Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

"You can spend more of your time elsewhere instead of with these mortals."

This was a suggestion from the Inquisition's resident representative aboard Titan II long ago, when these mortal forces were first created.

This is not a discriminatory suggestion, but the heartfelt words of these experienced judges.

After undergoing advanced mechanical modifications and life-extending surgeries, their lifespans have broken away from the mortal limit of a hundred years, but it is difficult for them to reach the nearly infinite lifespan of the Astartes.

They are unable to enter the Qingyun world and are unwilling to return to the mortal world. This is a sad and true portrayal of this group of people.

They cannot give up their mortal feelings and memories like Astartes, but they still have to endure the doomed separation of love and hate.

So when this lonely old inquisitor, who had lost all emotional sustenance in time, saw Calvin's behavior, he couldn't help but give him this advice:

"Since you have reached the top, please don't have too much contact with mortals. It will not be good for you or them."

The old man's suggestion was certainly well-intentioned, but unfortunately Calvin was not as simple as he imagined.

Calvin, who has lived in two lives, has a more thorough understanding of himself. He may not yet know how to deal with these people who are destined to leave.

But since they and he are on the edge of order where there is no Ming Dynasty today, he has the obligation to let these mortals who are enemies of order and chaos behind them know that their efforts will always be remembered, and their existence will not be easily dismissed. Forget.

"I could do that, but I'd rather be with them."

This was Calvin's answer at the time, and it was also what he had been doing since he took over the position of Lord of the Castle and received the first batch of arriving mortal auxiliary troops.

No matter where they came from before, no matter what abilities they had, since they were willing to take up arms again after living a peaceful life, they deserved Calvin's respect.

You know, once they respond to the call of the Gray Knights, it means that they must face Chaos in the next battle, and the price is that they are destined to be used as battlefield consumables.

This black and gold uniform representing the Hammer Order of the Inquisition looks luxurious and solemn, but the heavy fate behind it is really something that not everyone can bear.

The old man never tried to persuade Calvin again. He knew that in this country with too many smart people, there must still be some sense of existence for some fools.

The empire needs the wisdom and courage of Prometheus, but the same burden and persistence as Sisyphus are equally valuable...

"My comrades, you should know that what we are facing will be a war with no retreat."

This was the first thing Calvin said to all the officers present after entering the command room.

There were no slogans, no passionate mobilization.

Calvin believes that these warriors who are still willing to answer the call of the Tribunal after living in peace for more than ten years do not need this.

All he had to do was make their mission and meaning clear and point out the worst possible situation they would encounter.

And these people did not disappoint him. The words he deliberately said at the beginning did not win a single shaken look among these veterans.

These soldiers wearing the black uniforms of the Inquisition are all survivors after fighting Chaos.

Since they are still willing to stand here, there is no need to doubt their will, and their determination has never changed.

They just asked Calvin with silent eyes where the enemy was.

Calvin was very satisfied with this response. What he needed was this attitude:

It’s not a show of courage, nor is it a declaration of anger. But the determination that he knew he was going to die without changing his expression.

As Calvin waved, the largest screen behind him lit up, and the target of their trip—the map of this nameless, deserted world—was displayed on the screen.

"The map comes from the latest feedback from the front. Taking into account the interstellar communication time difference, the error is about a week. Our goal is to prevent these chaotic bastards from causing harm before the naval fleet led by the Forbidden Forces withdraws from the Orps battlefield and arrives. More destruction…”

Calvin stood in front of these veterans, most of whom were over 150 years old, and told them about their combat goals and timeline.

The video receiving equipment under the podium was working amidst the rustling low-frequency noise, transmitting his posture and words in real time and synchronized to the military camp in the cabin below. All the soldiers who were preparing for war and mobilization also stopped. of work joined the ranks of listening.

They are either bent over their backpacks here, or sitting on the camp bed counting their ammunition, or following the squad to assemble on the playground, or praying for relatives whose names are no longer known in the distance.

But at this moment, each of them stopped what they were doing and listened to the voice from the bridge.

