I'm in Warhammer, I just want to grow mushrooms

Chapter 223 The Secret Cult Takes Over, Ulanno is Destined to Win
The preparations for the Orc Destroyer are progressing smoothly.

Due to imperial decrees, the Space Guard cannot use battleships; at most, they can use second-hand cruisers.

That doesn't matter. The intensity of combat for the guards isn't that high, and they don't need battleship-level external armor plates and void shields.

Li Nuo ordered 20 second-hand Lunar-class cruisers from the Foundry World Demos, asking them to help modify the broadside guns and light lances.

Since it is a force specifically designed to fight orcs, its shipborne weapons and equipment must be tailored to their specific needs.

The orc's macro cannon is a smoothbore cannon with an extremely high muzzle velocity, a large propellant charge, and formidable power. However, it has a fatal flaw: the trajectory deviates significantly a few seconds after leaving the barrel. This is an inherent defect of smoothbore cannons.

The Paru fleet calibrated the flight attitude of its shells by embedding calculators and flame nozzles within the shells.

This technology is not something that ordinary orcs can possess; at the very least, only the fleets under the command of the warlord are qualified to use it.

Li Nuo's idea was simple.

Increase the Space Guard's firing range, keeping the fleet outside the Orc ships' accurate firing range;

Enhance the mobility of the Space Guard to evade the Orcs' light spear weapons through maneuvering and positioning;

Equipped with a slowing force field generator, it forcibly reduces the cruising speed of the Orc frigate, allowing the Space Guard's close-in weapon system to catch up with the Orc frigate.

With three modifications implemented simultaneously, the Hunter-class cruiser, unique to the Orc Destroyers, was born.

Its number of side guns is reduced by half compared to a normal Lunar-class cruiser, replaced by slowing force field generators and six-barreled heavy machine guns on both sides.

Its broadside guns had twice the range of the Luna-class cruisers, but the shell caliber was reduced to 100 meters. They used Gauss explosives, so the explosive power was no less than that of the Luna-class cruisers.

The gun barrel is rifled, and the shells are equipped with afterburners and ramjet propulsion, which can accelerate twice in a vacuum environment. The muzzle velocity is 6 kilometers per second, and after the second acceleration, it can reach up to 20 kilometers per second. It can accurately snipe Orc cruisers and battleships within 1200 kilometers.

The light spear array enhances the power of a single shot and greatly increases the firing interval, focusing on a single, decisive hit rather than pursuing firing efficiency.

The conversion of the customized cruiser will take time, but the establishment of the Space Guard will not be halted.

Recruiting and mobilizing personnel is of utmost importance.

Planetary Defense Force Commander Harper provided Lino with a list of personnel who met the Space Guard's recruitment criteria.

Li Nuo handed the list to Conn and Cranment, who were responsible for interviewing and reviewing it.

The Space Guard's twenty companies don't need to be fully staffed from the start.

The four most important companies are the First, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Companies, each with a Hunter-class cruiser. They need to be fully staffed as soon as possible. Each company has 2000 combat personnel. Including the crew responsible for ship operations, the company's logistics, and reserves, there are a total of 30000 people. The remaining companies will be recruited as appropriate.

Before the guards could be deployed for combat, the company's reconnaissance work had already begun.

Mona, Wick, and Leia, along with hundreds of Governor's agents, were reassigned as members of the First Company and traveled to Apimette DE on an armed cargo ship to carry out a reconnaissance mission.

With the help of orc prediction experts, their infiltration and reconnaissance were as smooth as flowing water.

All thirty reconnaissance missions were successful, with no failures and yielding fruitful results.

"Sir, sir, we have discovered the Bone Drinker's treasure trove on Planet Apimette DE."

Mona stood with her hands behind her back, striding forward, and reported the company's reconnaissance results to Lino and Clement, who were sitting opposite each other on either side of the desk:

"The Bone Drinkers' treasury has been seized by an orc warlord force known as the Blood Bull. The warlord and his eleven bodyguards appear to have undergone severe mutations. They are taller, stronger, and more aggressive than ordinary orcs, and their skin is dark red."

The holographic device synchronously projects scenes from the Bone Drinker's Treasure Vault.

Blood Bull and its guards were corrupted by Khorne, turning them into violent freaks whose skin turned from green to red.

Mona interprets this phenomenon as a "serious mutation," which is not unreasonable.

