Although he agreed with Soshyan's plan, Mazhar changed the subject.
"But can these four battle groups plus a battle group with more than half of the casualties withstand this Tyranid force? Facing that kind of overwhelming offensive, relying on the Astartes alone is not enough. I also know something about the situation in the archdiocese.
, the garrison there is not so much an army as it is the bodyguards of the priests. There are probably only a few decent troops in the Cardinal World, not to mention the fleet. There may only be a few ships. Tyran's attack method is often
They gather first, disperse, and then gather again when encountering resistance, which means their attack coverage will be very large."
As he spoke, he picked up the baton on the table and drew lines on the star map.
"After they finish devouring the Sondheim galaxy, they will continue to penetrate deeper from this direction. The entire front contains at least 12 galaxies. This small number of troops and fleets cannot defend all areas."
Soshiyang tapped his fingers lightly on the table, thought for a moment and then said:
"As for the troops... I have accumulated some auxiliary troops in the years of running the Nessen system, which can be used barely. I will try to find a solution for the fleet. However, the forging world Zhao-Akada, which is closest to the archdiocese, has many contacts with the alliance.
We should be able to get some support from them. In fact, it is unrealistic to directly attack the Tyranid fleet, and there is no need for us to defend everywhere."
When Mazhar heard this, his eyes suddenly darkened.
"Could it be that...you plan to implement scorched earth tactics?"
In fact, he didn't say it directly, but the surrounding chapter leaders understood it immediately.
Mass Extermination Order, the most common and worst method used by the empire to fight against the Tyranids is to destroy all planets in the hive's path, regardless of type, because the Tyranids are beasts pursuing biomass, and they have lost the attraction of biomass.
It will deviate from the direction and the force will be weakened.
Although the Order of Extermination is generally executed by the Inquisition, the Chapter Master Astartes also has this power in principle.
Soshyan immediately shook his head.
"Even if I have the heart, I don't have the courage. People who do such things will not end well. Even if you put aside these things, the so-called scorched earth is essentially a kind of failure. We admit that we have no other way to fight against the enemy. We
We haven’t fought yet, so it won’t be like this.”
"Then what do you mean..."
"The worlds in the Archdiocese are not very important, and they don't have any key industrial facilities, so the fleet only needs to delay the Tyranids' hives, evacuate the residents from the Tyranid invasion route as soon as possible, and temporarily destroy them with orbital bombardments
The planet's ecology tries to eliminate the biomass on it as much as possible, and then sows a large number of void mines to block the Tyranids' travel routes. The focus is on the cardinal world and the four religious worlds. Moreover, as long as the population is concentrated, the Tyranids attracted by the biomass will also
They will spontaneously gather together, and then they will find a way to eliminate them in one fell swoop."
After hearing this, Mazhar thought for a moment and frowned slightly.
"This is the most secure plan, but it is also the most difficult to implement. Evacuating such a large population first requires a huge number of transport ships, and how to relocate them is also a problem."
"I will try to find a way to borrow some large transport ships from the Rogue Traders. These giant ships can basically be used as mobile hives. More people can be temporarily transferred to the worlds relatively far behind. There is no way to deal with the overcrowding."
"What about food? When such a large population is concentrated, a considerable part of the agricultural world will be lost. The archdiocese itself does not have much industry, and there will definitely be a serious food shortage problem, which may even lead to serious riots..."
"I'll take care of the food."
Seeing Soshyan's determined look, Mazhar was a little surprised, and then realized that this junior suddenly became a bit strange.
"I can handle it."
Mazar nodded and sighed:
"Of all the Astartes now, you are probably the only one who dares to say that you can solve the problem of feeding hundreds of billions of people. Soshiyang, you have really grown up. You have grown to the point where I can only see your back. We
Most of them are pure killing machines, but many things cannot be solved by killing people... The future of the empire really depends on you."
His words were immediately approved by those around him.
"Yes, yes, if the high lords of Terra had half the decision-making and execution capabilities of the Soshyan brothers, the empire would not be what it is now."
"Every time the Soshyan brothers' strategies are clear and feasible, they do not waste manpower in vain. They are truly masters of strategy."
Soshyan quickly handed over his hands and said:
"Thank you for your praise, Suo Shiyang deserves it."
Then the conversation changed.
"I may need to tell you in advance that the Astral Knights have added some... special battleships over the years. Please try to keep them secret when you see them."
After saying that, he saw that everyone was a little confused, so he further explained:
"mainly..."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and Robin behind him stepped forward and handed over a data pad, which Soshyan inserted into the table.
With a ripple in the water, a virtual image of a battleship appeared above the star map.
"This is..."
"A ship? What a strange ship shape."
Looking at the trident-like battleship, the chapter leader and representatives all seemed curious and unfamiliar. After all, this ancient ship type used by traitors has actually not been officially recorded in the empire for a long time.
But after Mazar stared at the ship for a long time, he suddenly took a breath, and then hissed:
"It's actually...abyss level!"
"Abyss level?"
Seth was stunned for a moment.
"Does the Empire have this model?"
"Of course not... This is the largest warship ever built by the Empire."
"Ah? Why haven't I heard of it?"
"Because it was built during the Horus Heresy, by the Forge General who had rebelled, for the rebels. Legend has it that a total of three ships were built, all of which were given to the Word Bearers of the Coward Legion, and participated in the attack on the Thirteenth Legion.
Two of them were destroyed, and one...the whereabouts are unknown. This is recorded in part of the ancient history brought out from the mother group when the chapter was founded. If I hadn't read this history, I wouldn't be able to name it.
name."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar, and Mazhar looked at Soshyan.
"Soshyan, what's going on?"
Soshyan thought for a moment and said:
"That's it...didn't we once explore a hulk? We found in the hulk...the design blueprint of the Abyss class. It should have been stolen from Mars by a group of Alpha traitors. We have been considering it for a long time.
After that, I felt that rather than letting it sit in dust forever, it would be better to exert new power for the empire... so I contacted some forge worlds, traded with them with the captured stc, and asked them to help build such a warship."
In fact, the early exposure of the Abyss class was a decision that Soshyan made after thinking about it for a long time after fighting the Tyranids, because he had realized that the empire's warships were actually unable to run and fight like the Ada warships against the Tyranids.
Advantages: Due to the ship's poor flexibility, it is easy to fall into the siege of small Tyranid biological battleships. Even if it can be sustained for a while with thick armor, battle damage is still unavoidable, let alone if it wants to attack the large Tyranids.