The warband is about to make its way to the Ring of Steel.

What kind of place is this?

To truly understand the full picture of the Steel Belt, you first need to know the history of the area. This region of countless stars is known for the existence of the Forge World, and these Automata territories are scattered across many galaxies. Their huge demand for ancillary industries such as the agricultural world has led to other planets being more or less connected to these casting worlds.

In this case, it is understandable to think that the steel ring belt is unanimous, but this is not the case.

The vast majority of the Foundry worlds here existed long before the Age of Strife, and for the next few millennia, they were completely isolated, unaware of anything outside of their mechanical empire. Such an environment has led to each casting world writing its own history, and in the main theme of bloodshed and sacrifice, they are of the same origin, and the contradictions are getting bigger and bigger.

It wasn't until the Great Expedition launched by the Human Empire and entered the Taiping Star Domain and the Storm Star Domain that these already very different casting worlds were connected, and after understanding each other's existence, the Human Empire and the Steel Ring naturally formed an alliance.

This alliance was undoubtedly mutually beneficial, as on the one hand, the various casting worlds of the Iron Belt were able to embrace the knowledge and power of the entire Empire, and on the other hand, the Empire was given several new Titan legions that could be used to continue its outward expansion.

In the early days of the alliance, the Titan legions of the worlds of the Forge followed the expeditionary fleets of the Space Marines, they struck and exterminated various inhuman alien civilizations, and also defeated those human regimes that were unwilling to submit to the Empire and Mars.

But no one can easily forget the wars that once took place in their homeland, the old enemies and feuds that once tore apart the homeland, are now named allies, united under one banner, which sows the seeds of division for the iron belt.

Then, the Horus Rebellion broke out.

The Iron Belt naturally split into two factions, oh no, the three factions, the loyalists who supported the Emperor, the rebels who supported the War Commander, and the Indomitable Iron Empire, an independent faction that did not support either side and only wanted to seek independence, and the three forces began a great scuffle, and finally as the rebels from all over the galaxy fled to the Eye of Fear, the Titan Legion, loyal to the Emperor, retook the Iron Belt, and the region returned to the embrace of the Empire.

This is the Battle of the Iron Calamity.

Throughout the Horus Rebellion, it began at the end of the Great Expedition and ended at the end of the Great Rebellion.

But! The battle, known as the "Iron Calamity", did not end with a bang, but quietly withdrew from the stage of history: the loyalists suppressed the rebels to the world of the Supreme Valia Foundry, and just as they were about to give the rebels the final blow as they surrounded the galaxy, the rebel forces inexplicably disappeared in a way that could not be explained by common sense.

In the end, only an empty uninhabited galaxy remained, and all ten planets in the galaxy were turned into dead worlds without any signs of life, fortresses and fortresses were empty, and the Foundry City disappeared without a trace, leaving only industrial ruins.

That is, the war did not lead to a final victory, the loyalists regained their lost ground, the rebels took the main forces - and both sides achieved their strategic goals.

The Horus Rebellion is over.

But the Iron Plague didn't really come to an end, and it didn't soothe the lives of the Titan Legion and its affiliated forces.

Skirmishes continue to rage in the Iron Belt, civil wars tear planets apart, and speculators are active in them trying to get ahead. Hundreds of worlds have been affected by war, and they are fading away from their own confrontations with their enemies. The blood of billions of lives stains every pair of hands with perseverance.

That's it for the steel ring.

Inferred from the wording of the Terrana Appointment.

The Cult of the Dark Mechanics who had fled.

Seem...... Back again?

……

This time, Aoyama Khan and the main force of the Iron Floating Slaughter Regiment, the naval force included a battle barge, three strike cruisers, and a bunch of Imperial transports, leaving only one strike cruiser to defend the Marquez King area.

The Marsk King Star Zone is located on the frontier of the Empire, although the star sector is large, but the land is vast and sparsely populated, and there is only one conscription world, a casting world, a nest capital world and an agricultural world, and it is also located in different galaxies.

