Author Notes:
Honestly, I think the references in the latest GSS chapter is subtle enough :D
Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and remember, the next Monthly Discount will start on the beginning of next month!
P.S: Should I or should I not pen down the vision of Ein going in a fist fight with an Astartes?
https://www.patre-on.com/Heartbreak117
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
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"You know..." Hua opens up, breaking the awkward atmosphere that has just recently formed on Mount Taixuan. "I'm not even mad."
"Pffft!" Xuanyuan and the rest, who have been holding themselves back, laugh at my expense at last after hearing Hua's comment.
Right now, my martial family is looking at me being squished to death by a bunch of white furballs with red tufts for hair. A bunch of fat chickens is literally piling upon me, a direct consequence of Hua tearing the Random Reward Ticket I gifted her with.
I sputter, coughing out a white feather as I look up at them from my position on the ground.
"While they're a fluffy and all, can one of you stop laughing and help me up? It's hot with them all over me, sisters!"
"Sorry, sorry~! Here, shoo shoo, hefty little ones, and stop huddling my Junior Sister." Xuanyuan, feeling bad for me, waves the strange, chonky chickens away from my collapsed body.
My Senior Sister then helps me up on my feet as Nuwa chuckles.
"You know, perhaps I should say, as expected of Hua's luck. Back then, Hua had to hit max pity to hit a super rare character, and even then, she still consistently lost the 50/50. The moment she did get a character she wanted, the gacha games she played either went EoS or went into indefinite maintenance mode."
Fuxi nods, acknowledging Nuwa's words, much to Hua's chagrin. "Friendly reminder, don't ever leave Hua with any game that is luck-based. It won't end well for her."
I look at Hua's darkening expression before giggling.
"That bad, huh? At least she got these cute guys." I nudge my head in the direction of the flock of ten fat white chickens.
Turning to Xuanyuan, who is at a bit of a loss over the terms gacha games Nuwa brought up, I kindly explain while patting my robe off any chicken feathers.
"You can consider gacha games as lucky draw games. Whoever draws a red stick will be rewarded with a corresponding prize. Black sticks, though, mean getting nothing or only consolation prizes. Sister Hua's luck has it that she has only ever drawn black sticks, apparently."
"Oh..."
"Yeah. Oh..."
Both of our martial sisters look at Hua with kind gazes. Hua, unable to stomach our pity, forcefully fakes a cough to change the subject, much to Nuwa's and Fuxi's obvious amusement.
"W-Well, let's all take a look at what these chickens really are, shall we? I don't think the System would be that harsh to reward us with non-useful things."
"Fine, we'll go easy on you. Come on, gather around, everyone. The chickens won't go anywhere in this courtyard." Fuxi says. "Besides, they seem perfectly content with sunbathing, now that they have lost Ein as their favorite roost."
I roll my eyes as Fuxi. "Haha, very funny, Sister Fuxi."
The chickens, although they're supposed to be Hua's reward, somehow spawned right on top of me, even though I wasn't even the nearest person to Hua.
Regardless of my misgivings, though, we all gather next to Hua, each of us poking our heads to read the information on Hua's System panel.
[Flock of ten Baby Phoenixes.
- A Baby Phoenix is not a true Phoenix; it's only name thus due to its chonkiness, strangely sharp gaze, pearly white body, and two red tufts of feathers on its head. It closely resembles traditional chickens, but can be considered a further evolution of its more grounded brethren.
- Baby Phoenixes' worthiness as combat familiars is quite disputed. However, while they aren't frontline combatants, they offer certain benefits that are most certainly unique.
- A Baby Phoenix's eggs are highly nutritional and offer a boost to fatigue recovery, training effectiveness, extremely minor physical stats increase, and a minor detoxification effect.
- It's highly inadvisable to hunt Baby Phoenixes for meat, as the rate of successful hatching of Baby Phoenix eggs is extremely low. A batch of twelve eggs may not even birth one Baby Phoenix.
- To counteract the low birthrate, Baby Phoenixes are surprisingly robust and long-lived. They are very easy to raise, and female Baby Phoenixes can lay countless eggs during their long lifetimes.
- A Baby Phoenix that reaches old age and dies naturally will have its meat 'matured'. This 'matured' meat can then be taken to make into dishes that rejuvenate lifespan and grant a minor boost to physical stats.
- There are five male and female Baby Phoenixes, ten in total, in the flock.]
After rereading the System's description, all of us can only take a look at the bundle of Baby Phoenixes in the yard before turning to look at ourselves in a confused manner.
