"There is still panic, but we have maintained order as much as possible. Fortunately, the food brought by the Mechanicus is still sufficient, and ironically, we may be lucky that many refugees were trapped in the war zone and failed to reach the palace.

We overestimated the resettlement capacity of the palace in the safety zone, and now from the lower nest to the upper nest, it is crowded with people, and it is impossible to accommodate new refugees."

Vito looked at the map of the palace in front of him and was silent for a while. He thought about the war. After a while, he looked at the army representatives and asked, "What's the situation like with the Astra Militarum and the Skitarii? And the Hive."

Both the Orbital Defense Array and the Orbital Defense Array."

"The Astra Militarum, in collaboration with the Defense Force, is still struggling to block the advance of Chaos in various places. However, during the airdrop strike stage of Chaos, most of the main hives have been controlled, and the peripheral troops and armored forces have been withdrawn according to orders.

Leave the city and go to the wilderness of Terra to reorganize your defenses and stabilize the front as much as possible."

Hancock propped himself up on the table in front of him. Although he was a flatterer who liked to flatter, flatter and please his superiors, as a soldier, he could still calmly deploy and direct battles like a real general during wartime. This was

That's why Vito chose him to be the new leader of the Ministry of Military Affairs.

"As for the main force that stayed in the nest and failed to withdraw, according to the order issued before the war, when they were unable to contact their superiors and break out, they were divided into pieces on the spot and worked with the local defense forces and legal affairs

The judges and other armed forces of the Ministry formed a guerrilla force and used the complex streets and hive structures in the city to delay and kill the enemy as much as possible."

Hancock said, turning to look at Trajan and nodding to him with sincerity and gratitude, "On behalf of the Astra Militarum and the Guards, as well as all the troops fighting on the ground of Terra, I would like to sincerely thank the Imperial Guards.

Thank you for your help, sir. Fortunately, you sent the Forbidden Army commanders to lead guerrilla operations in various hives. Otherwise, the resistance in the cities would have been destroyed long ago."

"It should be so. The duty of the Emperor's Custodes is to protect the safety of the Emperor. To protect the Emperor, we must not just stick to the high walls of the palace. If the empire collapses, no matter how we fight in the palace, we will be useless.

Meaning." Trajan nodded solemnly and replied, and beside him, Vito, standing at the end of the holographic table, also showed a smile and nodded approvingly.

"It seems that your previous suggestions were very effective. Commander Trajan, the imperial army does not need to dispatch in large groups to attack everywhere as a beheading force. Instead, it sends a small number of warriors who are skilled in command and war skills into each nest to lead and fight with

Directing local resistance forces to continue fighting, it seems to be very effective now."

Vito smiled and looked at Eisenstein on the other side of the holographic table. The company commander of the Imperial Fists stood there, expressionless but standing majestically like a private, watching Vito intently, waiting for orders.

.

"I remember that you opposed this plan before. You believed that the Imperial Guard should retain all its strength in the palace to protect the Emperor and carry out the final decisive battle. Company Commander, do you still think so now?"

"No, I was wrong. Facts have proved that Commander Trajan's suggestion is correct. Please accept my apology, Commander." Eisenstein nodded to Trajan and apologized without hesitation, defending himself and covering up everything.

He had no intention of doing so, and he admitted his mistake quite bluntly.

Trajan naturally nodded and saluted him, and the commander of the imperial army put his iron fist on his chest to show respect to Eisenstein, "As an officer under the marshal, you should question and make suggestions on all plans. This is understandable, company commander,

You don't need to apologize."

"Your noble actions and understanding make me feel ashamed, Commander, but I will remember your words and I will faithfully perform my duties until the last moment of my life."

"We met a forbidden soldier in the Moscow nest. Although we only met once on the Thunder Eagle, he did lead the local warriors very well." Bell suddenly interjected, as if to adjust the slightly awkward situation.

There was a serious and embarrassing atmosphere, but unexpectedly, Trajan felt a little embarrassed now.

The commander of the Forbidden Army cleared his throat, and stood at the table with his arms folded, "His name is Charlie, Charles Da Vinci. He is one of the new recruits in the Forbidden Army. He has always been unruly and bold, but he is also very

He is always too proud to be able to fight, so I sent him to the hive to command the troops, hoping to dampen his spirit."

