Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 150 Rostov Alien Hunter
In the blink of an eye, three months passed quietly.

In Rostov, the three newly formed Astra Militarum Legions are fully equipped and undergoing further training.

As an elite force selected from the defense forces, the Rostov Legion of the Astra Militarum has surpassed a considerable number of regular Astra Militarum legions in combat power.

Although the Star Army consists of the best men selected from a single planet, and everyone is considered an elite after rigorous training by the Military Affairs Department, it is undeniable that due to the different sources of the soldiers, the combat effectiveness of the Star Army often varies greatly.

The Astra Militarum, originating from renowned planets like Cadia and Mordian, are undoubtedly the epitome of the Imperium. While each unit is distinct in their own way, each is considered elite and the most valuable Imperial currency in the hands of the Munitions Department.

They will only be deployed to the most critical battlefields, striving to maximize the value of these precious currencies.

But they were born on an ordinary planet, without the rich traditions of the Astra Militarum. Their soldiers weren't converted from the Guards, but were instead conscripted from the army, recruited from hive gangs, or even directly used prisoners...

Don't have too much expectation on the combat effectiveness of such a Star Army.

Their individual strength may be quite good, but their discipline and willpower are obviously lower than those of elite troops. Usually, the political commissar needs to use physical methods to boost morale to ensure that they fight bravely.

But even so, they are often only one step away from becoming a punishment legion.

However, the Rostov Corps does not have this problem. As a defense force trained on a planet where former Valhalla ice warriors collectively retired, the Rostov Defense Force itself maintains above-standard training, and its morale, willpower and discipline are very good.

After all, not every planetary governor would establish a position like political commissar for his private army.

After Chen Xi succeeded as governor, he first sent them to the sewers to fight the Flayers, then faced the Necrons army, and later even fought against the Chaos Warband. The Rostov Legion had rich combat experience.

Even in the Star Army, it is at an upper-middle level.

Maybe he can't be compared with those chosen ones who can kill the big devil with a bayonet, but he is also a ruthless person who can kill the bad cans with hot melt.

Such a legion is also urgently needed by the Ministry of Military Affairs.

If Rostov's situation had not been special and this interstellar army had not yet been tested on the battlefield, the conscription order from the military affairs department would probably have reached Chen Xi's desk.

But even so, when the Ministry of Military Affairs sent someone to deliver the political commissar, it specifically found Chen Xi, hoping that he could provide a legion to the empire every ten years.

This is already a very low requirement for the Military Affairs Department. After all, according to the lowest standard of the Star Army, a regiment can have only a few hundred people, and a legion has about five to ten regiments. If Chen Xi is a little unscrupulous and splits up the original defense legion, it can also be used as a legion to offset the tithe.

(The conventional organization is ten people in a squad, two to five squads in a platoon, two to six platoons in a company, five to ten companies in a regiment, and a legion usually has ten regiments)

Of course, under normal circumstances, it is impossible to have such a small number of people. For example, the infantry regiment of Cardia has five to six thousand people. The specific organization depends on the local population density and conscription requirements.

For a planet like Rostov, recruiting only one regiment every ten years is already a very merciful approach.

In this regard, Chen Xi could only sigh that the guys in the Military Affairs Department were still anthropomorphic, but only to a small extent.

However, Chen Xi had no objection to this. Being able to join the Star Army was an honor for the lower-class people of the empire, and it was also a way to escape from their original poor background.

After all, if a poor person from the Lower Hive of a Hive World could become a member of the Astra Militarum, their entire family would benefit, and their immediate family members could at least become residents of the Middle Hive. While it wouldn't necessarily make their family members noble, having a member of the Astra Militarum in the family could save the family a lot of trouble and bring them many benefits.

Apart from anything else, at least when working in a factory, you can take on positions like foreman, and your home will not be harassed by local hive gangs. The bailiffs and other government departments will also provide some help as conditions permit.

It may not sound like a big deal, and compared to the many benefits stipulated by the Ministry of Military Affairs that retired veterans can obtain public office on local planets, these really do not seem to be a big deal, but for the lower-class people, these are enough to improve their lives.

As for becoming a non-commissioned officer or even an officer in the Star Army, your family will also benefit from it and receive better treatment.

So if he wanted to recruit soldiers, the men and women on the Rostov II would certainly be eager to join the army.

Chen Xi did intend to expand the size of the army on Rostov II. Ten defense regiments would definitely not be enough to face the increasingly fierce battles and galactic situation in the future.

But it is impossible for Chen Xi to just conscript soldiers without letting them fight, or to follow Krieg's example and conduct live-fire death drills.

So after thinking about it, Chen Xi decided to make use of the A7-012 area. After all, there were the most suitable objects for training underground.

In fact, this area is now an abandoned area in the city of Rostov. When the Skinners were cleared out, the entire area was checked and cleared. Now, apart from the combat nuns and defense forces who went to participate in the trial, there are very few local residents in this area.

They had either moved away or had been tormented by the Skinners.

So this area has now been transformed into a large military camp. The garrison of Rostov City is basically stationed here, and even the recruitment of new soldiers for the Knights of Embers is carried out here.

But the city’s sewers...are still a dangerous place.

Although the defense forces were constantly clearing the sewers of flayers, no one knew exactly how many there were. It was as if they could never be completely killed, and there were always more after they were all killed.

Previously, Chen Xi was not sure what the situation was like below because of lack of manpower, but now he has the Knights of Embers to call upon, the Titus team is ready to take orders at any time, plus the Blood Angels who can be called for help, these nearly 100 Astartes are by no means short-handed.

So Chen Xi dispatched thirty Astartes to go down into the sewer and conduct a large-scale cleanup of the entire area.

Finally they discovered the problem. The sewers in the entire area were indeed blocked at the beginning, but the landfill of scrapped servitors in Rostov City was located near the A7-012 area.

These Skinners obtained a large number of scrapped servitors from the landfill, some of which were infected and became new Skinners.

It is precisely because of this constant replenishment that the Skinners in the sewers of area A7-012 can never be completely killed.

After confirming the news, Chen Xi did not completely clean up the sewers in the A7-012 area, but preserved them all and used them as a training ground for new recruits of the Rostov Defense Army, training elite troops through the already established routine of the "Skinner Trial".

Although there are 30 to 50 percent casualties each time, it must be said that the improvement in the soldiers' combat effectiveness and overall quality is quite significant.

The Rostov Alien Hunter is also gradually becoming a special type of soldier and a distinctive unit of the Rostov Corps.

(End of this chapter)