Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

"as you wish."

Shar said to Calvin, ending the conversation and temptation.

For the next time, the team walked quietly through the large tunnel that had lost its function. After leaving the main area of ​​the hive, they maintained a barely silent but extremely fast pace.

This is different from Calvin's understanding of them. In his impression, the Crow's Sons, who are good at infiltration and infiltration, are not a legion inclined to travel long distances.

Compared with those White Scars who like to ride vehicles and attack the wasteland, they should be more inclined to penetrate in short distances and then launch a fatal blow to the enemy.

The equipment on these warriors also proves Calvin’s point:

Like the Valk we saw before, the gaps in the power armor of these Astartes warriors are full of traces of sound-absorbing and shock-absorbing modifications.

Even the magnetic boot soles made of ceramic steel are covered with a thick layer of cushioning material.

This kind of equipment, which is obviously focused on lurking, is now used for long-distance marches. In addition to indicating their worrying logistical status, it also illustrates the difficulty of their mission.

"What is your combat goal?"

Facing Shar's gaze hidden behind his helmet, Calvin asked.

After speaking, he thought about it again and decided not to give the other party a reason to prevaricate:

"In other words, who is the enemy that allows you to march such a long distance and enter a latent state so long in advance?"

Shar did not answer Calvin's question directly, but after careful consideration, he took out a box made of pure lead from his waist.

As he continued to move forward, he opened the box and took out a black ore and showed it to Calvin:

"Have you ever seen this thing?"

"No, what is this?" Calvin asked curiously.

This ore seems to be no different from ordinary crystalline iron ore, but the crystals in it make Calvin's psychic energy ready to activate.

If Shar hadn't told him that this was a primitive ore produced in nature, he would hardly have believed that a natural substance would be so attracted to the power of subspace.

"The raw ore of Trikalli crystal, a mineral that has not been recorded in imperial data."

After carefully collecting the ore as it was, Shar said to Calvin.

"What does it do?" Calvin became even more curious.

"Unclear. But the enemy is also looking for this and is refining it on a large scale in smelters on the planet. We don't know anything other than that it will be the core of some large weapon."

"So your mission?"

Calvin had a vague understanding of the reason why they were here, but he still didn't know how bad the situation was.

"Find its refinery and destroy it."

Looking at Calvin's face, Shar thought for a while and added again:

"We have tried three times in the past ten years and failed twice."

"Got it," Calvin said.

This time he finally understood the reason why these soldiers stayed here for ten years.

It should be noted that with their mobility, as long as they do not want to get entangled, they will definitely have a chance to leave here at the beginning of the battle.

And since they did not leave, the enemy would rather mobilize the Midnight Lord forces with equal tactical positioning to entangle them here for ten years.

That is enough to show that the importance of this matter far exceeds Calvin's knowledge.

But are these the only things that exceed his understanding?

When two Sons of the Legion, both born in the darkness and both specializing in infiltration, raids, and assassinations, appeared on opposite ends of the same battlefield.

The flavor of this battle has completely broken away from the scope of traditional battles.

Calvin could instinctively smell the strong smell of blood in Shar's words. This game in the dark reminded him of the training experience he had briefly had in his previous military career.

In that short three weeks, a group of instructors who returned from Africa used several day and night exercises to teach them what anti-human war thinking is when both sides of the war have no scruples.

This is a war that is completely different from Calvin's traditional image. It is a war of only night and blood.

"How many of you are left?" Calvin's voice was dry.

He could, but he didn't want to imagine it.

Imagine how these lonely warriors persisted for a full ten years despite losing air supremacy and being heavily surrounded by the enemy's superior forces and counterattack tactics.

"Nine, that's all you see."

There was almost no emotion in Shar's answer, as if he was not talking about himself.

But Calvin still sensed enough sadness in his tone.

An entire company, ten years of fierce fighting.

Counting the lost Valk, only ten people survived.

"Salute to your loyalty!" Calvin said sincerely.

"The God-Emperor's blessing!" Shar responded.

The look he looked at Calvin also had more warmth.

"Is this kind of ore rare?"

After another long silence, Calvin, who was freed from his previous emotions, cleared his thoughts and asked Shar next to him.

"No, at least it's not rare on this planet." Shar replied.

Then this idea can be abandoned. Calvin shook his head and turned his attention to the next procedure.

"What about the difficulty of refining?"

"It's very difficult." Shar glanced at Calvin approvingly, and then explained their gains along Calvin's train of thought:

"We tried it, and its melting point is extremely high. And the large reactors here almost didn't survive the invasion. They could only try it through the heat of the earth's core."

"The power of the earth's core?"

Calvin recalled his impressions of the planet's surface on Pale Wings.

Most of the densely populated hives in space have fallen into silence, with only a few still emitting billowing smoke.

He used to think that it was the symbol of a certain hive that had survived the war, but now it seems that it must be the location of the furnace for refining ore!

"Is there a dataslate? I think I know where it is."

Calvin said to Shar confidently, and then drew several locations in his impression on the data pad handed over by the latter.

"No. 3, No. 22, No. 41."

Shar looked at Calvin's marks, and it was difficult for him to choose between those locations located on different continental plates.

"This is unrealistic!" Behind him, Astartes, who had never spoken, couldn't help but said.

This is not a denial of the enemy, but a denial of the feasibility of their original raid plan now that they have lost the mobility represented by air vehicles.

Regardless of the distance between these furnaces, it is known that Alpha is involved. How many of these are true and how false is a huge question.

what to do?

The three of them looked at each other, unable to think of any good solution for the moment.

Of course they can move over one by one.

But not to mention the huge waste of time in the process, the damage that every raid will inevitably bring is a price that they cannot bear.

The dangers of the war are vividly reflected at this moment. What they lack now is not only troops, but also time.

Second update, please vote, take a break and continue.