The Emperor’s Angel of Death

After arranging everything for the star system's defenses, Solzhenitsyn boarded the Wotan's Iron Hammer-class warship, the Wave Breaker, taking with him only one company and the Ninth Company, as well as Fortress Warden Vidrian and his kill team.

The reason for bringing the Ninth Company this time was partly because of their large number of veterans, and partly to improve relations with the warriors of the Ninth Company. Since incorporating these gene-descendants of the former Venom Thorns Chapter, Solzhenitsyn had not had much time to truly understand them, and this was an opportunity.

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"We are about to leave the gravity slingshot navigation route, and no Tyranids have been found nearby."

Several colored panels appeared in front of Barak Byelnor, displaying the surrounding space and the fleet's navigation status. This was also Solzhenitsyn's first experience using the gravity slingshot mode for navigation, but when the Wotan fleet activated their unique engines, after a brief charge, the massive ship was immediately thrown out of the star system like a cannonball, yet those inside did not hear a single roar of energy loss.

Solzhenitsyn had been observing this process, and seeing the rapid retreat of the distant star system from inside the ship was so subtle, as if the stars were being swallowed by the boundless expanding darkness. Finally, when he noticed how silent the void was, he realized that they had silently left the area covered by the Tyranid hive mind.

Due to his lack of understanding of physics, Solzhenitsyn really didn't know why he couldn't see any stars outside the bridge's viewport.

He also asked the Hearthkyn captain if they were still navigating in the universe after entering gravity slingshot navigation.

The captain replied that they were navigating in the universe, but in the nothingness of the universe.

What is nothingness? The other party explained vaguely that nothingness exists not only in the gaps between real dimensions, but also between the gaps. Since it is nowhere, it can be everything.

This scientific concept, akin to philosophy, was like a blank book to Solzhenitsyn, and it was not surprising that he couldn't understand it.

However, by analogy, the Tyranid hive's star system navigation method should also be in this state, no wonder the hive fleet looks slow, but is actually incredibly sudden and swift.

Although gravity slingshot is not as fast as warp travel, especially for long-distance travel, it is much more flexible than warp travel, especially in sector-level battlefields. Crucially, it is not affected by warp storms. If human ships had similar technology, they would not be so passive in many cases, turning the war into a pure gamble of luck—one of the reasons why the Gothic War was so difficult was that although the Imperium supported many fleets, they could not reach their destinations on time due to warp storm interference.

Solzhenitsyn also tentatively asked what would happen if this gravity slingshot engine were installed on human ships.

Barak Byelnor only answered one sentence—

It would fall apart like a toy.

After he inquired in detail, the other party told him that the Leagues of Votann had always studied the Imperium's ships, and the conclusion was that the overall structure of Imperial ships could not adapt to the gravity slingshot navigation mode, unless the overall design of the ships was changed in a subversive way, but this situation would never happen due to the existence of the Adeptus Mechanicus, so the Leagues of Votann were not worried that the Imperium would obtain the corresponding engine technology from the wreckage of their ships.

Solzhenitsyn thought about it carefully, and it was true. Over the years, many Votann ships had crashed or disappeared throughout the galaxy, and some of them must have fallen into the hands of the Imperium. If the Adeptus Mechanicus could use this technology, they would have used it long ago.

"Estimated to decelerate to a safe threshold in ten minutes, after which we can perform a Topside Dive."

Just as Barak Byelnor was explaining the next navigation route to Solzhenitsyn in detail, a stout figure walked over. It looked no different from other Hearthkyn, except that its head was covered with an opaque silver-plated罩子 (zhàozi - cover), looking like a Hearthkyn who had sealed himself off. It even wore a white apron on its exoskeleton armor, and a chef's hat on its head.

It held a tray in its hand, with two metal goblets on the tray, one large and one small. The large one was bigger than its head, but there was no bumps along the way, and the goblet was full of white foam.

"Commander, your Bergman beer, and yours, guest."

A warm and deep male voice came from under the helmet. Byelnor then laboriously "bent over" and reached out to take the two goblets. Both goblets were made of pure metal, and one was obviously prepared for Solzhenitsyn, as large as a keg, but it was still lifted with one hand, showing how great the Hearthkyn's strength was. Even without the help of power armor, it was not much weaker than an Astartes.

"Talking made me thirsty, yeah."

When Solzhenitsyn took the goblet, Byelnor couldn't wait to raise his goblet, took a big gulp, and made a cheerful sound. Even if his beard was still covered with foam, he didn't feel the slightest inappropriateness.

This was also the place he found most incomprehensible about Hearthkyn culture.

Solzhenitsyn turned his head and looked at the other side of the bridge. In this military stronghold, which should be extremely serious and earnest, there was a stack of wooden kegs in the corner. The front of these kegs had a pattern, which was a Hearthkyn wearing overalls, with a red wine-soaked nose, a big belly, and a big beard, holding a wooden keg in his left hand, and raising his right hand with a thumbs up. Under the icon was a line of text, which Solzhenitsyn could roughly understand, writing Bergman Brewery—next to it was a line of small print, Happy Hour is about to begin.

Hundreds of kegs were connected to a machine with many hoses, and Hearthkyn or Ironkyn wearing aprons constantly took cups full of beer from the machine and sent them to all parts of the bridge.

In Solzhenitsyn's cognition, even the most unprofessional army would not allow drinking alcohol while performing combat missions.

No, not to mention the army, even ordinary factories, or other formal occasions, would not allow any personnel to drink alcohol on the job.

But in the Hearthkyn here, he saw a completely different environment. Although the overall atmosphere was still serious, it also reflected a unique sense of ease everywhere, like the Hearthkyn near the fire control station, who would toast from time to time.

"Is it not to your taste?"

Seeing that Solzhenitsyn hadn't moved for a long time, Byelnor asked suspiciously. Solzhenitsyn smiled slightly, raised his goblet, and drank heartily.

The Bergman beer, after being refrigerated, was clear, sweet, and refreshing, while the aftertaste was mellow and unique. Even Solzhenitsyn, who had been spoiled by Eldar wine, had to admit that this was a very high-quality brew.