The Tyranid Swarm in the sky was so vast, like a torrent falling from the heavens.
Anti-air fire still roared, countless shells exploded in the air, and plasma streams and lasers flashed with dazzling light, illuminating the area around Angel Keep as if it were daytime.
Thousands of Tyranids fell as charred corpses from the sky, plummeting directly into the moat, while the remaining Tyranids threw themselves into the embrace of the Water of Thirst as if committing suicide.
On the ground, Tyranid Behemoths, covered in thick bone carapaces, charged through the laser torrents from the defensive lines.
They crashed into the moat, splashing up silver-white water, then churned and sank to the bottom.
The Water of Thirst, once used by the Officio Assassinorum to assassinate Horus, continuously crackled, drawing moisture from the Tyranid bodies, leaving behind shriveled corpses, and constantly replicating itself.
But the Tyranids seemed completely indifferent to death.
The Tyranids gathered and piled together, like a tide, fearlessly rushing towards the moat.
In an instant, both the Blood Angels and the mortals felt as if they were not fighting some alien enemy, but rather an indifferent and merciless natural disaster.
The Tyranids advanced their lines coldly and cruelly; it seemed to deliberately compress the moisture within the Behemoths, using more hardened bone to support their bodies, leaving larger remains in the Water of Thirst.
The speed at which these remains piled up even surpassed the Water of Thirst's self-replication rate. Lower-tier Tyranids roared, guarding the Behemoths as they fell into the water, and a bone levee emerged from the surface of the Water of Thirst as the corpses accumulated.
"Attack the dam!"
A roar filled with anger came from the mouth of a Blood Angels Priest:
"For the Emperor! He relies on you for victory! On your will and strength! Don't disappoint Him!"
Laser torrents and bombardments concentrated on the bone levee, and the explosions repeatedly destroyed the bridge built from Tyranids corpses, but more Tyranids quickly replenished it, using their newly cultivated, extremely low-moisture bodies as a new bridge.
These Tyranids would soon die, but their heavily ossified remains could not be absorbed by the Water of Thirst.
The dam grew closer and closer to the Imperial lines, and the Tyranids continued to advance on the path constructed by death, with the mortals and Astartes behind the defensive line roaring to stop the Tyranids.
The whistle of plasma suddenly sounded, but it did not come from behind the human defensive line—
Tyranid Behemoths carrying bio-cannons appeared on the opposite bank of the moat, firing blinding, azure plasma bursts from their massive cannons.
"Ion Cannon Broodlord!" Lager let out a sharp cry.
No survivor from Ashford would ever forget these Behemoths; it was they who broke through layer after layer of defenses throughout the city of Veridia.
"Quickly, take cover!"
Scorching plasma exploded on the defensive line, and azure light spilled out like a nova, illuminating various parts of the line.
Youji had barely retreated a few steps when he saw the spot where he had just been standing violently explode, with crackling plasma directly melting the steel defensive line into molten iron, which splattered hotly onto the ground.
The artillery fire behind the defensive line suddenly intensified, and countless shells directly annihilated the Ion Cannon Broodlord on the opposite bank of the moat.
But a gap had already formed, and screaming Hormagaunts roared as they crossed the surging Water of Thirst, digging their claws into the riverbank and climbing onto the defensive line.
Youji hurriedly raised his lasgun and fired, but he was too close to these Hormagaunts, and these creatures, born for slaughter, were too fast for a mortal to aim at them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three sharp bolter rounds exploded in mid-air, and an Astartes Priest stood beside Youji, raising his Bolter.
"You have completed your mission! This defensive line has been lost!"
The Priest stood before Youji like a dark wall, fending off the Tyranid attack:
"Now, warrior, take up your weapon and retreat!"
Almost the moment the angel gave the order, the mortals on the defensive line began to retreat.
The mortals started running across the sand, passing through the hellish scene among the Space Marines, retreating into the Void Shield behind them.
"May Saint Doraemon bless you all!" Youji seemed to hear Lager shouting to the Astartes Priests: "May the machine spirit of your Bolters be eternally joyful."
The Priest nodded in response, then took the place of the mortals, holding his Bolter.
Youji gripped his weapon in horror, pulling his foolish son as he retreated towards the Void Shield behind them.
But his steps were slow. Youji lived on Baal II, a moon of Baal, and that planet had less mass and weaker gravity; Baal's gravity was too heavy for him and his son.
