Captain Agmem's words echoed in EGO's ears, stirring up a storm in his mind.
Varo Degris… the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines, had directly named them, the players, to lead the battle? What was truly behind this?
EGO's thoughts raced. Could the Old Man on the Golden Throne have used his far-reaching psychic powers, secretly pulling strings, paving the way for them, the "Calamities," through Degris' prophecy?
After a long period of pondering, finding no conclusive answer, EGO decisively cast these chaotic thoughts aside, refocusing his attention on the immediate reality. Whatever the reason, the opportunity was now before him.
"Since that's the case, I shall respectfully accept," EGO nodded slightly to the two space mariness, his tone devoid of humility, instead filled with a self-assured confidence.
He unceremoniously issued his first command: "First, I want all mortals, except the Helldivers, to completely evacuate Planditium."
"The evacuation of non-combatants is already underway…" Huron subconsciously replied, but halfway through, he immediately reacted, "Wait, are you saying… to evacuate the Astra Militarum and the Ultramar Auxilia as well?"
"Yes," EGO affirmed, "There are two reasons. First, most of the Helldivers do not want others to steal our glory; second, our combat methods are difficult for other mortals to endure."
"Quite honest…" Agmem said, noncommittal about the first reason, "What are your combat methods?"
EGO pulled out a data-slate, brought up a pre-prepared plan, and displayed it to the two astartes.
"First, we will extensively spray our specially formulated corrosive gas into the planet's atmosphere. This gas, upon contact with any organic matter and moisture, will immediately trigger a violent deflagration reaction, and during this reaction, it will produce more of the same type of gas."
"Secondly, we will establish strong defensive perimeters around several large cities on Planditium as defensive cores. Inside these perimeters, we will install modified nuclear reactors, allowing them to continuously leak lethal radiation, reaching tens of thousands of roentgens, capable of covering the entire city."
"Finally, we will extensively use strong acid solutions. The primary purpose of these acids is to rapidly dissolve the bodies of our fallen warriors during combat, temporarily containing the Tyranid Swarm, and ensuring that they find it difficult to recover our fallen's biomass during intense combat."
As EGO calmly articulated the process, even Agmem and Huron, two battle-hardened space mariness who had witnessed countless scenes of blood and death, showed changes in their expressions multiple times.
When EGO put away the data-slate, it was Huron who first broke the silence: "This… isn't this a bit too extreme? If this plan is truly implemented, Planditium will likely not be able to hope for agricultural recovery for the next hundred years."
"This is the only way to maximize the combat effectiveness of us, the Helldivers," EGO simply stated calmly, then fell silent, quietly awaiting their decision.
Huron looked at Agmem. Planditium was one of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, administered by the Ultramarines. The ultimate decision on whether to defend it in such a self-destructive manner undoubtedly rested with the Ultramarines.
Agmem, the Second Company captain of the Ultramarines, found his hand trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the profound sorrow in his chest, and with an almost imperceptible tremor in his voice, said: "I… I trust the Librarian's guidance. Before, many of his decisions were too far ahead of their time to be understood by other Battle-guys, but in the end, facts always proved him correct."
In fact, Chief Librarian Varo Degris' judgment this time was indeed correct. After the Helldivers' scorched-earth tactics were implemented, Planditium at least had hope of recovering its vitality after a hundred years. However, if it had followed its original historical trajectory, being completely overrun and consumed by the Tyranid Swarm, then this planet would have remained a lifeless dead world for the next thousand years.
The reason Agmem, despite his immense heartache, still chose to support this plan, besides Librarian Varo's unquestionable prestige within the chapter—almost all Ultramarines respected and trusted him—was a more practical one: the loss of an agricultural world was still within the acceptable range for the Ultramarines. Trading a planet's century-long decline for an opportunity to halt the tyranid advance and preserve Macragge was clearly worth it.
Since Agmem had already expressed his support, Huron naturally had no further objections. As a pragmatic Chapter Master, he quickly cast aside his concerns about the planet's future, refocusing his attention on the strategic and tactical level.
"Can you explain the principles behind these tactics?" he asked EGO.
"Our core objective is to transform the entire Planditium battlefield into a highly biomass-consuming inferno," the other replied, "The Tyranid Swarm is a species with extremely rapid evolution. If we primarily use fire, they will quickly evolve fire-resistant carapaces; if we use radiation, they will also find ways to resist it, or even turn it to their advantage. Therefore, no single extreme environment is lethal enough; all lethal factors must be combined."
He paused, allowing the two space mariness to digest this concept, then continued: "When the atmosphere is filled with deflagration gas, the surface is covered with strong radiation capable of killing everything, plus our conventional firepower. Any tyranid creature that sets foot on this planet, in order to maintain its most basic combat effectiveness, will need to simultaneously evolve multiple characteristics such as heat resistance, corrosion resistance, radiation resistance, and kinetic resistance."
"Every additional adaptive evolution means extra consumption of biomass and energy. When these consumptions are stacked, their biomass requirements will increase exponentially. In this way, every step they take, every attack they launch, will be a losing proposition."
EGO silently added in his mind: Moreover, such multi-resistant tyranids will yield much more glory when killed. This is truly a monster-grinding paradise.
Huron's eyes lit up; he fully understood the logic of this tactic. More than pure defense, this was akin to an active war of attrition, an attack targeting the very foundation of the tyranid species—biomass. By creating an extremely complex, multi-faceted death trap, it forced the tyranid Hive Mind to invest far more than normal costs into the path of "evolution," thereby macro-strategically draining the biomass reserves of the entire invading fleet.
"I understand," Huron nodded, even a hint of approval in his tone, "You are not just killing them, you are 'starving' them. Every combat unit that dies here will be an unrecoverable net loss for the Hive Fleet. I'm starting to like you guys."
Agmem listened in silence; he also understood the brilliance of this tactic, but it did not alleviate the heaviness in his heart. He could almost see the future of Planditium—a dead world, radiating deadly toxins and radiation, barren of all life for centuries.
"Do as you say," the Second Company captain of the Ultramarines finally made his decision. He ordered through his helmet, "Transmit my command: coordinate all Auxilia legions, immediately begin to gather at the starport, and prepare for full evacuation. The defense of Planditium… is fully handed over to the Helldivers Legion."