A company and a strike cruiser were enough.

Atal Median casts the world.

The Loyalist Cult of the Mechanics is in the stronghold of the Iron Belt.

It is now the location of counterinsurgency forces from all sides.

As soon as the Iron Float fleet passed through subspace from Mandeville Point at the edge of the galaxy, it was spotted by a patrol warship monitoring the vicinity, and after confirming its identity, a Cobra-class destroyer guided the Emperor-class battleship and the three heavy cruisers that followed it to the Forge World Harbor.

The 1.5-kilometer-long Cobra-class destroyer, sailing in front of the 12-kilometer-long Emperor-class battleship, is like a small tadpole swimming in front of the dogfish, which is very inconspicuous.

It can be seen from the various battleship liveries that the air port of the Attar Median Casting World has been crowded with fleets from various warbands, all of which have been dispatched by the Ministry of War to assist in counterinsurgency, as well as Titan legions from other casting worlds.

The arrival of the Suzheng caused some commotion in the airport, this kind of giant warship that has been discontinued, it is really rare, although they don't know that this is an empty shell aircraft carrier without fighters, but it does not prevent them from envy and jealousy.

Fleet docking is complete.

Fu Qinghai led his subordinates to walk down the battleship along the connecting passage and came to the deck of the airport, where several imperial officials and technical priests were already waiting, and they bowed down and said:

"Please come with me, my lord."

……

The Steel Ring Belt Warzone Headquarters, a large conference room temporarily converted from the Foundry Temple.

Fu Qinghai entered the conference room alone, and found that there were already many Space Marines among them, in addition to Space Marines, there were also officers of the Imperial Guard, and sages of the Mechanicus Cult, who exchanged heads and whispered to each other.

"You're late, Captain of the Iron Float."

A deep female voice rang out.

Fu Qinghai turned his head to see that it was a woman wearing Ignatus-type power armor, with a black coat behind her, a hood covering half of her face, and a few strands of hair hanging down.

A female judge?

Ignatus-type power armor is a special power armor for the Inquisitor, which Fu Qinghai has seen in Terra.

"Subspace navigation, you know."

Fu Qinghai explained casually.

Then he asked:

"Presumphen, may I ask who you are?"

The woman lifted her hood, revealing a middle-aged face, she had caramel-colored smooth skin, objective evaluation, delicate facial features are very good-looking, but the eyes are too deep and sharp, and the pair of eyes feels like a sharp knife that goes straight to the heart.

"Sid Nora, Order of the Holy Hammer, Grand Inquisitor."

The woman was concise and to the point.

No wonder when she was staring at her, there was always a feeling of discomfort in her heart, it turned out to be a judge of the Demon Inquisition, and the judges were almost all psionics.

"Hello, Your Excellency."

Fu Qinghai politely stretched out his hand.

"Hello, Aoyama Nayan Khan."

The Inquisitor reached out and shook his hand.

Oh? Fu Qinghai's eyebrows raised slightly.

Along the way, some people called him "Commander of the Qingshan Clan", some people called him "Your Excellency the Commander of the Clan", and only this judge called him right.

Aoyama Nayan Khan.

It shows that this woman has a certain understanding of the Fifth Legion, knows some cultural traditions that belong to Chogris, and the exclusive titles and titles of White Scar.

This aroused Fu Qinghai's favor.

Fu Qinghai was half a body taller than this inquisitor, but she was still neither humble nor arrogant when she stood in front of the pottery steel giant, and when she saw the starmarine's face look surprised, the corner of the woman's mouth hooked up a smile, it seemed that she had done some homework in advance.

Fu Qinghai sat down in his seat and asked casually:

"So, what's the situation now, isn't there a supreme military commander in this theater?"

There was some commotion in the conference room.

There are people from all military systems of the empire.

