The early morning in the jungle swamp of Paihangxing was filled with the stench of vegetation. At this time, Captain Patat was sitting in an open car with his eyes closed and meditating.
He felt that these smells were constantly squeezing his nasal cavity, as if his own sense of smell would soon weaken.
The disheveled militiamen around them were struggling to walk in the mud that reached their heels.
More than half a year has passed since the invasion of heretics, and people have gradually changed from the earliest despair to adaptation.
On the one hand, it was due to Colonel Stryker's effective guerrilla tactics that made it difficult for powerful Chaos Space Marines to move in jungles and swamps. The traps they deployed even killed some unwary guys, making the heretics have a strong interest in the tree.
There is some kind of natural resistance.
On the other hand, the Black Legion has not made any major moves recently. They have only sent a small number of Chaos Space Marines to cooperate with the cultists, constantly trying to control the jungle and put pressure on the Olympus camp, but this strategy has proven to be a complete failure.
Nearly 100,000 soldiers have now gathered in the camp. Although most of them lack training and equipment, humans will have inexplicable confidence once they unite together.
Some people have even begun to optimistically foresee the scenario in which the defeated heretic finally leaves in despair.
However, the supplies and materials required to support such a large camp are not a small amount. Since floating barges are easily disturbed by factors such as weather and enemy aircraft, ground transportation is essential.
For this reason, the Catachan 183rd Regiment spent a huge amount of money to open up several relatively safe trails in the jungles and swamps, which serve as the main supply lines for the rebel camps. These supply lines are also called Stryker Trails.
Patat is the commander of one of the supply convoys, but they are not only responsible for transporting supplies, but also for patrolling route security. Therefore, it is not surprising that the entire transport battalion is equipped with several Chimeras and half-track armored vehicles.
Some people saw Patat's car approaching and nodded to him, some exchanged a few words with him briefly, and some asked about the weather.
Patat answered the slightly uneasy soldiers as best he could.
Although he was not a commissioned officer, he still had the function of propaganda and morale-boosting. Although he only needed to talk about the past with some exaggerated words, he felt that he had the responsibility to be honest and honest with the soldiers.
In fact, contrary to what the soldier expected, he knew very little about the recent weather anomalies on the planet. Perhaps only the senior officials in the camp knew about it. Anyway, he himself did not know much about the situation.
Patat generally imitated the scenes he saw of Stryker inspiring soldiers. Even in the most difficult moments, the hero spoke words of morale-boosting words about courage and honor with ease and determination.
And what he said to the officers impressed him even more.
"Save the shouting for the battle! Before the battle, encourage the soldiers and stimulate their morale, so that you can become a warrior who despises war in their eyes."
Therefore, Patat not only knew the names of everyone in the company, but also knew a little bit about the soldiers' preferences, and even told some jokes to make the soldiers happy.
Sometimes he would also imagine that once the war was over, he would become a formal officer, wearing a crisp uniform and a medal that would honor his descendants for generations. Before the war broke out, he was actually just a miner leader and security captain.
As the car moved slowly along the muddy road, he was also silently recording the faces of each soldier. Although the road was safe most of the time, it was not ruled out that cultists would occasionally ambush.
Death is always with us, and there is no truly safe place on this planet.
"The dead will always be in your mind, so make sure those departed souls were once your friends."
This is what Patat's father often said to him in the past. In fact, the life of a miner is not much safer than the battlefield. At that time, he was already used to death.
Suddenly, the car stopped at a fork in the road, and Patat woke up from his meditation, secretly laughing at himself for being immersed in memories again.
At the other end of the road, some soldiers were filling holes in the ground with wood found on the roadside. The road in the jungle was like this, and it was rarely stable.
After struggling for about ten minutes, the team set off again.
They had been walking through the swamp trees for nearly two hours. The tracks of the armored vehicles stirred up the muddy mud, and the noise of the engines spread into the sky along the sickly tree canopy.
But Patat felt something was wrong.
He had walked this road almost twenty or thirty times, but something was a little strange today.
Quiet, too quiet.
"Sir——"
A suppressed voice filled with fear came from the driver's mouth into the cabin. Patat raised his head and immediately saw death.
Under the gaze of everyone, some red figures were standing on the trees, looking down at the motorcade passing by.
Their motionless figures made Patat shudder. When the motorcade passed by these uninvited guests, Patat took another closer look and figured out the identities of these people.
They were almost as tall as two people, with terrifyingly wide bodies. They wore black armor with rust-colored symbols as red as blood. Their helmets were decorated with curved brass horns, and their bodies were engraved with the marks of death.
These people are the demons who poisoned the planet, the Chaos Space Marines——
Patat glanced back, fear almost draining his blood, and then awkwardly turned on the radio.
"Warning, warning! There is an ambush on the right!"
When he shouted into the headset, countless gears immediately collided violently.
The heavy machinery was trembling, sliding, and struggling in the mud, but they were too heavy to react quickly.
At this time, the Chaos Space Marines had jumped down from the trees one after another and began to charge.
A total of six giants rushed out of the woods.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"God Emperor, fire quickly!"
Fear filled Patat's convoy. The Chimeras and half-tracks were equipped with heavy machine guns and small-caliber artillery, but they were trapped on a narrow road in the dense woods, with no room to turn around or maneuver.
Moreover, the enemy troops were too close and the infantry could not deploy immediately. It looked like they were about to be doomed.
The frightening sirens continued in the convoy, and Patat heard the sound of trees hitting the ground. Abaddon's hounds surrounded them, and everyone's strengthened throats erupted with inhuman howls.
"Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God!!!"
The howl resounded throughout the road, almost making the armor tremble.
What they howled in was the name of the bloody evil god they worshiped.
"Use weapons quickly!"
Patat ordered:
"Hurry up and use the vehicle-mounted gun positions!"
As he spoke, he turned the cannon mounted on the rear of the vehicle and pointed the muzzle at the nearest Chaos Space Marine.
The killing had come, and he could feel the flames of the flamethrower burning his ears, and he could hear the screams of some people as they were burned by the flames.
The Chaos Space Marine who was first discovered rushed towards a half-track vehicle ahead, wielding a chain axe, chopping down the armor of the armored vehicle like a tree.
The instantaneous collision produced countless sparks, which were then intertwined with flames, steel slag and minced meat.