Even though the Queen of Blades now possessed the power to enter the Warp and lead the Swarm there, the idea of abandoning the advantages of realspace to fight the Four Gods in their own domain was preposterous.
†Am I crazy? Except for that guy named DOOM, which transmigrator would dare to farm in the Warp? That place is filled with nothing but Daemons and Warp-beasts. Anyone who goes there is an idiot!†
†Satisfying. Truly satisfying. Slaanesh is always trying to corrupt other people's children, but unfortunately, my child knows exactly what a piece of work Slaanesh is.†
Dark Aeldari might fall into the embrace of any Chaos God, but they would absolutely never fall for Slaanesh. That was a certainty.
†Alright, now to finish off those Ultramarines.†
However, by the time the Overmind looked toward the Ultramarines, they had already retreated to the landing zone.
†Wait, they're running? What happened to "For the Emperor"? They actually retreated! Stop them!†
The Overmind had no intention of letting these "Smurfs" escape. Let one Smurf go, and a billion more would take its place; they bred as fast as cockroaches. Responding to the Overmind's will, the Swarm surged, and the Queen of Blades took to the skies using her psychic power to hunt down the Imperial forces.
Valkyrie gunships were swatted out of the sky one by one, though many Zerg flyers were also brought down. The Queen of Blades used a bone-claw thrust to pierce straight through a Thunderhawk Gunship. But just as she prepared to target the next craft, she realized a Terminator had latched onto her back.
The Terminator raised his power fist, delivering a punch to this extremely dangerous xenos. The power fist, flickering with millions of horsepower and crackling with lightning, slammed into the Queen of Blades' face—but failed to even crack her psychic shield.
†Holy... she tanked a power fist with her face?†
Before a second punch could follow, the Queen reached back and grabbed the Terminator's helmet. With a sharp squeeze of her claws, the helm imploded, turning the interior into a mess of red and white.
Discarding the corpse, she continued the pursuit. The air battle concluded swiftly; the Imperial Navy had lost over 70% of its air wing. Back at the fleet, the struggle against the Leviathans had cost them three frigates and two Lunar-class cruisers. Given that the landing hadn't even lasted a full day, the casualty rate was staggering.
"All units, withdraw immediately! Once clear of the enemy's range, engage Warp drives! Destination: Ultramar!!!"
Sicarius didn't want to stay for another second. If it weren't for the planet's Void Shields, he would have ordered a Cyclonic Torpedo strike long ago. As the fleet pulled away from Zerg-3, the Leviathans gave chase, refusing to break off.
†Trying to run? Let's see where you think you can go!†
Every Imperial soul was heavy with grief. They had lost many brothers, but they knew that staying meant total annihilation.
"The enemy is pursuing closely."
"We will cover your retreat, Ultramarines."
The Imperial Navy ships voluntarily moved to screen the Ultramarines. The character of the Imperium was on full display—no sacrifice was too great. Knowing the Ultramarines carried invaluable intelligence from this landing, the Navy chose to sacrifice themselves to cover the retreat.
The remaining Lunar cruisers moved to block the path between the Zerg fleet and the Ultramarine Battle Barge. As the Battle Barge began to spool its Warp engines, the Overmind instantly saw through their intent.
†Warp over there! Intercept that ship!†
The Leviathans attempted a short-range jump, but at that moment, a small-scale Warp storm manifested around them. Though it didn't swallow the Leviathans, the spatial instability disrupted their jump.
†Where the hell did this Warp storm come from? Was it Slaanesh? Or that old geezer on Holy Terra?!!!†
Whether it was the Emperor, Slaanesh, or some Dark Aeldari interference, the disruption cost the Leviathans their chance. A Warp rift tore open, and the Ultramarines' Battle Barge entered the Warp lane.
†Tch. The enemy is in the dark, I'm in the light. Impossible to guard against everything!†
The Overmind was sick to death of the five big guys in the Warp. And this was just the beginning; he knew those Warp demi-gods would continue to harass him. Yet, he couldn't do much about the Five. Attempting to use the Swarm to create a Warp shadow against the Chaos Gods was impossible; Zerg units had no souls and thus no reflection in the Warp.
The escaped Battle Barge would likely spread word of the Swarm across the eastern reaches of the galaxy soon. The Swarm could no longer remain hidden.
†Nothing for it. Previously, the Swarm rarely left survivors. This time, even the ones in the Warp were alerted. It's clear they want the Swarm exposed. No matter. As long as they don't send a hundred ships and twenty Space Marine Chapters at once, I'm not afraid. These Webway gates are a godsend—no wonder the Emperor wanted them.†
If the Emperor's Webway project had succeeded, it would be Imperial troops warping all over the place to provide support right now.
†Arc, clean up the battlefield.†
"Yes, Overmind."
†My daughter, you have a new mission. You will return to Commorragh and bring death to those Dark Aeldari.†
"It is my honor to serve, Overmind."
†But before that...†
The Overmind searched through the planets he had previously explored. Among them were several completely overrun by Chaos, including one with a massive population of Slaaneshi cultists and daemons.
†I'm going to send those arrogant fools in Commorragh a magnificent gift!†
The Overmind was extremely vengeful. Since he had promised retaliation, he would see it through.
†Izsha, open the Webway gate. Send those lapdogs of Slaanesh to Commorragh!†
Izsha quickly opened a gate to that Chaos-infested world, and from there, opened another directly to Commorragh. The Slaaneshi cultists noticed the anomaly within hours and reported it to the Slaaneshi Daemon Prince ruling the planet.
The Daemon Prince was initially suspicious, wondering which Aeldari would be stupid enough to open a gate on a Slaaneshi world. He sent a group of Daemonettes to investigate. Upon learning the other side was Commorragh, the Daemon Prince was so excited he practically "ascended" on the spot.
No Slaaneshi daemon would ever turn down a chance to enter Commorragh, even if it might be a trap. In an instant, countless daemons began swarming toward the gate, cheering and dancing, racing to catch this "buffet" before the gate could close.