Chapter 1168: Consumables Held Us Up for Such a Long Time

When Krieg soldier 123-7-379 raised his head from the explosion of the "Mammoth" mech, there were originally only energy trails left by the orbital bombardment launched by the Fengqi Fleet and white contrails dragged by attack aircraft.

But now, new points of light appeared in the depths of the Tianqiong, like burning stars falling through the atmosphere.

Too many, at least twenty, thirty... no, more.

They were falling vertically from orbit, dragging long plasma exhaust flames.

"Attention all units, massive orbital drop detected!"

The Modian Command Center's communications suddenly exploded across all working channels.

"Energy signature match... The Emperor protects, it's Titans!"

Titans.

They had seen armored vehicles, seen tanks, and even seen Knight Mechs, but Titans... those were walking gods, the most sacred war engines of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the embodiment of the Emperor's wrath in the material universe.

And now, these gods were descending onto their battlefield.

The first Titan to land crashed down on the plains seven kilometers north of the rift.

It was a Warhound-class Titan, the most agile model in the Titan Legion, but "agile" was relative to other Titans.

In the eyes of mortals, it was still a seventeen-meter-tall mobile fortress.

Its legs were like the pillars of a temple, and the twin-linked Turbo Laser Destructors and Plasma Blastguns mounted on its torso radiated lethal majesty even in a stationary state.

The Titan's feet sank deep into the soil, and the surrounding ground cracked radially due to the impact.

It crouched slightly, absorbing the impact of the landing, then slowly straightened up.

The Modian communication channels suddenly erupted with various sounds.

"This is Modian Observation Point A-2, confirmed Titan landing! Repeat, Titan Legion has arrived on the battlefield!"

"Modian Third Defense Line reporting, we see them! The Emperor protects, we see them!"

"Artillery position... wait, is the artillery position still there? Colonel Hans, do you see it?"

A brief moment of static noise, then Hans Klaus's hoarse but clear voice came through.

"I see it. All remaining artillery units, recalculate firing parameters. The Titans will eliminate all Aliens; all we need to do is clear out the Alien fodder and light vehicles."

And in the command center at the bottom of the rift, Colonel Sitelake's mechanical prosthetic eye was magnifying the holographic image to its maximum capacity.

He watched that Warhound-class Titan, then looked at the other points of light that were landing, and for the first time, a genuine, undisguised smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"They arrived on time. Notify all units: the general offensive begins. Let the Death Korps advance, Modian forces provide flank cover. The Titans will open a gap, and all we have to do is widen it."

"What about the Fengqi orbital fire?"

His Adjutant asked.

"Titans are huge targets, easily becoming targets for orbital bombardment."

Sitelake pointed to the energy readings on the tactical screen.

"Look here, the energy signals in orbit are decaying. The Fengqi Fleet is in trouble."

Fengkaodunxing orbit, "Enterprise" Battleship Bridge.

Kalivento's Third Eye was twitching wildly.

He stared at the damn ground combat report on the tactical screen.

"Casualty rate for the fourth wave of airborne troops... 68%."

Deputy Commander Craig's voice was cautious.

"'Mammoth' walking mechs lost four units, 'Thunder Beast' tanks lost eleven. The enemy is still holding all key nodes of the rift."

"This is impossible!"

Kalivento slammed his fist onto the tactical table.

"We have already invested the equivalent of the force needed to capture a secondary main star into this... this nameless rock planet! And what do they have? Some ordinary soldiers with inferior equipment! No Space Marines! No Primarch! Nothing!"

The bridge was deathly silent.

The officers kept their heads down, not daring to look directly into the Commander's eyes.

They understood Kalivento's anger, because this anger was spreading in everyone's heart.

According to the assessment of the Fengqi Military Intelligence Bureau, the combat power composition of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance is: Primarch (cannot be quantified, but determines the direction of the battlefield) > Space Marines (each equivalent to a company of conventional troops) > various special legions (combat power varies) > ordinary Astra Militarum (rarely seen on the battlefield, can be ignored, mainly responsible for occupation and cleanup tasks).

But now, those "negligible" ordinary soldiers had already made the Seventh Star Sector fleet bleed too much on Fengkaodunxing.

Craig spoke cautiously.

"Data analysis from the battlefield shows the enemy's tactical execution is abnormally tenacious. Especially those troops wearing earth-gray uniforms and gas masks; they almost never accept surrender nor give it, and even if only one person is left, they will fight to the death."

The Intelligence Officer interjected.

"Death Korps of Krieg. Recorded in the database. A special legion within the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance, known for extreme fanaticism and disregard for life. They are not regular Astra Militarum, but... they are not considered elite troops either. More like consumables."

"Consumables have held us up for such a long time."

Kalivento's voice squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Consumables destroyed four of our 'Mammoth' mechs. Consumables caused us to lose over twenty thousand airborne troops!"