In that brief, dead silence, the data on Endymion's vambrace projection refreshed once more.
The red dot representing the enemy ship saw its speed readings skyrocket in an unnatural curve, and its projected impact point was the magnificent Ring of Steel straddling the orbit of Badab Prime!
By now, everyone present naturally understood the intent of the incoming heretics.
A look of realization flashed in Adam's eyes. This was indeed one of the most classic tactics in the Warhammer universe, nearly on par with boarding actions.
Ramming Tactics!
"But this makes no sense!"
Huron's eyes shook, his voice finally carrying a hint of irrepressible shock. He stared intently at the brightening red dot on the holographic image, as if trying to see through it.
"That's an eight-kilometer-long Battle Barge! Not some disposable assault boat!"
Considering that Chaos renegades, stripped of the Imperial industrial supply chain, found ships of this scale incredibly rare, such a vessel was their very foundation—not junk to be discarded at a whim.
Was that Chaos Lord insane? Did the Astral Claws kill his mother or something?
Endymion did not respond to Huron's questioning. With a slight flick of his finger, another holographic projection appeared. No longer dry data, a more concrete image was displayed.
In the vast void, the silhouette of the Iron Warriors Battle Barge looked hideous. Propelled by plasma engines, it surged forward at high speed, the giant adamantium ram at its prow reflecting an ominous, cold luster under the starlight.
Even more striking was the void shield already enveloping the entire giant ship. It was no longer a stable spherical force field but a violent, unstable energy turbulence, its brightness far exceeding normal thresholds.
"The enemy ship's void shield generators are being forced into an overload state," the Custodian Tribune's commentary continued, calm and precise. "The energy output curve is climbing exponentially. This drastically increases its instantaneous resistance to kinetic and energy attacks. However, this state is extremely unstable and cannot be sustained—"
"—Exactly, a classic ramming tactic," Derrik took over. "Using overloaded void shields to tank the killing phase of orbital defense fire, protecting the hull's structural integrity until the final impact, delivering maximum mass and kinetic energy... right into the face of the defense station."
At that moment, the holographic image faithfully reflected his words.
From the Ring of Steel, the honeycomb-dense plasma arrays and lance batteries opened fire with full force. Blazing beams and heavy plasma poured like a rainstorm toward the unswerving ship of death.
However, that layer of overloaded void shields erupted in blinding radiance, like a boiling lake being pelted with boulders. Ripples and explosions of light continuously flared, yet the shield never shattered, swallowing the vast majority of the incoming fire.
"A pity," Adam shook his head.
He had arrived via the wormhole transport of the Eternity Gate, but his own vessel, the Morning Wood, hadn't made the trip. While an Astartes Battle Barge—comparable to a Battleship—could briefly withstand orbital defenses, expecting it to tank a Micro-Black Hole Nova Cannon was asking too much.
However, for the Chaos Lord to gamble so desperately, there had to be an incentive far outweighing the loss of a Battle Barge.
What could it be?
Adam's thoughts spun rapidly. Was it targeted at his arrival? Possible, but unlikely. After all, it should be very difficult for Chaos to know his location. He had a natural interference—or "blurring"—effect against prophetic magic, and the reason wasn't as simple as Adam lacking a Warp shadow.
Even beings like the Necrons can be detected by Aeldari Farseer prophecies; the Eldar's favorite pastime is injecting the Flayer Virus into sleeping Tomb Worlds.
Because Adam did not belong to this universe, he possessed immense resistance to prophecy. Otherwise, having been active for so long, some skilled Farseer would have found him by now. Furthermore, with Adam wielding the Sword of Solomon and the Emperor shrouding his location, the forces of Chaos shouldn't know where he was.
Or, was this merely a probe?
He pushed the thought down. Regardless, the threat was imminent; what mattered was the response.
"Lord Roan," Endymion turned, his voice carrying a hint of inquiry. "The situation is uncertain. For your safety, do you need to evacuate the surface and head to the Eye of the Emperor in orbit to teleport away?"
Adam heard this and gave a slight wave of his hand. "No need."
No matter how one looked at it, the disparity in strength between friend and foe was vast. Even if the commander of that Battle Barge were Perturabo himself, Adam had no reason to hide. In fact, if it were him, Adam would likely summon every force he could call upon for an all-out strike.
Adam said no more, his gaze locked on the resolute giant ship in the hologram and the massive ring-shaped station before it. Then, he turned to Huron, standing nearby, his voice clear.
