Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 170 Auguston? Fat Tiger!
"Alexis!" Auguston's voice rose, trying to overwhelm the giant with volume.

"You didn't even read our summary report. Are you always so arrogant, Imperial Fists?"

The battlefield commander pointed at the dense defense lines that spread across the sky, filled with pride.

"You know, after experiencing the betrayal of Calth, we have already learned enough lessons. We have strengthened the defenses in the galaxy. There are outposts and orbital defense platforms everywhere. We have also strengthened the defenses in the cities on the surface. As for the starport you mentioned, it is the top priority."

The mortal officers nearby had already retreated to a safe distance. They knew why Lord Auguston was so emotional when facing the Imperial Fists.

Because Auguston was one of the designers of those defense systems. Although he always looked careless and reckless, in terms of constructing defense lines, Auguston was even better than the First Captain Marius Gage.

Auguston was filled with anger as his hard work was directly denied by Polux.

The Imperial Fist's eyes were calm. He did not notice his cousin's anger, but continued to describe the loopholes he had discovered.

"Yes, you did a good job." Pollax first praised the deployment of the Ultramarines, but then said, "However, you never thought about changing the nature of this planet: you are strengthening a capital planet, not a fortress that must be defended."

Macragge is the core world of the entire Five Hundred Worlds. It mainly undertakes the political functions of this huge entity, and those starports and orbital platforms provide it with material supplies from the Five Hundred Worlds.

As the capital world, Macragge naturally cannot use the precious land and population for agricultural purposes. Although Roshi's industrialized food manufacturing assembly line is filling its self-sufficiency capacity, agricultural and sideline products such as vegetables, fruits, meat, and even specialties such as wine and beverages still need to be provided through interstellar trade.

"The existence of the star port is an unstable factor. It is still unsafe. Can it screen out those enemies who illegally invade? When they really come with unpredictable goals, your security warning will inevitably be breached."

Pollax continued to nitpick, ignoring Auguston's increasingly ugly expression.

"In a war, the only fate of a star port is its fall, no matter how you protect and modify it. It's like a clichéd story. If the devil is afraid of something, then that thing will inevitably become one of the causes of his death."

"As long as that thing floats in orbit around Macragge, it will crash when war comes."

The Ultramarines also understood the Imperial Fists' intentions. These distant cousins ​​of his wanted to turn Macragge into an indestructible fortress.

"Don't tell me that you protected Terra in the same way. You turned the home planet of humanity, the throne world, into a battlefield made of barbed wire and concrete and ceramic steel? Destroy it before the enemy destroys Terra. Of course, the enemy cannot destroy it again."

"We have different philosophies. If Macragge cuts off the starport, how can the quality of life of the people on this planet be guaranteed, and how can it exercise its political functions?"

Auguston's words were filled with implicit sarcasm and contempt. He mocked the rigidity and stiffness of the Imperial Fists and looked forward to Pollax's expression and counterattack.

Will he respond with sharp words or will he be too embarrassed to answer?
But the son of Dorne simply nodded affirmatively.

"That's right. My Primarch covered Terra with a layer of solid armor. He turned Terra's palace into a fortress and the square into a battlefield. This is a respect for this unprecedented war we are experiencing, Auguston. If we don't have enough magnanimity to change our attachment to inherent affairs, we will surely perish in this war."

Pollax's sincere answer left Auguston speechless again.

This, this, this stubborn Imperial Fist... seems to have some truth in what he said.

This is indeed a more resolute attitude towards war. In comparison, the deployment of the Extreme Warriors is more like an exquisite but impractical game of house.

But his dignity and face would not allow him to lower his posture and acknowledge Pollax.

"So what should we do? Tear it all down and rebuild it into a giant fortress to protect Macragge?"

"Yes, sir," said Pollax in a tone of perfect reason, "it is not enough to just bar the windows of this house in Macragge and reinforce the doors."

