The Battle Moon was aging, its steel surface cracking with corrupt rust patterns, spreading like festering skin.
The core arrays of the artificial intelligence collapsed one after another, and the logic circuits fell into a delirious frenzy.
As if a thousand years passed in an instant, the Battle Moon fell silent, its steel bones eroded by time.
From orbit, the lunar surface faded from lead gray to putrid yellow, finally becoming a festering black.
The two Battle Moons disintegrated under the supernatural virus catalyzed by time, reaching the end of all matter—entropy—in just a few minutes.
"Hiss~"
Russ, seeing this scene, gasped. His brother seemed to have used some forbidden power to defeat the Xenos.
After a brief moment of surprise, Russ seized the opportunity and ordered the fleet to press forward: "Wolf Cubs, bite down on the Xenos fleet, don't let them escape!"
With the fall of the Battle Moon, Rangdan had no foothold left in the Morse Solar System.
Russ anticipated Rangdan's collapse—the enemy, with their morale broken, would surely flee, and he would never allow his prey to escape.
The Space Wolves' fleet became more aggressive, no longer maintaining formation, and re-engaged the Rangdan fleet.
As expected, the fleet encountered no organized attacks, and Rangdan's ships began to slow down and flee.
"For the glory of the Legion!" the Lord of the Void Sky Army roared over the comms, ordering the entire fleet to push forward and harvest Rangdan's ships.
The destruction of the Battle Moon signified complete victory in the war.
Now there was no need to hold back; the time to charge in and feast on the spoils had come, and the First Legion had to wash away its shame with honor.
"Free engagement, eliminate the Xenos fleet to the best of your ability." Blazkowicz's voice was unchanged, as if he were just arranging a minor matter.
His attention was no longer here.
When the Bloodthirster detonated, the Rangdan fleet lost its high-level command, and the fleet commanders were struggling to hold on.
As demonic weapons detonated one after another, the gazes of Khorne and Nurgle descended, making Blazkowicz reflect on his actions.
Demonic weapons were indeed powerful, eliminating enemies in the real universe, but they also attracted the attention of the Gods.
Being targeted by the Gods was not a good omen.
He sat on his throne in deep thought for a long time, then issued an order through the psychic link: "Ta'Lasha, go to Argent Nur and deliver the orders to the Psyker Academy."
"Put a pause on research into demonic weapons, and instead delve into researching more effective ways to kill them."
Blazkowicz felt that their approach had a problem, so he directed the Psyker Masters to shift their research focus and dispatched an envoy specifically to oversee this area.
"Your command will be followed." Ta'Lasha replied telepathically, immediately departing the war zone.
As the battle was in its final stages, a small Argent Nur ship left, breaking away from the battlefield and entering the Warp.
With the urgent matter resolved, Blazkowicz refocused his attention, observing the battle's progression.
The closer to success, the more vigilant one must be.
Warnings of capsizing in the gutter were abundant throughout human history; they were the best teachers.
The two Battle Moons were being pulled by gravity, deviating from their original orbits, and would soon plunge into the star.
This was their best destination, as high temperatures were remarkably effective in eliminating Nurgle's infection.
The Space Wolves and the First Legion had firmly latched onto the enemy, now feasting on the spoils of war.
Argent Nur's ships joined in, prioritizing attacks on fleeing vessels to prevent the retreating warships from entering the Warp.
In space, Rangdan warships continuously sank, and the battle devolved into a slaughter.
The battle in the Morse Solar System was over.
The elite Rangdan soldiers on the ground were merely fish on a chopping block, awaiting the human side's knife.
Inside Atum's command center, Grand Master Urian, clad in black armor, stood solemnly before his cousin.
Before the general offensive, he had personally arrived aboard a Stormhawk, solely to obtain a certain authority.
"Atum, my battle-brother." Urian's face held a plea, and he bowed deeply to him, his voice incredibly low.
Atum quickly stepped forward, supporting Grand Master Urian, and looked at the Lord of the Legion behind him.
Almost all high-ranking officers of the First Legion on the ground had arrived.
He had some suspicions but dared not make a rash judgment, so he asked them, "What is this about?"
"Brother, I beg you." Urian did not straighten up, remaining bent at the waist, as did the warriors behind him: "Grant the First Legion's humble request."
The Grand Master resolutely refused to straighten his body, afraid to face his cousins' expressions.
"Please speak." Atum felt the Grand Master's persistence and dared not pull him by force, so he could only let him state his request.
"We are the First Legion, and we crave vengeance!" Urian's tone changed, tinged with sadness: "On this planet, the First Legion lost nearly ten thousand brothers."
"But we crave vengeance, to wash away this shame with the lives of the Xenos!"
"Brother, such a request is too much, asking you to give up the honor before you."
Grand Master Urian slowly straightened up a bit and looked up, his face filled only with earnestness: "But in my entire life, I have never begged anyone."
"I only ask you," his tone was sincere, and he suddenly knelt on one knee: "Allow the First Legion the chance to wash away its shame, let us avenge our fallen brothers."
Atum quickly stepped forward, extending his powerful arm, catching Urian before he could fully kneel.
The servo-joints suddenly locked, and the power armor groaned metallically under Atum's restraint, the kneeling posture abruptly halted.
"There is no need for this." Atum exerted force with his arm, pulling Urian up with irresistible strength: "Do you know how much sacrifice that would entail?"
"Orbital bombardment of the Hive City, followed by ground forces to eradicate the Xenos presence, that is the safest plan."
With Xenos entrenched in the Hive City, the judicious use of macro-cannons and lance weapons was the optimal solution.
"Brother." Atum called the Grand Master, his eyes reflecting an unshakeable resolve: "I must be responsible for everyone, for the Primarch."
"Tens of thousands of elite Xenos warriors, even if their condition is poor, their strength is not much inferior to an Astartes."
"I must be responsible for you, for the First Legion, and for the mortal Legions."
"This is a battlefield, not a hall of honor; eliminating the enemy is the top priority."
Atum earnestly and deeply advised the Grand Master, making him understand his difficulties.
Urian was surprised by the strength his brother exerted, and then Atum's words echoed in his ears, his emotions genuine without a hint of falsehood.
He naturally knew that Atum's approach was the most rational and efficient.
The various reasons in his words allowed no room for rebuttal.
As a commander, the head of an army, and his cousin clad in gleaming black and gold armor, his actions, always prioritizing duty and devoid of personal emotion, were admirable.
Urian stood upright, silent for a long time, while the Lords of the Heavenly Host behind him looked at the Grand Master with complex expressions.
Would he return empty-handed? He asked himself inwardly.
"How about this," Atum, seeing his downcast mood, proposed a compromise: "You will carry out the orbital strike, and the first wave of assault will be given to the First Legion. This is my greatest concession."
"This matter is not about honor, but solely about achieving victory in battle."
With that, he looked at the First Legion Grand Master, Urian Bendegre.
"I agree." Urian nodded in agreement; though this arrangement was far from his initial expectation, it was the best possible outcome.
Although they could not personally slay all enemies and deliver destruction to the Xenos themselves, the souls of their Legion brothers would find peace.
"Thank you for your generosity, Brother Atum." Urian put on his black helmet and bowed again.
"There is no need for that; you need to act quickly." Atum helped the Grand Master up, urging them to depart swiftly.
Urian nodded, leading the high-ranking Legion officers behind him to withdraw, then boarded a Stormhawk to head to their positions.
A First Legion destroyer was detached, hovering above the Hive City, adjusting its posture to face the planet with its broadside, preparing to use orbital strikes to eliminate the Xenos.
"Brothers." Urian stood on the back of a transport ship, at the highest point, shouting over the comms channel.
Below him stood three phalanxes; of the forty thousand Astartes who landed on Morse World, thirty thousand remained.
"Turn left." At Urian's command, the First Legion warriors uniformly turned, facing the towering Hive City.
