A short time earlier, just as the Tyranid fleet entered the ice crystal belt imbued with faint Warp energy.
"Stop them, quickly!!!"
In the command room, Malakim, Chapter Master of the Lamenters, roared, but unfortunately, his words carried little weight.
He was, after all, the master of a relatively unknown successor chapter. He had no power to stop the Imperial Navy warships that charged out the moment they saw the Hive Fleet seemingly frozen in the ice.
Although Zhou Ye had never fought the Tyranids himself, he knew how terrifying they were just from playing the games.
Naturally, studying the Tyranids was a mandatory course for all his Chapters. They understood the basic principles.
The enemy these naval officers were facing would evolve rapidly in a short amount of time.
Therefore, the ice was utterly useless. Seeing this, the Lamenters were completely aghast.
"As expected, we couldn't convince them. Our company has already established a more complete defensive fortress in the system capital, Ashford—especially underground!!!"
Just as Malakim was about to say more, a Space Marine in black and gold power armor pulled him back. Due to the sudden appearance of the Great Rift, it wasn't just the entire Lamenters Chapter that had been thrown off course; a rather unlucky expeditionary company had also been dragged along.
This was Zhou Ye's Iron Warriors. They were not numerous, only a little over a hundred—the size of a standard Codex Astartes company—and their sole vessel was a Strike Cruiser.
After several harrowing jumps in and out of the Warp, they had luckily arrived in the Underworld System. Now, all the forces belonging to Zhou Ye's faction had gathered here.
Seeing the agitated Malakim, the Iron Warrior captain held him back.
"Brother, now is not the time to argue with them. This is the key strategic point of the Underworld System. The fate of the outer planets is already sealed. You are the main force here, so you must remain. If you suffer heavy losses out there, this planet will lose its last line of defense."
The Iron Warriors captain spoke slowly as he looked at the star chart before them. He knew the typical disposition of the Lamenters.
He also knew that Zhou Ye was fond of them, but this was a major campaign. And here, only they had sufficient strength. The entire Lamenters Chapter had arrived in-system.
Three Battle Barges and five Strike Cruisers, assigned for their use, were currently holding orbit.
If they were to rush out to rescue the forces in the ice belt, then Ashford, a planet with a population of over thirty billion, would be in grave danger.
And it was well known that where the Tyranids went, another specialty followed: Genestealer rebellions.
"We know…"
Hearing the words of the Iron Warrior captain, Malakim clenched his fists in frustration. Much like the dark-skinned members of the Salamanders, his compassion was not a weakness. Faced with the demands of grand strategy, he knew he could not act on his own impulses.
Furthermore, there was a more important matter, which was the reason neither he nor the Iron Warrior captain had engaged in a more forceful confrontation with the Imperial Navy: the Lamenters were carrying a beacon.
It was a beacon that could transmit coordinates directly, the same type Zhou Ye had given to Cawl. The reason they had one was that Zhou Ye thought it would be strange if they didn't run into trouble.
So, he gave them one just in case. If something really did go wrong, they could just plant it like a ward, and he would trailblaze a path directly to them.
It was also the guidance of this beacon that had allowed these disparate companies to finally rendezvous after several consecutive Warp jumps.
"That Lord foresaw all of this and entrusted this beacon to you. Our objective is singular: to protect this beacon. It is our only chance of victory. As long as that Lord reaches this place, everything will be alright."
Evidently, in the eyes of the Iron Warriors and the Lamenters, their current predicament was well within Zhou Ye's calculations. This beacon was the only hope given to them after the Great Rift opened. Thus, they had only one strategic goal: to protect the beacon at all costs until Zhou Ye's arrival.
That was why the entire Lamenters Chapter was gathered here. Although they were aware of the situations on the other planets, they also knew what their duty was. The Lamenters were in agony.
They had to sacrifice some to save many. If they didn't, countless more would die.
Seeing Malakim's reaction, the Iron Warrior captain let out a sigh of relief.
Upon their arrival, they had immediately begun directing the local Planetary Defense Force and the Cadian regiments in a frantic effort of fortification, constructing innumerable complex strongholds. They made extensive preparations to counter the Tyranids' subterranean assaults.
They placed the beacon in the very center of the fortress. They had one purpose: to defend it with their lives. But the old saying held true.
Any fortification is static, while people are dynamic. Many in the Imperium had a primitive understanding of the Tyranids.
But they knew that behind the Tyranids was the Great Devourer, a threat on par with the four shit-stains of the Warp. They were not mindless beasts.
Therefore, the more it seemed simple, the more cautious they had to be. No matter how strong their fortifications were, they needed soldiers to man them. And right now, the primary defenders, aside from the Cadians, were the Lamenters.
After all, Zhou Ye had been very generous to them. They possessed three hundred suits of Terminator armor, fifteen Centurion suits, and their numbers had been forcefully replenished to two thousand battle-brothers under Zhou Ye's direct order.
"Chapter Master Malakim, please withdraw your fleet into the effective range of our defensive cannons."
Seeing that Malakim had calmed down after his counsel, General Drost, the commander of the Cadian forces, also breathed a sigh of relief.
The Imperial Navy, the Astra Militarum, and the Adeptus Astartes were all separate branches, operating in parallel to one another.
Of course, had it been Dante who arrived, his prestige would have been enough to rein them in. But the Space Marines present now were not enough.
"Some people, you just can't stop. Not even Ancient Aslot."
The Iron Warrior captain sounded a little helpless as he said this. Although Aslot was an Ancient whom the entire Blood Angels Chapter would have to respect, these vermin from the Imperial Navy had no idea who he was. They might respect the Dreadnought, but they would never listen to him.
