4th Month, 851 M30.
Galactic Core Region, Squat System, Squat Homeworld, outskirts of the Hold.
When the Fifth Chapter once again set foot on the battlefield, Carlo anticipated that assaulting the Squats' subterranean fortress would prove more arduous than the ground-level siege.
So first company was directly deployed. The Cataphractii Terminator Armors would serve as the spearhead, driving breaches in the initial enemy lines.
The vanguard units, having locked onto the teleport coordinates, saw the teleportation platform flare with light.
One hundred and eighty-five wariors in Cataphractii Terminator Armors of the Fifth Chapter materialized in a flash before the underground fortress.
The target sensors built into their cyclone missile launchers locked onto the densest, highest-threat concentrations of the enemy.
Missiles trailing fire streaked from the twin launcher boxes on their shoulders, flying like lightning into the Ironkin formations.
With explosive roars, the Ironkin's steel shells were shredded.
The Kin saw the invaders uniformly raise their right arms. They saw two black muzzles and immediately recognized them as a pair of Bedrock-pattern boltguns linked together.
Though somewhat different from their own, the modifications were clearly adaptive changes for the larger frame.
As skilled artisans, they could see the two boltguns were fixed directly to the black-armored warriors' arms.
At the end of the arms hung disc-like magazines.
The Cataphractii Terminators' combi-bolters roared to life, unleashing a dense barrage at the Kin.
The combi-bolters were heavier and had greater recoil than standard boltguns, typically not equipped on power armor. They were fielded alongside the deployment of Terminator plate.
Compared to the earlier temporary solution of two standard boltguns linked, the Bedrock-pattern boltguns used here were more stable.
The most direct evidence was that when the two guns fired, they did not interfere with each other. Trajectories were steadier, and kill efficiency higher.
Simultaneously, linked with advanced targeting systems, the two Bedrock-pattern boltguns could form a forty-five-degree angle.
The wider firing arc allowed them to engage a broader range of different enemies, even at close quarters.
A dense curtain of fire covered the Kin. Adamantine-tipped bolts struck bonded alloy armor, the explosions causing void armor to shatter like eggshells.
The Kin fired as they fell back.
The warriors of the first company had read the combat reports. They knew the tenacious Squats were not retreating but utilizing the fortress's internal passages to launch flanking fire assaults.
The entire underground of Squat was a complex subterranean fortress.
"'Open the Door'!"
The Captain shouted. Over thirty "Apprentices" strode forward with heavy steps towards the rock wall.
The "Apprentices" slapped their hands against the rock. Before the eyes of the Shadows of Order, a hazy, insubstantial, blue door suddenly appeared.
It was embedded in the rock wall, like a curtain of water.
The Kin, moving quickly but taking a circuitous route, had just reached the ambush point.
They intended to press the activation runes and launch a surprise attack when a dense barrage suddenly shot towards them.
A squad of "Arbiters" strode through the door, swinging power fists at the enemy.
The immense strength augmented by both Cataphractii Terminator armor and power fists made the "Arbiters'" punches as terrifying as the destructive missiles fired from cyclone launchers.
Heavy fists descended, smashing down onto the Kin. The devastating force crushed heads, necks, and armor together.
"Warriors" and "Hunters" in Mark II power armor swiftly followed, wielding blades to rapidly hunt the Kin.
It wasn't just the Honour Guard. Most Chapters of the Shadows of Order now had Court Member bestowed with different types of power by their Primarch.
In the Fifth Chapter, the most numerous were the "Apprentices."
Wariorss in Cataphractii Terminators stormed the Hold. After the "Apprentices" opened "Doors" they charged into the defenses, destroying turrets and clearing hidden firing points.
The first company breached the Hold's outer defenses. After thermal bombs detonated the thick, dark grey walls, they became the first Shadows of Order to charge into the Hold's proper.
The Cataphractii Terminators had just surged through the breach when they collided head-on with a unit of short-statured warriors clad in armor of a dark grey, almost black hue.
Each Kin held an Etacarn-pattern plasma gun in their right hand.
On their backs, each also carried a shoulder-mounted external armor grenade launcher.
Their left hands held different weapons: plasma blades or heavy gauntlets.
Upon contact, cyclone missile launchers and grenade launchers roared simultaneously, attacking the other side.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The front ranks of Cataphractii Terminators and Kin swayed. Both sides' heavy armor withstood the initial onslaught.
The Cataphractii Terminators were shocked. This was the first time they had encountered enemy troops equipped to withstand missile fire.
The Cataphractii Terminators realized they had encountered! the elite forces of the Squat League.
The continuous explosions shook the entire Furnace-Fortress.
A Techmarine among the Cataphractii Terminators, having emptied his missile pods, and as a "Savant," quickly identified the enemy from the data provided by his gene-father.
He shouted a warning over the company channel: "Einhyr Hearthguard! They are equipped with the best weaponry."
"Each of them is selected from the most elite warriors across the League."
At the front lines of both formations, Cataphractii Terminators and Kin elites fell almost simultaneously.
The relentless hail of grenades and missiles tore through the heavy armor of both sides.
"For the Ancestors!" An Einhyr roared in fury. The conviction to defend the Votann drove these exceptional warriors, veterans of countless battles, to shout and charge the enemy.
Compared to the Cataphractii Terminators, the Einhyrs possessed comparable defense but retained full freedom of movement in combat.
They charged the black-armored warriors with swift speed. HunTR systems mounted on their armor automatically stabilized their aim while running. Every plasma beam they fired shot accurately towards the enemy.
The Cataphractii Terminators, facing the curtain of fire released by the Einhyrs, raised their combi-bolters, unleashing a dense barrage at the enemy.
The Shadows of Order keenly targeted the sprinting Einhyrs, holding their own in this deadly exchange of fire.
Bolter shells and plasma beams flashed across the lines between the two forces.
Dark black and dark grey armor withstood countless attacks from the other side in an instant. Resilient defenses were breached by terrifying firepower. In every moment, warriors were torn apart by devastating energy.
On the flagship bridge of the Fifth Chapter, Carlo, who had received the first company's report of a major breakthrough, was now continuously receiving new reports.
"My Lord, we are continuously losing teleport homers from the Cataphractii Terminators. Forty-one have been lost." The Techmarine's report filled Carlo with confusion. He had never lost so many Cataphractii Terminators so quickly before.
"What is happening? Calerm, report!" Carlo pressed the comm-bead, shouting.
The first company had named itself after the sacred duty their gene-father had entrusted to them, to guard Calerm.
"Encountered… Einhyr Hearthguard…"
Carlo immediately recalled the data provided by his gene-father and understood the severity.
"Honor Guard, prepare for teleport."
He led twenty warriors, each wearing the prototype Saturnine Pattern Terminator Armor, onto the teleport platform.
.....
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