After the Battle

When Chen Xi and Ovilia returned to the city, Rachel was in the sewers, locked in fierce combat with the Flayed Ones.

Although she had heeded Chen Xi's warning and taken the encountered enemy seriously, regrettably, neither the Planetary Defense Force nor even the Astra Militarum could effectively confront the Flayed Ones head-on in the dark, confined environment.

After suffering the loss of three squads, Rachel had no choice but to withdraw the remaining Guardsmen from the sewers, instead deploying them in key positions to prevent the aliens from breaking out.

Relying on the armored protection and firepower support provided by the Chimera Armored Vehicles, as well as pre-arranged barricade fire positions, the Planetary Defense Force soldiers managed, with great difficulty, to hold off the Flayed Ones' assault, forcing them back into the sewers.

Seeing this situation, Rachel decisively ordered the destruction of the sewer connections between area A7-012 and other areas, completely sealing off the entire area's sewer system.

This way, as long as the surface defenses weren't breached, these aliens would be trapped in the sewers of area A7-012.

And the Flayed Ones, after being repelled by the Planetary Defense Force, didn't continue to assault the Guardsmen's defenses, but instead retreated directly back to their lair in the sewers.

Having temporarily stabilized the situation, Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.

The first task assigned to her by the new Planetary Governor had turned out like this, making Rachel feel somewhat embarrassed.

But she wasn't the kind of commander who would send her soldiers to their deaths for the sake of face, so after adjusting her emotions, she contacted Chen Xi using her comm-bead.

"Planetary Governor, bad news. The aliens you asked me to clear out are entrenched in the city's sewers. The PDF soldiers are finding it difficult to engage them in the confined environment. We may need assistance." Rachel reported the operational situation to Chen Xi, subtly indicating the need for support.

Chen Xi wasn't surprised by this answer; if the Flayed Ones were so easy to deal with, the Necrons wouldn't have dominated the galaxy back then.

Normally, to confront the Necrons head-on, individual combat strength had to be at least at the level of the Sisters of Battle or Astartes, or at the very least, the elite Stormtroopers, the best of humanity.

After all, a squad of 10 Stormtroopers costs 120 points, while a standard Astra Militarum infantry squad of 20 only costs 110 points, and a squad of 10 Flayed Ones costs 120 points.

This was still a points comparison under tabletop wargaming conditions, where the rules have balancing adjustments.

In a real battlefield environment, it was incredibly easy for a squad of Flayed Ones to overrun a squad of Astra Militarum infantry.

Unless the infantry squad had the Emperor's blessing with every attack, able to take down a Flayed One with a volley of lasgun fire.

Even within the Astra Militarum, there were very few units capable of this level of performance, besides armies renowned for their discipline and elite status such as the Cadian Shock Troopers and the Mordian Iron Guard, most other Astra Militarum units would find it difficult to ensure every shot was a lasgun volley.

As for the Valhallan Ice Warriors from Rostov II's retired Astra Militarum regiment, they were renowned for their indomitable fighting spirit and special effectiveness against Orks.

So it was only natural that their weakened version, the Planetary Defense Force, couldn't defeat the Flayed Ones.

"Not surprising, that group of aliens is very difficult to deal with. My retinue even lost a Sister of Battle. Don't engage them in a direct confrontation. Just suppress them and ensure they don't pose an immediate threat to the city. I'll handle the rest." Chen Xi issued the order, telling Rachel to seal off area A7-012: "Rachel, first seal off that area, evacuate as many civilians as possible, and minimize casualties and losses.

Also, transfer another regiment to the mine. The alien ruins below the mine are a bit dangerous. Have this regiment seal off the mine. I've already communicated with Magos Ovilia on the Adeptus Mechanicus side."

"Yes, Planetary Governor!" Rachel also breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least Chen Xi wasn't a cruel Planetary Governor who would allow the Flayed Ones to run rampant.

Although she would have carried out such an order if Chen Xi had issued it, it would undoubtedly have lowered her opinion of him by several levels.

After relaxing a bit, Rachel quickly perked up and carried out Chen Xi's orders.

She could sense that the peace of Rostov II had been shattered, and that the planet would likely be quite lively for a while.

While Rachel was sealing off area A7-012, Chen Xi and Ovilia returned to her forge-workshop.

Since they had already discussed the distribution of the spoils, Chen Xi didn't stop Ovilia from putting all the items they brought back into her own warehouse.

After Ovilia had stored all the spoils, Chen Xi suddenly said to her, "Magos Ovilia, could you help me make a knife with a disruption field? A decorative one, small enough to fit in a pocket, about the size of a letter opener."

"Such a small force field weapon isn't easy to make. Do you have any special needs?" Ovilia looked at Chen Xi strangely, puzzled as to why he wanted such a thing.

This size of power weapon could be said to have no practical combat value at all, and was only a toy for nobles. After all, even for self-defense in the Warhammer world, there was no need for such a short weapon.

Usually, this would only be a gift used between nobles.

"A gift for someone. I might need this to help us pull in some reinforcements." Chen Xi already had a plan in mind, but right now he needed something to add some persuasiveness to this plan.

Although exchanging it with points wasn't impossible, his precious points weren't for this.

Hearing Chen Xi's explanation, Ovilia nodded, although she didn't quite understand, and said, "Alright, come and get it in a couple of days."

"Okay, if it's convenient, make a few more, so I don't have to ask you to make them again next time." Chen Xi said casually, thinking that this thing would be a pretty good gift.

After all, it was personally made by an Adeptus Mechanicus Sage, and could be called a Master-crafted Power Weapon.

Ovilia didn't refuse, but just nodded irritably to indicate that she understood, and said that she would give the knife a gorgeous design to match.

It had to be said that when it didn't involve excavating ruins and things related to her 'revenge', Magos Ovilia was still a very easy person to talk to.

This made Chen Xi wonder if he needed to adjust his attitude towards her in some ways.

But after thinking about it seriously, Chen Xi felt that there was no need to do so. Just treat Ovilia normally.

After all, she was a Tech-priest, and she still had a vendetta to settle. With Chen Xi's current strength, it was better not to get too involved with her.

Moreover, this tomb exploration, although he didn't get his hands on too many things, this harvest was already a huge gain for Ovilia, and Chen Xi felt that he had lived up to her.

So Chen Xi didn't say anything more, politely said goodbye, and withdrew his consciousness from the Warhammer world.