"But it looks like he did a good job, hey. I guess we have to listen to him bragging about his victory again." Trajan said helplessly, holding his forehead, well, this man reminded Vito of an old friend, Cato.

Sicarius.

Vito smiled. He stood at the map table with his arms folded and looked at Eisenstein and Bell. He looked at the scar on the company commander's face and the bullet hole on Bell's shoulder. "Are you injured? What's the big deal?"

Is it in the way?"

"It's nothing serious, Marshal. This is one of the countless injuries I have suffered. Some people say that scars are a warrior's medal of honor. I am honored that I can receive this honor again, proving that I still wield the sword for the Emperor."

." In front of Eisenstein solemnly, Vito suddenly lowered his iron fist and hit it on his chest.

"What about you, Bell." Vito looked past Eisenstein to the blue-armored soldier behind him. He nodded in response to Vito, his expression calm and collected, "Me too, don't worry about me,

Marshal, I'll be back to picking up my bolter soon."

"I believe it is indeed like that. Well, in that case, I can see from the "Medal of Honor" on your body that you have experienced a wonderful adventure. Now tell us, what did you see?"

Vito leaned on the table and raised his hand slightly and said. Eisenstein at the table nodded affirmatively in response. He stepped forward to the table and quickly switched the map and pointed to the location of the nest city above, "According to your order, Marshal,

Bell and I went to the foothills of the Ural Mountains in the Moscow Hive to support the local defenders. From what we observed, the local troops were still resisting tenaciously. Troops from the Zhongsi Academy, the Defense Forces, and the Astra Militarum were fighting in the city.

Fight enemies many times your own."

"They are all respectable warriors. I fought side by side with them to repel a traitor attack and killed countless traitors in front of the battle. I also left scars on my face, but those warriors were worthy of their responsibilities and duties.

identity."

Eisenstein spoke majestically, word for word, without any additional emotional exaggeration, and spoke calmly and calmly, just like all Imperial Fist officers, "But we must also realize that although the soldiers are brave and tenacious, under the command of the Forbidden Forces

They fought bravely under the leadership of the officers, but they still suffered heavy casualties. If this continues, I think they will not be able to continue to delay the traitors."

"Indeed, Marshal, troops from all over the place, whether they are field troops or hive guard troops, have suffered heavy casualties. The soldiers are helpless and unable to resist those rebel space warriors. They can only use tragic casualties to slow down their pace, but if

If this continues, our troops will not be able to hold on." Hancock looked at Vito and added, and Captain Eisenstein opposite him also nodded in approval.

"As General Hancock said, the situation everywhere is very urgent now. We seriously lack the support of Space Marines. The only Space Marines are on the moon and cannot help Terra."

Vito held his chin and thought for a moment, then looked at Bona aside, "Where are the Gray Knights? Are they still on the moon?"

"Yes, sir, Master Francis leads the Gray Knights to continue to be stationed on the moon. They are using the orbital firepower of the fortress on the moon to attract and intercept a considerable amount of Chaos fleet firepower. It is precisely because the moon continues to be stuck in Terra's

On the outside of the orbit, the planet-level orbital cannon mounted after the internal modification of its star threatens the black fleet's planet killers, which are still unable to approach Terra's orbit."

With a wave of Bona's finger, the current image of Terra's orbit quickly appeared on the holographic map. Vito looked at the densely packed enemy fleet dots surrounding Terra like yellow sand in a sandstorm. They were crushing Terra like iron barrels.

The crowd was full of people.

But at the same time, the anti-aircraft firepower of the orbital platform and foundation was still firing fiercely. The orbital array light spots that were constantly beating on the surface of Terra were like guards trapped on a lighthouse on an isolated island in the dark tide, using all the firepower in their hands.

Shoot with all your strength at the deep-sea monsters that climb onto the rocks and attack in groups.

They continuously knocked those monsters off the rocks and let them fall back into their dark lairs. Those orbital weapon arrays still cooperated with the naval ships to protect Terra's orbit.

