Chapter 516 Istvan III (1)
“The enemy ship of the Word Bearers sank.” The flying messenger angel in the command hall dragged the metal pipe along the edge of the hall, like the needle of an ancient gramophone fixed in place Sliding across the cold surface of the disc.
Through the depiction of the holographic image, Sigismund stared at the warship being torn into countless pieces in the blazing light.
Inside, the light of plasma blasted along the pipes extending outward from the energy pool, and the tumbling liquid quickly froze into long dark strips like broken shrouds in the void. In and around them, the remains of many crew members slowly stood still like points of light, or floated to infinite distances without any force. Large pieces of armor and torn shields looked like fossils of pale bones under the light and shadow, reflecting light clumsily and slowly and scattering into the dark void.
"They did not detonate the last fortress, Sigismund," Eidolon said through the communication channel. In the silence of the room, the lord commander's tone with a hint of sarcasm was particularly attractive. Note, "The Luna Wolves and the others realized they couldn't go any further?"
"No, it's just that the person who came to blow up the fortress accidentally died." Fafnir Lane muttered.
Wearing a bright yellow Imperial Fist armor set with a two-handed ax attached to the back, he patrolled among the command team members who were watching the screen quietly, scanning their screens one by one to check the real-time updated battle reports and Statistical battle loss ratio. Multiplied by the average number of crew members, the number of deaths in the auxiliary army may be around 700,000.
Opposite to Lann, several members of the Templar Knights wore dark specialized armor and stood in fixed positions. On their cold faces, there was nothing but the sharp murderous intent in their eyes.
"The Imperial Fist fought too hard..." Eidolon said softly.
Commander Drelax, the World Eaters' lieutenant, appeared on the screen, occupying half of Eidolon's space. The flames of void warfare burned behind him, seeming to burst out of the screen.
"Sir Sigismund, the enemy has no subsequent ships to supplement. The damage degree of Cortelemis Fortress is less than 30%." Delelax made a downward gesture.
Sigismund closed his eyes and assessed the battlefield here.
They cannot easily put enemy troops on the surface of Istvaan III, but equally, the enemy troops must enter the pockets prepared by the Emperor's Children on the ground at some point in the future.
A long and narrow penetration of a large-depth defense line is an excellent solution for both sides to preserve their strength; and Cortelemis Fortress is an excellent location choice in the galaxy map. Once a breakthrough is made, The surrounding relatively vast void environment will welcome the Imperial Legion to march straight into it.
But correspondingly, the enemy's command system may also slow down the offensive trend and choose a more conservative small-scale breakthrough without ensuring a quick attack on the supply line and a stable situation - this is very difficult for rebels like them. Although it is acceptable, it is not the optimal situation.
The best result is that the empire's legion is willing to try to blast this gap again.
“They have the intention to retreat,” Lann said. “The frigate is turning - the Iron Hand’s signal transmitter intercepted it. Their commander must be considering switching from offense to defense, waiting for the battle line to be as level as possible. "
The Iron Hands were in tatters. Perturabo did not let them participate in the battle, and Fulgrim took some things from the arsenal of the Tenth Legion that might be useful.
Wolves are excellent hunters, Sigismund thought, cautiously.
“Contact the fast gunboat, launch torpedoes at the Luna Wolves fleet, and use them to detonate the west side of the booby trap area. At the same time, blast the armor shield on the east side of Cortelimis Fortress.” Sigismund De ordered softly. His adjutant glanced at him and quickly passed the order on his behalf. The instructions spread like ripples.
"Create a gap for the wolves?" Eidolon asked, "Will they believe it?"
Sigismund ignored it and just gave the rest of the order.
"The Emperor's Sons sent a fleet from the side close to the planet to sneak attack the Cortelemis Fortress, and then escaped to the asteroid belt behind. The fortress defender assigned a small team to board the ship to pursue it, and evacuated the battlefield with the Third Legion. . The other sector teams suppressed the Luna Wolves as usual and continued to try to cut off the corresponding attack lines."
