The T'au Empire had become increasingly difficult to fight lately.
Horus's expression grew uglier by the day, to the point that mortal officers had to tread carefully even when walking in to report on the war.
There was only one reason: the T'au Empire had deployed vast numbers of artificial intelligences.
Ever since the Fire Caste and Air Caste warriors contracted a strange disease, the military's combat strength had plummeted. Fewer and fewer soldiers could still pick up a weapon and fight.
During that period, the T'au Empire's armies had been as fragile as paper. Their undermanned units collapsed after just a few light attacks, and even the Homeworld of Dal'yth had fallen.
The place where the Damocles Expeditionary Force had once suffered a crushing defeat now fell easily into Thunderhawk's hands, along with large numbers of civilians who had failed to evacuate in time.
However, the T'au Empire's Earth Caste soon activated large numbers of military artificial intelligences, such as the XT-1 Combat Robot.
Built from an array of precision instruments, these combat robots replaced ordinary Fire Caste warriors. Their combat efficiency far exceeded that of the average Fire Caste warrior, and they even compensated for the T'au's tendency to find themselves at a disadvantage in close combat.
The automation of various battlesuits followed.
This completely freed up the T'au Empire's military strength. Its commanders, who had previously worried about casualties, now adopted more aggressive tactics.
With technical support from the Kronos Kindred of the Leagues of Votann as well, vast numbers of war machines were suddenly thrown onto the battlefield.
The results were quite good!
The T'au Empire's previously precarious situation improved at once. Humanity's ferocious offensive was checked for a time, and on some fronts, human troops were even sent fleeing in disarray.
Back when the plague