Chapter 35: Super-Large Monster
The Titan Legion dispatched a contingent of Secutarii and Skitarii to begin the ground search.
The Alpha Legion had conducted detailed research on the Rangdan's mimicry abilities and combat tactics during the Xenocides, making them ideal for this operation.
The extensive terrain camouflage shattered easily. From orbit, Omega watched as a vast area spanning thousands of kilometers vanished, revealing a massive xenos structure beneath.
What followed was deeply unsettling. The armored soldiers stood in empty air above the structure, suspended on nothing. The iceberg they'd perceived was an illusion, nothing more than a carefully constructed deception.
As the truth revealed itself, the veil shattered. In that moment, an incredibly powerful energy shield enveloped the massive structure. Ion beams lanced out, and every armored soldier exploded into fragments.
When the dust settled, Omega and his commanders found no trace of Rangdan xenos within the installation. The situation had become stranger.
The Mechanicum sages reacted quite differently. Their mechanical tentacles swayed constantly, a clear sign of extreme excitement. This fortress had been built using portions of the Rangdan civilization's planetary warships.
"Destroying such a fortress won't be simple," one sage murmured. "The energy shield alone will be difficult to breach."
The Emperor had forbidden the Mechanicum from studying Rangdan planetary warships. Such vessels were to be destroyed, not analyzed. Under the Emperor's authority, the Mechanicum mourned this, but none dared voice objections.
The immediate problem remained: they possessed no access codes to enter the fortress. The xenos warlord probably had them, but he was nowhere to be found.
The Mechanicum began their analysis in earnest. Omega suggested orbital bombardment to test the fortress's defenses, but Tech-Priest Julius forcibly stopped him. They refused to waste such a magnificent structure they'd finally acquired.
After tens of thousands of Mechanicum soldiers died in the initial assault, Julius came to a startling conclusion.
"The fortress contains no xenos creatures," he announced. "It's entirely controlled by a powerful artificial intelligence, computational power far exceeding any Cogitator array on our warships."
Julius disregarded the forbidden nature of the AI and stated firmly, "There must be a great secret hidden here. We must obtain it."
Alpharius turned to face him, his voice cold. "Research into artificial intelligence is forbidden. This is a vow made between the Cult Mechanicus and the Emperor. If your goal is AI research, I would rather see this fortress destroyed."
Julius and the other sages exchanged glances, clearly unwilling to abandon their pursuit. "This is a closely guarded secret of the Rangdan," Julius protested. "It must have extraordinary value. Otherwise, they would never have entrusted it to such a powerful AI. We only need time to obtain the secret, then we can destroy the xenos AI ourselves."
Alpharius paused, then turned to Omega. "What do you think, brother?"
Omega stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Let's begin with orbital bombardment to test whether the secrets within this fortress are as valuable as we imagine. If it's destroyed, then it wasn't important. If it survives, we'll know what we're dealing with."
"That makes sense," Alpharius said, approval lighting his eyes. "Truly scientific."
Julius looked like he might die from disappointment.
On the planet Moyasco, a warship over ten kilometers long moved into position. At its ventral hull, a massive lance battery aligned with the fortress far below. A dazzling beam erupted, streaking toward the surface.
The strike hit with devastating force. The powerful lance beam struck the energy shield with earth-shaking violence. Endless light obscured the fortress.
But when the tactical data was rendered, it showed the truth: the orbital bombardment had failed to penetrate.
"This truly is a great secret," Alpharius said, watching the fortress that even orbital bombardment couldn't destroy.
The Mechanicum sages cheered. The fortress could still be studied. They analyzed every detail from the strike, beginning extensive calculations.
Beneath the steel sky, Julius coordinated with Tech-Priests and Magi. Countless instruments worked in concert, continuously analyzing data with the help of Cogitator arrays on each warship.
The Mechanicum's enthusiasm far exceeded the Alpha Legion's. Data-looms compiled and analyzed information flowing through their systems.