Eidoron quickly fell silent, he knew that in Fulgrim's agreement with the other original bodies, Sigis. Mondstadt has temporary command of the Emperor's Children in this sector.
After the order was issued, his deputy completed the follow-up instructions, including the sparse sentry machinery set up, malfunctioning ships and a series of equipment, large-scale turmoil created by torpedoes and rockets, and weapons to guard the perimeter of the fortress. Sporadic position signals produced by platforms and speedboats.
If it were not for the safety considerations at the beginning of the design, the self-destruction reactors and detonators throughout the fortress would be directly connected to the remote control terminals in the Imperial Fists, instead of requiring members within the fortress to manually participate in suicide bombings.
Large-sized plasma light groups and macro-cannon shells exploded in circles around the fortress, and the red high-heat rays that suddenly lit up cut the formations and carapace of the two ships like skin and bones, Nova. The hot light of the cannon bloomed everywhere, and the fire brought by the cannonball continued to expand and become brighter, and then quickly and violently faded at its peak, waiting for the next ignition.
A few hours later, as he wished, the Luna Wolf side began to attack the fast gunship fleet. This fragile screen was gradually demanding the last part of the sacrifice that the attacking fleet could bear.
Hundreds of ships and warship wreckage from fierce battles dissolved into the deep void. With visible hope and controllable losses, the second force of the Luna Wolves finally followed up, trying to enter directly from the east side of the fortress defense line, cooperating with the first fleet advancing frontally, and in the Imperial Fist Breaking through the fortifications everywhere in the quagmire-like defensive position, they slowly approached the fortress.
"Mobilize the remaining defenders in the fortress, board the battleship, intercept the Luna Wolf, and defend the fortress with all your strength." He continued to order. "At the same time, secretly transfer ammunition stocks, defense equipment and troops to Istvan III."
Lann looked at him in surprise.
If the fleet were to block it with all its strength, with the combined efforts of the Iron Warriors and the Imperial Fists, it would be impossible for this branch of the Luna Wolves and the Word Bearers to break through the defense line head-on and blast the Cortelemis Fortress. ——The gap in the fortress armor plate that is just a few inches away will become an elusive phantom of despair. This went against the tactical plans laid out by the Primarchs themselves.
"For Dorne's will." Lann simply read without asking any questions.
No matter what, Sigismund's orders were faithfully carried out. The leader of the Templars stared at the holographic projection and fell into a long silence.
The combat ships set sail from the planetary fortress port one after another, like fish falling into the ocean, rushing towards the Luna Wolf fleet, and soon they were biting each other.
Countless conflicts are breaking out in the star field surrounding the planet Istvan III.
In the Nathan asteroid belt, the two ships are tightly dependent on each other, jumping to help each other, like a pair of iron stones attracting each other. They are the last two surviving ships in the entire radiation-filled area.
On the Probyers satellite, a secondary bridgehead was built near another fortress adjacent to Istvan III. A large amount of plasma was released, but the bridgehead was quickly demolished and the attacking fleet The Iron Warriors were driven back into the void behind with nothing but the remains of warriors, leaving only the ability to launch small-scale offensive operations intermittently.
The breakthrough point of Cortelimis Fortress is undoubtedly the top priority in the eyes of a qualified general. How many pairs of eyes are watching the war here, assessing and discussing next steps?
In Sigismund's peripheral vision, he realized that on the side line near the dome, the Imperial Sky Eagle was still imprinted on the ribs inside the command hall, perhaps because he was considering dismantling the indoor structure. The inconvenience... As a result, the golden double-headed eagle also stared at him.
Are the two emperors mentioned by the Primarchs - the stars on the crossroads and the false emperor on the throne, like the two heads of the eagle, watching this burning game from an infinite distance?
Sigismund felt the coldness on his forehead again. He gently pushed these thoughts away.
