Chapter 216: A Large Number of Rebels are Bursting Out of the Warp
Chapter 216: Chapter 215: A Large Number of Rebels are Bursting Out of the Warp
The engine fires of the fleet flowed like a river of fireflies slowly into the boundless void.
The orac at the very front was massive and eye-catching in realspace, and equally brilliant from the Navigator’s Warp perspective.
Amidst the Warp waves stirred by the shadow of the Tyranid Swarm, the fleet’s subsequent actions had to rely on the mobile Astronomican atop the orac.
So when the coordinates were set, the ships began to follow the orac one by one into the Warp.
Inside the bridge, Malakin, watching such a large-scale transition outside, completely abandoned his plan to leave the bridge and report to Sanctuary Star.
After all, who told Sith to be going the same way as him?
Malakin wanted to go to Sanctuary Star?
What a coincidence, so did Sith!
Malakin could only watch as the orac tore open a massive Warp rift and then, braving the waves within, led the vast fleet slowly inside.
…
Meanwhile, at Sanctuary Star.
There wasn’t the grand scene of the Tyranid army pressing down as one might imagine.
The Tyranid Swarm, which should have concentrated all its power to break the last gateway fortress of Segmentum Solar…
…was instead being led in circles throughout the sector where Sanctuary Star was located by a large number of ‘Sunblade Fleets’ consisting of only two or three warships.
As a result, the number of Tyranid bio-ships that finally reached Sanctuary Star was actually only a mere million or so.
Uh, yes, even if it was just a small portion of their power, the number of bio-ships Sanctuary Star had to face still reached the million level.
At this moment, in the system void of Sanctuary Star, the Imperial Fleet was everywhere, dancing on the edge of a knife, using two or three ships to harass and disrupt the sea of Tyranid bio-ships.
It was hard to say how much damage these tiny fleets caused to the Tyranids, but at least under this guerrilla tactic, the two sides, whose strengths were completely disproportionate, had fallen into a bizarre stalemate.
The Tyranid tendril, which should have violently crashed into Segmentum Solar and headed straight for Terra, was blocked at Sanctuary Star.
It could only constantly drop bio-spores, vowing to completely devour this Sanctuary Star standing in its way.
On the surface of Sanctuary Star at this moment, under the resistance of a large number of Astra Militarum, Astartes, and even Battle Sisters, the Tyranid Swarm washed over like waves, one after another.
As a fortress world, the towering Hive Cities here had all been replaced by high-reaching fortresses, and countless types of artillery fire were hurling flames at the never-ending sea of insects on the surface.
However, no matter how powerful the artillery was, it was no match for a Tyranid Swarm that was truly endless; when the ammunition hidden deep underground was exhausted, one towering fortress after another was covered layer by layer by the overwhelming Tyranid Swarm and completely toppled!
As another fortress began to collapse layer by layer, along with the thick Tyranid Swarm clinging to it, a ‘middle-aged’ man in Roman-style armor, primarily gold and white and decorative in nature, stood before a gate leading into the interior of a towering mountain in the distance, silently casting a somber gaze.
He was surrounded by a dense crowd of elite Astra Militarum, and even many ‘Kasrkin’, the remaining elites from Cadia!
And beyond these Mortals were Astartes and two full squads of Custodes!
“This is the last fortress before the Iron Guard Fortress. Next, the Tyranid Swarm will attack us directly…”
A heavy voice sounded from behind and above the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man didn’t look back but remained silent. Behind and above him was not his own head, but a giant over three meters tall wearing golden power armor: Lorgar Aurelian!
This middle-aged Mortal in front, who looked like he had no combat power, was the current Solar Lord governing all Astra Militarum in the entire Segmentum Solar: Leontus.
Leontus was certainly not as young as he appeared; the reason he could still maintain a middle-aged face was due to the Empire’s ‘Rejuvenat’ surgeries performed at any cost, which forcibly extended Leontus’s lifespan and kept him in the peak state of a Mortal’s life.
In return, Leontus, who had single-handedly devised and implemented the guerrilla warfare of the Sunblade Fleets, successfully delayed the Tyranid tendril outside Sanctuary Star with an impossibly small force.
This battle alone proved that the resources the Empire spent on him were not only not wasted but had yielded a rich return.
Even the Marshal of the Imperial Guard, Lorgar Aurelian, behind him now showed a faint recognition and cooperation with him in military command.
Leontus maintained his posture and watched the front for a while, until the fortress was completely leveled by dozens of massive Bio-Titans, before silently withdrawing his gaze.
Then, with a sigh of either fatigue or disappointment, Leontus turned to return to the Iron Guard Fortress embedded deep in the mountain behind him.
Seeing Leontus’s negativity, Lorgar Aurelian couldn’t help but speak as the Solar Lord walked past him:
“The reinforcements promised by Lord Guilliman are arriving soon.”
Lorgar Aurelian’s voice was intentionally raised, even meant for the surrounding Mortals and Commanders to hear.
Sure enough, hearing Lorgar Aurelian say this personally, the defenders, who were already exhausted and on the verge of giving up, finally felt a spark of hope rise again.
After looking at the surging Tyranid Swarm until they were numb, they were able to look up at the sky, anticipating the reinforcements that would arrive at some unknown time.
While the Mortals around him looked expectant, on Leontus’s face as he walked into the long corridor, there was only bored indifference.
He even couldn’t help but give a bitter smile after Lorgar Aurelian finished speaking.
Leontus hid his expression as carefully as possible, not letting those around him see his reaction.
Lorgar Aurelian also showed a look of helplessness and even sighed at Leontus’s reaction after he finished speaking.
Unlike the outside world’s grasp of intelligence on the Sith Legion, Segmentum Solar, which was shrouded in the shadow of the Tyranid Swarm, collected information from the outside world at a snail’s pace. They only knew that Guilliman had urgently prepared reinforcements from outside Segmentum Solar, but who were the reinforcements? Where were they from? How many were there? They were completely in the dark.
Furthermore, the identity of the reinforcements brought out by Sith was truly complicated, and the High Lords of Terra were also quite vague about it, only repeatedly guaranteeing that the reinforcements were on their way and were large in scale, with no further explanation.
These words finally reached Leontus through incoherent ‘prophetic dreams,’ and they all became the Empire’s usual comforting platitudes.
As a result, when Leontus was far from the defenders outside and only he and Lorgar Aurelian were in the long corridor, he smiled bitterly in resignation:
“Reinforcements? I’m afraid by now they’ve already entered a Tyranid belly and become part of the Tyranid Swarm, haven’t they?”
Leontus joked with a bitter face, and Lorgar Aurelian could not refute this.
They knew the situation outside better than anyone, so they really couldn’t imagine where the Empire could still have powerful reinforcements enough to turn the tide of the battle.
It’s not like they could go to the Eye of Terror and pull out that group of ‘birthday celebrants’ from back then, right?
In their countless imaginings, Leontus and Lorgar Aurelian had of course thought wildly, but in the end, they just shook their heads with self-mocking smiles.
The level of exaggeration of such a thing was no less than the God-Emperor finally standing up.
Just as the two were preparing to retreat back into the depths of the Iron Guard Fortress to continue commanding the battle, dense alarms echoed through the corridor.
“Has the Tyranid Swarm broken in?”
Lorgar Aurelian was taken aback and shielded Leontus behind him with a speed that left afterimages.
No Tyranid Swarm appeared; only an adjutant ran past in panic and, upon spotting Leontus and Lorgar Aurelian, hurried over.
Then, the adjutant’s words instantly lit up their eyes.
“Rebels! A large number of rebels!”
“They are bursting out of the Warp!”