The Emperor’s Angel of Death

A dazzling burst of energy, like a sharp spear, pierced through the dark underground space. A warrior's head vanished in a burst of plasma, but the Fire Warriors around him continued to run, occasionally turning back to fire.

This was the last stronghold of the Ke'lshan Expeditionary Force on this world, a secret base carved out underground using large engineering equipment upon landing. It served as a hidden data collection and processing center, and a last-ditch evacuation point. Concealed within was a modified Warden-class gunship with stealth capabilities, intended to evacuate the most valuable personnel: the Earth Caste scientists.

"Enemies have breached Main Entrance One!"

Shas'Ui N'or'shanlen pressed the switch on his communicator, opening the command channel.

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"We are withdrawing to Loading Bay One to regroup and intercept."

"Report on casualties, Shas'Ui."

Soon, the communicator in his helmet crackled to life. It was his superior, Hunter Cadre Commander Shas'El I'lir K'atan.

"Three dead, one lightly wounded."

"Acknowledged. Link up with the other squads and proceed to Loading Bay One. We must hold this location."

Just then, Shas'Ui N'or'shanlen heard the sound of a Gun Drone falling. It was the last Gun Drone of their squad. These Eldar had apparently figured out their tactics, taking out the Gun Drones with extremely precise fire before engaging, depriving the T'au Fire Warrior squads of their information advantage.

More crucially, the Eldar were extraordinarily accurate and their weapons were powerful. Once a Gun Drone was hit, it was rendered useless, making many squads hesitant to deploy their limited number of drones.

Earlier, while defending Exit One alongside another Hunter Cadre, their Gun Drones had been falling like rain, followed by a massacre. An entire Hunter Cadre had been wiped out. Had their squad not been positioned further back, they wouldn't have escaped.

It wasn't cowardice, but rather orders from their superiors to stay alive and regroup at the next location.

They had to buy enough time for the Earth Caste scientists to evacuate, especially one crucial individual: Fio'O K'lshan Sho'an, a master-level Battlesuit technology scholar.

In terms of value, an entire expeditionary force couldn't compare to this brilliant and talented scientist. His achievements in Battlesuit technology ranked among the top ten in the entire T'au Empire. He had come to the battlefield to test a new type of Battlesuit, the culmination of nearly a decade of research by Sho'an and dozens of other Earth Caste masters at the T'au homeworld's highest engineering academy. It was currently the T'au Empire's most highly classified equipment and the secret trump card for the T'au Empire's future Third Sphere Expansion.

However, the Battlesuit had not yet entered the mass production phase and required extensive small-scale testing. The T'au High Council had allowed Earth Caste scientists from various Sept worlds to take the Battlesuit technology back to their homeworlds to finalize the Battlesuit's ultimate form through numerous secret combat tests. Sho'an, hailing from K'lshan, immediately built three prototypes upon returning to his homeworld and, after hearing about this military operation, insisted on coming to conduct field tests despite the Ethereals' objections.

Although the Ethereals held absolute authority over the other castes, Sho'an was both a genius and an eccentric. He was one of the few Earth Caste scientists who dared to argue with, or even disobey, the Ethereals' will. His rigor when it came to data was almost obsessive, with a morbid fascination for the parameters of the Battlesuit in different states.

But now, he had become a huge burden to all the Fire Warriors because, even as the battle situation deteriorated, Master Sho'an was stubbornly insistent on collecting all the frontline data before considering evacuation. Shas'O had almost ordered him to be tied up and taken away, but with the destruction of the orbital fleet, transfer was impossible. They were forced to retreat to this secret underground base to see if there was a chance to escape.

Unfortunately, the opportunity never arrived. The Eldar pursuers were already here.

"Covering fire!"

N'or'shanlen immediately gave the order. He knew that simply running wouldn't work against the Eldar. He had witnessed their uncanny speed during ground operations. The command had initially issued a retreat order, but the order had turned into a disaster. Their detachment was hit by the enemy's high-speed armored forces during the retreat, and torn into several pieces. The retreat turned into a rout, and only one Hunter Cadre remained by the time they reached the safe zone. Eventually, their Hunter Cadre was incorporated into the defense force of this underground bunker.

Perhaps they were now the only remaining T'au armed force on this world.

N'or'shanlen jumped behind a barricade made of stacked metal crates. Another member of his squad was opposite him, and leaned out to try and fire in the direction they had come from.

However, before he could fire, a crackling voltaic discharge and a beam of light, like an electrified whip, flayed the Fire Warrior alive. His scream echoed through the squad's communications channel, igniting his armor and charring his flesh as he convulsed.

Suppressing his anger, N'or'shanlen's pulse rifle glowed blue as he quickly exposed himself and fired another burst of energy into the darkness.

He didn't know if he hit anything, but it was a signal. His squad immediately unleashed a coordinated volley of fire.

However, it seemed that not all the bullets hit their target.

The enemy's counterattack came instantly.

A hail of shuriken and laser fire exploded around the Fire Warriors, piercing their cover. One Fire Warrior stumbled as his armor was penetrated by shuriken. After having his leg shredded, another Fire Warrior fell to his knees, but continued to fire alongside his comrades.

A third Fire Warrior took a round to the throat and collapsed, lifeless.

Without Gun Drone support, they were no match for the enemy in a firefight.

N'or'shanlen stared at the gaping wound on the throat of the warrior beside him. A large-caliber round had passed straight through, almost decapitating him.

"Withdraw! Grenade cover!"

N'or'shanlen threw a plasma grenade, which exploded in the darkness, briefly illuminating some slender figures, but they vanished just as quickly.

Just then, a stream of ion bolts flew over his head, and solid projectiles exploded continuously in the darkness, forcing the slender forms to dart back and forth.

A Devilfish APC sped up and opened its hatch.

"Hurry!"

The driver's urging echoed in the channel. N'or'shanlen immediately led his squad towards the Devilfish.

Enemy fire lashed out behind him, and then he heard a warrior scream, but he didn't slow his pace because the other warrior's life signal had disappeared.