Thanks for the powerstones everyone, this is the bonus chapter for reaching 600 powerstones.
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"Now?" Trazyn asked. "You have guests arriving on this planet very shortly. Are you sure you don't need to entertain them?"
Guests arriving... Zeke realized what Trazyn was implying. Enemy attack?
Talk about someone passing you a pillow right when you're dozing off.
Ever since establishing the Potion Brewing factory and the Golden Apple synthesis factory, Zeke had been wondering something.
If the various miraculous potions and Enchanted Golden Apples from Minecraft were supplied in unlimited quantities, how much of an impact would they actually have on a war?
Could they directly turn the tide of a battle destined for defeat?
In the end, this required practical testing. And look, volunteers had just delivered themselves to his doorstep.
Zeke left a message and rushed non-stop towards Refinery No. 2.
He removed the lava curtain above the plant. The curtain had been there to survive the difficult early development phase.
Now that the Iron Golem factory was basically complete, Refinery No. 2 had a certain degree of defensive capability, so the lava curtain was no longer needed for the time being.
After communicating with Wolf Lord Bloodhowl, most of the personnel stationed at Refinery No. 1 were summoned.
Zeke began to impart knowledge about potions and Golden Apples to them.
He wanted to see if these soldiers could win this war on their own, without his direct intervention.
Judging by Trazyn's tone, the guests were not weak.
The potion knowledge from Minecraft wasn't hard to remember, but there were few dull minds present. Zeke spent some time explaining the mechanics of the potions clearly.
When he saw the potions being distributed to some of the Cadian shock troops, they looked at them as if they had received precious treasures.
Zeke thought for a moment and began to teach them the final lesson:
"If you're going to eat a Golden Apple, do it early. Never try to save it."
"Dead men can't eat Golden Apples. The same logic applies to potions. Don't save them for the very end—use them early. Consumables are meant to be consumed. Hoarding them because you can't bear to use them is not a good strategy."
With that concluding remark, the potion mini-class came to an end.
In the sky, four streaks of fire plummeted towards four locations on the periphery of Refinery No. 1.
"Drop pods," Wolf Lord Bloodhowl identified them.
Only four. Too few. Bloodhowl was filled with suspicion; this didn't look like a full-scale assault.
He ordered a scout squad to investigate the landing sites.
–
In orbit, Iron Warrior Krom Gat was receiving real-time data transmitted from the four reconnaissance pods.
These four drop pods had been launched solely for intelligence gathering; information was critical on the battlefield.
On the tactical hologram, the defensive forces of Refinery No. 1 were analyzed.
A squad of Cadian infantry, a unit of Skitarii Rangers, and a small pack of Space Wolves.
"Is this all the manpower they have?"
This was completely inconsistent with Krom Gat's expectation of a force capable of purging the entire planet of Mariatus.
Among the three groups, only the Space Wolves posed any real threat.
"Impossible. To break the planet's entire defensive line, the enemy must have hidden forces," Krom Gat muttered.
Behind him, the Iron Warriors warband stood silently like iron statues.
They were awaiting their leader's command.
Krom Gat knew that the situation on a battlefield can change in an instant; hesitation was the greatest taboo.
As a commander, he had to make decisive choices even with incomplete information.
His gaze swept across the hologram, finally landing on the Firemane's Fang mentioned in the intelligence reports.
He evaluated the ship's carrying capacity.
"Even counting that ship's capacity, the enemy's numbers cannot possibly exceed our warband."
The dictionary of the Iron Warriors contained no word for retreat.
Since he had confirmed the number of the most threatening Space Wolves was limited, then...
"Sons of Iron, the enemy is below. Show them the meaning of an iron tide."
–
Countless drop pods rained down from the heavens. Everyone saw them.
"Quick, assemble!" The Cadian soldiers grabbed their weapons and, following the guidance of a veteran, huddled together.
The veteran in the center pulled out three potions: Splash Potion of Strength, Swiftness, and Regeneration.
"According to what that lord said," the veteran began to recall Zeke's potion class.
"If there are many people, it is best to use splash potions," Zeke had said while demonstrating.
"The range of a splash potion is a circle, and the duration decreases the further you are from the center."
"So don't throw it at your feet. Throw it above your heads. Let it explode over you to get the most perfect potion effect."
The veteran threw the three potions into the air one after another. Crash, crash, crash—three crisp sounds rang out, and the effects of the potions began to surge through their bodies.
"Every potion has a duration. If you sense the effect fading, remember to replenish it immediately."
Following the veteran's orders, the Cadian soldiers, now buffed with potion effects, began to move.
Another unit, the Skitarii Rangers, looked out of place on the battlefield.
They had stripped off almost all removable equipment.
"Remember, you must keep track of the potion's duration." The Ranger in the center pulled out a Splash Potion of Invisibility and threw it overhead.
The potion exploded, and the squad of Rangers vanished from sight.
Except for the occasional particle effect and the items they held in their hands, their entire bodies had become transparent.
The description of the Invisibility Potion stated that it made the entity's model transparent and reduced the detection range. The latter half was the key.
Simply having a transparent model wasn't as useful as one might imagine on a high-tech battlefield.
But "reducing the detection range"—that phrase was intriguing.
Tests showed that even Space Wolves, with their acute senses, only detected someone behind them when an invisible squad came within two meters.
Combined with the fact that these Skitarii had highly modified bodies, standard infrared reconnaissance equipment couldn't detect them either.
Unfortunately, one couldn't wear armor or carry overly conspicuous weapons while invisible.
The primary role of this invisible squad was reconnaissance and linking up the entire battlefield.
However, as mortals, even with the buffs from the potions, they couldn't influence the overall outcome of the war.
Victory or defeat would depend on Wolf Lord Bloodhowl and the Space Wolves he led.
"What a rip-off," Wolf Lord Bloodhowl muttered through gritted teeth as he pocketed an Enchanted Golden Apple.
According to Zeke, one Enchanted Golden Apple cost how many tons of gold again? Bloodhowl couldn't quite remember.
Anyway, it was a lot. Zeke was generous, truly generous.
He didn't hide away these life-saving items; if you wanted to use them, he would give them to you.
But he was also serious about the accounting; whatever you used, you had to pay for.
It didn't matter. The Imperium was rich anyway. Lord Castellan Creed could deal with the bill later. Let them go find that old man for the money.
After this campaign, Wolf Lord Bloodhowl planned to head back to his home planet to lie low for a while. Surely they wouldn't chase him to another planet just to collect a debt.
Thinking of this, Bloodhowl suddenly didn't feel the pinch anymore. He grabbed several more Enchanted Golden Apples and distributed them to all his subordinates.
Let's see if this Golden Apple is as miraculous as that kid says.
Bloodhowl hefted his storm axe and looked up at the countless Dreadclaw Drop Pods plummeting down.
"Dreadclaw Drop Pods!" As a veteran of countless brutal battles, Bloodhowl was all too familiar with this advanced aerial assault vehicle commonly used by Chaos Space Marines.
It wasn't just a transport; it could use its built-in weapons upon landing to sweep the surrounding area with firepower.
Bloodhowl knew that this was the real attack.
This is a war without suspense, both the Space Wolves and the Iron Warriors thought to themselves.
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A bit hard since we don't have much time but the Next Goal : 750 Powerstones.
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