On this battlefield, he is called a commander, but he is just an eternal blade held in his hand.
Perhaps some of them among the rebels are still immersed in their past glory and hidden companionship, and are hesitant about the original body's decision...
But excessive philosophy and Sensitive hesitation will never belong to a heart in the chest of a sharp blade.
It was not the honor or the passion for facing the Emperor that shaped Sigismund, but the fire with which he was forged as a weapon.
That was his oath.
Time is still passing, and for Space Marines, the counting period in days and their rest period do not need to coincide. Around Cortelimis, a number of small satellite platforms and outposts were captured by the Imperial forces. After a while, these platforms turned to fire on the fortress itself, tiny bright spots of flames splashing out, and in a very short time Within a short time, it was permanently extinguished by the Imperial Fists' fleet.
It shouldn’t be long, Sigismund calculated in his mind. However, if the situation continues like this, he must consider the next tactical strategy to break the stalemate at this moment.
Suddenly, a new set of signals was sent to Sigismund.
Just inside Cortrimis, a mysterious and hostile shadow seems to be spreading rapidly within the Iron Fortress.
A series of internal furnishings experienced electronic failures one after another. In the air circulation system of the gargoyle gargoyle, the composition index of micro-particles exceeded the warning value. The detection coefficient of toxic neurological substances in the air increased rapidly, and the purification system could not support it. It will be completely useless after a long time. In the entire fortress that was almost hollowed out by the Imperial Fist, the last few defenders and sentries leaned against the wall or fell on the spot one after another.
New, unpainted armor appeared in the blind spot of the hidden camera device, and destroyed the surveillance points one by one in the next moment. The red alert data rolled down from the side of the screen like a needle-shaped rainstorm, each signal symbolizing a complete destruction.
From the outside world, Cortelimis Fortress is still safe and sound compared to the ships that exploded one after another outside. But inside it, the number of instruments that are still sending signals is decreasing, sensors have become ineffective, various communication channels have gradually fallen into silence, and traps have been disconnected from the command hall after being triggered.
"Alpha." Drelax said suddenly. Their commander did not leave the opportunity for invasion to the Luna Wolves, Sigismund simply ensured that the Imperial swarms had no intention of retreating.
All that's needed to blast a fortress is a successful infiltration. Regardless of how the Alpha Legion did it, it seems that they certainly followed through on their abilities.
When the invader's attack signal arrived at an ammunition depot and found that it was empty, Fafnir couldn't help but laugh. Since they want to hand over a fortress, they will definitely not retain the opportunity for the fortress to attack their own fleet from the rear.
Sigismund breathed quietly. Could an empty fortress planet be useful to the Alpha Legion? Will they faithfully implement the blasting plan formulated by Commander Horus?
The noise in the monitoring equipment flooded like water, the bright red danger signal stopped flowing, and the last message stayed at the bottom of the screen and flashed continuously. The main control cabin was opened under the melt.
At the same time, the thrusters of the imperial fleet around the fortress spurted flames, and the ships suddenly gave up the advantages they had gained and began to retreat backwards.
There is no doubt that the Alpha Legion obeyed the military orders of Horus.
Lan took a deep breath: "It's starting, sir."
Sigismund nodded slightly. "Let our fleet evacuate."
As far as imaginable, the data flow shuttled through the computing module, stimulating waves of high-energy reactions.
Until a flash of light flashed outward along the cracks in the armor on the planet's surface.
As the Imperial Fist's warships moved away from the Fortress of Cortelimis, the entire fortress had begun the process of self-destruction. Under the control of the Alpha Legion's infiltration team, unknown data flowed into countless huge machines that were only loyal to numbers. , bursts of high-temperature-induced light burned violently inside the fortress. The entire planetary fortress was like an unstable old decaying star. The power carried inside could be overloaded at any time, leading to a complete explosion.
“Aim for the evacuation exit.” Sigismund gave the final finishing order.
Soon after, a blue ship retreating from the side of the fortress exploded into a short-lived meteor.