"Our hatred is surging," the Grand Master cried out hoarsely: "It needs to be cleansed with the fiercest firepower!"
"The Xenos shamed the Legion, killing our Legion brothers. After the bombardment, we will charge into the city and offer their lives as a sacrifice for our brothers."
"Vengeance!" the warriors of the First Legion cheered, eager to slaughter the Xenos for revenge.
"Witness the coming of the fire of vengeance." Urian raised his arm, and lance beams from the void ship shot down, striking the Hive City.
The thirty thousand Space Marines remained expressionless, the orange-red lance beams reflecting on their black armor, as if the fire of vengeance burned brightly.
The towering Hive City, vulnerable without its shields, was reduced to dust under the lance beams.
Heaven's Wrath—a term born in humanity's ignorant age, initially a trembling prostration before nature.
Until the rise of religion, it transformed into the punishing whip of the divine, lashing all who were disrespectful. Later, as religion flourished, Heaven's Wrath became God's punishment for humans, eliminating all who were impious.
Now, Heaven's Wrath was imminent; it was not exclusive to the gods, but descended from a battleship crafted by humans.
Lances of light unleashed humanity's fury, and scorching, high-temperature heavenly fire descended, annihilating everything the Legion hated.
The First Legion's battleship brought down judgment from the heavens, burning the Rangdan Legion with scorching fury.
Amidst the flashing light, the shadow of the Hive City gradually fell.
A city built over dozens, even hundreds, of generations collapsed in an instant, gradually vaporizing under the lance of light strikes.
On the outer perimeter of the Imperial front line, shields gradually lit up, blocking high-temperature radiation and heatwave impacts.
The blood-mud swamp in front of the line rapidly evaporated under the high temperature, and the congealed blood clots mixed with the soil, becoming dry, dark-brown land.
The lances of light continued to bombard, melting the entire steel Hive City, and the overflowing heat vitrified the surrounding area of the Hive City.
The Hive City had no shield protection; any orbital strike against it was enough to destroy it.
When the light dissipated, the Imperial Auxiliary Army opened their eyes, and a mushroom cloud rose from the ruins of the Hive City.
In the distance, tree branches swayed, their tips bending towards the Hive City.
This was a natural phenomenon; the lances of light had torn open the atmosphere, and the atmosphere returned after the shockwave dispersed.
None of this could shake the Space Marines; they stood their ground, watching the Rangdan be destroyed by the fire of vengeance.
Grand Master Urian stood atop the landing craft, a cold sneer playing on his lips, and a chilling glint flashed in his eyes.
As far as his gaze reached, where the Hive City spires had collapsed, a layer of shield light flickered within.
Images were transmitted from the Grand Master's helmet display. According to scans from high-orbit ships, over twenty thousand Rangdan warriors remained within the Hive City.
The shield erected by war machines protected the lower structures of the Hive City, as well as the Rangdan and their mortal slaves.
The Rangdan were now like turtles in a jar, trapped beasts awaiting their fate of death.
"Artillery attack," Grand Master Urian commanded coldly, ordering artillery to attack the Rangdan.
He craved revenge, but he was not a foolish man.
The Rangdan xenos were now determined to die, their remaining warriors preparing for a desperate struggle. If the Legion warriors charged in now, the xeno counterattack would cause greater losses.
Continuing the artillery attack was meant to wear down the xenos' will, to shatter their resolve to die, transforming their suicidal determination into tragic despair.
The First Legion's vengeance would utterly destroy the Rangdan's inner spirit, comforting the souls of their brothers with the xenos' despairing souls.
Artillery shells whistled past the Legion's formation, as if carrying the hatred of the Legion warriors, smashing into the Rangdan's final positions like iron fists.
One after another, the translucent shields were rippled by the shells, consuming their last energy.
The Rangdan warriors, who had been waiting for the enemy's charge, then realized that they were merely playthings in the hands of humans.
Their lives were not their own; they could only be slaughtered by humans.
Despair and bewilderment spread, and the mentally sensitive Rangdan felt their kin's spirits collapsing.
Firm resolve was gradually infected, as shells struck at their mental barriers, shattering their courage bit by bit.
Finally, from the cracks in their shattered courage, only fear was revealed!
Grand Master Urian ignited his power sword, and with a hammer in one hand, he cried out, "Legion warriors! Avenge our fallen brothers!"
"Revenge!" The Legion warriors raised their arms and roared a sky-shaking cry of vengeance.
The First Legion warriors set off, their black armored boots treading upon the blood-soaked earth, sprinting at a steady pace towards the Hive City.
The black-armored warriors were like a black tide, their momentum fierce yet they watched out for each other; the final battle did not make the First Legion lose their minds.
Rhino armored personnel carriers, Predator tanks, Storm Eagles, and other ground or aerial vehicles served as points of attack in the formation.
The black-armored warriors advanced, moving under the cover of artillery fire.
The First Legion, the most powerful Astartes Legion, bore their battle-hardened black armor as their symbol.
They were determined to eliminate the Rangdan xenos with cruel methods.
As the First Legion began to advance, the Nur Auxiliary Army naturally made their move.
The Auxiliary Army went to full armament, and mortal sergeants led the Legion forward, launching an attack on the Hive City.
Meanwhile, the mortal Titans in the defensive line aimed their weapons at the wilderness, and their left arm composite cannons began to charge.
At the final moment, the First Legion went to the Hive City to encircle and annihilate the Rangdan, while the Nur Auxiliary Army was divided into two parts.
Atum issued commands from the command center: "Fifty thousand men will form the siege Legion. The Sentinels and the siege army will act together.
Ten Doom Slayer brothers will follow, ready to reinforce the mortal Legion at any time."
"The remaining forces will defend against the onslaught of the Rangdan slave army, defending against their final madness."
The Supreme Commander's orders were brief; the remaining detailed tasks were left to the mortal Legion commanders of each Legion to decide.
Atum's decision was executed; he represented Blazkowicz, the Supreme Primarch, King Nowick of Argent Nur.
He clearly understood what the mortal Legion needed.
The Nur Auxiliary Army's military technology far surpassed that of the Imperial side, but this made training even more necessary.
"All siege Legion armaments unlocked," Atum hesitated for a moment, then allowed the Mortal Auxiliary Army to go all out,
After all, they were facing Rangdan elites comparable to Astartes, not ordinary mortal armies.
Such terrifying enemies did not constitute "asymmetric" warfare; it would not reduce the combat power of the troops, and there was no need to worry too much.
Under the Supreme Command's authorization, all power armor functions came online, and the Mortal Auxiliary Army would go all out, flanking the Hive City from the side.
Fifty thousand mortal soldiers stepped forward; they quickly assembled, emerged from the defensive line, and began siege operations.
Accompanying them were four times their number of automated combat units.
mortals had limited attention; after strict training, they could still coordinate with two automated combat units, with the other two kept as backups.
A small number of mortals, coordinating with three to four automated combat units, were considered exceptionally gifted.
The black-grey Argent Nur mortal Legion, driving armored vehicles, advanced towards the Hive City.
Wearing mortal power armor, the Nur Auxiliary Army was not afraid of long-distance assaults; a distance of ten-odd kilometers was easily covered by them.
As the Legion advanced, they maintained a steady pace with the First Legion, ensuring both sides arrived at the Hive City battlefield simultaneously.
Atum watched the Auxiliary Army depart, then returned his gaze to the map.
He kept shaking his head; the Rangdan slaves in the wilderness were surrounding them from all directions, attempting a final desperate act.
Unfortunately, after prolonged combat, the Rangdan slaves were already weak and exhausted.
These humans lacked supplies and had declined during the long siege; non-combat attrition exceeded combat casualties.
Before the general offensive, "cannibalism" had already appeared among the Rangdan slaves.
The slave army devoured each other, scavenged the dead from the battlefield, and eating infants and women was commonplace.
"Help them find release," Atum sighed deeply; he was not being sentimental, but helping his human compatriots find release.
