Chapter 103

"The Hua Hua Hua Di Huang protects..."

On Laixi, Arch-Sister Magda stared dumbfounded at the notebook sent from Ashford.

After flipping through a few pages, Arch-Sister Magda was shocked by the detail of the content within.

"Unit: Lictor"

"Armor: Chitinous carapace, chameleon carapace"

"Armament: Rending claws, scythe claws, thorn meat hooks..."

"Introduction: The vanguard scout and assassin among Tyranid organisms. It can move silently through the densest terrain, and its chameleon carapace allows it to easily hide itself.

To hunt, it can lurk calmly nearby for days until the prey reveals a flaw. A Lictor can also obtain information by consuming the brains of organisms.

Furthermore, you can almost never truly kill a Lictor, because when it dies, its memories and 'consciousness' are uploaded to the Hive Mind, waiting to be manufactured again next time..."

"Threat Level: Relatively Dangerous"

"Response Suggestion: Turn your head and look behind you; it might just be there."

Sister Magda took a slight breath of cold air.

Lictor... she knew the Lictor, and she had fought a Lictor before.

She had faced the Tyranid swarm twice; at that time, she was still young and immature.

During both encounters with the Tyranid swarm, she had been assassinated by a Lictor, but Magda had eventually defeated and killed those two Lictors.

No, not two.

Arch-Sister Magda looked at the introduction to the Lictor in this notebook, her eyes widening slightly.

So that was it; no wonder she felt familiar with the Lictor that assassinated her the second time.

These two Lictors were originally one; the memories and consciousness were uploaded to the Hive Mind and downloaded again when needed.

Arch-Sister Magda's expression became slightly serious.

The content in this notebook was indeed extremely valuable.

If what was said in the content was true, when the swarm invaded Laixi this time, it was very likely they would release that Lictor again to deal with her...

Sister Magda gently reached out and touched the scar on her cheek.

She was eighty-three years old now, not that immature novice of thirty-two.

Even if her body was a bit older, she still wouldn't lose this time.

"Unit: Zoanthrope"

"Armor: Chitinous carapace, psychic shield"

"Armament: Short claws; relies mainly on psychic powers for combat"

"Introduction: The psychic unit among Tyranid organisms, manufactured by the Tyranid swarm based on Aeldari genetic sequences; its brain occupies most of its body.

Although it appears physically frail, it actually possesses extremely powerful psychic strength, enough to allow it to hover in the air and release psychic shocks capable of piercing adamantium.

Note: Zoanthropes often appear in swarms; the leader among them is a subspecies called the 'Neurothrope,' whose psychic strength is equivalent to an Alpha-level psyker, responsible for helping the Zoanthropes control their own psychic release."

"Threat Level: Extremely Dangerous"

"Response Suggestion: After taking out the Neurothrope, the Zoanthropes may burn out their own neurons because they cannot withstand their own psychic power."

Commander Alexei sat in the cockpit of his magnificent Baneblade tank, looking blankly at the notebook sent from Ashford in his hand.

"Alpha-level psyker?" Commander Alexei's voice suddenly rose.

A powerful Alpha-level psyker could even turn his Baneblade tank inside out with just a gesture, while twisting Alexei into a pretzel.

He felt some distrust toward this notebook.

Arch-Sister Magda noticed Alexei's suspicion.

She spoke up: "The content in this notebook is very detailed; parts of it correspond perfectly with what I know, but it is even richer..."

"Fellow commanders, Lord Zhou Yun is indeed an expert on the Tyranid swarm."

"And this notebook is very suitable for us; he did not talk about the anatomy, physiology, and habits of Tyranid organisms in general, but rather discussed the weapons, armor, and combat performance of these organisms."

"It is very valuable to us... I even suspect, could Lord Zhou Yun be some kind of hidden Biologis Magos?"

Facing Sister Magda's doubt, the corners of Zhou Yun's mouth twitched slightly.

The reason he didn't write about the anatomy of Tyranid organisms in the notebook was because he really didn't know.

Zhou Yun's knowledge of the Tyranid swarm came almost entirely from memories of his past life; he only understood information about Tyranid organisms in terms of combat.

He was basically clueless about deeper knowledge like anatomy and physiology.

