Advex–Mors Extremis
As the Stormbird descended toward the planet's surface, Nareth gripped the blue psychic staff of the Osiris Psybrid.
His will spread outward like an invisible net, engulfing the entire Rangdan fortress below.
Within that vast psychic field, the Primarch's consciousness stretched out a multitude of tendrils, instantly locating 139 Rangdan warriors and four overlords inside the fortress.
Being a species highly sensitive to psychic energy, the Rangdans sensed the approaching shadow. A cold, howling wind swept through them, and terror gripped their hearts.
The clash began within the realm of the mind.
Nareth's eyes shimmered with psychic light. In the instant of contact, he analyzed the mental resistance of each Rangdan and identified the 25 weakest minds, those with the frailest willpower.
The blue psychic staff flared brilliantly, its tendrils coiling toward those weakest minds. Then, like splitting threads of silk, they shot into the doors of their consciousness.
Using the technique he had learned from the Osiris Psybrids, Nareth bypassed their psychic defenses and seized their thoughts directly.
The 25 Rangdan warriors froze, then moved in eerie unison, like marionettes on strings, each stepping forward with their left foot in perfect synchrony.
Immediately, Nareth felt new psychic power well up within the blue staff, drawn from their subdued minds.
His gaze sharpened. He launched another mental strike, this time against the 19 next-weakest Rangdans.
As the black Stormbird plunged through the clouds, every few hundred meters another group of Rangdans fell under Nareth's dominion.
Each newly enslaved mind added to the staff's psychic reservoir, fueling the next wave of domination.
When the gunship was barely a thousand meters above the ground, only four Rangdan overlords still resisted. Their movements were slow and jagged, like rusted machines stuck in time.
In their minds' eye, countless black threads surrounded them like a vast spiderweb.
Horror overtook them; they tried to flee, but the web ensnared them completely. Each step forward took immense effort and sheer willpower.
Moments later, the first overlord faltered. A black thread, sharp as a needle, pierced his mental gate. Then countless more flooded in, consuming his consciousness.
He moved again, but now his eyes were empty, his will erased.
The Stormbird landed. As the scholars and tech-adepts disembarked, they found hundreds of alien forms standing perfectly still, motionless beside the landing pad.
They raised their boltguns in alarm, but the Primarch's deep voice stopped them.
"Fit them with neural collars. Send them to the Ramilies."
Though the Rangdans were larger than humans, their bodies varied too greatly for standard Imperial collars. The Ramilies had already designated a section of its decks as a containment zone for psychic xenos.
Each captive was fitted with a reinforced neural collar to prevent rebellion, especially the overlords, whose collars were custom-built for maximum suppression.
"And for the human slaves," Nareth commanded, "remove their collars."
As the adepts carried out their orders, Nareth reflected silently on his battle.
'Controlling Rangdan minds isn't easy. Even with the Psybrid staff, two hundred at once is about my limit. In a major conflict, like what's coming in the capital world, or the 'Second Rangdan War', this technique won't suffice. And I've yet to face their true elite, the Slaughts, the Cerabvores, and the Osseivores.'
The campaign across the four outer worlds of the Advex–Mors system concluded within 57 solar days.
Leaving garrisons behind, the Expeditionary Fleet advanced toward the capital, whose defenses now lay open.
The surviving Rangdan fleet, shattered by its failed counterattack, dared not commit its warships again, resorting instead to drone harassment and delaying actions.
Aboard the Throne of Shadow's Sovereignity, in his palace, Nareth received Arsena's report.
"My lord, in the surface campaign, 1,013 Shadows of Order have fallen."
"Auxiliary losses number 6,057, mostly among the Vostroyan auxiliaries and Mordian Iron Guard who stormed the Desolation Fortress and Planet IV's bastion."
Sorrow passed through Nareth's eyes, tempered with grim relief.
'By my estimates, the First Legion lost around two thousand warriors during the outer system campaign. In this next stage, my own casualties should be half that. I've fielded more auxiliaries and Shadows, and, most crucially, the Legio Astorum fights beside us. Our advance is at least twice as fast as the First Chapter's pace.'
As he pondered, his attendant continued:
"According to your orders, 2,530 Rangdan captives have been collared and transferred to the Ramilies. Over ten million human slaves have been liberated, most through your intervention on Desolation."
"Their collars are being removed by the adepts, and they will be placed under Vostroyan supervision for reeducation and reintegration."
Nareth nodded slightly.
"Good. Then comes the final and decisive battle."
"Next, we face their war-moons, and the Rangdan Warlord himself."
He gazed at the holographic map, two stars gleaming brightly, their targets.
He recalled how Urian Vendraig, during the First Rangdan War, had split his assault between the same objectives. His flagship, a Gloriana–class battleship, had rammed an enemy war-moon and detonated its overloaded plasma reactor, turning it into a miniature sun.
'But I won't waste resources like that,' Nareth thought. 'Now is the best time to claim these weapons as prizes, before the Second Rangdan War, when we'll face thousands of warships and more than a dozen war-moons.'
"The Ramilies will take the lead and suppress the war-moon defenses," he ordered.
During the First Rangdan War, the war-moon had fought alongside the Rangdan fleet against three Gloriana–class ships, and still failed to gain an advantage.
By contrast, in the Battle of Alaxxes, the Chimaera, a Ramilies-class fortress-ship, had single-handedly annihilated the Alpha Chapter fleet.
Clearly, the Ramilies-class outperformed its predecessors. Yet Nareth chose caution, dispatching the Gloriana–class battleship Black Mercy to support it.
"The Fourth and Eleventh Chapter Fleets will assist. Prepare boarding actions to seize the war-moon intact. Techmarines and librarians will join the boarding teams."
He knew those war-moons were operated by enslaved humans bound by neural collars; thus, they would play a crucial role in seizing control.
Then his gaze turned toward the Rangdan capital world..
'Vendraig deployed thirty thousand warriors there, losing five thousand in victory.'
Using that as a benchmark, Nareth shaped his plan:
"The Third Chapter and the Legio Astorum will engage the Rangdan host head-on, maximizing armored firepower."
"The Second and Fifth will harass both flanks."
"The First's two companies and the Eighth will strike deep, targeting enemy weak points and slaying the overlords."
"I will lead the Honor Guard personally, to kill the Rangdan Warlord. Once he falls, their army will crumble into dust."
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