Warhammer World, Si-Sai IV Planet, Sigar main Starport.
Victor·Haig Earl stood at the end of the red carpet at Starport berth No. 1, with his back straight.
He was wearing a Sinian silk dress that had been passed down by his family for three hundred years. The raven emblem of the Haig Family was embroidered on the collar. The gold thread glowed dimly under the cold light of the artificial canopy.
Only when you get closer can you see that there are fine stitches on the sleeves of the dress, and the silk at the collar is frayed. This is the only dignity left on him.
Behind him stood Sijiaer Hive City, the remaining one hundred and thirty-seven noble family heads, and his niece, Martha·Haig daughter Earl.
Everyone stood quietly, no one spoke, and even their breathing was very light.
The originally noisy sound of loading and unloading, the roar of engines, and the shouts of workers in Starport had completely stopped ten minutes ago.
Because the light in the sky is gone.
A five-kilometer-long heavy cruiser is slowly sailing into the berth.
The huge hull completely blocked the star light source of the artificial sky, like a suspended steel mountain, covering the entire No. 1 berth into a shadow that could not be seen.
When the ship body adjusts its attitude, the heat escaping from the main thruster nozzle distorts the air in Starport.
The smell of ozone, the pungent smell of coolant, and the heavy smell of engine fuel filled the entire berth along the ventilation ducts.
Victor's fingertips tightened slightly.
He knew very well what this cruiser meant.
The reason why the nobles behind him are still willing to recognize him as their leader is because of the aid of the alliance behind this cruiser.
As a product of self-protection during the Great Crusade period, it has now become a tool to carve up the interests of edge galaxies, and has become their only backer against that Lower Hive guy governor.
Half a year ago, his main force, private army, and mercenaries were all wiped out overnight by the Xiachao guy named Fu Haoran.
The other party even used a dinner party to destroy all the old nobles in the capital Alpha Hive City, and even eliminated Valerius? Brigadier General Costa's Lunar-class Cruiser!
Nowadays, they, this group of homeless dogs, can only hide in Sijiaer Hive City.
Although Sijiaer Hive City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there are plenty of weapons, this is not an agricultural Hive City after all, and its industrial capabilities are weak and cannot accommodate such a large population.
Food and supplies quickly ran out.
Without the assistance of the alliance, there would be no need for Fu Haoran's attack. They would not be able to survive in a few years.
"Docking completed! The ship is locked!"
Starport The dispatcher's shout broke the dead silence.
The sound of heavy metal docking made the floor buzz, and the sound of the hydraulic lock closing was harsh and sharp. The hatch at the end of the berth slowly opened, and red and blue lights swept across the entire place.
The first to come out were two rows of honor guards wearing red and black uniforms Power Armor.
They held the two-meter-long ceremonial Laser spear in their hands, the eyepieces of their helmets glowed coldly, and they walked in unison. When they landed, the entire red carpet shook slightly.
The Servo-Skull suspended on both sides used cold machine scanning to sweep over every noble present.
The honor guards stood in formation, and today's official leader finally walked out of the cabin door.
Colonel Kallen·Cole, Mutual Defense Pact Departmento Munitorum's chief military adviser stationed at Sijiaer Hive City.
He is said to be a consultant, but in fact he has the right to speak out on aid and can directly stop the aid plan.
Victor put on a standard aristocratic smile on his face, took two steps forward, and stretched out his hand.
Colonel Cole's eyes swept over him, and the mechanical prosthetic eye on half of his face emitted a subtle red light. He looked him up and down, but did not take Victor's hand. His first words were like a slap in the face, hitting Victor hard on the face.
"Are you Victor·Haig? That loser whose main force was wiped out overnight by the governor Lower Hive?"
The whole place was dead silent.
The smile on Victor's face froze instantly, and his outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, neither putting it up nor pulling it back.
The back under the dress was instantly covered with cold sweat, and the knuckles turned white from the exertion.
He could feel that the eyes of all the nobles behind him were fixed on his back, showing sympathy, ridicule, and mostly indifference that had nothing to do with him.
Cole sneered, passed him, and walked directly in front of Martha.
The face that had been cold just now suddenly turned into a greasy smile. He bowed slightly, took Martha's hand, lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand, and the red light of the mechanical prosthetic eyes softened a bit.
"Beautiful Martha female Earl, I have admired your name for a long time. You are a hundred times more moving than the holographic image circulated by Starport."
Martha smiled proudly.
She had long been dissatisfied with this uncle who was mainly anti-customer. If he hadn't been one of the few men in the family, Martha would have fallen out with him long ago.
Victor stood there with his hands still hanging in the air, like a forgotten clown.
The nobles behind him moved instantly.
The heads of several noble families who were originally standing behind Victor immediately bypassed him and came to Cole's side, bending down and bowing, with flattering smiles on their faces.
