"How many reinforcements can the Imperium send? Seriously, without a million or so Astra Militarum, I doubt it'll be enough to fill this hole." In the conference room of the Rostov Governor's Office, Gutierrez was asking Alex, looking exhausted.
He had just finished dealing with the Space Marine matters. After all, nearly a hundred Astartes from four Chapters participated in this battle, with over fifty percent casualties.
Whether it was the recovery of the dead, their weapons, equipment, and Gene-Seed, or the subsequent treatment of the wounded, Gutierrez had to handle all sorts of issues.
At this moment, he was ostensibly the highest-ranking Astartes, and he also needed to coordinate issues between the four different Chapters.
Especially with the Blood Angels, although the Death Company warriors who succumbed to the Black Rage had voluntarily stayed behind to cover the retreat, those who returned were mostly mentally unstable.
Gutierrez had no choice but to procure another batch of sanctus wine from Alex's cellar to stabilize their condition.
If the Ash Knights weren't Alex's pawns, thus not requiring too much attention, Gutierrez's workload would likely have doubled.
And after finishing all of this, he was naturally exhausted, as even an Astartes couldn't withstand such high-intensity work.
Facing Gutierrez's inquiry, Alex tossed him a newly received astropathic message: "The Star Sector Capital has mobilized a fleet consisting of one battleship, ten cruisers, and several other vessels, bringing two hundred thousand Astra Militarum and eight hundred Astartes as reinforcements."
"That sounds good, the fleet will be a huge help!" Gutierrez's expression brightened considerably when he heard Alex say that two hundred thousand Astra Militarum were coming.
If there had been enough Astra Militarum or void warships in this battle, the situation might have taken a different turn.
At the very least, they wouldn't have had to use Astartes to buy the Defense Force time to retreat.
The Astra Militarum's overall quality was much higher, and their weapons and equipment were far better, allowing them sufficient firepower to cover their own retreat.
"You haven't heard it all. Besides those, there are also a million Holy War Army from the Ecclesiarchy and a hundred thousand noble private armies, and these are just the vanguard." Alex spread his hands, making a helpless gesture: "In fact, according to information I received through internal Inquisition channels, the Star District Department of Military Affairs is organizing an expedition, with an estimated total mobilization of nearly three million troops.
In addition, the Ecclesiarchy has been recruiting people under the banner of a Holy War.
According to news from Pavel, the Ecclesiarchy might mobilize over ten million Holy War Army.
The Solar System Department of Military Affairs will also send a portion of reinforcements to participate in this expedition, with an estimated force of no less than five million, and no less than three Chapters have responded to the invitation for the expedition…"
"Wait, buddy, I think I heard you mention an expedition? When did this turn into an expedition?" Gutierrez was a bit confused, not knowing when the Rostov conflict had become an expedition.
Alex looked at Gutierrez's bewildered expression and felt only helplessness.
His own reaction was almost identical when he first received the news, but he quickly understood why this was an expedition.
"First, Rostov is a Holy Land, that is certain! Although it hasn't been officially consecrated yet, both the Star District Ecclesiarchy and the Ecclesiarchy Headquarters on Holy Terra have confirmed this. There are just some procedures left to complete, and my attitude here has held up their progress. After all, I don't want Rostov to be transformed into a Shrine World." Alex briefly explained Rostov's importance, which perfectly explained why the Ecclesiarchy launched a Holy War.
Gutierrez, of course, understood this. He rubbed his forehead: "Alright, defending a Holy Land! It's not strange for the Ecclesiarchy to launch a Holy War. The noble private armies are probably related to our Sub-Sector development plan; they're concerned about their money flying away.
But why is the Department of Military Affairs acting crazy? Especially the Solar System Department of Military Affairs. You didn't send the distress call to the Solar System Department of Military Affairs, did you? I remember Rostov is in the Solar System, and the Solar System Headquarters there, I recall, is…"
Gutierrez looked at Alex with a somewhat strange and inexplicable expression, as if suspecting Alex had done something outrageous.
However, Alex shook his head and said with certainty: "Even if I were to seek reinforcements from higher up, I would directly go to the Inquisition's Arctic Hotel. The Solar System Department of Military Affairs is under pressure from the Ecclesiarchy.
The Ecclesiarchy seems intent on using this opportunity to launch a Holy War, on one hand, to legitimately turn Rostov into a Holy Land, and on the other, to force me into submission and agree to turn this planet into a Shrine World."
"Alright, the Ecclesiarchy has its own agenda, I understand." Gutierrez felt a headache coming on, but he continued to ask: "Then how did a Holy War turn into an expedition? And why is the Department of Military Affairs going mad?"
"The Department of Military Affairs was instigated by the Outreach Ordo. The Inquisition feels that an xenos civilization capable of making me call for reinforcements is suspiciously too strong, so they plan to launch a war to solve this xenos civilization once and for all." Alex revealed the most crucial factor that turned this request for aid into an expedition.
"Good heavens…" Gutierrez didn't know what to say. After a long pause, he finally asked: "Do they know what the Necron Dynasty is all about? Eight million Astra Militarum… that's not enough to kill a Necron Dynasty, is it?"
"Of course not enough, so I called a Titan Legion from Griya Forge World to help." Alex finally showed a hint of smugness, and incidentally revealed another piece of news: "Also, Ovilia contacted Cawl, hoping to activate the thing under the Forge at Mariupol Forge World. According to her, Cawl is considering it, but there's a high probability he'll agree."
"Are there ten thousand Primaris in there? Will Cawl really agree to deploy Primaris Astartes on such a large scale before the return of the Lord Commander of the Imperium?" Gutierrez looked at Alex with an expression that seemed to say, 'Are you perhaps messing with me?'
However, Alex shook his head and said: "Of course not all ten thousand Primaris will be pulled out. That would be too ostentatious! My meaning is to borrow some of their equipment, such as the Invictor Tactical Warsuits and grav-vehicles, as well as those Redemptor Dreadnoughts. These can still be used.
Cawl is very amenable in this regard; it'll be like testing new equipment for him and collecting combat data.
Moreover, the MK10 series' accompanying weapons include melta weapons, which are very desirable for the current Imperial Chapters."
Hearing Alex's explanation, Gutierrez finally understood what he wanted to do.
However, he also fully supported it, as this would greatly strengthen their own weapons and equipment, and he could also share in some of the benefits.
Although equipment could be exchanged for points, why not save some points by acquiring some for free?
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