The Kasai-born Shadows of Order stood as the tallest among all the Legions.
An ordinary adult Kasai already reached two meters in height; after the transformation surgeries, the warriors of the Eighth Chapter towered even higher than the Catachan-born of the Seventh Chapter or even the tallest among the twenty Legions, the Salamanders.
Compared to their lofty stature, their physiques were more slender. Their shoulders were not as broad as those of the Catachans or Salamanders.
Pierre Wright wore a tasseled cloak stitched from fur. Raising his left arm, he aimed his bolt pistol and fired upon the alien creature with a wolf's head and human body.
His squad of nine warriors followed his lead, raising their weapons in unison, just as they had followed Pierre since childhood.
It was instinct by now, not merely because Pierre was the son of their former lord, but because of his peerless swordsmanship.
Explosions roared; energy shields flickered.
The xeno overlord bellowed in rage, and thousands of human slaves bound by neural collars surged forward.
Behind the tide of slaves, the Rangdan warriors sneered coldly, waiting for their cannon fodder to wear down the black-armored warriors before launching their own assault.
"Follow me." Pierre already knew from their Gene-Father's distributed data the common tactics of the Rangdan xenos.
He understood that wasting strength on slaughtering the enslaved humans was both shameful and meaningless.
The superhuman senses of a Shadows of Order locked onto the true enemy. Pierre tightened his grip on his sword.
From pommel to slightly curved, it stretched 1.8 meters long.
Forged from Kasai steel, Pierre's sword was longer than the typical 1.5-meter noble blades, matching his towering physique.
In his hands, the longsword still looked slender and elegant, like himself.
Pierre infused a faint psychic charge into the blade, the sword humming faintly as his spirit merged with its edge.
His squad did the same. Once, only nobles could wield swords crafted by Kasai master-smiths, but now, every Shadows of Order of the Eighth Chapter carried one.
In his mind, Pierre traced the optimal route toward the Rangdan overlord and charged.
The blade spun, tearing through the throng like a living storm.
Pierre cut through the crowd like a black tank in motion, his sword flashing only when necessary.
His nine squadmates followed in formation, using him as the arrowhead.
In moments, they broke through to the overlord himself.
The fox-headed Rangdan bellowed, "Useless trash!"
His psychic scream surged into the neural collars; metal spikes vibrated, and the terrified slaves turned against the black-armored warriors.
The fox-headed Rangdan soldiers joined the attack in a frenzy.
"Defensive formation!"
Pierre's squad instantly formed a ring around him, weapons ready to repel attacks from all sides.
Pierre clashed directly with the overlord, their blades screeching as they met.
Sparks flew. The overlord's raw strength drove Pierre back; his attacks were as vicious and relentless as a raging wolf.
Meanwhile, Rangdan warriors and enslaved humans hurled themselves at the defensive ring of Shadows.
Outnumbered a hundred to one, the Kasai-born Shadows held firm, deflecting every assault with disciplined precision.
One Rangdan warrior crouched behind dozens of slaves, charging forward like a beast.
A Kasai-born Shadow noticed the ambush immediately.
He swept his sword horizontally, cutting the enslaved humans in half, then brought it diagonally upward using the Yursa form to parry, deflecting the Rangdan's blow.
But the xenos momentum was overwhelming, and he couldn't dodge without exposing his captain's back.
His gaze hardened. He met the charge head-on, swinging with all his might.
The psychic blade struck the personal energy field, rippling with invisible force.
The fox-headed warrior sneered and swung his flail down on the black armor.
The Shadow of Order didn't evade; he abandoned defense entirely and launched a furious counterattack, testing speed against power.
Blows thundered, flails clashed against steel. In a blur of motion, they exchanged more than ten deadly strikes.
The flail crashed against his helmet just as his sword pierced through the alien's chest, shattering the energy field.
Pierre raised his sword horizontally to parry the overlord's renewed strike.
He knew his squad could not hold out much longer; he had to kill the overlord, fast.
As a veteran swordsman, Pierre knew that in the heat of crisis, calmness and precision brought victory.
