Chapter 224 04.0223: "Navy Centurion"

"Everyone, salute the centurion!" With the battle flag flying, Louise, standing at the head of the team, shouted loudly to the Hell Vanguard Phalanx.

On the parade grounds of the Naval Academy, the fully armed Hell Soldiers are ready to go.

It is worth noting that they were divided into two phalanxes. The front phalanx had only 80 Hell Vanguards, and behind them were 20 combat auxiliary robot servants.

They were wearing the MK1 vanguard power armor developed by Father Lati.

This was thanks to Vice Admiral Alexander Hood, who, before setting out on the expedition, spent a large sum of money to order additional vanguard power armor from Father Lati, enough to equip an entire century of troops.

In addition, there is Father Lati's mysterious and powerful auxiliary combat servant.

In the Special Warfare Division's organizational chart, this was the first combat brigade to be recorded, namely the 'Hell's Vanguard First Special Combat Brigade'.

Its flag is based on void blue velvet with a golden and majestic eagle in the center, so it is also called the "Chief Eagle Flag Brigade".

This century organization is exactly the same as the infantry century organization in the late Roman Republic after Marius' reform.

It is configured with 80 armored soldiers and 20 lightly equipped combat auxiliary personnel.

Although at first glance it appears to be no more than a hundred-man team, its actual combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated due to its elite characteristics.

According to the plan of the Gothic Fleet, only battleships of cruisers and above are allocated to the Hell Vanguards, and each battleship will only be assigned a 12-man team.

Normally they can be split into teams of four or six to carry out missions.

Therefore, the size of this team of 100 people is already the total number of all the Hell Vanguards in a main battle fleet.

Because of his outstanding military performance and significant contribution to the construction of the Hell's Vanguard, Horatio was unanimously elected as the centurion of the "Chief Eagle Flag Battalion" by the Vanguards.

'Centurion' is a glorious title with a long history in the Human Empire.

Both mortal armies and Space Marine Chapters have Centurions, but their significance is different.

In the mortal legion culture of the 41st millennium, it has nothing to do with military rank, but is more of a glorious inheritance.

It is only awarded to veteran officers who have made outstanding military achievements, are deeply loved by the soldiers, and have experienced battles on the front line.

No matter whether it is a general or a lieutenant, as long as they fight on the front line and are respected by the soldiers, they can be elected as "centurion".

Under the solemn witness of all the Hell's Vanguards, a gold Navy Centurion Skyhawk Medal was worn by Commodore Edward Peru on the medal rack on the chest of Horatio's armor.

This award ceremony did not have those grand pomp and circumstance, but the meaning it contained far exceeded those ostentatious medals.

Being elected as the 'Centurion' means the recognition and admiration of all the soldiers in his unit, and it is the greatest recognition of his long-term combat and command in the front line.

"This is the list of the second batch of Hell's Vanguards. For those loyal students who have not yet obtained the qualifications of officers but have excellent combat performance, we have provided them with another way out." Brigadier General Peru stood on the reviewing stand and said to Horatio beside him:
"They can choose to join the Hell's Blades and fight gloriously for the God-Emperor."

"This batch of support is very timely, sir. The last battle at the Cathedral of the Goddess caused a sharp drop in the number of active combatants of our Hell's Vanguard, but now..."

He looked at the neatly-organized and well-equipped phalanx of a hundred men.

"With these one hundred elite soldiers, I will definitely take the enemy's head next time we fight."

"The Admiralty expects you to bring us exciting news. We will have to rely on ourselves for a long time until this major issue is resolved." Commodore Peru frowned.

"What happened?" Horatio noticed Shangguan's strange vision.

"Inquisitor William Cattell has already started trouble with the Ministry of the Interior. Today, he personally executed 35 civil servants from the fifth to seventh ranks and killed all the people in the two customs inspection departments."

"What has he found out?" Horatio asked in astonishment.

There had been problems with the customs before, so it was not surprising that they came to the door. But Cartel had not been in Abyss Port for long, and the navy had not disclosed any information to him, but he had already found out that someone in the customs was helping the evil, and he already had a suspect.

Now William Carter has caught up.

At the same time, he also brought about a political earthquake:
It goes without saying that the Ministry of the Interior is in a state of panic, bureaucrats at all levels are living in fear all day long, and the already low administrative efficiency has dropped significantly.

“But even an inquisitor cannot kill people without evidence.

We have to hurry and find the truth before he does.

Otherwise, we cannot rule out the possibility that someone will turn into a mad dog and bite others before dying in order to live a little longer, and the fleet will be hard to escape unscathed."

"What if he comes directly to the Admiralty Fortress?"

"Her Excellency Venuska Kataria has ordered the Admiralty Fortress to be on Level One combat alert.

The only way to enter and exit the Navy Department is with a green card. No outsiders are allowed in. Even if the Inquisitor or the Military Supervisor wants to enter, they must first inform the Lord Admiral. She is not going anywhere now, and is specifically watching to prevent the Inquisitor from causing trouble."

"It's hard to imagine that the head of a star zone fleet has to keep an eye on an Inquisitor as his main task every day." Horatio shook his head and sighed.

"The Empire's policy of pacifying the country before resisting foreign aggression has forced us, a group of holy navy officers and soldiers who roam the void, to guard our offices and planetary anchorages, and the people we are guarding against are our own people."

His tone was extremely self-deprecating.

The quota of generals in the entire sector fleet is limited to one hand, and the uncertainty of the life and death of a vice admiral is already a huge loss for the sector fleet.

However, now, due to the actions of its own people, it has suffered even greater losses, and during this period of investigation, it has almost lost the defensive function that the Imperial Navy fleet should have.

"This is the current situation. His Excellency the Lord Admiral has summoned all the generals and asked them to keep the routes open and the escorts safe as much as possible under such circumstances.

The patrol fleet has not been affected, but the strike fleet has been forced to stop at the port to rest. The Gothic 25th Squadron that was originally scheduled to take you out has to postpone its departure time. I can only hope that this matter will be resolved as soon as possible. "

"Thank you for your hard work, sir."

“We are working together to resist a dark hand reaching out from a huge haze.

Hundreds of years have passed, and it is really worrying whether the Gothic Fleet will return to glory or bear shame. "

Horatio looked at the dark clouds in the distance, his brows furrowed.

He knew that the reason why the Gothic Fleet was in the Battle of Cadia was that the admiral could only send a Moon-class cruiser with several light cruisers and frigates to provide support.

It was because of the conspiracy that the old lion was poisoned long before their evil Warmaster launched the Thirteenth Black Crusade.

The Gothic Fleet was so powerful that it was ridiculous that it couldn't even produce a battleship in the decisive battle that determined the life and death of the empire.

Not to mention the main fleet.

Once upon a time, he was also very curious about why the Gothic Fleet was weakened to this extent.

Now, he has personally experienced the reasons for this tragedy and is deeply involved in this conspiracy.

But this time, he would do everything he could to turn the tide and change the original outcome.

Otherwise, when the 13th Black Crusade comes, as a member of the Gothic Fleet, he and his comrades will have to risk everything and rush towards the Spirit of Vengeance in despair, writing the Gothic Fleet's final hymn of loyalty with his life.

But this glorious and generous sacrifice was meaningless.

The wisdom of his ancestors had already told him: If you keep the land but lose the people, you will lose both the land and the people. Only if you keep the people but lose the land, can you keep both the land and the people.

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(End of this chapter)