Spit back what you ate

The Night Lords scattered under the bombardment. They had no formation left now; anyone who could escape was on his own.

Their dark Jump Packs fired up at once, carrying them through the shock waves as they dodged shells and bolts flying from every direction. But most of them were less agile than the veterans who had attacked earlier. They might have been new recruits brought in over ten thousand years of endless warfare.

Evan's men were even worse, but they had numbers on their side.

The fastest to leap away was a helmetless Night Lord. His deathly pale skull was studded with all sorts of metal spikes, their points facing outward, of course.

Despite the flares lighting up the sky, the veteran's superb skill still allowed him to evade most of the attacks.

If we were mortals, you might actually have flown away. But we're Astartes.

Several Night Lords were hit by the bombardment and fell. Beneath the strongest veteran, a charging figure followed as relentlessly as ever.

These enemies had to land eventually. The seasoned warrior landed on one of their heavy tanks, making the others reluctant to fire indiscriminately.

But Evan, close behind him, had no such reservations and greeted him with Bolter fire.

Evan aimed not at the head protected by the pauldrons, but at the spherical Jump Pack nozzles protruding beyond their protection.

To reduce noise and allow finer adjustments to flight posture, these nozzles were mounted toward the top of the pack rather than underneath it.

In other words, once Evan shattered one nozzle, one side would vent downward while the broken nozzle on the other side vented upward.

That would turn the enemy into a giant spinning top in the sky!

The enemy clearly noticed Evan's intention and flipped over to hide behind the tank.

Evan activated his Jump Pack and flew up to get a look, only for the enemy to spray Bolter fire at him.

"William, move." After Kazhaniv had nearly headbutted a Night Lord to death earlier, everyone had studied this risky tactic in detail and drawn up several contingency plans.

Now, for example, William used his Air Pack to skim almost flush with the ground and shoot around behind the Emperor's Blade Tank. His roaring Bolter unleashed a torrent of Kraken Pattern armor-piercing rounds, shooting off both hands of the Night Lords veteran whose attention was fixed on Evan overhead.

Hmph. Let's see you act tough without hands. Take him alive.

Under the combined assault of a hundred thousand Imperialis Militia troops, sixty Emperor's Blade Tanks (type II), and more than twenty Astartes, they killed five enemies and captured one, at the cost of "only" 176 mortal lives and eight heavily damaged heavy tanks.

Clearly, this was a "great victory."

At least Governor Otist thought so, returning from the space station to solid ground in high spirits.

"A great victory, a great victory! Congratulations to the magnificent Chapter Master Evan on yet another complete triumph." If his position had not restrained him, Governor Otist would have thrown his arms around Evan and showered his cheeks with kisses.

Evan felt he had taken another step toward shamelessness. If they had not captured an enemy alive, he would have been too embarrassed to mention this battle.

"You flatter us, Governor Otist. We were merely carrying out the Emperor's punishment."

"No, no, no. For decades, the Imperium's stability in this region has depended entirely on the fearless fighting of you and your Chapter. You deserve a monument engraved with your great deeds. The conclusion of this operation is the perfect occasion. I hope to mobilize the entire population to build a monument for you. Would that be acceptable?"

"Handle that as you see fit. However, there's something else that doesn't quite comply with official regulations. I wonder whether you'd be interested."

Governor Otist broke into a cold sweat. A Space Marine Chapter Master was discussing something that violated official regulations with him? Why did that sound so frightening?

"Please speak freely, Chapter Master Evan. I guarantee I won't breathe a single word of it."

"No need to be so nervous. Here's the situation: when something like this happens, you have absolutely no ability to deal with it yourselves, correct?"

"Yes, yes, yes. We still have to rely on your intervention." Governor Otist was terrified. Surely Evan doesn't intend to remove me as governor and turn this place into the Chapter's temporary homeworld?

"So I'd like to leave ten Astartes on your planet as an emergency support force. Naturally, they cannot appear in the official records."

What? Governor Otist was overjoyed. Wouldn't that make my planet incredibly secure? But what does he mean by keeping them out of the official records? Oh, right, right. This really does violate Imperial regulations.

"Of course! It is our supreme honor that the great angels of the Emperor are willing to protect our planet. Should these warriors be listed among those killed in this battle?"

"Of course. I'll provide the Astartes' equipment, but other supplies, such as food, will be your responsibility." Evan was quite pleased. The old governor knew how to play along; he had already sorted out the falsified official records himself.

"Naturally, we should provide their supplies. What would be the best way to accommodate these warriors?"

"Hidden in the mountains, in your residence, or in a secret military base-all are fine, provided you can maintain sufficient secrecy. You understand the price of a leak, don't you?"

Governor Otist suddenly felt that the genial Chapter Master before him was staring at him like a lion. His life or death rested on a single thought from this man.

