Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 412 About the Gray Knight

There is indeed a Grey Knight think tank stationed on the Rostov II. This is a guardian specially dispatched by the Inquisition after Chen Xi successfully brewed the Holy Blessing Wine, to ensure that this precious wine is not contaminated by chaos.

Since arriving, this think tank member, clad in silver power armor, has been quietly stationed deep within the Rostov monastery.

During this period of stationing, apart from Chen Xi requesting his assistance in investigating the activities of the Blood Oath Order in his personal capacity, the Grey Knight participated in almost no other operations.

This situation stems from two important reasons: First, as a special forces unit dedicated to fighting demons, the Grey Knights' duties do not include routine extermination of heretics.

Secondly, although Chen Xi was a Lord Inquisitor, he did not have direct command authority over this Astartes monk who belonged to the Grey Knights Order.

Specifically, the Rostov II rarely needs to deploy anti-demon experts of the level of the Grey Knights in its daily operations; on the other hand, even if a situation arises where it is necessary, Chen Xi has no authority to directly order the other party to act.

Just like when the Demon Prince descended in the capital of the Mariupol sector, the local court branch and the state church naturally took on the responsibility of responding, while the Grey Knights stationed in Rostov did not receive any transfer requests.

That's why Chen Xi couldn't help but look confused when 32 suddenly mentioned the Gray Knights' movements.

He knew perfectly well that, as the Lord Inquisitor, he could at most request assistance from the Grey Knights through negotiation, while the other party had the full right to decide whether to respond based on its own judgment.

This subtle division of authority makes the Grey Knights' presence in Rostov more like an independent and special security guarantee, rather than a combat force that he can directly command.

"There is a Gray Knight think tank. What's wrong? Is there something that requires the Gray Knights to be involved?" Chen Xi frowned slightly and asked 32. She was vaguely worried, afraid that she had overlooked something important that required the Gray Knights to take action personally.

32 waved his hand, revealing a thoughtful expression: "No, I just think this Grey Knight is a bit idle. Could we make use of him and have him help train a few think tanks?"

She paused, then explained further, "I went to check out the Ash Knights before. It seems they have a few kids with psionic talent. If they're properly trained, they could become think tanks."

After listening, Chen Xi's face showed a hint of confusion: "Do we need to use Grey Knights to cultivate the think tank? I have the original Ash Knight think tank, and Professor A is here. Cultivating the think tank shouldn't require using Grey Knights, right?"

He shook his head and added, "Moreover, the training strategy for Grey Knights is different from that of ordinary Space Marines. They specialize in fighting demons, but in other aspects, they are not much different from regular Astartes."

"No, no, no, Chen Xi, you didn't understand what I meant." 32 waved his hand, a sly glint in his eyes: "I mean, should we take this opportunity to train a team of Grey Knights?"

"Train Gray Knights? Are you crazy?" Chen Xi's expression changed, his tone filled with disbelief. "How do you train these things?"

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then explained: "Training Grey Knights requires a special venue and rituals. Only in this way can we ensure that the recruits can resist the corruption of Chaos and become warriors who will never fall."

"Leaving aside where we'll get the equipment specifically for Grey Knights, and while we might be able to solve the training problem by deploying more Grey Knight pieces, where are we going to find a training ground where recruits can actually kill demons in real combat?"

The Grey Knights' training system is considered one of the most rigorous selection processes in the Empire.

First, those with the necessary psychic talent must be selected from across the entire Empire—these candidates are already among the most elite psychics, one in a million. However, this is only the beginning of a long ordeal. Those who pass the initial screening will face a series of near-brutal elimination mechanisms: according to Inquisition records, only one in a thousand candidates can pass the theoretical tests and psychic aptitude assessments, and only one in tens of thousands of the lucky ones may ultimately be allowed to participate in basic training.

The most brutal test is the graduation examination, which is known as the "666 Ritual of Hatred".

This ultimate trial, which lasts for months, requires candidates to maintain their sanity while being fully exposed to warp contamination and to complete various combat missions.

The selection ratio for warriors who ultimately wear the silver power armor and are officially recruited into the Grey Knights may be as high as one in ten million.

In other words, for every ten million psionicists in the entire empire, perhaps only one qualified Grey Knight will emerge.

It is this despairing selection attrition rate that has meant that even with the vast size of the human empire, the Grey Knights can only maintain a warband.

These invaluable anti-demon experts must be deployed with caution, typically appearing only during the most critical demonic invasions.

Theoretically, the Demon Prince incident that previously occurred in the Mariupol sector did indeed meet the criteria that required the intervention of the Grey Knights.

Coincidentally, the local forces had already successfully defused the crisis before the situation deteriorated to the point where the Grey Knights had to be summoned.

This also explains why, within the entire Mariupol sector, the only Grey Knight currently on record is the one stationed on Rostov II.

After all, for this most elite anti-demon force of the empire, every member is an invaluable strategic resource and must be used on the most critical front.

Chen Xi was emotionally tempted by 32's suggestion to train the Grey Knights himself, but his rational mind told him that it was very inappropriate.

“Although we don’t have a dedicated training ground, we should still be able to get some good stuff out of him by asking the Grey Knights’ think tank to help train its members, right?” 32 continued to persuade him, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness. “Even if we only learn some basic exorcism rituals or anti-demon tactics, that’s still unique knowledge from the Grey Knights.”

This is far more valuable than the skills possessed by ordinary think tanks.

Chen Xi crossed his arms, his face full of doubt: "That makes sense, but it's probably not that simple in practice."

He sighed and explained, "Think about it, the Grey Knights even need to cover up their crimes after dealing with ordinary demons. Now they want them to help train a think tank... the chances of this succeeding are extremely slim."

"Oh, how will we know if we don't try?" 32 continued to urge, unwilling to give up: "Maybe that think tank member will be in a good mood and agree? Anyway, asking won't hurt us."

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Xi finally relented and said, "Alright, what you said makes sense."

He rubbed his temples. "Okay, I'll find a chance to ask Khadgar for his opinion later. But don't get your hopes up too high."

(End of this chapter)