The steel tide of ogryn and astartes had completely torn apart the Tyranid Swarm's hastily organized defenses. The scales of victory had irrevocably tipped towards humanity, and the path to the gravely wounded Norn Emissary was now paved only with crushed alien flesh.
However, at this very moment, the massive figure that had been standing still in the center of the blast crater, focused on recovering from its wounds, moved.
The Norn Emissary's legs emitted an unsettling 'click-clack' sound, and its biological structure underwent subtle internal changes, seemingly adapting to a new mode of movement.
In this noisy battlefield, filled with explosions, roars, and the clang of metal, this sound was insignificant, yet it acted like a silent command, immediately drawing the collective attention of everyone in the assault team.
After all, the ultimate goal of this brutal battle was to eliminate the Norn Emissary before them. Its power was unmatched, it was the embodiment of the hive mind, and the greatest threat. Its every move was bound to receive the utmost attention from everyone.
"Alert!"
Lugger Huron, Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, at the forefront of the battle, was naturally the first to react. His electronically amplified, booming voice echoed through the comms channel to everyone: "All units, prepare for impact!"
The entire assault team's line instantly tensed. The ogryn gripped their tower shields with all their might, while the astartes locked their bolters firmly onto the monstrous beast. Everyone held their breath.
What was the Norn Emissary planning? A devastating psychic storm? Or a desperate, all-or-nothing charge with its broken but still terrifying body?
Under everyone's gaze, the Norn Emissary's massive body suddenly sank, then… it moved, turned, and ran.
Yes, it ran.
Its adjusted legs unleashed astonishing power, and its colossal body, with an agility completely unsuited to its size, ignored all the firepower raining down on it and sprinted away from the battlefield.
A bizarre second of silence fell over the battlefield. Everyone paused, seemingly unable to process the surreal scene before them.
At the same time, in other corners of the battlefield, tens of thousands of Tyranid Swarm seemed to receive a final directive. They abandoned all tactics, disregarding everything, fearlessly rushing towards all human units — whether the assault team of ogryn and astartes, or the mortal Helldivers still locked in combat with the swarm in the fortress ruins — launching their final suicidal attack.
In stark contrast, even more Tyranid Swarm unhesitatingly abandoned their kin, who were being used as cannon fodder, and turned to follow the Norn Emissary.
Through the Norn Emissary's senses, the hive mind made its final judgment on the battle.
By this point, there was no possibility of victory in this battle. From the outset, it had severely misjudged the human species' will to fight, combat capabilities, and their determination to fight to the death at all costs. More critically, it had stepped into a trap meticulously prepared for it by humanity.
Given this, disengaging from combat as quickly as possible, preserving its forces, especially the high-value Norn Emissary, and re-strategizing based on the new intelligence gained from this costly defeat, was the most logical and correct path. To persist here would only lead to more meaningless losses of precious biomass, an undoubtedly foolish act.
But from the human perspective, this was an entirely different matter.
"Holy crap! The Boss ran away!" A Helldiver cried out, "How can the Boss run away?! What about my merits?"
For these players seeking thrills and wealth, active participation in the war, besides the glory of fighting alongside legendary figures, also had merit rewards as a major factor. The final Boss fleeing when its health was low, how could they tolerate that?
And for the Space Marines, this was an unprecedented surge of anger. It was not just a tactical setback, but the ultimate insult to their honor.
Cato Sicarius even roared directly through his vox-caster: "Stop! You vile xenos! This is a battle of honor! Both sides, regardless of life or death, can be covered in glory! You… you dare to flee?!"
Sicarius's roar echoed across the battlefield, but to the hive mind, intent only on preserving biomass, humanity's so-called honor was meaningless. The Norn Emissary's speed did not decrease; instead, it accelerated.
"Pursue! Don't let it escape!"
After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, all the human warriors reacted, immediately breaking into a sprint, charging in the direction the Norn Emissary had fled.
However, reality was cruel.
The Norn Emissary's physical capabilities were already unmatched on the battlefield. When this biological weapon, the essence of the hive mind, was determined to escape, it was unparalleled on the planet Planditium, at least on the ground.
The distance slowly widened.
The human warriors could only watch helplessly as the massive figure rapidly shrunk in their vision. It crossed ruins, traversed plains. Even the most stubborn Space Marine began to feel a sense of powerlessness welling up within him.
They couldn't catch up.
Some warriors' speed unconsciously slowed, gasps echoing in the comms channel. A sense of despair began to spread.
At this moment, in the sky, from the formation of thunderhawk gunships that had been circling, providing fire support, one aircraft suddenly broke away. It abandoned its futile long-range attacks on the Norn Emissary, pushed its engines to their limit, emitting a sky-rending shriek, and instead of climbing, it dove at a nearly vertical angle towards the sprinting Norn Emissary!
"What is that thunderhawk doing?!" someone exclaimed in the channel.
Under everyone's gaze, the thunderhawk gunship, like a steel spear, slammed directly into the Norn Emissary's broad back.
"Boom—!!!"
A violent explosion instantly engulfed the thunderhawk gunship. A searing fireball and metal fragments, accompanied by a shockwave, spread outwards. The Norn Emissary's massive body was knocked off balance by this sudden impact, laden with immense kinetic energy. Its running rhythm was disrupted, and it stumbled, pitching forward.
A wound was blasted open on its charred back, but for this colossal beast, it was far from fatal. It struggled to regain its footing and continue its escape.
But another thunderhawk gunship screamed down, with the same resolute posture, crashing fiercely into the Norn Emissary's head!
A second violent explosion occurred at close range. This time, the force of the impact and the shockwave of the explosion directly affected its central nervous system. The Norn Emissary let out a painful shriek, its massive head blasted into a bloody mess, and its entire body fell into a brief state of dizziness and rigidity, stumbling and no longer able to maintain its high-speed run.
"They… they are loyal warriors!"
Huron looked at the two lingering fireballs in the sky and immediately understood what the Helldivers' air corps was doing.
Tears welled up in Huron's resolute eyes. He raised his power claw, and with all his might, let out a deafening roar: "We must not let their sacrifice be in vain!"
This roar ignited the flames in the hearts of all the Space Marines. They looked at the giant beast that had been forcibly intercepted, at the debris falling from the sky, and a power mixed with grief, anger, and supreme reverence burst forth from their chests.
"For the Emperor!!!"
"Courage and Honor!!!"
The Space Marines let out the loudest roar of their lives, their power armor's servo-systems screeching at the edge of overload. They charged again, at speeds beyond their limits!
"Ooooooh!!!"
The ogryn roared as well, their massive bodies unleashing unprecedented strength, charging alongside the astartes towards the Norn Emissary.