The Bizarre Adventures of the Oil Man, but Starting with Warhammer 32K

"Should we press on and fire a few more shots?" Ademir suggested.

"No, if a fully charged plasma pistol only has this much damage, it won't be able to kill the Dragonite before it overheats. Instead, it will be enraged and give the Dragonite an opportunity to close the distance. If I use another weapon, it won't be as effective."

Leon rejected Ademir's proposal. He knew the dragon's tenacious vitality, and he didn't think a few more gashes would be enough to wear it down. Even if he could wear it down, the ion pistol, unable to cool down before the dragon escaped, wouldn't be able to deliver the finishing blow. "Let's retreat first. We need to conserve ammunition. We'll figure out the rest later."

Faced with Leon's professionalism, none of Admir's group questioned his decision. While the dragon was still recovering from its shock, they had already crossed the open area and retreated to the next stretch of jungle. Having confirmed that the dragon couldn't catch up, Leon briefly repaired his legs. Once he regained his ability to walk, he followed the Astartes on a winding, almost twenty-minute walk before reaching their temporary residence.

Li Ang looked at the natural cave in front of him and asked, "So, you live in a place like this?"

"We move around so often, so there's no need to put too much effort into our accommodations. A good location is all that matters," Armidale replied. "But there are still some basic renovations to the interior."

"That's not what I meant. Let me put it another way. How did you get to this planet? If there's a crashed warship, generally speaking, you'd use the wreckage as a base, live near it, and explore it, right?" Leon asked. "You're acting like cavemen here. Could it be possible that you were thrown onto this planet one by one by the subspace?"

Amidel still had no expression on his face, but Leon could see a hint of sadness in him.

He didn't answer Leon's question, but instead talked about other matters: "If we can reach a cooperation, you will naturally know these issues in the future. What's important now is to prove your ability as a mechanical priest and let us see if you are worthy of cooperation."

"That's right." Li Ang was ready to show off his skills. "How do you want to verify it?"

"Help us maintain our weapons and equipment first. I'll assess your capabilities based on your work," Amidel replied. "Although your ability to identify beasts suggests you're a geneticist specializing in biological research, we need engineers specializing in maintenance and manufacturing. I hope your skills in this area aren't too bad."

Li Ang raised his eyebrows, but he didn't bother to explain that he was a versatile person with a golden finger. "Where can we go to repair it? We can't do it without basic materials."

"We've set up a basic workshop inside the cave. I've already sent someone in to sort out some... less necessary things. Follow me, I'll take you there. You can't move around here on your own until we're sure we can reach a cooperation."

Seeing that these people also had their own little secrets, Leon naturally chose to understand. He followed Amidel into the cave. Although there was no privacy, the fifty or so Astartes who came in and out gave Leon a basic idea of ​​their total number.

The Astartes weren't enthusiastic about outsiders like Leon, and many even expressed open suspicion. However, Armidel clearly held considerable prestige among them, so no one stood up to stop or question his decision. Soon, Armidel led Leon to a relatively dry cave compartment. This compartment, stacked with their respective equipment, apparently also served as a weapons storage room.

Leon keenly noticed that on a simple stone table was placed a working power backpack with a mechanical arm. It was obviously the equipment of a technical sergeant.

"Where is your technical sergeant? Where did he go?" Leon asked.

"He died." Armidale lowered his eyes. "It was a long time ago. We faced a flying green lizard-like monster. Its venom glands were well-developed, and it could breathe fire. Lacking equipment, we were in great danger against it. I was even nearly killed by it when it swooped down from low altitude."

"But in the critical moment, Sergeant Hypa stepped forward. He left his backpack behind, grabbed our company's last melta bomb, rushed over to the diving monster, and detonated the bomb, severing its tail. The severely injured and unbalanced monster could only fight with us on the ground, and was eventually killed by us."

"...No offense, he made a great sacrifice."

