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

Chapter 185 Military Parade
The military parade officially began at 9 a.m. local time in Macurag.

Guilliman had prepared everything. Even Roche had pulled some big guys from the warehouse on the Forge World of Mustafar to make them look more impressive, just waiting to show up at the parade.

In the vast city of Macragge, the Central Guard rolled out a massive war horn from its long-forgotten arsenal, a ceremonial instrument forged by successive Archons in the distant past from the tusks of some extinct beast.

These war horns were sounded together, and a deafening and distant roar echoed throughout the city, allowing everyone with Macragge blood to recall the feeling of fighting bravely on the battlefield in the past, encouraged by the sound of the horns.

The entire city stopped its daily production activities. Everyone either stayed quietly at home to watch the video broadcast, or crowded on the streets, waiting for the parade to begin outside the human wall formed by the Guards.

The sound of the trumpet slowly faded away, as if the ancient beast had stopped roaring, and was followed by the ensemble of the Thirteenth Legion's military band. Eight hundred silver trumpets and horns played a bright triumphal music together.

Joyful triumphal music swept every corner of the city, and everyone stood up to sing praises to the heroes and sacrifices who defended the Five Hundred Worlds.

The surging crowd formed a river. Men, women, old and young held flags and shouted slogans, cheering and blessing each other, celebrating the prosperity of Macragge.

"A comforting sight, isn't it."

"The people are united in celebrating victory and glory."

At the northern entrance of the Military Square, on the towering Titan's Gate platform, Luo looked at the crowd celebrating wildly and couldn't help but sigh.

“Even in such a dark galaxy, they are still able to face challenges with their tenacious will and vigorous vitality.”

Guilliman stood beside Roche, his custom-made power armour richly decorated, the cobalt blue surface dotted with gold, he wore a golden laurel wreath on his head, reviewing his army.

"As long as Macragge and the Five Hundred Worlds exist, the Empire will not perish. I firmly believe this."

The Primarch took a deep breath, his heart filled with pride. On the flagpole of the Titan's Gate hung the flag of the Thirteenth Legion, as well as the flags of all the legion warriors, including the Iron Hands and the White Scars. The flags of the Ultramar Auxilia and the Titan Legion also fluttered behind it.

He looked up at the sky. The Dark Angel landing ship that had been reviewed and approved was slowly entering the atmosphere. His brother Ryan Johnson was about to arrive.

The military square below covers an area of ​​900 hectares. It is paved with polished marble and bluestone from Mount Kaluu. The Hero Avenue that runs through the entire city connects to the military square. The first batch of reviewing troops finally revealed their true appearance.

Guilliman's proud Ever-Victorious Guards marched out of the fortress in neat steps. They were all equipped with powerful Star-type power armor and moved at a constant speed like rows of steel forests.

The cobalt blue armor and golden decorations gleamed in the sunlight, and a full ten thousand Ever-Victorious Guards, Guilliman's Ten Thousand, appeared before the world.

This is a force that is enough to destroy a galaxy-level civilization. These warriors holding twin-mounted heavy bolters and power swords are all elites among the Extreme Warriors. They have gone through numerous selections and were selected into the Ever-Victorious Guard after defeating rounds of enemies.

Those Central Guards wearing the equipment of the Mortal Auxiliary Army who were blocking the crowd on the roadside were like seven-year-old children in front of the Ever-Victorious Army. People looked at these Space Marines walking row after row amid the shaking of the earth with awe and admiration, and the shouts in their mouths subconsciously subsided.

Following closely behind the Ever-Victorious Army were the Astartes warriors of the Ultramarines' 1st Chapter. Among them were some huge steel bipedal mechas, which were dreadnoughts that still stuck to their duties after being seriously injured.

During this grand event, the elders who usually sleep in stasis were also awakened to witness the glorious moment of the Father of Genes.

"For Guilliman, for the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar!"

Loud war cries came from the mouths of these battle-hardened warriors. The uniform voices broke through the sky and formed waves of deafening sound.

Following behind the Ultramarines are the famous Ultramar Auxiliary Forces. These mortal troops, equipped to the teeth, have demonstrated their worth in the Battle of Amatra, and under the right circumstances, they can also inflict powerful damage to the Astartes.

