Chapter 82: Sorcerer, Who Do You Think I Am? Fight! |
"Horus!"
A powerful thrust pierced through the neck, and a blistering, searing crimson bloomed across the surface of the Steel.
"The furious flames will ignite you!"
Soon after, the Steel evaporated, and flesh and blood vanished into nothingness.
As the Word Bearer watched his charred body being swallowed by the Melt Stream, he finally realized that the flesh no longer belonged to him.
The Angel, moving at blinding speed, plunged directly into the Melt Stream before it could even cool.
"Cease fire projection. Initiate electronic jamming."
As a deep breach was carved into the fortress's weak point, the voice of one of the Veterans rang out across the communication channel.
This unfamiliar voice caught The Sharks and the Black Templars by surprise.
This caused them to feel a slight sense of frustration. Even though they wore the same armor and stepped onto the same battlefield, the distance between them felt as vast as half the Galaxy.
This also made the Adeptus Astartes brothers realize that not everyone was fond of what they had become in this era.
But now, the Elders were finally willing to speak to them.
"Sisters of Battle, Inquisition Guard, initiate a sweep around the breach."
"Space Sharks, advance in a spreading formation along Karna's route. Fireteams, provide covering fire."
"Orlando, take three hundred men and cut in through the southern passage. Do not let the enemy forces link up."
"Rameses, stay with the squad and monitor enemy psychic signatures. Arthur, launch an assault along the alternate route."
"All squads..."
Contingencies had been made for everything. When Romulus inputted his orders into each soulless warrior, these fighters clearly distributed the commands to every individual under their leadership.
The recent influx of abundant combat data had allowed him to complete the Command Translation Model. Every controlled warrior could take an inputted command and convert it into Tactical Terminology, enabling real-time command over subordinate units even in areas plagued by signal jamming.
They could effectively ignore the detrimental effects of electronic interference entirely.
"Yes, sir!"
The words from the Elders filled The Sharks and Black Templars with renewed vigor, granting them a proud sense of acknowledgment.
As the squad commands filtered down to every single member, the tide of iron instantly split into several streams, beginning to seep through the cracks of the fortress.
The exceptional physical prowess of the Adeptus Astartes pushed the concept of speed to its absolute limit. By the time Arthur led several dozen men down the main corridor and stormed into the inner layers of the fortress, the roar of detonated Steel was still echoing. A few diligent Genestealers tried to investigate the commotion, only to be met with total shock.
A Word Bearers patrol squad of a dozen men had just rushed out from an alleyway ahead. Seeing dozens of fully armed juggernauts charging at them, they could do nothing but fire bolter rounds that caused mere ripples across the iron cavalry's Energy Shield.
Arthur deflected the axe blade of a Kong Nue champion, closed the distance to press his sword down, and cleanly decapitated him. Dodging to the side, a torrential flood of thousands of bolter rounds mixed with the crimson streaks of volkite weaponry poured in, instantly turning the patrol squad into a bloody sieve.
Once an advantage in firepower reached a certain threshold, a sudden encounter meant an instantaneous slaughter. Not even a Helbrute could withstand such a baptism of fire.
Using the visual feeds from numerous warriors, Romulus knew there were plenty of enemies within this massive fortress. However, they had scattered themselves to obscure the Imperial Vision, and after being caught off guard, they were entirely unable to regroup.
Moreover, upon entering the core sector, he discovered that this incinerator was much easier to assault than the previous Hive City facilities.
The complex underground pipelines had been dismantled, eliminating the worry of enemies emerging from beneath their feet. The entire area consisted mostly of main corridors sealed off by large amounts of molten metal.
The mutual paranoia and defensive measures between the Word Bearers and the Genestealers ironically provided the attackers with a clear route of advance.
"Welded Interface two hundred meters ahead. Initiate targeted demolition. Detach a small unit to contain the Genestealers."
"Yes, sir!"
Romulus's orders were passed down, and in less than ten seconds, a deafening boom echoed out. The recently sealed steel bulkhead was blown open, neatly severing the advancing group of Genestealers into two distinct halves.
Now, the Genestealers' route to reinforce their allies was entirely impassable.
The assault force immediately split off two fireteams to delay these enemy troops, who were now forced to attempt a desperate push across the blockade.
The Black Templars maintained their blistering pace, high-threat targets continuously popping up on the tactical maps projected across their retinal displays.
"The rest of you, keep up! Push into the core sector!"
——
At the very end of the main corridor, deep within the incinerator, loomed a fortress glowing red-hot from the searing magma.
In the past, garbage falling from the upper Hive City would be sifted through layer by layer by desperate survivors. The most lethal and useless remnants were then hurled down here, turning the place into a blazing Inferno filled with extreme heat and deadly toxic gases.
This magma fortress floated amid that very hellscape. Inside this subterranean surveyor machine from the Dark Age of Technology, Domenico, the Deep Blue Sorcerer, stood in a complete daze.
Before him stood a furious woman.
'Are we being attacked?'
Domenico was indeed bewildered. Before the Warband Leader had left, he had expended a precious gene-seed to perform a divination. Yet now, that so-called Prophecy was proving just as useless as the artillery-shredded fortifications displayed on the monitoring systems.
