Alex's tactical adjustments were understandable and acceptable at the command level, but for the ordinary soldiers on the front lines, this decision seemed difficult to grasp.
The front-line soldiers had witnessed the Titan Legion's overwhelming offensive and simply could not understand why the attack needed to be slowed down at this critical juncture.
In their view, the current battle situation was clearly advantageous, and it was the best time to press on and expand their gains.
However, the orders issued by the command were completely contrary to their expectations—requiring the troops to advance steadily and strictly prohibiting any reckless actions.
This unexpected order was like a basin of ice-cold water, instantly extinguishing the high combat enthusiasm of the front-line soldiers.
Many soldiers felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction, privately discussing and questioning why the command was so timid when facing alien enemies.
Complaints in hushed voices could be heard everywhere in the trenches: "Have those big shots up there been scared out of their wits by the xenos?"
This situation was particularly evident within the Holy War Army, where troop morale showed a clear decline.
The previous order prohibiting them from charging had already caused resentment among many, and now, even with the Expeditionary Force having the advantage on the battlefield, they were still not allowed to launch a full-scale attack, which left many Holy War Army soldiers and low-ranking Ecclesiarchy clergy feeling indignant.
They began to question the loyalty of the command, whispering to each other, "Are the Emperor's warriors afraid of these xeno bastards?"
In their eyes, to not seize such an obvious opportunity and to not immediately annihilate the xeno enemy was simply incomprehensible.
For devout believers, the command's cautious attitude was almost tantamount to blasphemy against the Emperor's will.
However, Alex seemed unconcerned by the wave of questions from the lower ranks.
He knew that commanding the Imperial Army often encountered such problems, as the entire Imperium was built on a foundation of fervent faith in the Emperor.
Although the Emperor himself abhorred religious belief and repeatedly emphasized that he was not a god, since the rise of the Ecclesiarchy in M32, the Imperium had inevitably transformed from a nation that championed technology and Imperial Truth into a religious theocracy.
The fervent faith in the Emperor had become the most fundamental characteristic of the Imperium today.
Against this backdrop, any hesitation, retreat, or cautious behavior by soldiers on the battlefield could be seen as disloyalty to the God-Emperor, potentially leading to punishment by a Political Commissar, or even immediate execution.
This unique cultural atmosphere often compelled Imperial Commanders to adopt aggressive tactical styles.
They were like people with hammers, seeing everything as a nail—if one hammer blow didn't solve the problem, they would keep hammering until the enemy was shattered or the hammer itself broke.
And by virtue of the Imperium's vast size and resource advantages, this simple and brutal tactic often ultimately led to victory.
Over time, this combat style became deeply ingrained in the Imperial Army's DNA, even giving rise to extreme units like the Death Korps of Krieg—so fanatical that Political Commissars were specifically tasked with holding their reins to prevent them from rushing to their deaths too early.
In fact, even the current high command of the Expeditionary Force, while able to understand Alex's strategic considerations for ordering a steady advance due to their extensive combat experience, still found it emotionally difficult to fully accept the decision.
For the Astra Militarum, cowardice and indecision were far more intolerable disgraces than the heavy casualties caused by missed opportunities or reckless overconfidence.
Throughout the Imperium's long history of warfare, the Astra Militarum had long been accustomed to paving the path to victory with blood.
For them, casualty figures were merely an inevitable cost of war—even if the parchment recording the numbers of fallen units measured in meters, it was not something unacceptable.
If this was true for the Astra Militarum, it was even more so for the Holy War Army, driven by religious fanaticism.
According to battlefield reports from various units, there were even instances on the front lines of entire Holy War Army formations openly disobeying orders and launching unauthorized charges.
These fanatical warriors, shouting the Emperor's name, disregarded tactical deployments and crashed headlong into the Necrons' meticulously constructed defensive positions, ultimately having their entire units swallowed by the enemy's fire network.
Such senseless sacrifices greatly angered Alex, but he could not directly vent his fury on the Ecclesiarchy priests and Holy War Army Commanders.
These fanatics were already dissatisfied with his conservative tactics; if he were to hold them accountable too forcefully, it could escalate the conflict, lead to larger-scale insubordination, and even undermine the overall morale of the Expeditionary Force.
However, letting it go was also not an option. After weighing the pros and cons, Alex decided on a compromise.
Instead of letting these fanatical warriors breed discontent from idleness, it would be better to assign them more "valuable" tasks, which could both expend their excess fighting spirit and prevent them from continuing to cause chaos on the main battlefield.
—
As the Fifth Company Commander of the Heavenly Lion Battle Group, Anatoly had recently been troubled by matters concerning the Inquisition.
That the Heavenly Lion Battle Group had offended the Inquisition was something that, while not universally known, was also not a secret.
Therefore, when Alex revealed that the Heavenly Lion Battle Group was being targeted by the Inquisition upon their initial arrival in the Rostov Sub-Sector to answer the Expeditionary Force's call, Anatoly actually did not have much emotional fluctuation.
After all, why get angry about something for which he was already mentally prepared?
It was just that the content Alex revealed made Anatoly feel exceptionally uncomfortable: what did it mean that the Inquisition wanted to make an example of the Heavenly Lion Battle Group? What did it mean that if the Heavenly Lion Battle Group did not admit its mistake, it would be excommunicated by the Inquisition?
These words made Anatoly at one point suspect that it was all a lie fabricated by Alex, an attempt to bring the Heavenly Lion Battle Group under his control.
But after calming down, Anatoly had to admit that the Heavenly Lion Battle Group had indeed offended the Inquisition severely, and it was highly probable that the Inquisition wanted to destroy the Heavenly Lion Battle Group.
He relayed this intelligence to the Battle Group's high command, who were also outraged by it, and even developed major disagreements.
A portion of the Battle Group's high command believed that the Heavenly Lion Battle Group should back down to avoid being truly excommunicated by the Inquisition and letting things get out of hand.
However, another portion of the Battle Group's high command believed that the Heavenly Lion Battle Group's honor could not be stained, and that they would rather die than compromise with the Inquisition.
This made Anatoly, a company Commander caught between the Battle Group and the Inquisition, suddenly find his position exceptionally difficult.
If the Expeditionary Force had not been continuously on the offensive during this period, with the Heavenly Lion Battle Group undertaking a large number of combat missions, Anatoly would probably still be agonizing over how to decide on this matter.
However, when Alex ordered the offensive to slow down, these troubles once again sought out Anatoly, making him Can't help it send urgent inquiries to the Battle Group, hoping that they had already made a decision.
But just as he was troubled by this, the Heavenly Lion Battle Group received a new combat mission: to cooperate with the Adeptus Mechanicus in further clearing the Necron Tombs in the already occupied areas of Donetsk III.
Anatoly dared not delay and set off with the soldiers of his company.
Having something to do was always better than overthinking things, Anatoly thought to himself, even hoping he could find some valuable xeno technology, which would allow him to resolve the Heavenly Lion Battle Group's current predicament through the Adeptus Mechanicus.
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