The Emperor’s Angel of Death

As the First Legion's fleet completed its formation, the Red Corsairs' commander realized things were not going well. However, relying on the 'meatiness' of their derelict ship, the *Savage Crucible*, which could rival the *Indomitable Truth*, they decided to launch a frontal assault to break through the Imperial front line directly. This would avoid being surrounded. After all, they had deployed many troops to the world of Ruin, and according to their plan, seizing this immobile planet would be easy.

However, just as the *Savage Crucible* slowly advanced towards the *Indomitable Truth*, positioned behind the world of Ruin, the unexpected happened—

The world of Ruin, which the Red Corsairs thought was immobile, began to move slowly!

Early in the construction, Sosiarch had ordered the Adeptus Mechanicus to install a large number of disposable, ultra-high-power thrusters on the world of Ruin's propulsion section. From the beginning, he never intended for it to actually attack Huron. Its real purpose was to surprise the Red Corsairs' fleet in an unexpected way when they approached!

"This is Warleader Sosiarch's plan."

Safo watched the accelerating world of Ruin, slightly opening his mouth in surprise.

"It seems he knew in advance that the Red Corsairs would have a derelict ship like this? Otherwise, it would be impossible to arrange such a tactic so coincidentally. After all, even with many thrusters installed, the world of Ruin wouldn't be very fast. It would be difficult to hit ordinary ships. Only a space derelict with zero maneuverability cannot avoid it."

Azrael smiled, saying nothing, just watching the world of Ruin gradually accelerate to its maximum speed, while the Red Corsairs' ships scattered like frightened fish.

But while the ships could run, the *Savage Crucible* could not. Although it possessed incredible warp powers, it could not dodge a slowly moving asteroid from a distance of over three hundred kilometers—

Accompanied by a slow, almost static scene, hundreds of kilometers vanished in an instant. The *Savage Crucible* seemed to crash into the world of Ruin on its own. The massive ship broke apart in the violent impact, ejecting many of the consumed ships. At the same time, large chunks of rock scattered. The silent scene was incredibly shocking.

In the end, the *Savage Crucible* lost a third of its hull, and the remaining part was deeply embedded in the world of Ruin's crust, like a giant tumor.

Azrael took a deep breath. The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Without the *Savage Crucible*, the Red Corsairs' fleet was just a lamb to the slaughter.

"All warriors, all brothers, attack! Destroy these heretics, for the Emperor!"

As the Imperial fleet began to encircle the surrounded Red Corsairs, the defenders inside the world of Ruin began to experience a true hellish battle. They had to face not only the troops that had already boarded the planet, but also the desperate enemies remaining in the *Savage Crucible*.

Because part of the *Savage Crucible* had entered the underground of the world of Ruin, many enemies could directly enter the underground through this contact point. The first underground defense line, which had been struggling, immediately fell completely. The Ababakari 310th Infantry Regiment suddenly became the front-line troops, and their defense zone A-21-W-118-Z-008 immediately faced the most insane enemies.

At this time, in the defense garrison where the regimental headquarters was located, everyone was making final preparations for the battle, because the regiment in front of them had declared the position lost twenty minutes ago. The collision, comparable to a super earthquake, had left everyone with lingering fears. Many even thought they would be buried underground forever. To make matters worse, some passages had collapsed due to the impact, and some halls had been damaged by the falling rocks that destroyed some of the defenses.

Now, there was only one passage left behind the entire regiment. Two of the three defense halls that originally supported it were unusable, and behind them was a transit hub on the second ring of defense. If this place fell, the enemy could attack the flanks of the surrounding friendly forces.

Their orders were to hold until the order to retreat was given, or new reinforcements arrived.

However, when this order would be issued, and when the reinforcements would arrive, no one knew—

"Your company did well."

Arnie went down to the troops, specifically to visit the dusty Orlanios and his men. At this time, Hayes and the others were gobbling down ration bars, and they hurriedly stood up and saluted when they saw the commander.

"Eat, eat, you've all worked hard."

Arnie smiled and pressed his palms down. Hayes and the others hesitated for a moment, then slowly sat down.

"What are the losses?"

"Eighteen dead, thirty-four wounded. We retreated early, otherwise at least half of us would have been accounted for. That place almost collapsed."

Orlanios picked up a water bottle, took a gulp, and wiped his mouth.

"But the equipment loss is relatively large."

"Whatever is missing, just replace it."

He turned to Suhrab, who was beside him, and said:

"Tally up how much equipment their company needs."

"Yes."

Then Arnie called Suhrab aside and asked:

"What are your opinions on the next defense?"

"The enemy has many Chaos Space Marines and a large number of Daemon Engines, so heavy weapons, especially anti-vehicle weapons, must be used centrally. Don't spread them out. Also, the three psykers in the regiment must be closely watched. Due to the large number of warp enemies, they can easily lose control when using their powers. Now our defense zone is very small, so I suggest moving the command post behind the passage. Also, only half of the troops should be stationed on the positions, and the other half should be used as reserves. Otherwise, too many people will easily be killed by the enemy's heavy firepower."

Arnie nodded.

"Okay, I'll arrange it."

At this moment, he suddenly saw something, patted Orlanios, and walked over.

It was a group of ragged wounded soldiers, almost none of them were complete. Blood and dirt made them look like they had just been dug out of the ground.

Arnie recognized from the numbers on some of their armor that they were from the regiment that had defended the front line earlier. When the Second Company withdrew, he originally thought this unit had been wiped out, but he didn't expect twenty or thirty of them to have retreated, and they were carrying a stretcher.

"Stop."

Hearing Arnie's voice, the wounded soldiers stopped. He looked at the stretcher, which was covered with a dirty white cloth.

"Who are you carrying?"

A soldier turned to salute him. Arnie noticed that the other man had only one finger left on his right hand, and the nose on his face was gone.

"Reporting, sir, this is our regimental commander."

"How many men are left in your regiment?"

"The entire regiment is here."

Arnie stepped forward and gently lifted the cloth, his pupils shrinking sharply.

This was no longer a person, just half of a charred arm, a bloody thigh without a foot, a few charred bones, and a military cap.

He gently put down the cloth, took two steps back, and saluted the silent wounded soldiers, who lowered their heads and continued to walk towards the passage.

After watching these people leave, Arnie took a deep breath. The lingering smell of blood and burning was like a warning. This might also be his end—