"Clear them up." Hawke gave the order while standing on the Predator anti-gravity hover tank.
Each company launched an even more intense firepower attack on the enemy.
A large number of shells fell on the enemy's heads, and the booming artillery fire echoed on the battlefield.
The enemy's fortifications were taken down one by one.
The other side fought back vigorously.
But the range of the Empire's artillery far exceeds that of the traitors.
They are always on the oppressed side.
Once they retaliate, they will be met with even more intense bombing.
The Natal 502 elite regiment led by Hawke is attacking the Styx hive.
This hive is located in the equatorial region of the Red Planet and is a very important industrial hive.
After the Great Rift broke out, wild wizards, mutants, and cultists took the opportunity to control the local nobles and launched a rebellion against the empire.
Hawke was ordered to take it back.
This kind of recovery operation was not a difficult task for the 502nd Regiment.
At most it's just a little troublesome.
His troops were clad in advanced exoskeleton armor and were well-equipped, which formed a huge contrast to the traitors' crude weapons.
In addition to this advantage, the intelligence network formed by suspended anti-gravity detection devices and heavy vehicles with individual shields are also advantages of the Natal 502 Regiment.
Hawke takes this task very seriously, and it will be an important battle for his promotion.
After liberating Natal from the Imperial Regent and executing the local nobles, Hawke joined the team.
He participated in many battles.
Fight against Ork Warlords, fight against the Necrons, fight against the Zerg.
Initially, he followed Guilliman's forces.
Fight your way out of Ultramar, ravaging the worlds along the way.
Hawke went from being a private to a capable regiment commander.
Soon, he will be promoted again to become a high-ranking commander.
As long as he takes down the Sterx Hive, his merits will be enough for a promotion.
At that time, he will command an independent force.
An army with fleets, knights, nuns, and many other auxiliary units.
He was even qualified to stand in front of Calgar and Guilliman to report on the battle situation and listen to their strategic arrangements.
This was unimaginable in the past.
No private has ever risen to such a high position.
Even though they fought together, they were two parallel lines.
Those nobles monopolized the military officer positions.
After their offspring graduate from the military academy, they will be assigned to a company and become a junior officer.
Then he worked his way up to become an officer like his father.
At that time, there was a joke circulating in the army.
An old Astra Militarum general takes a walk with his grandson.
The grandson asked, "Grandpa, can I be a general when I grow up?"
His grandfather stroked his head kindly.
"Of course you can. You will definitely become a general in the future."
The grandson was very happy to hear this, so he asked again.
"Grandpa, can I become a marshal in the future?"
His grandfather shook his head. "There's nothing we can do about it, kid."
The grandson asked in confusion, "Why? I will try my best."
His grandfather said, "Because the marshals also have their own grandchildren."
... ... ... .
... ... ... ... ...
Such jokes also reflected the collusion between bureaucrats and interest groups in the Star Army.
It was not until Guilliman awakened and, relying on his reputation, reformed the Astra Militarum that a path to promotion was opened up for those lower-level soldiers who had difficulty making a breakthrough.
Having broken the bloodline threshold for promotion, the huge number of Meng people quickly defeated the original military families.
So far, most of the troops in the Indomitable Crusade are elites who have risen to the top through their abilities and combat achievements.
Of course there are family members among them, but there are also many people from the lower classes.
In addition to the bonus of Guilliman's status as the Primarch, his many reforms to the army were also an important reason why he was supported by the Imperial Army.
Compared to the incompetent and furious nobles, the support for Guilliman's rule by those elites with outstanding talents is the foundation of the stability of the Empire.
It is also the foundation for the original body to dare to carry out all-round reforms.
Nowadays, many grassroots military officers have equated Guilliman with the next Emperor of Mankind, Lord of Mankind.
The Emperor is beloved, but he has slept on his Golden Throne for too long.
For a full ten thousand years, the Empire received no guidance from the Emperor.
Now, it was Guilliman who led the Imperium.
Everything is getting better.
From politics to economy, to various basic guarantees such as education and medical care, everything has improved visibly.
Hawke was one of these people.
At first, he was just a worker.
There is no other way out except to be deprived of surplus value and to praise the factory owner for establishing the factory so that he can have work.
But now, he commands an army corps and does things that he never dared to do in his dreams before.
All of this was brought about by Guilliman's awakening.
Hawke believed in the Emperor.
But this did not prevent him from believing that the regent of the great empire would be the next master of mankind.
Times are changing, and there is no eternal monarch in this world.
People have the right to choose whom they follow.
At the beginning they were a little hesitant and didn't dare to discuss this topic in public.
But as time went on, they found themselves surrounded by people who shared the same ideas as themselves, and they talked about it more openly.
The new Lord of Humanity.
The second emperor of the Empire of Man.
Terra's new master.
Such remarks are endless.
Hawke is also looking forward to the day when the great imperial regent officially ascends the throne.
Perhaps, until Chaos is beaten back.
The scene that everyone has been waiting for will become a reality.
"Captain, we've broken through."
A voice interrupted Hawke's thoughts and told him to focus on the battlefield.
"Go in and announce to those guys that everyone must put their hands on their heads and kneel on the ground, otherwise they will be treated as traitors." Hawke said coldly and without any scruples.
Hawke has experienced countless battles, big and small, on all fronts.
He knew what crazy things these Chaos cultists were capable of.
I also know how terrible the chaotic pollution is.
They are the absolute enemies of humanity and must not be forgiven.
Only death is their best destination.
There is no other choice.
Resistance in the city continues.
The traitors built fortifications on the streets with sandbags and waste materials and set up various weapons in an attempt to block the arrival of the imperial troops.