They knew that it was this person who reactivated them from the remote abandoned planet; it was this person who did not deny their existence because of their status as mortals.

This is the man who is willing to tell the meaning of his battle before the war to those who are destined to serve as cannon fodder most of the time; this is the man who is willing to call them comrades-in-arms.

"I will lead my compatriots to land first and open a basic landing field for you after finding the target. From then on, it will be your responsibility to defend on the spot."

After Calvin finished talking about the complex environment on the planet and the corresponding combat equipment recommendations, he put down the laser pointer in his hand and said to everyone present.

"You need to hold the predetermined defense line until the last second before zero o'clock. There are no reinforcements and no follow-up replenishment. Is there any problem?"

"No!"

"Okay, then collect weapons and equipment according to the predetermined plan." Calvin looked up at the huge mechanical timer on the wall, calculated in his mind and said:

"There are still 16 hours before the start of the battle. I hope you can come up with a specific action plan as soon as possible. What do you want to say?"

While looking around, the commander with the number 1 in the lead said:

"Since this battle is mainly for defense, we want to take away all the automatic firepower turrets in the arsenal."

"Approved!"

"We also have a great demand for mines and kinetic weapons." Another officer also said,

"Approved! Anything else?" Calvin continued to ask.

"The first landing should be armored units, and their tanks can be used as fixed turrets."

"Thermal weapons and incendiary bombs! Those Nurgle cubs will like this!"

"It is best to temporarily install front blades on the tanks, so that we can build fortifications as soon as possible!"…………

With Calvin's encouragement, everyone expressed their suggestions, and Calvin accepted them all and approved them all.

After summarizing the specific list of supplies, he looked around the entire command center and said:

"Supplies, I will give you, weapons and equipment, as long as they are in the warehouse on the warship, I will also give you all. So in the next action, I don't want to see requests for retreat, I don't want to see the data of casualties and losses reported, I just want results! Can you do it?"

"Your will."

With a simple response and a series of Sky Eagle salutes, Calvin turned and left the command hall.

There are still complicated pre-war preparations waiting for him in the Grey Knights' barracks, which is his main battlefield.

"How is the choir preparing?"

Communication with his compatriots is much simpler. Calvin saved his worries about their morale and combat effectiveness and asked directly about the issues he cares about most.

"The Psychic Choir has just rested from the active interference in the subspace and can now enter the ceremony preparation stage."

This is the news that Gavins just received from the bridge.

"Not fast enough, urge them again. We must ensure that they are in place within three hours. We only have twelve hours of ceremony time at most. We can't waste it here."

Calvin said without thinking. He ordered Gavins to urge the bridge again to get the choir members in place as soon as possible.

"But that will cause permanent damage to the choir members..." Gavins said with some embarrassment.

"Damage? That's better than death. If the ceremony I want is not in place, I will ask them to pay ten times the price for each additional death list! Tell the cantor, it's time to fight to the death! As long as you don't die from singing, sing to death!"

"Yes!" Gavins turned and left, and began to contact the bridge while walking out.

"How many 'baby carriages' were brought out in this operation?"

Turning his eyes to Golden, Calvin continued the previous topic.

The 'baby carriage' he mentioned is a weapon and equipment unique to the Grey Knights, a humanoid war machine composed of adamantium, ceramic steel and a compact and powerful plasma reactor.

Or you can also understand it as the size of the Holy Shield type dreadnought power armor, enlarged to a state beyond 10 meters.

In the Grey Knights' armed sequence, its official name is positioned as "Sky Punishment Dread Knight".

With a weight of 45 tons and a height of more than ten meters, it can barely be compared with the smallest human incarnation of the machine god Ohm Messiah - the Knight Titan.

But the actual combat direction is different from the Knight Titan. This humanoid weapon controlled by a Grey Knight wearing a full set of power armor through a neural guide has a reaction speed far exceeding the Knight Titan and a more violent and powerful melee ability.

Its positioning from the beginning was not a large vehicle of the opponent. Its original intention was to effectively kill those huge demon individuals whose size specifications far exceeded that of mortals.