"You have to build a wall and seal up the windows completely, so that the windows and the wall become one. You have to build a new starport for defense, and take remedial measures while planning and building it."

“What are the specific operations?”

The Ultramarines unknowingly handed the initiative to Pollax. He was just stubborn, but not stupid. The Primarch's vision was correct - Pollax was indeed far superior to him in defense.

"Your Imperial Fists' defensive prowess is perhaps only matched by the Iron Warriors," Plukus exclaimed heartily. Plukus, who had remained unmoved by the Ultramarines' verbal sparring, suddenly stiffened, trying to maintain a composed expression.

Iron Warriors, fuck the Iron Warriors!
"I think the current security system needs to be further strengthened. Although repeated inspections and audits are effective, they are not enough."

When Polux escaped from the warp storm, he had already experienced the scrutiny of the Ultramarines. Starting from Mandeville Point, a series of garrison fleets, star fortresses, patrolling cruisers and orbital defense platforms were verifying his identity.

"No warship, I mean any warship, can enter Macragge's firing range before completely losing its attack capability, including merchant ships and transport ships."

"As a supplement, some star fortresses can be set up as transfer stations for the transfer of supplies. No warships are allowed to land or landing ships are sent out unless all passengers on the warships have undergone genetic authentication and identity verification."

Auguston took a deep breath, but before he could express his attitude, the mortal officials around him could no longer bear it.

"Sir, the entire Macragge requires an astronomical amount of resource input. Our starport is transporting resources every minute and every second. Your changes will increase the transportation cost and time of resources by at least 30%."

The increase in time means the decrease in efficiency, which is frustrating for mortal officials who try their best to improve efficiency by a few decimal points.

They went through so much trouble just to improve their efficiency index by even 0.01%, but the decision of the Imperial Fists could directly lead to a one-third reduction in efficiency.

"This is necessary, everyone." Pollax's tone left no room for negotiation, or rather, the sons of Dorne hardly ever negotiated.

"Conversely, if the enemy brings about doomsday, then the countdown to doomsday will also be slowed down."

"Transmission from orbit to the ground must be strictly controlled. At the same time, new void shields should be placed in low-level orbits and starports, which can be activated when necessary. In addition, I also suggest that the sensor system and scanning array of the orbital platform can use some of the computing power to monitor the planet's surface."

Some of Polux's suggestions did indeed have more complete defensive thinking. Before hearing them, the Extreme Warriors had not even thought about this.

Although Macragge is currently under martial law, these Sons of Guilliman are still trying their best to find a balance between building defenses and people's living standards. They have never had such extreme ideas.

"Sir, if the enemy wants to come to Macragge through teleportation or airdrop pods, it will be extremely difficult to stop them. It is only a theoretical assumption to completely keep the enemy out. What we should do is to find their clues and kill them after finding the clues."

Auguston pursed his lips. He was not in a very good mood because the Imperial Fist did give him a good basic defense lesson. The conclusion was clear and Pollax's opinion should be adopted.

"Your suggestion is very good, Pollax." Auguston looked away, "but there is still a problem."

Pollax bowed his head slightly. "I'll take that as a compliment, sir, but what's the problem?"

Auguston had turned away.

"I think I should be the one who proposed this proposal, and you really gave me a lot of inspiration. I will add you as the second author."

The watching Ultramarines: ???

The mortal officials watching: ???

Commander's behavior seems...should be called stealing academic achievements.

"I have no objection." Although Pollax felt something was wrong, the Son of Dorn did not care about these details. What he cared about was that the orbital defense system he modified could be put into operation as soon as possible.

"No objection. Very good, Pollax. I admire you." Auguston patted the giant's shoulder encouragingly and continued to the next location for inspection.

Auguston's subordinates were too ashamed to look at their Imperial Fists brothers; they felt a strong sense of guilt and shame.

If Luo Xi were here, he would probably immediately shout out "Fat Tiger behavior", a phrase whose meaning no one knows anymore.

(End of this chapter)