Fulgrim raised the Fireblade and swung it forward.
"Attack!!!"
The million-strong army surged toward Laer City like a tidal wave.
The purple silhouettes charged at the very front.
Those were the Astartes of the Emperor's Children, with the silver-grey figures following closely behind them.
A grey ocean washed over the ruins, consisting of millions of Auxilia soldiers.
The forces commanded by Vespasian were tasked with assaulting a section of the eastern wall.
Paul and his five hundred Iron Hands were integrated into this battle group.
"Lord Gabriel."
Vespasian's calm, steady voice crackled over the comms.
"Once we breach the walls, I will need your heavy fire support."
"In urban combat, your bolters and meltas will be the deciding factor."
Paul's voice was ice-cold. "Understood."
"The Iron Hands will tear a path open for you with our firepower."
The purple and silver-grey figures advanced shoulder-to-shoulder, quickly reaching the ruins of the eastern wall.
As the Astartes and Imperial Auxilia closed in on Laer City, the battle rapidly commenced.
The Laer hiding underground quickly surged out from the subterranean bunkers beneath the ruined walls.
They stood roughly two meters tall, their serpentine bodies covered in scales, wielding weapons in all four of their arms.
They launched their assault on the Astartes and Auxilia, firing their green energy bolt gauntlets and swinging their crackling power swords.
These Laer moved incredibly fast, weaving through the ruins like ghosts.
"Fire at will!"
Vespasian's order was crisp and forceful.
Hundreds of bolters roared to life simultaneously.
A hail of mass-reactive rounds shredded the air, crashing into the charging Laer ranks.
But the xenos were simply too fast.
They used the ruins for cover, dodging left and right as they continuously closed the distance.
"Seventh through Tenth Companies, lay down suppressive fire!"
"Eleventh through Thirteenth Companies, push forward and engage!"
Vespasian's command was like a precision instrument; every single order was flawlessly on point.
The Emperor's Children Astartes provided overlapping cover fire, the interplay between bolters and power swords perfectly seamless.
And at the absolute most critical juncture of this precision frontline stood the five hundred Iron Hands.
[Selling Flatbreads at the Terra Palace Gates] hoisted a meltagun onto his shoulder, aimed it at a crumbling building, and pulled the trigger.
A blinding white beam blasted through the wall, followed by screams and a heavy explosion from inside the structure.
"Forty-seven," he tallied in the channel.
[Dragon Bro Never Yields] kept his bolter raised, firing precise bursts at Laer snipers in the distance.
His marksmanship was terrifyingly accurate; every single mass-reactive round found the head of an xenos trying to set up a shot in the ruins.
[Shinnosuke Eating Lemons] fought shoulder-to-shoulder with several Emperor's Children Astartes. With a few swings of his chainsword, he carved three Laer into six pieces.
"Damn, this synergy is amazing!" he yelled excitedly in the channel.
[Have You Been Loyal Today?] calmly directed the fire distribution of each squad while keeping a close eye on the overall battlefield.
Under his coordination, the damage output efficiency of the five hundred Iron Hands was pushed to the absolute limit.
The players who actually had mechanical cybernetics shouldered the meltaguns and heavy bolters, acting as dedicated heavy assault troops.
The players who were just wearing the armor for show provided fire support with standard bolters and lasguns.
Even though only two hundred of them were genuine Astartes-tier, combined with the gear bought from the System Shop, the sheer firepower of these five hundred men easily matched a fully-staffed Astartes company.
Vespasian noticed this.
He watched those silver-grey figures—their pinpoint shooting, their unspoken synergy, and that ironclad, emotionless calm on the battlefield...
A flash of approval crossed his eyes.
"They truly live up to the name of the Iron Hands First Company."
He spoke to Paul over the comms channel. "Lord Gabriel, your warriors are truly formidable."
Paul gave a faint smile. "Your commanding is equally admirable, Lord Vespasian."
Vespasian gave a slight nod, saying nothing more.
But in his heart, his estimation of the Iron Hands First Captain went up another notch.
--
With the heavy fire support of the Iron Hands, Vespasian's forces routed the Laer defending this section of the wall at breakneck speed.
Even heavily modified and heavily augmented Laer warriors were like wet paper under the crossfire of bolters and meltas.
But urban combat is always brutal.
