A mere Mortal, even clad in master-crafted power armor, could never have achieved such a feat.
At least, in Calgar's long career, he had never heard of any Mortal accomplishing such deeds.
His attention had already been drawn to Sith and his 101st Regiment on multiple occasions, and more recently, he learned that Sith had led his troops to continue assaulting the enemies of the Imperium in the wilds.
Now, arriving with focused intent, the first sight that greeted him was Sith and his 101st Regiment standing upon a mountain of corpses—a formidable enemy that an ordinary Mortal Legion would not dare imagine.
Especially that Commander Sith, who alone had carved a literal mountain of corpses from amidst the greenskins and the great foe of Chaos.
Such scenes, of course, compelled even Calgar to seriously ask the question.
Sith did not deny it, his gaze repeatedly shifting to the crashed aircraft behind Calgar. Seeing Sith's non-denial and the expressions of reverence on the faces of the soldiers kneeling behind him, Calgar silently withdrew his gaze.
Noting Sith's focus solely on the aircraft behind him, Calgar finally forced his attention away from the surrounding battlefield and turned to the matter at hand.
"I know you are in dire need of supplies and reinforcements, even a secure aerial evacuation."
"Yet, all I can offer you now is the faith and loyalty to the God-Emperor."
Listening to Calgar's platitudes, Sith helplessly withdrew his gaze. Then, Sith looked at Calgar, his words as respectful as possible:
"Then, what instructions does the Lord have for his presence here?"
Gazing at the exterminating Light Lances beginning to approach again in the distance, a look of urgency appeared on Sith's face.
Fortunately, Calgar was also busy and did not waste a single moment:
"I want you to know that you have not been forgotten by the Imperium. Your deeds are constantly being recorded and will be announced to the entire army."
"Preceding your arrival at Hyberia are your legendary exploits, already recorded by the Ecclesiarchy, and your name, Sith."
"And these exploits and your name will inspire the entire army to fight for the Imperium to the last."
So, he came to boost morale and show recognition.
Sith understood Calgar's intent. Although these things held no practical significance, for any other Mortal unit, having a legend like Calgar personally come to the field to inspire and speak such words would indeed be considered a tremendous honor.
This was also the highest form of reward Calgar could currently bestow upon Sith.
Coupled with the massive amount of materiel and supplies Calgar had personally approved for delivery earlier, and even this suit of power armor he wore, Sith finally offered a deep, respectful bow to Calgar.
Calgar showed no change in response to Sith's bow. Simultaneously, anxious calls began to reach him from his side.
Without even shifting his gaze from Sith, Calgar ignored the urgency of those beside him and finally said something useful.
"The Imperial defensive lines contracted too quickly, leaving many stranded forces outside."
"Headquarters has already notified these units. On your journey to Hyberia, command of these forces will be directly transferred to Commander Sith."
Having granted Sith the authority to directly command all Imperial forces in the field, Calgar, after speaking, looked at Sith and his now significantly diminished regiment. Valuing time as he did, he fell into a rare moment of silence.
Raising his head again, Calgar's expression turned solemn:
"I hope to see you and your regiment at Hyberia."
With that, the projection vanished. The already damaged servitor skull, trailing sparks, crashed to the ground.
And Sith, looking at Hyberia jutting from the horizon in the distance, and at the surviving soldiers behind him, took a deep breath, raised his sword, turned, and marched forward.
...
A barren 'hell'.
The rock strata, warped and upturned like towering mountain ranges, their surfaces repeatedly scorched by fire, presented a charred appearance.
Thick, dark clouds hung overhead, thunder rumbled with increasing ferocity, and magma, erupted directly from the planet's heart, flowed like crimson rivers into the distance across the scorched world.
Alongside these rivers of magma, a force of nearly two hundred thousand trudged wearily through this infernal heat.
Apart from a small core group clad in uniform black, fully enclosed combat suits, the outer ranks of Mortal soldiers wore the garb of various different Planetary Defense Forces and Astra Militarum units.
Even within the column, one or two Kriegers, separated from their units for various reasons, could be seen.
The Kriegers are a renowned Astra Militarum Legion infamous for their pursuit of death, their attire reminiscent of World War I German soldiers perpetually wearing gas masks.
That even Kriegers could be gathered spoke volumes about the intensity and chaos the fighting outside had reached.
The column staggered forward, their low morale lifting only when they caught sight of the figure on the high ground nearby.
"Long live Commander Sith!"
A veteran from a Planetary Defense Force suddenly raised his arm and cheered at Sith, who had appeared not far ahead. The surrounding crowd followed suit, including not just Planetary Defense Force troops but also a large number of Astra Militarum soldiers.
Even a few Kriegers silently looked towards Sith, their eyes behind the gas masks conveying a flicker of respect reserved for something other than the Emperor.
Sith, standing on the upturned rock strata, glanced back at the various remnants of units encouraging each other behind him, then withdrew his gaze, turning it once more to what lay beyond the rock barrier.
Looking at the vast depression at the center of the rock formation, Sith's breathing grew slightly heavier.
A massive, grotesque sigil was etched upon the ground. Horn-like rocks had been forcibly thrust up from below by some power, sculpted into the shape of an archway.
And surrounding the archway and the sigil were countless, packed-together civilian corpses, covering the entire expanse of land.
Seeing tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Mortals lying there, so many that the eye could not see the end, Sith reluctantly pulled his gaze away.
Below, there were no Warp Daemons or Chaos cultists awaiting them.
The archway had collapsed, the sigil obscured. This was merely a ritual site of some Chaos god, destroyed by an Imperial unit.
And seeing the endless rows of civilian corpses arranged with such uniformity, Sith finally witnessed, with his own eyes, a mere glimpse of the blasphemous rituals of the Chaos cults.
Ana stood nearby as two servitor skulls returned from the distance.
"No Warp fluctuations detected. This site has been completely purged by other Imperial forces."
After reporting the results, Ana, still a low-ranking adept of the Adeptus Mechanicus, looked at the civilians on the ground—entire families arranged together, faces frozen in terror—and fell silent for a moment, unusually offering:
"Should we call for some flamers..."
Confirming the absence of Warp fluctuations, Sith turned and directly descended the rock strata.
"Hyberia lies ahead. We need every drop of fuel that can be fired at the enemy."
Ignoring the helplessness still evident on Ana's largely flesh-and-blood face, Sith approached the marching column and climbed onto a lone Leman Russ, scarred with bullet holes, its original crew annihilated.
The battle-hardened tank crew regarded Sith with respect. Sith connected a comm-line to his helmet and pointed forward:
"Advance! Hyberia lies ahead!"
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"