They did not occupy territory, only caused destruction. After wiping out one of Kang's Legion's military bases, they would leave immediately, never lingering.
Yet Kang had to deal with the losses on his side. Even with future technology in hand, rebuilding still took time.
This enraged Kang and made him deeply wary.
The enemy's methods felt familiar to him, carrying a hint of ruthless, anything-goes tactics.
They resembled the methods his other variants, other Kang the Conquerors, might use. They were not heroes, nor were they a conventional army like Janet's, fighting under the banner of freedom and liberation. They were more like a terrorist organization devoted purely to destruction.
Even Kang had no particularly good solution against an enemy like this.
The enemy's reach gradually extended into his territory. Kang discovered that they seemed to have set their sights on his armories and other industrial supply chains. Their objective was obvious—they wanted to cripple his greatest advantage!
Kang had no choice but to set a trap, luring a ten-man squad of Astartes into a relatively important industrial zone before decisively detonating it.
He shattered the enemy's arrogance by sacrificing a thousand to kill eight hundred.
For the scarce Astartes, the loss of ten combat units was no small matter, and it did make their subsequent operations more cautious.
This was also the first time the Astartes had suffered such a severe loss since their creation.
At the Rebel Army's new base, the Astartes centurion knelt on one knee before Dane.
"Sir, this was my mistake."
As Dane inspected the construction of a large shuttlecraft, he said, "Kang's Legion is made up of mass-produced consumables. Do you know how much it costs to produce a mechanical servant?"
The centurion lowered his head.
Dane sighed. "Converted into real-world currency, about fifty