Chapter 90: Mechanical Civilization
Konrad Curze glanced at the planet model. It didn't even have a decent city. He thought for a moment and chuckled.
"There's not even a starport. What's the point of landing? I don't want to embarrass my brother right after his return. I'll wait patiently for the day when I reap the rewards."
"The Medias sector will welcome me warmly. Everyone in the sector will live in constant fear."
"Get me in touch with Horus. I need the Alpha Legion's current location. I can't wait to fight alongside my brother Alpharius."
Sevatarion grasped the Primarch's wicked sense of humor. He believed that only the way Nostramo was governed could deal with countless evils.
People only behave when they tremble with fear.
The Night Lords Legion recruited heavily from criminals, villains, gangsters, murderers, thieves, and every sort of evil person.
Sevatar gazed into the future and laughed. "By then, this sector will be perfect for our Night Lords' recruitment requirements. I agree."
Not long after, in a distant star field, the massive fleet of the Sons of Horus dealt with a powerful, out-of-contact human force occupying a star sector. This force seemed to replicate the Emperor's conquest, which greatly angered Horus and his warriors.
Horus, clad in heavy power armor, sat in his command seat atop the flagship. He watched as Abaddon directed the fleet in a space battle against the enemy human fleet.
Maloghurst, chief of the Warriors' Lodge, reported to the Warmaster. The equerry wore his customary black robes and carried his psionic scepter.
"My lord, Primarch Curze has asked us about the current location of the Alpha Legion's campaign."
Horus turned in surprise. Loken and the other Sons stood nearby.
"Why is he asking this? I don't recall them having much interaction. They barely exchanged a few words at the celebration."
Maloghurst thought for a moment, then spoke calmly. "He said Alpharius has just returned and doesn't understand many things, so the Night Haunter wants to help him. He cited that Malcador the Sigillite also advocates for more cooperation between legions to build camaraderie."
"The Alpha Legion happens to be fighting in this star system, so he came to inquire."
Horus didn't accept this as a reason, but he was still willing to help his brother.
He laughed. "Tell him Alpharius is in the Hazlitt system, where an Abominable Intelligence overlord rules over tens of billions of robots. It would be good for him to go and help."
"I never knew Lord Curze valued his brother so much," Maloghurst said with a mysterious smile.
After Maloghurst left, Loken asked a strange question. "When did Lord Curze become so concerned about his brothers? Knowing his past actions, I'm afraid Hazlitt will be bombed and likely won't survive."
Horus thought for a moment, then realized he didn't have time to concern himself with it.
"Let the robots blow them up if they want. Let's focus on the war at hand. Damn that false emperor."
The powerful missing human force before them had a leader who also called himself Emperor. Through effective management, they had become powerful in this star system, with a large human population and good development.
The sole reason for the war was simple: the Sons of Horus Legion discovered this human force, and they refused to submit to the Imperium.
Horus was furious that peace negotiations had failed and that the other leader dared call himself emperor. It was an insult to his sacred and great father. He was determined to eliminate this false emperor's power.
While the Sons of Horus Legion fought fiercely, the battle in the Hazlitt Galaxy was also intense.
AI dominated the entire star system. Countless robots and automated smart factories filled every world. Its superior intelligence had made the galaxy as solid as iron.
Having experienced several battles against alien enemies numbering in the billions, Omegon had already notified his branch fleets to regroup after completing their operations. The entire legion could now take over the star system.
In space, AI-controlled robots commanded over three thousand warships and millions of interstellar fighters to confront the Alpha Legion.
With the strength of a star system, most warships designed by AI were hundreds of meters long. The largest reached only ten kilometers. Since robots needed neither food, water, nor sleep, they were far more efficient.
A massive, densely packed army of intelligent machines gathered in space. Omega and Alpharius were utterly astonished by the technologically advanced warships.
A single AI overlord could accomplish the work of an entire legion. This galaxy was practically a robot empire.
Not to mention the intelligent robots constantly working on all eight planets. This was truly a robot star system, devoid of humans, with an unimaginable level of intelligence.
Strictly speaking, this was a mechanical civilization.
A civilization composed of powerful artificial intelligence and mechanical robots had developed on its own after breaking away from human management during the Dark Age of Technology. It could survive and develop independently without human intervention.
More importantly, without the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, mechanical civilizations possessed vast numbers of robots. They could be produced continuously as long as intelligent factories and planetary minerals remained.
Mechanical civilizations, like the infinitely proliferating swarms, defeated their enemies with astronomical numbers.
Omega gazed at the millions of intelligent fighter jets densely packed in space and exclaimed.
"It's unimaginable what level of computation this AI overlord has achieved. It likely far surpasses even the most powerful Cogitator array."
"They're probably top-tier AIs. This battle will take quite a while."
The wise Julius, though surprised, remained calm.
"Lord Omega, don't worry. We've built quite a few graviton charges over the years. They're very effective against these brilliant mechanical creations, but this requires your command and coordination."
Omega was relieved to learn that the legion had brought tens of thousands of graviton charges this time.
Graviton weapons differed from projectile weapons. They worked by firing gravitons that struck the target, altering its weight. The heavier the target, the more easily it broke under its own weight.
High-tech weapons were mainly sophisticated. The effects of graviton fields could damage many parts, causing the weapon to malfunction and stop working.
Graviton weapons were generally not designed to kill targets directly, but rather to disrupt the operation of large enemy targets.
For example, a tank hit by a graviton pulse might show no surface damage, but its internal parts could be damaged, rendering it immobile. The crew inside could also die from organ damage due to their own weight.
Graviton charges were the most effective weapon against mechanical civilizations. The resulting gravitational waves could destroy their mechanical weapons over a wide area.
Omega retrieved the data and examined its fleet of more than 2,000 warships. Studying the enemy fleet, he gained a clear understanding of their tactics.
"The AI overlord possesses astonishing computing power. It's best to achieve the most effective kill in one strike. Otherwise, the opponent will adapt tactics."
"Form a dense formation to draw enemy fire. Distribute the graviton charges to the company commanders and await my instructions for combat."
Upon receiving the order, the company commanders sprang into action. The Alpha Legion's two thousand warships unleashed a barrage of laser cannons, macro-cannons, and lance batteries at the swarming interstellar fighters.
In space beyond Hazlitt's seventh planet, millions of mechanical interstellar fighters surged forward in dense formation. Two thousand human warships relentlessly bombarded them, but the mechanical fighters disregarded casualties and continued their advance.
Countless mechanics spearheaded the charge for the warships behind them. Countless small laser cannons bombarded the human fleet, constantly depleting its void shields.
Countless laser beams shot into space, occupying hundreds of millions of cubic kilometers.
The human fleet was like a hornet's nest that had been stirred up. Countless mechanical interstellar fighters surrounded it, but its formation remained concentrated and motionless.
The expected advance of the enemy fleet did not occur. The more than six million mechanical fighters, acting as the vanguard, were more of a probing move.
This kind of probing was serious for the Alpha Legion's warships.
Previous enemies lacked such fierce firepower, and the warships' defenses were not perfect. The attacks from countless mechanical fighters severely depleted the human side's void shields.
But the dense formation achieved its goal of luring the enemy, attracting countless mechanical fighters to fly around the human warship fleet in the surrounding starry void.
[End of Chapter]
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