"He sacrificed himself for the future of our brothers. I can only live up to his sacrifice by firmly leading them out of this desperate situation." Armidale shook his head. He picked up a bolt rifle from the weapon rack nearby and handed it to Leon. "I've always missed him, but we must face the present. Let me see if you have the ability to take his place and complete his unfinished responsibilities—or even do better than he did."

PS: Elu cat Tom is considering.jpg8

Chapter 5: Leap Forward Cooperation

Li Ang took the bolt rifle. With his sharp eyesight, he recognized at a glance that it was a Phobos bolt rifle.

The original design of the Legendary Bolter was completed by the Emperor himself, and the Phobos was the first hand-produced bolter rifle after the cooperation between the Martian Mechanicus and the Emperor.

Although this rifle was specifically designed for the MK2 Expeditionary Power Armour and was essentially a handcrafted, precision-crafted product, the ammunition it used was of a different calibre than the bolters that subsequently went into production. While the accompanying MK2 Expeditionary Power Armour was still widely used, the Phobos Bolt Rifle was rapidly phased out in order to simplify logistics.

Over fifteen hundred years had passed since the Great Crusade began in 798 M30, and the surviving Phobos-types had become sacred artifacts revered by various Chapters. But here, on a planet isolated for who knows how many years, Leon saw such a weapon in the hands of a group of Space Marines who didn't even have power armor.

Although it had become tattered due to lack of maintenance, it also made Leon wonder about the true identity of these people.

It's definitely not as simple as the remnants of the Second Founding who opposed the splitting of the Legion, or a renegade chapter, considering that Armidel had previously lied to himself about his identity and called himself a Legion...

Although he had some doubts in his heart, Leon was still rigorous in the maintenance work. He first put on special gloves to prevent his soulless characteristics from damaging the mechanical soul on the gun, and then he took the grenade gun handed to him by Amidel.

He pulled the bolt to check it, but he didn't expect that this action would cause the gun to shatter into pieces.

Looking at the parts scattered all over the floor, Leon was a little confused, but he soon realized that the gun had long been on the verge of its limit due to overuse and lack of maintenance.

Although it was barely maintained in its original state thanks to the loyal machine soul, just like a seriously ill person who is not suitable for surgery due to physical weakness, the attempt to dismantle and repair the rifle caused the machine soul to lose its integrity. Without the maintenance of the machine soul, the service life of the rifle came to an end.

The explosive rifle, like the AK-47, is simple, practical and easy to maintain, which is why it has become the most commonly used weapon among Space Marines.

If this weapon shatters without a Machine Soul, how long would it have been without maintenance? A thousand years?

But putting the reason aside, as a mechanical priest who came to maintain the weapon, it was somewhat embarrassing to see the weapon shattered on the ground as soon as he got it. Leon touched his nose awkwardly and looked at Amidel, but found that although he frowned, he was not surprised. Obviously, he knew the condition of the weapon.

Amidel picked up another chainsaw sword from the weapon rack. The sword was in good condition but had many cracks on the chainsaw. He motioned Leon to maintain it.

Leon took it and took a look. Wow, it was a Mark IV Thunder Blade Chainsword. Compared to the Phobos Bolt Rifle, this was even a standard equipment that had been used since the Terra Unification War.

Leon said nothing more, simply beginning to maintain it. Melee weapons are generally simpler and more durable than bolters. This chainsaw sword, weathered and roughly repaired by someone who clearly had no knowledge of mechanics, didn't fall apart despite Leon's disassembly.

Leon used the basic maintenance tools in his mechanical backpack to re-polish the single-molecule edge of the chainsaw sword. He also instructed Amidel to fetch a few chainsaw swords that were no longer usable, disassemble them into materials, and use these materials to repair the gaps on the chainsaw swords. In just ten minutes, Leon had completed the maintenance of the chainsaw sword.

He pressed the button, and the brand-new chainsaw sword began to hum with vigor again.

