177: Chapter 177 Knight Mech

The green Lux Aliens slowly pressed in along the horizon, pushing forward layer upon layer in the most primitive human-wave tactic.

Just as they were about to touch the outer walls of the Imperial defensive line, deafening cannon fire suddenly erupted, and dense high-explosive shells slammed into the charging ranks with a screech.

Before the Lux Aliens soldiers could react, they were torn into scattered plasma by the explosions; green body fluids splattered everywhere, soaking the entire land.

Looking at it, deep pits were forcibly gouged out of the surging green tide. Yet, such fierce firepower was merely a drop in the ocean for an alien army of billions.

A single volley wiped out one hundred thousand Lux Aliens, which didn't even make a splash in the vast army formation.

The alien troops gathered continuously toward the defensive line gates, soon rushing to the front of the outer defensive positions.

"Fire!"

Following the officer's sharp shout, all the Astra Militarum on the position pulled their triggers simultaneously. Dense laser beams wove into an impenetrable net of fire, covering the charging aliens. Many soldiers had their heads precisely pierced by lasers just halfway through their charge, falling straight to the ground.

The Lux Aliens also quickly raised their high-energy beam guns to return fire. Countless energy rays whistled toward the human positions, most of which were blocked by pre-constructed bulletproof bunkers. Some soldiers were hit directly in their flak armor by the rays, instantly burning charred craters into the armor.

Fortunately, standard Imperial equipment never cut corners, forcibly withstanding the blow and saving their lives.

At such a time, the best thing to do was to thank the Emperor and the Omnissiah in one's heart, then quickly crawl up from the ground and continue pulling the trigger.

As for those soldiers who were hit directly in the head by the rays, one could only sigh and say, "Continue your loyalty in the next life."

Rows upon rows of Lux Aliens corpses soon lay before the position, piled layer upon layer in front of the human defensive line.

But for the Lux species, this was merely a shark taking a bite out of a school of sardines; the massive population would not be shaken in the slightest by this.

The Lux Aliens continued to rush toward the entire defensive line like a tide, one after another. The automated defense platforms on the position quickly ran out of ammunition under the repeated charges, turning from cold killing machines into piles of scrap metal, and were thoroughly dismantled by the swarming aliens in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, the slaughter in the sky was equally brutal.

The Imperial Air Force engaged in a desperate fight with the alien aerial units. Faced with the overwhelming Corrosive Wyverns, the scarce fighter jets were mostly powerless. A single fighter jet could kill tens of thousands of Corrosive Wyverns with its best efforts, but at this moment, they were facing swarms numbering in the hundreds of thousands, or even more.

The acid of the Corrosive Wyverns had limited damage to the armor of Imperial fighter jets, but the continuous attacks eventually wore them down, bit by bit, eating through the metal shells.

The only choice for the Imperial pilots was to take as many enemies down with them as possible in the final moments of their lives.

Their final destination was often detonating the fighter core, diving headfirst into the densest part of the swarm, and perishing together with the sky full of Corrosive Wyverns.

The Imperial aerial defense line could not withstand the overwhelming numbers of Corrosive Wyverns, and their target was the artillery positions on the ground.

The tactical shortcomings of the Lux Aliens were very obvious: they severely lacked long-range heavy firepower.

No one knew why they hadn't unlocked this technology tree; perhaps their population was so massive that they could crush the vast majority of opponents with human-wave charges alone, so they simply abandoned the development of firepower advantages.

To compensate for this flaw, the Lux Civilization used endless infantry to fill the lines while relying on air power to tear open the defenses.

Countless Corrosive Wyverns slammed into the Imperial artillery positions like falling meteors, with explosions and corrosive acid instantly spreading over every inch of land.

The entire artillery unit was wiped out on the spot. Soldiers who didn't manage to evacuate wailed in agony within the acid; they first felt their flesh being slowly eaten through, then their bones, and finally, their whole bodies dissolved into the pungent green liquid.

Even the heavy cannons cast from steel were twisted and deformed by the strong acid, becoming completely scrapped.

When the Lux Aliens stepped on the corpses of their companions and rushed to the front of the positions, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with human soldiers, the battle seemed destined. Without the intervention of a force capable of turning the tide, victory would ultimately belong to the Lux Aliens, whose numbers crushed everything.

But humanity happened to possess such power.

A deafening roar of steel came from behind the positions, and the front-line Commander's heart stirred.

The Knight Houses had finally arrived on the battlefield.

The stage was now set for these steel behemoths of the Empire.

Every step these nearly ten-meter-tall war machines took on the ground made the entire battlefield tremble slightly.

As the Knight Mechs entered their combat positions, they immediately opened fire at full capacity, pouring laser cannons and hive missiles into the alien army formation as if they cost nothing.

The moment the Knight Mechs descended, the area within three kilometers in front of the human positions instantly turned into a rolling sea of fire.

The Commander of House Bakolo issued combat orders to all Knights through the Knight Mechs' public channel:

"All units in position, pour out all your firepower! Let these aliens taste the Emperor's wrath, and let them remember that this land is for humans only!"

As the Commander's voice fell, all Knight operators pushed their firepower to the limit simultaneously.

When the Knight Mechs came into close contact with the alien tide, the specially modified flamethrowers on their arms erupted with astonishing power.

Driven by hydraulics, high-concentration incendiary agents spewed out, turning into towering flames that swept across the entire front-line position.

The scorching high temperature forced the human soldiers in the trenches to duck and take cover, while the previously unstoppable charge of the Lux Aliens was forcibly cut short by the sheer power of the Knight Mechs.