He steadied his stance and guarded flawlessly. The fox-headed overlord's superior strength and speed could not breach his defense.
With a furious roar, the overlord leapt high, like an enraged alpha.
Pierre's eyes flashed; he saw the opening.
He slid to the right, ducked low, then leapt upward in a mirror motion, the same strike, the Vira-bey Form.
He poured all his strength into one diagonal slash from right to left.
Psychic lightning crackled as his blade struck the overlord's energy shield.
A thunderous explosion, then the shield shattered.
The overlord's attack missed; his defenses failed. He tried to retreat, but Pierre's killing strike was faster.
He unleashed the Death Blow, the Erka Form.
The blade pierced through the fox's throat and out the back of his skull.
Pierre held the sword there for a moment, the crackle of psychic power dancing through the alien's brain, until the light in its eyes faded. Then he pulled the blade free.
The overlord's death sent panic through the Rangdan ranks.
As they faltered and began to withdraw, more Eighth Chapter warriors arrived, joining Pierre's squad to press the attack.
The "Shadows of Order" boarding actions captured forty-one Rangdan warships of varying sizes.
Five were hauled to Ramilies Dock, where Gabriel led the techmarines and artificers in dismantling them.
The Ramilies-class Starfort held immense strategic value, not only a semi-mobile bastion and fleet killer, but also a major operational base.
The Imperial Navy could use it as a repair, command, and supply hub, eliminating long journeys back to temporary depots or shipyards.
Even during fierce battles, the docks could service strike cruisers, protected by the fortress's formidable firepower.
Techmarines made full use of these facilities to study and dismantle the captured Rangdan vessels.
In Nareth's recollection of the future, many Ramilies-class Starfortresses would later serve as deep-space research stations.
The remaining captured ships were modified and repurposed as tugs to haul the Starfort onward through the void.
Magos Lian Ramilies himself captured a Rangdan battleship for research and dismantlement.
As the Imperial Fleet advanced, so too did their research, not just of Rangdan ships, but also their weapons and personal energy shields.
The Chief Apothecary led his team in dissecting Rangdan xenos specimens.
The Chief Librarian oversaw the Neural Collar Research Project, leading a joint team of psykers, apothecaries, and techmarines.
Their immediate goal was not to control, but to liberate, to break the neural enslavement.
The Rangdan's use of neural collars to dominate humans and other xenos was the core of their warfare; cracking this secret could drastically reduce losses.
The 33rd Expeditionary Fleet advanced steadily, anchored by the Ramilies.
Damaged ships received timely repairs.
By the year 839, the fleet had reached the outer orbits of the four planets of the Adex-Mors System, months ahead of the timeline Nareth remembered.
During orbital bombardment, in the Primarch's palace, Nareth convened his commanders and three research heads.
"My lord, we have made progress in the study of the neural collars," the Chief Librarian reported.
"My lord," said Thomas, "your method of breaking the collars' control inspired me. I used the techniques of the Osiris Psybrid as a framework for our research."
"Though their methods differ, there are clear similarities."
"The Psybrids technique is subtler, harder to detect."
"The Rangdan neural collar, by contrast, is easy to reproduce; anyone skilled in crafting psychic artifacts could make one."
After comparing both, the Chief Librarian continued:
"I have now mastered the collar's construction. Any Legion psy-smith can produce them."
Nareth nodded. Though he preferred purification over enslavement, he recognized the potential future need.
'Humanity cannot always be the enslaved; sometimes, the xenos must wear the chains.'
"With the help of the apothecaries and techmarines," Thomas continued, "I have developed a device."
He drew out a heart-shaped crystal orb.
Nareth looked closely. The orb gleamed with intricate rune arrays, many identical to those on the blue staff of the Osiris Psybrid.
"Once infused with psychic energy, it emits a specific wave pattern," Thomas explained.
"It can disrupt control signals within fifty meters, forcing all collar-bound individuals to halt where they stand."
"When its command conflicts with the collar's, results vary, some may obey either one, others may freeze in confusion."
"This is a promising start," Nareth said approvingly, then gave his command:
"Deploy it in ground combat. Test and refine it."
.....
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