Farsight floated in the murky air, looking at the distant position he had personally leveled with saturation bombardment, but there was no joy of victory in his heart. His tactical intuition, honed by countless battles, told him that things were sliding in an extremely dangerous direction.
After weighing his options, he finally made a decision. An encrypted communication request was sent directly to the Emergency Council located behind the front lines.
In the holographic projection, the commanders of the Fire Caste and Water Caste appeared with grave expressions. As soon as the connection was made, Farsight said succinctly, "The plan has failed. I have no way to stop this Imperium of Man force from advancing in a short time, and in the recent engagement, three Fire Warriors have already sacrificed themselves for The Greater Good."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire council fell into dead silence, which was then replaced by an uproar. No one would doubt Farsight's strength, and no one thought this legendary commander would joke at such a critical moment of life and death.
"Then what exactly should we do?!" a Fire Caste commander almost roared, his tone and words clearly showing signs of mental breakdown due to immense pressure.
Farsight immediately realized that his overly blunt report had dealt a huge blow to the already low morale, so he quickly added, "But after several engagements, I have a preliminary understanding of them. Their tactics rely heavily on close-range, suicidal attacks. With sufficient fire support, I can contain them at a safe distance and gradually wear them down."
As soon as he said this, the tense emotions of the council members eased slightly. However, this brief sense of security was quickly shattered by the words of another Fire Caste commander: "But we can't spare enough forces now to provide large-scale fire support for the Imperium of Man on the right flank! Our only aerial mobile force, our Air Caste comrades, have just been dispatched to bomb those blue-armored warriors who suddenly air-dropped. Without the bombing of our Air Caste comrades to contain them, those monsters can do whatever they want!"
"What?!"
Just then, a cry of dismay echoed through the entire council. Everyone's gaze turned to the Water Caste member who had made the sound. He was the liaison officer responsible for receiving and compiling real-time battle reports from the front lines.
His azure face was full of disbelief, and he said tremblingly, "T'auva... I think... I think our Air Caste comrades can turn around and bomb the Imperium of Man forces on the right flank... See for yourselves."
A data stream was simultaneously sent to the terminals of all attendees, including Farsight. It was a video, which Farsight, familiar with all T'au Empire armaments, immediately identified as having been filmed by a 'Tiger Shark' heavy bomber.
On the towering ruins of Guelbryn City, a genetically modified astartes of the Imperium of Man, clad in blue heavy armor, was carrying an extra jetpack in one hand while climbing upwards at an astonishing speed.
A hint of doubt flashed in Farsight's mind: Didn't he already have a jetpack equipped on his back? Why was he still carrying another one in his hand?
His doubt was quickly answered—
After climbing to the top of the building, the warrior leaped up, his jetpack operating at maximum power, propelling him skyward like a cannonball! The moment the fuel in the first jetpack was about to run out and his ascent began to slow, he performed an incredibly fluid motion in mid-air, discarding the old jetpack and simultaneously attaching the new, full-fuel jetpack he held in his hand to his back!
The second jetpack seamlessly erupted with a scorching plasma stream. This almost insane 'double jump' successfully propelled him to the same altitude as the Air Caste bomber fleet.
Then, under the horrified gaze of all the T'au, he powerfully swung the power sword in his hand, which glowed with an energy field, and with one strike, he literally cleaved the 21-meter wingspan heavy bomber in half!
The burning wreckage tumbled in the air, and the fiery explosion illuminated the god-like figure of the blue-armored warrior suspended in the sky.
"The Greater Good..." Farsight murmured, hardly believing his eyes.
Even Farsight was like this, and the others in the council naturally fell into a dead silence, with even their breathing disappearing.
This video clearly dealt another devastating blow to the already low morale. Farsight knew that this situation could not be allowed to continue, otherwise, the T'au Empire's command structure would collapse before the Imperium of Man even attacked.
"Have our Air Caste comrades come to me!" Farsight's voice broke the silence, regaining its firmness, "I will deal with these genetically modified warriors."
"But, Commander Farsight, you..." Someone spoke hesitantly, their doubt unconcealed. It highly doubted whether even Farsight was a match for that blue-armored Imperium of Man warrior.
"War is not won purely by individual valor," Farsight said in an encouraging tone, but... after witnessing that extraordinary scene with his own eyes, he himself no longer quite believed those words.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after Cato Sicarius' indescribable 'aerial interception' operation, no more T'au Empire air forces came to harass the Ultramarines' assault force. Without aerial threats, the astartes' advance speed suddenly accelerated.
"How is the Helldivers Legion doing?" Seeing how smoothly things were going on his side, captain Ashius of the Eighth Company couldn't help but worry about the mortal troops. He inquired through the tactical network to the rear command.
The situation was quickly sent via data link to Ashius' helmet display. Comparing it with their previous advance, Ashius quickly noticed an anomaly: "What's going on? Their advance speed is faster than before? Didn't intelligence say they encountered high-combat alien units?"
"Yes, captain Ashius," the command's voice responded, "and according to their recently reported battle situation, they also encountered large-scale bombing by alien bombers. But we have also repeatedly confirmed that their advance speed is indeed faster than before."
"...It seems I worried too much." Ashius was silent for a moment, then switched the communication channel to within the company, his voice carrying a hint of stirred fighting spirit, "Battle-guys, accelerate forward! We cannot fall behind the mortals!"
"Courage and Honor! For Macragge!" The earth-shattering battle cry echoed through the communication channel.