"You're seriously telling me that we have little Jingweis first before Hua gets a girlfriend?" Comes Fuwa's stunned comment.
Following right after that is a resounding bonk from a very red-faced Hua.
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After that interlude with the Baby Phoenixes, we invest our effort into constructing a suitable farm for the flock. Fortunately, the Baby Phoenixes don't demand much in terms of pasture quality, meaning things can be set up quite simply. Once that endeavor is accomplished, I devote myself to finishing up my research alongside Fuxi and Nuwa. When all things are said and done, I loosen up with Hua and Xuanyuan before throwing myself back to the Warhammer universe without much delay.
Really, there is much to be done here. Other than finding a suitable opportunity to craft prosthetics for Anders, Surbella, and Drake, I find myself winding up at the Cadian 8th's Mechanized Command. The Mechanized Command is the nerve center that runs the 8th's motorized, mechanized, and armored components. Things like supply depots, motor pools, and vehicle workshops, all stuff necessary to fuel mechanized combat,... They are concentrated here in this patch of reclaimed and converted structures and clearings. The reason why I am here is that I have been called upon by the Tech-priests that I am familiar with. Apparently, I am needed to help maintain, recover, and parse precious combat data from the units of Imperial Droidekas we have deployed in the field.
And I must say, their combat records have been quite astounding. Each Droideka that got sent back to the rear or was destroyed and recovered paid their weight in the amount of destruction caused and lives saved. One of the reasons why the frontline held steadfast against the raving cultists is directly attributed to units fielding Droidekas holding back massive enemy infantry assaults at key chokepoints, thus preventing the nightmarish scenarios of a bulged defensive line.
Additionally, there are no fewer than twenty recorded attempts of Droidekas being part of Cadian-led countercharges against detected enemy artillery emplacements and force gathering points. The destruction rendered upon these sites has tipped the scales massively in the JTF's favor, preventing much unnecessary loss of soldiers' lives and precious war materials. For the first time in a long time, the Cadian 8th earns itself what can only be described as a clean initial success.
The number becomes more striking when you realize that Cadian Whiteshields only suffer from 35% attrition, whereas the numbers usually can go twice that. This means out of a group of 100 Whiteshields, 65 of them will go on to graduate and be fully incorporated into the experienced Cadian 8th fighting force. That number will be more than enough to bring a Company back to full fighting strength. There will be manpower in abundance now to either reinforce each Company or to form an entirely new one, thus bolstering the Cadian 8th anew. Mind you, Cadian Whiteshields are already trained to the standard of a normal Imperial Guard Regiment from elsewhere. So, more than being fresh blood, the inducted Whiteshields will be bringing with them crucial core combat skills and hardened experience.
Provided logistics can keep up with the increase in manpower, the Cadian 8th will be the JTF's capable blunt force instrument with just how many of us the Regiment can spare in the near future. With the JTF backing us up, however, logistical constraints would be the least of our concerns, at least for now.
I have high hopes for my home Regiment. The stronger the 8th, the stronger Cadia becomes, and that is always a good thing.
The clicking of combat boots on hardened ground brings me out of my mental marathon. I hum a nonsensical tune as I click the protective plating on the right weapon arm of a Droideka back in place before I turn to face the approaching people.
"Yo." I wave at them with a gloved hand that is covered in holy oil. They're all familiar faces in the Regiment for me.
"Corporal, I see you have been hard at work." The person leading the small group returns my simple greeting with a nod.
That man is none other than Ursarkar E. Creed himself; his well-kept, if visually battered, Flak Vest quietly denotes his rank as Lieutenant.
"Well, I can't have your battle buddy here," I reply, pointing my thumb at the Droideka that is calmly awaiting further command. "Be out of sorts when you all be needing it most, wouldn't it? By the way, Lieutenant, your unit just got assigned one Droideka, and you somehow managed to run it ragged in less than half a day. Were I an actual Tech-priest, I would probably be cursing you in the name of the Omnissiah for somehow making a machine that was built to tank some hits be forced to limp back with all of its weapon arms melted."
Creed halts his step before the Droideka, surveying its battle-scarred, but functional appearance after the recent maintenance works conducted by yours truly. He does that for a few seconds, then turns to look at me with a calm expression.
"Will that be a problem?"
I shrug easily enough.