Li Nuo pretended to be unaware of the situation on Planet Apimatt DE, and asked in a puzzled tone:
"Kranment, have you ever encountered a red-skinned orc like this before?"

Clament changed into the uniform of the Space Guard Commander, a black velvet fabric with silver trim, exuding dignity, composure, and authority.

She pondered for a moment and then said:
"Sir, I have never encountered it, but I have heard of it."

"Hmm, tell me more about it."

"Six months ago, when the Pamela Sector fell, the Imperial 81st Legion covered the evacuation of civilians on the edge of the sector. They were attacked by an Orc fleet and ultimately succeeded in covering the evacuation of civilians from the Imperial world from the occupied zone at the cost of one-fifth of their ships. During this battle, the Legion flagship's Auger Matrix scanned red-skinned Orcs and recorded part of their biometric codes."

Li Nuo tapped a few keys on the keyboard, searching the database for data records related to "the 81st Mortal Legion".

Half a minute later, he found the answer he was looking for.

The legion's Auger Matrix scanned a biometric map with anomalous signals from the orc flagship.

This image is a raster image, not a color photograph. Each pixel in a raster image represents a biological signal.

Normal orcs would exhibit dark green biosignals, but the pixels in this image are red.

The chief strategist of the 81st Mortal Legion, a mechanical sage, analyzed that the red biosignals indicated that the orcs' physical functions were extremely astonishing, with muscle strength and endurance at least three times that of ordinary orcs.

Li Nuo nodded slightly.

Not bad, the motorist does have some skills.

Their analysis of biosignals largely matched the results of the orcs corrupted by Khorne.

"It seems the problems on Planet Apimatt DE are more troublesome than I anticipated," Li Nuo remarked with feigned seriousness, then changed the subject and asked:
Have you finalized your battle plan?

“Yes, sir, let me explain in detail.” Clement stood up and connected the data panel to the holographic device.

The holographic image shows a strategic map of Planet Apimatt DE, with the cave containing the Bone Drinker's Treasury located in the center of the map.

The strategic map features symbols for ships and personnel, as well as a variety of tactical markings.

In order to establish the Space Guard, Li Nuo had specifically studied the "Imperial General Tactics Manual" compiled by the Imperial Military Affairs Department, which enabled him to understand the markings on the strategic map.

The orcs on Planet Apimatt DE have built numerous underground fortifications and traps.

At the slightest disturbance, they will hide underground.

In response to this situation, Clement offered a suggestion that Linuo hadn't considered:
"My lord, I have carefully calculated the material costs, personnel losses and success rates of various plans, and finally came to the conclusion that we can directly pour river water into the orcs' caves."

The strategy map has been switched to the second basement level.

In a corner of this grotto, there is a water source; it is an underground river whose bed is one meter higher than the floor of the second-level grotto.

The beastmen usually draw water from here.

When Mona led the reconnaissance team, she immediately noticed the existence of this river.

The underground river has a rapid current and a large water volume.

The little devils could easily be swept away by the water flow, so they had to use a makeshift water station to get water.

"Our operational plan is called Operation Cut-off. We will install high-energy explosive bundles here, here, and here to achieve directional blasting, destroying the surrounding riverbed in one fell swoop and allowing the river water to flood the second level of the underground cave."

"I'm talking," Cranment said, gesturing on the strategic map.

Li Nuo asked:
"What if the orcs try to block the water flow by blowing up the tunnel?"

“My lord, while blocking the water flow can solve the problem of the river overflowing, the orcs will still need to consume a lot of water.”

Krant switched to the strategy map, and the view shifted to the fourth underground level, where there was an underground river with a very small flow:

"We've confirmed that this river is the orcs' only backup water source. We can blow it up too. That way, the orcs will only be able to get water from rivers on the surface. Our orbital bombardment will be their death knell. The shells used in the orbital bombardment have chemical cores, and the residue from the explosion is a metabolic enzyme inhibitor, which can significantly reduce the spread of reproductive spores."

Clanment paused:
"Of course, I don't expect such a tactic to succeed on the first try. The orc technicians are very capable. The orcs can fight us while repairing the underground water sources and making them more secure. My plan is to force the orcs to fight us by repeatedly cutting off the water supply. Once the number of orcs has been significantly reduced, we will then use a surface advance to engage the orcs in direct combat underground."