Behind the Argent Nur base, ten ten-tube missile launchers raised their launch racks, aiming in different directions.
Each launch tube contained a large-yield nuclear warhead; a hundred-odd nuclear warheads were enough to destroy all slave forces.
The Rangdan's attrition tactics had no effect whatsoever against a well-prepared regular army.
A hundred nuclear missiles ascended with their tail flames, scattering like celestial maidens to various locations, heading to the most suitable detonation points.
The nuclear bombs detonated simultaneously, their intense light tearing through the clouds, and the world momentarily turned white.
From the surroundings, the human base appeared to be nestled in a giant mushroom forest, giving it a somewhat fantastical feel.
The tremors from the nuclear explosions continuously reverberated across the ground; the entire world beneath their feet was shaking.
Atum's expression was normal. The holographic image showed that 99.99% of the wilderness' servant armies had been eliminated.
"After the nuclear blast impact dissipates, send out cavalry to eliminate the remaining enemies," he ordered coldly again, staring at the damage figures.
Atomic weapons, after tens of thousands of years of development, were powerful and inexpensive, and radiation was suppressed within safe thresholds, allowing troops to be confidently sent in for mopping up.
And urged by the nuclear blast, the First Legion breached the city walls and charged into the xeno-infested Hive City.
Here, ruins were everywhere, and enemies were everywhere.
"Lolos!" Grand Master Urian roared, his voice amplified by his helmet's sound array, echoing through the ruins: "Where are you!"
The Grand Master was seething with rage, but there was no response.
His power sword spun up and down, its blade tearing through Rangdan elite warriors, its disintegration field slaying the Rangdan entities within.
Behind the Grand Master followed his guard, clad in Terminator power armor, armed with swords and shields, their arm-mounted boltguns continuously firing, killing xenos and mortals.
Black-armored warriors poured through the breach in the city wall, pouncing on the Rangdan like hungry wolves.
The Astartes' longswords were insatiably thirsty, eager to drink the xenos' foul blood, to avenge their fallen brothers.
The First Legion's assault had no Mortal Auxiliary Army behind them; the attack of thirty thousand Space Marines required no mortal cooperation.
"Lolos, you alien bastard!" Urian's ceramite boot crunched over the ruins, his taunt piercing the smoke of battle. "I know you're still alive—get out here and face me!"
The Grand Master's oculars swept across the battlefield: though the Rangdan soldiers' formation hadn't broken, their movements betrayed a growing panic.
Behind this crude disguise, the chain of command was still functioning.
He sneered, the hum of his plasma pistol intertwining with the roar of bolters, creating a symphony of death.
Urian's constant taunts and provocations were partly due to deep-seated hatred, and partly to force out the enemy commander.
"Where is your arrogance?" His longsword danced, carving a Rangdan into a 'human stick,' his ceramite boot crushing the alien's abdominal armor as he stared down into its trembling monitor.
"You want me to lick ten thousand boots?" The Grand Master asked, feigning confusion, then roared at the alien beneath his foot: "I'm here, where are you?"
He raised his plasma pistol at the alien, then looked up, scanning the surroundings, waiting for a response.
On the battlefield, bolters boomed, plasma streams flowed with searing heat, the terrifying shrieks of the Rangdan, and the furious roars of the Legion warriors all mingled together.
Deep within the ruins, in a makeshift command center, the Rangdan Warmaster—Lolos—was seething: "You human dog relying on others' power!"
Lolos shrieked in crude human language, interspersed with clumsy idioms, its venomous voice echoing through the command center.
Through its bionic eyes, it saw the enemy commander and heard the human's provocations.
The Warmaster dared not respond, its bio-armor fuming, swallowing the public humiliation alone.
Lolos knew the enemy wanted to force it out and completely destroy its chain of command.
Before inflicting more human casualties, it absolutely could not go out; it had to maintain its composure.
With the defeat of the space fleet and no results from the underground sneak attack, Lolos knew it had nowhere to escape.
Its elite warriors would eventually be tortured in the siege until death.
It forced itself to calm down and command until the very last moment.
"Ultimately, a vile alien." After a long silence without a response, Urian shook his head sadly, "Utterly devoid of courage and dignity, not even comparable to those slaves fighting for their lives."
He prepared to pull the trigger, to pierce the Rangdan bio-armor with plasma, vaporizing the ugly, brain-like Rangdan.
"No need to rush." At that moment, the Rangdan beneath his foot spoke, but it was Lolos' voice: "I will make you lick boots!"
"Oh?" The Grand Master turned his voice to maximum volume: "Still hiding behind your kin and boasting?"
After the humiliation and questioning, Urian gave no chance for rebuttal, pulling the trigger and killing the Rangdan.
The subtle effects of psychological warfare often determine many things.
Within the Rangdan lines, morale continued to collapse, and many doubts began to arise.
Doubts about the Warmaster's courage, doubts about the resolve to die, doubts about their own strength.
Facing the high-spirited First Legion, the fissures of doubt became a fatal flaw, and the Rangdan front collapsed extremely quickly.
Numerous war vehicles entered, speeding through the Hive City ruins.
Space Marine vehicles were connected to the pilot's power armor interface, with the nervous system assisting operation.
The two merged into one through neural connection, precisely controlling the vehicle's posture and unleashing powerful combat capabilities.
Legion warriors guarded the perimeter, using the vehicles' powerful scanning instruments to clear the surrounding environment.
Using vehicles as strongpoints, they established regional firepower superiority, sweeping away Rangdan elite warriors in a net-like fashion.
The First Legion, proficient in various tactics, advanced steadily, relying on infantry-tank coordination to compress the Rangdan's living space.
Compared to the First Legion, Argent Nur's advance was slow.
Troops poured through the gap torn by the sonic cannon, their tactical movements a textbook example.
They established strongpoints at the hubs of the complex Hive City, advancing in coordination with automated combat mechs.
Two automated combat mechs were positioned two meters in front of each warrior, synchronizing information with the soldier's power armor.
Argent Nur's mortal power armor connected to the wearer's spinal interface, making it a neuro-synaptic power armor.
While its defense was not as strong as Space Marine power armor, it had the advantage of being wearable by mortals and possessing many combat functions.
mortals formed groups of three, carrying six automated combat mechs, and three such groups formed a squad, providing mutual cover from various angles.
"Vanguard squad, advance." A signal came through the power armor, and the squad commander ordered the vanguard to move forward and seize the upcoming intersection.
"Vanguard squad acknowledged." The vanguard squad immediately moved forward to seize the advantageous position.
"Enemy detected." Inside the power armor helmet, the enemy's position was immediately marked and shared with the entire squad.
Within the buildings along the street, slave troops had set up concealed firing points, waiting for their prey to walk in and be annihilated.
Their presence did not escape the automated combat mechs' biological scans.
"Cover." The vanguard squad made hand gestures, concealing themselves while having the automated combat mechs provide cover.
"Beware of Rangdan elite soldiers; they might be nearby."
The captain retrieved information, his mind clear, completely unaffected by the gunfire around him.
As the troops advanced, more and more Rangdan intelligence was transmitted.
Initially, they showed great contempt for mortals, charging directly at mortal troops.
After a brief engagement, the automated combat mechs' firepower shredded the arrogant Rangdan, and then the aliens hid in the shadows.
The alien's bio-armor was very strong, adjusting its temperature to blend with the environment, and even providing a degree of visual invisibility.
They would suddenly burst from the shadows, relying on personal shields and agile movements, causing many casualties.
The mortal Legion were not Sentinels, nor Space Marines; their reaction speed could not keep up with the aliens.
The siege Legion immediately changed tactics, referencing the war codes written by King Nowick, and engaged the aliens in urban warfare.
You conduct guerrilla warfare? I advance steadily!
Search every point, establish a stable rear, and begin the true confrontation.
"Automated combat mechs, spread out, adopt 'cover formation' to avoid being quickly killed by aliens at close range."
The captain was giving orders, but he felt very uneasy.