Every single window could hide an energy rifle taking aim.
Every single alleyway could hide a Laer warrior armed with a power sword ready to ambush.
Casualties among the Imperial Auxilia started to climb, the screams of the dying blending with the endless roar of bolter fire.
The Emperor's Children under Vespasian's command operated in a style completely distinct from the other companies.
They didn't chase flashy, individual heroics.
They didn't care if their killing blows looked elegant or artistic.
They simply maintained flawless discipline, advancing steadily and covering each other perfectly.
Moving in tight groups of three to five, they provided overlapping fire and cleared buildings room by room.
Every order was strictly executed, every shot precisely calculated.
Their efficiency was terrifyingly high.
Their casualty rate was absurdly low.
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood], advancing with the Imperial Auxilia columns, watched this from afar.
He couldn't help but sigh in the Imperial faction channel: "Damn, this is what the Emperor's Children are actually supposed to look like."
[I Eat Tomatoes]: "The troops led by Vespasian and Tarvitz just hit different."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "It's a shame there are so few people like this left in the Emperor's Children Legion."
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "They're valuable precisely because they're rare."
"If there were a lot of them, they wouldn't be called moral lone wolves."
--
The war raged on amidst endless artillery fire.
Time slipped by in a hail of bullets.
Two hours.
For two whole hours.
All the Emperor's Children forces had fully breached the interior of Laer City.
Purple banners began to flutter among the city's ruins.
Countless Laer died beneath bolter fire and power swords.
Simultaneously, countless Emperor's Children, Solar Auxilia, and Imperial Auxilia fell in the city's streets.
Their blood soaked every inch of Laeran soil.
Blood flowed like rivers, and gunsmoke blotted out the sky.
The fastest-advancing column, naturally, was the one personally led by Fulgrim.
The Phoenician carved a bloody path through the Laer defensive lines like a god descending upon the mortal realm.
Every swing of the Fireblade turned multiple Laer into burning corpses.
His speed was pushed to the absolute limit, his swordsmanship exquisitely precise, and every single movement was as beautiful as a stage performance.
But behind this beautiful performance lay the eternal death of the Laer xenos warriors.
Following closely behind him was Eidolon, Kaesoron, and a host of elite warriors, driving straight toward the city center like a sharpened dagger.
Right behind them in speed was Vespasian's column.
With the heavy fire support of the Iron Hands, their casualties were kept to an absolute minimum, their advance speed second only to the Primarch himself.
At this moment, Fulgrim stood amidst a field of ruins, green xenos blood still dripping from the Fireblade in his hand.
He glanced at the holographic tactical display showing the progress of each column, a look of satisfaction crossing his face.
"Vespasian..."
The corners of Fulgrim's mouth turned up slightly. "He certainly didn't disappoint me."
Just then...
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Several screams erupted from the flank.
Fulgrim snapped his head around, just in time to see four Emperor's Children Astartes stumble into a Laer ambush.
Over thirty Laer warriors wielding energy weapons poured out of a building, completely surrounding them.
"Damn it!"
Fulgrim instantly launched himself forward, his purple silhouette streaking toward them like a bolt of lightning.
But the distance was too far.
And the Laer's reaction was faster.
Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!
Dozens of green energy bolts fired simultaneously, punching straight through the power armor of the four Astartes.
The ceramite plating shattered under the sustained barrage, their flesh and blood offering zero resistance against the energy beams.
The four bodies fell almost in unison, green xenos blood mixing with the red blood of the Astartes as it pooled over the rubble.
Fulgrim slid to a violent halt.
He looked at the four corpses. He recognized one of the faces.
It was a Centurion from the Third Company who had fought by his side for over a decade—an incredibly loyal Emperor's Children Astartes warrior.
The flames of absolute fury ignited within Fulgrim's violet eyes.
He slowly turned to face the thirty-plus Laer warriors who were now attempting to fall back.
His flawless face was entirely devoid of expression.
But that extreme, eerie calm was infinitely more terrifying than any furious roar.
"You... insignificant pieces of trash."
"None of you will leave this place alive."
Fulgrim raised the Fireblade, the litanies inscribed on the blade suddenly flaring with blinding light.
Dance of Purification.
Incinerate.
The purple silhouette violently spun in place, the blade drawing a perfect, unbroken ring of fire in the air.
