Warhammer 40,000: Mortal Gods

"Shrink the front to the mountain defense line."

Horus gave the first command.

The so-called mountain defense line refers to the area composed of dense and steep mountains in the center of the Achaemenid Empire's territory.

That area was enough to make the Pan-Pacific Empire's armored forces desperate. When the infantry hit the imperial capital, their armored forces were still dawdling in the mountain defenses until they were defeated by Dorn's legions.

Behind the mountain defense line established by the Achaemenids thousands of years ago was the capital, which meant that the Legion had to give up a large area that had been recaptured by the Achaemenids.

The Primarchs considered this a strategic necessity.

The Achaemenids were also more rational. Unlike the barbarians who would shit on the dining table, they had to let their allies fighting on the road defend the plains outside the mountain defense line.

So there is no objection to this order.

"Dorne, Angron." Horus pointed to the tactical table, the supply circle set up by the Achaemenids behind the mountain defense line around the capital, "I need you to reorganize your troops here and be prepared. After we disintegrate the enemy's attack, you will serve as the main force in the counterattack and launch a counterattack while each legion on the defense line takes a short rest. "

Dorn and Angron nodded.

Dorne's legions are tough and brave enough to attack.

Angron's legions are drawn from dangerous groups, and they are also good at attacking.

"After we shrink the defense line, what will happen to the civilians?" Guilliman raised his hand and asked, "Those who were rescued from the occupied areas are resting on the front line. If we choose to shrink the front line, they will not be able to keep up with us. Retreat speed."

"You, Lorgar and Ferus stay there to delay the enemy."

Horus had already thought of the arrangements.

Then he looked at Perturabo.

"Perturabo, I need you to consolidate the defense line after withdrawing from the mountains and build a large number of fortresses and military facilities."

"Thanks to the assistance of construction machinery, you don't need too many manpower to build the project brick by brick. Your people have to be responsible for protecting the civilians from retreating to the mountain defense line, and then placing them in various fortresses in the mountain defense line. until they are able to continue retreating after resting.”

After listening to Horus's arrangements for him, Perturabo frowned and asked: "Why am I responsible for protecting the civilians from retreating? Are only Guilliman and Lorgar, Ferrus, Dorn and Angron participating in this war? ? Why can’t someone else be responsible?”

"Whether they are civilians being rescued or civilians fleeing the war, they have gathered in large numbers in the fortress in the war zone you are responsible for. Of course you have to be responsible." Horus said.

Perturabo had a hard face and an unhappy expression, but he didn't know how to refute.

Indeed, civilians congregated in large numbers in the battle zones under the responsibility of the Fourth Army.

On the entire front, instead of all the legions mixing together to fight together, one legion is responsible for one theater.

Except for Guilliman, Lorgar, and Ferus, everyone else had to withdraw, and it was hard to come all the way to help the Fourth Legion.

This is the truth, but Perturabo just can't stand it.

"If you will carry out this command, speak and say you will," said Horus.

Perturabo remained silent and turned around.

His shadow moved outward, getting fainter and fainter.

"You must promise that you will do it!" Horus shouted.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Perturabo responded sternly, "I will!"

…

When Perturabo's projection disappeared in the rear command post.

The Primarch walked out of a transformed Achaemenid fortress and announced to the legionaries gathered outside what was to be done.

"We are responsible for protecting civilians...Father, this must not be your wish." The legion commander saluted Perturabo, and then sneered at the civilians watching the Fourth Legion, "They spent hundreds of years only building If they build a dilapidated fortress, it will probably take them the same amount of time to retreat to the rear. "

Hearing this, Perturabo did not respond immediately, but walked towards his legion commander.

The tall original body looked down at the dwarf in front of him.

On the metallic helmet, a scarlet observer stared at the face of the legion commander that was covered by the helmet.

When the Legion Master tried to express that if the Primarch was willing to carry out this order, the Fourth Legion would have no objections.

The primarch's body moved, and then the legion commander was knocked to the ground. The helmet's fasteners were damaged and rolled to the side.

"I don't know how weak people are treated in your dirty and cold-blooded Albian culture, and I don't care."

Perturabo looked down coldly at the legion commander who fell to the ground.

"If we are going to be destroyed because of these civilians, or if we are too late to carry out an order, I will abandon them."

"But on the contrary, I'll take care of them."

After speaking, Perturabo grabbed the legion commander's hair and pulled him up from the ground, and then walked forward.

The warriors of the Fourth Legion cleared a path for the Primarch to pass.

"The first battalion went ahead and set up supply stations along the way."

"Other camps supervise civilians."

The cold voice of the Primarch reached the ears of every Fourth Legion Astartes.

"Do as I say."

When the Primarch issued the order in his own name, no one raised any objections.

In the cold silence, the second battalion under the legion took the lead, and the other battalions carried out the orders of the original body in detail under the orders of their respective officers.

Civilians were forced to abandon any items they carried that might affect their physical strength and speed.

The Fourth Legion and the civilians rushed for four kilometers, and then heard the sound of artillery fire from far behind.

The Thirteenth Legion, the Seventeenth Legion, and the Tenth Legion had already exchanged fire with the enemy under the leadership of their respective Primarchs.

But this war behind them had nothing to do with the Fourth Legion.

After rushing for four kilometers, the Astartes of the Fourth Legion had already observed who in the team had good physical strength and walked fast, and who had poor physical strength and walked slowly.

The former were organized into a more strict and orderly team, while the latter were stuffed into the vehicles of the Fourth Legion's armored battalion.

The Astartes who were originally in the armored vehicles now had to come out and walk with everyone.

But the experience of riding the vehicle was really not good.

The slow-moving civilians were roughly stuffed into any place in the vehicle that could accommodate people by the Astartes, until there was no room for even a child in a vehicle.

The remaining slow-moving people who could not fit into the vehicles were simply tied to the vehicles with iron chains.

The Astartes modified the vehicles in the first four kilometers, put steel nails to fix the iron chains, and opened an oxygen supply port for the vehicles.

When they arrived at the supply stations along the way, the team would stop.

The people inside and outside the vehicles were pulled out and replaced by civilians who were unlikely to walk to the next supply station in one breath.

The remaining people ate some dry food and then continued on their way under threat.

Horus' decision was not wrong. It was right to let the Fourth Legion be responsible for the civilians.

Although from an individual perspective, this journey was only better than being massacred, the result was good. There were all kinds of people, men, women, old, young, sick and disabled, but no one was left behind or missing. There were as many people as when they set out as when they reached the end.