"Colonel Cole! It's been a hard journey! We have prepared a welcoming banquet for you!"
"Your Excellency, Colonel, it is our whole Hive City's honor that you can come to Sigar!"
"That's right! As long as you are here, that Lower Hive guy is not worth mentioning at all!"
The crowd gathered around Cole and walked forward. No one looked at Victor again.
Victor slowly retracted his hand. He turned around and glanced behind him. The noble family heads were surrounding Colonel Cole without any surprise.
Thinking about it, I am a leader who has been elected, but compared with the real hungry wolf, I am a joke.
-...
Sijiaer Hive City In the banquet hall on the top floor, candlelight flickered.
The floating dining table was filled with the only delicacies left in the Hive City. The grease from the exotic beast barbecue dripped on the charcoal fire, making a sizzling sound. The ancient Amasec Wine was swaying in the crystal cup.
The waiter moved silently among the crowd, refilling the drinks for the guests.
But in this reception banquet that was supposed to be hosted by Victor, the protagonist was not him from the beginning.
The main seat that originally belonged to Master Hive City is now occupied by Colonel Cole.
Victor is sitting on the side seat next to the main seat. The barbecue on the plate in front of him has not been touched, and the red wine glass in his hand has been empty for the third time.
The order of the toasts was completely chaotic.
All the nobles held wine glasses, first crowded in front of Cole and bent down to toast, saying flattering compliments. After toasting Cole, they either returned to their seats directly, or raised their glasses to Victor symbolically, without even stopping.
When Cole was speaking, the entire audience fell silent instantly, even breathing lightly, for fear of missing a word.
Victor opened his mouth to say something to the noble next to him, and the other person would either hum, um, ah, ah, absentmindedly, or simply pretend not to hear, turn around and move towards Cole to be attentive.
Victor's eyes fell on the center of the banquet hall.
Cole was holding Martha's hand, pointing to the cruiser structure diagram in the holographic projection, and bragging about his achievements that year. Martha raised his head slightly, his eyes were full of admiration, and even the smile on the corner of his mouth was deliberately flattering. He did not glance at Victor during the whole process.
In her opinion, this covenant colonel was far more worthy of attachment than a defeated uncle.
Victor's fingers were clenched under the table, with mixed feelings in his heart.
He is one of the few men in the Haig Family, and he is a being with noble blood.
But now, he is like a superfluous decoration.
Seeing the hypocrisy and flattery everywhere, seeing the aristocratic dignity that I have upheld all my life being stepped on and rubbed on the ground repeatedly.
Until the banquet was over, Cole put his arms around Martha's waist and left surrounded by a group of nobles, without saying another word to him.
All the people in the banquet hall were gone, the candles were extinguished one by one, leaving only Victor sitting alone in the empty hall.
He picked up the red wine bottle on the table and took a big sip. The spicy wine burned his throat.
He had no choice.
If he wants Mutual Defense Pact's support of food, ammunition, tanks, and warships, he must endure it.
Even if Cole tramples his face to pieces, he still has to smile and put his face up.
Early the next morning, a combat meeting was held on time in the war room of the Lord's Mansion.
The holographic star map covered the entire conference room, and the terrain of Si-Sai IV Planet, the distribution of the mines, the structure of Hive City, and the defense deployment of both sides were clearly projected in mid-air.
Victor stood in front of the star chart, holding a command pen in his hand and speaking calmly, trying to keep his tone emotionless.
"My plan is to play it slow and steady."
"The first step is to seize the three open-pit promethium mines on the border and cut off the resource supply lines of Fu Haoran Hive City."
"The second step is to rely on the mine to establish defense nodes, work step by step, compress his activity space, and use a war of attrition to wear down his logistics."
The command pen in his hand traced across the star map, and the dense defense nodes, supply lines, and reserve deployments were clearly marked on the holographic projection.
This is the plan he worked out after three all-nighters. It is the safest and most in line with Sijiaer Hive City's current strength.
Use trench warfare to complete the plan of exchanging space for time, and use fortresses to exhaust your opponents.
After Victor finished speaking, he put down his command pen and looked at Cole sitting in the main seat, waiting for his response.
Cole crossed his legs and played with a handful of Laspistol in his hand. Half of his mechanical prosthetic eyes glowed red, and he never glanced at the star map from beginning to end.
After listening to Victor's words, he sneered, stood up, and walked to the holographic star map.
He raised his hand and directly erased all the defense nodes and supply lines marked by Victor.
Victor's expression changed instantly. "Colonel Cole, you..."
"What kind of rubbish plan is this?" Cole turned to look at him, his eyes full of undisguised contempt, "Trench warfare? War of attrition? No, this is too slow, we don't need this at all!"
He pointed at Hive City, the capital of Fu Haoran, and his voice suddenly rose in pitch:
"I'm not here to listen to you tell me how to dig trenches. I'm here to tell you how to win."
