When Ryza's exploration fleet found the huge hulk Aureros, it was floating quietly in the void like an ugly tumor.
It is as big as an asteroid, and because it is located near an unstable subspace node, the surrounding space is constantly fluctuating and rupturing, and necrotic matter spills out of this sickly area like pus from a rotten wound.
To the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Hulk is without a doubt an abomination, as it is a vast amalgam of human and xenos vessels lost in the Warp, fused together, and spat out again countless centuries later. , and thus became a symbol of the corruption of the Warp, a harbinger of terrible things coming from beyond real space.
But to the sage of exploration Deejay Katona, it only means one thing -
"finally found you."
He looked at everything in the observation window almost obsessively.
The convoy's sensors were depicting something so eerie that they checked it over and over to make sure it was accurate.
The hulk is a collection of fused ships, each one deformed and fused with the one next to it, their every bend and break bearing the signature of the power of the warp. Created from hundreds of warships lost in the Twisting Abyss.
The Lord of Detection examined the blurry image rotating on the holographic unit, and then said:
"This is an Imperial ship."
He pointed to a long section of the ship's hull, located in the upper part of the hull.
"And here, underneath the imperial ship, is the pirate ship of the Eldar tribe, a creation of the alien."
To the Adeptus Mechanicus, hulks are not only a physical threat, but also a blasphemy against the God of All Machines.
Rarely has there been such a fusion of blasphemy between alien ships and Imperial ships. Those Imperial ships were sacred, their machine spirits ancient, they carried the wisdom of the God of Machines and the power of the Emperor, representing The God Machine that represents humanity's greatest achievement in conquering the galaxy.
But now that they are dead and defiled, those who live in them must be blasphemers.
"Send five special reconnaissance teams to enter the hulk from several directions at the same time."
The hulk was huge, no less than a hive. Although Reza's fleet brought enough skitarii, it was far from enough to fill the hulk, not even one-fifth.
Therefore, they must quickly find the key area and then concentrate all their efforts to take it down in one go.
Deejay Katona had a premonition that the Peepers were already on the way, and his time might be very tight.
Soon, the landing craft carrying the Skitarii reconnaissance team flew out of the fleet like tadpoles separated from their mother's body and headed straight for the huge hulk.
A small Ryza reconnaissance team usually consists of ten Rangers and one Alpha Ranger, with an additional set of (three) Vultures as support.
Rangers are one of the basic infantry of the Skitarii system. They are experts in the Skitarii legion responsible for hunting, guerrilla warfare, forward movement, and reconnaissance. In contrast, they are equivalent to the light infantry system in the Astra Militarum.
As scouts of the Skitarii, the Rangers naturally have corresponding strengthening modifications: for example, their eyelids were completely cut off to maintain their eternal vigilance. At the same time, in order to allow the Rangers to adapt to as many observation conditions as possible, The eyes will be modified accordingly depending on the forging world and the sage they belong to, so that they can see at night as if it were day.
Some sages may directly modify the eyes of the rangers with enhanced optical imaging equipment or even directly replace them with mechanical eyes. These are all means to enhance their hunting capabilities. At the same time, rangers often have higher durability. Mechanical prosthetics enable them to continue running and walking without reducing their combat efficiency, and their brains are also modified accordingly to strengthen their hunting instincts, or directly accept combat procedures from the sages.
Since they often need to carry out this kind of hunting operations, they often have more scanning equipment and related brain implants. For example, their team commanders are often equipped with machine-god looking glasses, or they have machine-god gifts in their brains. Fu's virtual network, a holographic map simulation system controlled by sages, allows them to master almost any terrain.
The main weapon of the Rangers is almost the same product that has been continuously improved from the Martian heritage in the era of strife to today - the galvanic rifle. However, Ryza highlighted the characteristics of its plasma technology and changed the galvanic rifle to a plasma rifle. The power has been greatly improved.
Ryza's plasma rifle has two barrels and two shooting modes, one is an energy-saving and high-speed laser mode, and the other is an energy-consuming, slower, but powerful plasma mode.
A typical Ranger squad usually consists of ten members, and one Alpha, the captain, who has the most and most powerful transformation systems and is also the strongest Ranger in the squad.
But the special reconnaissance team sent by Reza this time is different from the past. They are all the best members selected from the Rangers, and their captains are all the elite of Alphas - Chief Alphas.
Alpha G67M is one of them.
When he walked out of the cabin of the landing craft, he immediately opened his spyglass and began to scan the surrounding terrain and environment. At the same time, 10 other rangers in red robes holding plasma rifles also walked out, followed by three The Greedy Eagle-type mechs also roared out and quickly occupied the high ground.
The Greedy Vulture is the most common flying intelligent control machine currently used by the Mechanicus. Its origins can be traced back to the Old Night Era, and it was promoted to almost all forge worlds in the later period of the Great Crusade.
Based on the scans, Alpha G67M concluded that this was a garden, and further deduced that this was the wreckage of a once extremely luxurious spaceship. Except for a few statues and artificial trees on both sides of the gate, most of the plants in the garden had already Withered, its raised marble flowerbeds were deserted, while the trees in the hidden little holes were now reduced to dead branches, the rusted steel of the walls and ceiling had something strange about it, and in the center was a broken fountain.
After confirming that there were no enemies nearby, Alpha G67M ordered the team to start moving forward.
But it had no idea that at the edge of the garden, a pair of alien eyes hid behind a damaged statue of the emperor, watching the rangers walk into the passage.
The monster looked at them with a pair of blood-red eyes with a vicious attitude. After the other party completely disappeared, it stood up and held the statue tightly with its limbs and arms.
It stood upright, feeling the air around it, and the light of distant stars reflected on its pale and shiny carapace.
Then, it raised its smooth, spherical head and listened to the sound of gentle footsteps in the distance. Just a few hundred kilometers away, some safari soldiers had already encountered the residents of the hulk. The rhythm of the battle can be felt in every fiber.
It longs to join that battle and soak its claws with the blood of its enemies. This is exactly the will that a certain will keeps whispering in its skull.
The alien shook its head, snorted, and quietly followed the Skitarii reconnaissance team. As it moved, more shadows in the darkness also moved, and quickly gathered into a large rustling A terrible rustling noise——