Leon handed the chainsword to Armidale. Armidale wielded it twice, equally satisfied with Leon's work. However, he still had a question: "Previously, all the Mechanicus priests, including Sergeant Hypa, had to apply holy oil and chant the Mechanicus prayer when maintaining their equipment. Don't you need to do that?"

"You mean the Mechanicus's Hymn." Leon certainly knew what the layman Amidel was referring to, but he didn't care.

In the magical world of Warhammer 40K, hymns, prayers, and scented holy oils all have real mystical effects. In addition to soothing the machine spirits, they can also prevent the corrosion of weapons and equipment by the warp and the invasion of electronic demons.

But as a soulless being, Leon was born not to coexist with these unnatural phenomena. Unless he wanted to put on an act in front of his fellow Mechanicus, these rituals had no meaning to him.

So he simply explained to Armidale, "I personally prefer to be scientific and pragmatic, so I don't need all this."

This statement seemed to deeply move Armidel. He nodded in approval. "Indeed, scientific methods are our greatest aid. Excellent work, Mechanical Priest."

"Anything else that needs repair?" Leon was a little envious of the Phobos bolt rifles that could only be found in the relic vaults of various chapters. "Your bolt rifles are all badly worn, but I should be able to repair four... or two of them."

"No, focusing on melee weapons will be the biggest help to us. The beasts outside have an unusual resistance to long-range firearms. The damage caused by grenade launchers is negligible to those beasts. Often only melee combat can cause effective damage to them." Amidel rejected Leon's request.

"Melee combat only?" Leon asked.

"No, some long-range cold weapons are okay, but long-range thermal weapons can basically only serve as a distraction. When Sergeant Hypa died, we thought the melta bomb would kill the monster, but it only severed its tail. In the end, we had to resort to close combat. Speaking of thermal weapons alone, your ion pistol was the most effective shot I've ever seen."

"No wonder even a fully charged ion pistol from Riza could only make a hole under the counter..."

After wondering if Old Man Huang had played Monster Hunter 30,000 years ago, Leon felt compelled to wonder if there was a Kobold brother sitting side by side with the Emperor playing online at that time. "So, I only need to help you maintain your melee weapons from now on?"

Amidel remained noncommittal. He had higher expectations for Leon's abilities. "Melee weapons are the most important. If you can do more, we will naturally give you more trust and honesty. But before that, I have to take you somewhere else."

"Where?"

"Our council chamber."

Armidel led Leon into another side room in the cave, where three people were waiting for them. Leon recognized one of them—the Astarte who had previously informed Armidel of the arrival of the Boom Dragon and who also led a team to contain the Boom Dragon. Seeing Leon enter, he nodded slightly to Leon.

"These are our council members. Here, any decision is discussed and implemented by the four of us."

Armidale first introduced Leon's acquaintance: "Adjutant Aibo, he's also the company's pharmacist. If you want to learn about the biology of this planet, you can ask him. Sergeant Arlo, he was the instructor of all our new recruits. No one dares to compare with him in swordsmanship. Finally, Lieutenant Weigan, he is the authority in commanding the team's operations."

"As for me, Armidale. I was once the champion of this company, and now I have been elected by everyone to serve as the temporary commander here."

After the introductions, Armidale gestured for Leon to sit down, and he strode to the front of the stage to preside over the meeting:

"I've had Aibo inform you of the details. After a long wait, a spaceship crashed on this isolated planet. The survivor is the Mechanical Priest before us—Leon. I've tested Leon's professional abilities, and the results are generally satisfactory. I've decided to partner with Leon, and he will be responsible for the maintenance of our various weapons and equipment."

"If that's all, there's no need to discuss this with us." Lieutenant Wigan directly pointed out the problem: "Just tell me, Armidale, why did you call me back as the hunting officer?"