"Nah. Just goes to show that the Droideka has done what they're supposed to do best: Take the hit when it matters, dish out damage when it matters, and do all of that at with the best possible momentum. I have reviewed the combat data. Your platoon and this Droideka held that thin red line between the enemy and a casualty evacuation point before initiating a counterattack to enlarge the strategic depth. Were it in my power, I would recommend you all for an award."
Creed turns back to the Droideka, looking directly into its optical sensor before nodding curtly. "Without this Droideka, the losses would have been too great. The 8th owes many lives to you today, for this and the operation you ventured out for."
"You're giving me too much praise, Lieutenant." I smile softly as my fingers move to give the Droideka a couple of taps, causing brief clanking sounds. "Just treat this guy right, yeah? Not because the Tech-priests will be all over you, but because the Droidekas are our Regiment's own. They bear our colors, and they brave danger as much as we do. Trust them as you would trust your fellow boys and girls, and the Droidekas will do right by you."
"You have my word that your advice will be treated seriously by me and my subordinates." Creed nods seriously before he stalls to briefly direct a look at his whistling aide. "And that means no painting the Droideka with war face, Sergeant Kell."
Being put on the spot, Creed's friend and second-in-command laughs unashamedly. "I was hoping to put the fear of the Emperor into our enemy via the Droid we have!"
Creed directs a very unamused gaze at the Sergeant's bold admission, while the others behind him can only shake their heads at the Sergeant's remark. I chuckle at the play before turning to the Droideka.
"DR-3D." I call out the designation of this particular Droideka, causing it to stand taller on its four legs at attention. "Exit maintenance mode. Engage stand-by mode."
A sputter of low mechanical hum can be heard as the Droideka sends out an affirmation signal to the table I have just picked up. Normally, an accompanying Tech-priest will be more than capable of directly interfacing with the Droideka, thus giving it command and checking its status from afar, but since that Tech-priest is stuck patching up a Russ, I am here and have to make do with verbal communication and a tablet.
"Alright, DR-3D, let's do a brief test run. I need to see if you got what it takes to spread the light of the Imperium."
ClackClack
The Droideka gives its distinct affirmation. Under the witness of Creed and his subordinate, I start tattling off a list of things for the Droideka to do.
"First on the agenda: range of motion."
I flick at the tablet, having it showcase the specs of the machinery going active inside the Droideka. Turning its body, lowering its height, moving its arms... The Droideka faithfully performs the motions without any delay.
"Alright, all green on the spreadsheet for now... Next, shielding."
A low hum accompanied the visual spectacle of a bluish film of energy appearing around the Droideka's stable form.
"Seems like DR-3D is ready to look at the enemy right in the eyes. The shield projector is working perfectly after replacing the nearly burned-out one. Next, let's see if you can dish out the pain. The range is behind you, DR-3D."
ClackClack
The Droideka spins its upper body around, scans for the metal targets that are set up by me downrange, raises its weapon arms, and fires.
CHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOM
The lethal accuracy of the Droideka is displayed fully as the Hellguns it has blasted clean holes through the centers of the targets.
I look to Creed and Kell. "I reckon you all are fine with this weapon loadout? If you want to change it to something else, there's a backlog, so you may not get your order completed before your deployment down below."
"The Hellguns are perfect as is, Corporal Ein." Creed nods simply.
Kell, though, chimes in with a smirk.
"And frankly, we like the Hellguns more. Not sure how you did it, but those Hellguns sound wicked. Our enemies were rightfully scared of this Droid because of that sound alone!"
"Well," I smile meaningfully. "It's a feature."
"A damn fine feature if you ask me!"
I maintain my smile before resuming my work with the Droideka. The checklist is nearly done anyway. Let's finish it fast, so I have some free time.
"Shield is done. Weapon is done... Second to last item now. DR-3D, roly-poly."
The confusing command causes the Cadians to give me puzzled gazes, but the Droideka parses the meaning perfectly and rolls up into itself. With speed, it starts rolling around the range, up and down craters and obstacles alike, before stopping where it started and unfolding itself back onto four legs.
"Nice." I say, ticking off yet another mental check mark.
Tucking the tablet into my armpit and making a straight face, I turn to Creed and the others.
"Alright, one last thing to do before you can take DR-3D home."
"And that is?" Creed asks, not suspecting anything.
Maintaining my poker face, I turn to the calm and collected Droideka before giving it a final command.
"DR-3D, Crab Rave."
And I kid you not, the moment the Droideka starts dancing side to side, with its weapon arms raised harmlessly up and down, Creed's cool persona cracks, and that is priceless.