As the fighting on Oris ended, the long-silent astropathic communications finally received another reply from the Imperial front-line command.
It was very common for Imperial Worlds along the front to lose contact. Attacks by Tyranid creatures often brought massive Warp interference.
But this was the first time Leontus had learned that, in just one month without contact, an entire Imperial Fleet of over fifty naval warships had been completely annihilated.
The battle that had taken place on the planet shocked him even more.
From the transmitted battle reports and battlefield footage, Leontus recognized at a glance that those metal machines bore the hallmarks of a Men of Iron army.
The only problem was that these mechanical forces seemed far more numerous than the records indicated.
According to the battle report Iax had submitted after the previous engagement, his forces had suffered losses of nearly 50%.
Yet when he reappeared, his forces had not only grown in number, but also included previously unseen mechanical units and new ships.
No one knew where these Iron Clanks had gone during their disappearance of over a month.
The Imperium's intelligence apparatus had no way to keep track of them.
Neither Guilliman nor the Adeptus Custodes and the Inquisition had abandoned the idea of monitoring these ancient constructs, which might pose a threat if they went out of control.
Yet the task was far too difficult.
For conventional warships, whether Imperial warships or civilian vessels, it was perfectly normal for a single ship to carry tens or even hundreds of thousands of people.
Planting someone aboard to remain hidden and continually send back information was not difficult.
The Inquisition had always operated this way.
Sometimes, all it took was a secret order, and someone aboard would provide information to the Inquisition.
But this method was