Warhammer 40: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 247 Support for Expansion

On orbit, Gao Yi's fleet has annihilated 10 Chaos warships near the orbit.

Chaos never expected that the Empire's fleet would appear directly from the Webway, and the location of the Webway gate provided by Hilandri was right on the edge of the Cardia star system.

The overwhelming firepower in an instant gave them no chance to retreat.

The ground battle was also quickly won.

The biggest threat came from half a company of Iron Warriors, but they were annihilated without even making a dent in the overwhelming force.

The remaining Chaos mortal traitors scattered and fled into the ruins of the cities they had destroyed.

After a preliminary count, the number of surviving combat personnel from the two infantry regiments, plus the instructors and students of the Loyalty Academy, was less than two thousand.

The number of civilians who fled into the fortress on the planet was only a little over 100,000.

These are the only living people left on the entire planet.

According to Ferguson, most of the people were not killed directly, but were captured and transported away by transport ships.

Gao Yi and Guilliman guessed the purpose of these people: sacrificial offerings, or perhaps tools for venting desires...

It's possible that some scattered individuals still survive among the ruins of the planet, but the fleet doesn't have time to slowly search the entire planet and eliminate the enemies on it.

Although it has not been conquered by chaos, the planet has been severely corrupted by chaos and is no longer of any use.

All they can do now is continue their journey with all the survivors.

To prevent the corruption from spreading further, Guilliman also issued an extinction order for this planet.

Gao Yi watched from the bridge as two Cyclone torpedoes were launched from the Macurag.

When the Cyclone torpedo exploded in low orbit, the entire atmosphere was ignited.

The torpedo ignited the oxygen on the planet, causing all the lakes and oceans to evaporate.

No living thing can survive the blow of this extermination order.

Ferguson and Andrew clenched their fists as they watched the world they had sworn to protect turn into scorched earth.

However, they did not blame Guilliman for giving the order. Instead, they suppressed their anger. Gao Yi and Guilliman had allowed them to rest, but the surviving Cardians insisted on participating in the next battle.

"Unfortunately, there are still some survivors up there..."

This was the first time Gao Yi had ever seen an extinction order, where an entire planet was completely wiped out in a very short time.

"Lord Gao Yi, no sacrifice is too great to be accepted. I know there are still survivors up there, but we don't have time to search the entire planet right now."

Once we leave, they won't survive either, and they might even amplify the subspace effects of chaos within the galaxy.

Felus nodded in agreement. Guilliman and Felus, the Primarchs who were usually very kind to mortals, reverted to their cold-blooded ways when the war began.

All decisions will serve the purpose of winning the final victory.

Sacrifice is all too common in this world.

When Gao Yi arrived in Cardia, he also clearly sensed that the subspace energy floating in the surrounding air was becoming increasingly concentrated.

Even without fighting, Gao Yi noticed that the energy crystals were gradually increasing in value.

The massive subspace rift deep within the void was visible to the naked eye from the bridge.

The oppressive force of the Black Stone Obelisk is decreasing.

The eye of fear is widening.

Guilliman began ordering the fleet to head towards Cardia.

Meanwhile, as they advanced, Gorgons were still occasionally warped up to the side of the fleet.

Since Gao Yi left the expansion area, the Montgomery Dynasty and the Merchant Ronin Alliance have maintained a state of war.

These alliance members have already reaped substantial benefits from Gao Yi's external expansion. Using Malfi as a springboard, the alliance has extended its trade routes to many worlds within the Empire's Misty Starfield.

When they received the Star Language from Gao Yi, who had awakened the Gene Primarch, they immediately sensed the potential for profit.

If Gao Yi can win the battle against Kadia, his status in the empire will rise sharply, and his entire alliance will also reap unimaginable benefits.

This led them to invest almost all their resources in betting that Gao Yi could achieve final victory.

They began to pay the Montgomery dynasty far more resources than they were originally required to do, in order to gain the Montgomery dynasty's favor and fund its foreign wars.

At this time, five more legions of rangers arrived in Cadia with the Gorgon.

Along with them came a large number of combat suits of various models, which would also arm Guilliman's Otlama auxiliary troops.

There are also a large amount of combat supplies, and Gorgon's warp ability allows the fleet to have a continuous supply of logistical support.

Pavian arrived along with the supplies.

"My lord! I have not failed you! I have finally completed the task you entrusted to me! However, we have done our best to increase the success rate, but we have only produced 20 artificial untouchables. This time I also brought a legion of clone soldiers. I believe you will be amazed by their performance!"

Pavian reported his work to Gao Yi, who now had 40 untouchables at his disposal.

After Magnus the Red, these people will likely appear and prove very useful.

“Well done! These soldiers will play a huge role in the upcoming battles! And let me introduce you, this is the Great Sage Belisarius Caul.”

"Belisseau Coul?"

Pavian also showed a surprised expression.

He had also heard of Caul's deeds; before Pavia went to the expansion area, his own order had exchanged resources for Caul's knowledge.

“Cauer, this is Sage Pavian of the Holy Machine Order. He and his priests are responsible for some of the technological breakthroughs in the dynasty. He was also the first to invent the special purity mark. I hope you can teach Pavian and participate in the reverse engineering of technology with him.”

"Of course... Sage Pavian, I'm glad you still retain a considerable portion of your physical body. Lord Gao Yi said you were also enhanced by the Divine Machine. I really wish I could be enhanced at your stage, so I wouldn't have to abandon my flesh and blood."

Take care of your health, Sage Pavian. I also hope we can have a pleasant collaboration.

"It is my honor to learn from you!"

Pavian also adopted a very humble attitude, in which he considered Caul a legend.

Learning the knowledge in Kaur's brain is something others would kill for.

Within the same star system, Abaddon immediately became aware of the massive Imperial fleet's entry into Cardia.

“Guilliman…didn’t he just wake up? How could he have gotten to Cardia so quickly? And how did they get through the warp storm caused by the Word Bearers?”

"There are even Xenomorphs... Guilliman... have you stooped so low as to cooperate with them?"

The arrival of the Primogen also caused quite a stir in the Chaos Realm.

The presence of a massive, intact fleet here suggests that the Empire can allow even more fleets to enter Cardia.

The prolonged siege had already shaken some players' resolve. Cardia suffered heavy losses, but Chaos suffered even greater losses.

The Imperial fleet has the Mountain Array, and the ground forces have medics, but Chaos has none. Although it is more resilient after being corrupted by the warp, any weapon these days will be torn to pieces if hit by one.

The Imperial Medical Manual's advice regarding laser gun damage was simply to cover one's comrades with a cloth to make them look less unsightly.

Abaddon also sensed the urgency of time, and the unique psionic fluctuations that appeared when the Eldar network gate opened were also captured by Chaos.

"Could it be that the Eldar are assisting the Empire?!"

"Commander... what should we do? Should we send our fleet to annihilate them? We still have an overwhelming numerical advantage!"

“No need. The Four Gods have already prepared their gifts. Guilliman… I’d like to see how you face your former brothers.”

"Gather the troops! I want to personally land on Cardia!"

(End of this chapter)