The Emperor’s Angel of Death

#1734 - Hacksaw Mountain (IV)

In fact, they had launched a probing attack two days prior, resulting in heavy losses for both the Krieg and Cadian forces without any progress. If Creed hadn't repeatedly insisted on halting the offensive, the Krieg soldiers might have continued to sacrifice their lives meaninglessly, one after another.

Creed felt saddened by the death of every soldier, but Quillemaux seemed indifferent to it.

"If the Sector Commander wants this mountain, we are the ones to take it. Set an attack time."

"We need to think of a countermeasure. A reckless attack will only bury more lives. Or we could request assistance from the Space Marines from the Sector Commander."

"The Space Marines are too few in number; they are precious and must be used to defend against the great enemy of heresy, not wasted on a battlefield we can handle ourselves."

"Soldiers' lives are just as precious."

Quillemaux did not respond. Rain pattered steadily like drums on the Krieg officers' hats and shoulders, but Creed could feel the other man's scrutinizing gaze upon him.

"Colonel Creed, given any youthful idealism you might hold, I must say something, though it may sound offensive to you. You must remain objective and assign appropriate value to the lives of your soldiers. Our duty as officers is to bear the necessary burden of our rank. We are born to command, and soldiers are born to serve the divine will and to die. Understand this from the outset. Any weakness in action or will can only impair our judgment."

Creed's reaction was quite different.

"There are no cowards here."

He pointed to the muddy basin where over three hundred Cadian soldiers of the 8th Regiment lay.

"If anything, those of us who are alive, including you and me, are the cowards because, in your view, the dead are the heroes, correct? I may not have served as long as General Quillemaux or you gentlemen, but I've fought for over a decade, from soldier to squad leader to company commander, and I understand at least one thing: my own life is important, and so are the lives of others. Life should not be squandered."

Quillemaux-Shamar stared at Creed, and after a long silence, he rasped:

"Then, what is your plan?"

——————————

"Be careful, don't fall."

Creed's men did not have an easier time climbing the eastern side of Steel Saw Mountain. The steep cliffs, sharp rocks, and tangled razor wire were bad enough, but every time the young Colonel sent someone to cut through the barricades, a painful scream would erupt as another person died or was seriously wounded.

We've come a long way, Creed thought. In fact, he had expected the other party to agree to his bold plan.

Simply put, the main forces of two regiments would launch a feint attack on the western side, while Creed personally led a group to climb from the steep eastern side and then deploy thermal detonators in the corner between the western and southern walls of the enemy fortress.

As for why this location, firstly, according to the engineers' deduction, this location was a structural support point. Because the area on the mountain was not large enough, the entire foundation could not be deployed on the mountain when building the fortress. This part could only be extended with reinforced concrete, forming such an angle. Another point was that, according to the reconnaissance troops' close-range scans, the temperature near here was at least ten degrees higher than the surrounding temperature. Therefore, Creed guessed that behind the wall, under the foundation, there should be a power generation center or energy storage device of the fortress. Whatever it was, as long as it could be damaged, it could cause a huge disturbance to the fortress's defense.

The only problem was that the eastern slope was steep and had little cover, making it impossible for a large force to pass through. Therefore, Creed decided to personally lead this assault team composed of elite veterans and engineers.

At this moment, they were less than a hundred meters away from the fortress. However, the bad thing was that they seemed to have been discovered.

Failure, like a slow claw, was slowly tightening around his heart. Each loss twisted his internal organs tighter and tighter. He seemed to keenly feel every death, every painful howl—these people followed his leadership, relied on him, and obeyed orders that came from him.

Then naturally, their deaths also stemmed from him.

Emperor, how can I prevent them from being slaughtered while still fulfilling my duty?

Is it really as the Krieg soldiers said, that this seems impossible?

Are they right after all? Am I an idealistic fool?

Unfortunately, no one could answer his questions.

The only answer was the gunfire coming from further up the mountain, followed by the earth-shattering roar of the castle's long-range artillery.

On the gentle slope on the west side, huge fountains of soil and fire majestically exploded into the air. The enemy was bombarding the main forces of the Krieg and Cadian soldiers who were launching the attack—now the 8th Regiment was attacking under the leadership of the Commissar.

Although it was lively over there, the enemies here also felt the danger.

Ding!

Suddenly, a lumber gun bullet ricocheted off the rock next to Creed, almost grazing his forehead. He immediately lay flat on the cold, damp surface.

"Holy Throne!"

He spat. His bodyguard, Jarran Keel, immediately stood up from cover, returned fire, and then crouched down.

"Watch yourself, sir. Those bastards would be keen to kill anyone with rank."

At this moment, through the comm-bead in his ear, Creed heard his communications officer hailing him on the command channel.

"Message from regimental headquarters, sir."

"Let's hear it."

"The attack on the west side has been launched on time. The enemy has begun to shift their attention."

"Good, then we have to get to work."

"Damn it!"

Suddenly, Jarran Keel roared, pressed Creed down, and rolled under the nearest boulder, as lumber gun bullets sprayed from the rain-splattered castle wall.

"Sir, why do I feel... that the defense hasn't been reduced much despite the frontal assault."

Jarran's words gave Creed a headache, but it was indeed the case.

The fortress towered above them, evil, dark, and menacing, like a giant demon, its lights its countless eyes.

And it was not built to guard some important facility or city; it was built for a single purpose—to resist attacks and kill as many attackers as possible.

Creed was a little uneasy. He was sure that the Krieg offensive was fierce enough to shift the enemy's defensive focus to the west, but the enemy seemed to still have forces deployed here.

Could it be that the enemy garrison was much larger than expected?

But in any case, before the attack, Creed had promised the Krieg soldiers that they would break down this wall and take out the enemy's power system when the attack was launched.

"Fire support squad."

He said through the comm:

"Move into position immediately. Mortar squad, deploy behind the exposed rocks on the left and right. When I give the order, I want coordinated firing by zone to drive those mongrels off the parapet. I don't want the engineers to be slaughtered by bullets from above while they work. Everyone else, carry out fire support tasks as well. Suppress the enemy back into their bunkers as much as possible. I know the enemy has the high ground, but they are all blind mutated mongrels, and you are all sharpshooters. I believe in you, just as you believe in me."