Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, Primarch's Office.
Nareth looked at Bukayo Arshivan before him and asked.
"My Darkness Lord, how many Sicaran battle tanks have you brought?"
After Piraeus, Nareth had used materials like Triangular Nightstone to concoct the "Soul Assurer" potion.
The same time Bukayo advanced to Sequence 6, he had handed over the Sicaran battle tank STC, now integrated with contributions from Ferrus and parts of Mars, replacing Guilliman, to the Darkness Lord.
The Third Chapter specialized in breakthroughs; the entire Chapter was fully armored.
Modian's production focused on armored vehicles, enabling experimental production of the Sicaran battle tank.
"My Lord, currently, one hundred four."
"Another fifty-two are being assembled on the forge decks."
Nareth nodded slightly, his finger tapping Sector C-11 on the hololithic star chart.
"The Sixth Chapter has established a landing zone. Lead your Chapter to break the xenos line."
"By your will."
After accepting the order, the moment Bukayo gave the landing command, Predator tanks and Macharius heavy tanks in cobalt blue rolled down the ramps.
Creatures, resembling humanoid pigs in black leather, with obese bodies, raised weapons from their mountain-side fortifications.
The strange weapons atop their heads pressed tightly against their long, backward-pointing pig ears.
Three glowing coils spun rapidly. A dazzling light flared.
With a crackling hum, arcs of lightning shot forth, striking the cobalt blue hulls.
With sharp cracks, the lightning tore through the Predator tanks' hulls. The Macharius heavy tanks' hulls rapidly blackened.
As the lightning subsided, the xenos raised their energy weapons. Blinding light lanced towards the blackened tanks.
The heavy stubbers on the Macharius' sides opened fire with a harsh, sawing roar, sweeping across the mountainside.
Dense barrages rained down on the grey fortifications.
Occasional stray rounds struck the weapons atop the xenos' heads, producing crisp cracks.
As the Macharius' cannons rotated, aiming at the xenos on the mountainside, dozens of laser cannons screamed, spitting blinding beams.
The dazzling beams met the leaping arcs of lightning.
The blinding light turned the mountainside bright as day.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
With another arc leap, the Macharius heavy tanks, caught in the grid of psychic lightning, were torn apart along with the Ultramarines inside.
Marius Gage watched from afar. The first armored charge by the Ultramarines, forty Predators, and a hundred Macharius heavy tanks, had been shattered by the xenos.
He said to his adjutant, "The xenos' rate of fire exceeds that of the Macharius heavy tanks."
"We need more tanks for covering fire."
"Dispatch ten squads in Rhino transports to climb and clear the slopes."
The Ultramarines' Second Chapter, like precisely operating gears, quickly executed Gage's orders.
Predators and Macharius heavy tanks halted outside the xenos' range. Their roaring fire pinned the xenos down.
Cobalt blue Rhinos raced towards the repeatedly shelled slopes. At a hundred meters, the Ultramarines surged out almost simultaneously.
As the rain of fire ceased, the xenos attacked.
Bolts thundered. Arcs leaped.
In the crackling, a dozen cobalt blue figures were torn apart, leaving only ominous black shadows.
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...
Bolts approaching the xenos were shredded by the crackling psychic energy field.
Blazing yellow beams pierced Mark III power armor, tearing flesh and bone.
An Ultramarine rolled to evade a sweeping beam, raised his chainsword, and swung at a xenos within the fortification.
The motor roared. The chainsword's teeth spun. The blade suddenly altered its trajectory, spinning in mid-air.
He gripped it with both hands, struggling to control.
Just as he brought the spinning blade under control with his transhuman strength, the xenos drew a short blade from behind its back and stabbed him in the thigh.
Gage watched the battle on the mountainside. His warriors' weapons were constantly losing control, affected by the electromagnetic field.
Updating his intelligence, he quickly devised a new approach: disruption fields should be unaffected by electromagnetic interference.