This street was too narrow, making it difficult for the squad to spread out, and the automated combat mechs were too close together.
Just as the automated combat mechs were spreading out, sensors transmitted an urgent warning!
Two piles of rubble at the intersection suddenly began to move, dropping their disguise and revealing their true forms.
"Enemy confirmed: Rangdan Overlord, Rangdan Elite."
The automated combat mechs transmitted information incredibly fast, before the humans could even react, they sent the signal.
Not only that, their various mounted weapons quickly adjusted and aimed at the targets.
The Rangdan Overlord and Elite, with their multi-jointed bio-limbs, struck like lightning, launching a sudden attack.
After a brief skirmish, the Rangdan also knew—they absolutely could not let the machines and humans spread out and establish a net of fire.
The various weapons mounted on those automated attack machines could instantly shred bio-armor under concentrated fire.
The Rangdan Overlord moved extremely fast, launching a fierce counterattack before the machines could even aim.
"Screech~"
The face on the bio-armor's abdomen emitted a sonic roar, first incapacitating the humans.
The Argent Nur soldiers swayed; the Rangdan Overlord's sonic attack caused them to briefly lose focus.
With a successful strike, the Rangdan Overlord propelled its omnidirectional legs, rapidly moving away from its original position, and the Elite immediately followed its movements.
They had to be fast; the machines had already aimed within half a second and had opened fire!
Crimson lasers flashed, hitting where the Rangdan had been, burning a molten crater into the ground.
A moment later, the machines' high-power lasers would have hit them.
Bionic arms raised, the Rangdan fired in coordination, plasma guns instantly killing two nearby automated combat mechs.
Compared to the slow-reacting humans, the machines posed a greater threat.
After a flash of lightning, the captain reacted, calmly issuing orders: "Eliminate the Rangdan Elite; the Overlord is beyond our capability to contend with."
The captain was far away, so the sonic impact on him was minimal, but the mortals couldn't react to the Rangdan's movements.
The instant he gave the order, the Rangdan's curved blade fell ruthlessly, slaying the vanguard squad.
Ignoring everything else, all remaining personnel began to act.
Eight automated combat mechs began to move, unleashing a dense barrage of fire, forcing back the Rangdan Overlord.
During this process, two more mechs were lost, and all remaining humans and mechs opened fire on the Rangdan Elite.
The Elite warrior was not as decisive as the humans; it tried to retreat but it was too late.
The automated combat mechs' lasers locked it down, and several large-caliber plasma bursts struck its shield, shattering its defenses.
In the distance, four more automated combat mechs were destroyed; the Rangdan Overlord was too fast.
The three captains raised their electromagnetic rifles, automatically locking onto their target—the nearby Rangdan Elite warrior.
The Overlord was in another charge, raising its butcher's blade towards another squad.
"Die! You filthy alien." With immense resolve, he pulled the trigger, the electromagnetic hum crackling, instantly firing hundreds of rounds.
With automatic targeting locked, the programmed ammunition could track within a small range, and all hundred rounds hit their mark.
The Elite warrior's bio-armor was instantly shredded, and the Rangdan's true form burst from its armor, looking terrified and attempting to flee.
Unfortunately, the dense barrage of fire splattered it.
Before the Auxiliary Army could react to the psychic shock, the Rangdan Overlord, filled with rage, charged forward, seeking to avenge its kin with slaughter.
Just as its butcher's blade was about to fall, a blue light flashed, forcing the Rangdan Overlord back.
"Filthy Xeno, your opponent is me!" Deep in the street, a Sentinels stood there, holding a spear.
The Sentinels stood in the street, surrounded by scattered rocks and twisted steel.
He was a veteran, clad in steel-colored Power Armor, wielding a Dimensional Spear.
"Your opponent is me," he growled, his deep voice echoing through the street and the smoke of battle as his spear twirled between his fingers, performing a flourish, "You alien scum!"
The Automaton detected the Rangdan Overlord, determined it could not contend, and immediately called for high-tier combat support from nearby forces.
Before the squad was completely wiped out, the Sentinels' reinforcements arrived.
The tall warrior who came as reinforcement made the Rangdan Overlord feel a sense of pressure.
That Human was a few inches taller than a Space Marine, and the Power Armor he wore possessed a strange beauty—both ancient and advanced.
He held a glowing spear, completely devoid of tension, as if taking a leisurely stroll through a shattered garden.
"Who are you?" the Rangdan Overlord asked, a ripple of unease emanating from the folds of its brain-like main body.
Although its bio-armor detected no threat, its instincts screamed a warning: the Human before it was far from simple.
It obeyed its inner instincts, maximizing its bionic vision system and locking all its bionic systems onto the Human before it.
"Sentinels, the watcher before dawn," the Sentinels announced, raising his spear and stepping forward, "and your high-hanging death star."
As the Sentinels moved, the Rangdan Overlord leaped backward like a startled toad.
Inside its bio-armor, the Overlord secreted a large amount of cerebral fluid, its mind stretched to its absolute limit.
In its psychic perception, the Sentinels' emotions were as calm as still water, yet as heavy as iron.
The moment he took a step, while his mental state remained unchanged, his sense of biological crisis surged dramatically.
Its bio-Power Armor heaved violently, as if bearing an invisible pressure for its operator.
"Ultimately, a cowardly alien driven by instinct," the Sentinels said, shaking his head, his deep voice as calm as an ancient well, filled with profound disdain.
He strode closer, simultaneously raising a hand and roaring, "Auxiliary Army, withdraw!"
The Nur Auxiliary Army's expressions relaxed; the arrival of their equivalent combat power meant they had a chance to survive.
No one disliked surviving; even with the courage to die, the joy of having hope to live was real.
The scene was not for them to handle; a Rangdan Overlord was an existence beyond the reach of mortals.
The squad leader helped up the surviving teammates, took the usable Automatons, and withdrew to the side.
The deeply disdained Rangdan Overlord, seeing the Human remnants about to leave, was enraged and made to pursue them.
"I advise you not to have any ideas about them."
Before its omni-directional legs could move, the Rangdan Overlord heard that chilling voice again.
Its bio-armor froze in place; the Overlord decided not to move rashly.
"I'm just narrowing my focus, concentrating on the Human warrior," the Rangdan told itself deep inside, trying to reassure itself.
The Rangdan, who prided itself on being a race superior to Humans, would never admit to feeling fear towards a Human before even engaging in combat.
While the Human soldiers withdrew, it dropped its plasma gun and walked to its elite warrior to pick up a melee weapon.
This time, the Sentinels did not stop the alien's actions, watching it silently, waiting for the Auxiliary Army to withdraw.
The Rangdan Overlord activated its disintegration field, and two bone scimitars in its hands glowed with an electric radiance.
It seemed the weapons gave it strength; when it looked at the Sentinels again, its psychic power was filled with killing intent!
"Caw!" another terrifying roar sounded.
Visible sonic attacks swept through, whipping up the mottled old flags hanging in the street.
The Overlord's abdomen vibrated, unleashing an air-rending shriek.
The sound wave crushed through the street, rusted steel beams cracked and collapsed, and gravel shot out like bullets, yet the Sentinels did not move an inch.
A veteran Sentinels, a seasoned veteran who survived the Truth War, his heart was as firm as a rock, and his soul was unimaginably resilient.
The Overlord's intimidating roar did not even make him raise an eyebrow.
But the Sentinels did not underestimate it, still summoning all his psychic power to defend against the alien's bizarre neural attack.
Even when he was an academy student, facing any opponent with full effort, the teachings of the War College were deeply ingrained.
"Weak and powerless," the Sentinels said as the mortals moved away, his spear resting in his hand, and he fired a dimensional ray at the alien.
The light-speed dimensional ray, combined with the Sentinels' reaction speed, left the Rangdan Overlord no time to dodge.
"Despicable Human!" the Overlord's psychic fluctuations roared, as one of its omni-directional legs was severed by the light-speed weapon.
