Chapter 65: For the Four-Armed Emperor!

Chapter 65: For the Four-Armed Emperor!

As the two parties authenticated each other's codes, the anti-aircraft fire from the Spire-Hive targeting them vanished almost instantly.

"Their control over the Spire is impressive," the Black Templar Chaplain remarked, looking at the void shield outside the observation window, which was no longer rippling. This was good news. It meant they would have a relatively stable beachhead. Once they captured the ground-based anti-aircraft arrays, the fleet could provide fire support to the surface with impunity.

"Indeed," Aglaia responded, equally surprised by the efficiency of the Imperial nobles. While one could not deny the loyalty of the Imperial nobility in certain respects, expecting them to handle anything competently during a Chaos invasion was an act that required considerable courage.

But the faces of the transmigrators grew even grimmer. This was not the level of control an Imperial noble should possess. But for another species, it was very easy.

"Archmagos," Romulus spoke up. "Have the surface reconnaissance systems been deployed?"

They desperately needed a pair of eyes that could provide a clear image of the planet's surface. Pierdra's industrial smog was extremely thick. Aside from the Spire, which nearly touched the exosphere, the rest of the planet was shrouded in a heavy atmosphere, preventing long-range optical systems from getting a clear picture of the ground.

"The readings from this planet are chaotic. The signal still requires calibration," Cawl replied. The surface of Pierdra was now like a mountain range of overlapping peaks. The valleys between them were calm, but the peaks themselves were filled with Warp-influence, making long-range signal transmission problematic. He had never encountered such a complex situation before.

As the Stormbird formation rapidly approached the Mechanicus Temple, it descended under Cawl's control into an area that was shielded by its angle from the direct fire of most ground-based batteries.

Romulus immediately activated his "Imperium-scope." In his daemonic vision, the Mechanicus Temple was covered by a massive shadow in a matter of seconds.

"Maintain void shields. Switch auspex to bio-electric detection mode," Romulus warned.

The auspex, which had been set to a Warp-frequency to guard against Chaos, quickly switched its detection mode. The display was instantly flooded with a massive number of red lights. Each light represented a humanoid life-form.

Everyone looked at Cawl.

Cawl brought up the image of a completely empty grand hall.

"No Forge Temple has any reason to treat a Magos Dominus in this manner."

Unless they were tired of living.

"Alert!" Romulus immediately commanded. "Establish a defensive perimeter around the landers. Be wary of attacks from the upper levels."

A fleet of holy vehicles that drew astonished gasps from the allied forces rolled out from the belly of the Stormbirds. Along with the soldiers, now fully equipped in Solar Pattern Void Armour, they quickly formed a defensive line around the landers.

At almost the same instant, a sharp screech echoed from within the Mechanicus Temple.

In a flash, countless six-limbed creatures with purple carapaces appeared before them.

Genestealers.

CRACK!

A single bolter round flew past, precisely shattering the head of one of the xenos, then tore through the ranks of the monsters, sending limbs flying. It was followed by a dense web of fire woven from meltaguns and las-beams, suppressing the xenos that had not yet emerged from the various exits.

"Saturation fire! Maintain distance! Monitor the command channel at all times! Astartes fireteams, prioritize ranged threats and elite individuals!" Romulus commanded. "And remember, leave no survivors. Do not get bogged down in melee with multiple xenos. Do not attempt to gather intelligence by consuming any xenos neural tissue."

The Carcharodons and Black Templars, who had been about to charge the enemy, halted in their tracks. "Understood!"

The warriors, who had been eager to display their prowess before the elders, obediently raised their heavy shields and formed the first line of defense against the tide of xenos. They had no choice. See all this Terminator armor and the various power and melta weapons they were now carrying? When you take a gift from your elders, you listen to what they say.

The dense web of fire echoed through the top level of the Mechanicus Temple.

Romulus meticulously controlled every point of fire, striving to ensure that each round fired achieved its maximum effect.

"Archmagos, we need to open up new fields of fire," Romulus said, noticing that the fire was too concentrated and wasteful.

"As you wish. The holy temple of the Omnissiah should not be a sanctuary for xenos," Cawl replied. "I will ensure the shots avoid the main structural pylons."

"Stormblade, fire on the marked area."

Having obtained the Archmagos's permission, the Stormblade tank in their position fired directly into the temple, following Cawl's precise guidance. The Ryza-pattern plasma destructor spat out a dense glob of energy that pierced through the temple's layered walls, vaporizing the xenos in its path and exposing a large number of hidden xenos to the line of sight of their light-firepower assets.

Among them were not only creatures as nimble as insects, but also a group of purple giants with swollen, bulging muscles.

BOOM!

A Baneblade immediately fired its main cannon. The shockwave knocked over a large number of charging xenos. When the ringing in everyone's ears had subsided, the crater left by the blast had been transformed into a steaming swamp of flesh and blood.

But the xenos' charge did not falter for a second.

Before the soldiers could even cheer for the achievements of their holy vehicles, more shadows charged over the remains of their fallen comrades towards the defensive line.

THWIP!

A rending claw shot out. The Inquisitorial retinue's captain ignored it. At his side, a fully armed Cadian auxiliary soldier pulled him back.

SQUELCH—

As blood sprayed, the captain fell to the ground.

"What in the hell is that thing?" the captain said, hastily activating his blood dialysis unit to filter the toxins as he staggered to his feet. He looked at the gash in his void armor, and at the rending claw that was now deeply embedded in the Baneblade's armor plating.

"Thank you. You saved my life," he said with sincere gratitude.

The Cadian just silently pulled the trigger of his rifle. They had seen these creatures on the Strike Cruiser. Just as fast, just as terrifying.

ZZZZT—

A laser beam melted into a creature's skull, destroying its biological structure. The fire that ignited the air reflected only the fanatical gaze of the xenos, which was then projected onto the eyes of the Cadian behind his visor.

Just as fearless in the face of death.

"Unity, tolerance, the ambrosia that nourishes every one of us, the claws with which we defend ourselves from the heretic and the xenos—all are gifts from the God-Emperor," the bald woman's voice rang out in the Imperial Administratum sector of the Upper Hive.

"Praise be to you, God-Emperor!"

"May Your arms, which are vast enough to embrace the stars, grow ever more boundless."

"May Your vision of watching over humanity span the entire galaxy."

"May Your children stand by Your side when the great day of ascension arrives."

"Praise be to You!"

The workers were all infected by this emotion, as if all their fatigue had been washed away in that moment. They stretched out their arms, revealing a varying number of limbs, and their skin, which was covered in dark chitin and glowed with a faint purple light.

Then, the devout believers bowed.

"For the Four-Armed Emperor!"

(End of Chapter)