The Astartes Family's Notebook

Helito Asforddel also participated in the crucial Battle of Balhout, and in the final stages of the battle, before Nazbal was killed by Sledor, he escaped the battlefield by anticipating the situation.

After the battle, the expeditionary force discovered the human testing laboratory used by Helito Asforddel in Barhout, which contained hundreds of thousands of "successful" test specimens and discarded "defective" specimens.

Meanwhile, the expeditionary force also discovered concentration camps in Scala that had wiped out billions of Balhout people.

These two horrific discoveries alone caused a large number of Astragalus soldiers involved in the search mission to develop PTSD, not to mention the many more horrific discoveries that followed.

However, this also strengthened the Imperial Army soldiers' determination to hunt down Helito Asforddel to the death.

When the Empire gets serious, its power is such that even the forces of chaos tremble before it.

With the assistance of the Assassin's Court, Gaunt led the First and Only Regiment of Tanis to corner Helito Asforddel in the hive city of Vilgast.

Ultimately, in the Nest of Waven, Gaunt successfully killed Helito Asforddel.

The assassins, who were originally sent to assassinate Aisoli, were summoned by the judges to report the situation after their whereabouts were exposed.

Fortunately, the Vendica assassin wasn't as crazy as Allen Iverson. After the four judges jointly vouched for him, the Grand Master of the Assassin's Court agreed to the judges' request to postpone the execution.

If killing the "reincarnation of Saint Sabbat" was merely a political necessity, then let the young girl Aisolie's glory end with the expedition.

However, it was in the hive world of Vilgaster that the genius madman Helito Asforddel created a bizarre demonic device that corrupted approximately thirteen million people in the hive city of Ferozokan, driving them to fanatical annihilation of the rival hive city of Waven as their sole purpose in life.

Logically speaking, that damned thing should have been completely destroyed by the Empire through orbital bombardment after Helito Asforddel's death.

However, Seker somehow managed to replicate Helito Asforddel's research findings.

While the expeditionary force was building up its strength, this guy used a chaotic version of the mind control device to re-establish hundreds of millions of Sons of Sekh.

Katz is in big trouble.

Blood pact troops alone cannot threaten a well-organized Astartes company.

However, under the mental corruption of the mind control device, a large number of Imperial Star Army soldiers defected in the face of battle. If it weren't for the White Child holding the line in the first battle, the Second Army would have been at risk of being wiped out by a counterattack.

Chaos is the greatest enemy, and the longer one lives in the purgatory galaxy, the more one will understand the weight of this statement.

Katz abandoned all illusions and no longer cared about returning to his hometown after the war.

The Chapter Master only wants to kill this Anakwanar Sek.

He's too dangerous, he has to die!

Chapter 518 An Imperfect Ending

Mind control is nothing special; it's just a common tactic.

Don't you see the Emperor's death angels? Each one is more loyal than the last!

Mind control devices aren't exactly expensive. To put it bluntly, the loudspeakers all over Hive City, and even the Astragalus Army's "Banner," are all mind control devices.

Often, it's just that people don't realize it.

But the thing that Seker came up with is different. It's not meant to deceive or ambush; it's to rob openly and rape your brain.

Kaz went to experience it for himself and could only say that the intensity was alright.

The left brain resists the growth of distracting thoughts, while the right brain chuckles and provides background noise.

"Follow great wisdom, save the world with boundless compassion."

But mortals cannot resist this kind of spiritual erosion; the Star Guardians cannot.

The underlying principles are unclear, the mechanisms are difficult to understand, and it is extremely challenging.

Especially with the tech enthusiasts adding fuel to the fire, suggesting that the Astartes try to capture the prototype, and if they could successfully replicate it, the Empire's production efficiency would definitely be boosted to a new level.

Yes, Kars understands the reasoning, but please, you Omnisaiah followers, just put on human form.

What should we do then?

What else could we do? Astartes was born to do this job.

Decapitation!

Decapitation!

Chop off the heads of those chaotic scumbags!

However, the situation was not so dire that it required a desperate gamble. After all, the expeditionary force was attacking proactively, while the Chaos forces were passively defending, so there was still time.

Taliman was also bewildered. We Astartes, especially the formally trained Astartes, receive various forms of willpower training from the recruit training period. The intensity is high enough. The chapter commander also requires us to prepare all other means. What does that mean?

One vial of strong sedative per person, please.

If you feel lost or frustrated, get an acupuncture to calm yourself down.

Don't mythologize the First Legion as omnipotent. Even during the Great Crusade, the Dark Angels never encountered an enemy that required anchoring willpower. Old Popsicle really can't provide a reference answer to this question.

But that's enough; a placebo always works.

Kaz selected two companies of elite soldiers and prepared to launch a surprise attack on the Chaos Traitors' hive, which was protected by the Void Shield.

Are two companies really enough?

Ashtor felt that Katz was being a bit too arrogant.

"That thing is too weird. I dare not gamble on whether it will affect ordinary pilots, so the support firepower also needs to be provided by the brothers of the battle group."

In other words, the Sons of Pure White inherited the old traditions of the Wings of Desolation. The brothers in the branch are all multi-talented, and it is no problem for them to pilot a Thunderhawk gunship or a Lightning/Thunder fighter jet.

The preparations for such a large-scale operation as Operation Astartes were extremely complicated, and it took a full thirty hours for the pre-battle deployment of weapons and equipment to be officially completed.

Seeing Qion clinging to his power hammer and refusing to let go, Kaz sighed.

"You should go too."

"As ordered!"

The route was still cleared by orbital bombardment, but the landing point at Astartes was not chosen in an area already saturated by artillery fire.