"The moon, the starports in orbit, and the automatic orbital array on the surface of Terra are still operating, praising the Ohm Messiah and the Emperor, as if they have also been extinguished, I am afraid that the fleet has been instantly submerged.

The Chaos Fleet will then be able to launch orbital bombardments across Terra without any hindrance and drop landing troops."

Bona said, while Vito touched his chin and remained silent. He listened to the admiral's words and the bad news that came next, "But this is only temporary, sir. The naval fleet will eventually be destroyed in a war of attrition."

If it is dragged down, then the defense array on the orbit will be completely destroyed, then the automatic orbital defense firepower still operating on the surface will be unable to continue to intercept the destructive bombing and landing of Chaos."

"Indeed, sir, the Army can't hold on any longer. If we continue fighting like this, all the troops will collapse! We must come up with a way to break the situation!" Hancock took a step forward and said loudly, he approached Vito's side,

During the war, he had forgotten the awkward etiquette between superiors and subordinates.

This was originally a good thing, but now Vito had no intention of praising him. Vito looked at the crisis situation in front of him, from the surface to space, from the eastern part of Terra to the west, from the Antarctic North to the North Pole, almost all

The battle fronts are in danger, and the destructive death cursor appears on all battlefields.

Vito took a deep breath, and after breathing out his breath, he looked to the side, Ms. Dean of Star Language, who had not spoken but was standing not far away, "Has Star Language Academy observed that the subspace storm has weakened?

?”

"The storm is indeed weakening, sir. The light of hope is flickering in the dark clouds, but it is still weak and confused, just like the stars in the dark winter night."

"That means we still need more time to delay Chaos long enough, until the storm weakens and disappears." Vito said with his arms crossed and looking at the hologram of Terra in front of him. He frowned and witnessed the scene.

With the entire battle line marked in red, Vito glanced at his palm and the Helen CD he had been holding quietly in his hand.

He was thinking, thinking about whether it was time to activate the Iron Man Legion and implement the Last Iron Guard plan, but if he decided to do that, he would need to face all the problems that would follow. It was the last resort.

The last resort.

Vito looked at Helen's CD and sighed, "It would be great if that idiot Abaddon came to my door and asked me to chop him up."

"Perhaps, he will indeed be like this." Eisenstein walked directly to Vito from one side of the table. He stood calmly and looked at Vito's confused eyes.

Vito looked at Eisenstein in surprise, "What do you mean? His brain full of tubes has finally been burned out by chaos, and he is going to die?"

Eisenstein may not have realized Vito's cold joke. He still kept a straight face and spoke his advice calmly like an officer reporting, "Abaddon appeared in the Moscow Hive, and he attacked the local

At the central fort, several deserters from the Guards were released to spread the news of his arrival."

"He is challenging you, Marshal." Eisenstein said coldly, as if the appearance of the War Marshal himself was just a simple change on the battlefield. It was as simple as the appearance of a Leman Russ on the street.

It couldn't be easier than that.

But Vito frowned suddenly. He looked at Eisenstein beside him and frowned, "Is the news true?" "The deserter has been executed. There are no witnesses, but I believe the news is true. They

I don’t know what Abaddon looks like, and no one in the Black Legion dares to pretend to be the Warmaster, so I believe that it was Abaddon who took the initiative to spread this news.”

"He is challenging you, Marshal, to extend an invitation to you." Eisenstein said calmly, as if to help Abaddon pass the news that was almost interrupted because he was shot for desertion to Vitor's ears, without missing a word.

Delivered accurately.

If Eisenstein acted as a messenger, he would definitely be a good one. Now Vito knew the news, and everyone present knew the news. Everyone present at the meeting fell silent for an instant, and everyone looked at Vito.

Silent.

Vito was silent as he looked at the map in front of him. It was of course Abaddon's challenge. He seemed to be so angry at his speech a while ago that he wanted to challenge him in such a hurry.

"Ha, Horus, you guys are the same as your son. Isn't this the same as ten thousand years ago? One-on-one, ha." Vito sneered and muttered, while Trajan next to him leaned closer.

Come up.

"My lord, how should we respond?" Trajan asked, and Vito raised his head with a smile. He looked at the map in front of him and smiled, "Since they have invited me so sincerely, how can I have the nerve to refuse?

"
To be continued...