"Operation cutoff water...a good plan," Li Nuo asked.
"Since you can blow up the riverbed, why don't you just destroy the orcs' plasma reactor?"

Clament replied:

"The main reason is that we cannot control the extent of the damage caused by the plasma storm. The secondary reason is that the orcs protect the plasma reactor much better than the riverbed, making it almost impossible for them to penetrate."

"Well, that makes sense."

Li Nuo looked approving.

If he were willing to reveal his trump card, the battle would become exceptionally easy.

Killing a Khorne orc with a headshot is easy, but the problem is, this is the real universe, not the Cyberspace.

The slain Khorne orc had a demonic projection inside him.

After the demonic projection is destroyed, it returns to its original body in the warp, bringing with it the memories of its death. These memories will then reveal many things, bringing Planet Apimatt DE into the sights of the Chaos Demons.

Li Nuo would never personally take action unless it was absolutely safe.

He didn't want to be targeted by the weasels and the four peddlers before he had the strength to sweep through the human empire and the four peddlers.

“Very good, Cranment, proceed with your battle plan. Just tell me what you need.”

Li Nuo looked at Meng Na, smiled, and said:

"Your company performed well, which puts my mind at ease. Remember to do a good job of summarizing the combat experience, and think about improvement measures when you have time. If you have any good ideas, you can communicate with Clanment and Conn."

"Yes, sir." Mona clenched her fist and pounded her chest, bowing respectfully.

Li Nuo thought for a moment and asked:
"By the way, Mona. When facing red-skinned orcs, were the orc prediction experts' behavioral forecasts accurate?"

Mona recalled for a few seconds:

"Hmm... the prediction is correct, but there is an occasional delay. Normally, the logic circuit will give a prediction within 100 milliseconds. However, when facing red-skinned orcs, there is a very small probability that it will react with a delay, giving a result between 100 and 300 milliseconds. This phenomenon is not serious and will not affect the reconnaissance operation for the time being."

Li Nuo bent his arms and rested them on the edge of the table, supporting his chin with the back of his hand as his thoughts raced.

The Khorne orcs have demons within them.

Demons possess independent consciousness.

Although it is asleep, it can absorb the souls of the dead and secrete a certain substance to strengthen the orcs, which means that it is not unable to move while asleep.

The substances it secretes and the mental influence it exerts on orcs can interfere with their behavior, which may explain the delayed response from orc prediction experts.

"Kranment, in the subsequent raids, I want you to deploy anti-psychic devices on the ground and conduct experiments on red-skinned orcs, directly applying the anti-psychic medium to them."

"Yes, my lord."

"Mona, when the red-skinned orcs are covered by anti-psychic medium, you are in charge of directing the company to carefully observe whether there is any delay in the logic circuit response. If the situation does not improve or even worsens, report to Crant immediately."

"As ordered."

Li Nuo chatted with the two women about some details and then saw them out the door.

There is a special forces kid on Apimatt DE, designated Bond 17.

He would keep an eye on the Chaos Orcs' movements for Li Nuo and secretly help the Orc Destroyer avoid major risks.

When necessary, Lino can possess Bond 17 and secretly help the series overcome crises.

"Dong dong dong."

After Mona and Clement left, someone knocked on the door.

The person who came was Tido.

She had a letter written in Star Language in her hand, and it looked like she had just returned from Satana's place.

“Li Nuo, when I was contacting the Foundry World through Ms. Satana just now, the Legal Department sent me a Star Language announcement. Take a look.”

Tido handed over the letter in her hand.

Li Nuo took it and glanced at it, clearly stunned for a second:
"The cult openly claims that it provided the Imperial Ministry of Justice with intelligence on the Bone Drinkers' strongholds? And it even predicts that the Ulanor Orc Empire will eventually conquer the entire galaxy?"

Let's set aside Ulanno's prophecy for now.

On what basis does the esoteric sect claim that it provided the information about the Bone Drinker?

Everyone in the governor's circle knew what the Ministry of Justice had done to the Bone Drinkers.

Three hundred warships swept through the Bone Drinkers' strongholds in a month, forcing the Bone Drinkers to hide and dare not show their faces.

A few days ago, the Imperial Ministry of Justice issued a notice.

The Ministry of Justice highly praised Brisso Lestot for providing intelligence to the Ministry and announced that the wandering merchant had died a heroic death in a raid, and that the Lestot dynasty's wandering merchant commission had been revoked by the wartime council due to the lack of a successor.

