Hive City Offensive and Defensive Battle
That's just right.
A classic, recurring event: in the name of the Emperor, forced conscription.
From centenarians to ten-year-old children, no matter who you are, as long as you can breathe, you will be dragged to the battlefield to fill the gaps.
What? You don't want to?
Very well, the Department of Justice will directly declare you a heretic, and then shoot you dead as a form of punishment!
For the sake of the Emperor, purge the heretics!
This is the biggest reason for "forced conscription," and you don't even have the right to refute it.
Because being born in Nest City as a human being is the greatest gift the Emperor has bestowed upon you. And now, it is your turn, this worthless scum, to make a few meager contributions for the Emperor.
Even if this kind of "sacrifice" is completely meaningless.
Their only value is to serve as cannon fodder, slowing down the infiltration of cults as much as possible.
But clearly, that senior Planetary Defense Force didn't care about their lives at all.
If we can't resist cults, we'll all die!
Rather than doing that, it would be better to preserve the strength of the Planetary Defense Force as much as possible and delay support from surrounding star systems.
As for how many lives would be lost by forcibly pushing large numbers of innocent, untrained Nest City civilians into the horrific battlefield, that was not within his consideration.
After the order for forced conscription was issued, each person received an old-fashioned basic Laser gun and a few cluster grenades. They were not even issued a bulletproof vest. They were forcibly driven into the front-line battlefield, where artillery fire was deafening, smoke filled the air, and corpses littered the ground, by the Defense Force who were used to supervise the battle from the rear!
Alvin, who had barely escaped from the cult and returned under the fire of the Defense Force, suddenly found himself back in the Provisional Regiment 177, a member of the guarding Nest City. This rapid change of identity left him somewhat bewildered.
From a personal perspective, Alvin certainly didn't want to be dragged into the line of fire and die a pointless death on the battlefield, but... he had no choice!
The large number of Planetary Defense Force behind them, acting as the supervisory force, had already pointed their guns and even heavy artillery at them. If they dared to retreat even half a step, they would be fired upon without hesitation!
Or... should we kill the oversight team and escape into Middle Hive?
However, Alvin promptly nipped the idea in the bud, not only because doing so would cause the Planetary Defense Force to collapse, but also because it would give the cult an opportunity.
Those dozens of heavy defensive cannons set up on the edge of the Upper-hive city wall would be enough to give him a run for his money!
The power of that thing... is no joke!
With just one shot, everything within a radius of hundreds of meters, including living beings, can be reduced to ashes!
Unless you're Zeta-class or Epsilon-class Psyker, trying to directly confront heavy anti-aircraft artillery is nothing short of wishful thinking; you might as well just give up and go to sleep.
In comparison, guarding the Hive City seems to be safer.
With the Bio-armor and the cult's weapons—mostly outdated Logging gun and obsolete Laser gun —there shouldn't be any danger as long as you're careful.
"Let's follow the arrangements for now..."
Alvin had no better options, mainly because the rear command was keeping a close watch on him, giving him no chance to escape.
The only chance he could have was on the battlefield, to put on his armor and use stealth mode to sneak back... Alvin thought to himself as someone forcefully pressed a gun barrel against him.
Looking back, he saw a bailiff from the Department of Justice pointing Bolter at him and roaring, "Hurry up, move forward, or I'll shoot!"
Before he knew it, Alvin was surprised to find himself at the very back of the crowd, and could only clutch his old-fashioned Laser gun as he hurriedly tried to join the flow of people ahead.
The B-17 position is located on the edge of the Middle Hive.
The good news is that they are near a destroyed house, and the collapsed ruins can be used as cover to shield them from the cult's lasers and bullets. Moreover, a mixed force of Defense Force, bailiffs, and law enforcement officers has already formed a defensive line.
But the bad news is... they are the first line of defense!
Approximately a thousand people were mixed together and formed into the temporary Regiment 177. Under the pressure of the supervisory team, they built the first line of defense in front of the Defense Force's line, facing the overwhelming cult!
"On my command, grip your guns tightly!"
The commander of the provisional Regiment 177 drew his Bolter, stepped over the corpses of the cult members, and shouted, "For the Emperor, slaughter these heretics!!!"
Bang!
A shell landed precisely in the cult crowd.
In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere, severed limbs were blasted dozens of meters away, and blood mixed with the pungent smoke rushed into the nasal cavity, like the most powerful stimulant, causing everyone's heart to pound wildly and their eyes to gradually turn blood red.
That's... the smell of war!
It smells of slaughter!
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
After a barrage of artillery fire, large swathes of houses collapsed, and countless blood and limbs were scattered like a torrential downpour. Corpses piled up like mountains, and at a rough glance... there were at least a thousand people!
However, even after suffering such a terrible blow, the cult's madmen remained relentless, roaring with ferocious expressions and bloodshot eyes, as if they had completely lost their minds. They once again gathered into a torrent, surging towards the position!
Asphyxia!
Fear!
Horrifying!
Horrifying!
Most of the members of the temporary Regiment 177 were untrained civilians. When faced with the cult madmen's reckless charge and the scene of exploding corpses flying everywhere, many of them lost their minds and turned to flee back to their positions.
Bang bang bang...
However, the rapid gunfire brought the terrified Regiment 177 back to reality: if they took even half a step back, they would be mercilessly slaughtered by the supervising team!
"For the Emperor!!!"
The commander of the Regiment 177 gave the order, "Fire! Fire! Fire!"
Three consecutive roars jolted the crowd out of their fear. Realizing there was no way out, they could only scream frantically and aim their guns at the cult!
In an instant, countless lasers shot towards the cult madman!
However, many people had no experience handling weapons for the first time, and these old-fashioned Laser gun had all sorts of problems, which meant the cult did not lose many members.
"Hidden!"
The commander of the Regiment 177, witnessing this scene, was so enraged he nearly ground his teeth to powder. "Damn it, you bunch of idiots! Aim properly before you fire! If you don't want to die, get your eyes open!"
However, for untrained civilians, it is difficult to organize an effective attack in such a short time. It is already quite good if they can maintain their mentality.
The commander of the Regiment 177 was extremely anxious, but he knew very well that these civilians were not of much use at all; they were merely there to give the exhausted Defense Force a short rest.
But, at that very moment...
Suddenly, the commander of the Regiment 177 saw that on a small forward position located slightly to the left of the entire defensive line, an orderly attack had been organized. This attack not only halted the cult's advance but also, with the help of artillery fire, annihilated hundreds of cult members!
Unlike the other chaotic positions.
They were clearly under command, operating in groups of three, hiding behind ruins and trenches, forming a perfect crossfire network.
Moreover, everyone was divided into two waves.
Once the previous wave of fire has finished, the second line of defense in the rear will immediately take over the battle line, maintaining superior firepower and forming a perfect rotation of waves.
With the advantage of trenches, bunkers, and artillery support from the rear, they inflicted heavy casualties on the surging cultists and withstood the pressure of the cult's charge on the local defensive line!
What a talent!
This discovery made the commander of the Regiment 177's eyes light up.
What he lacks most right now is not cannon fodder to fill in the gaps, but people with command abilities who can maximize his value!
"Signalman! Head to that position!"
The commander of the Regiment 177, beaming with delight, pointed in that direction. "Find the person who's giving orders, and tell him... he's now Company Commander, and he's here to give you unified command of the battle ahead!"
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