They are made up of workers, servitors, and some demihumans whose imperial markings and loyalty tattoos have been removed.
Some guys with strange symbols painted on their bodies were shouting all kinds of blasphemous words crazily.
Hawke stared at the traitors, his prosthetic arms pounding on the tank's heavy hull.
"Brave Natalis, in the name of the Imperial Regent, crush those beasts."
The cultists opened fire.
But they soon collapsed.
The firepower of the Empire's loyal forces was beyond their imagination.
The automatic machine guns on the shoulders of the exoskeleton alone were enough to make them realize the cruelty of war.
Let them know how terrible the technological gap is.
Their bodies were torn apart by the bombardment.
Soon, the cultists collapsed and fled to all parts of the city.
And Hawke had no intention of letting them go.
Since they have chosen to betray, they have only one fate, which is death.
The nests are very large.
It is impossible to completely control every street and every residential area.
If we control the most important places, the traitors in this hive city will not be able to cause any trouble.
The first is the energy pile that maintains the operation of the hive city, the second is the food factory, and the third is the weapons factory.
By taking control of these places, the inhabitants of the cities would once again submit to the empire.
As long as they are not tainted by Chaos, these residents are generally accepted back into the fold.
Before the empire was reformed, the lower-class residents did not have much ability to deal with crises, nor did they have the power to say no.
The local troops are all loyal to the nobles, follow the nobles, listen to the nobles, and inherit the noble genes.
Once the nobles surrendered, they had no choice but to surrender as well.
No matter how loyal you are to the Emperor, it will be of no use.
After all, the local residents have long become numb under the heavy work and pressure of survival. Apart from being qualified workers, they no longer have the ability to fight against those cultists.
No matter how unwilling they were, once the nobles surrendered, they had no choice but to surrender with them.
With its powerful firepower, Hawke's 502nd Regiment easily took control of the first two.
The traitors retreated to the weapons factory and guarded their last stronghold.
The weapons factories are still in operation.
Huge machinery blocks the path leading to the core foundry and STC data center.
Those rumbling machines were running in an orderly manner.
A crane lifts a ladle filled with molten iron and pours it down into a mold.
The robot servants repeated the same fixed movements they had been doing since before the war began, as if nothing was happening around them.
Dirty water leaking from the pipes dripped onto the red-hot machinery, emitting bursts of steam that mixed with the smoke in the hall, and the smell of rust was everywhere.
Hawke was no longer sitting on the Predator Hover Tank.
This plant is valuable and worth preserving.
To this end, Hawke did not use heavy weapons or artillery bombardment.
He personally led the team, ready to break the rebels' last stronghold and add a heavy touch to his medal of honor.
A traitor rushed out from the steam and smoke. His body had undergone a mutation, his eyes were cloudy, and his teeth were extremely sharp.
The sigil of heresy was engraved on his bulletproof armor.
In his hand he wielded a heavy two-handed sword.
"For Master Jorkan," the traitor shouted.
It was obvious that these guys were cultists who had been bewitched by the demon prince who controlled the Sejir galaxy.
These guys have begun to demonize themselves.
If this continues, the pollution in the subspace will worsen and the other party will most likely enter the Red Earth Star directly.
The Red Earth Star has a strong anti-subspace force field, but this force field is not omnipotent.
Ancient witchcraft such as sacrifice can still help the unlife to come.
Hawke dodged the heavy sword that was swinging towards him, and the automatic laser cannon on his shoulder rotated automatically, blowing up the opponent's head with one shot.
The headless corpse fell to the ground and twitched weakly for a few times.
After executing a traitor, Hawke activated the laser knife on his wrist and stabbed another enemy in the chest.
But there are more behind the two enemies.
Lasers were fired densely.
Several of them fell on Hawke, but were blocked by his exoskeleton armor.
The exoskeleton's special coating can deflect laser beams, minimizing their lethality.
"These guys are different from the traitors outside. They appear to be more organized, more fanatical, and blessed by the devil." said Hawke's adjutant.
Hawke nodded in agreement. "You are right, Heller, but we will still kill them. That won't change. The traitors can't change anything."
"All teams, unleash all your firepower. We are moving forward." Hawke turned on the communicator and shouted to all the troops, "In the name of the Great Regent, destroy them."
The soldiers of the 502nd Natal Regiment responded to their commander with equally loud slogans.
Lasers lit up the forge halls and grenades were fired into enemy fortifications.
Hawke fired wildly under the enemy's firepower, and the automatic laser cannon mounted on his shoulder was also firing hard, shooting at the enemy.
There were screams, the sounds of armor and bones breaking, and howls of pain mixed together.
The fragments of the explosion were blown away by the sturdy exoskeleton armor.
Traitors are falling in droves.
Hawke’s team is in control.
Suddenly, a bomb hit Hawke.
The bullet exploded in his exoskeleton armor, sending him flying backwards.
The exoskeleton's cushioning device kept him alive, but he was still dizzy and his head was buzzing.
In the smoke, a muscular, huge cyborg walked out carrying a heavy bomb.
"You are too late. The life created by Lord Jorkan, the Corpse King's lackey, has already been born. You will surely face his terrible wrath."
"Kill him." Hawke tried to stand up. "Nothing can stop us, not even a demon."
In the name of Guilliman, no matter how bad it was, Hawke would not let it stop him.
He was going to be a higher-level commander.
Gain the qualifications to discuss war with the Imperial Regent.
He also had to stand at the great ceremony and witness the great Thirteen Primarchs becoming the second emperor of mankind.
Let all the demons die.
There was nothing that could stop him.