The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"For the Emperor! For the blood of Sanguinius!"

Those chilling roars echoed through the air as the Flesh Tearers fought in their usual manner—a frenzy of close-quarters combat. About forty or fifty crimson figures were scattered across the battlefield, their banners planted in the ground, the scarlet flags fluttering in the fierce wind.

"They were quick this time."

Hais grumbled, standing on the Chimera's hatch, drawing his chainsword.

"Deploy! Establish a firing line! Suppress the enemy!"

The Chimeras and other vehicles opened fire first, as various Tyranid aliens surged forward, slamming into the makeshift defensive line formed by the Space Marines.

With the auxiliary forces providing fire support, the pressure on the Flesh Tearers eased slightly. More units from Hais's chapter arrived, their chapter master arriving in a command vehicle. The Flesh Tearers' commander withdrew from the front lines to communicate with the chapter master.

A few minutes later, a repair plan took shape: the auxiliary forces would provide fire suppression, the militia would proactively push the Tyranids out of the breach, and then the Adeptus Mechanicus repair vehicles would quickly patch the area with quick-drying materials.

"Concentrate fire on those Warrior bugs!"

Upon receiving the mission orders, Hais, as the front-line fire support company, immediately arranged for his soldiers to establish firing positions. Their light and heavy weapons soon began to roar.

A large number of aliens fell under the barrage of bullets, plasma, and lasers, their chitinous bodies rolling in the ash and sludge, severed limbs blown away, dragging pus and ichor that formed thin threads in the air.

But they kept coming.

The Tyranids swept over the breach in the dam like a living tide of blades. The Space Marines no longer faced them head-on, but appeared on the flanks of the enemy, wielding power axes, chainswords, and power hammers with deadly skill.

Part of the chapter was dispatched to the walls. The twenty-meter-high walls, coupled with various firing points and automated turrets, were enough to withstand most Tyranids, but it was clear that this breach had been discovered and the enemy density was increasing significantly. The existing firepower was insufficient, and more firepower was needed on the walls.

Under relentless and fierce fire, the Tyranids trying to break through the breach began to be gradually repelled. More than two regiments of militia were also gathered, including old and young, the youngest appearing to be only fourteen years old, the oldest over sixty, even their clothes were not neat, looking less like a militia and more like a street gang.

But to give them some combat capability, Hais's chapter had to provide some weapons to support them. A chapter instructor in silver-gray force-feedback power armor stood on top of an ammunition crate, shouting at the militia:

"The betrayal of your comrades has brought shame to you all! This is a humiliation of the soul and spirit! It must be washed away with blood! So! Take up your weapons! Charge the enemy! Two men to a gun! When the one in front falls, the one behind picks it up and keeps charging!"

The chapter instructor's force-feedback power armor made him look very strong, but it was different from the various standard Imperial force-feedback power armors. It was actually a suit of armor designed by Ulan Huda at Soshian's request, combining protection, flexibility, and cost. It was heavier than a Battle Sister's power armor, but lighter than the Inquisition's Thunder pattern power armor. Its shape was similar to the Ignatius pattern power armor developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus for the Ordo Hereticus, but it applied some of the Rogue Trader-style personal armor technology passed down from the Soshian family, mainly a unique circulating battery technology that allowed the power armor to not need to carry an additional heavy power source. As for other parts, there was nothing very special, because its core requirement was to be able to mass-produce it, and being too expensive was obviously not in line with the requirement.

This type of power armor could give a mortal almost half the strength of a Space Marine and about 60% of the defensive capabilities of a Space Marine's power armor, while also having a built-in life support system and a helmet with primary psychic protection capabilities. Only instructors of chapter and above were qualified to wear this Eternal Eagle force-feedback power armor.

Soon, weapons were distributed to the militiamen with troubled faces. Although lasguns were the weapons they had always hoped to get, it was obviously not the occasion, and more than half of them were using primitive ballistic weapons and melee weapons.

But the Flesh Tearers, eager to plug the gap, wouldn't care so much.

"Charge!"

At the order, the militiamen began to charge in groups towards the Tyranids still crowding towards the breach, under the cover of the auxiliary forces' fire.

A Warrior bug howled excitedly, falling into the crowd. With a wave of its blades, five people became fragmented corpses. The others screamed and shot and hit it randomly, which only angered it, making it kill even more frantically.

"Through His blood, we are victorious!"

Amidst the roars, a Flesh Tearer who had ignited his jump pack fell from the sky and crushed the Warrior bug under his feet the moment he landed.

Then he turned around and fired directly into the open, fanged mouth of a Tyranid beast at close range, and then swung his chainaxe to split open another Warrior bug that jumped over. His appearance brought fear and courage to the militiamen. As if infected by the Flesh Tearer's crazy temperament, they also howled and attacked the enemy like beasts. The Flesh Tearers, who had been on the flanks, finally joined the battle, working with the militiamen to push the Tyranids out of the breach.

However, the brave warrior who rushed in first soon ran into trouble. Just as he was leading the militiamen to hack and charge, a barbed claw reached over his shoulder and pierced into his chest armor.

The Flesh Tearer grabbed the alien's claw and twisted it, forcefully cutting the chainsword into the roaring Tyranid Warrior's upper shoulder, but the thing was not an ordinary Warrior bug, but a Warrior Prime. Its carapace resisted the blow, preventing the chainsword from going deeper. Then the alien used one of its forelimbs to embed itself in the Space Marine's chest armor and the other to grab at the Space Marine's helmet.

Amidst the grinding sound, the Tyranid Warrior Prime used brute force to tear open the ceramite and plasteel plates. Half of the sealing layer at the neck of the power armor was also torn open.

The Flesh Tearer fell to the ground. The surrounding militiamen were frightened by the sight and did not know how to help the angel for a moment. A face that had turned deep red and twisted with anger was revealed in the half-shattered helmet. The Flesh Tearer was still blinking his exposed right eye, trying to get rid of the sensory information confusion caused by his damaged autosenses, but his weapon fell when he fell, so he could only grab the enemy's claws with both hands, preventing them from piercing his head.

Even worse, a Carnifex was nearby, and it was walking towards the Space Marine who had been tackled.