Chapter 152: Consult Before Issuing Orders

Above the skies, the Necron ships appeared suddenly in a location no one anticipated, without any prior warning. This peculiar fleet charged directly towards the Iron Warriors and Death Guard fleets.

Compared to the previous encounters with enemy fleets, this group was significantly larger. Surrounded by countless Jackal-class raiders, a much larger mothership was notably present among them.

However, what puzzled observers was that this mothership seemed to be just an enlarged version of the smaller raiders. Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of ship design could tell that this vessel could have been designed with more "flair."

Indeed, to prevent these human ships from fleeing outright, the Necrons had opted for this "disguised" approach.

[Delta formation!]

The moment the Iron Warriors scouts detected the Necron fleet, Perturabo immediately issued his command!

Among Perturabo's 256 battlefield predictions, this scenario was naturally accounted for.

To Perturabo, who was entirely oblivious to the inner workings of the Necron mindset, their sudden attack on the ships preparing for the drop could only mean one thing—

They had struck the right target!

But the speed of the Necrons once again set a new record.

At this moment, the battle for air superiority over Zone 03 was still fiercely contested.

There was no time for the drop.

In Perturabo's calculations, based on previous encounters, even if the Necron ships appeared again, they should have been able to complete the drop operation.

But this time, the enemy accelerated once more!

Time was running out, Perturabo thought, as he led the main fleet of the Iron Warriors to attempt an interception of the Necrons.

In his calculations, the fleet of the Death Guard alone would not withstand the Necrons, but he could not let a "brother" die right before his eyes.

As the overall commander on the battlefield, such a failure would be a lifelong disgrace.

Perturabo felt his irritation mounting again.

Aboard the Fourth Knight, Mortarion was furrowing his brow in frustration.

"Can't the Iron Warriors provide even brief air superiority?"

The Primarch was extremely dissatisfied, but Mortarion also realized that the Necron ships were targeting them. Knowing the terrifying capabilities of the Necron fleet, Mortarion knew there was no time for hesitation. He emerged from the drop pod and strode towards the command center.

Mortarion opened the communication channel,

[Hades,]

[Received, I can hear you.]

The familiar voice cut through the static,

[The second drop is temporarily canceled. Your primary task now is to rendezvous with the vanguard forces on the ground and ensure you're not encircled.]

Without the support of the second drop, the forces embedded behind enemy lines would face significant challenges.

With the Necron ships already arriving, Mortarion did not believe the ground forces could destroy the target quickly enough to assist the fleet.

Therefore, the Death Guard on the ground should conserve their strength and wait for the end of the cosmic battle.

Hades paused, his scythe still cleaving through the serpentine forms before him.

[Understood.]

On the other hand, Dantioch also received orders from Perturabo,

[You must secure the target point, Dantioch.]

[My War Smiths, show the world your resilience,]

Casualties on the ground were inconsequential, but their actions would support the space forces. Thus, they had to destroy the forge complexes sending signals to the space fleet.

[You have one hour.]

Perturabo issued the command,

Dantioch halted the trench-digging efforts,

"Understood."

An hour meant that Perturabo was not giving them any leeway to retreat or avoid an aerial assault,

It was always like this, every single time!

Perturabo only ever allotted them the most extreme timelines and objectives. A slight bit of leniency would significantly reduce the difficulty of their tasks and the blood the Iron Warriors had to spill.

But Perturabo would never opt for that!

The hardest steel is not felled by the forge; they needed to prove their mettle on the fiercest battlefields.

Dantioch cursed under his breath, then resignedly opened the public communication channel,

"All Iron Warriors, return to the front line immediately."

"The Legion Commander orders, at all costs, secure the objective."

?

Hearing Dantioch's completely contrary words, a question mark slowly formed in Hades' mind.

Could it be...?

A foreboding thought slowly rose in Hades' mind. He continued to engage the enemy while also opening a private communication channel with Dantioch.

"Brother, may I inquire about the orders you received?"

Dantioch, just emerging from a trench, was puzzled and irritable as he executed a Necron warrior with a precise shot.

He had held some fondness for Hades, but why would the Death Guard commander ask such a foolish question?!

Despite his irritation, Dantioch maintained his composure and responded gruffly,

"The Legion Commander has ordered that we must capture the objective within an hour."

Before he could finish, Hades on the other end had already started silently screaming in his mind—

Just as he thought!

