it was built during the Horus Heresy, built by a forge master who had already betrayed to the rebels for the rebels, it is said that a total of three were built, all of which were handed over to the cowardly Word Bearers Legion and participated in the attack on the Thirteenth Legion. Two of them were destroyed, and one... is missing. This is recorded in the ancient history brought from the parent Chapter when the Chapter was founded. If I hadn't read this history, I wouldn't be able to name it."

Sochoyan quickly cupped his hands and said:

Exterminatus, the most common and worst method for the Empire to fight against the Tyranids, is to destroy all planets on the Tyranid path, regardless of type, because the Tyranids are beasts that pursue biomass, and losing the attraction of biomass will cause them to deviate and their forces will be weakened.

"Of course not... This is the largest warship ever built by the Empire."

"You all praise me too much, Sochoyan is ashamed."

"Then what about food? With so many people gathered together, and losing a considerable number of agricultural worlds, the Archdiocese itself does not have much industry, there will definitely be a serious food shortage problem, and may even lead to serious riots..."

Then he changed the subject.

"Then what do you mean?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar, and Mazal looked at Sochoyan.

In fact, he didn't say it directly, but the surrounding Chapter Masters immediately understood.

"Does the Empire have this model?"

"Could it be... you plan to implement a scorched earth strategy?"

Sochoyan then shook his head.

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and Robin behind him stepped forward and handed over a data pad, which Sochoyan plugged into the table.

Seth was stunned for a moment.

Mazal nodded, sighing:

Although generally the Exterminatus is carried out by the Inquisition, the Space Marine Chapter Master in principle also has this power.

"It's just that I may need to tell you in advance, the Star Knights have added some... rather special warships in recent years. Please try to keep it secret when you see them."

Looking at the trident-like warship, the Chapter Masters and representatives all seemed very curious and unfamiliar. After all, this ancient ship type used by traitors has actually not been officially recorded in the Empire for a long time.

"Now, among all the Space Marines, probably only you dare to say that you can solve the problem of food for hundreds of billions of people, Sochoyan, you have really grown up, grown to the point where I can only see your back. Most of us are just simple killing machines, but many things cannot be solved by killing people. The future of the Empire really depends on you."

"The main thing is..."

Looking at Sochoyan's firm look, Mazal was a little surprised, and then realized that this junior had suddenly become a little strange.

"This is the most stable plan, but it is also the most difficult plan to implement. Evacuating so many people requires a huge number of transport ships, and how to resettle them is also a problem."

"Yes, yes, if the High Lords of Terra had half the decision-making power and execution ability of Brother Sochoyan, the Empire would not have become like this."

"Brother Sochoyan's strategy is always clear and feasible, and it does not waste manpower in vain. It can truly be called a strategic master."

"I have the heart, but I don't have the courage. People who do this kind of thing don't have a good end. Even aside from these, the so-called scorched earth is essentially a failure, admitting that you have no other way to fight the enemy. We haven't even fought yet, and it's not time to do this."

"The worlds of the Archdiocese are not very important, and there are no key industrial facilities, so the fleet only needs to delay the speed of the Tyranid hive, evacuate the residents from the Tyranid invasion route as soon as possible, and temporarily destroy the planet's ecology with orbital bombardment to eliminate as much biomass as possible, and then scatter a large number of void mines to block the Tyranid's path. The focus is on the Cardinal Worlds and the four religious worlds, and as long as the population is concentrated, the Tyranids attracted by biomass will also concentrate on their own. When they are concentrated, we will find a way to eliminate them in one fell swoop."

"Abyss-class?"

Hearing this, Mazal's eyes suddenly sank.

"One ship? What a strange ship type."

After speaking, he saw that everyone was a little puzzled, so he further explained:

"I will try to borrow some large transport ships from the Rogue Traders. These giant ships can basically be used as mobile hive cities, and more people can be temporarily transferred to worlds further back. It can't be helped if it's a little crowded."

But Mazal stared at the ship for a long time, then suddenly took a deep breath, and then hissed:

"Ah? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Sochoyan pondered for a moment and said:

"It's like this, didn't we once explore a derelict ship? At that time, we found the design blueprint of the... Abyss-class in the derelict ship. It should have been stolen from Mars by a group of Alpha traitors. After thinking about it for a long time, I felt that instead of letting it be sealed forever, it would be better to let it exert new power for the Empire, so I contacted some forge worlds and traded with them using the captured STC, asking them to help build such a warship."

In fact, exposing the Abyss-class in advance was a decision Sochoyan made after considering it for a long time after fighting the Tyranids, because he had realized that the Empire's warships could not actually form the advantage of Eldar warships that could run and fight in the face of the Tyranids. Due to the poor flexibility of the ships, they could easily fall into the siege of the Tyranids' small bio-ships. Even if they could support for a while with their thick armor, the battle damage would still be unavoidable, not to mention the price to be paid to attack the Tyranids' large bio-ships.