"Organize a new assault. Send the Chapter's champion swordsmen with power swords."
As the Ultramarines' Second Chapter launched its third assault, a Stormbird formation, escorted by Lightning fighters, landed calmly in the landing zone.
One after another, black Sicaran battle tanks rolled down the ramps.
In the lead black tank, Bukayo saw a rune flare on the special auspex Lord Nareth had chosen for the Sicaran, the energy scanner.
The energy scanner could detect energy emissions and pinpoint the location of vehicles, machines, functional equipment, weapons, and other devices. It did not detect energy from ordinary life functions.
Most uniquely, this device could detect psychic energy.
"Two o'clock, sixty-one point five meters."
"Fire, then maneuver evade. Don't stop."
"Eleven o'clock..."
The neutron laser projectors, shorter than the two main guns on the black tank's hull, blazed with dazzling light.
The blinding beams, like spears, lanced towards the rocks.
SSSZZZAAAP!
Beams capable of effortlessly slicing armored vehicle hulls cleaved through rock like blades. With a crack, the neutron energy pierced the psychic energy field, striking the pig-like bodies.
Realizing they were discovered, the xenos opened fire on the slope below.
Arcs of lightning leaped, shooting down the mountainside.
Crackling lightning blackened the ground.
With a rumble, the "Nightmare" driver of Bukayo's Honor Guard spun the steering wheel rapidly.
The Sicaran's high speed allowed him to evade most attacks by a narrow margin.
Three arcs grazed the hull, leaving blade-wide scorch marks.
Bukayo checked the tactical data. Familiar with the performance of all tank types, he thought to himself.
'The Sicaran battle tank integrates component technology from various tanks like the Rhino and Land Raider. Its defense is fifteen percent weaker than the Macharius heavy tank, but its agility reaches ninety-five percent of the Land Raider's.'
'It combines firepower, defense, and maneuverability.
'A battle tank with excellent performance.'
After assessing it, Bukayo rapidly calculated the xenos' fortification positions, defense data, neutron beam loss rates, maneuvering space, and other variables. He issued orders in Vostonian over the comm channel.
"Maintain one hundred meter spacing. High-speed combat evasion."
As he closed the channel, the tank suddenly lurched.
Remnants of crackling energy entered the hull.
Bukayo looked at the viewscreen. A xenos fortress lay at the foot of the mountain, built between the hills. Two of their neutron beams had struck protruding grey metal fortifications.
They acted like shields, protecting the narrow firing port between them, barely wide enough for one xenos to fire through.
The "Soul Assurer" reclined in his seat, closing his eyes.
Fourteen tanks maneuvered at high speed through the mountainous terrain.
Neutron beams swept across the mountainside, rapidly shattering the xenos' sturdy bunkers.
The "Soul Assurer's" spirituality extended. As a "Nightmare," his "Dream Invasion" couldn't reach the enemy.
But now his range had reached one hundred fifty meters, enough to reach that shield fortification at the mountain's foot.
Just as the xenos' weapon arcs began to leap, the three spinning rods slowed slightly.
They spun slower and slower. The pig-like xenos released its weapon. Its head drooped limply.
Several Sicarans seized the opportunity to advance towards the mountain's base, methodically eliminating enemy fortifications from the bottom up.
The "Soul Assurer" constantly pulled enemies into dreams, silencing one firing position after another.
Large cave-like holes rapidly grew across the mountainside.
Bukayo climbed to the mountain's summit, looking down at the wreckage of two burning black tanks below.
'Without the Sicaran battle tanks, my Chapter's losses would have been at least ten times greater against these newly encountered xenos.'
'This tank is suitable for large-scale deployment as a main battle tank.'
'My Lord developed it with Lord Ferrus. Only our two Legions possess the STC.'
As he pondered, his gaze shifted to the mist-shrouded, continuous mountains beyond.
.....
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