"R-rest assured. Certainly." Otist drew a hand across his throat, and only then did the Astartes before him withdraw his oppressive presence.

"You have four years to prepare everything these warriors will need to remain hidden."

The secret meeting ended, and Governor Otist hurried away. Many more matters awaited his attention.

Planet Scaria celebrated the deaths of the mysterious murderers with song and dance.

Like every tired old story, the citizens had been threatened, the guards had done nothing, and the great angels of the Emperor had descended with the Emperor's wrath to destroy the enemy and restore peace to the city. Another excellent bedtime story for children.

The protagonists of that story were holding a solemn funeral aboard their warship. The bodies of eight recruits lay at the front, with 176 mortals behind them. Everyone performed a traditional rite, calling upon the Emperor and asking him to receive the souls of his faithful children at his throne.

To Evan, this part felt rather like making offerings to his ancestors and calling upon their spirits in heaven.

Evan then delivered a lengthy "edict of self-reproach" and a postbattle review, offering everyone some encouragement.

Naturally, some warriors voiced discontent—for example, asking why mortals deserved to share a funeral with Astartes. This played right into "Commissar" Evan's hands, and he began another round of "terrifying" whispers about equality for all and equality between officers and soldiers.

Why these Night Lords had come here and what they had intended to do would probably remain forever locked inside the mind of the prisoner who never opened his mouth.

Over the next four years, Evan subjected the recruits to merciless training. To avoid another "outstanding" result in which six enemies inflicted fourteen casualties on seventeen of his men, he taught the recruits both the fierce saber techniques inherited from the White Scars and his Taiji Swordsmanship.

In fact, it was not just this batch of forty. The previous batch of Astartes, including those studying under the Apothecary, were dragged over for beatings from time to time. In their own words, those four years of suffering were such that "I'd rather face the Night Lords again than return to those terrifying four years."

With the recruits' help, Evan's swordsmanship also evolved into a variety of techniques. After all, quite a few members of the Chapter were now disabled. With a metal arm, there was no need to use techniques designed to protect it; with a mechanical leg, there was no need to worry about an opponent attacking that leg.

The various techniques were gradually refined and integrated. Occasionally, they also practiced on Warp creatures that emerged from who knew where.

The recruits had to undergo another formal graduation and armor-bestowal ceremony. This time, Evan personally inscribed their identification numbers inside their armor, just as his own recruit instructor, Fro, had once engraved 13 inside his.

The graduation of another batch of recruits meant Evan had a few more warriors available.

After rotating the warriors stationed on Taste and secretly deploying ten warriors to Scaria, Evan officially had thirty-six soldiers available. (Eighty-two recruits survived across the two batches: ten were with the Chief Apothecary, ten were studying on the Forge World, ten were hidden on Taste, ten were hidden on Scaria, and six had gone to command cruisers escorting the Adeptus Mechanicus.)

Thirty-six Space Marines could basically take a rebel planet with ease.

Today, with its numbers finally looking respectable, the Crimson Tide Chapter held a meeting in its own church for the first time in its history.

Upholding the exceptional qualities and firm ideological convictions of a transmigrator from humanity's third millennium, Chapter Master Evan first recounted the major historical events since the Chapter's founding. Next, he laid out detailed development goals and strategic adjustments for the next twenty years. These included, but were not limited to, implementing the core short-term strategy of lying low and growing, fully carrying out the fundamental policy of fleecing the Adeptus Mechanicus, adhering to the guiding principle of obtaining colonial supplies for free whenever possible, and steadily advancing toward the grand objective of a richer, larger, and stronger Chapter.

Then Chapter Master Evan summarized the historical lessons learned from past events, dividing them into three main categories: insufficiently ruthless fleecing, insufficiently accurate bombardment, and insufficiently reliable execution of plans. Using the operation against the Night Lords as a combat case study, Chapter Master Evan and the warriors engaged in a heated discussion. They explored the feasibility of risky maneuvers using Jump Packs, positioning for comprehensive suppressive fire, coordination in close-range urban combat, and optimal combat strategies against stronger opponents, achieving good results.

Finally, everyone reaffirmed their principles: continue developing through the strength of the people, unite every force that could be united, steadily expand their own power, and reiterate the ultimate goal of liberating the entire galaxy.

The Chapter's first core leadership meeting concluded successfully amid declarations of support for the Emperor's great vision.

The two Battle Barges continued toward one of the two worlds where they had yet to recruit, beginning their third recruitment drive.

The Adeptus Mechanicus proved reasonably true to its word and delivered the organs needed to modify the next batch of recruits.