Lux San stood in the distance, watching the Imperial mechs, like giants, stepping on the Lux Aliens warriors before them like bugs, batch by batch. Relying on manpower alone, it was completely impossible to defeat these steel behemoths.

Watching the scene before him.

Lux San knew that continuing like this would only lead to pointless sacrifices for the warriors in front of him.

Lux San looked down on those ordinary soldiers, thinking of them as mere tools, but wasting too many tools would also lead to punishment from above.

Lux San issued an order.

"All forces retreat."

The aliens' black-armored officers immediately used their own faint psychic powers to convey Prince Lux San's order: All troops are to retreat.

The moment the order was given, all the Lux Aliens did not hesitate in the slightest; their original momentum of charging was instantly curbed, and then countless Lux Aliens retreated like a tide, pulling out of the entire battlefield.

The Knight Houses did not launch a pursuit, and only stopped their offensive after confirming that all Lux Aliens had been driven away.

Then, all the Knight Mechs quickly retreated into the Hive City to prevent attacks from Corrosive Wyverns.

Along the path of the Knight Mechs' retreat, there were enthusiastic cheers and grateful prayers from the soldiers everywhere. If it weren't for the Knight Mechs, they would have likely given their lives for the Emperor today.

Commander Leqi had already compiled the full statistical report of this battle and presented it to Saint Sabbat.

Saint Sabbat took the electronic screen.

The numbers on it detailed the number of soldiers killed in action and the consumption of various weapons and ammunition.

"Respected Lady, our ammunition consumption far exceeds initial estimates. Santo Hive City stores more raw materials than finished ammunition."

Commander Leqi stated this problem, and Leovitos looked at him.

"Do you have any good solutions?"

Upon hearing this, Leqi stood there awkwardly.

If Santo Hive City still controlled air superiority, these problems would be nothing; as long as transport planes continuously delivered equipment from the northern continent, it could form a virtuous cycle, transporting the raw materials stored here to the northern Hive City.

But the problem now was that the air routes had been completely blocked, and the industrial capacity of Santo Hive City was very low.

If there was really any way, Leqi knew in his heart that he could probably only pray that the Emperor would be willing to save them.

"There is no other way."

After hearing this, Saint Sabbat could only issue one order first.

"Leqi, I want you to take action immediately and convert all military production facilities within Santo Hive City, as well as all factories that can be converted for civilian-to-military use. Let the Tech-Priests assist you and turn all raw materials into ammunition capable of killing Lux Aliens as quickly as possible."

Leqi did not agree after hearing this, but instead raised a key prerequisite to Saint Sabbat.

"We have not received authorization to use the stored resources of Santo Hive City."

Saint Sabbat was stunned upon hearing this.

What are you talking about?

We are already facing death, and you are still talking to me about the Empire's red tape?

Leqi had no choice either. According to the laws of the Imperial Administratum, without authorization from the Administratum and the Department of Military Affairs, all reserve resources must be sealed and kept on standby; no one is allowed to use them without authorization during this time.

"Understood, Commander Leqi. Now I, Saint Sabbat, represent the will of the Emperor and command you to immediately comply with my decree."

After receiving Saint Sabbat's affirmative reply, Leqi immediately nodded. Since the obstacle had been removed, what needed to be done next was to execute it with full force.

The entire Santo Hive City immediately became busy again; a large number of civilians returned to their workstations, and factories that had previously stopped production were put back into operation.

The original civilian factories began to switch to military production. Under the modification of the Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priests, Santo Hive City was already able to produce standard-issue equipment for Imperial soldiers.

As large batches of equipment rolled off the production line continuously, everything was moving in a positive direction, but there were always some people in the Empire whose brains just couldn't turn around.

"Living Saint, there is a matter on our side that I fear requires your attention."

Saint Sabbat had just finished drafting a compensation plan for the soldiers killed in action when Leqi hurriedly walked in, interrupting her next work.

"What is it, Leqi? I still have many matters to deal with here."

Facing Saint Sabbat's inquiry, Leqi immediately told her everything that had just happened.

"A group of officials in the Hive City believe that you are violating Imperial law by arbitrarily allocating Imperial resources without instructions from the Administratum."

Saint Sabbat was expressionless after hearing this; she had long known that there were always some people in the Empire who were not enlightened.

"What did they do?"

Saint Sabbat had originally thought that these people were just complaining or wanted to have a face-to-face talk with her. She was also willing to explain to them, hoping to gain their understanding.

But Leqi's next words made Saint Sabbat realize instantly that she had thought too simply of those Imperial officials.

"They used their authority to order all factories to stop production and transport all resources back to the warehouses to be sealed."

Hearing this, Saint Sabbat could no longer hold back and stood up abruptly.

"You mean the production lines that were finally restored have stopped again?"

Leqi nodded.

After hearing this, Saint Sabbat did not hesitate in the slightest; she picked up the power sword beside her and walked straight out, accompanied by two handmaidens, completely ignoring Leqi who was still stunned on the spot.

Seeing this scene, Leqi's heart skipped a beat.

He instantly understood why he had suddenly begun to worry about the safety of those officials.

Leqi did not dare to delay; he immediately started walking, following closely behind Saint Sabbat.

Saint Sabbat arrived at the Administratum hall at The Spire of the Hive City, where all the surviving officials of Santo Hive City were gathered.

Saint Sabbat pushed open the doors, and a golden halo instantly flooded the entire Administratum hall. She walked on the red carpet in the center, like an emissary of the Emperor.

All the officials quickly stopped what they were doing and looked at Saint Sabbat in unison.

She walked to the main seat in the center of the hall, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present.