"No... you can't..."
Hum—! Ssshh—!!
Amidst the pained pleas, the roar of the chainsword tore through the air, followed by the horrifying sound of metal and flesh being violently shredded.
The high-speed rotating chain mercilessly cleaved through the armor and body of the last Son of the Emperor, splattering corrupted, foul-smelling blood across the ruined ground.
As the dust settled, the vast space was devoid of any hostile presence. The once-arrogant Sons of the Emperor now lay as broken corpses at the sergeant's feet.
He had single-handedly turned the tables on these fallen scum.
"Huff... huff..."
At this moment, the sergeant was covered in the marks of battle, his armor scarred and stained with blood.
He looked utterly exhausted, as if the adrenaline had worn off, breathing heavily.
The fatigue of having nearly expended all his vitality surged through him, causing the tip of his chainsword to droop.
Clang—!
A dull sound echoed as the sword tip touched the ground, seemingly bearing the weight of his entire being.
His right hand tightly gripped the hilt, using the chainsword as a support to barely maintain his "teetering" stance.
The faint golden light—the symbol of the inexplicable power that had emerged during the battle—was now rapidly fading from his eyes, like a receding tide revealing a cruel aftermath.
The sergeant's gaze lowered, fixed on the lifeless bodies of the fallen at his feet.
After a moment, he closed his eyes and muttered a barely audible phrase:
"The Emperor protects..."
Though his voice was soft, it carried a complex mix of emotions—gratitude and heaviness.
He had begun to realize that the sudden burst of power during the battle had not come from within him.
The dying words of the Sons of the Emperor about the "gaze of the False Emperor" seemed to hint at the truth... Perhaps it was the Emperor of the main universe who had granted him this power beyond mortal limits.
The sergeant slowly straightened up. Though his body was exhausted, his posture remained upright and resolute.
He took a deep breath, sheathed his chainsword, and with heavy steps, turned back toward the storage room.
He knew there were still children waiting for him, relying on his protection.
At this moment, his fatigue and wounds were insignificant compared to the safety of those children.
Before long, the sergeant reached the rolling shutter of the storage room and pressed the button to open it.
With a soft mechanical hum, the shutter began to rise.
Suddenly, a few hoarse but determined shouts erupted from behind the door as several young figures charged out:
"Die, scum!"
"For the Emperor! For humanity!"
"Run! Take your chance and run!"
A few of the taller, stronger children, wielding their still-clumsy fists, blindly charged toward the sergeant.
Their steps were chaotic but filled with a touching stubbornness and determination.
Their punches were unsteady, even clumsy, but the sheer force of their charge was like a blazing fire igniting the air.
It seemed they had assumed the sergeant had fallen, torn to pieces by the Chaos Astartes.
So, the strongest and tallest among them had taken it upon themselves to buy their companions a slim chance of survival.
Even though they knew deep down that facing such powerful, fallen enemies was hopeless, they showed no hesitation, as if they would rather burn their own lives than stand by and do nothing.
As the sergeant watched the children charge out, the exhaustion that had just begun to fade was quickly replaced by a complex mix of emotions.
He gazed at their young but determined faces, his heart stirring slightly. These middle schoolers, with their fragile bodies, carried a resolve and courage far beyond their years.
However, he knew this was not the time for reflection.
"Stop. It's me."
?!!
His low, rumbling voice, like thunder, froze the children's charge in its tracks.
The faces filled with fear and desperation slowly opened their eyes, focusing on the scene before them.
Standing before them was not some corrupted Astartes but the blood-soaked, heavily breathing sergeant.
In an instant, the previously oppressive atmosphere of despair transformed into a mix of shock and joy.
The children stood frozen, as if unable to believe what they were seeing.
The sergeant, with a faint smile, softened his tone and continued in a steady voice:
"Good. Your courage... I see it. But your plan was too rough. Now, everyone, back inside. That's an order."
At his words, the children quickly snapped out of their daze, helping each other retreat into the storage room, their faces a mix of respect and lingering fear.
But the sergeant pressed the button again, lowering the rolling shutter, seemingly with no intention of entering the storage room.
He had completed part of his mission—
Letting the children know he was still alive.
He wanted to show them through his actions that even in the direst circumstances, they must never give up hope.
His next choice was a lonelier, more fearless battle.
As the rolling shutter descended with a dull mechanical hum, the sergeant's gaze remained fixed on the young, fear-filled yet hopeful faces.
He didn't say a word of farewell, only conveying his resolve through his steady gaze.
When the shutter finally closed, separating inside from outside, he turned and took heavy but resolute steps forward.
He was prepared to traverse the Chaos-corrupted mall alone, using his blood and life as the price to draw the attention of the Chaos creatures and fallen Sons of the Emperor who reveled in torment and defilement.
The sergeant knew his situation was perilous, but he also understood it was the only way to significantly increase the children's chances of survival.
He would buy time until the Imperial forces arrived to reclaim this fallen area.
Though the golden light of the Emperor's will had faded from his eyes, the Emperor's power still shielded him.
His injuries had completely healed, the searing pain replaced by an endless surge of strength.
Gripping his chainsword, the sergeant bowed his head slightly and murmured:
"Emperor protect me. Let me 'redeem' as many scum as possible. Let me hold on until the end."
Then, he raised his head, his gaze sharp as a blade, and turned toward the darkness ahead.
What awaited him was endless slaughter and sacrifice.
The sergeant's figure gradually disappeared into the ruined corridor, his determination like an unquenchable light burning stubbornly in the silence.
---
Meanwhile, at the central plaza of New Argo, the defensive positions of the 2nd Assault Squad were at the heart of the fiercest fighting.
Clang—! Clang-clang—!!
