When it comes to excellent war Commanders, most people might first think of the three Chosen Political Commissars, especially the one-eyed Yarrick, who was a formidable individual capable of confronting the Ork God-Chosen Ghazghkull Thraka.
As for the remaining Political Commissar Cain and Political Commissar Gaunt, the former might not be adept at commanding battles, but his immense luck still made him one of the Empire's foremost war heroes.
Besides these three, the Empire also boasts many other outstanding Commanders, such as Lord Castellan Creed, who commanded the defense of Cadia—a top-tier Commander even Trazyn sought to collect.
However, the reinforcements Alex prepared for himself were not these 'mortal' Commanders.
After all, they had not undergone modifications, and their combat capabilities were indeed somewhat lacking.
Comparatively, a Space Marine as a Commander would undoubtedly be stronger.
However, in the 40k era, due to the Empire's unique political environment, Space Marines no longer frequently served as the Empire's military Commanders. Especially after the Badab War, the High Lords of Terra's distrust of Space Marines reached its peak.
Of course, this does not diminish the exceptional military talent and command ability possessed by an Astartes.
In fact, any Astartes possesses the ability to command a battle line without fully understanding the situation.
Even the World Eaters, marked by the Butcher's Nails, are no exception; they are merely overcome by rage and slaughter, not truly reduced to idiocy like their Primarch.
But when choosing a Commander, one should naturally pick the most capable fighter. Otherwise, according to the rules and customs of the Warhammer World, all sorts of monstrous figures on the battlefield love to duel or attempt to decapitate the Commander. If you're not good at fighting, you won't succeed in this promising career as a Commander.
Therefore, not all Commanders are necessarily good fighters, but those who can't fight certainly can't be Commanders.
After careful consideration, Alex surveyed the pieces at his disposal and selected four powerful Legionnaires from the 30k era for himself.
Although the pieces, once deployed, were not the individuals themselves but rather isotopic counterparts with identical abilities, Alex felt that with the capabilities of these four, leading the Expeditionary Force to resist the Necrons' advance would be more than sufficient.
After all, the names of these four were:
Imperial Fists First Captain, the top duelist among Space Marines, Abaddon's closest brother, Rogal Dorn's most beloved son, Sigismund.
Ultramarines Fourth Captain, the savior of the Battle of Calth, Remus Ventanus.
Thousand Sons First Captain, Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons Legion, Supreme Wizard of the Corvidae cult, Primarch's assistant and advisor, Ahriman the Red-Liberator, the Legion's prodigal son, the true elder brother of the Thousand Sons, Azek Ahriman.
Luna Wolves Tenth Captain, one of the Four Kings of the Shadow Council, Lucius's disfigurer, the one who stepped on Kharn's toes, the first Rogue Knight, one of the founding Grand Masters of the Grey Knights, the last Luna Wolves, Gaviel Loken.
Each possessed their unique skills, and their fighting spirit and tenacity were astonishing!
Aside from Ventanus, whose resume might be slightly less impressive, the other three, even in the 30k era where monstrous figures roamed everywhere, were among the top Legionnaires. Sigismund and Loken, in particular, had both dueled Abaddon and made him suffer a setback.
As for Ahriman, Professor Ahriman is one of the strongest Psykers in the galaxy, second only to Magnus, and perhaps even without a 'one of'.
Even if Alex brought out Professor Ahriman from the Legion era, as the Supreme Wizard of the Corvidae cult, Professor Ahriman's strength should not be underestimated; even Mephisto might not dare claim an easy victory against him.
Although the isotopic counterparts might not be as formidable as their originals, even if each piece only possessed eighty percent of its original strength, it would absolutely be sufficient, even more than enough, for Alex at present.
So, after reviewing his upgraded authority, he immediately returned to the 3k era, pulled out all four of these pieces, and then placed them into the army chest as reinforcements for the Ash Knights.
Besides these four Captains, Alex also prepared a retinue for each of them. Sigismund was accompanied by a squad of Legion-era Templar Brethren, Ventanus was assigned a squad of Ultramarines Honor Guard from the 40k era, and Loken was accompanied by the elite Justaerin Terminators of the former Luna Wolves.
It wasn't that Alex was unwilling to assign them powerful combat units; rather, he intended to use these four as Commanders, and the squads accompanying them were merely meant to serve as bodyguards, not requiring excessive combat prowess.
Of course, Ahriman's situation was slightly different. Alex provided him with three Supreme Wizards and a squad of Canoptek Scarab Terminators.
After all, Professor Ahriman is one of the strongest psychic sorcerers in the galaxy, so providing him with three assistants would facilitate his casting of various powerful spells. As for the Canoptek Scarab Terminators, they were purely for his protection.
"I have already briefed the four of you on the situation. You will now take over command of the Expeditionary Force's four strike groups, responsible for leading them to resist the Necrons' attack." Inside a conference room on the Ash Knights strike cruiser, Alex was briefing the four Captains on their mission.
Although they were all called Captains, a Captain from the Great Crusade Era was vastly different from a Captain in the 40k era.
Leaving aside the disparity in the forces a Legion-era Captain could command compared to a 40k era Captain, the sheer difference in the scale of the battlefields they faced was enough to make a 40k era Captain pale in comparison.
Especially during the later Second Founding, when Legions were broken down into Chapters, most of the Chapter Masters of the initial successor Chapters were former Captains from the Legion era.
"This is a daunting task, Inquisitor. We need more Astartes," Ventanus said to Alex, frowning as he looked at the Sub-Sector star chart and the marked boundaries of the Necron Dynasty.
"That's probably not an easy request to fulfill. This is the 40k era, fundamentally different from the 30k era. The Empire has abandoned the method of deploying Space Marines on a large scale. Our current forces are all we have; we'll have to make do!" Alex also felt helpless about this. If he had enough Astartes, why would he need to call upon these formidable individuals for rescue?
However, he added, "I will do my best to request reinforcements from the Empire, to gather as many Astartes and other reinforcements as possible. If a full-scale Necrons invasion erupts, the Empire will send more reinforcements.
But for now, don't count on it. We must first organize our defenses with the forces we currently have. Only by holding out can we consider the matter of reinforcements.
So, I'm entrusting the command of the Expeditionary Force to the four of you. If you need anything, you can tell me."
"Uh, I have an idea!" Ahriman raised his hand to indicate.
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