They dragged their not-so-fast steps, weaving among tanks, Space Marines, and war machines, breathing the acidic stench of Tyranids, hurrying towards the Void Shield.
His son cried out in terror, his feet moving but his body trembling. Youji pulled him, panting for breath.
Rip!
Suddenly, Youji's son violently pushed his father, and Youji stumbled back a meter or two, falling onto the sand.
Before Youji could turn his head to scold his child, he heard the sound of claws tearing through the air.
A Hormagaunt, a Hormagaunt among the Tyranids, had somehow breached the defensive line formed by the Space Marines and lunged in.
If Youji's son hadn't reacted quickly enough, the Hormagaunt's claws would have sliced open Youji's throat.
The Hormagaunt raised its hideous triangular head on the sand, looking at Youji's son.
Clearly, Youji's son's body was more robust and contained more biomass, attracting the Hormagaunt's attention.
"No!" Youji's trembling hand gripped his lasgun, and the moment he held it, its steadiness seemed to transfer into Youji's heart.
As a mortal, it was almost impossible for him to keep up with the Hormagaunt's speed and shoot this dangerous creature.
But Youji felt as if the gun was guiding him as he fired a sharp laser at the Hormagaunt.
The laser instantly pierced through the Hormagaunt's head, and the exploding laser engulfed its skull.
Youji panted heavily, looking incredulously at the lasgun in his hand.
He... he seemed to hear the lasgun excitedly humming, thrilled by something.
Not just the lasgun in his hand, but the nearby Void Shield also seemed to brighten, the sound of Bolters on the battlefield seemed even more deafening, and the tanks and various war machines moved faster.
As if countless machines were humming simultaneously, Youji even heard a crackling sound gushing from the moat.
The Water of Thirst, countless amounts of it, seemed to boil and gush from the river, swirling and evaporating in mid-air, transforming into swirling clusters of tiny, silver-grey particles.
"The Grey Storm," Youji thought blankly, recalling his mother-in-law's prophecy.
Alexander felt his consciousness disperse, stretched long and wide, so wide that his vision could encompass the entire Baal III system.
He could see the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers holding their ground on Baal Prime, seeing through the Chainsword in Yor's hand as Yor, bathed in blood, roared.
He could see the Crimson Blades holding their ground outside the Astropathic Relay on Baal II, seeing through the newly replaced Power Sword in Chapter Master Gorenn's hand.
He could see Youji, the water vendor, fallen in the sand, gripping a lasgun tightly and panting, seeing through the myriad machines on the battlefield.
Alexander seemed to feel the spirits within these machines roaring, to feel their simple consciousness, to feel as if these steel-forged objects were extensions of his own soul.
Alexander slowly extended his round hand, gently caressing the billions of machines on these three planets.
He could touch the Void Shield, touch every lasgun and Bolter, touch the tiny nanomachines at the bottom of the river. Hmm? Nanomachines?
Alexander paused for a moment, faintly sensing a thrill emanating from the nanomachines submerged at the bottom of the river, feeling their intelligence reawakening, and hearing a series of complex mechanical sounds.
But before Alexander could carefully study these nanomachines, he felt as if some foreign object had appeared inside his body.
It was as if some ill-mannered person had stuffed a chunk of corpse into Alexander's body.
Alexander uncomfortably shifted his gaze from reality, looking inward.
Warm sand scattered on Alexander's face, the sun shone in the cloudless sky, and the Saccaia River flowed gently, shimmering with silver light.
"Nephew."
An ancient language Alexander had never heard before sounded by the riverbank, but Alexander inexplicably understood it.
"What kind of person do you want to become when you grow up?"
A dark-skinned man in a black robe asked in a low voice.
"..Kind..."
A clear, innocent, and tender voice sounded from the riverbank; it was a boy's voice, without a trace of impurity.
"..A good, kind person..."
As if with some stubbornness, the child spoke again, emphasizing.
The man in the black robe seemed to have heard something quite interesting, chuckled softly twice, then slowly walked away.
As he left, Alexander was able to clearly see the child by the river.
The child wore simple clothes, had long brown hair, and held an animal bone in his hand, washing it in the water.
He slowly raised his head, looking at the bone covered in water droplets.
Alexander was able to see his face; it was a Central Asian face, slightly brown skin, brown eyes, and a hair ornament made of laurel branches on his head.
"The Emperor?" Alexander softly spoke.
".." The boy did not speak, only lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.
"Lazy ass brat!?"
The boy still did not respond.
Alexander stroked his chin, considering whether to just kick him.