The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"Wow, tsk tsk tsk, really..."

Nasu, peeking out from behind cover, clicked his tongue at the sight of corpses everywhere before heading towards Abbot Tanzong and his friend. →

"Thank you, Abbot Shi, for your assistance. It would have been a difficult situation without you."

He pressed his hands together, offering a Tanzong salute, which Abbot Shi returned in kind.

"Friend Yuan, you are too kind. We are all duty-bound to fight against the invasion of evil."

At that moment, Nasu received a retreat order. Looking at the tactical data, he realized that almost all the bunkers in Sector One had fallen, leaving only theirs. Most of the accompanying chaplains had retreated to Sector Two to continue the fight.

"Abbot Shi, it seems we must abandon this—"

Before he could finish, he heard rapid gunfire—bolter fire—coming from the passage.

Immediately, the servitors and the Ecclesiarchy Guard went on alert, but when a figure emerged from the passage, Nasu quickly halted the order to fire.

The figure bore friendly identification and wore silver-grey power armor, wielding a bolter in one hand and a Red Corsair helmet in the other, with some bullet marks on the armor.

"Ha, didn't expect to find anyone alive here."

The Space Marine's voice held a hint of surprise as he scanned the surroundings.

"Did you do all this?"

His voice became even more surprised.

"Who are you?"

The figure showed no hostility, but Nasu remained cautious. The Ecclesiarchy Guard, though not firing, maintained their firing stance, as heretics might disguise themselves as loyalists.

"I am Sergeant Jacob of the Astral Knights Tenth Company."

At that moment, several more Astral Knights warriors entered, equally taken aback by the field of Red Corsair corpses.

"Wow, how did they die like cockroaches?"

"Did these Ecclesiarchy Guards kill them all?"

Without explaining to the newly arrived warriors, Jacob removed his helmet, revealing a young face with a few scars, then knelt beside a Red Corsair, removed the Corsair's helmet, and checked for a pulse.

"Still not dead?"

He then turned to look at the Tanzong electro-monks, recognizing them as such, though he wasn't particularly familiar with the Mechanicum's creations.

"The electro-monks did this, right?"

The electro-monks simply pressed their hands together and nodded slightly.

Nasu was finally convinced that the figure was an Imperial Space Marine and ordered the Ecclesiarchy Guard and servitors to stand down.

Seeing that he didn't reply, Jacob thought for a moment and then contacted his company.

"Captain, our squad has encountered a special situation here. You'd better come and see it."

"Understood, I'll be there immediately."

Jacob stood up and looked at Nasu.

"Don't be nervous, you're safe now. The main force has arrived, and the counterattack is about to begin."

Nasu said nothing, but he had heard the communication. Clearly, the battle here had piqued the Space Marines' interest.

He didn't know if this was good or bad, but in any case, it was beyond his lowly position to control.

Meanwhile, on the desolate, airless grey surface of Radii-Wei 2, Solzhenitsyn, clad in Terminator armor, slowly walked across the ground littered with corpses and metal fragments. Banners and weapons were strewn across the ground like garbage, and a Red Corsair, with only his upper body remaining, was still struggling.

Solzhenitsyn held the Holy Flame Sword in one hand and the Doomsday-pattern power claw obtained from Ulan-Ude in the other. Even without an atmosphere, he didn't bother wearing a helmet, leaving his entire face bathed in the golden light from inside the Terminator armor.

Burning wreckage was everywhere—Land Raiders, Thunderhawks, Predators—and the air was filled with blood-red and black smoke.

Suddenly, a Red Corsair with a severed arm struggled to his feet a dozen meters ahead of Solzhenitsyn, but Solzhenitsyn seemed not to notice him, continuing to walk forward.

The Corsair pushed himself up onto his knees, grabbed his broken longsword, and as Solzhenitsyn approached, he suddenly lunged forward, stabbing with the broken sword.

But Solzhenitsyn didn't even turn his head, almost casually using his power claw to grab the weapon and tear it away. Then, the arc-sparking claws of the Doomsday-pattern power claw pierced directly through the Red Corsair's chest, all the way through his back.

Solzhenitsyn dragged the Red Corsair's corpse along, eventually reaching the edge of a cliff, then raised his arm and tossed the corpse off like garbage.

But his attention remained focused ahead, on the flat grey ground, where massive Titans advanced in formation, their arm-mounted weapons spewing brilliant light. Various Mechanicum armaments on the ground also advanced, firing as they went, interspersed with some Space Marines. Facing them was a vast horde of heretics, including crazed cultists, disciplined Tyrant Legion soldiers, and Red Corsair Chaos Space Marines.

Cannons roared, tanks thundered, and various light and heavy weapons turned the battlefield into a fireworks and light show.

At the edge of the battlefield, the howling Flesh Tearers clashed with the Red Corsairs' Khorne Berserkers. Seth, wielding his massive two-handed chainsword, faced a Khorne Champion similarly wielding a huge two-handed chainaxe.

At that moment, the main gun on the arm of a Reaver Titan roared, and a flash erupted in the Red Corsair's battle line, instantly obliterating several Maulerfiend daemon engines—essentially bipedal war machines with bound daemons, similar to enchanted knight suits, but without pilots.

The Red Corsairs were almost helpless against the massive Titans. The various firepower, though dense as rain, completely failed to break through the layers of void shields.

Only the huge daemon engines posed a slight threat, but they were few in number and received priority attention.

Pharzad led the Third Company, providing cover alongside a squad of Thanatar-class siege automatons.

These massive combat robots were among the largest models of the Mechanicum, approaching the size of knight suits, with structures similar to fortress stars. Because their shoulders mounted a massive 'Solitude'-pattern heavy laser cannon, they were distinguished from ordinary Thanatars and called Grail-pattern Thanatars.

One of the greatest features of the Solitude-pattern laser cannon was its unparalleled energy output, luminosity, and destructiveness compared to any other Imperial laser weapon of comparable size. It was even rumored that, when overloaded, this laser cannon could reach the power of a Titan-class volcano cannon. Therefore, they were tasked with roles similar to knight suits, protecting the Titans and eliminating smaller, threatening targets.

Soon, the twelve Grail-pattern Thanatar siege automatons completed their calibrations, and the laser cannons on their shoulders emitted blinding flashes.

Immediately, several Helltalons attempting to approach the Titans in the Red Corsair formation were blasted into ruins, emitting a sorcerous scream that killed all the Red Corsairs around them.

In response, a large group of Red Corsair Chaos Space Marines charged straight ahead, ignoring the heavy fire from the Ecclesiarchy Guard. Pharzad immediately led his squad forward to intercept them.

Suddenly, several blinding arcs of electricity flashed overhead, instantly electrocuting a dozen Chaos Space Marines.

"Traitors! Die!"

A loud, hoarse roar erupted from the vox-caster. Librarian Dreadnought Sarthak entered the battlefield alongside the Astral Knights Third Company. By now, his mech's exterior had been completely repainted in the Astral Knights' colors, and the Third Company's warriors had been told not to inquire about his origins.