The metal plates of Cortelimis were twisted in the tremors, and the transmission pipeline in the channel broke. Fragments of steel exploded from the fire and sprayed around, and the pieces of steel plates were forced to peel off. The criss-crossing cracks spurted out streams of liquid like molten metal, scorching hot and deadly. Each tiny explosion seemed to push this once-standing military fortress to the brink of destruction.
Within eighteen minutes, the reactor of Cortelimis Fortress exploded completely. In bursts of flashes, large mountainous steel plates fell off the surface of the planet, and the structural supports collapsed. Once dug by the Adeptus Mechanicus, The core of the empty planet was torn apart. Amidst the fire and smoke, the remains of the huge outpost fortress floated in space and turned into cold fragments.
"Cotelimis Fortress exploded." came the announcement from the Iron Warriors. "According to the order of Commander Perturabo, the surface of Istvan III will welcome the arrival of the imperial army."
"Our mission here is completed, sir." Delelax said solemnly. explain.
Sigismund nodded slightly, rearranged the chain used to wrap the iron sword around his wrist, untied a wrongly fastened ring, and let the chain smoothly wrap around his wrist again. The battle armor collided with each other, making crackling sounds like sword swings.
"Next, Istvan III will burn." Sigismund replied calmly. "Prepare for ground combat."
——
"No matter how many honors and miracles we have as Space Marines, how many incredible military feats we perform in the Great Crusade, we all know that at the root our armor is still wrapped in a body of flesh and blood. We are like this, we are now The same is true for the enemies we face. The dense buildings and towers in the hive, the insurmountable high walls, the complex terrain of the lower hive, and the endless pipelines and toxic silt in the lower hive are all our natural trenches and shelters. "< br>
“Therefore, we must make full use of the underground railways and waterways. The impact of groundwater in the current season is negligible, which is beneficial to preparations.”
War Blacksmith Guy said, adding Is A layered map of Anthem City, the capital of Tavan III, is displayed in a holographic projection.
A red line descends from the golden spire that towers for miles in the thick gray clouds, across the magnificent splendid parish and the vast residential area where countless civilians live - here are the layers of gradually filtered air And the circulating water pipeline route is used to transport the dirty gas converted into the fragrant air enjoyed by the residents in the upper floors to the dirty and dark lower parts.
Continue down, passing through the overcrowded middle nest area, filled with various explosions and sudden collapses, until the bright red arrow reaches the polluted lower nest and turns into a red circle with uncertain edges. Frame a large area. The rest of the map was blurred, leaving only a layer of frosted crystal-like shadow.
"Our newly obtained combat areas are in the Lower Nest and the Bottom Nest." Guy said, "This is the responsibility assigned to us by Warmaster Perturabo."
"I have no objection. In defending the city In terms of ambush, the Emperor's Children are willing to obey the call of the Iron Warriors. "Thor Tarvitz, the tenth captain of the Emperor's Sons, turned his head and looked at Erron, the captain of the World Eaters.
"Of course." Erron replied simply.
"I appreciate your attitude, cousins," Guy said.
"Thank you for your compliment, but did I show any attitude that deserves special praise?" Tavitz asked.
"Don't worry about it." Guy said it over. "Time is of the essence."
Within the Iron Warriors, senior commanders knew - and were not surprised to learn that not everyone was willing to participate in this war against the Imperial Legion. Among them, there is indeed a group of noble loyalists who hesitate to temporarily suppress their doubts and follow the footsteps of the original body...
After receiving their report, Perturabo asked the commander to Officials should not rashly change their tactical arrangements for this reason. In the ever-changing battlefield, everyone will decide their own destiny. For the rest of the time, they continued to evaluate the new plan: multiple squads of Auxiliaries and Astartes, spread out deep in the hive city among hive-like dwellings, floating pipes with a colorful oily sheen, and isolated Between the shafts, be ready to ambush and deal with enemy forces that infiltrate into the lower lair and underground areas. In addition, their current main tasks are logistical transportation and consolidating and expanding the defense area.
