The Overmind was taking and taking, embodying the true essence of the Zerg from StarCraft 2.
If this wave succeeded in infecting these cruisers and escorts, his fleet would essentially be fully formed. He could attack whoever he wanted.
†Heheheh. Aren't my big beauties something? Got that Lunar locked down tight. Won't be cleaning off that control goo anytime soon.†
There were technically better options—Vipers pulling ships, for instance. But Warhammer 40K vessels were absurdly massive. Vipers couldn't budge them.
Leviathan control was the only way.
That Lunar-class cruiser wouldn't be combat-effective anytime soon. This spectacle genuinely shocked the naval commander monitoring the battle.
"Heyer, come in! Heyer, respond!"
No answer. Even communications were jammed.
"What the hell ARE these bugs?!"
Neither Imperium nor Chaos had gained any advantage against the Zerg Swarm.
Again: in terms of total scale, the Zerg Swarm couldn't match the Imperium or Chaos. It would take extensive development to rival the Imperium. As for Chaos—the uncountable Greater Daemons alone outnumbered Ultralisks. It was said Khorne alone possessed eight to the eighth power Greater Daemons. Even the Zerg Swarm would need significant incubation to match that number.
But in localized theaters? One small Imperial fleet and one Death Guard Grand Company? Against the Zerg Swarm, they were nothing. Unless seven Nurgle Greater Daemons dropped right now, victory was impossible.
If this Death Guard captain could summon seven Nurgle Greater Daemons, the Swarm Overmind would eat his Ultralisks on the spot.
Could he?!
No!!!
†Banelings! Keep bombing!†
The Swarm fleet advanced steadily. Though they had entered the combat zone, they maintained a delicate distance from that Nurgle capital ship, gradually whittling down the Imperial Navy.
Space combat was secondary. Destroy a few ships here and there—fine. The Hive battle was primary.
At the Hive Spire, occasional anti-air fire struck the atmosphere-piercing Leviathan. Minimal damage.
Hives normally possessed extensive AA networks capable of threatening Leviathans. But the Hive had already lost most of the Underhive and Upper Hive. AA coverage was critically degraded. Insufficient to threaten the Leviathan.
The Ultralisk tide continued. The Underhive's main arteries were fully breached. They burst into the Upper Hive—into the Nurgle daemon–Astra Militarum engagement zone.
Imperial artillery bombarded indiscriminately: bugs, daemons, everything. Ultralisks advanced through the barrage.
Shells detonated continuously among the Swarm. Ultralisks took minimal damage. Zerglings and Hydralisks were shredded.
Basilisk artillery tanks. Griffon heavy mortar carriers. Their shells struck Ultralisks, the impact absorbed by polyhedral carapace. Limited damage. Only the Astra Militarum's largest-caliber gun—the Bombard self-propelled heavy mortar—posed genuine lethal threat to Ultralisks.
Mounted on a Leman Russ chassis, this largest-caliber artillery piece was terrifying. Its bore could accommodate a Space Marine.
One Ultralisk ate a Bombard shell. Its carapace shattered. The vulnerable brain tissue beneath was pulped by the shockwave.
†Astra Militarum firepower does hit harder than Space Marines. But it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.†
As the Swarm Overmind said: Ultralisks took casualties. But more Ultralisks trampled through the Nurgle daemon horde and crashed into the Imperial positions.
Astra Militarum lasfire glanced off Ultralisk hide. A single Ultralisk absorbed all infantry fire—then broke the line. Prepared tanks, combat vehicles, unprepared artillery pieces—all sent flying.
The Upper Hive's meticulously prepared defensive line was, at last, breached.
Henceforth, the Hive possessed no organized defense capability.
Yet the Ultralisks continued, unabated. Directly toward the Spire.
The Spire's nobles witnessed such savage behemoths for the first time. They had personal bodyguards. Those guards could handle human-sized opponents. Against Ultralisks? Helpless.
†Zasz. Ultralisk losses?†
"Reporting, Overmind. Eight."
†Hm. Acceptable. Within parameters.†
If the Underhive's Astra Militarum garrison hadn't been infected, losses would have doubled. Now, it was irrelevant.
The Overmind had just over a hundred Ultralisks. Some retained for home defense. Eight Ultralisks—resource-intensive, yes. But they had fulfilled their value. The firepower they absorbed was beyond what equivalent-cost Swarm units could endure.
And these weren't even the prestigious 8-armor Ultralisks!!!
†Can you cleanse this city?†
"Rest assured, Overmind. No enemy will remain."
The main arteries were merely the Hive's thoroughfares. Countless side passages, conduits, interior tunnels required clearing. A time-consuming operation.
Zerg Swarm units first hunted down fleeing Astra Militarum along the main arteries. Even if they retreated into alleys for urban combat—meaningless.
Zerglings, faster at full sprint than Ultralisks, adored urban environments. If a guardsman turned his back, a Zergling would accelerate and shred that loyal Imperial soldier.
"Emperor!"
A dying guardsman reached skyward.
"Have you abandoned us?"
Zerglings tore at his chest. He looked down at them. Then, clenching his jaw, pulled the pin on his belt grenade.
"No. The Emperor never abandons us. FOR THE EMPEROR!!!"
BOOM—!
Even in death, the Astra Militarum inflicted casualties upon the Zerg Swarm. Irrelevant. The Zerg Swarm cared nothing for such losses. Billions of infected marched behind.
Fortified barracks. Noble estates. Ecclesiarchy chapels. These became the Zerg Swarm's primary targets. Scattered resistance remained.
Unlikely to last half a Terran hour.
Next: AA batteries. Zerglings flooded in, exterminating personnel.
Finally: the spaceport. The last area to fall. A limited number of transports remained. Numerous nobles competed for them.
"Grandfather!"
Marie ran through the Governor's palace. She burst through Governor Monche's door, gasping.
"The Upper Hive has fallen! Those xenos have reached the Spire! We must leave!"
Governor Monche stood before his office mirror. He wore immaculate gubernatorial regalia. His hair was perfectly styled.
He noticed his collar slightly askew. Adjusted it.
"Grandfather! This is no time for that! We need to flee!"
Marie tugged at Monche's arm. He stood immovable, like a pillar. Marie had never realized her grandfather possessed such strength.
"Calm yourself, Marie. Calm yourself."
Governor Monche smiled. How many years? He felt, for the first time in ages, at ease.
"How can I be calm, Grandfather?! Those xenos are unstoppable! There are still transports at the port! If we can reach one, find the fleet, we still have a chance to live!"
"And if we live? We lose this world. Can you live as a commoner? No—a refugee?"
Marie was speechless. Monche, unhurried, gestured to the office.
"Observe these portraits. Generations of our family's governors. They labored for the Imperium, administering this world. Some sacrificed their lives. And now—I have destroyed their legacy."
"Grandfather, this isn't your fault! It's those xenos!"
"Frank warned me. I was careless. I didn't purge those xenos immediately."
Monche gazed at the mountain of paperwork on his desk. Meaningless now.
"Too late for regrets."
Gunfire—very close—erupted outside the door. The palace guard made their final stand. Governor Monche no longer cared.
"Marie. If you wish to leave, go. You are young. I am old. I cannot endure displacement. I will perish with my family's inheritance. I have issued my final order to the naval commander. In one Terran hour, he will commence orbital bombardment of this world. Even in death, I will not leave this planet to those insects."
[There is no place here for the weak-willed or the hesitant. Only through decisive action and faith can Humanity endure. No sacrifice is too great, no betrayal too small.]
——Ordo Hereticus, Dictates of the Librarium, Chapter XXVIII: "Exterminatus"