"Now that we have the help of a professional Mechanic Priest, I think this is an opportunity, perhaps the only opportunity." Armidale placed his hands on the table and looked around at everyone seriously. "I have decided to let the Mechanic Priest perform the operation to awaken Fearless!"

PS1: Regarding the Jerry character suggested by a reader, I can only say that I won't write it or won't write it that quickly. But the Ratman of Lightling did give me some ideas. So if you have any ideas for the future plot, feel free to share them in the comments. Although they may not be adopted, they will definitely broaden the writer's thinking and may even be included.

PS2: Regarding the question from the same reader about where the subspace engine is, it is hidden now, but it was not mentioned before, so I have added some of the previous description to correct it (the plasma engine has been mentioned before that it is connected to the body, so it is actually still on the body now, and there is no space pocket)

Chapter 6: The Shadow of Tzeentch

"what?"

Leon, who always found meetings boring, was yawning, but he never closed his mouth again. He looked at Armidale in surprise, only to find that his expression was firm, not fake at all.

"I'm cultivating fearlessness?" Li Ang pointed at himself. "Is that true?"

No, you guys are so poor, how can you really afford a Dreadnought?

I just repaired a chainsaw sword, and you made such a big change to it all of a sudden?

However, this obviously was not something that surprised an outsider like Leon. As the last resort to preserve the lives of veterans who were about to reach the irreversible end, those who could enter the Dreadnoughts undoubtedly had an important position in the entire chapter and even the legion.

Although they have decided to cooperate with Leon, this time is obviously not enough. The Astartes in front of them treat Leon as their own son.

It was for this reason that when Armidale announced this decision, he was opposed by Lieutenant Wigan and Sergeant Arlo. Even Adjutant Abbott, who had always supported him, was hesitant.

"No, absolutely not!"

Lieutenant Vigan was clearly a traditionalist. "Whether it's burying a Dreadnought in a sarcophagus or awakening it, it's always been the responsibility of the Tech-Sergeants. Mechanical priests sent from outside the Forge World aren't qualified to participate in the maintenance of a Dreadnought, let alone a fellow like this whose origins are unknown?!"

Sergeant Arlo's focus is on practical effectiveness:

"Will it really work? We've buried the captain in the sarcophagus for so long. When Hypa was still alive, we performed the awakening ritual every day, but there was no response. A foreign mechanical priest, Armidale, do you trust him so much?"

"The fact is it's not about trust or not. Like I said, this is the only chance."

Armidale lowered himself and looked around at everyone seriously.

"In nearly a thousand years, since we've been trapped on this planet, this is the only outsider we've seen. If we want to escape this predicament, we should seize every opportunity."

"If we are now standing at the crossroads of fate and need to make a decision in unity, then why don't we wake up our captain? If Brother Hypa has worked so hard in the awakening ceremony and received no response, why don't we try a new possibility?"

"What kind of magic potion did that mechanical priest feed you to make you think he is a new possibility? Even if he is really reliable, how is his awakening ceremony different from Hepa's?" Lieutenant Vigan was a little annoyed.

"He does not sing Mechanicus hymns while he works," Admir replied.

The air suddenly fell silent. Leon, who was watching their keywords such as "Company Commander" and "One Thousand Years", found that everyone's eyes were on him.

He coughed lightly twice, feeling that he still needed to clear his name: "I am a mechanical priest who graduated from the second-level forging world Huangquan No. 8, and I have official certification."

Then the looks of several people became more subtle.

Leon was a little embarrassed. Although Huangquan No. 8 did not become the headquarters of the Mechanicus's heterodox faction until the Great Heresy, there were already some signs before the Heresy.

The veterans present had obviously heard of the "reputation" of Huangquan No. 8, which made them even more suspicious of Li Ang's skills as they did not trust him in the first place.

Fortunately, at this critical moment, Adjutant Ai Bo stepped forward and broke the deadlock.

