Although the Necrons Dynasty was about to awaken, the Imperial Navy still needed some time to consolidate and analyze the reconnaissance intelligence spread across various Star Districts.
These fragmented pieces of information, gathered from different reconnaissance fleets, detection arrays, and border outposts, were like puzzle pieces that needed to be carefully compared and verified to assemble a complete picture of the battlefield.
Furthermore, the Expeditionary Force, having just experienced a major war, also needed time to rest and reorganize.
Even though Alex had previously arranged for them to undergo phased rest, and the previous offensive was generally a steady, step-by-step advance, there were inevitably losses once they entered the battlefield.
Every battle consumed the soldiers' physical strength and will; even the most elite units needed room to breathe.
Not only that, but the intense fighting also caused some units to become disorganized.
On the smoke-filled battlefield, some fell behind while covering comrades, some got separated from the main force while pursuing enemies, and others mistakenly entered unknown areas during chaotic transfers; in short, it required some time for them to rejoin their units.
At the same time, logistical work such as replenishing weapons and ammunition, repairing and maintaining equipment, and treating the wounded was proceeding at full throttle.
The Tech-Priests accompanying the armored units worked sleepless nights in the workshops to repair damaged war machines, medical stations were filled with wounded waiting for treatment, and transport ships shuttled back and forth between the fleet and the planetary surface, delivering supplies…
Every one of these links was crucial for the army to maintain its combat effectiveness.
It could be said that what happened after the war was far more complex and important than the fighting itself.
Victory or defeat on the battlefield was often just the final outcome, and what determined this outcome were countless trivial but crucial support tasks behind the scenes.
Fighting only required brave soldiers and a Commander who wasn't useless; generally, things would turn out alright.
But when it came to logistics, that was no simple matter.
It required precise calculations, meticulous planning, and efficient execution; any error in a single link could lead to catastrophic consequences.
If one had to say, an excellent logistics officer who could manage logistics well was often more important than a general who could win battles.
They were like the invisible pillars maintaining the army's operation, using papers, data, and scheduling instead of guns and cannons, yet equally determining the course of the war.
As the ancient military proverb says: Amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics.
For example, the reason Napoleon, regarded by many as a world-class military strategist in the 3k era, was able to sweep across Europe was largely due to his emphasis on logistics, which ensured his army maintained high morale and combat effectiveness.
Alex admitted that he didn't quite understand logistics; although he served as the supreme Commander of the Expeditionary Force, managing logistics, a task requiring extreme patience and meticulous thinking, was not his strong suit.
Moreover, the Expeditionary Force's logistics system far surpassed the understanding of the 3k era; its complexity was enough to astound any 3k era military strategist.
The Imperial Navy's star fleets needed to maintain massive warships, refuel, and coordinate escort routes; the vast numbers of Astra Militarum troops required allocation of weaponry, rations, uniforms, and countless trivial but necessary supplies; the even larger but more disorganized Holy War Army was even more troublesome, often lacking the discipline of regular forces yet having diverse supply needs; as for the Astartes and Battle Sisterss, though their scale was not large, their logistics were more complex—their equipment was excellent but maintenance costs were extremely high, and their specialized Power Armor, sacred relics, and required special materials each needed dedicated logistics channels.
To manage the logistics of each component well required extremely high coordination capabilities, not only a thorough understanding of the Empire's vast military system but also the ability to operate efficiently within the intricate bureaucratic system, and even to know how to deal with various factions to ensure supplies reached the front lines on time.
Alex admitted he didn't have such capabilities, but as the supreme Commander of the Expeditionary Force, he didn't need to do everything himself.
He only needed to show his emphasis on logistics, regularly listen to reports, and give sufficient support to the logistics department, and the Imperial Army officers below would naturally do things well—after all, what the Empire lacked least were conscientious bureaucrats and calculating quartermasters.
It was precisely because of this that Alex had time to tally his gains from this campaign.
After the Tomb Ship escaped, this campaign was considered to have concluded, and the experience and points from the Emperor were settled in due course.
However, Alex had many other matters to deal with earlier and didn't pay attention to this immediately.
The campaign on Donetsk III brought Alex a total of 7000 experience points and 20,000 points, which was his largest gain to date, but the mission evaluation was not high.
"The Emperor is disappointed by your failure to achieve complete victory; the escaped Tomb Ship will bring severe consequences to Imperial Worlds, and your dereliction of duty will cost countless loyal warriors of the Emperor their lives to compensate."
This was the evaluation displayed by the servitor skull, which Alex found hard to comment on.
However, this was also very much in Old Man Huang's style; he would praise you to the heavens when he needed you, but discard you like a worn-out shoe when you failed to satisfy him.
For example, his several good sons, if only he hadn't been so inhumane…
Never mind, overgrown babies like Angron are not within the scope of evaluation, and the remaining twisted individuals were not something Old Man Huang could handle.
And more than these, Alex was more concerned about how much strengthening he could gain.
Seven thousand experience points was his largest experience gain so far, but it only raised his authorization level to IV, not yet reaching V.
Level III to IV required five thousand experience points, so seven thousand was enough to upgrade, but it was not enough to fill the ten thousand experience point slot required for Level IV to V.
Compared to the experience for upgrading, the 20,000 points were the real big gain; at least for Alex, he now had enough money to exchange for the Spaceborne Particle Excavator STC he had previously eyed.
If he acquired this item, Alex dared to say he could overwhelm the current Necron Dynasty with an army.
Of course, the premise was that he had enough time to build the Spaceborne Particle Excavator and then mass-produce an army to overwhelm the enemy.
He was just afraid that before he could act, the Necrons would already begin mass-producing their forces and overwhelm him instead.
So, rather than exchanging for the Spaceborne Particle Excavator STC, Alex felt he should first strengthen the Expeditionary Force's capabilities to better cope with the Necrons' upcoming offensive.
He didn't expect to win outright, but at least he needed to be able to block the Necrons' advance, giving himself a chance to gather forces, hold the line, and launch a counterattack.
And this required excellent Commanders to lead the army in battle; Alex felt that the current generals of the Expeditionary Force probably wouldn't be able to complete this task.
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