Chapter 211: Battle of the Passage

As reinforcements approached, Lyra devised a simple yet bold plan.

No matter how many space marines the War Commander might send or how many defenders fortified the citadel, she would attack with no more than thirty space marines. Against over a hundred armored Terminators, thirty marines were undoubtedly too few, yet even three hundred might prove futile.

These thirty marines served a single purpose: to divert the enemy's attention, creating an opportunity for someone swifter, more agile, and far stronger to close in. And that someone was Lyra herself.

As for what awaited upon closing the gap...

Lyra recalled an image she'd just seen: an Eldar mutant wielding a luminous device, presumably a guiding beacon. Her objective was now clear: kill the mutant and destroy its guiding device.

With her plan swiftly drafted, Lyra prepared to find a strategic ambush spot within the fortress.

...

The Weeping Ones continued advancing through the corridor. They had been marching for what seemed like an eternity, killing tens of thousands of enemies along the way and even taking down a few tanks. Yet the colossal passage stretched endlessly ahead, with no end in sight.

Following behind the Weeping Astartes were Grey and Saer, who brought up the rear. In Saer's hands was the luminous spirit-bone device, casting a guiding light. His duty was to lead, yet since being teleported into the Blackstone Fortress, he hadn't needed to give a single direction. The spirit-bone showed this endless passage to be the correct path.

Grey, who had refrained from engaging in any combat, was tasked with protecting Saer.

"How much farther must we go?"

"Just received word—the enemy fleet within the star system has started to retreat. Our Blackstone Fortress is moving slowly, but it will eventually breach the Rift," Grey said, keeping Saer updated on every development. It was a subtle hint that if Saer had any last-resort device to propel them directly to the fortress's core, now would be the time to use it.

However, Saer had no such trump card. He could only rely on the spirit-bone's faint signals, gathering clues to deduce the location of the core as they proceeded.

"It seems we may have to enter the Warp with the Blackstone Fortress," Grey admitted grimly.

"We cannot enter the Warp," said Feros, turning back to face Grey with a stern look. "We must leave before the fortress crosses into it. We must!"

"Why?" It was the first time Grey had heard such a severe tone from Feros. He knew little about the Warp, having only heard snippets of information.

Most Talons, like Grey, were either ignorant of the Warp or only vaguely aware of it.

"Traitors typically don't use Gellar fields to shield against Warp entities. If we go into the Warp with this fortress, we're as good as dead."

Though Feros's explanation was cryptic, it conveyed the severity of the danger, and Grey resolved to abandon any thought of completing their mission if the fortress crossed into the Warp. His new plan was to plant a teleport beacon and escape as far as he could.

"We still have some time," Saer observed, glancing around. "The fortress doesn't want to go in, so it's delaying its pace; otherwise, it would have already crossed into the Warp."

No one else paid much attention to his remark, and they continued forward.

The light of the spirit-bone device grew ever brighter until, finally, the unchanging passage ahead revealed an upward incline.

Aside from Saer, everyone was taken aback by the sight. Feros recalled the Warp Rift in the star system, as Grey, too, remembered the supernatural phenomena he had witnessed on the forge world.

Ascending the slope, they found themselves in a strange space, filled with many entrances, and an array of sloping pathways and staircases twisted towards each entrance. Both Grey and the Astartes felt disoriented, while Saer moved effortlessly, the Eldar senses keenly attuned to such alien spaces.

"Follow me," Saer said as he took the lead, moving nimbly across steps and slopes, occasionally consulting the spirit-bone device, guiding them toward a central entrance. The device's glow was now as radiant as a searchlight.

Glancing back at the others, Saer saw them struggle up the steps, their movements cumbersome and slow. It was not due to a lack of agility but the unsettling angles of the inclines that disoriented them.

Suddenly, the crack of gunfire echoed from the entrance. A bullet narrowly grazed Saer's head before exploding a few milliseconds later.

One of the Weeping Astartes, who had just scaled the steps, was hit by the explosive round, yet his Terminator armor remained intact. Calmly scanning the area, he spotted thirty Black Legion marines charging forward without any human attendants.

More explosives soon followed.

The moment he spotted the enemy, Saer took cover behind the Astartes, evading the blasts. More of the Astartes climbed up to join the battle, closing in on the enemy as the fierce firefight escalated.

As Saer peered over the Astartes' shoulders, he saw a figure wielding twin blades—a warrior moving with inhuman speed and grace, weaving through the space marines. It was Lyra.

"Look out!" Saer warned.

Lyra had already reached the Weeping Ones, slicing through an outstretched arm aiming to fire at her and then charging toward Saer.

The sight of Lyra stunned Saer; he glimpsed an overwhelming bloodlust in her eyes.

But before he could react, Feros and Grey rushed past him, swinging their chainswords and stabbing with power spears, only for Lyra to evade their attacks with fluid, dancer-like movements. Her body turned with deadly elegance as she struck at Saer's neck, too swift for him to defend.

In a flash, Grey activated bullet time, slicing off Lyra's arm, followed by Feros, whose power spear severed her remaining limbs in quick succession.

Even as she collapsed, Lyra hadn't fully grasped what had happened, feeling as if she were still wielding her blades.

Helplessly, she watched as her thirty marines were overwhelmed one by one by the Weeping Ones.

Her plan had failed.

"My next communication will determine your fate," Grey said, pressing his arm to Lyra's head before contacting Qin Mo on the bridge of the Astral Engine.