"Huangquan No. 8 is known for its unconventional techniques. If the awakening ritual fails to awaken Fearless, perhaps a less conventional approach could break the deadlock."

He concluded, then looked at Armidale: "But Armidale, have you really thought this through? The opportunity you see in awakening the captain could also mean we lose him completely. None of us can afford such a loss."

"My resolve depends solely on the Mechanicus's joining, Brother Abbot," said Armidale. "If we dare not even consider awakening him, he will have already been lost to us."

These words deeply moved Adjutant Aibo and Sergeant Arlo. Although Lieutenant Weigan still opposed it, from the perspective of the majority, they finally agreed to let Leon contact their most respected predecessors and the deepest secrets.

After hearing so much, Leon had no intention of quitting. Putting aside the fact that he was also trapped on this planet and was now in the same boat with them, the identity of these Astartes as the Lost Ones of the Great Crusade was enough to make Leon excited.

He took on the task of awakening the Dreadnought without hesitation, and under the guidance of several people, he went to the deepest part of the cave, where an ancient Contemptor Dreadnought was sleeping quietly.

The few power backpacks that were still functioning were piled here. They pumped the energy in the backpacks into the Dreadnought, barely maintaining the operation of the basic life support system in the Dreadnought.

Seeing this scene, Leon understood why these Astartes did not have power backpacks on their power armor.

However, relying on a power backpack to maintain the Dreadnought is not a long-term solution. When the last power is exhausted, this Dreadnought that cannot be awakened will also come to the end of its life.

Considering how few functioning power packs there were left, it was no wonder he was pulled in to wake up Fearless right after repairing a chainsword.

However, it was not Armidel's fantasy to decide to let Leon awaken the Dreadnought after seeing that Leon could repair the Chainsword. In theory, to awaken the Dreadnought, one only needs to activate the awakening program while chanting the Mechanicus hymn that soothes the machine spirit.

——The biggest difficulty of this job is actually how to prevent the awakened Fearless from coming up and beating the technical sergeant who forced him to work overtime into a meat pie.

If the Dreadnought cannot be awakened, it is very likely that there is some mechanical failure in the awakening device inside the Dreadnought. Generally speaking, it is really similar to repairing a chainsaw sword.

Although it sounds simple, Leon did not underestimate it considering that a technical sergeant had not been able to awaken the Dreadnought for so long.

He first circled the Contemptor Dreadnought and discovered that there were many portraits carved on it. They seemed to be narrating the legendary experience of the veteran buried in the sarcophagus:

From being drafted on Terra, becoming one of the first Space Marines led by the Emperor himself; to participating in the Great Crusade, where he made immortal contributions in a war against terrifying xenos that excelled at mimicry and loved to eat brains, becoming an expert in hunting xenos monsters; to then, due to a disagreement with his Primarch, he chose to lead his company into self-exile, swearing an oath of eternal crusade against the xenos; finally, on a wrecked space ship, he encountered a gigantic xenos composed almost entirely of psychic energy, with blue bird feathers growing on its body. After defeating it with all his might, he was buried in the dreadnought sarcophagus...

Why does it feel more and more wrong the more I look at it?

Li Ang smacked his lips, turned around and asked, "Who drew these things?"

"Sergeant Hypa." Armidale mentioned the technical sergeant's name again: "When he was training on Mars, he lived in the same dormitory with the technical sergeants of the Emperor's Children and learned a lot of relevant skills.

"I'm not asking that. I mean, why would he paint these things on the Dauntless, just for commemoration?"

Amidel shook his head, but Adjutant Abbott took over the conversation. "He said at the time that the Dreadnought's Machine Spirit had become cunning and talkative. He felt that this was why the Dreadnought couldn't be awakened, so he wanted to use this method to increase the Dreadnought's sacredness and transform the Dreadnought's Machine Spirit."

"But even he thought the idea was too far-fetched. He only mentioned it to me in casual conversation and never reported it."