It was just really hard to explain right now...

"... Some time ago, I dreamed of an old man in a soap-colored robe with brown hair."

Zhou Yun's mouth moved slightly as he spouted nonsense:

"That old man told me that Ashford was destined to suffer, but he could not bear to see the children of man suffer."

"Seeing that I am a righteous man, he bestowed this notebook upon me, asking me to pass it on to you all on an auspicious day to help the Empire fight the Tyranids."

The surrounding Astra Militarum commanders listened, dumbfounded.

An old man in a dream, soap-colored robe and brown hair, unable to bear human suffering, sending a book to the Empire...

Why did this sound more and more mysterious?

General Drost's eye twitched slightly; he could see that Zhou Yun was trying to push this onto the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang...

But...

"Soap-colored robe and brown hair? Could it be the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang..." Arch-Sister Magda couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Sister Magda seemed to believe Zhou Yun's explanation and immediately considered the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang.

Seeing that the Arch-Sister of the noble Order of the Sacred Rose believed Zhou Yun, the other Astra Militarum commanders couldn't say anything else and could only tentatively accept Zhou Yun's explanation.

They turned to discuss various response measures based on the notebook Zhou Yun had written.

"The threat of the Zoanthrope is great; it would be best to bomb them from a distance..."

"I'm a bit worried about this thing called the Spore Mine; Commander Alexei, you need to be careful."

"Termagants... so Termagants will evolve different 'ammunition' according to the needs of the battlefield..."

"Bio-Titan... this thing shouldn't actually appear, right?"

"If it appears, it should appear in Ashford, General Drost. If it really appears, just look on the bright side."

The initial discussion was about how to deal with specific Tyranid swarms, and Zhou Yun could still provide quite a few opinions.

But after a while, the content turned to specific tactical levels.

Zhou Yun felt that he couldn't compare to these veteran Astra Militarum generals in this regard.

Compared to the Astra Militarum, he understood the swarm better.

Bored, Zhou Yun quietly left the meeting, slipped out of the church, and came to a place outside the church where a group of Ratlings and Cadian soldiers were gathered.

Ratlings are a human subspecies; they are usually shorter in stature.

And almost every one of them is a master of theft, gambling, marksmanship, and cooking.

General Drost's subordinates had a Ratling auxiliary unit; it was said they even stole the General's precious flask...

When Zhou Yun smoothly drifted over to them, these little guys were playing with practice guns, shooting at cans.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A Ratling with brown hair held his practice gun and fired six shots in a row in an instant.

The six cans in the distance fell in response.

The Ratlings cheered.

"The current record is still held by me, Hobian White-Deer. Is there anyone else who wants to challenge?"

The Ratling in charge of organizing the competition raised his hands and asked:

"Whether you are a Ratling or a Cadian, even an Ogryn, as long as you can surpass Hobian White-Deer, you can win the grand prize of our competition."

"And all the Ratlings will respectfully call you champion!"

Not a single Cadian stepped forward to try.

Zhou Yun watched this scene with great interest.

"Cadians are all crack shots."

Just as Zhou Yun was watching this scene, Battle Sister Adelaide walked to Zhou Yun's side:

"But Ratlings are even better. I heard that even a small Ratling can shoot a fly off a Grox from a hundred paces away."

"Since arriving in Ashford, I don't know how many Cadian challengers have lost to this Ratling marksman." Zhou Yun nodded, finding it quite interesting as he listened to Adelaide's account.

Finally, a Cadian couldn't stand the provocation, stood up, picked up a training gun, and walked onto the battlefield.

He took a pack of Lho-sticks as a bet and shoved it to the Ratling holding the competition, then raised the training gun and pulled the trigger.

All six cans flew into the sky.

"Accurate enough, but not fast enough!" The Ratling checked his watch and grinned: "Our competition requires shooting six cans at the fastest speed."

The Cadian spat, looking very unhappy as he stepped down.

"Why did you come out of the conference room?" After the gunfire died down, Adelaide looked at Zhou Yun and asked.

"I'm here to have the Ratlings respectfully call me champion," Zhou Yun said, shrugging his shoulders.

His voice was not quiet, and the surrounding Ratlings immediately looked at him in unison, like a group of mice.

