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Chapter 326: I'm Afraid You'd Get My 'Police Report' Before the Inquisition Does
🕑 Added 2025-09-28 14:00:30 +0000 UTCChapter 326: I'm Afraid You'd Get My 'Police Report' Before the Inquisition Does
Within the wartime command hall.
Lucan and Mellen stood together, watching the holographic display. Nearly a hundred Tech-priests and military officers were gathered in the command post. On the display before them, countless streams of battlefield data were being collected, then rapidly analyzed and presented to the two commanders in an intuitive format.
Mellen occasionally glanced at the Tech-priests. These were not the native Tech-priests of the Asphodel Mechanicus, nor were they his own regimental Enginseers. They were all from the Cult of the Holy Machine that Lucan had brought with him. As soon as they had arrived, they had immediately begun to modify the command center, tearing out the original Cogitators and replacing them with equipment he had never seen before.
But watching the behavior of these Tech-priests... he even began to wonder if they were heretics within the Adeptus Mechanicus. They were so rough with the machines. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't they light sacred incense and chant litanies for a while before doing something like this? Would simply slapping a piece of paper on a machine truly not displease the Machine Spirit?
However, Mellen quickly came to appreciate the effects of Lucan's mechanical equipment. What Lucan had brought Mellen was not just troops, but a more intelligent "Internet" and battlefield servo-system.
With quantum communications providing real-time data transmission, the servers here could connect directly to the main server on Agathos, leveraging its immense computational power and servo-systems to provide information support for the battle. It might have seemed like they were fighting alone on Asphodel, but behind them, the entire command structure of the Mongorte Dynasty was working in concert.
The powersuits distributed to the various Cadian companies were not just for combat; they were also individual nodes in this network. They collected real-time data from the battlefield. The tactical situation, the status of their own forces, and the numbers and movements of the enemy were all collected in real time. This data was then transmitted back to the server on Agathos. The main server was no longer a simple machine; the artificial intelligence technology provided by Cawl had further enhanced its analytical and computational capabilities. This analyzed data was then transmitted back to the commanders in powersuits, providing them with informational support.
It was clear that the Imperium's Cogitators or wetware could never achieve this level of efficiency.
But the higher the efficiency and intelligence of these machines, the more frightened Mellen became. A cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
"Could it be... Abominable Intelligence..." Mellen wondered, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. He knew very well that such a thing was a taboo in the Imperium. As a General, he knew the Imperium had a zero-tolerance policy for it; it could absolutely not be used openly. If the Inquisition or the Mechanicus were to find out, a fleet would likely arrive immediately to destroy everything related to it.
In fact, his guess was not wrong. Although the servo-system currently in use had not yet reached the point of true self-thought and learning, with the technology provided by Cawl and its integration with the "Internet," it could indeed be considered a low-level artificial intelligence. Cawl had even predicted that if it were allowed to continue absorbing the vast amounts of data from the network, it would sooner or later evolve into a true AI. How long that would take, no one knew. Machines, like life, could also evolve on their own.
Lucan, however, was not particularly worried about this. Before it fully matured, he could just throw in an AI from his System—one that was absolutely loyal to him—to replace it.
Mellen remained silent. Whether it was Abominable Intelligence or not, he had no intention of speaking up. First, this system was providing him with immense help. Otherwise, he and his commanders could never have commanded an army of millions of soldiers. This system was saving the lives of his men and giving him a chance to win this war. The allocation of war resources and personnel across the entire battlefield was now inseparable from it. It was precisely because of this system that Mellen could plug every breach in the line the moment it appeared.
Second, there was Lucan's status. If he had discovered that some Planetary Governor was using this kind of thing, he would have reported it to the Inquisition and the Mechanicus without hesitation. But since it was Lucan... Mellen decided to let it go. Given Lucan's relationship with the Primarchs, he suspected that Lucan would receive his 'police report' before the Inquisition even did. And on top of that, there was the debt of gratitude he owed him for Cadia. Mellen simply couldn't bring himself to report him.