After the opening of the Cortelimis Fortress and a long period of low-Earth orbit fleet operations, approximately 50% of the main force of the Imperial Legion arrived within the range of the Istvan III airborne operations. .
In the next three days, the Word Bearers first continuously bombed the outer areas of the capital city and the other two hive cities. Thousands of large and small bombers stepped up their bombing activities under the escort of heavy fighters, and Perform remote interdiction with little effect. This was a hard-fought move, but unfortunately their attempts were constantly crushed by the Iron Warriors' automatic interception system. No matter what, they at least provided some cover for their own landing.
The assault teams of the Word Bearers' Ember Circle and the Luna Wolves descended quickly, and the first battle began around the Concerto Palace, an important landmark in the Anthem City - a small palace that once belonged to the native religious activity environment before the empire. , was transformed by the Iron Warriors into a landing site for trade a few years ago. Now, after removing the signs and lights installed around the long straight road on the surface, it has been directly converted into one of the bases for aviation takeoffs and landings.
It took the two battalions of the Iron Warriors a week to end the first small battle, completely crushing the enemy forces that landed in the process, without even leaving any intelligence on the location of the Emperor's Children. . There is no need to take the initiative to present the latter to the Imperial Legion. Warmaster Perturabo is obviously happy to see the enemy struggling to explore within the defense lines he has laid.
Subsequent battles broke out in different areas. The Imperial tank army struggled to move in the overcrowded terrain of the hive, and mechanized motorcycles and airborne troops searched for a breakthrough. The advance detachment tried to carve out small gaps in the defense line every day and night, and the Alpha Legion could appear in chaos at any time.
The main battlefield moved from outside to inside, entering the hive city where Anthem City is located. Several regiments of the imperial army lost their combat capabilities in a short period of time. Correspondingly, part of the defense line built by the Iron Warriors also fell behind. withdraw. The Imperial Fists were withdrawn from the universe in large numbers, and more than ten companies returned to the ground from the void to fight. A new round of air-to-air shooting is always organized on the ground. The biggest goal is to intercept as many enemy airdrop pods as possible and shoot at the hovering Storm Bird transport craft.
The World Eaters and the Emperor's Children were still required to remain on hold for the time being, waiting for the collective orders from the Commander-in-Chief. But this situation did not last long. On the day when a secondary nest city was captured as the enemy's first base, an order came from the Cantor's Palace - the former governor's palace of Chant City and now the Warmaster's headquarters - came quickly.
"Earlen, you need to lead the team by train to the Ferguson Canyon area in the southern European wilderness outside the nest, and cut off the connection between the newly landed troops and the main enemy group." Guy said in a consultative tone.
"Who is involved?" Erron asked.
"There are also five squads from your 14th Company, who are currently preparing for battle at the front of the battle line. As well as an adjutant commander of the Imperial Fists."
Earlen He sneered: "I have been waiting for a long time, and I am very willing to be the world swallower." The first drop of blood belongs to us."
"What about us?" Thor knocked on the table, "Now that the World Eaters have taken action, in the eyes of our enemies. The loyalty of the emperor’s son is probably worthy of scrutiny.”
"Of course." Guy nodded approvingly, "Thor Tarvitz, the Warmaster needs the Emperor's Children to participate in the raid on the temporary command center initially established by the enemy. Before the enemy Primarch descends to the ground."
Tavitz's gauntlet patted the power sword beside him, stood up, his purple and gold armor flashed slightly: "Of course."
"Then, I'll go to West City Organize assaults in the corridor to assist the defense of the counter-attack line, where we need to eat another area to regain depth... But be careful, Thor, even if I am willing to trust your troops, maybe you should still be careful, Is every one of your warriors willing to call the Imperial Army 'our enemy'?" Guy reminded based on the latest instructions Perturabo left in the communication.
