Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 241: The Oil Man is Archaeological
Although a considerable number of Astartes withdrew from the battle, the offensive rhythm of the human expeditionary force was not affected at all, and it continued to advance step by step.

As the battle line continues to shrink, the area controlled by the Necrons has been compressed to a fairly limited range.

This centralized battlefield situation allowed the expeditionary force to fully utilize its firepower advantage.

Heavy artillery clusters and super-heavy tank units that originally needed to be deployed on a wide front were able to be used more concentratedly, which brought a stronger firepower delivery density to the expeditionary force.

Under this overwhelming firepower suppression, the human forces' attack was smoother than before.

However, as the expeditionary force gradually penetrated into the core area of ​​the Necrons, the situation began to change.

The Necromancer buildings and creations in the core area of ​​the Necromancers, which were gradually controlled by the expeditionary force, drove the Mechanical Priests crazy.

Whenever they discover a well-preserved undead building, these red-robed mechanics will fall into a state of near-mad obsession. They wish they could kneel on the living metal floor and explore the functions, structures and alien technologies contained in these buildings inch by inch.

These technologies are so mysterious and so advanced that the mechanical priests are simply fascinated by them.

The high-ranking priests of the Mechanicus even submitted a formal request directly to the expeditionary force headquarters, strongly demanding that the pace of the offensive be slowed down.

They insisted that attacks on Necron complexes must minimize the use of heavy weaponry, even if it meant pitting Skitarii against living metal undead with their flesh and blood.

In the eyes of the Mechanicus, these buildings containing the secrets of ancient technology are more precious than the lives of millions of Skitarii.

They would rather watch the Skitarii engage in brutal street fighting with the Necrons in the maze-like building complex, paving their way forward inch by inch with corpses, than allow the expeditionary force to use heavy artillery, let alone orbital bombardment - even though that might be the fastest and most effective tactical option.

The priests of the Mechanicum stubbornly believe that these ancient alien buildings contain priceless knowledge and technology, and any form of brutal destruction is a blasphemy against the Omnissiah.

As the Skitarii advanced over the wreckage of their comrades, the Tech-Priests set up sophisticated scanning arrays in the rear, greedily recording every detail of the alien structure.

Chen Xi let it go. After all, the power of the Mechanicus was there, and even the Inquisition had to accommodate the Mechanicus in many cases.

The staff officers repeatedly suggested that he intervene forcibly, but Chen Xi just shook his head silently - in the empire's complex power system, some rules are more important than tactical efficiency.

And this is not without benefits. At least now the morale of the expeditionary force, which was originally affected by the command to slow down the pace of the attack, has been partially restored.

When the grassroots commanders talked privately, they would reveal an expression of "as expected". After all, in their view, this behavior of wasting opportunities for archaeological research was very much in line with the style of the Mechanicus.

The soldiers of the armored regiment even began to bet on which ruins the red-robed priests would frantically call for a halt to the shelling.

Because most of the troops believed that this order was issued under the influence of the Mechanicus.

Sailors on the transports spread rumors that the Mechanicus had bribed command with tons of holy oil, while the commandos were convinced that a certain Archmagos was threatening to cut off the expedition's ammunition supply. While these rumors were absurd, they unexpectedly provided the soldiers with an outlet for their emotions—rather than questioning their superiors, it was easier to blame those eccentric oil men.

This was very consistent with the Empire's long-standing understanding of the Mechanicus, so it actually stabilized the military's morale, but morale...

The attitude of most expeditionary forces is that as long as they are not forced to fight with the Necrons, they will fully support the scientific research activities of the Mechanicus.

Chen Xi was not sure about this attitude, but considering the reputation of the Mechanicus in the Empire, he was not sure whether it was wrong.

He deliberately emphasized the number of casualties suffered by the Mechanicus in his daily battle reports. This was not only an explanation to the Mechanicus itself, but also a means to keep the other expeditionary forces psychologically balanced.

In particular, the Mechanicus itself is unwilling to let the expeditionary force intervene. These mechanics think that you mortals who know nothing will only damage these precious alien technologies, so they do not want the expeditionary force to intervene.

Whether it was the exploration fleet led by the Great Sage Caul, the Griya Forge World represented by Christen, or the Mariupol Forge World led by Tonya, they all showed a tough attitude of impatiently calling for reinforcements and demanding independent exploration.

Their respective mechanical arks continuously sent encrypted distress signals to orbit, as if this was not a battlefield but a treasure trove of technology that needed to be divided up.

The exploration teams of the three major factions drew out their spheres of influence on the map, and the data blockade between them was even tighter than that against the Necrons.

Cawl's tech-priests marked restricted areas on the map, Christen's followers tightly sealed their own data storage devices and Cogitator arrays, and Tonya's subordinates simply set up automatic turrets on key passages - not to defend against aliens, but to warn other Mechanicus factions not to cross the line.

The hostility between them runs so deep that Skitarii in some regions refuse to share battlefield intelligence, fearing that their discoveries will be stolen by their rivals.

Chen Xi had witnessed with his own eyes that the servo skull of the Griya Forge World was shattered on the spot by an electric arc because it flew too close to Kaul's excavation site.

The poor mechanical creature didn't even have time to complete the scanning protocol before it turned into charred wreckage in a dazzling blue light.

Caul's followers made no apologies, simply retrieved the skull's core data with indifference and continued to focus on their excavation work.

The priests of the Forge World of Gria angrily mobilized a combat servo team to prepare for revenge. It was not until Chen Xi personally intervened that a bloody conflict within the Mechanicus was avoided.

As the commander of the expeditionary force, Chen Xi naturally respected them - after all, under the imperial system, the autonomy of the Mechanicus was almost unshakable.

But he also emphasized to these oil men that they could do archaeological work, but they should not affect the expeditionary force's offensive.

During a tactical meeting, he pointed to the Necromancer's defenses on the holographic projection and said, "You can fight for every scrap of alien technology, but the expeditionary force's advance will not be stalled by your academic disputes."

In this regard, although the three oil companies all expressed a certain degree of protest, when Chen Xi reiterated that the Necrons still had multiple core worlds that needed to be conquered, the three oil companies finally agreed to Chen Xi's request after a fierce data game internally.

(End of this chapter)