Naturally, the visiting Adeptus Mechanicus representative held friendly talks with Chapter Master Evan, thoroughly exchanging opinions on maintaining their comprehensive strategic partnership (advancing and retreating together) and whether they could conserve ammunition in battle (each saying his own piece). Everyone spoke candidly (neither side convinced the other), laying a solid foundation for the next meeting (meaning they had achieved absolutely nothing).

However, just as the representative from the Adeptus Mechanicus of Forge World Stolov was preparing to leave in a huff, another astropathic message arrived from the Adeptus Mechanicus.

A cruiser squadron accompanying an Adeptus Mechanicus Exploration and Construction Force to establish resource sites had come under attack and requested support.

There were enemies in that deserted place?

And they could mount an offensive strong enough to put a cruiser squadron in trouble?

Evan was in a difficult position. Without the Emperor's Astronomican, even short-distance travel was a problem, let alone venturing so deep into an empty region. One careless moment, and Chaos could lead them astray.

The Adeptus Mechanicus representative proposed a solution: first locate the temporary base built by the Adeptus Mechanicus, then locate the escorting cruiser squadron after arriving.

Evan rejected the proposal. The escort squadron had already requested help; who knew whether the Adeptus Mechanicus base had been captured?

In the end, Evan borrowed the Adeptus Mechanicus's original charts and followed waypoint signals as their Construction Fleet had done. Before entering the final waypoint, he would use their positioning technology to locate the star system where the forge base was supposed to be under construction.

Not having a Strike Cruiser was a serious nuisance. With only transport aircraft and psychic teleportation available, getting the Astartes aboard enemy ships would undoubtedly be dangerous.

The Adeptus Mechanicus's solution was to mount assault pods on heavy space bombers. Once in space and aligned correctly, the pods could be activated with the same effect as launching them from a Strike Cruiser.

The problem was that this cruiser might not be tough enough to approach too closely. That made a boarding assault excessively dangerous.

Forget it. We'll make do.

Thirty-six Astartes, the Crimson Tide Chapter's "entire" strength, departed after assembling three Escort Ships and rendezvousing with two Adeptus Mechanicus fire-support ships.

By then, the cruiser squadron that had sent the distress signal had already suffered heavy losses. Seven of its fifteen Escort Ships had been destroyed, and the enemy's firepower was exceptionally fierce.

Initially, Nian Cijin, the Astartes commanding the fleet, had thought they were a small Tyranid force. These creatures were far too small in size, most measuring only a dozen or so meters long, and they could fly through space.

They looked somewhat like ocean manta rays-the sort of sharks with little winglike pectoral fins.

Ordinarily, sufficient firepower would have annihilated them, but the enemies were small and nimble. Huge shells simply could not hit them; only Lances could inflict effective damage.

Until the enemy closed in, Nian Cijin had detected no means by which they could strike back.

As they approached the Void Shields, strange attacks suddenly erupted from above and below the mantas' mouths. Blue discharges resembling Ionic Streams bombarded the shields in great numbers, and under the heavy load, the Void Shields allowed extremely slow-moving objects to pass through.

Once these Space Mantas swam close to the warships, their Ionic Stream attacks effectively destroyed the point-defense guns, and the enemies began devouring their ships.

Yes, devouring. Judging from the battle, they ate metal.

Nian Cijin concluded that these were not Tyranids but some peculiar species of Xenos. Even so, they were difficult to deal with. Without a sufficiently dense net of firepower, eliminating the swarm would be hard.

So he called the Adeptus Mechanicus for fire support.

Because of the ambiguity and uncertainty of astropathic communication, the Adeptus Mechanicus mistook this for an urgent distress call. They promptly notified Chapter Master Evan and dispatched two heavily armed warships of their own to assist.

The reinforcements endured a difficult and bizarre Warp voyage, emerging at the nearby Mandeville Point slightly earlier than expected. Their powerful Auspex scanning arrays immediately detected the fleet under attack.

They witnessed a horrifying scene. Vast numbers of Space Mantas clustered around the wrecks of Escort Ships, gnawing on the metal. Mortal lifeboats trying to break out were also blasted apart and consumed as food.

The Adeptus Mechanicus personnel felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over them from head to toe. It was as if the creatures were gnawing on their own bodies, or as though they were watching their proudest creations being destroyed by these terrifying beings.

Evan was much calmer. "How long until we're in range?"

"481 seconds."

Watching these metal-eating Xenos, Evan inexplicably wondered, Could these things eat Necrons?

The Necrons were an ancient dominant race. Once called the Necrontyr, they had lived on a radiation-soaked planet and possessed extremely short lifespans. They dreamed of robust flesh and long lives, and so they envied the Old Ones, the galaxy's dominant race at the time, who possessed both long lifespans and sturdy bodies.

To ease internal tensions within their race, establishing an external enemy could effectively unite them all.