It had just abandoned its ranged weapon, originally thinking the Human wanted an honorable duel.
Its remaining omni-directional legs fully extended, the Rangdan Overlord desperately closed the distance between them, avoiding being hit by ranged fire.
That weapon was too strange; shields had no effect whatsoever, instantly severing the attacked part.
"Instead of running, you're actively approaching me?" the Sentinels retorted, his gaze locked on the Rangdan Overlord.
The alien's mobility was astonishing; its omni-directional legs scaled the buildings along the street, crawling like a spider on the walls.
Its movements were swift, performing super-high-speed maneuvers, and its evasive actions were fluid.
The Sentinels raised his spear; he could have accurately hit the alien, but after some thought, he decided against firing.
He brought his spear across his body, adopting a defensive stance, waiting for close-quarters combat with the alien.
The Sentinels was a professional warrior, well-versed in various military strategies and tactics.
The end of a battle was merely the prelude to war—the Sentinels knew that the true slaughter had not yet arrived.
Even if the enemy before him was slain, the coordinates of the Rangdan homeworld, the Imperium of Man's territory… still remained a mist shrouding Humanity.
Regarding all this information, the Imperium of Man knew very little about the Rangdan, while the Rangdan knew a great deal about the Imperium of Man.
The Rangdan Overlord before him was the first Overlord the Nur Auxiliary Army had encountered, and the Sentinels wanted to gather more intelligence to prepare for the next war.
"Human, die!" the Rangdan Overlord shrieked psychically, leaping down from the air the moment it made its decision.
It raised its bone blades high, with the crushing force of splitting a mountain, using the falling momentum to cleave the Human in half.
This move was powerful and heavy, yet in the Sentinels' eyes, it had ten thousand flaws.
Its guard was wide open, its lower limbs and chest/abdomen undefended; one spear thrust could kill the alien; even doing nothing, just holding up the spear, the alien could impale itself on it.
The Sentinels shook his head internally; he held his spear horizontally, using the shaft to block the alien's downward strike.
Clang!
The bone spear collided with the spear shaft, producing a clear, melodious sound, crisp and pleasant, while the move instantly changed.
The specially treated spear blocked the disintegration field; the Sentinels' right hand pulled down and instantly released. The spear butt hit the ground, and the alien's bone blade slid down, crashing to the ground and splitting the bluestone pavement.
The Rangdan Overlord's ferocity surged again, its blade poised for a horizontal sweep, but the two bone blades were blocked by the spear shaft at close range, making it impossible to exert force again.
Failing to land a blow, it once again activated its omni-directional legs, moving to the optimal close-combat distance, swiftly attacking the spear with its blades to prevent the long weapon from being effectively wielded.
The Rangdan Overlord's decision was correct; the two bone blades spun with formidable power, surrounded by lightning flashes, constantly slashing at the Human before it.
Clanging sounds rang out, millimeter-precise blade movements stirring up a strong gust of wind around the battle, the blades carrying an astonishing force with the wind.
"I understand," the Sentinels sighed after another collision, his spear vibrating to knock away the Rangdan's twin blades.
The Rangdan leaped backward, moving to a suitable distance, a distance from which it could quickly attack and prevent the Human's ranged attacks.
Its bio-armor was breathing; a high-intensity attack required the bio-armor's temperature to be relieved.
"What do you understand?" the Overlord asked eagerly.
During the rapid assault just now, each of its full-power attacks was easily neutralized by the Human warrior.
After a round of sparring, its mind was exhausted, and its bio-armor needed rest.
Yet, the Human warrior who had endured the attacks appeared completely relaxed, showing no signs of fatigue.
"I understand the lowliness of aliens, devoid of any martial prowess," the Sentinels said, shaking his head, the disdain in his words completely undisguised.
After a short period of high-intensity combat, the Sentinels discovered that while the alien's attacks appeared extremely fierce, they actually lacked any technique, relying entirely on the bio-armor's high performance to overpower its opponent.
This fighting style, when encountering creatures whose functions were inferior to the Rangdan, naturally resulted in a one-sided crushing defeat.
However, if it encountered a warrior of the same caliber, such as a Space Marine, after several rounds of one-on-one combat, it would be killed by a skilled warrior.
"Martial prowess?" the Rangdan Overlord thought it had misheard, or that the Human before it had misspoken.
It re-perceived, its neural tentacles extending from its body, feeling an endless stream of power emanating from its bio-armor.
What else could this be but martial prowess?
"I have learned of your race's fragility; you may die now."
The Sentinels spoke in a calm tone, as if discussing something unrelated to the life-or-death struggle at hand.
He lowered his body, adopting a stance, holding his spear horizontally in front of him with his right hand, and extended his left hand to the Rangdan in a challenging gesture: "Come and die!"
Seeing the human's provocative action and his extremely arrogant words, what consideration for martial prowess did the Rangdan have?
It furiously brandished its bone blades, screeching to display its power, absolutely unwilling to be underestimated by a human.
The xenos charged forward, gnashing its teeth and brandishing its claws, and the Sentinels shook his head regretfully.
In his eyes, there was a savage beast wielding a sharp blade, flaunting its power, yet it was all bluster, lacking the inherent restraint and gravitas that true power should possess.
The Sentinels' eyes narrowed, scrutinizing every flaw of the Rangdan, and his spear launched an attack.
"Say hello to death for me."
With that greeting, the Watch extended his right hand to block the Rangdan's cleaving bone blade, and his left hand moved so fast it was a blur.
The Rangdan's heart tightened abruptly, a chill carrying the scent of death erupting from the depths of its soul.
Its bio-armor's bionic eye caught a subtle movement from the human—what was his left hand doing?!
The Sentinels alone could not block the Rangdan's cleave with one hand, but only a momentary release of force, a brief instant, was enough.
His left hand had already drawn a pistol from his waist, the muzzle slightly raised, aimed at the Rangdan's main body.
Through its bionic eye, the Rangdan zoomed in on the image; the gun barrel, rising from his waist, seemed to move as slowly as congealed amber in its perception, yet it was destined to be unavoidable.
"I am your harbinger of death." With this declaration of death, the Sentinels pulled the trigger.
A cross-shaped beam erupted from the muzzle; the cutting pistol, containing null crystal, severed the bio-armor at light speed, cutting through the Rangdan Overlord within.
The bio-armor lost control, its power gradually fading.
The Sentinels did not dare to be careless; he retreated out of attack range, his left-hand pistol firing continuously.
He fired several more shots into the cockpit, confirming the Rangdan Overlord was dead; he shot at the bio-armor's joints, severing threatening limbs.
He silently completed everything, tallying the Rangdan's various weapons, which were actually quite threatening.
The Rangdan's flaws were obvious; their bio-armor was powerful, but it was always an external object outside their body.
In the xenos' combat system, there was only numerical superiority brought by function, not the corresponding martial arts techniques.
In the previous battle, if the Rangdan Overlord had superior skill, using ranged weapons for threat, melee weapons for primary attack, and the bionic tentacle blades behind for harassment, it might have lasted a few more seconds.
Unfortunately, the xenos' superficial techniques often led them to forget many things in combat.
Behind the Sentinels, the newly arrived Auxiliary Army squad filled the gap and continued to advance.
The mortals nodded in greeting; too much ceremony was unnecessary on the battlefield.
He looked back at the mortal soldiers, then turned and left to patrol other front lines.
Within seconds of the battle, the Auxiliary Army's follow-up forces had already arrived, moving quickly, a testament to the Legion Commander's coordination.
The Nur Legion advanced steadily, like a constantly moving city wall, compressing the Rangdan's living space.
As the battle progressed, the mortals encountered more and more Rangdan warriors, including high-ranking units like the Rangdan Overlord.
Through continuous combat, the Auxiliary Army gradually became familiar with the Rangdan xenos, employing effective tactics to engage in battle.
