Before Company Commander Caslon's disbelieving eyes, the Portal, dormant for who knew how many years, suddenly blazed with intense light.
"Something is coming out of the Portal!"
"Xenos! Xenos warships!"
A chaotic uproar instantly swept through the entire Silent Star camp.
No one had expected their luck to be this terrible.
To be attacked by Xenos just days after the Expeditionary Fleet's main force had departed.
And then there were the troops Horus had left behind for them.
One Lunar-class Cruiser, five hundred Sons of the Emperor.
And several powerful Malcador-class Heavy Tanks.
Ha ha!
We're definitely doomed!
Caslon revealed a relieved smile.
But... maybe not!
What if, what if the Xenos coming through that Portal were extremely weak? They might be able to deal with them easily on their own.
Right? What if?
The last shred of hope in Caslon's heart completely vanished when he saw the Xenos warship's hull stretching several kilometers beyond the Portal.
"This time... we're really finished."
"They're here."
"Inform our warship to withdraw immediately. Do not engage them."
"Notify every squad under our command to return to the first Defensive Fortifications built at the foot of the mountain and prepare to face the enemy."
"Chemos Guard, deploy the Automated Flying Mechs."
"Have the Sons of the Emperor Fifth Company reconnaissance guard return. Notify the Adeptus Mechanicus encampment to evacuate personnel."
The Fifth Company of a Space Marine Chapter was generally a battle company, while scouts belonged to the Tenth Company.
But the Sons of the Emperor were different.
They had only five companies.
They were not even equal to a full Chapter.
Through the communications equipment, Kasgar directed the arrangements for the troops below.
Though he had little real combat experience by ordinary Space Marine standards, most others underwent Space Marine enhancement in their youth. He was different.
He had genuinely commanded troops on Chemos for thirty years and studied command under Fulgrim for thirty years.
In truth, nearly every Imperium of Man official had misunderstood something.
The reason Chemos had no military, only guards, was not because Fulgrim's exceptional diplomatic skill had won over every power on the planet.
It was because those forces unwilling to be won over had been permanently eliminated by Kasgar and his Chemos Guard.
"...Lastly, remember to send the Xenos a communication signal. It would be best if we could resolve this through negotiation and cooperation."
"Over."
"You forgot to notify Horus's Expeditionary Fleet to return and provide support, Kasgar."
As Kasgar ended the transmission with that final statement, Aqua reminded him.
"Return and provide support?"
"Why would the Expeditionary Fleet need to return and support us? Teacher, don't tell me you think we can't handle them?"
Aqua hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
They could not win. Wasn't that obvious?
The entire Xenos Fleet had passed through the Portal, blotting out the sky. There were more than a dozen ships in all.
Their warships were distinctive: several kilometers long, teardrop-shaped, and glowing with vivid colors.
And those warships were merely Escorts.
The Xenos Flagship at the center of their formation, which they guarded, measured several thousand meters in length.
Though its hull carried no Void Shield or other comparable shield systems, the large optical weapons it was equipped with could still inflict immeasurable damage on other vessels.
And while Kasgar was issuing orders and arranging everyone's deployment, the enemy's airborne troops had begun descending from their ships.
Several thousand fully armed Xenos landed upon Silent Star's surface.
How could five hundred Space Marines, deprived of Orbital Support, contend against a Xenos Army backed by battleships?
Under such circumstances, a commander who could hold out until Horus's support arrived would already be exceptionally capable.
Yet Kasgar actually seemed to believe he had nothing to fear from them?
"They rejected our request for communication."
The Xenos' attitude was already obvious. They had come down to sweep away the remaining human forces on the planet.
These Xenos looked like composite clusters of crystal, and their weapons were equally advanced. The energy crystals in their hands fired powerful beams capable of melting or cutting through almost any obstacle in their path.
Far more useful than the Imperial Army's flashlights.
Whoosh!
Amid countless streaks of light tearing across the sky, Kasgar's forward outposts, having barely been established, collapsed under the enemy's laser fire.
The enemy's laser weapons were simply beyond what their fortresses could withstand!
At this rate, even though Kasgar had possessed the foresight to advocate building the strongest possible defensive works, the fall of the entire Defensive Fortifications would likely only be a matter of time beneath those terrifying laser weapons.
Under the radiance of countless laser weapons, the sturdy defensive line was already riddled with holes.
If they did not withdraw now, they might be buried together beneath this steel and stone.
"Command received. Preparing to withdraw."
The leader of the Auxilia, who had been holding the line alongside Caslon, responded into the communicator.
Following the loss of the forward reconnaissance outposts, the first defensive line was also on the verge of collapse under the enemy's fire suppression.
Every command for the front line had been issued.
Yet the elite veterans of the Sons of the Emperor First Company had received no combat orders at all.
The message left for them contained no battle assignments.
Instead, it ordered them to withdraw to the second line of defense, observe, and learn the Chemos Guard's methods of engaging the enemy.
"What does this mean?!"
"Of course I know the veterans are dissatisfied that I was able to become the Legion's Acting Prefect."
Within the fortified structure, Kasgar spoke unhurriedly.
"That is why, in this battle, I never intended to let the Space Marines act."
Kasgar explained to the baffled Aqua.
"Just these few thousand Auxilia?"
"That's right. We'll rely on our Auxilia—the Chemos Guard."
It was time.
Kasgar watched the battle among the people below, his eyes brimming with confidence.
It was time to let them witness the advanced tactics of the ancient 3K Era firsthand.
It was now the 31st Millennium.
Across those eras, countless advanced things had been lost.
What had been lost was not only technology, but tactics as well.
"Tactics? What tactics?"
"When humanity was still in the primitive age of eating raw meat and drinking blood, our ancestors were at a disadvantage when fighting large predators."
Kasgar did not directly answer her question.
"But the clever ones learned to make use of their strengths and employ tactics—using disguised cries to frighten their prey, long pursuits to run them down, and ambushes and traps to strike from concealment."
"From then on, weak humans became hunters, while vicious beasts became prey."
"Though our ancestors lacked muscles stronger than beasts, as well as sharp fangs and claws, they still became the kings of all things."
The key to defeating an opponent had never been to plunge into a life-and-death struggle of brute force.
It was to preserve one's own living strength while eliminating as much of the enemy's strength as possible.
"But unfortunately, after gaining sturdy armor and invincible weapons, arrogant people gradually forgot this principle."
They always used their strongest, hardest horns to crash against one another.
They expected only the strongest, toughest, most ferocious way of winning to count as a true victory.
(Of course, the real reason was to sell miniatures.)
But what were the facts?
The facts had never been glorious: only those who won deserved to speak of facts.
"Interesting."
"But I still think I'm better suited to dueling people."
Sword Saint Aqua had never concerned herself with such things.
Her tactics had always consisted of only one thing—charging straight at the enemy's strongest leader and challenging him to a duel.
If she won, she won the battle outright. If she lost, then...
Uh, she had never lost.
Thus, this tactic had never caused any problems up to now.
There was no helping it.
If the Xenos were beasts...
Then she was Wu Song.
Before you continue