They chose the Old Ones as their enemy, but the Old Ones' technology was too advanced. The Necrons were no match for them.

The C'tan, who had existed since the universe's beginning, seized upon this. Hoodwinked by the C'tan, the entire Necron race underwent mechanical ascension. Apart from the highest nobility, all ordinary people lost their consciousness and became machines that knew only how to obey orders.

The Necrons defeated the Old Ones, but after his entire race became mechanical, their ruler was overcome with grief. He devised a way to turn against the C'tan, shattering them in a surprise attack and sealing them away forever. Having become the undisputed dominant power of that age, the Necrons decided that "the time was not yet right," and their entire mechanized race entered hibernation.

In recent years, as turmoil in the universe intensified, Necron dynasties had continued awakening, rampaging through the galaxy with technology far beyond humanity's.

Could these Space Mantas eat the Necrons' mechanical bodies? I'll capture a few later, study them, and try making some improvements.

Meeting you really is a manta blessing.

The person beside Evan now was no superstitious Tech-priest, but a representative of the Adeptus Mechanicus from a "rebel" Forge World who genuinely believed in the Imperial Truth.

Evan established contact with the other fleet's commander, Nian Cijin, and gave a single instruction: withdraw toward his position at full speed.

He was itching to get started. A self-proclaimed expert at strategy games, he finally no longer had to charge into battle like a Berserker. It was time to see whether his old skills had deteriorated.

The Escort Ships spread out, forming a fan-shaped field of fire,

The Adeptus Mechanicus fire-support ships took positions above and below. Warfare in space was three-dimensional; they had to maintain sufficient fire coverage to prevent the enemy from breaking through their blockade.

If only we had Swordtail Interceptors, Evan thought. These Astartes fighters, used during the Horus Heresy, could fight both in atmosphere and in space and would be excellent for dealing with such small targets.

A cross-shaped battle formation was the most common arrangement for frontal engagements in three-dimensional warfare. As Nian Cijin led his fleet behind Evan's position, the mass of Space Mantas following him saw that their food was escaping!

They pursued the fleet.

Powerful Lances fired into the space behind Nian Cijin, melting many enemies. Against their total numbers, however, the losses were merely a drop in the ocean.

Their bodies appeared to be made of metal.

Imperial space fighters roared out to clear away the enemies clinging to Nian Cijin's warships.

These Xenos roaming through space seemed to have a leader, but no one knew how that leader controlled the swarm.

Two fleeing Escort Ships reached Evan's line first and joined the formation, covering their comrades' withdrawal.

"All ships, retreat slowly while firing. The two newly arrived Escort Ships are to extend the formation to the left and right. Watch for enemy surprise attacks from the flanks and rear."

Macro-cannons seemed useless against them. They were so small that even a collision with a shell could not trigger its explosive fuse. Instead, they swallowed the shells as though the fleet were delivering food.

It was an exceptionally strange way of feeding. They bit into Macro-cannon shells, yet the shells did not explode.

The first wave of Space Torpedoes was nearing the enemy. They would probably end up on the enemy's menu too.

After Nian Cijin's cruiser joined Evan, the fleet quickly split into two groups, each with one Lunar-class Cruiser and one Adeptus Mechanicus fire-support ship. They formed a crossfire against the Space Mantas pursuing and biting—literally biting—the rearmost Escort Ship.

A barrage of ion weapons fired from the Adeptus Mechanicus warships. Whatever school of design they came from, the weapons created immense ion storms amid the enemy, blossoming like spherical fireworks.

Enemies at the centers of the explosions were instantly destroyed, while Space Mantas at the edges began convulsing as though they had lost their central command nerves.

"Report! Large numbers of enemies approaching from bearing 128-32-432."

Another enemy force attacked from above and to Evan's right.

Evan directed the fleet down and to the left, attempting to merge the two enemy forces into one so that each Lance shot could pierce more targets.

As the battle reached a stalemate, Evan keenly noticed something strange.

The earliest Space Torpedo they had launched entered the enemy swarm. Strangely, it was not devoured like the Macro-cannon shells. Instead, nearby enemies circled it as though escorting it. Only after the torpedo reached its maximum range did a Space Manta come to its senses and try to bite it. But upon reaching maximum range, the torpedo detonated automatically, destroying a swath of Space Mantas around it.

"Tech-Priest, did you see that Space Torpedo? What design is it?"

The Tech-Priest had not initially been watching that area, but he quickly found it in the battle recorder.

"It carries an Ion Warhead and a Camouflage Signal Device intended to prevent the enemy from selecting it as a target."

"That's it. The Camouflage Signal Device can confuse the Space Mantas. What signal principle does it use? Analyze it and adjust it immediately."

Now it was time for Evan's counterattack.

You dared eat my ships? I'll make you spit them back with interest.