After listening to Calgar's assignment, Zhang Ge fell silent.
He had thought it was some grand undertaking, only to find out that it was simply for him to take his regiment and the Yarkalan people to stir up trouble with a few Underhive Gangs in order to free up space to house refugees from Yarkalan.
According to the intel, the total number of armed gang members was no more than sixty or seventy thousand, with a total population of, at most, around a million.
Although the gangs' original territories certainly couldn't accommodate that many refugees while considering normal living conditions, if they were packed in like sardines and provided with regular external supplies, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Was this task necessary? Yes, it was indeed necessary. It might not seem like much, but it was actually a matter of survival for hundreds of millions of people. But why was it a task "suitable for Zhang Ge"? Wouldn't it be the same if any of the Military Nobility were sent?
Zhang Ge couldn't quite figure out what Calgar and the others were thinking.
Despite not being interested in beating up gang kids, an order was an order, and there was nothing to be said. Zhang Ge had no choice but to accept.
Thus, after Calgar and his party departed, Zhang Ge and his men finally had time to report their safety to those left behind and convey the relevant information about the mission that Calgar had returned to assign.
He boarded a Valkyrie Assault Carrier, informed the pilot through the comms to return to the Landing Zone, and then the feeling of weightlessness from takeoff came.
After a period of flight, Zhang Ge soon returned to the cloud-covered Landing Zone.
As he left the cabin, he found that a temporary defense perimeter had been set up outside. Every so often, beams of laser fire could be seen flitting about. Apparently, many mutants didn't care about the size of the forces they were attacking.
"Regimental Commander."
Since the landing had, of course, been guided by friendly forces, a large group of people was already waiting outside when Zhang Ge exited the cabin. Standing at the forefront was the Regimental Second-in-Command of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment.
He was clearly not surprised that Zhang Ge had returned safely. After greeting him, he continued:
"They are all waiting for you."
Zhang Ge looked around and saw mostly high-ranking officials from Yarkalan, which was not unexpected. However, somewhat surprisingly, there were also Astra Militarum generals and several high-ranking officers.
It wasn't that these people didn't have information channels, but on the one hand, the time was too short to mobilize them. On the other hand, it was a meeting that Calgar had personally participated in, and it was during a time of war. If they weren't directly involved, they'd probably get a Bolt round to the face for actively trying to probe the contents of the meeting.
And Zhang Ge naturally knew what they wanted to hear, so he cut straight to the chase:
"First of all, I was Cleared by Inquisition. Secondly, Chapter Master Calgar has assigned me a combat mission, the specifics of which I am not at liberty to disclose at this time."
The two sentences seemed simple, but they actually contained a great deal of information.
Passing the scrutiny while simultaneously having a Space Marine Chapter Master and a high-ranking Abbess present essentially meant that the 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment truly existed.
It wasn't impossible for the Departmento Munitorum to conduct a thorough investigation, but if Zhang Ge had a record of this scrutiny in his files during the initial screening, he basically wouldn't be placed on the list of regiments that needed to be investigated in order to avoid "wasting time."
As for the unfamiliar designation, it wasn't a problem at all. The Departmento Munitorum often encountered situations where an unfamiliar designation suddenly appeared. After all, the number of Astra Militarum regiments was so large that they themselves didn't know exactly how many there were.
How many were recruited each year, how many died in battle, how many new regiments were formed, and whether each new regiment still existed after being thrown into battle for a few years—even if Guilliman himself came to manage it, he wouldn't be able to figure it out. They could only list suspicious regiments based on the problem and then investigate.
Moreover, once a ship carrying files went astray in the Warp, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of regiments' records would be lost. The Departmento Munitorum was too lazy to investigate how many bad debts had accumulated over the millennia. If an unfamiliar designation suddenly appeared and wasn't a threat, they'd just add it now.
Even if they encountered a more diligent official who actually bothered to dig through the thick files and investigate, it would probably be several decades or even centuries later. It was questionable whether many Astra Militarum regiments could even survive until then.
Secondly, the combat mission, regardless of its content, the very fact that Calgar had entrusted this mission to Zhang Ge alone conveyed a very strong Political Gesture:
He was likely regarded by Calgar as a representative of Yarkalan.
With Calgar's political acumen, it was impossible for him not to consider this. At the same time, this meant that Calgar considered it reasonable for Zhang Ge to serve as this representative.
Calgar's power on this planet was greater than that of any power holder ever born on this planet. No matter how dictatorial and despotic those people were, they had to be checked and balanced by the forces of this planet.
But as a Primarch's lieutenant and a Chapter Master of a First Founding Space Marine Chapter, Calgar didn't care about playing those games. If you didn't cooperate with him and he thought you were affecting the defense plans, he wouldn't hesitate to remove you from the roots.
And the awkward thing was that he was wise enough that most of what he did was correct, to the point where there were no reasons left to oppose him.
As long as Calgar had appointed someone, not to mention the local nobility of Yarkalan, even the Planetary Governor had to accept it while holding their nose. Moreover, he was far more skilled in those underhanded tactics than the nobles were. Even superficially accepting and secretly plotting to undermine him wouldn't work.
This meant the complete failure of the Yarkalan Faction of Equilibrium's plan... although it seemed like it hadn't even started, and the person being targeted wasn't even aware of it.
Within the scene, some people revealed inexplicable smiles, while others' faces darkened.
However, Zhang Ge himself, as always, didn't care about their various thoughts. After pondering for a moment, he continued:
"According to orders, this combat mission requires the cooperation of the Yarkalan PDF. Please select a few representatives who are qualified enough to mobilize the various PDF forces. I will notify them later to attend a brief Tactical Briefing."
I have to find a way to arrange myself in the front. It's not good to abuse power so much when there are too many people. It's easy to be seen through.
As he passed through the automatically parting crowd, Zhang Ge thought to himself, seemingly serious.
However, in the eyes of others, it was not like this at all.
In the thick, churning, sinister clouds, in the darkness where faces could not be seen, in the low temperature caused by the long-term lack of light, the man, clad in armor and a greatcoat covered in bloodstains, walked forward, wrapped in the stench of blood that drilled into the nostrils.
Everyone who faced him consciously stepped aside to make way. As he passed by, the dirt on the edges of his Flak Armor scraped against the nobles' bright clothing. Occasionally, the slight sounds of collisions with hard objects were mixed and crushed into the rhythmic footsteps, echoing together.
Silencing the voices of anyone who still wanted to utter a rebuttal.
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