Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 138: Pre-War Exercise (1)

Day three of the exercise, 9:45 AM

Terloclis Plains

His name was Lucian Silos, belonging to the 4th Armoured Regiment of the Astral Knights' auxiliary, which was also the spearhead assault force of the Chapter's ground auxiliary.

But today was different; today, he would play the role of the defender.

This made him feel uneasy, but there was nothing he could do, because the orders came directly from the Chapter Master.

If there was one thing embedded in him since his earliest days of training, it was this single principle: firmly obey orders, no matter the circumstances.

Intermittent flashes of fire illuminated the mountains at the far end of the plains, emitting a piercing, pallid light.

Bright ribbons of flame traced burning trails across the night sky like teardrops of fluorescent powder.

The retreat from the fortress had been long and arduous, made worse by the attackers' relentless and tenacious pursuit.

Those warriors playing the enemy were like piranhas trailing the scent of blood in the water—never giving up, never letting go, and never ceasing their attacks once the battle began.What mattered more were the numbers; as defenders, they had to face enemies ten times their number.

This was exactly the purpose of this exercise.

He didn't know how the war was progressing in other areas. All he knew were the dynamics of the battle surrounding them—it could be a simulation, or perhaps another unit undergoing their own exercise.

But regardless, they appeared isolated and without aid.

During the previous day of the exercise, Fortress 11 was determined to have fallen only after the last man standing, lasting long enough for most of them to escape and withdraw to a defensive perimeter prepared in advance by Servitors, pillboxes, and artillery positions.

Lucian bounded up and snatched his Pistol from the rock beside him.

He ran past the ready checkpoints, swiftly arriving safely at his command post. Throughout this entire process, he was constantly formulating new defensive strategies.

The Terloclis Plains were generally indefensible. Only the Talis Hills, where they were currently located, could be considered a position with a geographical advantage.

The Talis Hills snaked across this barren vast plain like a curving spine. Each vertebra was a curved mound, and every crevice held a series of rippling ravines that interlocked like dog's teeth, forming hidden valleys.

This was terrain easy to defend but hard to attack. Every offensive concept relied on the elevated ramparts and their interconnected fortresses.

But those concepts had never accounted for an enemy with an absolute numerical advantage.

Beneath his feet was a sloped wall constructed from compacted rubble and quick-setting rock-crete, sealing off this valley with a series of sturdy fortresses and strongholds.

Lucian was no stranger to the speed and thoroughness with which the Adeptus Mechanicus could carve landscapes, but the sight before him remained unbelievable.

The valley grew increasingly wider and deeper; its flanks had been blasted apart, excavated, drilled, and hollowed out to form a series of crisscrossing earthworks.

Less than half a day ago, his armored battalion had been transferred away from here. At that time, the valley floor had still been flat and deserted, the rocks dyed dark green by tenacious lichen.

Now, all of that was gone. The valley currently looked like a quarry that had been mined for decades. Combat engineers had used available materials to construct fortresses on the spot and deployed heavy firepower, packing trenches that hadn't even existed ten hours prior.

This seemed sufficient to stop the majority of the enemies.

But Lucian knew this was far from enough.

Not only did the enemy possess a numerical advantage, but the firepower standard set by the exercise command was equally terrifying; the other side had almost as much heavy artillery as they had machine guns!

During the first day of defense, nearly three of his companies had been wiped out directly by artillery fire.

Had it not been for his cautious nature—keeping his armored battalion held in reserve—it was very likely they would have been smashed in there as well.

Even so, he had paid a tremendous price just to pull back from the frontline.

This was an arduous retreat, with the enemy's vanguard units pressing them hard at every step.

Lucian didn't want to let the enemy maintain the initiative, but their overwhelming strength left him with no other choice.

The infantrymen, who were still on the exercise roster, gained a momentary respite, resting behind the high wall. Lucian walked right through amidst them.

When he passed through the position and arrived beneath a patch of shadow, his previously anxious heart calmed down.

They were his trump card for victory, and his last resort for turning the tide of battle.

Those massive metallic bodies were grayish-brown, mounted with a huge main gun and a variety of secondary weapons. Their flanks were adorned with the Imperial Aquila and bore the insignia of the Astral Knights.

An entire battalion of Malcador heavy tanks was deployed behind the defensive wall.

As part of the exercise, a series of combat rules and orders were issued from the distant Chapter command post, laying out strict guidelines for every company's actions across the entire battlefield.

But as the supreme commander of the battlefield, Lucian still possessed enough command flexibility.

Suddenly, he saw Captain Kent standing on the steps, listening to the Scouts' reconnaissance report—there was a section of light armored vehicles in the armored battalion, which usually fought alongside the tanks and generally operated under the command of the tank commanders.

"Any signs, Captain."

Lucian walked over.

Kent immediately turned around and thumped his chest with his fist—this was the salute used within the Chapter.

"They are showing a lot of activity around the defensive line, but there are no signs yet indicating they plan to launch an attack immediately."

Saying this, Kent pressed his hands straight to his sides, looking as if he were standing on a parade ground rather than a battlefield.

"Captain, there's no need to adhere so strictly to formalities."

Kent nodded and shifted to a more relaxed posture.

"I can tell you are very eager for combat right now."

Lucian said while wiping away the coarse mountain dust from the silver-gray surface of his chest armor.

"Yes, Sir."

Kent replied, his eyes fixed on a spot on Lucian's right shoulder.

"We were born to attack."

"You are absolutely right, Captain. If only the Chapter Master had a contrarian like you by his side."

"I am serious, Sir."

"So am I."

Lucian answered as he climbed the steps of the defensive wall and gazed down the mountain.

Kent followed faithfully, standing beside him, ready to execute any order he issued.

Although he couldn't see them, Lucian knew the enemy's main force was probing these hills, searching for weaknesses in the defensive line.

However, after observing for the past few days, he had noticed that while these enemies possessed a certain degree of tactics, they executed them very recklessly most of the time. Their reconnaissance was limited only to spotting heavy firepower points, and there would be a very sluggish process before advancing.

During the attacks, they would become quite chaotic, with extremely poor infantry-artillery coordination. They were frequently judged to have caused severe friendly fire with their artillery, and their vehicles were often mixed in amidst the swarms of infantry as they moved.

Adding all these characteristics together, it was hard for him not to think of a certain Xenos—

Greenskins.