The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Just as the strange fighter disappeared, the T'au flight squadron's communication channel erupted.

"Damn! It's behind us!"

"Missiles! Launch decoys!"

"We must protect the bomber squadron! For the Greater G——"

"Squadron Leader has been shot down! The wingman is taking command!"

"It's too fast! We can't catch it! Damn it, how is it behind us again——"

"Why can't the auxiliary targeting system lock on! The missiles can't lock on either!"

"Everyone switch to manual aiming! If necessary, ram it!"

However, all efforts were in vain. The crimson scythe danced wildly in the high sky, reaping the swaying straws. One after another, T'au fighters either exploded in mid-air or fell like birds with broken wings. At the same time, other Crimson Hunters were also conducting hunts in other hunting grounds in the airspace—this was the Crimson Hunters' mode of operation. They regarded the sky as a hunting ground, demarcated each other's areas, and conducted their respective hunts. They mostly fought alone, and only in very severe situations would they form true squadrons for coordinated operations.

But it wasn't just T'au warships that were falling. Above the clouds, burning fragments continued to streak across, as if a meteor shower had begun.

Those were the bloody traces left behind when the T'au garrison fleet was massacred. Although Tears of Heaven only left behind a small portion of its ships, even those ships were enough to destroy any T'au capital ship, let alone the fact that many of the ships left behind were old Hero-class ships.

By this point, the fate of this T'au punitive expeditionary force had already been cruelly decided.

However, due to communication interference, poor weather conditions, and the thick fog that permeated the battlefield, many T'au forces remaining on the planet's surface were unaware of what had happened in orbit and high altitude.

Shas'Ui Xin'Aljun was leading his Fire Warrior team through the desolate battlefield. Originally, this should have been a forest, but now only scorched earth remained.

Their team belonged to Shas'El'Darpa'Kariapa's detachment and was currently under the command of Shas'Vre Mo'Keira's Hunter Cadre.

Hunter Cadres are the most common form of T'au cadre organization, a combined arms group with infantry, battlesuits, and gunships simultaneously deployed. If organizational structure is not considered, its size and strength are equivalent to a company of the Imperial Guard.

Although the Hunter Cadre is a standing formation, its specific structure is not fixed and may change depending on the tactical situation on the ground, the target being hunted, the reinforcements that can be called upon, or the commander's preferred attack pattern.

For example, the current Shas'Vre Xin'Aljun Hunter Cadre has 8 Pathfinders, 96 Fire Warriors, 6 XV25 Stealth Suits, 15 XV8 Crisis Suits, and 3 XV88 Broadside Suits.

It also has a wide variety of vehicles: 2 Piranhas, 3 Devilfish, 2 Hammerheads equipped with railguns, 2 Hammerheads equipped with plasma cannons, and 1 Manta Missile Destroyer.

The Drones that supplement the Fire Warriors' combat power are also quite numerous, with 6 Gun Drones, 24 Pulse Carbine Drones, and 2 Drone weapon platforms.

In addition, there are 2 teams of Kroot as auxiliary forces.

In terms of firepower and operational efficiency, this T'au "company" is already approaching the level of an Imperial Guard battalion. If a regular human infantry company were to run into such a Hunter Cadre, it would have virtually no ability to fight back relying solely on Chimera armored vehicles. Moreover, when encountering large-scale enemy armored forces, the vehicles of several Hunter Cadres can detach and quickly reorganize into an armored interceptor cadre. (The Empire's pathetic modern military structure can only defeat the opponent by drowning them with numbers.)

And they are responsible for clearing out an enemy stronghold hidden in this forest.

In terms of size, it should be a small village, built next to a river that crosses the forest, adjacent to a vast grassland, which was originally home to many large herdbeasts. However, these herdbeasts have either been killed or captured by the T'au—the Earth Caste scientists are very curious about the native species of this planet, and these giant creatures are also a resource, so they should not be wasted.

As for who they originally belonged to...

That is something for Shas'O to consider, not them, the Fire Warriors.

Generally speaking, if they encounter enemy civilian targets, they choose to persuade them to surrender or surround them, not attack.

However, these native residents resisted fiercely. Although their technology and tactics are primitive, their will is extremely firm. He even knew that one team from his detachment once found a child in the forest. The Fire Warrior captain even took out candy hoping the child would lead them, but the entire team was led into an ambush and wiped out...

Even under these circumstances, High Command still gave them a chance to surrender, but they responded with sharp and venomous words. This result puzzled Xin'Aljun, because they clearly had no chance of winning. They couldn't even be considered soldiers. If they didn't resist, there would be no casualties. Why would they choose this?

Because these native residents made such a choice, High Command also issued an order—to sweep them away, rather than have them submit. This fertile land will become an extremely prosperous colony for the homeworld in the future. Its excellent natural conditions will surely support many residents and provide a considerable amount of productivity.

Sometimes Aljun wondered if the resistance of these residents was what High Command wanted?

In any case, since these residents chose to resist to the end, they must bear the consequences themselves. They initially drove the herdbeasts to try to attack the assembly camp, and then launched guerrilla warfare under the cover of the dense forest. According to estimates, their numbers are probably between 2,000-3,000. Although none of them are professional soldiers, they rely on their incredible physical fitness and some kind of mysterious supernatural power to cause a lot of trouble and casualties to the T'au Hunter Cadre teams. Moreover, they also drive those very tough, large dragon-like creatures that are difficult to kill even with plasma rifles. Although the rear has never reported casualty figures, Xin'Aljun at least knows that two teams from the same district as him disappeared completely in the forest during the early attacks.

But this resistance is meaningless. As the Mantas dropped a large number of incendiary bombs, the forests that the Aeldari relied on to hide and maneuver quickly disappeared. They were forced to hide in their strangely shaped buildings and tried to continue their resistance.

After several futile and costly attacks, the T'au commander stopped the attacks by infantry and infiltration units, choosing to concentrate a large amount of ranged firepower.

The defenders could only helplessly face the attacks of long-range missiles and railguns. The T'au's heavy firepower leveled the small town, eliminating all the enemies.

However, during this nightmarish bombardment, the forest people never tried to surrender. Xin'Aljun heard many warriors mocking their stupidity, clearly having no heavy weapons, only some beasts as primitive as the Kroot, yet still as reckless as Orks.

Although it is uncertain whether any enemies survived, Shas'O announced that no prisoners would be taken. Searching the ruins would be a dangerous close-quarters task, so High Command released the Kroot—the T'au's alien auxiliary forces—into the broken forest.

Thanks to the Skryre Grand Engineer for the reward.