Li Nuo didn't care that the Ministry of Justice attributed all the intelligence to Brisso, as long as he wasn't exposed.

But now, the cult has come forward to publicly claim that the Ministry of Justice's intelligence came from the cult, not from Brisso Lestot.
What are esoteric religions up to?

A clandestine cult composed of aliens, attempting to overthrow the human empire, dares to come out into the open?

What's wrong with this world?

Li Nuo stared at the letter for a long time, utterly speechless.

In its letter, the Ministry of Justice reminded the governors not to believe the rumors fabricated by Tantric Buddhism, and also included an appendix explaining the origins of Tantric Buddhism to the governors.

The Ministry of Justice has characterized the cult as an alien conspiracy group and released a file detailing contact between the human empire and the cult.

The archives mention that members of the Cult had appeared on Terra long before the Great Crusade began, but their disguises were exposed by the Emperor.

Such a conspiracy group composed of aliens, jumping out to compete for Bristo Lestot's glory, is definitely not up to any good, so don't believe them.

The above is a summary of the letter's content.

After reading it, Li Nuo only had one thing to say:
If it weren't for the letter from the Ministry of Justice, he really wouldn't have known that the esoteric religion was being publicly preached.

It is estimated that the Ministry of Justice did this to prevent problems before the content of the Tantric teachings spread among the governors.

Tido walked to Li Nuo's side and poked the prophecy made by the esoteric sect in its public sermons with her fingertip:

"Ms. Satana inquired and found that the cult's public preaching takes place in the capital of the Kelkelly Sector. That place was recently attacked by Ulanor."

Lino searched for the location of the "Kelkelly Sector" in the Thinker and found that this sector was located to the west of the Pamela Sector.

After Pamela fell, Kelkelly became the target of the Ulanor orcs' attacks.

Spreading the prophecy that "Ulano will conquer the Milky Way" in such a place has a strong sense of attacking someone's spirit before killing them.

"Has the legal department of the Kyle Kelly Sector found any members of the cult?" Li Nuo asked.

Tido shook her head:

"No. The cult infiltrated the broadcasting department of the capital city of the Kelkelly Star District, hacked its database, and replaced the broadcasts that were supposed to boost the morale of the Hive City with illegal propaganda content. When the Hive City's legal department arrived at the broadcasting department, all the staff had fainted, and there was no trace of any cult members at the scene. Those staff members were not members of the cult either; the legal department is certain of this."

"Who replaced the broadcast data? There must be a clue, right?"

"The surveillance cameras are broken, and the relevant data records have also disappeared. The legal department is completely clueless." Tido shrugged, knowing full well what was going on.

Li Nuo shrugged:

“Alright. Have Amy keep a close eye on the key departments of Hive City, and plant more agents, fighter sergeants, and surveillance personnel. Don’t let Kyle Kelly’s tragedy repeat itself here.”

"Okay. I'll be going now."

Li Nuo watched his slender fiancée leave, his gaze falling on the letter in his hand.

I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but Yun Chui always feels that the public appearances of the Tantric sect are a bit strange.

"If I remember correctly, isn't the Tantric sect supposed to be very low-key? They're trying to avoid the Empire like the plague, so why have they suddenly become so high-profile?"

The Cult is very mysterious, so much so that even Cloudhammer, who enjoys watching Warhammer educational videos, doesn't know who the Cult members are.

Li Nuo was completely bewildered and unable to figure out the details, so he simply put the matter aside.

He activated the encrypted communication and contacted his intelligence chief, Amy.

Amy has already graduated from the academy; she didn't learn a trade there.

Learning a trade is all about finding a job, right? Her father passed the position of head of the secret service to her, so naturally she didn't need to stay in the academy to learn a trade.

During this time, Amy has been upgrading the surveillance system in the city, greatly reducing blind spots, and improving the recruitment and training methods for the governor's agents.

Students who excel in the college will catch Amy's eye.

After a series of assessments, this group of young and strong students may become the governor's secret service agents, rising to the top in one step.

“…That’s it, Amy. Strengthen surveillance of the broadcasting department to prevent a repeat of Kyle Kelly’s tragedy here.”

"Okay, I got it." Amy's voice was clear and melodious, sounding full of energy.
"I happen to have something to tell you. I've discovered that there are quite a few spies in the hive city, and I suggest you take some time to clear them out."

(End of this chapter)