Facing elite warriors, the Auxiliary Army leveraged its firepower advantage, with automated combatants suppressing movement with fire, and the Auxiliary Army focusing fire with automatic aiming, thus gaining a fighting chance.
These experiences were invaluable, summarized with lives.
The advantage of Rangdan elites over mortals was almost all-encompassing, like that of a Space Marine over a mortal; the two were incomparable.
Elite mortals were still Mortals; they could not defeat superhuman soldiers in close combat.
This was a fundamental difference. Before the mortal could even react, the elite warrior had completed his shot and holstered his weapon.
Meanwhile, the First Legion, with thirty thousand Astartes spread out across the field, pursued relentlessly, slaughtering the Rangdan in droves.
When an Astartes Legion assaults, no creature in the galaxy can withstand its might.
No one could stand before the Black-armored Warriors; the Rangdan had just retreated to their defensive line when the First Legion had already arrived.
Behind them, there were no survivors, only swept-clean buildings and purified xenos contamination.
The Rangdan had to face not only the attacks of the Human Imperium's Space Marines but also the psychic contamination emanating from them.
"Lolos, you coward, I've reached the outside of your defensive line; are you still not going to show yourself?"
Urian was still shouting; he stood beside a Rhino armored vehicle, and on top of the vehicle, a loudspeaker was installed, repeating the Grand Master's words.
The Rangdan launched an initial attack, attempting to destroy the loudspeaker, but all were killed by the guarding Terminators.
After continuous attacks, the First Legion charged to the perimeter of the Rangdan command post, which was also the xenos' last line of defense.
"Wait," the Grand Master ordered, slowing the Legion's attack speed: "Slow down the pace of attack, wear down the xenos' strength, and we will wait for our allies here."
This command was inferior; normally, one would press on in one go, charging into the xenos' defensive line to strike at their heart.
Yet, the Legion warriors obeyed.
They deliberately slowed their advance, using the ruins as cover, waiting for the Argent Nur allies to arrive.
If not for the support of Argent Nur's allies, the First Legion would have suffered severe casualties, and the Grand Master might have already perished.
The First Legion remembered kindness and sought to repay it; the honor of breaking the xenos' command post should include the Nur Legion.
Waiting was a form of respect.
Although the Argent Nur army might not care, the First Legion needed to do this.
The Rangdan were now defenseless; even if they reorganized their lines, once the Nur Legion surrounded them, breaking through the defenses would be even easier.
One hundred Custodes, and Destroyer Warriors—they were unstoppable.
Seeing the humans slow their attack, the Rangdan indeed reorganized their lines, preparing for a final desperate struggle.
"Urian Bendegre!" A sharp roar, mixed with a psychic shockwave, spread across the ruined position.
Wearing tall bio-armor, the Rangdan Warmaster Lolos finally appeared, his anger visible to the naked eye.
"Are you ready to die?" Urian's voice was even louder, the loudspeaker's power overwhelming the Warmaster's fury.
The Grand Master jumped onto the roof of the Rhino armored vehicle, his combat boots stepping on a protrusion, and his opening words immediately seized the initiative: "Are you ready to use your tentacles to wipe my boots clean?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" The Legion warriors, in coordination with the Grand Master, burst into deafening laughter.
Their morale was high, and they shamelessly mocked the xenos.
"Despicable tongue!" Lolos' bio-armor vents spewed hot steam, his retort drowned out by the loudspeaker's sound waves.
"What did you say?" The Grand Master feigned listening with his ear tilted, "Can't you speak louder? I didn't hear you!"
The Legion warriors laughed even more joyously; today, they would get their revenge and thoroughly humiliate the xenos.
Accompanying the thunderous laughter were continuous gunshots, and on the First Legion's left flank, Rangdan soldiers were rapidly retreating.
Their personal shields were overloaded, and their bio-armor showed signs of penetration; they dragged their damaged armor back in retreat.
The Grand Master's gaze swept over, and what he first saw was not the Custodes, nor the Doom Slayers, but a squad of Mortal Auxiliary Army assault troops.
His cheerful expression changed, and he immediately realized that the Argent Nur's Mortal Auxiliary Army was the main attacking force.
In the operation to encircle the xenos, the Custodes and Doom Slayers, as well as the Sentinels from the Nur Stars, these high-tier combat forces were merely auxiliary.
Although the advance speed of the Mortal Auxiliary Army could not compare to the Astartes, it was considerably stronger than the Imperium of Man's Auxiliary Army.
More Mortal Auxiliary Army appeared in the First Legion's sight; they quickly seized positions, rapidly establishing firing points and advantageous positions.
Despite the presence of superhuman warriors, the mortals maintained their military discipline, showing no slackness or sloppiness.
Seeing such military bearing, the Legion warriors nodded inwardly; they were witnessing the rise of a powerful army.
Only after the mortals had established their positions and moved into combat stances did the others appear from behind.
A Doom Slayer held a battle standard in one hand, bearing the mark of the Gene-Father; the black background with a red imprint showcased destruction and devastation.
The Sentinels also held a battle standard, emblazoned with the Nur Stars insignia; a blue background with a bright yellow Nur Stars insignia.
Laurels encircled a gladiolus, symbolizing unyielding spirit and victory, glory and conquest.
The Custodes held high the Imperial Double-Headed Eagle banner, slowly walking to the rear of the mortal positions, looking at the Rangdan positions constructed within the collapsed ruins.
A communication came through the channel; Commander Atum's orders arrived promptly: "Annihilate the filthy xenos."
"mortals, break through the defiled ones' lines!"
A roar erupted from the Argent Nur front line, and a Black-armored Warrior charged out of the line, moving at terrifying speed.
There were eight thousand remaining Rangdan soldiers gathered here; a breach had to be opened in their sturdy defensive line. The Doom Slayer led the charge, plunging into the enemy ranks.
He wielded a double-headed dimensional greatsword, gripping the hilt in the middle; the afterimages created by the twin-bladed sword danced like a dimensional shield, devouring the Rangdan's plasma shots.
"I am Alistair! I am a Doom Slayer!" he roared, his inner savagery bursting forth.
Those suitable for the Doom Slayer soul trial often became aloof and cold in personality.
But Alistair was not; he was the most ferocious warrior.
There was a Thunder mark on his black armor; this warrior had participated in the Unification Wars, purging the Thunder Warriors.
Alistair, the sharpest Berserker.
Wielding a double-bladed greatsword in a blur of light, he charged forward, deflecting weapons with dimensional blades.
The Rangdan panicked, focusing their fire on that black phantom, terrified he would reach them.
In their psychic perception, the human roaring as he charged seemed no longer human, but a blazing inferno of rage.
His fury was so real, his killing intent undisguised, piercing the Rangdan's mental world.
They had to stop Alistair from getting close, daring not to face him directly, fearing their minds would be scorched by that ray of sunlight.
With the Rangdan's attention drawn, the Mortal Auxiliary Army behind John seized the opportunity.
An endless stream of automated combat droids advanced, their powerful firepower suppressing the front line, instantly making the Rangdan afraid to show their heads.
When the numbers surpassed a critical point, a large number of four-legged combat droids attacked, forming an impenetrable web of fire.
Equipped with four specially designed large-caliber weapons, the automated combat droids fought alongside the infantry, providing heavy fire support.
Large-caliber electromagnetic weapons, heavy supercharged lasers, incinerating rays, and plasma armor-piercers.
The four weapon types combined, their caliber expanded to the maximum the automated combat droids could carry.
At a glance, the machines were half a man's height, and apart from the chassis, weapons filled all the space in their upper bodies.
In an instant, the firepower unleashed on the Argent Nur front line rapidly raised the temperature of the battlefield.
Various high-energy rays combined to kill Rangdan elite warriors.
The Argent Nur Mortal Auxiliary Army, in complex terrain, had been ambushed and slaughtered by Rangdan warriors.
Now that the xenos were trapped within their positions, it was only natural to unleash their firepower, killing the Rangdan to avenge their fallen comrades.