One after another, super-heavy tanks, the Poison Blade, drove along the reinforced road. Beside these steel behemoths, mortal auxiliary soldiers wearing light carapace armor and holding incendiary guns walked with confident and calm steps to keep up with the footsteps of their comrades in front of them.

Ultramar Auxiliaries rarely attack alone, and oftentimes they coordinate with heavy vehicles for infantry-tank coordination. "Is that the new vehicle you found in the database? Emperor, it's even larger than the Emperor's Baneblade."

Guilliman keenly spotted a strange figure among the tank troops. It was a giant land vehicle painted in dark red and black and gold. It was about eighteen meters long, and the armor on the top could even reach the three-story building on the side of the road. It was undoubtedly a mobile fortress.

"I call it [Apocalypse]. It is a powerful continental war weapon that once appeared in the Golden Age. Its powerful engine is enough to power a city, and its energy shield and void shield can withstand Titan-level firepower strikes."

The giant vehicle named Apocalypse has two terrifying gun barrels. The black muzzles can even fit one or two adults. It has hideous platinum tracks. If it is on the battlefield, these mechanical structures will crush everything that stands in the way into pieces.

On its armor, densely packed anti-aircraft missiles and rapid-fire cannons are distributed in an orderly manner. The defense system, including energy weapons, kinetic weapons, and electromagnetic weapons, is sufficient to deal with all enemies.

"Which is stronger, it or the Emperor's Bane Blade? What about the lesser Titan?" asked Guilliman.

Even without an answer, as a Primarch, Guilliman was convinced of the power of this unprecedented vehicle.

"The Emperor's Bane Blade was defeated by it. It can even fight against a Predator-class Titan. The most important thing is that it is directly controlled by mortals, unlike Titans that require special pilots."

Luo Xi's words were filled with infinite confidence in Apocalypse. In his era, if one had to compare which was the strongest tank, Apocalypse would be the undisputed king of land warfare.

"So why didn't it survive? We never found a similar STC template, not even an STC for the chassis or the gun."

Luo Xi gave a mysterious smile and gave an example.

“Because it’s powerful, but it doesn’t have enough ecological niche.”

"As the largest land tank, the Apocalypse's mobility is not as good as that of a small Knight mech, and its firepower output is not as good as that of a medium-sized Titan. In the Golden Age, powerful enemies were destroyed long before they could be seen, and those that were too weak were not worth sending out."

"At that time, pure ground combat was rare, so the number of this weapon in service was very small, and even the STC that could produce it did not pass down."

Guilliman's eyes sparkled. Although Roche thought it was a rather contradictory weapon, in the eyes of the current human empire, Apocalypse would be a new king of land warfare.

It may not have been useful in the Golden Age, but now, among the enemies facing the Imperium of Man, Apocalypse will be of full value.

For enemies like the Green Orcs that often require large-scale land combat, the Apocalypse Tank will become a desperate fortress to crush the enemy. It will also serve as a command center to protect the mortal troops around it, which is equivalent to providing a sufficient safe zone.

"It does not require a high-standard pilot crew like a Titan pilot. Even a group of mortal auxiliary troops can easily control it. The low-level intelligence it carries is safe enough and can achieve a considerable degree of automation."

"Mustafar's production plant only needs two weeks to produce a batch of Apocalypse, which is much cheaper and more durable than Titan."

"The magnetic harpoon carried by Apocalypse can have an impact on Titans when fighting against them. When multiple Apocalypses act together, they can even use the magnetic harpoon to directly pull down the enemy's Titan."

"Some metal vehicles that are smaller than it will be dragged by the magnetic harpoon to the grinder in front and ground into pieces bit by bit. Apocalypse's repair system can repair itself based on the materials obtained."

In addition to the mortal auxiliary troops, Apocalypse was also accompanied by some technical priests wearing Martian red robes and performing machine soul blessing ceremonies. They sprinkled holy water on the metal armor, held incense in their hands, recited the contents of the parchment prayers, and prayed together in a passionate chorus.

The words shouted out from the electronic voice generator are prayers praising gears and bearings.

"Mantle of victory, temple of weapons, blessed by the God of all things, praise Om Messiah!"

The others shouted along with him, while a group of servitors in the back also chanted hymns in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)