Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 236 Playing Slowly
"With the assistance of the Titan Legion, we have broken through the enemy's third line of defense, and the vanguard is currently advancing steadily towards the core area." Inside the command center, the commander of the First Strike Group, the Astra Militarum Lord General, stood in front of the holographic tactical sand table, and his steady voice echoed in the command center.

His rough fingers slid across the projections flashing red and blue, marking several key breakthrough points.

As he said, with the involvement of the Titan Legion, progress on the battlefield was much smoother than expected.

The staff officers exchanged looks of surprise - the Necron defense line, which they had originally expected to break through at a heavy price, was now as fragile as paper under the Titan's plasma artillery fire.

"It seems that the enemy's troops are insufficient. Should we launch a general attack?" suggested a staff officer.

Perhaps it was because Chen Xi's unhesitating orbital bombardment had knocked out all the enemy's heavy vehicle units, or perhaps this type of attack had frightened the Necrons, so far they had not deployed any heavy units that could stop the Titan's advance.

On the tactical screen, there were only a few red marks representing enemy heavy units, far from the scale predicted by pre-war intelligence.

Even the number of pumice towers and obelisks on the battlefield is decreasing, as if this tomb world is really short of troops.

The data priests of the Mechanicus repeatedly checked the scan results and found incredulous that the Undead were actively shrinking their defenses.

Because of this, the expeditionary force has made very smooth progress and has now reached the last plateau of the planet and begun to launch a tentative attack on the tomb world of the Necrons.

The result was gratifying. Although the enemy's counterattack was still sharp, the terrifying Gauss weapons could still vaporize the entire team in an instant. The various black-tech weapons of the Necrons made the priests of the Mechanicus open their eyes - a certain ruling sage was frantically recording data from a strange device that could distort space.

But all this cannot hide the fact that their defense line is shrinking.

There is a classic saying in the 3K era: "Battle reports can deceive people, but battle lines cannot."

This sentence reveals the simplest truth in war - no matter how the propaganda machine whitewashes the battle situation, the advance and retreat of the actually controlled area on the battlefield will always be the most honest indicator of victory or defeat.

If you keep winning, your battle line will inevitably advance steadily.

Just like the expeditionary force at this moment, wherever the Titan Legion went, the enemy fortresses fell one after another, and the controlled area expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye on the map.

Every suppression fire, every assault, was effectively converted into the capture of territory. The newly captured areas marked on the maps by the staff officers every day were the most powerful proof of victory.

On the contrary, if the front line is always retreating, you cannot win the battle.

Just like the headquarters battle reports during World War II, no matter how the command declared "strategic transfer" or "luring the enemy deep", when the soldiers watched their positions being lost one after another and the supply lines being continuously compressed, everyone understood that the situation was deteriorating.

The battle line is like a magic mirror, revealing all false military exploits and exaggerated results.

At this moment, the Titan Legion's advancement on the battlefield is solid every step of the way.

This is not a "victory" boasted about by propaganda, but a real victory won inch by inch with steel and blood.

As the military strategist of the 3K era said, battle reports may be embellished, but the front line is always honest.

On the General Staff's tactical map, the blue area representing the controlled area was steadily expanding, like ink spreading across paper. However, facing the situation that almost seemed to have an absolute advantage, Chen Xi's uneasiness grew stronger.

The situation on the battlefield was too smooth, so smooth that it didn't seem like they were fighting against an ancient race with 60 million years of technology.

He tried to use his psychic powers for divination, trying to predict the future development of the war.

But when he closed his eyes and his mental tentacles just touched the edge of the subspace, it seemed to be disturbed.

There was only a blurry green halo in the spiritual vision, as if it was blocked by some unknown technology, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Faced with this situation, Chen Xi cautiously chose a relatively conservative strategy: "No, we should proceed steadily and not rush into anything! Aliens like the Necrons are very technologically advanced, and we don't know how much more alien technology they have that we haven't seen yet."

Chen Xi's words were undoubtedly supported by the Mechanicus. Both Cawl and Christen were obviously very interested in Necronic technology.

During this period, in addition to assisting the expeditionary force in the attack, they used various means to collect the remains of the Necron on the battlefield and conduct research on them.

Especially Kohl, he studied these things with an obsessive attitude that was almost fanatical.

Chen Xi decided to proceed steadily, so he naturally gave his full support.

"But won't we miss the opportunity to fight?" Another young staff officer couldn't help but interject: "The enemy's resistance has clearly weakened. If we don't seize the opportunity now..."

"No, don't forget, we are facing enemies from more than just this planet." Chen Xi raised his hand to interrupt him.

He called up a holographic map of the subsector and pointed to a discovered Necron Tomb World on the star map. He said, "An entire Necron dynasty is still dormant. If we underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, and if all the aliens are awakened, the expeditionary force will be in for a tough fight."

It is easy to defeat an Undead Overlord, but if it is replaced by an entire Undead Dynasty, even a small Undead Dynasty, Chen Xi does not think that the current expeditionary force has enough strength to defeat it.

He knew too well how terrifying these ancient aliens were - once the Undead dynasties sleeping deep in the tombs fully awakened, it would be enough to plunge the entire star region into war.

"An entire Necron Dynasty?" The Mechanicus Archsage Cawl suddenly spoke up, his mechanically modified electronic eyes flashing red with excitement. "Do you need more reinforcements?"

The voice of the great sage was filled with undisguised enthusiasm, as if he had seen a great opportunity to study necromancy technology.

Chen Xi looked at the great sage, and after careful consideration, he said, "If there is, that would be the best."

Although the introduction of the Mechanicus brought some unpredictable consequences, such as the Mechanicus acting on its own to obtain alien technology, Chen Xi still felt that it would be better to save trouble after weighing the pros and cons.

After all, if the Undead Dynasty really awakens, he will still have to rely on Archmagos Cawl to lead the Mechanicus to fight them.

I'm afraid only the priests of the Mechanicus can decipher those ancient alien technological creations.

(End of this chapter)