What Do You Mean, Run? This Is a Tactical Retreat!

The heretical lunatics, having regrouped, withstood the fire from the entire defensive line. Under the bombardment of heavy artillery, they adopted a "life is worthless" attitude and surged into the second line of defense like a flood!

Regardless of cost or casualties, the cult army successfully breached the first line of defense established by the Defense Force at the entrance from the Underhive to the Middle Hive!

And this means that... cults can now completely infiltrate Middle Hive!

The B-17 forward positions were located on the edge of Middle Hive, surrounded by heavy artillery fire. The collapsed ruins became natural cover, and the urban street fighting further propelled this already brutal war into a protracted tug-of-war!

Urban warfare is one of the most brutal aspects of war!

Alvin commanded three squads, firing alternately, and barely managed to hold off the cultists who were swarming in at the entrance of the street.

The only good news is that the cult has no organization.

They were simply relying on their numbers; with every step forward, countless corpses lay on the ground. However, faced with the cult's reckless charge, even with several Laser gun practically smoking, they couldn't stop their advance.

"Screw the human wave tactics!"

Gazing at the endless army of heretics, Alvin, in a daze, even thought that his enemy was not some madman from the Khorne cult, but the damned Tyranid Swarm!

Seeing that their firepower was running out and they were about to be completely overwhelmed by the heretics, Alvin even began to consider whether to use Psychic Power to give these damned bastards a big blow.

Ugh--!

A sharp shriek suddenly came from above their heads!

The shells from the heavy defensive artillery, trailing behind a piercing whistle, descended from the sky like the wrath of Emperor!

"Take cover! Take cover!" Alvin's expression changed drastically. He yelled at the top of his lungs amidst the clamor of the battlefield, then leaped into the air and hid behind cover.

The dust kicked up by the blast wave of the shells gave him a good bath, and he was almost buried in the ground.

Although he was nearly killed by his own cannonball, Alvin couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Hahahaha... Come on, you damned heretics, how does this cannonball taste?"

Because the heretics were charging in a group, their formation was quite dense. In the earlier struggle for the entrance to the passage, they had the cover of the passage itself, and there were many hidden passages, which meant that the power of the heavy artillery was completely hidden.

But now... everyone's gathered in a big group!

A heavy artillery shell landed, blasting out a large cloud of blood mist!

A rough estimate suggests that the heavy artillery shell just now caused at least several hundred effective casualties, clearing out a large area of the densely packed streets!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A barrage of shells rained down, striking the area that was originally residential, but fortunately, the commander wasn't stupid and fired them all in front of the defensive line.

Unfortunately... this time, the enemy they faced was a cult madman who had been influenced by Chaos Sorcery, completely fallen into a bloodlust, and was completely controlled by it. He didn't care about casualties at all!

Gushing blood flowed through the ruined streets, almost forming a stream that seeped into the earth. The air throughout the battlefield was thick with an extremely viscous and nauseatingly pungent smell of blood!

"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"

"Kill that sorcerer, that piece of salted meat!!!"

"The Blood God is the true god!"

The madmen roared, completely unafraid of the artillery fire. Taking advantage of the reloading interval, they charged forward as if they had been injected with chicken blood, howling and trying to break through the defense line by virtue of their numbers!

They seemed determined to use their numerical advantage to forcefully break through the eastern defense line!

"Groups 1 and 2, take turns firing!"

Alvin shouted the order at the top of his lungs!

People in the houses on both sides gritted their teeth and poked their heads out, unleashing a barrage of firepower at the cult below.

Every laser beam will take down a cult!

Their angry roars echoed across the battlefield, accompanied by the sounds of gunfire, a testament to the wrath of the Emperor!

"No, I can't suppress it anymore!"

Alvin checked the ammunition; the Laser gun magazine was empty, and the cluster grenades were all used up. If this continued... it would be time for hand-to-hand combat!

But, unless he's out of his mind, he doesn't want to fight hand-to-hand with a cult madman blessed by Khorne!

But soon, a second piece of bad news arrived!

According to intelligence detected by the Bio-armor, the cultists are about to break through the flanks of this defensive line!

If they don't retreat now, they'll be completely surrounded once their flanks are breached. At that point, these few people won't even be able to take on the cult madmen one-for-one!

We need to move!

Alvin told the Commissar, "The lines on both flanks are about to be broken; we must move out!"

"Transfer?"

The Commissar froze for a few seconds before reacting, his face contorted with rage as he drew his pistol and pointed it at Alvin: "In the name of the Emperor, you are not allowed to retreat even a single step! Otherwise... I'll shoot you!"

Although Alvin's performance satisfied him, and even shocked him somewhat, it didn't stop him from shooting this "traitor" who was trying to retreat from the front line!

"This is a tactical retreat!"

Alvin stubbornly argued, "The enemy has already broken through the positions on both flanks. Before long, we will be completely encircled. If we strategically retreat two hundred meters now, we can completely rebuild our defensive positions and continue to hold off the enemy!"

The Commissar remained silent for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and said resolutely, "No, this is a shameful desertion!"

"It's a tactical retreat, sir."

Alvin corrected his choice of words. "Only by preserving our strength as much as possible can we better serve His Majesty the Emperor and kill more members of the cult, instead of staying here and dying for a position that we can't hold!"

No, that's not right!

However, the Commissar was completely inflexible, insisting. "This is undoubtedly desertion! In the name of His Emperor, you must hold the line until your last drop of blood is shed, fight to the very last moment!"

I'll fight to the very last moment!

Alvin almost blurted out a curse.

I was so angry I wanted to smash his head open and see if it was really filled with shit.

If people are saved but land is lost, both people and land will be preserved!

If you lose the land but the people, you lose both!

You don't even understand such a simple principle?!

Just as tensions were running high and Alvin was considering whether to shoot this bastard, a communications soldier suddenly burst into the position.

Looking at the two people locked in combat in the room, the communications officer hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Commander Grey asked me to ask you, who was commanding the battle here just now?"

Alvin hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "It's me."

The communications soldier was somewhat skeptical until the Commissar snorted and nodded in confirmation, "He is indeed the one directing the battle."

"Very good, what's your name again...?"

The communications soldier suddenly thought of asking the other person's name.

Alvin Valshius.

"Ahem, Alvin Valshius, according to the orders of Commander Grey of the Planetary Defense Force, you have been promoted to Company Commander. All four surrounding squads will be under your command."

The communications soldier read out the order in one breath.

The Commissar next to him was dumbfounded. How did he become Company Commander in the blink of an eye?!

"Now, my rank is higher than yours!"

Alvin finally vented his anger. Ignoring the livid-faced Commissar, he shouted, "Notify everyone, including those four groups, to retreat two hundred meters and rebuild their defensive positions!"

Bad news: I've been promoted to Company Commander in the temporary Regiment 177.

Good news... The Hive City survived that fierce street battle have basically overcome the most difficult hurdle and transformed into barely qualified soldiers.

The Commissar, trembling with rage, roared, "I'm reporting this to my superiors! To Commander Grey! You damned coward!"

However, Alvin glanced at him dismissively and uttered two words: "Whatever."

Only two days left! Please give me some monthly tickets and subscriptions, please consider my pitiful state~ I'm planning to schedule hemorrhoid surgery in a few days.