After the Battle

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

Although she had taken Chen Xi's warning and treated the enemy seriously, unfortunately, let alone the Planetary Defense Force, even the Astra Militarum would struggle to confront Flayed Ones head-on in such a dark, cramped environment.

After losing three squads, Rachel had no choice but to lead the remaining Imperial Guard soldiers out of the sewers and deploy defenses at key positions to prevent the xenos from bursting out.

With the armored protection and fire support provided by Chimera Armored Vehicles, along with the prearranged barricade firing positions, the Planetary Defense Force soldiers managed, with great difficulty, to halt the Flayed Ones' assault and force them back into the sewers.

Seeing this, Rachel decisively ordered the destruction of the sewer connections between Sector A7-012 and the other districts, completely sealing off the sewers in the entire area.

This way, so long as the surface defenses were not breached, those xenos would remain trapped in the sewers beneath Sector A7-012.

After being driven back by the Planetary Defense Force, the Flayed Ones did not continue attacking the Imperial Guard lines. Instead, they retreated directly to their nest in the sewers.

With the situation temporarily stabilized, Rachel finally let out a long breath.

The first assignment given to her by the new governor had gone this badly, and she felt thoroughly humiliated.

But she was not the sort of commander who would send her soldiers to their deaths just to save face. After steadying her emotions, she contacted Chen Xi through her communicator.

"Governor, bad news. The xenos you ordered me to clear out are entrenched in the city sewers. Planetary Defense Force soldiers have difficulty fighting them in such confined conditions. We may need assistance." Rachel reported the battle situation to Chen Xi, subtly indicating that she needed reinforcements.

Chen Xi was not surprised by this answer. If Flayed Ones were so easy to deal with, the Necrons would not have once dominated the galaxy.

Normally, to face Necrons head-on, individual combat capability had to be at least on the level of Sisters of Battle or Astartes. At the very least, one needed elite mortal troops like Storm Troopers.

After all, a squad of ten Storm Troopers cost 120 points, while twenty ordinary Astra Militarum infantry only cost 110 points, and a squad of ten Flayed Ones cost 120 points.

That was still a points comparison under tabletop battle conditions, where the rules included balance adjustments.

On a real battlefield, a squad of Flayed Ones charging an Astra Militarum infantry squad would be absurdly easy.

Unless every attack from that infantry squad was blessed by the Emperor, allowing a single volley of lasguns to take down one Flayed One.

Even within the Astra Militarum, there were very few units capable of that. Aside from forces famed for their discipline and elite quality, such as the Cadian Shock Troops and Mordian Iron Guard, other Astra Militarum units found it difficult to make every shot a lasgun volley.

As for the retired Astra Militarum unit on Rostov II, the Valhallan Ice Warriors it belonged to were known for their tenacious fighting spirit and their special effectiveness against Orks.

So it was perfectly normal for their weakened Planetary Defense Force counterparts to be unable to defeat Flayed Ones.

"That's not surprising. Those xenos are difficult to deal with. I lost one Sister of Battle from my own retinue as well. Don't fight them head-on. Just contain them and make sure they pose no immediate threat to the city. Leave the rest to me." Chen Xi issued his orders, telling Rachel to seal off Sector A7-012 first. "Rachel, seal off that sector first. Evacuate as many civilians from the area as possible, and minimize casualties and losses.

"Also, transfer another regiment to the mine. The xenos ruins beneath it are somewhat dangerous. Have that regiment seal off the mine. I have already spoken with Magos Ovilia on the Adeptus Mechanicus side."

"Yes, Governor!" Rachel relaxed slightly. At least Chen Xi was not a cruel governor who would simply allow the Flayed Ones to continue their rampage.

Although she would have carried out such an order if Chen Xi had given it, there was no doubt that her evaluation of him would have dropped by several levels.

After letting out that breath, Rachel hurriedly pulled herself together and carried out Chen Xi's orders.

She could sense that the peace of Rostov II had been shattered. The planet would likely be very lively for some time to come.

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

Since they had already discussed the division of the spoils, Chen Xi did not stop Ovilia from placing everything they had brought back into her own warehouse.

After Ovilia had put away all the spoils, Chen Xi suddenly said to her, "Magos Ovilia, could you make me a small knife with a disintegration field? The decorative kind, one that can fit in a pocket. About the size of a letter opener would be fine."

"A field weapon that small won't be easy to make. Do you have some special need for it?" Ovilia looked at Chen Xi curiously, puzzled as to why he wanted such a thing.

A Power Weapon of that size had practically no combat value. It could only be a toy for nobles, since even for self-defense in the Warhammer universe, there was no need for such a short weapon.

Usually, it could only be considered a gift exchanged among nobles.

"A gift for someone. I may need it to help us bring in some reinforcements." Chen Xi already had a plan, but right now he needed something to make it more convincing.

It was not as though he could not exchange for one with points, but precious points were not meant to be spent on this.

Hearing Chen Xi's explanation, Ovilia nodded despite not quite understanding. "Fine. Come pick it up in a couple of days."

"Alright. If it's convenient, make a few more, so I won't have to come to you again next time." Chen Xi added casually. He felt that these would make rather good gifts.

After all, they would be made personally by an Adeptus Mechanicus Sage, so they could be called Master-crafted Power Weapons.

Ovilia did not refuse. She merely nodded with some annoyance to show that she understood, adding that she would give the knife an ornate design worthy of it.

It had to be said that when matters did not involve excavating ruins or her "revenge," Magos Ovilia was actually quite easy to talk to.

This made Chen Xi wonder whether he should adjust his attitude toward her in some respects.

But after thinking it over seriously, Chen Xi felt there was no great need to do so. He only needed to treat Ovilia normally.

After all, she was a Tech-priest with a vendetta to pursue. Given Chen Xi's current strength, it was better not to get too deeply involved with her.

Besides, although they had not found much during this tomb expedition, the gains were already enormous for Ovilia. Chen Xi felt that he had done right by her.

So Chen Xi said nothing further. After politely taking his leave, he withdrew his consciousness from the Warhammer universe.