Lox had already returned to the defensive camp of the Ultramarines' 199th Company.
With the order issued, the stronghold immediately entered a state of war.
All the Ultramarines were immediately placed on alert, while the mortal auxiliary troops remaining in the camp donned their support gear and took up their positions, ready for battle.
A grim, tense atmosphere filled the air everywhere.
"Bring out those Basilisks and missile batteries. Put the sentry guns into warm-up mode, and start up all the war vehicles."
The moment the Warsmith returned to his familiar fortress, he began issuing orders.
The authority of his commands even surpassed that of the 199th Company's captain; it was power personally granted by the Primarch.
When it came to defensive warfare, this former Trident of the Iron Warriors was an absolute authority.
Lox watched as Dantioch deployed the personnel and equipment across the positions: mortal auxiliary troops, Ultramarines, and the Skitarii commanded by the small number of Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-priests all fit perfectly into a tight defensive line under the Warsmith's command.
The Ultramarines' originally standardized defense line became even more impregnable after the Warsmith's modifications.
More traps and decoy fortifications filled the gaps in the Ultramarines' overly formulaic defense line, transforming it from a simple barricade into a meat grinder capable of burying enemies without end.
Even Hill had to admit that the Warsmith's mastery of defense was far beyond that of ordinary Astartes commanders.
Lox sent out numerous drones equipped with detection functions. Every movement within fifty kilometers of the stronghold could be displayed on the command center's screens.
Combined with the scanning arrays of the Astartes' servo-skulls, every detail of the battlefield was brought into view.
"Where are the enemy? How will you break through my defenses?" the Warsmith muttered. He did not doubt Lox's