"Chapter Master Huron, you need to prepare for the fracturing of the Ring of Steel immediately."
"But—"
Huron snapped his gaze toward Adam , then quickly toward Endymion. The Custodian Tribune gave a nearly imperceptible nod, supporting Adam's judgment.
"—Understood."
Squeezing the word through gritted teeth, he quickly patched into the command channel, his voice instantly regaining the decisiveness of a Chapter Master.
"This is Lufgt Huron! All garrison units on the Ring of Steel, pay attention! Combat personnel, Tech-Priests, and all other units: immediately take all mobile critical data cores and equipment. Assemble at the nearest transport ports and Thunderhawk pads according to preset procedures. Prepare for emergency transfer to the surface!"
His command was like a stone cast into water, instantly stirring ripples through the Astral Claws' communication network and the Tyrant's Legion command chain.
Upon the massive orbital ring, within its countless corridors and chambers, the alarm sirens grew more shrill. Red rotating lights reflected off the crowds beginning their frantic evacuation.
In the center of the arena, Adam, the two Custodian Tribunes, and Chapter Master Huron remained standing.
They looked up, gazing at the sky.
Ten minutes later.
The sky was pierced.
This was no metaphor. At first, it was just a sliver of faint light, like a pale fissure cut into the firmament—as if some giant had scratched silk velvet with a fingernail.
Then, the fissure suddenly expanded!
Where those on the surface could not see clearly, the eight-kilometer iron beast—shrouded in the multicolored energy turbulence of its collapsing void shields—hurled its entire mass and madness like a quenched longsword, wedging itself violently into the Ring of Steel.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely.
The moment the giant adamantium ram made contact with the ceramite armor plating, there was no sound—only a visible ripple exploding outward from the point of impact.
Then, the silence was utterly torn apart.
It was... the agonizing scream of steel.
The fortified orbital defense station now resembled a glass artwork struck by a heavy hammer. Starting from the point of impact, circles of brilliant, blinding ripples of destruction radiated outward.
The first layer of armor plating vaporized instantly under unimaginable pressure, steaming into a brief, blinding silver-white cloud of metallic vapor. Then the second layer, the third... all followed in its wake.
Misfortunes never come alone.
As the starship pushed forward, the flashes of plasma reactor detonations followed. Blue-green flowers of death bloomed one after another amidst the forest of steel. Each expansion swallowed vast corridors, turning personnel and equipment who hadn't evacuated in time into free-floating subatomic particles, mixed into the torrent of molten metal and splashed across half the sky.
At this moment, in Adam's eyes, the entire sky of Badab Prime was burning, to the point where even the light of the sun seemed dim by comparison.
Against this brilliant backdrop were countless fragments of torn megastructures—some as large as city blocks, others as small as dust—trailing tails of fire and black smoke as they burned through the atmosphere, pouring slowly down toward the planetary surface like a natural disaster.
As for the starship that brought this ruin, after piercing the orbital station, its speed was finally bled away by layer upon layer of ceramite structures. Scarred and battered, it broke free from the final grasp of the Ring of Steel's fractured structure and began a slow descent toward the reddish-brown planet below.
Before long, a sandstorm mixed with rock dust and molten metal formed a rapidly expanding giant ring centered on its impact site. It did not dissipate for a long time.
"Truly spectacular."
The thought flashed through Adam's mind. Despite the unsettling tragedy of the scene—the immeasurable loss of property and the countless lives being extinguished behind such a grand spectacle—witnessing such a terrifying yet beautiful picture of destruction, anyone would find it hard not to feel a sense of awe.
However, as he looked around, he noticed the others were gradually coming back to their senses.
Except...
Huron remained silent.
Even as a battle-hardened Astartes Chapter Master whose self-control shouldn't be this poor, Huron's fingers still trembled uncontrollably. He reached for his helmet and removed it.
Adam couldn't help but pause.
Huron's face bore an expression that was half-smile, half-sob, a mix of joy and sorrow—emotions so intertwined they could form a complex pie chart.
His lips quivered as he murmured.
"My Ring of Steel... I just got it..."
"My condolences." Endymion sighed, attempting to offer comfort. "Look on the bright side: only a small part of the Ring of Steel actually fractured; more than half the structure remains intact. And in terms of pure value, a Chaos Battle Barge is worth much more than these losses."
Huron remained silent.
A long while passed.
All expression vanished from his face, replaced by bared teeth and a voice carrying chilling killing intent.
"I want that Chaos Lord dead!!"