Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 48: Malcador Heavy Tank

"My Lord!"

As if having made up his mind, Loken suddenly raised his head.

"There is one more thing I hope you can take a look at."

"Hm?"

Soshyan looked at him in confusion, but ultimately nodded.

Loken then led him to the doors of Warehouse One. After taking a deep breath, the Tech-Priest opened the gates.

"This is..."

As the heavy adamantium doors slowly parted, a row of lumen globes lining the warehouse ceiling lit up one by one, revealing twelve roaring steel behemoths emerging from the darkness. It was as if Soshyan had barged into a den of ferocious beasts and awakened them from their slumber.

Every single one of these metallic monsters possessed a size far exceeding that of a Leman Russ battle tank.

Soshyan stepped into the warehouse to observe them closely. These massive, cyan-grey hulls—eight meters tall and five meters wide—were covered in rivets and securing bolts. The tracks alone were as wide as a grown man. Mounted on their angular turrets were main cannons as thick as an Astartes' torso, gleaming with a pitch-black, oily sheen under the lights, like the fangs of apex predators."...I have never seen this type of tank before."

"They are Malcador heavy tanks, an ancient pattern that has been practically forgotten. Currently, only Makand II still produces them. They are also my mentor's pride and joy."

Loken stepped forward and stroked the steel behemoth, his touch as gentle as if he were caressing his lover.

The Malcador heavy tank was an exceedingly ancient design pattern; many even considered its lineage to predate the Leman Russ. However, since the Great Rebellion, it had become increasingly rare within the Imperial military, to the point where very few even knew such a tank existed.

In many regions of the Imperium, the Malcador heavy tank had been completely retired since the end of the Great Rebellion, leading to a prejudiced view that it was an unorthodox, localized armored vehicle relegated to specific planetary defense forces.

Yet, during the Great Crusade era, it had been one of the standard-issue vehicles for the Solar Auxilia and mortal auxiliary forces.

As time passed, the small fraction of Malcador heavy tanks still serving the Imperium were either withdrawn into strategic reserves or relegated to planetary defense forces and various other "secondary frontlines." A few were kept by certain Imperial Guard regiments merely out of tradition.

Most Forge Worlds had even ceased production of new Malcador hulls or upgraded variants. Even for the Adeptus Mechanicus, tracing the exact origins and lineage of the Malcador heavy tank proved exceedingly difficult.

Most believed that the tank was named after Malcador the Sigillite—but as the Emperor's closest personal advisor during the early days of the Imperium, he was an incredibly secretive and enigmatic figure.

This reasoning led certain theoreticians to argue that the tank's design pattern most likely originated during the desperately chaotic years immediately following the outbreak of the Horus Heresy.

Because there was a dire need for all kinds of combat materiel during that period—after all, far too much had been lost to the war, including knowledge and production capabilities. Even the ancient Land Raiders became exclusively reserved for the Astartes.

Therefore, it was highly probable that even something like the Malcador was dug out from the archives and mass-produced as an emergency stopgap measure.

Regardless, like the vast majority of relics from that turbulent era, they became shrouded in various mysteries.

Despite being intended to fulfill the role of a main battle tank, the original Malcador chassis was much larger and heavier than the familiar Leman Russ.

The tank itself was incredibly durable due to its massive profile and thick armor. It mounted a powerful main battle cannon in a turret with a limited firing arc, while two secondary hardpoints could be fitted with heavy stubbers, heavy bolters, lascannons, or small autocannons.

However, due to its early conception, the tank's design suffered from certain limitations, particularly evident when compared to the smaller Leman Russ.

The first issue lay in its weapons' firing arcs. Due to the tank's massive hull, the heavy armor and sponson-mounted weapons restricted the traverse of all its armaments. The inability of the main and secondary turrets to pivot simultaneously made it exceedingly unwieldy in chaotic engagements when the frontline was penetrated, allowing enemy infantry to exploit these blind spots.

Despite this, experienced commanders still managed by integrating infantry support closely with the tanks.

However, the tank's second flaw—the weakness of its engine—was not so easily overcome.

The main engine of the Malcador heavy tank was an ancient combustion-drive powerplant, a modified version of those used in many heavy industrial and agricultural machines. Unfortunately, the size and weight of the Malcador caused it to constantly run overloaded.

This resulted in abysmal logistical performance and extremely poor fuel efficiency.

Any attempt to further increase engine power inevitably meant increasing the tank's tonnage yet again—because the only way to boost output was to add more engines.

Simply put, the design of the Malcador heavy tank fell into a vicious cycle of adding flour when there was too much water, and adding water when there was too much flour.

Perhaps this was the true reason it had been abandoned.

"...My mentor relentlessly worked on improving the Malcador heavy tank. He eliminated the sponson turrets and designed a new, independent turret, granting the main cannon a sufficient firing arc. He also replaced the powerplant with his own upgraded composite engine, capable of making the Malcador run just as fast as a Leman Russ."

As Loken introduced the vehicle, Soshyan also observed this tank pattern for himself.

As the Tech-Priest claimed, the Malcador heavy tank before him indeed featured only a single main turret capable of traversing 180 degrees, a significant departure from the vast majority of Imperial armor. Furthermore, the front hull had been sloped at a fifty-degree angle, elevating its already formidable armor protection to another level.

As for secondary armaments, there was a heavy bolter mounted on the front hull, and externally mounted autocannons on both sides of the chassis. This design reduced the required crew size by two, allowing it to operate with only four to five personnel.

Soshyan admitted that the upgraded Malcador heavy tank was a reliable weapon, perhaps even outperforming the Leman Russ in breakthrough assaults and protracted wars of attrition.

After all, it held an advantage over the Leman Russ in tonnage and defense, and its potential for further upgrades was quite immense.

But the crux of the matter was: what did Loken intend to do?

"Adept Loken."

Soshyan withdrew his gaze from the Malcador heavy tank and turned toward the prattling Adeptus Mechanicus priest.

"What is the meaning behind showing me all this?"

Loken's shoulders visibly stiffened, and he slowly turned around.

He forced a stiff smile onto his face and said:

"M-My Lord, after hearing about the great deeds of your Chapter, I... I also wish to make a contribution to the Imperium."

"This is not our property, nor is it yours."

Soshyan stared at Loken, his voice gradually dropping lower.

Under the piercing gaze of the Space Marine, Loken's psychological defenses finally crumbled. He lowered his head like a child caught doing something wrong and mumbled:

"I... um... does your ship... still... still lack a Tech-Priest...?"

With his head bowed, Loken failed to see the faint smile that surfaced on Soshyan's face.

Just as he had suspected.

"Are you afraid of being held accountable?"

"No, no, no! It's absolutely not accountability; they will only seek revenge! They hated my mentor, and they hate me! They won't let this opportunity slip by!"

Loken raised his head, so nervous his tongue was tying itself in knots.