After a long interval, the heavy metal doors of the various fitting booths within the barracks slid open one by one. The Chapter neophytes, now fully clad in CMC power armor, stepped slowly into the center of the hall.
Alexei stared in astonishment at these massive figures. These are Marines?
Typically, a standard soldier in CMC power armor stands at approximately 2.3 meters tall. These "tincans" before him, however, looked as though they were pushing nearly 3 meters.
"Good grief... I hope this doesn't affect their agility," Alexei muttered to himself.
Beside him, Byron was scanning the neophytes' power armor with his handheld instruments, his interest peaked now that he finally had the chance to observe the technology up close.
"A fascinating design. This section should be the power core... micro-cold fusion... a frame made of an unknown alloy. Interesting..." Byron circled the neophytes, inspecting them from top to bottom while murmuring to himself.
It was a peculiar creation, one that was no less impressive than the MK IV power armor typically worn by Astartes, yet its requirements for the wearer were far less stringent.
Looking at the excited Techmarine, Alexei cleared his throat twice. "Brother Byron, you'll have plenty of chances later. For now, why don't we see if they can adapt to the armor?"
Byron nodded and immediately composed himself. "Forgive my forwardness."
He nodded to the neophytes. After a brief period of adjustment, they began executing various tactical maneuvers at speeds far beyond the reaction time of an ordinary human.
These "aspiring failures" were usually candidates who had failed during the final surgery—the implantation of the Black Carapace—often due to rejection reactions.
This meant they were unable to wear any of the standard MK patterns of power armor and were restricted to light armor. However, their base physical attributes were still significantly stronger than those of ordinary elite mortal legions.
Now, equipped with CMC power armor, they felt as if they had been given wings.
Even those who had failed during the gene-seed implantation stages possessed speed and strength far exceeding that of a regular Terran Marine, even if they fell short of a full Astartes.
Watching these neophytes brandishing monomolecular chainswords and tactical knives in practice, Alexei couldn't help but marvel. Well now, so these are 'Melee Marines,' and they're all absolute units.
The process of outfitting the remaining neophytes would take about half a day. Alexei assigned an officer to accompany Byron on-site and then headed toward the Orbital Command station. He had just received word that Kaidel had returned.
"Well done, Kaidel," Alexei said calmly after hearing the report. For now, he no longer had to worry about a rebellion from the mortal auxiliaries.
Just as he was contemplating his next move to resist the swarm, Brand, who was monitoring Tyranid movements via the electronic screens, let out a sudden cry of alarm.
Alexei turned to find Brand looking exceptionally grim. "Brand, what happened?"
Brand pointed to the screen, his expression heavy. "We are losing tracking data for a massive number of Tyranids."
Alexei looked up immediately. On the screen, the red dots representing the Tyranid swarm were vanishing in large clusters.
Despite this, the sound of artillery from the defensive lines continued unabated. Alexei and Brand exchanged a look and instantly realized what was happening: the Tyranid Hive Mind had figured out how they were being detected and had evolved a corresponding countermeasure.
Before they could formulate a response, the alarms within the camp blared.
The swarm had struck the rear of the defensive lines first. A massive number of Tyranids erupted from the ground. Because the Guard Legion had lost accurate battlefield intelligence, they were caught off guard.
Although they prepared for combat instantly, the direct "face-to-face" ambush by the Tyranids caused casualties among the Aiel Guard, who were not specialized in close-quarters combat.
At this critical moment, the roar of chainswords echoed from the direction of the barracks.
The Chapter neophytes in their CMC power armor charged into the center of the battlefield at incredible speeds, immediately engaging the swarm.
Seeing these "giant Marines" shielding them, the Aiel Guard quickly rallied and began coordinating to slaughter the Tyranids.
After suffering minor casualties, the swarm emerging from the tunnels was gradually annihilated, and the tunnel openings were buried one by one by SCVs.
Alexei and Brand surveyed the blood-soaked camp, their brows furrowed. Suddenly realizing the swarm might be launching an assault on the front lines, they rushed back to the command post.
Just as they were about to contact the front-line units, Anna, the front-line commander, sent a communication request first.
On the screen, Anna's expression was equally somber. "My Lord, General Brand—losses among our Banshees and Wraiths have suddenly begun to spike. I suspect the Tyranids have evolved effective countermeasures against cloaked units."
Brand immediately issued orders: "Recall all Banshee and Wraith wings to the airspace above our lines immediately. Leave the battlefield to the mechanized ground forces."
"Understood."
"Wait, is there any sign of a large-scale Tyranid gathering?" Alexei asked urgently.
"None for the moment."
"Good. Keep a close watch and report any movement immediately!"
"Yes, sir."
After the communication ended, they both felt something was wrong. Logically, when the swarm launched a rear ambush, they would usually coordinate with the main force at the front to form a pincer movement. Now, it was just a harassment raid with no sign of a major frontal push.
Unless... the swarm's primary objective wasn't them. The attack at the rear of their lines was merely a feint designed to distract them or pin down their forces...
Suddenly, Alexei recalled what Thorcyra had told him: a Swarmlord had been spotted at the rear of the Tyranid forces. Now that he could no longer confirm the position of Synapse creatures via the Orbital Command, combined with the failure of his cloaked scouts and the harassment of his troops...
This is bad. Alexei realized the Pharos mountain defensive line might be in jeopardy. He immediately had Brand try to contact the monastery, only to find that the communication link between them had been severed at some unknown point.
Given the situation, he had no choice but to send Kaidel back to the Fortress-Monastery with a team, while simultaneously ordering the Viking wings to launch and placing the Third Guard Legion on standby for reinforcement.
It seemed that purging the Genestealers from the mortal auxiliaries had provoked the Tyranid Hive Mind. If they couldn't hold out, Alexei's gaze shifted to a specific building within his base.
He still had one final trump card he hadn't used. He had begun preparing it the moment he heard news of the Swarmlord. This "big baby" consumed more system resources than the entire defensive line combined.
Even though he currently couldn't detect the enemies' exact positions, the Ghosts weren't just going to check on the monastery. If there were signs of a total collapse or if the Swarmlord's specific location was identified, the Ghosts would transmit the coordinates back to the Orbital Command. The Ghost Academy was not merely a building; it was also a launch platform.
If Mount Pharos were to fall, he would show the Tyranid swarm exactly what it meant to see a "sun" rising from the ground.