Chapter 81: Sorcerer, Who Do You Think I Am? Fight!
"Horus!"
A powerful thrust pierced a neck, and a searing crimson spread across the steel surface.
"The flames of wrath will ignite you!"
Then, the steel vaporized, and the flesh vanished. As the Word Bearer watched his own charred body be consumed by the melt-stream, he realized that body no longer belonged to him.
The high-speed Angel, before the molten stream had even cooled, plunged directly into it.
"Cease fire mission. Activate electronic jamming," an old veteran's voice came over the command channel. This unfamiliar voice surprised the Carcharodons and the Black Templars. Aside from the four holy warriors who were always active, the other elders were mostly silent. Except for the Ultramarines-lineage veterans who liked to gather information from the civilians, the rest of them rarely responded with words.
This left them feeling a bit defeated. Even though they wore the same armor and fought on the same battlefield, the distance between them felt as wide as half the galaxy. It made the Astartes realize that not everyone was fond of their modern appearance.
But now, the elders were willing to speak to them.
"Sisters of Battle, Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, begin cleanup operations around the breach."
"Carcharodons, follow Karna's route and conduct a dispersed advance. Fireteams, provide cover."
"Orlando, you will take three hundred men and cut in from the southern passage. Do not allow the enemy forces to link up."
"Ramesses will accompany the assault force and monitor enemy psychic reactions. Arthur will strike along another route."
"All squads..."
Everything had been planned. When Romulus inputted his commands into each of his soulless warriors, those warriors would clearly delegate the orders to every man under their command. The vast amount of recent combat data had allowed him to complete a command-conversion model. Each controlled warrior could, upon receiving a command, translate it into tactical terminology. This way, even in an area with signal jamming, he could still command his subordinate units in real-time. They could simply ignore the hazards of electronic interference.
"Yes, my Lord!"
The words from the elders invigorated the Carcharodons and the Black Templars. It gave them a sense of pride, of being acknowledged.
As the orders for each squad were disseminated to every member, the iron tide instantly split into several streams, seeping into the fortress through its cracks.
The Astartes' superior physique allowed them to push the concept of "speed" to its absolute limit. By the time Arthur, leading several dozen men, had charged down the main thoroughfare and into the fortress's inner sanctum, the roar of the breaching charges was still echoing. Some diligent Genestealers, who had wanted to check on the situation, were met only with astonishment.
A patrol of a dozen Word Bearers had just charged out of an alley. Seeing several dozen fully armed behemoths rushing towards them, they could do nothing but make the Tartaros Terminators' energy shields ripple slightly with their bolter fire.
Arthur deflected the axe of a Khornate champion, pressed in, and took his head with a single slash. He then dodged to the side as a torrent of thousands of bolter rounds, mixed with the crimson streams of flamer weapons, washed over the area. The patrol was instantly turned into a group of pincushions.
When fire superiority reaches a certain point, a sudden encounter becomes an instant kill. Not even a Hellbrute could withstand such a baptism of fire.
Using the eyes of his numerous warriors, Romulus knew that there were many enemies in this massive fortress. They were just scattered to conceal them from the "Imperium-scope," and had been caught off guard, unable to rally. And after entering the core area, he found that this incinerator complex was much easier to attack than the previous hive facilities. The complex underground pipe network had been dismantled, so they didn't have to worry about enemies popping up from under their feet. The entire area was mostly composed of main thoroughfares, sealed with large amounts of molten metal.
The mutual suspicion between the Word Bearers and the Genestealers had provided the attackers with a clear route of advance.
"Welded joint two hundred meters ahead. Place shaped charges. Detach a small unit to contain the Genestealers."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Romulus's order was passed down. Less than ten seconds later, a boom echoed as the recently sealed steel plate was breached, neatly cutting a group of advancing Genestealers in two. Now, the Genestealers' reinforcement route was blocked. The assault force immediately detached two fireteams to delay the enemy, who were now forced to cross the blockade.
The black knight's speed did not decrease, his tactical display constantly updated with marked high-threat targets.
"The rest of you, follow me! Press into the core!"
At the end of the main thoroughfare, deep within the incinerator, stood a fortress, glowing red-hot from the lava. In the past, the trash that fell from the Upper Hive, after being sifted through by countless survivors, had its most deadly and useless components thrown in here, turning this place into a purgatory of high temperatures and lethal toxic gases. And this lava fortress floated within it. Inside this Dark Age of Technology geothermal-prospector, the "Azure Sorcerer," Domenico, stood in a daze.