The firepower unleashed by the mortals astonished Urian, who shook his head inwardly, analyzing the fire density with a warrior's instinct.
The Grand Master ultimately concluded that even Space Marines, if surrounded, would gain no advantage against such fire suppression.
Although their reaction speed was faster, the continuous line of fire would make it impossible for Space Marines to lift their heads.
"Charge!" Urian roared, being the first to break from the Legion's line and launch a final assault on the Rangdan.
Any later and it might be too late!
Alistair had plunged into the Rangdan position, his figure flitting like a phantom; each rotation of his double-bladed greatsword sliced through any xenos in his path.
That unstoppable warrior let out a wild roar, charging through the enemy lines like a beast.
He roared again, "Abominations! Yield to me!"
The hilt of his double-bladed greatsword split in the middle, transforming into two single-handed greatswords, and he began a dance of unrivaled prowess among the Rangdan.
Around John were the remnants of Rangdan bioweapons, and wherever he passed, a wave of death surged, his individual might making the Rangdan tremble.
With such a vanguard charging, the Auxiliary Army naturally followed quickly, using automated combat droids as shields, pushing forward with continuous fire suppression.
In just two minutes, the first automated combat droid climbed onto the Rangdan position.
Although it was destroyed immediately, more machines followed closely, their four mechanical legs marching with determined, unstoppable strides onto the position.
The Rangdan resisted desperately, the firing speed of their plasma guns slowing as continuous firing caused the weapons to overheat.
They experienced a despair they had once inflicted upon other races.
With a massive army of slaves, they didn't need any tactics, just to overwhelm and crush the enemy's defenses.
Now the Rangdan experienced despair, as cold, emotionless machines continuously pressed forward, collapsing their front line.
Retreat, there was no other option but retreat.
But now there was no way out; the machines' orderly advance tolled the Rangdan's death knell.
The Sentinels and the Auxiliary Army advanced together; they did not charge quickly, maintaining the same speed as the mortals, providing some auxiliary assistance.
The gleaming Emperor's Custodians also did not charge, distributed within the mortal lines, cooperating with the slow advance of the front.
The Doom Slayers brought up the rear, holding the line to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
The superhuman warriors all understood that in this battle, the mortals were the main protagonists.
The Mortal Auxiliary Army needed a great victory, to earn honor and forge a true military spirit.
Even the First Legion was a bit slower, the Space Marines assisting the mortals' offensive.
Only a small assault team charged towards the Rangdan command post.
Urian, escorted by Terminators, held a force field shield in his left hand, charging towards the target he had been longing for.
"Rangdan Warmaster Lolos!" In front of the Rangdan line, the Grand Master let out a thunderous roar, calling out to his opponent.
"Urian Bendegre!" A response came from the Rangdan line. This time, Lolos answered Urian with a shriek.
They called out to each other amidst the chaos of battle and found each other's traces.
The moment their eyes met, their gazes clashed in the air, as if swords were striking, producing intense sparks.
Warmaster Lolos, in his orange-red bio-armor, was unusually tall, holding two bone blades, and his omnidirectional bionic legs turned, charging towards the Grand Master.
Urian, in black armor, serious and silent, holding a force field shield and power armor, his boots crushing rubble, charged without hesitation towards the xeno Warmaster.
"I will have you buried with me." Lolos shrieked mournfully, sweeping his two bone blades to the right, poised to decapitate the Grand Master.
Urian ducked, evading the sweep, then slid to Lolos' left, thrusting his power sword, "Buried with a foul creature like you? I have no such interest."
The power sword's disintegrating field flickered, piercing the right flank of the bio-armor, decomposing the functional organs within into molecules.
Lolos shrieked in pain, the feedback from his pain system sending sharp stings through his cerebral cortex.
He endured the pain, rotating his upper body, and, using the advantage of the turn, swept his bone blades out again.
Clang~~~
"Hmph." Urian grunted, a sharp pain shooting through his shield-holding left hand, and he was sent flying by the furious force, shield and all.
He landed on the ground, his armor scraping against the gravel with a rustling sound, sliding several meters before stopping.
In a brief moment, Urian immediately stood up from the ground, dust coating his armor.
Lolos raised his blades and pursued, his omnidirectional legs moving somewhat uncoordinatedly; the previous sword thrust had injured a vital part of his bio-armor.
Though Urian appeared disheveled, he was not fatally wounded, and he uttered a mocking remark, "A beast with no skill."
He immediately pressed forward, closing in on Lolos, raising his left-hand shield to its highest point, blocking the bone blade at close range to prevent further momentum.
A crisp sound rang out; the shield blocked a downward-chopping bone blade, its power indeed severely diminished.
The power sword parried, blocking a sweeping bone blade; the Rangdan Warmaster's strength made the longsword tremble.
Urian's mind raced, and he subtly tilted the longsword inward to deflect the force.
Bone blade and sword edge scraped, the disintegrating fields tearing at each other, the blades sparking with lightning.
Urian again lowered his body, retracting his shield and longsword, dodging Lolos' double attack.
He slid again, thrusting his power sword, piercing the bio-armor at the waist, the sharp blade emerging from Lolos' lower back.
"You damnable rat!" Lolos shrieked, his painful wail echoing across the battlefield, making the Warmaster's guards anxious.
Unfortunately, all Rangdan were currently tied up, and no one could break away to provide support.
"Why?" Lolos couldn't understand.
His height and strength were superior, his movements more agile, yet he couldn't hit the human's body, letting him escape again and again while constantly launching counterattacks.
Organs under the ribs damaged, waist organs damaged, bio-nutrients flowing from the ruptured holes. If this continued, the bio-armor would lose its power source, becoming a lifeless object at the mercy of others.
"A beast with no skill." Urian repeated his words.
What is skill? Lolos couldn't understand. Is skill truly that important?
A fierce light flashed in his eyes, and an idea came to mind: he could defeat the human's superior moves even without skill.
So he charged again, extending his two bionic arms, his two bone blades attacking in a cross pattern, like pincers biting at the black-armored warrior.
Seeing the Rangdan Warmaster's guard wide open again, he rejoiced, raising his shield and striding forward, ready to repeat the previous scene.
The shield blocked one bone blade, the longsword parried the other bone blade, but the anticipated struggle of strength did not come.
"Not good!" Urian's inner self realized something was wrong, but it was too late to withdraw.
Lolos' figure did not stop; he strode forward, his outstretched arms forming an embrace, pulling Urian into his chest.
"Now you have nowhere to escape." The xeno Warmaster grinned viciously, intending to crush Urian in his embrace.
Urian had no escape. In a life-or-death decision, he raised his longsword and aimed it at Lolos' control room.
Bio-armor and ceramite armor embraced, and Lolos' tentacles from behind struck out, single-molecule blades piercing towards the Grand Master.
In an instant, pain surged as the single-molecule blades penetrated the ceramite armor.
Urian turned his head to dodge the blade but felt his second heart pierced, his liver shredded by the blade, and multiple parts of his back impaled by the sharp blades.
Urian felt a wave of dizziness, and multiple organs within his body activated to maintain his bodily functions.
His Larraman Organ immediately took effect, with Larraman Cells rapidly secreting to staunch the bleeding wounds on his body.
His heart thumped violently, ensuring his brain received ample blood supply for timely thought.
Combat stims from his Power Armor were instantly injected, temporarily returning his severely wounded body to its peak.
Calls from Legion warriors reached his ears, his consciousness instantly cleared, and Urian tightened his grip on the sword hilt, which was about to slip, thrusting it forward with force.
"There's no way I'm dying with you." Blood spurted from his breathing grille as Urian's Power Sword pierced through Lolos' bio-armor.
The disintegration field shredded internal organs, advancing unstoppably, piercing through the diaphragm within the bio-armor.
Lolos had been congratulating himself on his certain victory, but his armor suddenly blared an alarm as the glint of a sharp blade appeared in the cockpit.
