Chapter 281 05.0280: "Expedition: Hell's Gate"

Driven by high honors, generous treatment, exciting adventures and religious fanaticism, tens of millions of brave young people joined the Imperial Navy.

Of them, less than half of those who set out survived the voyage.

Among the remaining half, many will be forced to retire due to various injuries and mental trauma.

Their thrilling battles and adventurous lives have become an enduring and long-lasting legend in the human empire...
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"Join His Holy Navy! Participate in the expedition! Dispel the darkness of the Land of Shadows! Spread the glory of the God-Emperor to the vast territory of the human empire..."

Navy recruiters, Anglican priests, and Navy military inspectors led their respective followers to distribute leaflets to the gathered crowd at the Las Vegas Nest Plaza.

The generous salary and clear public information, as well as living conditions that are better than the food and drink of most Zhongchao citizens, attracted the attention and enthusiastic registration of a large number of people.

It doesn't matter if this person is an ordinary citizen, an Imperial Guard soldier with superb combat skills, a veteran of the Planetary Defense Force who is just trying to get a salary, or even a gang member with dozens of lives on his hands who suddenly wants to sell his combat skills for the Empire.

The Imperial Navy absorbed them all without distinction.

No matter what these people's identities were before they boarded the warships, the strict naval discipline would transform them into excellent soldiers and sailors, and use the name of the 'Imperial Navy' to unify everyone's identity and beliefs.

Starport G-4 parking bay.

A large number of armed sailors are lining up and marching into the ship in uniform steps.

Countless sailors were busy preparing the last batch of supplies, driving trucks to deliver them into the ship from the cargo elevator.

Lieutenant Horatio, wearing a golden shoulder plate on his right shoulder, looked at the newly repaired and refurbished Indefatigable, and admired the size and beauty of this huge ship.

Several months ago, he hastily boarded the battleship as a reserve officer.

But now, as a commissioned officer, he had the opportunity for the first time to carefully appreciate the elegant hull of the battlecruiser "Indefatigable" under the transparent glass layer of the starport.

Unlike the initial boarding, one side of the Indefatigable's lance turrets was damaged during the Sanguinius Festival interception operation.

Brigadier General Edward Peru used his reputation and military merit points to order a batch of "Void Crusher" MK.6 cutting-edge light spear cannons from Mars.

This new type of light spear cannon produced on Mars combines two design modes of the old light spear cannon.

Just one firing mode that can both deal scattered damage and penetrate armor.

The reason for all the trouble was that this new type of focused light spear cannon was only equipped with part of the fleet in the Solar Star Region. There was no precedent in the Hazy Star Region, let alone production drawings, so it could only be shipped from Mars.

However, due to the influence of subspace turbulence, the supply ship carrying the armaments was late for the deadline.

Seeing the lack of armed forces, Brigadier General Peru quickly came up with a bold plan: he dismantled the other half of the intact lance turrets and gave them to other cruisers that needed replacement lance cannons, and installed a void shuttle apron for the Indefatigable.

This was an experimental idea that he had been thinking about after seeing the performance of Empire Naval Aviation.

After reporting his idea to Lord Admiral Venuska Katalia, he received a bolder reply:

The 25th Gothic Fleet will serve as an 'evolution squadron', responsible for testing new tactics such as the Imperial Naval Aviation and Hell's Sniper, and accumulating technical experience.

It also carries out the mission of supporting the agricultural world of Farr, which is being invaded by Chaos from the large subspace rift of the "Gate of Hell", and ensures the loyalty of the worlds along the way.

Whenever the Imperial Navy wants to accumulate some technology and conduct experiments, it will carefully use an "Evolution Squadron" as a pilot.

However, the Gothic Fleet did not have much aviation history.

Fortunately, colleagues in the bordering Extreme Star Region Navy have made great achievements in the research of aviation tactics.

Because the Extreme Star Region is too large and the number of fleets is small, they need a large number of imperial naval forces to ensure control and suppression of the star region.