Before him was a furious woman.
We're being attacked?
Domenico was truly bewildered. He had performed a divination with gene-seed before the warband leader had left, but now, that so-called prophecy, like the defensive fortifications that had been torn apart by cannon fire on the surveillance system, had been utterly useless. And that was fine. Even if they had been surprise-attacked, and the leader had taken the most elite Terminator company with him, this incinerator complex still had nearly five hundred Word Bearer warriors. Blessed by Chaos, they were usually far superior to the False Emperor's lackeys in close-quarters combat.
But how could the enemy be charging so fast?
A multi-pronged attack, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Before anyone had even had time to react, a knife was already at their heart.
"How many troops do they have?" Domenico demanded of the xenos leader.
"I don't know," the beautiful woman replied in a low voice. "The shackles the Star-Father placed on me have weakened. I can hear the cries of my kin, I can feel their emotions, but I cannot know what each of them is thinking. I need your warriors!"
"Damned xenos," Domenico cursed under his breath. What did this thing take them for, her personal servants to be ordered around?
WHOOSH!
A sound, sharp enough to pierce the ears of even a Space Marine, echoed through the chamber. Before Domenico could even react, a claw clamped down on his chest, slamming him against the steel wall like a ragdoll.
"You are alive only because of my mercy. A chance to live that I have mercifully granted you."
The scene before Domenico's eyes had changed. Before him was a terrifying beast, its deep purple carapace plates, its abnormally elongated head pulling its cheeks into a grotesque shape. Its long, dark claws were pressed against his chest, squeezing his Warp-blessed ceramite armor until it groaned in protest.
"Now, at the arrival of the Patriarch of the Stars, I want you to take me away. I want you to raise your weapons and fight back. I want you to fight for my survival!"
A terrifying psychic blast assaulted his brain. The massive maw, so close he could feel its breath, could bite off his head at any moment. Only then did Domenico realize the disparity in their power. The Word Bearers were alive, able to maintain their ritual, able to bargain with that Inquisitor, all because of this xenos's charity.
"Understand?"
Domenico nodded with difficulty. He had bowed to the Chaos Gods to survive in the Five Hundred Worlds. Bowing to a xenos to survive now was no big deal.
Just then, two violent explosions startled them. Domenico quickly looked at the observation window and saw an iron tide flowing straight towards the fortress. The patrol teams had made contact and had been instantly swallowed up, like stones in the sea. The intense radiation interference meant he couldn't even hear the screams of his comrades.
"Give the order! Have your warriors concentrate on the fortress!" the Genestealer Patriarch said, releasing the weakling.
"The comms are cut. They've released strong electronic interference. I'll have someone send a runner." Domenico rubbed his chest, brushing off a layer of cracked flesh from his armor. The majority of the Word Bearers' forces were concentrated in the lava fortress, with only a few patrols on the perimeter. With the entire area now in flames, everyone was running around like headless chickens.
"I told you to give the order now! Is your psychic power just for show?!" the Patriarch interrupted before Domenico could finish.
"...Yes."
Might as well obey.
To be honest, Domenico didn't really want to use his psychic powers right now. The tides of the Empyrean were too violent, and he was just a sorcerer who had entered the trade after turning to Chaos. Those daemons didn't care if you worshipped the Four Gods or the False Emperor.
But he still began to chant the long incantation, took out a sacrifice, and sent it into the Warp, establishing a connection with his scattered warriors.
"My warriors, gather here!"
The Sorcerer's voice echoed in the ears of all the surviving Word Bearers.
At almost the same instant, the iron tide, which had been split into three main attack vectors, quickly locked onto the same direction.
"..."
A cold sweat dripped down Domenico's back.
"Useless!" The Patriarch immediately knew the fool's psychic communication had been intercepted, and she bitterly regretted not having infected these idiots.
Domenico said no more. The arrival of his honor guard at his side had given him a sense of security. He ignored the Patriarch and focused on the Tartaros Terminators charging towards them.
Domenico looked at the forging details on their armor and was shocked. He then noticed the Chapter insignia on the majority of them.
Black Templars, and another Chapter I've never seen... Tch, I thought my old friends had come for me. Turns out they just inherited some of their gear.
Quickly regaining his psychological advantage, Domenico commanded, "Bring out the captured exterminatus weapons!"
Normally, he would have avoided a direct confrontation, but they had just captured a batch of exterminatus-grade weapons. He could not accept letting these brash fools get away without paying a price.
Today, these Tartaros Terminators would become their spoils of war!
(End of Chapter)