"Yes, Marshal Huxrow of the Imperial Guard, serving as the supreme military commander of the Steel Belt Theater."

Sid Nora sat down diagonally behind Fu Qinghai, clasped his hands on his chest and said lightly:

"He'll be here soon."

As soon as the words fell, a white-haired old man in a military uniform with a solemn description slowly walked in the door.

Huxlot?

Fu Qinghai had heard of this name.

The author of the later "Imperial Infantry Beginner's Guide" seems to be the Marshal of the Imperial Guard in front of him.

The Imperial Infantry Introductory Guide is the Imperial Guard's version of the Astarte Codex, with a copy for each soldier in the Guard, but it is much more practical than the Astarte Codex, covering all aspects of the Imperial Guard's daily combat: rules and regulations and organizational structure; instructions for the use of weapons, instruments and other equipment issued; basic battlefield tactics; basic medical skills; Enemy of the Empire Strategies and more.

The Marshal of the Imperial Guard, who was able to write such a guidebook, was not an incompetent mediocrity.

GW has published a physical book called "The Imperial Infantry Primer", which complements the details of the Imperial Guard's day-to-day operations in a playful but serious tone, as well as some Soviet-style Warhammer 40K political metaphor jokes.

It's kind of like "One Week Article".

So Fu Qinghai was more impressed.

"Who's that guy next to you?"

Fu Qinghai then asked.

"The Sogen, Hieronymus Gantt, is also one of the top military commanders in the theater and is in charge of the actual command of the Cult of Mechanicus's troops, and he knows the Iron Belt very well."

Sid Nora answered patiently.

"The Supreme Commander is a mortal, haha."

There was a disdainful laugh from the side.

Fu Qinghai turned his head to look over.

He is a Space Marine wearing dark red power armor.

Wouldn't it, wouldn't it? What age is the antique? It's been so long since the Legion split up, what's so unusual about a mortal officer commanding a Space Marine? Do you think you are still living in the era of the Legion in Astarte? Fu Qinghai thought to himself.

As if sensing Fu Qinghai's gaze, the space warrior turned his head, nodded and said:

"Clifford, the Bloodthirsty Warband."

"Qingshan, the Iron Floating Slaughter Clan."

After Fu Qinghai introduced himself, he asked tentatively:

"A child of the Holy Blood Angels?"

"It's very accurate."

The wargroup leader replied lightly:

"We are indeed the sons of St. Giles."

After speaking, he raised his hand and pointed to the opposite side:

"Well, the Meat Rippers are over there."

Hey, there are two sub-groups of Holy Blood Angels at once.

From the second army of 31K to the extreme army of 42K, there have been more than 1,000 war groups in the Astar Order, some of which disappeared in a flash in the pan, and some of which have been standing for a long time, to be honest, Fu Qinghai can't remember who is who.

But he knows some basic rules.

But where the name is "XX Angel", the battle group is either a subgroup of the Holy Blood Angel or a subgroup of the Black Angel, and at the same time, because the High Lord Council does not allow the use of the genetic seeds of the Black Angel to establish a subgroup, the number of the latter subgroup is small, and if you guess the Holy Blood Angel, you can basically guess it accurately.

Bloodthirsty and Flesh Rippers don't follow this pattern, but look at their dark red power armor, as well as the blood droplets, wings, and chalice emblems on their shoulder armor......

One hundred percent of the Holy Blood Angel Regiment.

Fu Qinghai thought that he would have to keep the brothers of the war group away from these guys later, so as not to have a "blood thirst" and "black anger" attack together, and the enemy and me would be in a mess.

Maybe because the dark angels are very disobedient, the High Lord Council doesn't like them, so it is forbidden to use the dark angel gene seeds to make subgroups, but the dark angel gene seeds are actually very useful, and several subgroups that were forcibly split despite Terra's protests are very stable and have no mutations.

