The atmosphere in the command room of the Gemstone was heavy.
After listening to Villen's report, Dominic did not question it as Villen had expected. Instead, he walked to the porthole with his hands behind his back, looked at the outline of the Hive City below, and fell into deep thought.
" Frost Soldier..." he repeated the name softly, as if recalling something.
"There is never any record of this in Brevis's official files."
"Yes, sir." Villen stood behind him, his tone somewhat heavy.
"I later retrieved the publicly available battle reports from the Governor's Office, and the records of the Battle of the Forbidden Wall and the mopping-up operations on the Ice Plains were very vague."
"It only says that the operation was carried out 'with the help of local armed forces,' without mentioning a word about what kind of forces were involved."
"The news has clearly been deliberately suppressed."
Dominic nodded.
That makes sense.
If the Imperium's high command found out that a border governor was involved with the Genestealer Cult...
There is also a mysterious army of unknown origin, suspected to be Xenos beings; the Inquisition's warships have probably already arrived.
Kerry von has been hiding.
The relationship with the Plague Cleansing Cult is hidden in the shadows of the Lower City, while the Frost Soldier and Dragon of Frost are lurking deep within the Arctic ice plains.
Just how many secrets is this young man hiding?
"My lord, should I dispatch reconnaissance aircraft to conduct a full-scale scan of the depths of the ice plains?" Villen suggested.
Even if the Frost Soldier are hidden beneath the ice, a wide-area energy detection system can always find some traces.
Dominic shook his head.
"No." His tone was resolute.
"A large-scale reconnaissance operation would be too volatile and could easily alert the enemy."
"Since Kerry can keep the news so tightly under wraps, he must also have counter-surveillance methods."
"If we don't find any evidence and instead make him suspicious, it will be a net loss."
He turned around and said, " The Dilong said that the Frost Soldier and the Savages are highly integrated; the Savages are responsible for scouting and location, while the Frost Soldier are responsible for launching attacks."
Dominic's eyes sharpened. "In other words, the activities of these Frost Soldier are inseparable from the guidance of the Savages."
"Therefore, there must be related traces hidden in the core settlement of the Ice Fang Clan."
"It could be a sacrificial totem, a leftover fragment, or a communication method known only to core members."
Villen instantly understood what he meant. "You mean... infiltrating a savage tribe?"
"Hmm." Dominic nodded. "The icefield trade provides a convenient pretext; the caravan can serve as cover."
"But sir, it's too dangerous!" Villen's expression changed, and he quickly tried to dissuade him.
"The savage tribe is a mixed bag; what if there really are Xenos units inside? If you go there yourself..."
"Danger makes it all the more valuable," Dominic waved his hand, interrupting him.
"You'll never find the truth by hiding in the bridge and looking at reports."
His tone carried a certain certainty:
"I'll take two Sisters of Silence with me; the equipment the Adeptus Mechanicus sent earlier will come in handy."
"Completely invisible on an optical level, coupled with the Sisters of Silence's Psychic Power shielding, even Psyker cannot sense our presence."
"Even if it's just a savage tribe, and there's something really hidden inside, we can come and go as we please."
Villen wanted to persuade him further, but when he met Dominic's unwavering gaze, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He knew Dominic had made up his mind, and no amount of persuasion would change anything.
"I'll make the arrangements immediately." Villen bowed.
"Go ahead." Dominic waved his hand, his gaze returning to the direction of the ice field outside the porthole.
In the dim night, the Arctic ice field is like a silent piece of cold jade, hiding secrets unknown to the world.
He wanted to see for himself what these so-called " Frost Soldier " really were.
While Dominic was exploring the secrets of the ice field, the underground level of Saint Garus Castle had been transformed into a bloody meat grinder.
"Fire! Suppress them!"
The roars mingled with the booming of Boltgun, echoing dully back and forth in the narrow passage.
The scorching laser beams and the flashes of explosive bombs crisscrossed in the darkness, illuminating the fanatical, distorted faces.
Lynn leaned against a deformed piece of alloy bunker, raised his hand to wipe the blood splattered on his cheek, and breathed steadily.
The battle was far more brutal than he had anticipated.
The number of fanatics on the underground level far exceeded the scale encountered by the previous Decapitation Squad.
Countless Chaos Cultist poured out from every side passage like madmen.
Its eyes gleamed with a chaotic, Chaos blue light, and it chanted obscure prayers as it charged forward fearlessly.
What's even more troublesome is the dense network of heavy weapon positions within the passageway.
Melta Cannon, Heavy Bolter, and modified plasma turrets were positioned at the corners and key points of the passage, forming an impenetrable network of firepower.
The underground passage was narrow and cramped, allowing Leman Russ Russ to pass through one vehicle at a time. The Sentinel Walker could barely move along the main road and had no room to maneuver.
The Vanguard could only push forward step by step under heavy fire.
The acolytes who had cleansed the plague charged at the forefront, their three arms holding a shield, a gun, and a blade respectively, tearing through the defensive line despite the barrage of bullets.
But the number of fanatics was simply too great. As soon as one group fell, another would immediately take its place, like a tide, seemingly endless.
"Sir, another group has rushed out from the left fork in the road! At least two hundred people! And two Chaos Spawn too!"
The frontline captain's urgent shout came through the communicator, followed by a violent explosion.
"Have the third squad flank around and seal off the left fork in the road with Melta metal." Lynn's voice was as calm as ice.
"The bishoprics, concentrate your Psychic Power and blast that heavy artillery position directly in front of us!"
"Yes!"
A purple Psychic Power beam erupted from the rear of the formation and struck the firing point in front with pinpoint accuracy.
In the violent explosion, the metal turret, along with the fanatics inside, was torn to pieces by Psychic Power.
Even so, the progress is still frustratingly slow.
Lynn glanced down at the time on his tactical terminal.
It has been a full hour since the attack began.
They only advanced less than one-third of the total length of the underground level.
This is troublesome.
Lynn frowned.
The forces currently deployed underground are incomparable to those encountered by the Decapitation Squad earlier.
It seemed as if the enemy had deliberately let them pass, allowing Rena and the Decapitation Squad to enter a deeper level.
What concerned him even more was Guyu's condition.
He closed his eyes and sensed the situation within the barrier through the exclusive link bound to his soul.
The image is somewhat blurry, as if viewed through frosted glass; this is a normal phenomenon caused by barrier interference.
In my field of vision, Rena Guyu floated in mid-air, her four arms outstretched, and countless pale purple Psychic Power threads intertwined in front of her to form an impenetrable shield of light.
Opposite her, a Chaos Knight covered in Chaos runes was aiming at her, its left hand mounted on Volcano Cannon spewing out scorching Melta rays.
The orange-red rays struck the Psychic Power silk shield, exploding into a shower of Mars and steam, but they could not penetrate the seemingly delicate defense.
This is... the first encounter?
Lynn's heart sank.
He fought outside for a full hour, while Guyu inside the barrier had only just exchanged blows with the first Chaos Knight?
wrong.
Absolutely not.
Even with Guyu's formidable presence, it's impossible for the nine Chaos Knight to only clash once every hour.
The only plausible explanation is that the flow of time inside the barrier is different from that outside.
Lynn's eyes instantly turned cold.