"No…" It let out a shrill, unwilling cry, manipulating its bionic arms with force, trying to pull the human in its embrace away.
But the blade didn't withdraw; instead, it drew closer and closer, the disintegrating lightning swirling around it evaporating the bio-nutrient fluid.
Outside, Urian, with one hand holding the sword thrust in, used his other hand to grip a protrusion on the bio-armor, pushing the sword deeper.
Two bionic arms gripped his waist, and the Power Sword transmitted a stretching alarm, yet it couldn't deter his resolve.
"Go away! Go away…" As the longsword continued to press closer, Lolos' voice was tinged with a whimper, now utterly panicked.
If it had been a swift decapitation, it would have felt no fear, but the steadily approaching death terrified the xenos Warmaster.
It could feel the disintegrating lightning gnawing at its body, slowly breaking its form apart.
Lolos' body recoiled, pressing against the edge of the cockpit, its tentacles pushing forward with maximum effort to retreat.
The longsword continued its advance, pressing against its dark green, brain-like body, piercing the wrinkled skin and disintegrating the green brain tissue.
Blood gushed from Urian's mouth, and he felt his waist was about to break.
His vision began to blacken, his brain incessantly blared alarms, and his Suss-an Membrane began to take effect; he was about to be forcibly put into stasis.
"Die." His lungs were filled with blood, making his words sound hollow.
Finally, Urian mustered his last strength, thrusting the longsword into Lolos' cockpit.
"Heh heh." The bio-armor ceased movement, and he knew he had killed his enemy, letting out a relieved laugh.
His will instantly relaxed, and Urian fell from Lolos' embrace, collapsing into the arms of a Legion warrior.
Too much had happened in this flash of lightning.
The Legion guard rushed forward, caught his body, and took him to the rear for treatment.
With the Warmaster slain, the Rangdan morale plummeted, and the xenos were overwhelmed by the Nur Auxiliary Army in despair.
The enraged First Legion dragged away the remains of the Rangdan Warmaster Lolos; they intended to make a specimen of it.
"Victory!" The Mortal Auxiliary Army stood on high ground, shouting, planting their banners in the piles of Rangdan corpses, declaring the end of the ground war.
"Victory!" The roar, like a mountain and a tsunami, echoed through communications.
The Auxiliary Army shed tears of excitement; they finally felt the reality of victory, tasting its sweet flavor.
The ground clearing war ended, and space operations were also nearing their conclusion.
The Battle Moon was destroyed, the Rangdan lost their interstellar anchor, and their fleet morale was low.
Just as the Rangdan intended to retreat, the human fleet pounced, engaging them in a fierce battle, completely cutting off any thoughts of escape.
The star-filled void was littered with the wreckage of warships; in the human fleet's counterattack, few Rangdan warships remained.
At the edge of the star system, Warp light flared, and stragglers, dragging the exhaustion of defeat, left the Morse Solar System.
Russ boarded the Rangdan flagship, leading his Wolf Guard to kill the Rangdan Warmaster, claiming his share of the glory.
Ultimately, in the battle for the Morse Solar System, humanity paid a heavy price to defeat the Rangdan.
Blazkowicz stepped down from the command throne, letting out a sigh of relief.
The fleet had lost thirty percent of its ships, with no warship intact; repairs were necessary.
The First Legion fleet suffered over fifty percent losses; if not for the three Gloriana-class Battleships, the losses would have been even more severe.
The Abomination Exemplar was severely damaged, with forty percent of its hull compromised, teetering on the brink of sinking.
The Space Wolves Fleet lost two-fifths of its ships. The Space Wolves fought bravely and fiercely, charging into enemy fleets, relentlessly clinging to the foe, and holding back the Rangdan warships.
After this battle, the human side lost over two hundred capital ships in total, destroying nearly five hundred Rangdan capital ships and three Battle Moons.
The most abundant spoils of war, however, were tens of thousands of elite Rangdan warriors.
Humanity concluded its first engagement with the Rangdan with a respectable victory.
Blazkowicz stood by the Royal Majesty's viewport, watching wreckage drift by, mixed with frozen human corpses and the grotesque bodies of Rangdan slave soldiers.
He gazed into the profound deep space, the stirring in his heart gradually subsiding.
The Rangdan war was temporarily over; both sides needed to lick their wounds, awaiting the next, more intense clash.
"Notify Terra to send construction personnel to fortify Morse into a fortress star system."
He wanted to transform Morse into a bridgehead, the first line of defense against the Rangdan.
The Rangdan's arrival at Morse was by no means accidental.
They intended to use it as a springboard to expand towards the Imperium, and the next battle would likely occur in this nearby sector.
Early arrangements now would prevent the predicament of war reigniting.
Blazkowicz did not turn back, continuously making post-war arrangements: "Use my authority to notify the Fifth Legion to dispatch more scout fleets to locate the Rangdan Empire's territory and homeworld."
"Keep all Legions on high alert; the Rangdan priority is raised to the highest, and if Morse faces any further changes, nearby Legions must provide swift support."
The "Military Conscription Authority" issued by the Emperor was to allow Blazkowicz to act expediently, to handle situations like today's.
"Notify the Nur Stars to prevent Rangdan infiltration. They know nothing about us and will surely seek to gather our intelligence."
Sophia, behind him, noted down her master's instructions, having the Astropath choir transmit them one by one.
"Oh, that's right." Blazkowicz turned to ask Sophia, "How are the banquets coming along?"
He had never forgotten his promise to Russ, to host a banquet for the Space Wolves, to reward the Space Wolves for their aid.
Coaxing Russ into the most brutal battle with a feast, this small matter must not disappoint his brother.
"Preparations have begun," Sophia replied calmly and slowly: "The Garden Deck is being cleaned, removing traces of war, and will soon be ready for the banquet."
"Very good, thank you." Blazkowicz smiled at her; if not for Sophia, his chief steward, he would have had to arrange all of this himself.
"Serving you is my vow." Sophia lifted her skirt, curtsied elegantly, and slowly faded away.
The fleet gathered its remaining forces within the star system, assembling at their respective positions to consolidate the specific losses after the war.
In a battle of such immense scale, the deaths and sacrifices were countless.
For high-ranking officials like Blazkowicz, it might just be numbers reported, but a somber atmosphere permeated the human fleet.
Countless shipboard thralls lost their lives in the battle; a single breached airlock on a warship meant the sacrifice of many mortals.
The fleet dispatched specialized ships to recover bodies, committing their comrades' remains to the star, allowing them to sleep with the light.
As for the vile xenos, plasma incinerators were their final resting place.
The two were essentially no different, yet represented two distinct meanings.
Some were to be hated, others to be remembered.
Soon, several Terran days later, a large amount of data was compiled before Blazkowicz.
"Send fast ships back to Terra, and bring back medals when they return." Blazkowicz rubbed his temples, and after verifying everything, sent it to Terra.
The data was vast and voluminous, containing not only casualty figures but also a massive amount of meritorious service to be recognized.
This kind of data-based information could not be transmitted via Astropaths.
Its complexity was one reason; another was the difficulty for Astropaths to accurately describe precise numbers.
"My brother, is your banquet ready?" Russ sent a holographic communication, his wild face showing a hint of fatigue.
The Space Wolves had suffered significant losses, and Russ suppressed his sorrow, showing his most unfeeling side.
"It is ready." Blazkowicz nodded gravely.
He was grateful for Russ' magnanimity—fighting with all his might during the operation, silently enduring the Legion's losses after the war, and bearing the grief of his sons' sacrifices.
It was time for a good drink! To wash away sorrow and rekindle morale.
Blazkowicz looked at Russ, everything unspoken: "Once the fleet has finished its affairs, I will drink with you to our heart's content."
"The men of Fenris await Argent Nur's hospitality." Russ grinned broadly, making Blazkowicz sometimes wonder if his brother was truly foolish or just pretending.
"We will certainly not disappoint your expectations."