Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 329 Retreat and Offense

As the countless green-skinned orcs beneath the ice began to awaken, the entire planet started to tremble.

These savage creatures surged forth from the glacial fissures like a tidal wave, their sheer number a despairing sight.

The situation had deteriorated to a critical point. Chen Xi stood on the command bridge, looking through the porthole at the green tide spreading across the land, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

At this point, Chen Xi had completely given up on the idea of ​​defending this planet.

Faced with such a massive greenskin horde, even the most elite Imperial Guard would struggle to cope, let alone his force, which had already suffered more than half its losses.

But retreating in such a disgraceful manner was absolutely out of the question—because Kroc was still on this damned planet.

Chen Xi stood in front of the command platform, his eyes fixed on the coordinates of the ancient ruins that were flashing red in the holographic projection.

A terrifying being, capable of destroying the entire star sector, slumbers there; he cannot simply leave like this.

The Krok in the ancient ruins is like a time bomb. Once it falls into the hands of the Greenskins, these crazed war machines will sweep across the entire sector under the leadership of the ancient orcs.

Chen Xi's temples throbbed. He could almost see the green-skinned boys, enhanced by Kroc's power, driving modified war machines and sweeping across human colonies in a terrifying display.

The WAAAGH they unleash will spread like a plague, and even the empire of the space necromancers will find it difficult to resist wherever it goes.

After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, Chen Xi finally came up with a solution that could be described as insane: first, to get Krok out at all costs, and then to find a way to smash this planet, which was suspected to be the Orcs' battle moon, directly into the Throne of the Necromancers in space.

Let those two damn alien races fight like dogs!
Although doing so could very likely lead to the orcs evolving in their war against the undead, eventually creating a terrifying "Gu King," it is still better than sending their troops to face this annihilation right now.

Having made his decision, Chen Xi wearily rubbed his temples.

He knew perfectly well that confronting the Greenskin army with his current forces would be tantamount to suicide; those war machines that kept pouring out from under the ice were enough to crush the entire Rostov garrison into dust.

However, if given time to develop, and once he levels up twice more and is able to enter the Primarch, even if these orcs have improved through their battles with the Necromancers, it won't be an insurmountable problem for Chen Xi.

At worst, they could just stage a Primarch return; Chen Xi was confident the Emperor wouldn't object.

After all, compared to giving the Orks Krok, the return of a Primarch is really nothing to the Imperium.

With this in mind, he immediately adjusted the Imperial Army's operational strategy on the Kherson III, ordering the Imperial Army on the dome to contract its defenses and prepare for a retreat.

The communications channel carried the voices of commanders from various units confirming their orders, interspersed with the painful groans of the wounded and the roar of armored vehicle engines.

Meanwhile, the ancient ruins on the other side have deployed even more troops to continue their defense.

Looking at the redeployed symbols representing the Imperial Army on the holographic sand table, Chen Xi knew that each reinforcement meant more soldiers would be sacrificed in this frozen hell.

At the same time, Chen Xi also strictly ordered the Mechanicus to transfer Kroc from the planet's surface as quickly as possible; this monster must not be left behind!

As for the planet itself, the Mechanicus will find a way to push it onto the throne world of the Necromancers in space.

Chen Xi gazed out the porthole at the frozen planet gradually being eroded by greenery, his eyes as cold as knives—since it cannot be saved, then let it become a weapon to destroy the enemy.
-
Under Chen Xi's orders, the Imperial Army on the planet's surface sprang into action, and the entire Icefield battlefield was instantly thrown into a flurry of activity.

The communication channels crackled with confirmation commands from various units, the roar of armored vehicle engines mingling with the footsteps of soldiers. The Astronauts, fresh from their orbital drop pods, exchanged bewildered glances, their faces beneath their helmets etched with confusion.

"Retreat as soon as we land?" a young soldier muttered under his breath, only to be glared at fiercely by the veteran next to him.

Despite their discontent, military orders were paramount, so they quickly packed their equipment and began moving to the designated assembly point.

Meanwhile, an iron torrent of Chimera armored vehicles and Leman Rustams is assembling on the ice field.

The roar of the engine shattered the silence of the polar region, and the ice crystals that had condensed on the cannon barrel fell in a flurry as the vibrations caused them to fall.

The commanders of these heavily armed units stood on the turrets, confirming the attack route through holographic projections. The projectors flickered intermittently in the extreme cold, reflecting the solemn faces of the commanders.

The armored soldiers carefully checked the loading of the main gun, and the white breath exhaled by the loaders condensed into tiny ice beads on the inner wall of the gun barrel.

The train commanders repeatedly checked the coordinates of the ancient ruins, and hoarse confirmation voices could be heard from time to time on the communication channel.

The gunner of a Destroyer-type Leman Russ was adjusting the laser rangefinder, and the lens reflected the blurry silhouette of a green war machine moving in the distance.

In the makeshift frontline command post, staff officers were nervously adjusting the battle plan.

Inside the command post, made of prefabricated armor plates, heaters struggled against the minus forty degrees Celsius. The operations staff's electronic panel was unresponsive due to the low temperature, and he had to repeatedly tap this precious piece of equipment.

On the holographic sand table, a green arrow representing armored forces is slowly pointing to the location of the ancient ruins.

At the edge of the sand table, the red markings symbolizing the Greenskin Legion are multiplying and spreading like a plague.

“Let the 7th Armored Regiment lead the charge,” the commander said, pointing to the sand table, his voice hoarse from days of fighting. “Their Leman Russ Destroyers are best suited to deal with those green-skinned war machines.”

The staff officers nodded silently, all of them knowing what this decision meant—the 7th Regiment would face the wrath of Gu Juji and Gao Mao Jingang.

But the Imperial soldiers were fearless, and their armored troops fought every time they encountered the enemy!
-
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, within ancient ruins, five silent nuns stood around Crook.

Their silver-gray power armor was covered with fine frost, and each of them deployed its own void force field, enveloping the entire Kroc and its surrounding instruments and equipment in the void force field.

The power of the void force field cut off the transmission of the WAAAGH force field, firmly imprisoning Kroc's power and preventing him from affecting the greenskins outside.

Inside the ruins, the Mechanicus priests were busy, with high-ranking priests directing low-ranking priests, mechs, and slaves. Servo skulls hovered above their heads, emitting piercing binary chants.

They carefully dismantled Crook's restraints, their mechanical tentacles operating the ancient confinement mechanism with millimeter-level precision.

They knew that the slightest mistake could awaken this sleeping, ancient monster.

The hydraulic system of the servo arm groaned under the strain in the low temperature, but the disassembly work could not be stopped.

One after another, anti-gravity platforms were in place, their surfaces flashing with unstable electric light, awaiting the final transfer order.

(End of this chapter)