"Is this person a local from Ashford?" The Ratling organizing the competition grinned: "Then why don't you pick up the gun?"

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Zhou Yun smiled, took a pack of Lho-sticks out of his fourth-dimensional pocket, and threw it to the Ratling.

Then he raised his gun and aimed at the six cans in front of him.

The sound of gunfire rang out in an instant; before the crowd could react, Zhou Yun lowered his gun, and one can fell down.

The surrounding Ratlings looked at each other, and a few seconds later, they burst into hearty laughter.

"Only hit one can, sorry friend, your marksmanship doesn't deserve the word champion."

The Ratling organizing the competition bowed to Zhou Yun:

"But we thank you for the Lho-sticks."

"Is that so? Then I also want to thank you for the prize," Zhou Yun said with a smile, walking forward to pick up the can on the ground.

He threw the can to the Ratling.

The Ratling took the can, bewildered; there was only one bullet hole on the can...

Then, the Ratling shook the can a few times, and his eyes widened.

Ignoring the surprised gazes of the people around him,

he hurriedly took out the prize and walked respectfully to Zhou Yun's side, handing it over.

It was a metal flask with patterns, which seemed to be filled with wine.

"Champion," the Ratling said respectfully.

Zhou Yun took the flask, nodded slightly, and turned to leave.

The meeting inside the church was about to end, and it was about time for him to go back.

Whether it was Battle Sister Adelaide or the Ratlings and Cadians, they all watched Zhou Yun leave with bewildered expressions.

They hadn't figured out what had happened yet.

Even Adelaide couldn't help her curiosity and gathered around to see what had happened.

"Old White-Deer, did his remaining five bullets go into your hook?"

"Yeah! Although he fired fast, he only hit one; why did you admit defeat?"

"Quick, show us the can."

Watching the crowd gather around, the Ratling who organized the competition raised the can in his hand and shook it violently a few times.

A series of rattling sounds came from inside the can.

There was a silence in the air, and then the people around burst into exclamations.

There was clearly more than one bullet in the can,

but there was only one bullet hole on the can body.

"Six bullets, all in the can!"

The Ratling who organized the competition held the can high with a solemn expression:

"But there is only one bullet hole!"

"We have a true champion!"

The surrounding onlookers burst into noise and praise.

Adelaide couldn't help but click her tongue.

This meant that Zhou Yun had just fired six shots in the blink of an eye.

After the first shot hit, the remaining bullets all entered the same can through the same bullet hole.

This was simply a god-like skill!

Even as a Battle Sister, she could absolutely not do it.

The Cadians and Ratlings, who were all crack shots, couldn't do it either.

"Champion!" Adelaide couldn't help but shout along with the surrounding Ratlings and Cadians.

For a time, outside the church, only enthusiastic cheers remained.

Zhou Yun carried the flask full of wine and returned to the church with a pleasant expression.

The meeting inside the church was mostly over.

The commanders on the laser communicator noticed Zhou Yun's return, nodded to him slightly, and then cut off the connection one by one.

"The general tactics have been discussed; we will abandon more than sixty percent of the districts in Ashford."

General Drost stood up and looked at Zhou Yun.

"This is necessary," Zhou Yun nodded slightly, agreeing with General Drost's approach.

There were only three million Astra Militarum soldiers in the entire star system, and even fewer on Ashford.

These people could not defend a planet with a population of thirty billion.

"Fudia City will be the main battlefield; the districts we hold will be those currently completely under your control."

Seeing Zhou Yun agree, General Drost continued:

"We will discuss the specific combat arrangements for each district in detail later."

"The key now is to evacuate the residents of the under-hive; Sister Adelaide will cooperate with you."

Speaking of this, General Drost's eyes moved slightly.

He noticed the patterned flask Zhou Yun was carrying at his waist.

Zhou Yun grinned, lifted the flask, shook it at General Drost, and said: "My spoils of war."

"Just won it back from a group of Ratlings."

Hearing this, General Drost's expression twitched slightly, half in pain and half in heartache.

He couldn't help but reach out and cover his heart, saying:

"This flask... it's the one stolen from me by the Ratlings... it contains my prized Amasec..."

This chapter is a two-in-one, four thousand words.

(End of chapter)