On the contrary, there are many sub-groups of Holy Blood Angels, but almost every sub-group has inherited "Blood Thirst" and "Black Fury", and the hidden dangers are huge, but the Council of High Lords does not care about these.

"I'm a white scarred sub-ball."

Fu Qinghai also briefly introduced himself.

The Bloodthirsty Warband Leader nodded in understanding.

In the center of the auditorium, Generalissimo Huxrow was talking about his strategic plan, and he recounted it one by one:

"In this battle, I will use the Titan Corps as the main force on the ground, the Imperial Guard Corps as the ground auxiliary force, and the Astarte War Regiment will fully cooperate with the Imperial Navy fleet to participate in the perimeter gang battle and seize orbital air supremacy......"

First of all, one thing is clear:

The Titan Legion serves as the main force.

Even the most unruly Astarte battle commander did not have any opinion on this arrangement.

The war of the Titans is the war of the Titans.

Even the smallest knight-level Titan in the Titan Legion is far more powerful than any Space Marine or Dreadnought, and apart from orbital bombardment, only another Titan Legion can take on one Titan Legion.

Space Marines want to wrestle with the Titans, unless they are equipped with a large number of heavy armored vehicles or heavy army fighters in the Legion era.

After that, the marshal continued to assign combat missions.

The more Fu Qinghai listened, the more his brows furrowed.

According to the information available so far, the overall military power of the Empire is greater than that of the Dark Mechanics. And Huxrow's tactical arrangement, well-organized, step by step, steady and steady, little by little, encroaching on the living space of the traitors, if everything is carried out smoothly, the maximum result can be achieved at the minimum cost, at first glance there is almost no problem.

The only downside is that it's a bit long.

Many officers on the scene, whether it was Space Marines, the Imperial Guard, or the Imperial Navy, including the sages of the various casting worlds, could not find any fault in the face of such a plan, and everyone listened silently, and no one gave an opinion.

Fu Qinghai felt that something was wrong:

Now is not the beginning of the Great Rebellion, now that the vast majority of traitors have already hid in the Eye of Fear, doesn't the Dark Mechanic Cult know that its overall military strength is inferior to that of the Human Empire and the Mechanic Cult? If so, then why did they dare to take the initiative to invade the steel ring?

The plan of Generalissimo Huxrow.

Somewhat ......

Too slow and too conservative.

Fu Qinghai thought of the ending of the "Iron Disaster".

Perhaps, the Cult of the Dark Mechanics has no intention of territorial sovereignty over the Cast World of the Ring of Steel?

This is just a conjecture, you must know what the enemy's specific strategic goals are, in order to make targeted arrangements, know what the enemy wants to do, then let him not do anything, if the enemy does not care about the gains and losses of a city and a place at all?

So what does the enemy care?

What exactly does the Cult of the Dark Mechanics want?

Fu Qinghai didn't know either.

At this point in time, Abaddon's first black expedition has not yet begun, no one in the empire has ever been to the Eye of Fear, they don't know much about what is going on in the Eye of Fear, and the specific needs of the rebels, according to this situation, Fu Qinghai has a conjecture:

Assuming that the strategic goal of the Cult of the Dark Mechanics is to run away after grabbing a wave of resources, and there is no other plan, then the current territorial recovery plan that has been laid out according to the usual experience and is steady and steady is in the hands of the enemy.

Finally, the ending of "Iron Disaster" returns.

The traitors got what they wanted.

The empire also regained the lost territory.

After a war is fought, both sides rejoice?

No, it can't be like this, and it shouldn't be like this.

Fu Qinghai frowned and shook his head slowly.

Battles shouldn't be fought like this.

In the 10,000 years from 31K to 42K, Abaddon launched a total of thirteen black expeditions, which is the so-called "eternal war" on the Chaos side, and each time Abaddon was driven back to the Eye of Fear, but the Chaos War Marshal had a hard mouth and insisted that he had not lost, so he won the title of "Hundred Battles and Hundred Victories".

