On the Iron Warriors' side, as their commander received a series of bad news, he adeptly distanced useful information from the chaotic stream of data.

First of all, this was not a random act but the prelude to some deeper plan; the combined number of enemies on both sides might exceed one hundred thousand, even two hundred thousand. And this was only the first wave of attacking forces; how many would follow? A million? Or two million? No one knew.

Regardless of whether these troops were drawn from the Deadwood Sector itself or reinforcements from other areas, it indicated that the status quo of passive defense had changed, and new plans were being organized.

Considering the previous battle conditions, the Iron Warriors commander inclined towards the latter possibility: the Deadwood Sector had received a large influx of reinforcements, substantial enough to allocate some forces for a counter-attack.

This situation and his speculation were relayed back.

Secondly, there was the enemy's objective.

From the current progression of the offensive, it seemed that their aim was not simply to annihilate him or to escape the defensive circle. With so many mechanized forces, they were likely mobilized to achieve a target measured in terms of hundreds of kilometers.

It was highly probable they were searching for a strategic breakthrough point.

Perhaps it was a vital object nearby, or maybe it was a military adventure involving a rear assault?

Regardless of what it was, it signified that he had to hold the line as much as possible; he could not retreat to preserve remaining forces, and even if he couldn't completely stop the enemy, he had to at least hold on until their operational intentions exposed a portion.

Of course, while it was easy to speculate, putting this into action at the frontline was another matter entirely.

At the front lines, the 1st Yakolan Mechanized Regiment employed a brutally straightforward method to break through the enemy defenses.

Zhang Ge commanded the Warlord Titan to ascend, utilizing its powerful sensors to scan the basic condition of the enemy positions below. Leveraging its long-ranged weaponry, it targeted their formidable assets from outside most enemy weapon ranges, eliminating threats such as super-heavy tanks, heavy artillery, anti-air nodes, and field airstrips.

In this context, most targets referred to individual weapons. Given the current scale of combat, pulling to the furthest distance wouldn't exceed most artillery ranges… Do not underestimate the threat that individual weapons pose against Titans. In this vast plain, with no friendly cover, once tens of thousands or even hundred thousand laser guns focused on a single unit, the resulting damage potential is considerable.

After dismantling the more significant threats, their Land Battleship, Baneblades, Knight Armigers, and heavy artillery moved in to clear out the remaining medium artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and regular armored units.

Finally, once the enemy had lost most of its heavy counter-fire capabilities, the frontline forces benefited from field anti-air protection to support air strikes and conventional artillery against enemy regimental or smaller fire points.

The ultimate aim of all tactics is to efficiently leverage greater advantageous forces, and right now, the most direct means for Zhang Ge to leverage that superior power was through overwhelming firepower.

As previously stated, this overwhelming firepower had reached a level where terrain could no longer match it; even if the enemy set their heavy artillery positions behind several dunes, a single shot from a Volcano Cannon could evaporate both hills and the positions themselves.

During this period, the enemy attempted several rounds of counteroffensives to reverse the current passive situation, but success and failure both hinged on precise calculations.

The Iron Warriors, having planned precisely, found their anti-Titan countermeasure firepower barely sufficient to eliminate the original Titan cadre and its accompanying Knight squad. By the time they were on the brink of destroying the Reaver Titan, their remaining anti-Titan resources had been depleted.

Though they maintained some reserves, a war machine capable of flying and far too resilient easily overwhelmed any moderate reserve.

In round after round of offensives, multiple lines were breached. Even though the Iron Warriors commander exhausted his last bit of wisdom and squeezed out the final resources at his disposal, he failed to achieve the basic strategic goals he had envisioned.

He barely held on until aided by their navy.

Yet, since Zhang Ge had been active on the front lines, he hadn't found an opportunity to organize his elite to execute a Teleport Assault—teleportation requires spatial coordinates, and without someone setting up a beacon in advance, achieving precise locations is nearly impossible, with error margins of several meters and even tens of meters being common.

When lacking precise accuracy, launching a direct assassination on the enemy commander required serious consideration:

Could the individuals you teleport in avoid getting intercepted by heavy fire and frontline units before reaching the target they aim to kill?

Though ten meters is a short distance, the Battle Sister that effortlessly butchered several Space Marines never left her target's side beyond that distance. While the Iron Warriors commander was confident he would not lose to her with a small squad, the crux was she didn't need to win—she just needed to hold the assassination squad while ensuring that a wave of responding friendly units could take them down.

Did they really want to gamble on not being there just as they teleport?

Terminators are incredibly tough, but they aren't indestructible against the heavy bolters, plasma, and hellguns hammering down on them. Once their pace is slowed down, they are only left to die. The Imperial Space Marines depend on absolute advantages in reflexes, speed, and skill to crush mortals in direct combat; it's not as if they can stand in the middle of the enemy and withstand heavy fire.

The several Traitor Astartes that had landed directly on Zhang Ge's predecessor's position through Drop Pods illustrated this well—they first disabled heavy weaponry with preternatural marksmanship, then they broke down into teams and slaughtered through various trenches.

However, right now...

Looking at the few Terminators beside him, the Iron Warriors commander, believing he had already done everything possible, could only helplessly abandon this enticing last struggle and reallocate what little elite forces remained, turning to lead a minor withdrawal through the meager opening provided by the Skitarii army formed on the periphery, managing to extract vital materials and personnel.

It wasn't that his forces had not tried their best; it was simply that the enemies had Titans.

Of course, for him, a seemingly desperate battle was ambiguous on the Astra Militarum side.

After their heavy fire had finished, they charged forward, breaking through the enemy lines, then repeating at the next position.

"Wait, where are their main forces? Where are their heavy hitters? Why is the most challenging battle the one just after landing?"

After several days of offensives, the several regiments centered around the 1st Yakolan Mechanized Regiment had advanced nearly a hundred kilometers, thoroughly shattering the Iron Warriors' defensive lines established herein.

Bear in mind that this was desert terrain, where manpower advantages favored the enemy—such achievements can be said, even for the Cadian regiments rich in experience, to be a first.

But there was little time to celebrate their previous victory. After breaking through the enemy's defensive line, a more crucial target loomed ahead.

One that might very well turn the tide of battle.

———— 🌟🌟 ————

ps:Support and join my Patreon

patreon.c@om/chenc11 [Remove @]

You can read up to 40 premium chapters.