Chapter 225: Hannibal

A black Stormbird landed on Planet Four, and Ninglu and Hannibal stepped off the boarding ramp.

Ninglu noticed the tip of Hannibal's nose twitching.

"The scent of meat mixed with Fungus."

Ninglu looked at Hannibal's expression, which seemed as if he had caught the scent of food, and spoke.

"Your sense of smell is truly keen."

Hannibal's charming smile was tinged with a hint of gloom.

"Lecter is a world of food scarcity; Madsen and the others and I were always hungry."

"So, you understand, hungry people are always sensitive to food."

Hannibal said gloomily; there were too few Xenos on Lecter, and the Wheel of Fire was simply paradise.

Ninglu nodded slightly and said to Arsena Dunn.

"Holographic scan."

The Primarch Attendant raised his left arm, operated the projector embedded within it, and projected a scan of Planet Four in front of the two Primarchs.

"Lord Hannibal, Planet Four is the closest to the star among the eight planets; influenced by gravity and many other factors, the volcanoes on this world are very active."

"The land is fertile after volcanic eruptions, and they bring minerals from the planet's core to the surface. Human colonists built their territories around these volcanoes, outside the eruption zones."

"After the Ork tribes occupied this world, their strongholds were also built on the original human territories."

Hannibal looked at the unfolded hologram, seeing dense clusters of light points on it.

The silver-haired Arsena highlighted sixteen of the light points and continued.

"There are sixteen large Ork strongholds, with numerous small strongholds scattered around them."

Ninglu, who had been silent, spoke at this moment.

"Based on the situation on Planet Four, my purge plan is divided into two phases."

"The first phase is to capture the large fortresses, then withdraw from them."

During the voyage from Terra to the Wheel of Fire, Hannibal had heard Suarez and Erlin describe the characteristics of the Orcs.

Although the two Company Captains had only experienced smaller-scale campaigns, it still gave him a certain understanding of the Orcs.

After a moment of thought, Hannibal understood Ninglu's tactical intent.

"After withdrawing from the large fortresses, the Orks from the surrounding small strongholds will surely swarm into the large ones; their infighting will consume a large number of Orks."

"Correct," Ninglu looked at Hannibal with appreciation, "Wait until the Orks have decided on a victor, then launch an attack on them while they are heavily depleted."

What Ninglu did not mention was that this tactic was only suitable for a place like Planet Four, where there were many Orc tribes but not in the hundreds of millions.

Orcs grow stronger through battle, and the final victorious Orc boss would see his strength increase significantly, and his tribe would be even more Waaagh!

This was reflected in the future Octarius.

Ninglu decided to launch an offensive immediately after a victor was decided in each stronghold, rather than waiting for a boss who would unify the planet to emerge.

He was confident in himself to contain potential threats, which was why he adopted this strategy.

Ninglu said to Hannibal: "In the first phase of the war over the past two months, my Legion has already purged the three strongholds marked as One, Four, and Eleven."

Hannibal noticed that the three fortress strongholds in the hologram were green, while the other thirteen were red.

"In the second phase of the war, my Legion will launch an offensive against strongholds Three, Thirteen, and Fourteen."

"The Second Legion is responsible for the offensive on stronghold Two; according to the Auger Matrix scan, that stronghold is the second-largest Ork fortress."

"Good."

Hannibal kept the charming smile on his face and replied crisply.

From Ninglu's arrangement, he understood his intention; he considered that he had only just returned to the Imperium and the Legion needed a period of integration, so he let him be responsible for the offensive on only one stronghold.

But he also considered his honor, so he gave the largest of the remaining fortresses to the Second Legion.

Ninglu chatted with Hannibal for a while longer, both to teach him common knowledge of the Human Empire and to observe and understand him.

It was not until the Second Legion's landing craft completed their deployment that the two Primarchs parted ways.

Hannibal boarded the Stormbird and flew toward his Legion.

The Stormbird landed slowly, and the Faceless erupted in deafening cheers.

Suarez and Erlin had already gathered all the Lieutenants and Captains, and Hannibal walked before them.

His eyes scanned the crowd, and upon discovering that every descendant was carrying a blade forged of steel, he said with satisfaction.

"You have all equipped the Bear Hunting Knife as I requested."

"The primary principle of hunting is timing; for those powerful prey, it is not suitable to initiate a hunt when you first encounter them, as the prey's power of resistance is very strong at that time."

"We must launch a swift offensive, strike the prey mercilessly, weaken them to a certain degree, and then begin the true hunt."

Hannibal looked at the thoughtful Suarez, Erlin, and the others, and said with a smile.

"Form up and move out; I will teach you hand-in-hand what true hunting is."

"Tell every Faceless that the one who performs best in the hunt will receive a delicacy personally cooked by my chef."

Suarez and Erlin felt their throats secrete saliva; compared to their crude methods, their Gene-Father's food was far more delicious.

After the Second Legion assembled, Hannibal gave the order, and they launched an attack on the defensive fortifications on the outskirts of the stronghold.

He strode at the very front of the formation, raised the bolter in his hand, and fired bolts at the Orcs.

The Faceless followed their Gene-Father, raising the bolters in their hands.