Under the coordination of the Navy Headquarters of the Hazy Star Region and the Navy Headquarters of the Ultramarine Star Region, a cruiser squadron and several fighter transport ships from the Navy Headquarters of the Ultramarine Star Region, Karl-Duniyash, joined the Gothic Evolution Squadron, exchanged with the Gothic Fleet to learn about each other's specialties, and handed over a trained fighter wing to their colleagues in the Gothic Fleet.

"Hey! Horatio!" Horatio felt a pat on his back, and then Archie's voice came: "Hurry up and join the team, the officers are assembled."

Horatio, who was absorbed in watching the void ship, finally reacted.

"Well, let's go."

He adjusted his bicorne and trotted over with Archie.

After standing still, he saluted Captain Edward Perroux and the first mate, Captain Lord Stirling, and quickly joined the team.

The officers boarded the captain's command bridge together. Commodore Edward Peru stood on the high ground, assigning tasks to new officers before sailing and making long-distance voyage combat plans.

“Lieutenant Horatio, as you can see, there are now two rows of empty shuttle ramps aboard the Indefatigable.

I saw on your transcript that you scored full marks in aviation subjects at Zhongsi Academy, so Captain Sterling and I decided to transfer you to the Communications Department first. After you reunite with the Karl-Duniash Evolution Squadron, you will be in charge of the aviation department of this ship."

"Yes!" Horatio saluted.

"My fellow officers, considering that the request for support from Farr was sent 125 years ago, the Ministry of the Interior arranged for the Gothic Fleet to provide support last year after the fleet had survived the subspace storm called 'Tentacle'.

No one expects a world of agriculture to survive in isolation for 125 years.

Therefore, if this support mission is more accurately called, perhaps it should be called a recovery mission.

According to battle reports, due to the concentration of two warp storms, the Imperial fleet had to stop its cruise here.

The absence of the Imperial Navy has resulted in this airspace being invaded by greenskin pirates all year round, and this starry sea has become a shelter for these foul-smelling aliens.

The enemies we are facing this time include not only the minions of Chaos, but also the Greenskin Pirate Fleet." Brigadier General Peru said solemnly, one hand behind his back and the other on the hilt of his sword.

Captain Sterling stepped forward and used the holographic star map to explain the battle plan to the officers.

"Our battle plan is to first meet up with the Karl Dunyash Evolution Squadron, and then work together to defeat the greenskin pirates we encounter along the way and the Chaos fleet that invades the planet Farr.

Next, we will attack the fallen star port and officially open the curtain of the Far Star War with a siege.

When we gain control of the void sea, we will blockade the entire planet of Far and cut off the reinforcements of the enemy's void forces.

At the same time, continue to test the actual effectiveness of the Hell's Vanguard in the battle, and send commandos to investigate the situation of the entire planet first.

Karl Dunyash's Evolution Squadron would turn back to provide escort for twelve regiments of the Imperial Guard that were completing their preparations on the forge world of Pandex along the way and were scheduled to be deployed in the Battle of Fal.

This is a very large expeditionary force. They will fight on the planet Far and after recapturing Far, they will arm it to become a bridgehead to curb the expansion of the "Gate of Hell".

Once the Imperial Guard reaches orbit, the Kal-Duniyash Evolution Squadron will take over void alert duties from us.

We will dispatch fleet liaison officers to provide ground-to-air and orbital support for the Imperial Guard breakthrough force.

Once the Imperial Guard has taken over the key locations on the surface, our mission will be complete. The subsequent underground battles and planetary recovery will be left to the Imperial Guard. After clearing the nearby threats, our division will return to Abyss Harbor and await the second Damocles Expedition order."

"This is the military outline for this expedition. The road ahead is extremely dangerous, and there is a lack of planets for supply. I hope all officers will fulfill their duties conscientiously and never waver."

"We will live up to the will of the Divine Emperor!" The officers saluted the captain and the first mate in unison.

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(End of this chapter)