Let the Boys See Some Blood

After killing at least twenty Flayed Ones, Chen Xi and Gutierrez exited the sewers to get some fresh air.

Even though the attributes of their Inquisitor and Forge Master pieces meant they could have stayed in those relatively harmless sewers for a month without any issues, the sewer environment was still dark and cramped for Chen Xi and Gutierrez, who were originally just ordinary people. The high-intensity tension and the battles with the Flayed Ones had left them both feeling somewhat mentally fatigued.

So they came back to the surface to rest for a bit.

Back on the surface, the two put aside their casual demeanor and stepped back into their roles.

"Planetary Governor!" Rachel said, hurrying to greet Chen Xi as he emerged from the sewer entrance.

The Chamberlain, formerly a Commissar, had been extremely busy lately, handling the planet's daily affairs and overseeing the lockdown of the affected areas, leaving her with almost no time to rest.

Chen Xi noticed the dark circles under the Chamberlain's eyes.

But in the Warhammer world, not sleeping for a few days wasn't a serious problem.

In 2077, stimulants could keep workers working for 72 hours straight, and things were even more extreme in the Warhammer world.

Of course, the Chamberlain wasn't yet relying on drugs to stay awake and get things done; she simply wasn't getting enough rest.

"Master Gutierrez and I have cleared a portion of the Flayed Ones. Send people down to bring up the remains of these aliens; the Sisters of Battle squad will assist you," Chen Xi said, not showing any concern or pity. He simply gave Rachel her new orders.

The Chamberlain naturally didn't say much, nodding and turning to arrange for people to carry out Chen Xi's orders.

"We've cleared about a third of the area. From the current situation, there are more aliens than expected," Gutierrez said to Chen Xi, feigning concern about the Flayed Ones.

"I think the number of aliens has dropped to an acceptable level. Let the PDF clear out the rest; they could use the training."

Next to them, PDF General Gregory, wearing carapace armor, listened intently to their conversation.

As one of the few veterans of the Astra Militarum to have retired to the PDF, General Gregory was no stranger to various aliens and knew how to fight them.

But the PDF troops weren't the elite Astra Militarum of yesteryear. The same tactics that the Astra Militarum could execute flawlessly were full of holes when performed by the PDF.

General Gregory was well aware of this problem. After all, he was a seasoned Astra Militarum veteran who had survived long enough to retire from the Astra Militarum, where the average lifespan was less than 15 hours.

So, facing Chen Xi's decision, the old general simply said, "The boys do need to see some blood."

Although the initial settlers on Rostov II were retired Astra Militarum veterans, the PDF troops they trained were a bunch of green recruits who had never seen combat.

"Rostov is a sparsely populated, barren planet. In the past few decades, we old ghosts have barely seen any riots, let alone wars! These boys have only fought against low-level opponents like rioting prisoners, and it's really hard to accumulate combat experience," General Gregory said with some helplessness. "Sending them into the sewers to fight aliens will certainly result in some casualties, but it's much better than throwing them straight into the battlefield to die!

We all know how many enemies the Imperium faces. The peace of Rostov II is just a beautiful illusion. If they can't defend their home, then the flames of war will soon ignite on this planet, and they'll only learn how to be proper soldiers through more bloodshed and the destruction of their home."

General Gregory was a typical Valhallan. Valhalla was once a scenic, beautiful, and rich planet, but a meteorite impact pushed it out of orbit, causing a global ice age, and an Ork invasion nearly destroyed the planet. The tenacious Valhallans defended their home with unwavering will and bloodshed.

So, for General Gregory, letting the PDF recruits see some blood wasn't a bad thing.

While the level of training and weaponry are important factors in determining whether a unit can fight, abundant combat experience is also an important criterion.

After all, soldiers who have never been on the battlefield may have excellent training levels and perform well in peacetime, but they may be frightened and helpless when they face death on the battlefield, not knowing what to do.

So, how to allow a unit to accumulate enough combat experience has become an important issue for unit leaders.

In the Warhammer world, this is usually not a problem, as there are always endless enemies of the Imperium to grind experience on.

Commissar Yarrick was able to lead a group of Hive City workers and gangsters to withstand the Ork army of the Skulltaker by relying on massive sacrifices and continuous combat experience.

And the PDF on Rostov II, although trained by the Valhallan Ice Warriors, had never experienced actual combat.

The level of training was certainly sufficient, but no one could guarantee what it would be like in a real fight.

Although the former Astra Militarum veterans on Rostov II wanted to find some real combat for these PDF to fight, the remoteness and marginality of the Rostov system meant that there was no combat that could be called real combat.

Although going into the sewers and facing the Flayed Ones face-to-face was a deadly affair, General Gregory believed that these young men who had never seen blood needed the tempering of war.

"In that case, the remaining two-thirds of the area will be handed over to the PDF. I hope you, General, can deliver a satisfactory answer," Chen Xi said, not objecting to General Gregory's words.

After all, to be honest, by the standards of the Warhammer world, his actions of taking elites down to solve the Flayed Ones problem was wrong.

The normal Planetary Governor should have filled the entire sewer with the flesh and blood of the Planetary Defense Force, and then solved the alien problem with massive sacrifices and efforts.

This has always been the Imperium's strategy, rather than using enough elite troops to reduce casualties.

But Chen Xi was clearly not used to this high-cost approach, so while agreeing to let General Gregory take over the next battle, he still sent out the Sisters of Battle.

But not the squad of ten Sisters of Battle he had with him, but the first batch of Sisters who had begun to receive Sisters of Battle training.