Omega joined the analysis, working alongside the Mechanicum's logisticians. Logisticians were similar to ancient software engineers, skilled in machine language and capable of developing complex programs.
The Cogitator arrays possessed extreme computational power, and possessing logistician skills made commanding a Legion fleet far more effective.
Alpharius watched Omega's work with growing amazement. He'd initially wanted to keep pace with his brother and learn what Omega could do, but as time passed, he discovered something remarkable. Omega's relentless study, spanning thirty years of continuous research, had given him technical prowess rivaling a Mechanicum sage.
Using his knowledge as a logistics officer, Omega had developed several small innovations aboard his flagship and worked with Magos Prit to develop a purification algorithm specifically for this operation.
Through their efforts, the Mechanicum eventually discovered a critical weakness. The energy shield was even stronger than imagined, and it replenished its power by continuously absorbing solar radiation. A conventional siege was impossible.
The sages present possessed far less skill than the fortress's systems. When they'd exhausted all other options, they resorted to brute force.
After seven orbital bombardments, the fortress's energy shield began to weaken. Constant bombardment exceeded its ability to replenish. The Titan Legion sent troops to infiltrate through gaps in the deteriorating shield.
This action triggered a chain reaction.
A massive number of terrifying black war-forms emerged from within, each over ten meters tall, consisting of both mechanical and organic components fused together. Not long after the infiltrators entered, all signals from the Mechanicum teams were lost.
Inside the fortress spanning thousands of kilometers, the situation became clear. Whether on structures or streets, the space filled with countless biomechanical war-forms, each over ten meters tall with writhing tentacles.
Their numbers reached into the millions, perhaps tens of millions. Dense clusters of black monstrosities had transformed the fortress into something alive, a breathing mass of undulating biomechanical flesh.
From orbit, however, something far more terrible became apparent. The countless individual war-forms, when viewed from space, appeared as a single colossal entity. A pair of black eyes, each several kilometers across, stared at the warships hanging in the void above.
The colossal black creature stretched thousands of kilometers across the landscape. Its sheer size and the sentience in its gaze sent chills down the spines of everyone watching from orbit.
"Continue the bombardment," Omega ordered decisively.
Lance beams rained upon the fortress. One or two could be replenished, but the combined firepower of over fifty warships proved overwhelming. The sheer volume exceeded the fortress's solar absorption capacity.
Soon, a massive gap appeared in the shield. Concentrated lance fire struck the colossal creature thousands of kilometers away. A wound gradually widened across its surface, and within that wound, the bodies of several war-forms, each over ten meters tall, turned to ash.
But what occurred next was deeply unsettling. As soon as the bombardment stopped, the creature's body moved with purpose. The wound closed rapidly, as if the entity possessed perfect conscious control of its own healing.
Tech-Priest Russell watched in amazement as the creature moved with fluid grace, as easily as controlling its own limbs. "This colossal creature possesses true consciousness. It's incredible! What kind of abomination did the Rangdan create?"
Alpharius stood silent, staring at the entity that stretched across thousands of kilometers of ground. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold and measured.
"A colossal, self-aware creature formed from countless individual war-forms. This is even more terrifying than an army of Iron Men commanded by artificial intelligence. Fortunately, it cannot reach orbit and cannot generate firepower to threaten our position."
He paused, his gaze never leaving the distant entity. "Even the higher echelons of Rangdan command were probably afraid of the abomination they developed. This secret is truly extraordinary."
No matter how terrifying the ground creatures were, the Alpha Legion's powerful orbital bombardments continued to overwhelm them. The colossal entity's numbers gradually decreased, and with each loss, its overall size diminished.
When their numbers dwindled to only a million, the creature scattered and fragmented, its components dispersing across the landscape to avoid further destruction.
However, the fortress's energy shield was now completely breached. The Titan Legion and Alpha Legion began to explore the installation together slowly.
The Mechanicum adopted a cautious approach throughout; they couldn't afford major casualties at this stage, not when so much remained unknown about what lay within.
[End of Chapters]