Lucan also noticed Mellen's strange behavior. From the way he was constantly staring at the system, Lucan could roughly guess what he was thinking.
"Mellen... Mellen! What's wrong? Is the high intensity of the battle making you too tired?"
"Not at all, Lord Lucan! I've been through much tougher fights than this. This is nothing!"
"You Cadians are always so reliable," Lucan said. "If you have any requests, just let me know. I know you're worried about this system, right?"
Lucan's words made Mellen's nerves instantly tense up. "No, no! Of course not!"
"Don't worry," Lucan said reassuringly. "Guilliman is also using this system. Rest assured, it's completely legal and compliant."
Lucan silently added in his head, ...and right now, Guilliman IS the law of the Imperium.
Hearing Lucan's words, Mellen's worries completely vanished. He began to focus all his attention on the battle before him. Although the sea of bugs was still vast, the battle for Asphodel was the most well-supplied war he had ever fought in his life. It wasn't just Lucan's Raiders; he had never imagined that he would one day have the chance to command an entire Astartes Chapter. If needed, he could even directly request a Gorgon to enter the field and provide suppression fire.
The scene of the Gorgon destroying a massive number of Tyranids earlier had been unbelievable, even for a veteran like him who had experienced a lifetime of war. He could now command Titans, warships, and Astartes. Which Astra Militarum General had ever had such a privilege? It was something he had never dared to dream of before.
In his original projections, the city of Phodia would have been fifty percent fallen on the first day of the Tyranid assault, and his Cadian soldiers would have suffered massive casualties. But the Tyranids' fierce attack had been going on for two days now. The city was still in his hands, the Tyranid forces had not made any large-scale breakthroughs, and their numbers were even beginning to dwindle.
The industrial zones, in particular, were holding. Securing them meant a continuous supply of ammunition. Otherwise, even with the STCs Lucan had brought, they would not have been able to supply such a large number of troops in a high-intensity, continuous battle. The majority of their weapons still had to rely on these local production lines.
The areas designated as killzones had all been former residential districts of little value. Most of the residents had already been evacuated. There might have been some who didn't get out in time, but now, all they could do was wish them luck. The biomass the Tyranids could gain from these areas was minimal, not enough to sustain their current consumption. And the casualties among the Cadian troops were still within an acceptable range. If this continued, Mellen was confident he could hold out until Imperial reinforcements arrived.
Whenever an important position was lost or breached, Mellen would dispatch the Blood Ravens and his own mobile forces to plug the gap. The Blood Ravens were a given; with their current strength and numbers, they were a decisive force on the battlefield. Gabriel and his men had already killed three Hive Tyrants that had tried to lead a breakthrough.
But it was another of Mellen's own units that had piqued Lucan's curiosity. This was the first time he had seen a large-scale deployment of Ogryns on the battlefield. Looking at these Ogryns, clad in ceramite armor, Lucan was reminded of the Ogryn player-characters in Darktide. Their current melee suppression ability was no less than that of a Blood Ravens squad.
As an abhuman species sanctioned by humanity, Ogryns were active all over the Imperium. Although their heads weren't very bright, they were exceptionally loyal. Every Imperial officer wished they had an Ogryn bodyguard. Even an Astartes could not compare to an Ogryn in terms of pure strength.
And to play to their strengths, a dedicated unit of Medics had been assigned to follow these thick-skinned, resilient Ogryns into battle. Lucan had even provided them with a large number of the stimpacks from the Marine powersuits. Under normal circumstances, a Raider would be out of commission for a day or two after taking a single shot. But Lucan watched as this group of Ogryns injected themselves with a dozen shots and still seemed fine. The fact that they weren't very smart to begin with meant there was no need to worry about brain damage.
The combat effectiveness of an Ogryn with stimpacks, not blood, flowing through its veins was terrifying.
No fear. No pain. Constant healing. A thick boarding shield and a giant maul were their favorite weapons. Even a Tyranid Warrior would be stunned if it took a hammer blow from one of these juiced-up Ogryns.
The situation was developing exactly as Lucan had hoped.
