Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 220 The Stubborn Stone

There are not many people from the Tianshi Regiment this time, only one company.

But this is not a small number. After all, it is rare for an entire regiment to be involved in a battle.

For a Space Marine Chapter, defending their homeworld is one of their primary tasks.

Each Chapter usually maintains at least one company on its homeworld to ensure its safety.

This company is not only responsible for defending against possible invasions, but also for maintaining the Chapter's bases, training new recruits, and managing the Chapter's resources and legacy.

The home planet is the foundation of the chapter. Losing the home planet means the chapter will lose the foundation of its culture and history, so this mission is of vital importance.

However, the primary duty of the Space Marines is to deal with threats across the Imperium.

Due to the frequent wars in the galaxy, the Chapter often receives a large number of calls for help.

Whether it's a xenos invasion, a Chaos insurgency, or some other threat, the Space Marine Chapters need to react swiftly.

However, the number of requests for assistance far exceeded the Chapter's ability to cope.

Each Chapter typically consists of only around a thousand Space Marines, and the vastness of the galaxy and the diversity of threats necessitates that their forces be spread out and deployed widely.

This constant state of "firefighting" means that the Chapter is rarely able to maintain full strength.

According to Guilliman's toilet paper, a standard Codex should have a thousand Space Marines, but the actual situation is often not the case.

Most regiments are able to deploy around 800 men, which is considered to be fully staffed.

For those regiments that have experienced fierce battles, the strength of the troops may be further reduced to five or six hundred people.

Losses, slow replacements, and frequent fighting made it difficult for the Chapter to maintain ideal strength levels.

Furthermore, the Space Marines' combat style exacerbates this problem.

They usually use small, elite forces to carry out quick strikes. Although this tactic is efficient, it also means that each battle may result in significant casualties.

Even if a Chapter is able to produce new recruits through gene-seed, the process is extremely slow, often taking years or even decades to train a qualified Space Marine.

Therefore, the strength of the Space Marines is always in a state of tension.

Under this premise, the Tianshi Regiment was able to send a company to participate in this expedition, which was indeed a sign of sincerity and loyalty to the empire.

It is precisely because of this that Chen Xi feels more sympathetic towards the Tianshi Regiment and hopes to provide shelter to this regiment.

In order to convince the Celestial Lions, Chen Xi also specially called on Gutres and Ion, hoping that these two Astartes, who were also Fists of the Empire, could persuade the Celestial Lions from the perspective of fighting brotherhood and being sons of Dorne.

These sons of Dorne are all very stubborn, and Chen Xi doesn't want things to get out of control.

"Welcome, Captain Anatoly." Chen Xi welcomed the captain of the Tianshi Regiment in a friendly manner, although the expression on his face did not seem very friendly.

Anatoly, the captain of the Celestial Lions, dressed in golden power armor, removed his helmet with a calm and composed movement. He hung it on the magnetic lock at his waist, nodded slightly to Chen Xi, and said in a low, powerful voice, "Hello, Governor."

Anatoly's way of addressing Chen Xi is very interesting.

At this time, Chen Xi, as the supreme commander of the expeditionary force, was indeed the planetary governor, but from any perspective, his current identity should be "Lord Inquisitor."

This title is the legal basis for him to obtain the authority of the expeditionary force's supreme commander, and is also the symbol of authority bestowed upon him by the Inquisition.

However, Anatoly chose to address him as "Governor," a deliberate evasion, perhaps even a subtle provocation to the Inquisition's authority. This address revealed the long-standing conflict and distrust between the Celestial Lions and the Inquisition.

The Space Marine Chapters have always prided themselves on their independence and autonomy, while the Inquisition attempts to restrain them through authority and rules.

Anatoly's name undoubtedly implies that the Celestial Lions do not fully recognize the authority of the Inquisition and even have a certain degree of hostility towards it.

Chen Xi remained extremely calm in response to this.

He made no response to Anatoly's address, not even a hint of displeasure.

He simply nodded and motioned for Anatoly to sit down.

After sitting down, Chen Xi asked directly, "Has the Tianshi Regiment not yet realized the mistake they made?"

His tone was calm, but his words contained an unquestionable question.

This statement refers directly to a controversial action of the Celestial Lions in the past, which was considered a serious violation by the Inquisition and almost caused a direct conflict between the Chapter and the Inquisition.

Anatoly's reaction was extremely violent.

His eyes instantly became as sharp as a knife, and his voice was low but filled with suppressed anger. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, like a volcano about to erupt. "Mistake? Are you, the Inquisition, so arrogant that you think that is a mistake?"

Obviously, Chen Xi's words were like a sharp thorn, deeply piercing Anatoly's sensitive nerves.

In his view, the actions of the Celestial Lions were to protect the interests of the empire and were a manifestation of honor and duty.

The accusations of the Tribunal were not only a denial of their actions, but also a blatant insult to their honor.

Chen Xi looked at Anatoly and shook his head helplessly, his tone tinged with fatigue and regret. "No, you misunderstood. I'm not saying that your opposition to Inquisitor Apollyon's decision to sign the extermination order during the Hattar Rebellion was a mistake, but that your public condemnation of the Inquisition was a mistake."

He continued, “If you contact the Imperial Fists privately and then send someone to Terra to petition the Inquisition to review the rationale of the Extermination Order, there will be no problem at all.

Even Inquisitor Apollyon was purged from within the Inquisition for signing the extermination order.

Yet you have publicly issued a series of condemnations of the Inquisition..."

At this point, Chen Xi's tone became more sarcastic. "Tsk tsk, do you really think the Tribunal has no respect for its reputation and needs to explain to you how the Tribunal should operate?"

His gaze grew sharp, and his voice became more stern and unquestionable: "As an Imperial supervisory agency authorized by the Emperor, the Inquisition has always only been responsible to itself and the Emperor.

Although your efforts are great, your actions are doomed to be futile and may even backfire, making the Inquisition hate you deeply."

Anatoly's rage was completely ignited, and his voice exploded like thunder: "So what? Did those who died in vain? Regardless of the decision of your Inquisition, the Heavenly Lions will never compromise!"

His words were as resounding as a piece of stone, hard and unshakable.

However, Chen Xi shook his head again, sighing with deep helplessness: "What if the Inquisition decides to wipe out your Tianshi Regiment? Even if you resist the Inquisition, what will happen?

By the power of the Inquisition, I can declare you traitors even now and excommunicate the entire Chapter."

There was a cold sense of reality in his tone, as if he was stating an unchangeable fact.

He continued, "Even when you arrived in the Mariupol sector, I received an internal order from the Inquisition, asking me to find a reason to send you to death and consume you on the battlefield.

If I hadn't had a connection with the Son of Dorne, I wouldn't have bothered with these matters. You stone-headed people are so hard to talk to."

(End of this chapter)