"I know," Sol Tavitz sighed in his mind. He could understand why this sentence had to be said to him alone, after all, the Emperor's Children even still use the name of the Legion that was once a supreme honor.
——
"There's something strange about something," Togaton said, his voice reaching Loken's ears through the internal channel.
The second company commander is currently leading the team to attack the block that the infiltration team explored the day before yesterday, scanning the surrounding crowded and narrow closed environment, detonating the discovered improvised explosive devices, so that their explosion impact is within a controllable range. Inside. From time to time there were several gunshots, followed by a curse and the sound of hurried footsteps.
Accordingly, Gavier Loken guarded the newly built fortress. This was an old church that had been converted into a residential shelter, and now it has been once again converted into one of the temporary ground command offices. , the internal structure is extremely complex, which is the result of the Iron Warriors and the local aborigines jointly contributing to the design of the church.
Through the empty space left by the removed flower windows, he could overlook the surrounding open highland environment. The residential buildings below were square and neat, with a large number of houses with carved beams and painted beams, and a green space with a man-made lake in the middle. garden.
The architectural environment here allows one to imagine the image of the former residents. Compared to the defense platforms in orbit that made them suffer so much, the interior of Istvan III even has a peaceful atmosphere. Beautiful, but now in decline.
Over the long years, Steel was the impression the Iron Warriors brought to the entire empire. The consolidation of the friendship between this legion and other legions was completely subtle. Compared with the radiant charm of their original body, Perturabo The way to gain the trust of others is more subtle and difficult to detect, and the impact is more difficult to erase.
Loken knew that among them, mainly among the mortals, there were still small groups who silently missed the past days. Of course, this will not affect their determination to fight the Warmaster Perturabo to death.
Loken put his hand bitterly on the rosewood window frame. Is he one of them?
Abaddon and Aceimander may not have such doubts. The hatred had been fermented by the leaven of death since Sejanus left them, growing deeper with the death of each battle brother. This is reflected in the two of them.
However, it was Torgadon and Thaloken who were first sent to the surface by their primarch Horus. Presumably the other two members of the Four Kings Council still need to command the fleet battle. After all, the enemy's space fleet has never given up on them.
In a sense, this succeeded in denying the Word Bearers the opportunity to unleash their exterminating weapons. The Iron Warriors will not give those madmen a chance to harm both sides.
"What's strange?" Loken pulled his thoughts out and listened to his friend's latest analysis.
"Residents." Togaton answered.
"Have you met the real local residents? Not disguised as their mortal servants?" The latter has brought unexpected casualties to them.
“No, of course not – but here’s the thing… more on that later.”
There was a burst of bullets ricocheting in all directions, and the strong roar that broke through the air made the combat team members raise their weapons. The huge backshock caused a collapse that shook the ground. Loken seemed to be able to see their team in the alleyway. Dodge, aim and fire like crazy.
Torgaton is wrong, Loken thought. He had seen many corpses of local residents, most of them concentrated in various squares or factory empty areas, and some were sprayed from the necks in front of their houses. There was at least a few hundred blood that dried on the wall over a large area...
Too little.
His heart beat with a premonition of danger.
Yes, they have nothing to do with the Word Bearers, but the Luna Wolves will still avoid the main residential areas slightly - but, still, the number of residents they have seen is too few. Even with the dead bodies, this hive city is still too empty; especially for a city-state that was once ruled by the Iron Warriors, this is not a normal population density.
Residents are in a position they are not currently aware of? After evacuation? Who has this ability, Iron Warrior? Why? Do they need this population?
No matter what, they, the enemy and themselves, are filling this gap with the bones of their own armies. Soon, the underground river of Istvan III will be filled with rolling blood... ...
The premonition of danger became stronger. After a few seconds, Gavier Loken squatted down suddenly, and a bullet flew past his head.
"Attack!" Loken thought it was his own voice for a moment, and then realized that it was Togaton. His friend yelled angrily on the channel, sounding shocked.