Chaos Madman was just crazy, not stupid. Sure enough, after the Thunder Gunship returned, artillery fire from the Nest City plowed the place up again.

Then, the airdrop capsule actually crashed down.

Without the interception of air defense fire, the airdrop pod is actually quite safe.

Twenty-five airdrop pods meant one hundred combat brothers, and the Astartes completed their tactical assembly in just one and a half minutes.

Then, following the old tradition, the power plants and bunker firing points around the city were cleared out first.

The forces of chaos reacted very quickly, immediately dispatching a large number of cultist troops to surround and control the area.

However, the difference in combat power was indeed that great. The fact that tens of thousands of Sons of Sekh could pull off a coordinated encirclement tactic was already outrageous enough. Keep in mind that the Empire didn't have many Astral Legions that could use this tactic, yet they still couldn't defeat the Astartes.

The encirclement was riddled with flaws from the very beginning.

What else is there to say? The chaotic forces are all about numbers.

After the second wave of troops left the nest, the Thunderhawk gunboats arrived again.

However, the Chaos commander on the other side of the hive reacted quickly, with the firing data readily available, and the artillery fire once again swept across the area.

The Imperial warships on track didn't stand for it either, and immediately launched a retaliatory barrage.

The Thunderhawk gunboat made a turn, airdropped a batch of ammunition supplies to Kaz and his men, and then left.

Kaz didn't linger with the surrounding Chaos army. Instead, he methodically eliminated the Chaos strongholds around the hive, preparing to completely block their view of the surrounding area.

The most crucial thing is to keep moving and never stay in one place for too long, because who knows how long it takes for that mind controller to recharge.

"Astartes, nothing special."

The Chaos Commanders felt a strange sense of satisfaction watching Kaz lead his gang around the outskirts of the hive.

Look at Astartes, the Imperial Superman, he can only circle around the hive like a dog. If you're so capable, why don't you launch a frontal assault?

However, how could Katz possibly do anything futile?

Its very existence is the biggest lure.

Another hundred brothers from the battle group have already marched over on foot from hundreds of kilometers away.

The route that runs close to the capital city happens to be the same area that has been bombed three times.

Then, the sewer god of war and the ventilation duct warrior will start to exert their power.

The very nature of human-designed and constructed nests dictates that the size of their drainage and ventilation systems cannot be small.

Although the forces of Chaos have also implemented some blockades and controls, those small traps and tricks that might stump mortals are no match for Astartes.

Tyrant and Ingus had been working together for a while. After the Chaos leaders' attention was drawn away by Khaz, they successfully infiltrated the hive and shut down the main reactor.

So casually described?

It wasn't that Ingus's technology was particularly advanced, but rather that the Hive's reactor was constantly overloaded, having to maintain the Void Shield's energy consumption while also charging the Mind Control Device. The Astartes could easily cause some damage.

The problem now lies with the forces of chaos.

With the main reactor shut down, the other backup reactors can only be selected from either the Void Shield or the Mind Control Unit.

As for energy supply for residents of Chaohu City...

Who cares?

As the Void Shield protecting the hive descended, the generals in the sky rejoiced, but Kaz frowned deeply.

"Ground troops remain stationary."

Company Commander Ashtor rejected the expeditionary force's proposal to launch a full-scale offensive.

Before leaving, Katz had instructed Ashtor to consider the possibility that the Astartes on the ground might also succumb to mind control.

Therefore, it only requires shutting down the Void Shield; troops cannot be deployed.

However, necessary fire support still needs to be provided. Now that the Void Shield has been deployed, when else is there a better time to bomb it?

After several rounds of artillery fire, the outer walls were breached and the fortifications were paralyzed. Kars, who had circled around many times, successfully entered the hive city.

Such a complex tactical arrangement and execution took less than 24 hours.

This is the efficiency and execution of the Astartes.

However, there were simply too many Chaos traitors, and their weapons were sufficient to inflict effective damage on Astartes' power armor in close combat.

For both Kaz and Tyrant, the battle became increasingly difficult.

But Ashtor was no rubber stamp; he was a Space Marine with more service than Khaz.

"Swain, keep those Star Guard generals in check."

After arranging his "aftermath," Ashtor led a company of his combat comrades and, under the cover of the Imperial Navy, launched a surprise attack on the top of the nest, initiating a reverse map progression.

Three entire companies of Astartes—the Chaos Traitors were filled with despair yet also with hope. If they could "brainwash" three hundred Astartes and make them their godfathers, what would they need Urlock Gore or Anakwanar Sek? Father, Father!

Unsurprisingly, the mind control device activated, targeting the interior of the hive city.

Such intense energy fluctuations, ironically, pointed the way for Astartes, the Son of Pure White.

Is it going to get serious?

Kaz's heart skipped a beat, and then it just trembled for a moment.

I did feel a bit flustered, but it was far from enough to make me question the meaning of life.

I briefly inquired about the condition of my fellow combat comrades through internal communications, and the feedback I received was that they were all doing alright, nothing serious.

Since that's the case, let's speed things up.

We can no longer prioritize avoiding casualties.

The activation of this super-large device is a gradual process. The interference of the mind control device on the mind can be simulated as a progress bar. Before the progress bar reaches its limit, the intensity will only gradually increase, rather than having an immediate effect.

Then things become simple: just blow this thing up before that happens.

Taliman's tranquilizers really worked.

Heading towards the location of the strong energy reaction detected by the oracles is definitely the right thing to do.

Then......

Then the forces of chaos multiplied into a huge mass.

Mind control devices, as a type of wide-area weapon, are designed to indiscriminately target both friend and foe.

If the intensity was enough to make even Astartes feel uncomfortable, how could the Chaos cultists in the Hive City, who had already been brainwashed once, be completely unaffected?