Suddenly, Hades didn't know how to proceed, but he knew he had to speak,

"Brother Dantioch,"

"The order I received from the Death Guard Legion Commander is to immediately rendezvous with the vanguard forces and ensure the airborne troops have surviving forces."

Silence from the other side.

Hades refocused on the battlefield, but he sensed something was very wrong on Dantioch's end.

After a long silence, Dantioch's voice came through again, sounding centuries older.

He said weakly,

"The orders... differ."

What Dantioch left unsaid was—

Whose orders should we follow?

Normally, the overall command of the war rested with Perturabo, but in this ground battle, Mortarion was planned to participate personally, and the majority of the forces involved were Death Guard, making Mortarion the direct commander of this battle.

According to standard procedure, they should follow Mortarion's orders, but Perturabo, who had been observing all developments from the sidelines, directly issued orders to Dantioch.

Dantioch knew that since the Death Guard were the majority right now, he actually had no say in the matter; the Death Guard would listen to Hades.

Hades would most likely execute Mortarion's orders directly, and Dantioch, as support, would have to follow suit.

But after this battle, as Iron Warriors, they would have to face Perturabo directly.

Dantioch was already swearing, why did it always have to be like this, every single time?

He looked at the Death Guard in their white and green livery, realizing that in some respects, they—

Damn it, fuck.

Dantioch ceased his contemplation.

Unlike Dantioch, who was almost ready to give up on thinking, Hades was frantically devising a strategy.

Just moments ago, new information came from the main battlefield; all Necrons were rushing back recklessly, even completely abandoning their defenses. After all, even if killed, these warriors could rise again from the cryptic constructs in the rear, albeit with some losses.

Meanwhile, the Iron Warriors and the Graian Crusade forces were pursuing the retreating Necron forces, aiming to eliminate as many of the enemy as possible.

In the sky, amidst the swirling sands, based on intermittent communications from the aerial forces, the Iron Warriors could provide aerial support in about thirty to forty minutes.

Even if Hades chose to meet up with the vanguard forces now, they would likely encounter the main returning Necron forces.

And they definitely couldn't heed the commands from the ship-bound legion commanders anymore; both Mortarion and Perturabo had already diverted their attention to the naval battle, unable to direct the ground war.

Hades pondered for a moment.

This meant that the command of the ground forces fell to him and Dantioch.

Hades spoke up,

"Brother Dantioch, can you command the frontal battlefield operations?"

Dantioch was taken aback. As one of the Trident, he indeed held command authority just below the Primarch.

But he also realized that he might use this as leverage to negotiate with Hades, to initiate an assault on the target point.

"Yes."

Dantioch stated decisively, about to propose his terms when Hades interrupted him,

"Good, instruct them to cease pursuing the enemy soldiers immediately and focus their firepower on the enemy's armored units."

"The frontal battlefield must hold the enemy's heavy firepower units."

"Also, have the flying units hold this airspace for another fifteen minutes, then immediately support the frontal battlefield."

His High Gothic, authoritative and fluent, left no room for negotiation, transforming from a consultative to an imperative tone.

Dantioch looked towards Hades, who was fighting on the front line. What was he planning?

Hades answered his question,

"Brother, we're attacking the target point now,"

"Within fifteen minutes."

After fifteen minutes, they would engage in street fighting with the enemy within the cryptic construct buildings. Even if the enemy held air superiority, they couldn't bomb them without destroying their own structures.

Some of the enemy's light armored units could operate in the narrow streets, minimizing damage to the buildings. Therefore, they needed to be held back.

Hades knew the sudden large-scale defensive maneuver by the enemy highlighted the importance of the structures they were attacking.

It's likely that these contained the signal-sending constructs and those responsible for the resurrection protocols.

Destroying them would deal an unbearable blow to the enemy's ground operations and support the space battle.

Even if they failed, the urban terrain provided by the cryptic construct buildings would allow the airborne forces to hold out a bit longer against the Necron's numbers, as the narrow terrain would diminish their advantage.

This was the best solution Hades could conceive.

But Dantioch might have misunderstood him.

This Trident silently fought his way to the front line where Hades was.

"Thank you, brother."

Dantioch's voice was hoarse and heavy,

It seemed Dantioch interpreted Hades' actions as following Perturabo's commands.

Hades blinked; he decided not to explain further.