Loken had no time to pay attention to Togaton for the time being, and he quickly evacuated from the too empty corridor area. There is a fire somewhere under the cathedral. It should not be their arsenal, but the original large wooden furnishings...
The light flickered on and off in the diffuse smoke, and the piercing sirens sounded one after another, echoing among the steel skeleton of the building complex. Loken walked through a sloping passage. The surrounding metal walls were shaken by the explosion, and debris kept falling from above.
He ran, his throat tightened, and shouted loudly through the communicator: "The Luna Wolves immediately assembled to counterattack! The first team guarded the east passage and set up a fire suppression point, and the second and third teams immediately Block the defense nodes on the west wing and be sure to prevent the enemy from advancing!"
The thick black smoke caused by the burning floats in the intricate building complex, and the pungent smell is suffocating. Loken buckled his helmet on, quickly drew his bolter, and sided away from the burning wreckage, his arms splattered with oil from the broken pipes. His steps were rapid, his heart beat violently in his chest, and chaotic calls from various places came intermittently on the communication channel.
"Loken?" Torgadun also heard his roar.
“We each have our own battles——” Loken’s sight passed through the trembling firelight. On the spiral staircase below, a group of Luna Wolves were quickly gathering. Not far away, the sound of close combat intertwined with gold and iron could be heard. .
Loken raised his gun, put it down again, gritted his teeth and continued running around the combat zone. He was to return to the surveillance wing that served as the command room, where there was an internal network for monitoring the church and the surrounding area, as well as a mobile terminal for contacting the Spirit of Vengeance.
At the same time, the radio sound array heard reports of attacks from other teams. Logistics points, independent detachments, and various communication command stations all had similar situations. The enemy organized a large number of assault teams, and sparks filled with the smell of oil mist bloomed across the entire line.
…Is there an extra detachment of Iron Warriors or Imperial Fists to carry out so many raids? This does not conform to Alpha Legion's detection expectations of the enemy's force distribution on the front line.
There was a smaller window on the left, on the inside of the church structure, and it wasn't even finished as part of the repairs to the church until they arrived.
Loken has already memorized the scanned map here, where he can quickly climb up via a short ladder.
He ran to the window and climbed over the fence to reach the other half of the adjacent building. The house was still a square shell made of red bricks and concrete, with scattered mounds of debris. The ground structure was not complete, and many horizontal frames were erected empty in the sky. He did not encounter any raiders here, which gave him some breathing space. Is it because this brand new temporary maintenance structure is unknown to the Iron Warriors?
“Report the identity of the enemy.” He told the channel, turned around, returned to the spiral staircase inside the church bell tower, and jumped between floors to climb up. The control room is on the upper floor.
"Damn it, Gavir," Torgadun said, Loken recalled that he was also in the internal channel, "I can't believe it, those people are..."
And he The officers under his command also spoke in panic at the same time: "Report sir..."
"...World Eaters." Togaton said painfully, "I'm afraid we have more enemies than we think. ——”
"The attackers are the Emperor's Children!" his officer roared through gritted teeth.
A broad-edged sword fell from the top. Loken immediately let go, descended to the next level, and slammed back into the long spiral staircase, and opened fire immediately.
The next moment, a hot pain rubbed the edge of the thick shoulder armor and penetrated his shoulder diagonally. Cinnabar-like blood overflowed from his body and quickly condensed under the action of the corresponding organs, but he The bolter has been released. Regardless of the loss of the long-range weapon, he pulled out the power sword and dragged out the gold and silver ornaments in the niche as a temporary barrier to block the enemy's next sword swing.
That armor felt very familiar to him, and Loken seemed to understand the source of Togaton's anger.
"Thor," he roared, "Thor Tavitz!"
"Gavir," the Tenth Captain of the Emperor's Children answered him. "I'm sorry."