That would have been fine on its own. Even with a sudden assault and the Leader taking the elite Terminator Company with him, this incinerator still housed nearly five hundred Word Bearer warriors. Blessed by Chaos, they typically vastly outmatched the Lackeys of the False Emperor in close-quarters skirmishes.
'But how did the enemy push in so quickly?'
A multi-pronged assault, sweeping like autumn wind—before anyone could even react, a blade had practically been thrust into their hearts.
"How many troops do they have?"
Domenico demanded of the Xenos leader.
"I do not know."
The beautiful woman replied in a low, gravelly tone, "The restraints placed upon me by the Master of the Stars have weakened. I can hear the screams of my Comrades and feel their emotions, but I cannot know what every single one is thinking. I need your warriors!"
"Damned Xenos."
Domenico, equally ignorant of the current situation, cursed under his breath.
'What does this creature think we are? Some kind of Minion to be ordered around?'
Swoosh!
A piercing howl, sharp enough to unnerve even a Space Marine, tore through the air. Before Domenico could even react, a massive claw clamped onto his chest, slamming him brutally into the steel wall like a discarded ragdoll.
"You are still alive only because of my mercy. I mercifully granted you a chance to live."
The sight before Domenico's eyes shifted drastically.
Before him stood a terrifying behemoth encased in deep purple carapace. Its abnormally elongated, backward-sweeping skull pulled its face into a hideous, grotesque visage. Slender, pitch-black claws pressed into his chest, forcing the Ceramite Armor, which had endured intense Warp Baptism, to groan under the unbearable pressure.
"Now, as the true master of the stars approaches, I demand you take me away! I demand you raise your weapons in resistance! I demand you fight for my survival!"
A terrifying psychic force hammered against his mind. With that massive maw hovering mere inches away, ready to snap his head off at any second, Domenico finally realized the sheer disparity in power between them.
The fact that the Word Bearers were still alive, maintaining their rituals here, and attempting to barter with that Inquisitor using their troops—it was all entirely thanks to this Xenos's charity.
"Understand?"
Domenico nodded with great difficulty.
'I yielded to the Chaos Gods back in the Five Hundred Worlds just to survive,' he thought. 'Submitting to a Xenos to survive now is no big deal.'
Just then, two violent explosions jolted them back to reality. Domenico snapped his gaze toward the observation port, only to see a tide of iron surging straight for the fortress.
The patrol squads, caught completely off guard, vanished without a trace the moment they made contact. The intense radiation jamming meant he could not even hear the agonizing screams of his brethren.
"Issue the order! Have your warriors converge on the fortress!"
The Broodlord finally released the frail sorcerer.
"Communications are severed. They have deployed heavy electronic jamming. I will send runners to summon them."
Domenico rubbed his chest, scraping off a layer of ruptured flesh and gore that clung to his breastplate.
The vast majority of the Word Bearers' forces were concentrated at the magma fortress, leaving only a few patrol units on the perimeter. With battles erupting everywhere, everyone was scrambling around like a headless fly.
"I told you to issue the order immediately! Is your psychic power just for show?!"
Before Domenico could even finish speaking, The Broodlord ruthlessly cut him off.
"...Yes."
'Since I've already submitted, I might as well obey,' he reasoned silently.
In truth, Domenico was highly reluctant to channel his psychic powers at this moment. The tides of The Empyrean were far too turbulent right now. Moreover, he was merely a sorcerer who had taken up the craft after he chose to Turn to Chaos. The daemons lurking within wouldn't care if you placed your Faith in the Four Gods or the False Emperor—they hungered indiscriminately.
Nevertheless, he began chanting a lengthy incantation. He drew out a Sacrifice and cast it into The Warp, subsequently establishing a mental link with the disoriented warriors.
"My warriors, converge on my position!"
The sorcerer's voice echoed in the ears of every surviving Word Bearer.
At almost exactly the same moment, the iron tide that had previously split into three main attack vectors swiftly locked onto a single, unified direction.
"..."
Domenico immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"Useless trash!"
The Broodlord instantly realized that this fool's psychic broadcast had been intercepted, and fiercely regretted not choosing to infect these miserable wretches when she had the chance.
Domenico stayed completely silent.
The arrival of his personal guard to his side provided him with a considerable sense of security.
He ignored The Broodlord, focusing his undivided attention on the encroaching iron cavalry storming in from the perimeter.
Scrutinizing the intricate forging details on their armor, Domenico jumped in fright.
Then, he noticed the Chapter insignias emblazoned on the armor of most of the iron cavalry.
Black Templars, and a Chapter he had never seen before.
'Tch, I thought my old friends had come knocking. Turns out it's just some whelps who inherited a bit of old wargear.'
Having rapidly regained his psychological footing, Domenico quickly began barking orders.
"Bring out the captured Exterminatus Weapons!"
On any normal day, he absolutely would have retreated to avoid the brunt of their charge. But they had just secured a cache of Exterminatus Weapons; he simply could not accept retreating without making these reckless fools pay a heavy toll.
Today, these iron cavaliers would become their spoils of war!