Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 299 The Battle of Kharkiv, Part 5

To the left of the Titus squad was Guterres' squad; the two killing squads formed a pincer movement, guarding the key position of the landing zone.

Despite both being Deathwatch squads, Guterres' squad is indeed inferior to Titus' squad in combat, which is reflected not only in the efficiency of tactical coordination but also in the statistics of battlefield kill ratio.

After all, Titus and his four teammates could easily be tagged as elite, a stark contrast to the average recruits in Guterres' hands.

However, after the fierce landing battle, the situation is subtly changing. Guterres, as the first among those who crossed 40k to reach V-level clearance, immediately spent a considerable amount of points to fully upgrade his killing squad upon reaching the upgrade level.

Old Man Huang seemed to understand that it was unrealistic to expect these recruited visitors from another world to spend a long time training their subordinates. After all, the Great Rift was about to open, and Chen Xi and the others did not have time to slowly cultivate their own power or allow their killing squads to grow.

Given the unique nature of Deathwatch, the traditional century-long recruit training cycle is clearly not suitable for the current war situation and is not conducive to the rapid formation of combat power.

Therefore, the Emperor's military crate provides two enhancement paths: Commander mode, like Chen Xi, allows you to replace your deployed pieces at any time, directly airdropping elite units like the Holy Blood Guard or hero units like Dante.

The adventure mode in Guterres, on the other hand, adopts an RPG-style progression system, allowing players to gradually upgrade their killing squad using points.

Whether it's upgrading the Mark III power armor to a refined version, implanting the Grey Knight's gene seed into an ordinary soldier, or unlocking special professions such as apothecary or technical sergeant, there's no upgrade you can't achieve as long as you're willing to spend points.

For example, Guterres's killing squad is now composed of elite veterans who have been upgraded and are all equipped with sophisticated power armor and have two service studs on their foreheads.

In other battle groups, a warrior of this caliber would be qualified to wear the white helmet, be crowned with the Imperial laurel wreath and become the company champion, or don the sacred Terminator armor and serve as the backbone of the First Company.

In fact, if Guterres wanted, he could equip his killing squad with Terminator armor right now—those heavy, sacred armors were quietly lying in the system's exchange list, ranging from the standard Iron Cavalry type to the rare Hades type.

You can even add some unique features by using extra points to unlock special attributes for different warbands: for example, replacing the power gauntlets with the power claws of the Raven Guardians, or implanting the gene seed of the Space Wolf, allowing each member to unleash a wild roar in battle.

(Death Watch Kill Squad, nine out of ten are raid squads)

If Guterres were to upgrade further, he could even unlock elite special units from other chapters, such as the Blood Guard, Crimson Paladins, and Deathwing Knights.

Right now, Guterres just wants to take a break.

Various tactical data kept flashing on his retinal projection screen, while battlefield reports came incessantly from the communication channels. These information streams crashed against his tired nerves like a tide.

After all, the 72-hour high-intensity combat since landing had caused his mind to experience brief periods of blankness—a warning signal from his body.

Ultimately, he was just an ordinary person from the 3K era.

While he has the special attributes of a chess piece after transmigrating, he is no different from a normal Astartes in terms of hard indicators such as muscle strength and reaction speed.

However, he still lacked the fighting instincts honed over the years and ingrained in his genes, especially the almost inhuman willpower of the Astartes.

For example, Astartes can precisely control brain activity like operating a machine, autonomously shutting down different areas to take turns resting, allowing a true Space Marine to fight continuously for weeks without showing signs of fatigue. Although Guterres also possesses the same skill, he has never mastered it very well. He cannot, like a true Astartes, make his brain behave like a sophisticated mechanical device, with some areas dormant and others remaining on alert.

This caused his fatigue to accumulate like fine sand in an hourglass.

During lulls in the fighting, he would do this: leaning against a makeshift shelter, his helmet slightly lowered, seizing every opportunity to doze off.

But often, as soon as you close your eyes, a new threat marker will light up on the tactical map.

As the master craftsman of Deathwatch and nominally the superior commander of Tytus and others, Guterres could only put on a brave face.

He could only forcefully boost his condition by using combat stimulants, and then command the battle again in a seemingly energetic state.

"Commander, left flank suppression complete." Titus's calm voice came through the communication channel.

Guterres took a deep breath, making his voice sound as firm as steel: "Continue to maintain firepower coverage, don't give the aliens a chance to breathe."

To outsiders, this commander still appeared as reliable as steel, but only he knew that beneath his visor were bloodshot eyes.

His helmet HUD displayed various physiological indicators: high heart rate, abnormal adrenaline levels, and fatigue levels exceeding the warning threshold.

But no one will see these data. He must play the role perfectly because if he shows any weakness, the real Astartes, especially veterans like Titus, will immediately notice his vulnerability.

This prompted him to send a message to Ventanus asking, "Company Commander Ventanus, when will the second landing force arrive?"

According to the initial operational plan, after the first wave of landing troops opened up the landing zone, the second wave of troops should have followed suit and entered the battlefield.

The first landing force has now successfully completed its mission, and it's time for the second landing force to take the stage.

“They’re on their way.” Ventanus’s voice was very calm. Ultramarines weren’t the type to go berserk in battle, so even though Ventanus was fighting right now, he gave the impression of sitting in an office reviewing documents while answering questions: “While we were fighting, Company Commander Sigismund’s troops arrived in Kharkov, the Black Templars’ assault force… Oh, they’re here!”

Guterres looked up abruptly, and in that instant—

Several airborne pods, like shooting stars, were rapidly falling from the sky.

The burning metal shell tore through the clouds, its tail flames leaving a blinding trail in the dim sky, like divine punishment descending.

The Black Templar's assault force has finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)