The old friend he had known in the past battles was looking down at him at this time. Behind the purple and gold armor were the heavy gray clouds and flying dust outside the window. That was the burning sky created by this battle.
The sword in Loken's hand became difficult to hold. His thoughts were racing and he blurted out in an instant: "Scam! You were not attacked by the Iron Warriors at all - were the Iron Hands also involved in the conspiracy?"
Tavitz's broadsword was thrust in his face, and the Emperor's Children's master swordsman did not hold back at all, and Loken knew that he could not delay with him. Behind Thor were the team members he brought. For some unknown reason, they did not surround him alone, but watched Tavitz fight him one-on-one. Maybe it's because the stairs are too narrow?
But regardless of the reason, even if he is lucky enough to defeat his old friend in swordsmanship, the remaining four warriors will never continue to observe the courtesy of watching the battle at the last moment.
A burst of sad pain arose in his heart, and for a moment he couldn't help asking why the Moon Wolf had to suffer such deception and betrayal for no reason. What did they do wrong?
Soon, this emotion was overtaken by the hormones aroused by the battle. Loken waved his sword, looking for an opening under Thor's continuous attacks. The danger of death always hung over his head.
"You can say that. It's not difficult to guess." Thor answered him during the gap between the exchanges. His voice sounded extremely distant and could not cover up the buzzing in Loken's ears.
"Why, Thor? You betrayed us, you killed the warriors who were your friends...Why did the Emperor's Son side with the traitor?"
Thor step by step Pressing hard, forcing Loken to keep going backwards on the steps. Being condescending, this fight is naturally unfavorable to Loken.
"Because you are wrong. The emperor you are loyal to has already-" Thor said, with a deep emotion in his tone.
"What did we do wrong? What did the Luna Wolves do wrong? What did Horus do wrong? Why was our father assassinated by Perturabo's conspiracy? Why did Sejanus disappear?"
The hatred between them is layer upon layer, and it is already full of bones...
Loken pounced on Sol Tarvitz, but the opponent quickly dodged and hid his broad sword. With a brush against Loken's sword, he easily deflected his power. The next moment, Thor's sword edge cut across his flank, cutting a several-inch crack. The broken fragments of the armor penetrated into Loken's ribs, causing a sharp pain.
Without any painkillers injected into the armor, Loken's rising anger offset the warning of physiological reactions. The cold words of his companions reporting their deaths in action rang out from his helmet, and a pungent metallic smell burned in his mouth. A few seconds later, he sprayed a mouthful of blood mist into his mask.
"Why don't you answer the letter your father sent you? Is it because of the guilt of rebellion?"
"Gavir——"
"Don't call me by my name, traitor. Whatever you have For what reason, the relationship between us can only end in blood!”
They kept retreating during the battle, and the second serious injury suffered by Loken fell on the middle of his left forearm, where it was almost injured. Saul Tarvitz was cut to pieces. No new raiding soldiers appeared below the stairs. Loken looked at the stone steps under his feet. The steps with blood stains and metal scratches extended downward step by step. Anger drove him to think like a raging fire.
He must leave with his news, his life and his hatred... He must find a way to survive.
He slowed down, turned slightly sideways, and misplaced Tavitz's next blow. Tavitz quickly adjusted, and the blade followed. At the moment when the two blades intertwined, Loken suddenly turned around, threw the sword out of his hand, and slammed into Tarvitz with all his strength.
Tavitz was disrupted by this attack. The sword deflected severely under the heavy pressure and was forced to let go after cutting through Loken's breastplate. Loken quickly turned around in the short gap, jumped down, jumped directly out of the window sill at the edge of the stairs, hung on the window edge and dropped twice, returned to the temporary construction channel where he came from, and found a way to escape.
...Tavitz's final orders were still ringing in his ears, along with the subsequent sound of bolters from the Emperor's Children side.
Loken ran, the pain of the wound was temporarily suppressed by the action of adrenaline, and only the salty blood continued to drip from the corners of his mouth.
(End of this chapter)