The barrage of fire flew toward the Orcs who were charging and shouting, blowing them into fragments.

Two minutes later, Hannibal opened his communicator and spoke on the Second Legion's audio array channel.

"Remember, the timing for the hunt is when half of the prey is dead; this is the conclusion from a thousand years of experience on Lecter."

"When half of the prey is dead, those that are the least tasty have already been eliminated, and what remains are the most delicious."

"Now, draw your Bear Hunting Knives."

After Hannibal finished speaking, he was the first to strap on his bolter and draw his Bear Hunting Knife from his waist.

Lecter was similar to Planet Four, also being a mountainous world, the difference being that it was covered in forests.

An excellent hunter like Hannibal fed on the bears in the forest.

When hunting, they used the Bear Hunting Knife.

The Bear Hunting Knife was similar in appearance to the hunting knife of the same name from Old Terra; both had curved blades and possessed excellent cutting performance.

When a hunter slashed, their hands always maintained Balance, never losing their center of gravity or being countered by the prey.

Hannibal looked around at his progeny, and after noticing they all had their knives drawn in hand, he continued.

"The first step of predation is selecting a target; its body proportions must be appropriate... its meat must be firm and elastic..."

"Every indicator is not rigid; you must have your own standards for gourmet food."

Hannibal spoke of sixty-eight indicators in a row, explaining them to his progeny by incorporating the bodies of the Orcs.

His speaking speed was rapid; he finished in just two minutes.

"Wanting to select the best prey in the very instant of hunting is a huge test."

"Ensuring your target does not conflict with the Faceless ones nearby, and coordinating during the hunt, is an even greater test."

"But if you want to become an excellent gourmet hunter, this is something you must overcome."

While Hannibal was speaking, he had already selected his target for predation.

Hannibal had honed his skills in the forests of Lecter; he only needed an instant to lock onto the target that best fit his standards among thousands of prey.

It was not the tallest or the most robust one Hannibal saw, but it best fit Hannibal's philosophy of gourmet food.

Hannibal said to the Faceless ones over the communication network.

"Next is the crucial step."

"This is a test of hunting blade technique; we cannot destroy the essence of the gourmet food."

"We must swiftly end the prey's life; this is the respect we should offer to our food."

He licked his lips: "This is also a requirement for deliciousness; terrified food will secrete lactic acid and other hormones, causing the meat to turn sour."

While Hannibal emphasized the importance of swiftly ending the gourmet food's suffering, he dodged a large club swung by an Orc.

He swung his Bear Hunting Knife in a horizontal slash, and the Orc's head went flying.

To him, the Orc's armpit was the worst-smelling and least tasty part.

But he knew from Suarez and Erlin that Orcs had tenacious vitality, and only by cutting off their heads could they be killed without destroying other parts.

Hannibal did not stop his pace; one Orc was far from enough to satisfy his appetite.

He had never eaten to his own satisfaction; seeing the Orcs before him, his stomach could not help but let out a hungry growl, and he needed more food.

Hannibal cut off the heads of five Orcs in a row before he stopped.

He looked around the surroundings and found that the officers like Suarez were learning quickly.

They had all found their own gourmet food; even to his picky eyes as a gourmet, those were delicious foods.

They used the Bear Hunting Knife to complete the hunt, without using weapons like the Power Sword or Chainsword that would destroy the tissues of the food.

Their movements were swift and did not let the food fall into terror; this was the proper reverence.

Hannibal switched communication channels and issued orders to the team of twenty chefs.

Hannibal's chef team numbered as many as two hundred and sixty people, most of whom came from Lecter, while others were excellent chefs he had recruited from Terra.

They all took turns undergoing Gaizao Shouhu to ensure there were always twenty chefs cooking for him at any time.

"Cook the food!"

The twenty chefs, along with a thousand apprentices, began to cook.

Cleaning, portioning, slicing meat...

Everyone had a clear division of labor.

The scent of Fungus mixed with fresh meat permeated the camp, and the golden meat steaks shimmered with an alluring luster under the shining sun...

Hannibal pointed his finger one by one at those who performed excellently: "Suarez, Erlin..."

He selected over three hundred progeny: "You will enjoy the chefs' delicacies with me."

"The others, eat the food cooked by the apprentices."

The Legion's servants set up folding tables.

The tablecloths on the tables were clean and white.

After Hannibal washed his hands, he wiped them dry with a white handkerchief.

After he sat down, he wrapped a white napkin around his neck.

Hannibal clasped his hands together, and he said to his progeny.

"Before tasting gourmet food, we should perform the Holy Communion."

His head was slightly lowered: "Thank you, Emperor, for granting me an appetite; thank you, Orcs, for becoming my food!"

The Faceless ones followed their Gene-Father in performing the Holy Communion.

Hannibal wore a smile as he picked up his dinner knife.

"Now, let us begin to taste the gourmet food."

Twenty-six minutes later, Suarez and Erlin took out white handkerchiefs and wiped the corners of their mouths.

They wore satisfied smiles, and the two who sat opposite each other exchanged glances, reading the same thought in each other's eyes.

【We were too crude before; we wasted too much food.

We must be as elegant as the Gene-Father and become gourmets.】

(End of chapter)