The ring of fire exploded outward with Fulgrim at the center, instantly sealing off every single escape route for the thirty-plus Laer warriors.
The scorching flames burned the very air, the temperature so intense that even the coral ground began to melt.
The Laer warriors let out terrified hisses, desperately trying to charge through the wall of fire.
But it was too late.
Fulgrim drove the tip of his sword violently into the ground. A shockwave of pure fire blasted outward from the point of impact, utterly shattering the Laer warriors' formation.
The four-armed xenos stumbled and collapsed in the shockwave, their armor beginning to crack and splinter.
And then, Fulgrim moved.
His purple silhouette wove through the flames. Every swing of his sword incinerated another Laer warrior to ash.
These heavily augmented, powerful xenos were nothing but ants before this Primarch.
Their energy weapons couldn't punch through Fulgrim's power armor, and their power swords couldn't scratch his defenses.
Only endless fire devoured their lives.
Barely thirty seconds passed.
All thirty-plus Laer warriors lay dead on the ground, their corpses engulfed in roaring flames, giving off the thick, nauseating stench of burnt meat.
Not a single one of these Laer warriors managed to escape the wall of fire fueled by the Phoenician's rage.
Fulgrim sheathed his sword and slowly walked over to the corpses of the four Emperor's Children.
He looked down at his dead sons, their faces frozen in expressions of agony.
A complex flurry of emotions flashed through Fulgrim's violet eyes.
"Still not perfect enough..."
He muttered to himself, his voice barely a whisper. "If we were perfect enough, these sons would never have had to die."
He looked up, his gaze piercing through the heavy ruins and locking onto the towering xenos temple in the distance.
It was radiating a faint blue light, like some ancient, irresistible summons.
"The Blade of the Laer..."
"The perfect sword..."
Fulgrim clenched his fists, his violet eyes burning. "I will have you."
"I will end this endless war, and I will become Father's proudest, most perfect son."
--
In the distance, hidden in the shadows of a half-collapsed building, [Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan] quietly withdrew his peering gaze.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he opened the Wings of Freedom channel.
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Bros, we did it!!"
"[The Death Guard Never Betrayed] successfully used his own life to bait four loyal Emperor's Children to their deaths!"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Fulgrim is furious! So mad he's practically smoking!"
"I saw it perfectly through my sniper scope. Fulgrim stared at the temple, whispering to himself, and his eyes were full of absolute thirst."
"I can guarantee that Slaanesh has definitely started influencing him."
"Just wondering how Slaanesh views us right now, hehe!"
The channel instantly blew up.
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "Beautifully done!"
[Number One Handsome of the Soul Hall]: "Heh heh heh... that's exactly how it should be. The angrier he gets, the better!"
"That perfect sword is waiting right there for you!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "Did the progress bar move?"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "It moved, we're at 53% now!"
[All According to Plan]: "Excellent work."
"Everything is proceeding exactly according to plan."
He paused, then sent another message.
[All According to Plan]: "But seriously, to the bros pretending to be the Laer, do you guys have some kind of grudge against me?"
[All According to Plan]: "You guys beat the absolute shit out of me..."
"You literally ripped off all ten of my fingernails. If I hadn't preemptively taken painkillers from the System Shop..."
"Even with the pain reduction, 30% pain still fucking hurts!"
The channel completely erupted in laughter.
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Hahahaha! Who told you to volunteer to be a POW!"
[The Death Guard Never Betrayed] chimed in gloomily:
"I literally threw my life away just to get those four Emperor's Children killed."
"Can't help it, if you're gonna act, you gotta make it look real."
[Slaanesh I Must Operate You Hard]:
"Exactly!"
"If we didn't beat you half to death, why would Fulgrim get angry?"
"Even though you're just an ordinary Imperial Auxilia."
"With Fulgrim's twisted personality right now, he doesn't care about the details."
[Number One Handsome of the Soul Hall]: "Heh heh heh... why don't you go find a medic to stick them back on?"
[All According to Plan]: "Stick them on my ass. Fulgrim is about to reach the temple, I need to get in position and wait to die."
"I watch you guys perform every single day, it's finally my turn to act!"
"I'll show you all what the acting chops of Tzeentch's Chosen look like."
"Behold, the Oscar winner of Chaos!"
--
Next Bonus at 800 Powerstones.
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