This was the worst-case scenario: dealing with people who didn't recognize value. The Sector Governor, Malakim, and the Cadian general had all tried their best to stop them.
It was useless. The Navy, after all, represented the hammer of the Imperium. Their status was so unique that it often surpassed even that of the Astartes. Many Astartes Chapters themselves often had to request support from the Imperial Navy.
Therefore, with the exception of the First Founding Chapters and a few other special ones, they truly didn't hold most successors in high regard.
More importantly, they couldn't possibly recognize this specific Dreadnought. If they woke him up, knowing the old warrior's temper, they'd probably start fighting amongst themselves.
After much discussion, Malakim decided against waking him.
---o---
Time passed. Watching the Imperial Navy get completely annihilated and written off, Malakim was utterly numb. They had even wanted to invite the Lamenters to join them to "share in the glory."
Share what? Now it was too late for anything.
"Vermin! A bunch of vermin!!!"
As expected, at that moment, Aslot was smashing things around him in a rage. He had tried to stop them, too. In response, that group of people had shown him the highest respect.
And then they treated his words like a fart in the wind. Aslot couldn't just open fire and kill them all.
If he did that, they wouldn't have to fight the Tyranids; they could just have a civil war right then and there.
"All units, to your battle stations! As long as Ashford remains in our hands, the Tyranid swarm will not break through the Underworld System!"
Looking at the world-blotting swarm of Tyranids, Malakim took a deep breath.
One Terminator squad after another was deployed. The Tyranids were true masters of human-wave, or rather, xenos-wave tactics.
They often used terrifying numbers to simply overwhelm everything. Engaging the Tyranids in open-field battles was clearly impractical; they had to utilize complex terrain and fortresses.
So, they chose the plains and major thoroughfares outside Ashford's main city, Fordia. The several million Cadian troops stationed there were deployed into the various fortresses; they would be the main force against the Tyranids.
It was worth mentioning that the Lamenters, being a Codex-compliant chapter, did not have a large auxiliary force. The company of Iron Warriors had some, but only a few thousand, which was too few.
Therefore, the city, which had already been built as a fortress by the Cadian Lord General and further reinforced by the Iron Warriors, was now fully manned.
Millions of Cadian troops had entered their battle positions. As for the Lamenters' Terminator squads, Centurion squads, and the large number of battle-brothers clad in brand-new Mark X power armor and lavishly equipped, they were scattered throughout various key locations.
They would act as special reinforcement troops. Their job now was to use any means necessary to wait for the great battle to begin.
Just as they completed their deployment, every Space Marine belonging to Zhou Ye's faction, including Aslot, drew a sharp, cold breath. In the sky, which was perpetually shrouded in complex and hazardous exhaust fumes, one massive Tyranid bio-ship after another slowly emerged. Then, everyone felt the sky fill with what seemed to be dark clouds, and then a heavy downpour began.
Of course, those were not clouds, but swarms of Tyranid aerial units, and what fell was not rain, but the Tyranids' biological drop pods.
"Cadia stands!!!"
With a unified roar, the various pre-prepared gun batteries began to fire frantically.
Countless shells tore through the "dark clouds" in the sky, but far more terrifying were the drop pods that rained down like a storm. In just that first exchange, at least a million pods pierced through the clouds and slammed into the ground.
In an instant, tens of millions of Tyranids poured out.
Dak-dak-dak…
Blinding muzzle flashes flickered continuously as the ground forces instantly engaged. In every important stronghold, Lamenters clad in bright yellow Indomitus Terminator armor stood firm. Their mere presence was enough to galvanize the morale of all the defenders.
Just a few days ago, it was these Angels of the Emperor who had helped them completely suppress the Genestealer uprising. And Tyranids were not Chaos; xenos were not heretics, so there was little need to worry about corruption.
---o---
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Great Rift.
"Bleeghh!!!"
Zhou Ye couldn't help but dry heave, then looked back at the tear in reality behind him. He had directly smashed through the stuff of the Warp, forcibly connecting the two sides.
"As expected, there's still some distance to the destination. A forced link is necessary. But thankfully, it's much closer than Macragge was."
Suppressing the nausea, Zhou Ye could feel the beacon he had given to the Lamenters.
It was still some distance away, but not too far.
Therefore, it wouldn't consume as much energy as the trip to Macragge. Moreover, as the Star Rail connected, the power of Trailblaze crossed the rift and entered the Imperium Nihilus.
"This feeling… it's the Great Devourer, no doubt. The Shadow in the Warp…"
At that moment, Zhou Ye felt the disturbance in the Warp. It was the shadow cast by the Great Devourer. With his arrival, the entire Empyrean was being massively affected.
This was also why Zhou Ye dared to consider using the power of Chaos; the Tyranids were truly repulsive to Chaos in every conceivable way.
"Assemble the entire fleet here. Then, prepare to follow me to the destination."
Zhou Ye took a deep breath. Even he needed a moment to recover before he could execute another forced jump to link the Star Rail to the target location.
He would use this opportunity to gather all his forces. He also recalled his honor guard to the Hyperion. The next jump wouldn't have such a massive payload, so they should be able to withstand it.
That way, they could jump into the battlefield with him at the first possible moment.
Following Zhou Ye's command, hundreds upon thousands of ships, a dense and massive fleet, gathered once more under the light of countless stars. There were Battle Barges for the Space Marines, various battleships for the Imperial Navy, and the Forge Arks carrying the three Emperor Titan Legions. Looking upon this vast armada, Zhou Ye felt a sense of exhilaration.
---o---
Author PS: I really shouldn't have watched MyGO!!!!!. It's seriously a bit of a mental pollutant.