Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [261]

The entire Hive Ship formation plunged into chaos. All the Norn Queens were suppressed, even weakened.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. On the two stealth Pedan motherships, Mephiston was the first to notice—all the Tyranid Norn Queens had fallen into a weakened state.

"Now, Commander Dante! I sense it—all the Tyranid Hive Queens are in disarray."

After his recent surgeries, his body was not only restored but much stronger, not just in close combat.

His psychic abilities had grown, his powerful physique better channeling his soul and allowing him to wield more warp energy for psychic attacks.

In this boarding action, Mephiston had a key role: detecting the Norn Queen's psychic status.

"Alright! Warriors, move out! All Librarians, shield our boarding troops with psychic barriers. No matter what, we must provide the best protection!

Remember, follow Lord Rhodes' orders—install the bombs and retreat at once, no hesitation."

Commander Dante addressed everyone.

"We did something like this once before. Last time, I was just a grunt—now I'm a captain!"

A former Space Wolf Marine laughed.

Titus nodded. All boarding leaders wore two silver teleport bracelets.

"Don't get careless. I'll put psychic shields on you."

Mephiston nodded, spreading his hands and, with the other Librarians, cast psychic protection on all departing warriors.

Once ready, blue light flashed in the small motherships as the Space Marines teleported out, each targeting a Hive Ship.

With a flash, the boarding Marines arrived inside the Hive Ships—many for the first time.

It was like a living creature's interior: blood vessels and tumors pulsed everywhere, grotesque and creepy.

The ground was littered with bugs, killed instantly by Baton's terrifying scream.

But for Tyranids, death meant little—as long as the biomass could be recovered, new units could be spawned.

"Disgusting. These abominable Xenos need to be purged."

A Primaris Captain snorted.

"Move fast! Plant the bombs!

All the Norn Queens are weak—we must finish quickly."

The leading Marine Sergeant ordered.

Everyone nodded, pulled out their timed bombs, tossed them, and then teleported out in a blue flash.

The operation went insanely smoothly. Inside the Hive Ships, almost all lesser Tyranids were dead. They didn't even face resistance.

"Unit 65, mission complete, requesting detonation."

"Confirmed, Unit 65. Initiating detonation."

Another Marine team confirmed and pushed the detonator.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions lit up space as a Hive Ship was blown to pieces.

"Unit 28, mission complete, requesting detonation."

Another team returned with good news.

"Order received. Unit 28, detonate."

"Unit 36, mission complete."

"Unit 47, mission complete, requesting detonation."

"Unit 55, bomb planted, requesting detonation."

"Received! Approved!"

Status reports and detonation confirmations echoed through the motherships. In just ten minutes, all 120 Space Marine squads finished their missions.

Not a single failure. In just over ten minutes, the Tyranids took a massive blow—over 120 Hive Ships blown to fragments.

"For the Emperor!"

"Brothers, did you see that? Did you see those Hive Ships explode?"

"Beautiful! These damned bugs are finally quiet."

The ship was filled with cheers and celebration.

"Astartes, the mission isn't over. Come collect new bombs and pick new targets. Start the second wave! We must hurry!"

Titus ordered.

This was far easier than last time—back then, only 30-some men blew up several Hive Ships.

And the Tyranids had resisted back then, not like now with no resistance at all.

Still, no one grew careless. Titus knew just how powerful the Norn Queen's psychic might was.

Even with the Emperor's psychic protection, their brains still throbbed painfully. Hopefully, the paralysis would last.

"All teams, reassign numbers, collect bombs, and begin the second boarding operation."

Dante commanded.

Soon all Marines collected bombs and executed the second boarding wave.

Minutes later, a new round of explosions rippled through space, more Hive Ships turned to dust.

The coalition battling the Tyranid fleet saw explosions erupting behind the enemy lines.

The previously orderly Tyranid assault suddenly fell into chaos. The great Tyranid monsters cut off from their Hive Queens, lost coordination.

Tyranids are a collective-consciousness species. Each swarm has a node-creature for command, but in major invasions, the highest commander is the Norn Queen hidden in the Hive Ship. The entire Hive Ship is an extension of her body.

These ships extract biomass and hatch all kinds of Tyranid organisms, from massive monsters to tiny Rippers.

But if the mother dies, many bio-units fall into confusion, sometimes attacking their allies.

Rhodes' system coins started skyrocketing!

Indeed, these genius Space Marines were the best choice for the raid.

"Excellent! The plan worked!

Warriors, Imperial soldiers, it's time to counterattack—fire at those monsters!"

A Naval Commander shouted excitedly.

"You heard the order! Reload, men, reload!"

Countless Navy crew cheered and stuffed shells into the macro cannons.

The human fleet unleashed a salvo, pulverizing the Tyranid ships, and letting the Great Devourer taste pain.

Rhodes' side unleashed Pedanium beams in a frenzy, chasing down the beaten foe.

The battlefield was ablaze with explosions. The Tyranids were stunned, thrown into chaos.

Never in their long history had the Tyranids suffered such a setback. What kind of attack was this, that could paralyze every Norn Queen in a region?

"For the Emperor!"

The humans began their counteroffensive.

In space, Baton the volcanic bird targeted a half-blown Norn Queen, opened its massive beak, and began devouring its flesh.

That terrifying screech could only be used once in a short time, so now Baton focused on eating.

After two rounds of attacks, some Norn Queens regained clarity, raised psychic shields, and began directing what units were still functional to fight off the Marines.

The previously paralyzed Tyranids now recovered, attacking the boarding Marines.

Hive Tyrants, Hive Lords, Norn Apostles, and Hive Guards brandished their bio-weapons and roared.

"Damn, they're awake! Brothers, fight!"

Just then, a terrifying psychic wave hit—a boarding squad had just finished planting the bomb when their brains all exploded.

"Unit 146, lost contact, confirmed KIA!"

"Confirmed—Unit 146, detonate. They return to the Golden Throne. The Emperor protects!"

"Unit 248, lost contact."

"Unit 207, confirmed all KIA."

"Vengeance! Avenge our fallen brothers!"

In just two minutes, over a dozen Marine squads were lost—mostly original Marines.

Against the Norn Queens' psychic might, they stood no chance, even with Librarian-shielded psychic barriers.

Rhodes' gene-sons, with strength rivaling the Custodes, suffered no casualties. Their reactions were fast—they planted the bombs and withdrew before the Norn Queens could strike.

When fighting together, the original Marines' weakness became clear.

The stronger, faster, sharper Primaris Marines suffered no losses; the originals took heavy casualties.

Rhodes' gene-sons had special brain cores and hymns of the Mother, resisting psychic attacks, so with the psychic shields, the Norn Queens couldn't instantly kill them.