But if you think about it from another angle, the Empire also claims to have won all the victories against Chaos, but the Black Legion is getting stronger and stronger...... What's going on?

Didn't you win every time?

So why is the opponent still getting stronger and stronger?

It's over, but it's getting weaker and weaker?

As a Chinese, Fu Qinghai is well aware of how many grassland regimes outside the Guanwai have risen in history.

The Empire of Mankind...... Perhaps there is a need for reflection.

At the end of the combat meeting, the commanders of the various Astarte regiments and Imperial Guard regiments walked out of the meeting hall one by one, ready to enter the battle according to the strategic deployment.

"How?"

Sid Nora suddenly came over:

"Do you think there's something wrong with Huxrow's strategy?"

Fu Qinghai shook his head and didn't speak.

He didn't know this demon inquisitor well, and he didn't need to tell her what he thought for the time being.

Moreover, although I don't quite agree with the current strategy, there is one thing that everyone can agree on - the Titan Legion is the absolute main force in this war, and without Titan units, they are not qualified to participate in frontal battles.

But no one knows.

The Iron Float Massacre actually has Titans......

Fu Qinghai couldn't explain to others, why did he, the Astarte battle group, have a Titan? A Titan with an unusually strange shape? Did the Astarte Holy Canon agree? Did the Titan Order of the Mechanicus agree?

It's too complicated to explain.

Fu Qinghai did not answer the judge's question.

Instead, he took the initiative to ask her about a different topic:

"This battle was supposed to be a battle between the Titan Legions, and even the Astarte Wargroup was not the main force, but the Demon Inquisition came, so it means that there will be filth related to psionic energy on the side of the Dark Mechanic God Cult?"

"You're sharp, Khan."

Sid Nora nodded.

She glanced at Fu Qinghai meaningfully:

"In fact, the order to send the Iron Floating Slaughter Regiment to the Iron Ring Belt was issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs."

"Oh?"

Fu Qinghai didn't expect this.

No wonder this woman came up and accosted herself.

It turned out that she had applied to send herself to the war.

Fu Qinghai thought in his heart:

The problem is that I didn't provoke the Demon Inquisition.

"Why?"

Fu Qinghai humbly asked.

"There's no reason for that, just because you're a Son of White Scar, one of the most powerful psionic legions after the Children of a Thousand Sores, and I want to tap into the power of the Storm Prophet. I know what you're trying to ask, why don't you just go to Chogris and find the White Scar Band? Because Chagatai Khan and his warband are chasing and destroying the dark spirit fleet in the Yashan Star Region, they don't have time to deal with this side. At the same time, the Imperial Regent, led by the Ultramarines and all their sub-regiments, is hunting down the fallen Primordial Foggrim, and has no time to pay attention to the war on the Ring of Steel. ”

Sid Nora said slowly:

"I read the information from the Ministry of Military Affairs that the Iron Float Slaughter Regiments are white scar regiments with good records, so I asked Terra to send you across the star field to come to the Steel Ring Belt."

It's really far away.

Fu Qinghai didn't understand at first.

Why did the war between the Taiping Star Domain and the Storm Star Domain send their own warbands from the Hazy Star Domain.

"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."

Fu Qinghai said rather embarrassedly.

The Iron Float Regiment, deserved to be called the White Scar Regiment, had neither a Storm Prophet nor a formed think tank force.

The only candidate for a high-quality think tank, the future think tank director of the war group, the battle brother who used Amon's genetic seeds, is still studying magic in the Quanzhou Monastery.

We're good at something else.

Fu Qinghai sincerely explained: Our war group does not have a think tank. Fifty-Six, Salfaran and Karamanda's three-legged cat kung fu, magic tricks, do not deserve to be called think tanks.

"However, I don't understand ......"

Fu Qinghai then asked:

"Even if you need to deal with psionic energy and demons, you shouldn't come to us, what is that, the legendary 666 warband, isn't it already ......"

