Several hours later, inside the enormous Knight Legion, which resembled a flying shipping container, Li Qinwu walked beside Tech-Priest Busi along the second-level Knight Mech deck, inspecting the damage to the Knight Mechs.
The damaged Knight Mechs lay in a row on the deck like corpses. The sight made Li Qinwu wince, his heart aching.
Busi led a group of Tech-Priests back and forth among the Knight Mechs.
Once he had gathered all the data he needed, he came over to Li Qinwu.
"My lord, seven King Knights were knocked flying and crashed to the ground. All their adamantium joints and some of their load-bearing frames need major replacements. Otherwise, if we send them back onto the battlefield, the damage to their frames could expose a weakness in a future battle.
"Three King Knights took Heat Rays to the legs. Everything below their thighs melted away completely. We need to manufacture three new pairs of legs!"
Li Qinwu rubbed his brow.
"That's easy enough. I can manufacture adamantium now, anyway. Make a list of the specifications for the replacement parts you need. It won't take long to supply them."
Busi nodded.
"My lord, those King Knights are easy to deal with, but the other two badly damaged Knight Mechs are another matter.
"One Quadraped Heavy Cannon Knight had every structure above its chassis completely destroyed by Calidan's claws.
"That includes the Throne Mechanicum, the heroic spirit's body inside, the heavy cannon, the Automatic Loading Mechanism, and the Aiming and Observation Mechanism.
"Basically, apart from its four mechanical legs, its entire upper structure was destroyed!"
Li Qinwu asked:
"Can't it be repaired?"
Busi shook his head.
"My lord, the Quadraped Heavy Cannon Knight isn't a standard Imperium Knight. These ancient machines are more advanced than anything we currently have.
"With our