Ri~—Whoosh—!!
Boom... Boom—!!!
The roar of gunfire and the thunder of explosions intertwined like an unending symphony of steel.
In this chaotic battlefield, every second was torn apart by tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of bullets and energy beams.
From above, the remaining half of the 2nd Assault Squad had turned every building and alley in the rear of the central plaza into a simple yet sturdy defensive line.
A series of barricades formed a massive ring of defense, engaging the Sons of the Emperor in a fierce struggle for every inch of ground.
At the forefront of the line, two Knight Titans, each over twenty meters tall, and an even larger Titan stood like embodiments of war.
Every time they fired, energy beams tore through the air with piercing screeches and thunderous explosions.
These "steel giants" provided the 2nd Assault Squad with overwhelming firepower, drawing the attention of the Sons of the Emperor.
Behind them, light armored vehicles and over four thousand Hunter and Terminator units were densely deployed, supporting the human forces and auxiliary troops in suppressing the enemy.
On the other side, the Sons of the Emperor also had a large number of "armored" units.
However, to be more accurate, the Sons of the Emperor's "armored" units were more like half-biological, half-mechanical beasts.
Their assault was like a tidal wave, relentless and overwhelming.
Thousands of these monstrous creatures charged forward, their grotesque shells covered in corrupted patterns, as if they were twisted manifestations of reality.
These deformed war machines spewed searing psychic flames and "seductive" poison gas, wielding sharp mechanical limbs and alien-like spikes, attempting to tear through the 2nd Assault Squad's defenses.
Flames and beams intertwined in the air, explosions frequently erupting, and burning debris scattering in all directions.
Every second, this battlefield was filled with death and struggle, but the 2nd Assault Squad's defensive line, like their brother legion, the Imperial Fists, remained as solid as a "rock."
They used flesh and steel to resist the enemy's frenzied assault, trying to buy more time and space for the civilians evacuating behind them.
Numerous transport ships and aircraft were urgently heading to the 2nd Assault Squad's positions, preparing to quickly move the gathered civilians to safer rear areas.
The roar of engines filled the air as massive transport vehicles hovered above the battlefield, their arrival adding a glimmer of hope to the chaos.
However, the skies were far from peaceful.
Countless grotesque, pink-skinned Chaos creatures also roamed the skies, their horrifying twisted forms revealing the eerie nature of Chaos.
These creatures occasionally unleashed powerful psychic shocks, attempting to destroy the ground defenses and disrupt the evacuation.
Psychic shocks surged toward the 2nd Assault Squad's positions like tidal waves, sweeping over everything.
Most of the SWAT team members had volunteered to stay and assist the 2nd Assault Squad in protecting the evacuating civilians.
But when they were hit by these psychic attacks, they were almost instantly stunned, their eyes becoming hollow and vacant.
Then, their behavior turned bizarre—
Some began to mutter incoherently, as if conversing with nonexistent "entities";
Others suddenly went berserk, screaming and firing at their comrades, the chaotic gunfire instantly filling the defensive line with danger.
In contrast, the auxiliary troops and ODSTs, who had undergone some level of physical enhancement, were more effective at resisting these psychic shocks.
After being hit, they would experience a brief moment of daze but quickly recover and continue their mission.
These elite soldiers, with wills of steel, forced themselves to endure, even as the psychic shocks caused lingering pain in their minds. They gritted their teeth, preventing the enemy's corruption from spreading further.
Even if some auxiliary troops or ODSTs showed signs of attacking their comrades, they would be swiftly killed by their allies before they could open fire.
After all, at this stage of the battle, every soldier had to preserve enough strength for the overall situation.
Though those who went berserk were once comrades who had lived and trained together, for the sake of the greater good, they had to be eliminated.
As for the elites?
These brave warriors, born for battle, had a unique reaction to psychic attacks.
They were not completely immune to the seductive and corrupting nature of psychic shocks, but they could quickly adjust their state.
The psychic invasion ignited a brief fury within them, and this fury even became a catalyst for their combat prowess.
The elites let out roars of "Roar! Roar!" and unleashed even more concentrated firepower in retaliation.
Their plasma weapons fired intense bursts of energy, coordinating with the armored units to accurately strike the floating Chaos creatures and the advancing Sons of the Emperor.
Some elites, upon seeing the Chaos forces defile the image of their "Lord," the Emperor Samuel Young, in their minds, became enraged and charged out of the defensive line, wielding their dual energy swords, ready to engage the Sons of the Emperor in close combat.
This scene left the Sons of the Emperor feeling "unreasonable."
However, even with their "rage" enhancement, the elites could not halt the Sons of the Emperor's advance.
After all, the individual combat power of the Chaos Astartes still far surpassed that of the elites.
Most importantly, the 2nd Assault Squad was down to less than a hundred human forces.
In contrast, the Sons of the Emperor seemed to have hundreds, if not thousands, of Chaos Astartes.
Moreover, the "Daemon Primarch," resembling their Primarch, had arrived at the central plaza.
The Knights and Titan, along with numerous armored units, immediately unleashed a barrage of firepower at it.
Hum—! Boom—! Crash—!!
But all their attacks were blocked and neutralized by a massive psychic barrier.
"Haha! Surrender! We will grant you pleasures you've never felt before!"
"Join us, transcend the limits of mortals, and touch true ecstasy!"
"Come, fall with us! This is your true destiny!"
Seeing the "Daemon Primarch" successfully block the 2nd Assault Squad's concentrated fire, the Sons of the Emperor and the heretics became even more fanatical, shouting and jeering.
"..."
But the "Daemon Primarch's" gaze fell upon Rylano, who stood at the forefront of the 2nd Assault Squad, clad in Indomitable Terminator armor...
------------------
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