"How did you know about Warband 666!?"

Sid Nora was shocked when he heard this.

During the Second Army, in addition to the well-known warbands such as the Black Sanctuary, the Crimson Fist, the Nova Warriors, and the Scarlet Angels, there was also an unspeakable secret wargroup codenamed "Six Hundred and Sixty-Six Warband", which was quietly established.

It is the famous ...... of later generations

Grey Knights.

This is the first choice of experts in dealing with demonic issues, the direct armed forces of the Holy Hammer Order, and the demon inquisitor.

Belch......

Seeing Sid Nora react so violently.

Fu Qinghai was also a little stunned.

Isn't the Grey Knight yet formed?

However, he reacted quickly, and immediately said:

"Hmph, Lady Sid Nora, what I want to remind you of is ...... I'm in Terra, too. ”

My messaging channels are very well-informed!

Does it matter? That's a powerful relationship.

Sid Nora is a little confused.

The Inquisition, the Assassins' Court, and the Grey Knight were all institutions established by the Imperial Prime Minister during his lifetime, and he knew about the existence of the Grey Knight, and he said that he had a relationship...... Could it be the relationship between Macardo, the palm print? This relationship is too hard!

The former regent of the Empire.

It turns out that the Iron Floating Slaughter War Group is actually a hidden relation?

I saw that Sid Nora's expression was a little messy.

Fu Qinghai hurriedly said:

"You haven't answered my question yet, what kind of demon problem needs to be dealt with by the think tank?"

"There is no concrete evidence, just a conjecture of mine, you come with me, I will show you some pictures."

Sid Nora whispered.

Fu Qinghai followed the inquisitor to the airport.

An Imperial clipper moored on the lower deck.

Walking into the interior of the Imperial Clipper, to an ordinary cabin on the upper deck, Sid Nora closed the hatch, and after a careful inspection, he took out a stack of photos from the drawer, handed them to Fu Qinghai, and said:

"Do you know the final outcome of the Iron Plague? The fleets of the Empire and Mars have surrounded all the Mandeville points on the periphery of the galaxy where the Supreme Valia Casting World is located, but the rebel forces of the Cult of Dark Mechanics have disappeared under their noses before they can break out of the galaxy. ”

"Really?"

Fu Qinghai was a little surprised when he heard this.

Due to the influence of planetary gravity, the interior of the galaxy cannot directly perform subspace jumps, and must first reach the Mandeville point on the outer edge of the galaxy before performing subspace jumps.

This is the most basic common sense.

However, contrary to common sense:

The Cult of the Dark Machines ran away.

Fu Qinghai looked at the photo in his hand.

"The first troops to land on the surface claimed to have detected no life signals, only the empty shell of the Daybreak Titan that had been destroyed in previous battles. The postures of these empty shells appear to be twisted by great pain, and the shelves that support them form even more eerie patterns, and many witnesses nearly lose their minds. What happened to Supreme Valia and how he left the galaxy, no one knows. ”

Sid Nora said in a deep voice.

The Dawn Stars Titan Legion was the first to attack the loyal Titan Legion of the Supreme Valia Casting World, but they couldn't wait for follow-up support, so they all fell into the rebel territory, Fu Qinghai looked at the photo in his hand, and in the photo, these loyal Titans were all distorted into a strange posture.

Fu Qinghai is not a demonist, he doesn't know what these postures represent, he only knows some of the most basic common sense, such as what the holy numbers of the four evil gods are.

"So, you think they used some kind of sacrificial method to force a subspace jump beyond the limit?"

Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes and asked.

"That's right, I think that if the Cult of Dark Mechanics dares to invade the Ring of Steel again, it is likely that it will do it again and use the same means to leave the system again!"

Sid Nora said firmly.

…………

I'm sorry, the new campaign needs some ideas and foreshadowing, and it will be delayed if you are not careful.

(End of chapter)