Ten minutes later, over a dozen Valkyrie gunships, carrying hundreds of Astra Militarum troops, landed at the orbital cannon facility. These reinforcements, combined with two still-intact Leman Russ tanks found within the facility and Lieutenant Aiden's previously recovered tank, brought their total heavy armor to three Leman Russ tanks. This was the full extent of the forces Major Sarkaana could mobilize in such a short time.
From a high platform behind the base facility's gate, Marcus watched the Astra Militarum meticulously setting up their defenses. He sighed, wondering how many of these soldiers would survive the coming onslaught.
"Look up!" an Astra Militarum soldier suddenly shouted.
Marcus raised his head, eyes scanning the sky. Dozens of spore pods, ablaze from atmospheric friction, were plummeting towards the base facility's gate. Not only that, but on the horizon, an even larger Tyranid force surged forward, clearly attempting to prevent the Imperial forces from reactivating the orbital cannon. Watching the overwhelming Tyranid advance, even Marcus, who had now experienced dozens of battles with Tyranids of all sizes, couldn't help but gasp. The sheer number of Tyranids was certainly more than the current Imperial forces in the base could withstand. Fortunately, he and the three Astartes were not the main defensive line; that responsibility fell to the hundreds of Astra Militarum and their three Leman Russ tanks.
After helping the Astra Militarum repel two waves of attacking Tyranids, Major Sarkaana's voice crackled over the communication channel. "Sergeant Titus, the orbital cannon is still functional, but the targeting system has an issue and needs to be manually calibrated."
Titus, Marcus, Chairon, and Gadriel wasted no time. They immediately left their positions and rushed towards the base of the orbital cannon. Along the way, significant gaps had already appeared in various sections of the front line; the mere hundred or so Astra Militarum soldiers were utterly unable to hold such a vast defensive perimeter. If they didn't quickly reactivate the Plasma orbital cannon and destroy the Hive Ship, everyone in the facility would be swallowed by the surging tide of Tyranids. Without delay, the four quickly cleared the Tyranids from their path, rescuing some scattered Astra Militarum soldiers along the way, and reached the elevator at the orbital cannon's base in just a few minutes.
Pressing the button, Marcus watched as the elevator slowly ascended, revealing a panoramic view outside the orbital cannon base facility. Beyond the walls, Tyranids swarmed towards the base, covering the mountains and plains. Their numbers were so immense that Marcus estimated hundreds of thousands within his field of vision alone.
"Major Sarkaana, we are about to reach the targeting system's location," Titus reported.
Major Sarkaana's voice returned, accompanied by the sounds of intense gunfire: "Sir, you need to manually raise the satellite dish's petals."
As the elevator reached its destination, Marcus and his group exited to find a ten-person Astra Militarum squad fighting several Tyranid creatures that had climbed onto the platform. Marcus and the others immediately joined the fray, helping these Astra Militarum soldiers quickly clear the remaining Tyranids. They then began to turn the enormous generator wheels located at the four cardinal directions of the satellite dish to raise its petals.
These wheels were massive; only Astartes, with their superhuman physique, could turn them alone. Even Marcus, after his second enhancement, found it somewhat strenuous to turn them, even with the aid of his Mind Power. While they worked, small groups of Tyranids occasionally scaled the platform to attack, but these were cleanly dealt with by Marcus, who used his Mind Power to control throwing knives with lethal precision.
As all the petals were raised, the Plasma orbital cannon's targeting system was finally calibrated.
But just then, the countless Night Lords that had been circling the orbital cannon directly lunged at the antenna above the orbital cannon. They were attempting a final, desperate struggle, trying to interfere with the orbital cannon's charging and targeting. Marcus shattered a Hormagaunt's head with a Plasma blast, and immediately, he and the three Astartes entered the elevator again, rushing to a higher platform.
Upon reaching the topmost platform, two antennas were already completely swarmed by the Night Lords, their flesh and blood covering the metallic structures as they continuously damaged the antennas with their claws and fangs. The four divided their tasks: Marcus and Titus were responsible for clearing the Night Lords surrounding the antennas, while Chairon and Gadriel focused on eliminating the Tyranids that climbed onto the platform. Four bayonets, controlled by Mind Power, flew at extreme speed, precisely slicing through the bodies of every Night Lord.
Normally, facing such a dense concentration of Tyranids would be the perfect opportunity for a Meltagun. However, using a weapon with such immense destructive power would also directly scrap the antennas surrounded by the Night Lords. Fortunately, under Marcus's increasingly refined Mind Power control, the speed of the four throwing knives' slaughter was relentless. Each time a throwing knife passed, a Night Lord shrieked and plummeted from the antenna, smashing into a pulp on the ground below.
[Codex Unlocked: Night Lords]
The system's notification chimed, but Marcus remained focused. In short order, the Night Lords on one of the antennas were completely cleared by Marcus. At the same time, most of the Night Lords on the other antenna had also been eliminated by Titus using his Bolter. With a thought, Marcus's four throwing knives immediately joined Titus, helping clear the remaining Night Lords on the other antenna.
However, it was at this crucial moment, outside the orbital cannon, that two Neurothropes , radiating dangerous psychic power, hovered in mid-air. One was enveloped in a shimmering green psychic shield. Both Neurothropes spat two dangerous-looking green psychic orbs towards Marcus, which rapidly flew towards him.
His "Combat Instinct" immediately sent out an extremely dangerous signal. Under its effect, Marcus instinctively burst forward with extreme speed, dodging behind an alloy cover. The two psychic orbs then slammed into the cover Marcus had just vacated, directly melting it into a puddle of molten metal. Looking at the two Neurothropes hovering in the air, Marcus's expression immediately turned grim. Even in the original game, the dual Neurothropes were the most troublesome combination for most players. These two Neurothropes could even cast psychic shields on each other, achieving an effect greater than the sum of their parts, making them incredibly threatening. Facing such enemies, constantly dodging would inevitably lead to being caught by a psychic orb and melted into a puddle of bloody residue.
Thinking quickly, Marcus immediately pulled out his Plasma Pistol and fired a charged Plasma shot at the Neurothropes that was not protected by a psychic shield. However, this Plasma shot was quickly prematurely detonated by a psychic orb, causing minimal damage to the two Neurothropes . Seeing this, Marcus cursed under his breath. At this moment, Titus and the other two Astartes on the platform also immediately opened fire on the two Neurothropes in the air. Yet, just like before, most of the Bolter rounds were stopped mid-air by psychic power, then fell harmlessly to the ground, failing to hit their targets.