Therefore, it is different from those knights who bear firepower strikes on the second line most of the time. Long-range fire support is only a task that Tianfa Dread Knight occasionally undertakes.

But you can't underestimate the strength of its firepower. After all, this is a platform that can theoretically carry heavy incineration weapons that can only be used by tanks and Titans.

Any enemy who underestimates his long-range firepower will pay the price under the attack of the heavy incineration weapons on his arms.

Not to mention that this level of ion reactor can already bear the burden of the psychic amplification device. The psychic power of the high-level Gray Knights it carries is more effective against demons after being amplified.

Yes, every Gray Knight who is allowed to drive this equipment is at least a high-level member above the Paladin.

So whether it is close combat or long-range psychic strikes, he can let the demons facing him know what real destruction is.

In a sense, it is not an exaggeration to call this thing a special version of the Gray Knights' humanoid Gundam.

Whether it is close combat or long-range, it has no hard shortcomings. Even the natural cumbersomeness of large weapons has been fundamentally solved by the unique precision transmission ability of the Gray Knights.

Calvin was very satisfied with its combat capability, but there was one thing he couldn't complain about: its outer armor layout:

The cockpit of the front torso of the Heavenly Punishment Dread Knight is exposed.

Due to the compact space, after a fully equipped Gray Knight has been installed, there is really no room in his limited space to install additional armor.

In other words, any Gray Knight who drives this thing can naturally enjoy a 180-degree panoramic view of the front while being completely exposed in front of the enemy...

"Isn't this just a large stroller?"

Calvin often laughed at the designer of this thing in private because of this, and with his efforts to promote it, this "elegant name" quickly spread to the entire Honor Guard.

This is also the origin of the previous conversation.

"Three, one for each strike team." Golden suppressed a smile as he answered Calvin's question.

Calvin glanced at Golden and did not pursue the details. He raised his hand to contact the bridge:

"When will the internal structure diagram of the hulk I want arrive?"

"Soon." Tabers' voice came from the earphones.

"The power of the auspicious instrument of the intelligence collection ship is still not enough, and there is only this ship nearby. Among the detection results from a safe distance, only the outermost structural diagram has been confirmed to be valid."

"Send me as many as you have, and we'll talk about the follow-up when it comes."

After speaking, Calvin cut off the communication and returned his attention to his side.

"How is the team's preparation status? Please report the status of the power armor!"

"It's in perfect condition! Only Brother Feier's shoulder armor has some problems, and it has been replaced with new parts."

"Where's the ammunition?"

"The maximum complies with the six base numbers, 2:0.5:0.5 for psychic bullets, armor-piercing bullets and conventional warheads. The psychic circuit is in good condition and the psychic ammunition can be switched at any time."

This is Tariq's voice.

"Hormonal reserves?"

"Fully filled with 15 bottles, all members confirmed that the refills have been completed."

"Power pack?"

"All members confirm that the charge is over 90%"

……………………

One by one, details were ticked in Calvin's mind, and Calvin still took the trouble to confirm them one by one. Just like in his previous life on the eve of the exercise, this feeling of being both a father and a mother made him intimate and familiar. .

What is different from the previous life is that what they will face is a real and more cruel battlefield.

His sense of security did not increase with the readiness of supplies and equipment. On the contrary, it decreased with fewer and fewer items on the list.

How many brothers can be brought back safely? Calvin didn't dare to think about it, and he didn't want to think about it.

He knew full well that for their profession, fear of casualties was a luxury.

These comrades who have gone through numerous selections and stood in front of him after hundreds of years of battlefield experience do not need him to think this way.

In this universe, sacrifice is no longer a rare thing for humans, and it is even more so for this group of people. In the eyes of the Gray Knights, sacrifice is a beautiful destination.

Because that means they can finally stop this eternal expedition, and then stop and enter the long and quiet night to enjoy their sleep.

But he was still worried, but he couldn't tell anyone about this extravagant and ridiculous-sounding emotion yet.

This is the biggest difference between him and the people here, and it is also a manifestation of the goal he has always pursued.

This empire, this race, has shed enough blood. He wants to change such things, starting now.

Two in one, update please vote.