"We have Mutual Defense Pact orbital cruisers, three hundred Leman Russ Tanks, eight hundred Chimera Armored Transports, and two full infantry regiments!"
"What do they have? Just dozens of Leman Russ and Chimera." Cole made no secret of his disdain.
"Push it straight! Along the main road, run all the way to his Hive City door!"
He took a step forward, the red light of the mechanical prosthetic eye swept across Victor's face, and his tone was filled with the arrogance of a noble:
"In less than three weeks, I will have that Lower Hive guy's head hanging on the Sigar Starport spire."
"Colonel Cole, this can't be done at all." Victor rejected it without thinking.
Cole frowned in displeasure and asked, "Are you questioning me?"
"Hmph, I have been leading troops in wars for twenty years, and have put down hundreds of rebellions, large and small, without ever being defeated. Do you think you know how to fight better than me?"
Victor did not answer the call. He knew something about Cole and knew that this veteran commander did have a few tricks up his sleeve. With his excellent command ability, his steel torrent could always crush the enemy's defense line from the front.
But Victor also knows that these brilliant achievements are all based on asymmetric warfare.
What they are facing now is not a group of ordinary rebels... In other words, they are the rebels.
However, no one cares about this, everyone is busy echoing.
"The colonel is right! The torrent of steel will push directly forward!"
"How can that Lower Hive guy stop the elites of the covenant!"
"Take the capital in three weeks! We can get all the mines back!"
Victor looked at the excited nobles and the arrogant Cole, and felt even worse in his heart.
He is the heir of the Haig Family and has been fighting on the battlefield of Si-Sai IV Planet for generations. He knows this planet and his opponents too well.
He suppressed his anger and tried to keep his tone calm. "Colonel Cole, I must remind you. The people of this planet are fierce, and wars have been fought between various Hive Citys for hundreds of years. Fighting is an instinct for the people here."
"Armored forces have never been the key factor in determining the success or failure of a war."
Cole's face instantly sank, and the red light of the mechanical prosthetic eye suddenly brightened, staring at Victor: "What do you mean by this? Are you questioning me?"
"I'm not questioning you." Victor faced the opponent's gaze and said solemnly, "I'm just reminding you that our opponent doesn't play according to common sense. If he uses his past inertial thinking, he will definitely suffer a big loss."
"Hmph, you think I'm a waste like you?" Cole interrupted him mercilessly, took a step forward, and looked at him condescendingly, "A defeated general who was beaten by a Lower Hive guy and his entire army was wiped out, is he qualified to teach me how to fight?"
He patted Victor on the cheek, not hard, but with a condescending humiliation. "A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin. He has never seen a real torrent of steel. There is no enemy that cannot be defeated by an armored swarm."
"If you can't defeat it once, then do it twice."
Victor's face turned red instantly, and his hand was already pressed on the Power Sword hilt at his waist.
But he finally slowly let go of his hand.
He has no leverage.
"Is there any other nonsense?" Cole glanced at him, his tone full of impatience, "If not, just follow my plan. Tomorrow morning, the troops will gather and directly launch a general attack."
Victor opened his mouth and wanted to persuade him again, but he finally closed his mouth after looking at the completely wiped battle plan on the holographic star map.
He knew that nothing he said would be of any use.
After the meeting ended, Cole returned to the temporary headquarters with a group of consultants.
The deputy closed the door of the conference room and asked in a low voice, "Colonel, Count Victor mentioned the risks of street fighting, should we..."
"He knows nothing." Cole tugged at the collar of his military uniform and sat down on the sofa, "A bunch of country bumpkins who have never seen the world don't understand war at all."
"When I led a group to pacify the entire rebel galaxy, they were still playing in the mud in Hive City."
Cole's eyes are full of arrogance.
"Offense is the best defense. Early tomorrow morning, the armored cluster will attack across the board and push forward."
"I want the entire edge galaxy to know that my name, Kallen·Cole, is synonymous with victory."
That afternoon, a deafening roar of engines came from the sky above Sigar and Starport.
Twelve super-heavy transport aircraft landed on the main berth of Starport, covering the sky and the sun.
The transport plane's hatch slowly lowered, and the hydraulic device made a heavy roar.
Leman Russ Tank, Chimera Armored Transport, Hellhound Flame Tank, Basilisk Self-Propelled Gun, were continuously driven out from twelve transport planes.
The tanks were lined up in a neat queue, as far as the eye could see.
Cole looked at this scene, and the smile on his face became bigger and bigger.
Three hundred main battle tanks, eight hundred armored personnel carriers, tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and a five-kilometer-long heavy cruiser in space provide fire support.
With such power, let alone a governor who climbed up from Lower Hive, even an elite Astra Militarum is confident that he can win in a single battle.