The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"Fire support! Eliminate this alien bitch!"

Hayes's high-pitched voice stood out against the background of the Tyranid swarm's hissing, followed by the sizzling sound of melting as the Harpy beast wailed in its death throes.

Rushing to the side of the Space Marine who had been knocked down, Hayes, without a second thought, thrust his chainsword into the Warrior Prime's abdomen and activated the engine, the saw teeth cutting through the chitinous exoskeleton and the soft tissue beneath with impartial brutality. The beast convulsed as the blade pierced it, blood splattering onto Hayes's armor, while the Space Marine exerted his strength, twisting the alien's claws and driving them into its head before shoving the corpse away.

He glanced at Hayes, gasping for breath as he picked up his power axe, and rasped:

"Get back to your position, soldier."

Hayes said nothing, but quickly retreated back to the firing zone with the melta team, but in the process, he saw two Ripper Guards dragging a wounded man back from the front line.

The alien claws had torn through the abdomen protected by the power armor, causing the Astartes to suffer disastrous blood loss, especially with the deep, deep wound on his left chest, which was spurting blood like a fountain. In addition, half of his face was burned by acid, one eye almost melted in its socket, but even so, he was cursing the aliens.

Hayes wasn't sure if he could survive such injuries, but this was also what made the Ripper Guards both feared and respected by mortals. They were truly ruthless, but also truly brave and fearless. Many had witnessed the fall of an Astartes, which was hard not to respect. Perhaps it was the long, cruel battles that had honed each of them into sharp weapons, easy to harm enemies and also easy to stab their own.

At least in Hayes's view, they were indeed terrifying, but they had been fighting almost non-stop. He was sometimes really curious as to why the Ripper Guards had this unique madness, this contempt for enemies, for others, and even for themselves, while the Lamenters, who were also from the Blood Angels lineage, were completely different—which one was the true angel?

What had shaped them into this form, and what had created such a huge difference between Space Marines?

With the continued efforts of the Ripper Guards and the continued burning of lives by the militia, the Tyranid swarm began to be pushed back from the breach little by little. At the same time, the Adeptus Mechanicus's huge pump trucks arrived at the scene, and then thick pipes extended, starting to spew out viscous, earth-gray material like vomit. These things only needed a few seconds to start solidifying, so it was clear that the Space Marines could use their jump packs to return to the defense wall, while the militia would be left outside.

Things quickly developed as such. The Ripper Guards ignited their jump packs and jumped onto the defense wall one by one, starting to strafe downwards, not only shooting at the Tyranids, but also shooting at the militia who were trying to turn back.

Although he admired the Ripper Guards' bravery, Hayes also hated this cruelty. The two emotions mixed together made him feel complicated, but in any case, this crisis seemed to be about to be resolved—

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Hayes clutched his head in pain, his face twitching, and screamed subconsciously.

Not only him, but everyone around him showed various painful symptoms, because an invisible wave of screams was cutting through their eardrums and nerves.

Two seconds later, this silent scream turned into a substantial roar, but not a sound, but space was roaring. A wave visible to the naked eye instantly tore open the breach that was being repaired, then brushed past the pump truck. Immediately afterward, a component in the vehicle's internal mechanical structure was cut off. It spun wildly, hitting the ramp of the defense wall next to it. The huge impact lifted its tail off the ground, and then it crashed to the ground with a bang. A large amount of quick-drying material sprayed out like rain, turning the surrounding area into a viscous gray swamp. Some unlucky militiamen were directly covered, and their lives were frozen in the last few seconds of struggle, adding hundreds of lifelike statues to the battlefield.

Moreover, it wasn't just the militia who were unlucky. Many people on the defense wall turned into scattered fragments of corpses, most of which were headless. Patches of viscous scarlet stains could be seen on the ground, and even the corpses of Space Marines wrapped in armor were among them.

As Hayes struggled against the ringing in his ears and blurred vision, he heard the sound of bolter fire not far away.

"Neurovore! Neurovore! Find a way to kill it!"

Hayes was still in some kind of trance. A large armored hand pressed on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw the Ripper Guard he had saved. The other party had thrown away his helmet, his crimson face turned pale, and the corners of his eyes, nostrils, and ears still had traces of dried blood from just now, obviously indicating that the impact on him was severe.

"Soldier! Organize fire!"

As he spoke, he raised his right hand and pointed forward. The first thing Hayes noticed was that only three fingers were left on the other party's hand. When he looked in the direction of the finger, his whole person instantly became energized.

It was a huge, four-legged Tyranid monster with thick armor and a body composed of brain-like tissue that replaced muscles. A translucent shadow surrounded the monster's eyeless head, like the tentacles of some light cephalopods. Those psychic tentacles whipped the surrounding air, making a wet, explosive sound. Under the Tyranid monster's body was a sea of blood. The corpses of the militiamen were almost "liquefied," all the tissue turned into scarlet matter, as if they had been put in a blender and stirred. Only complete skeletons remained as their last traces in the world.

And this thing was also listed as one of the Tyranid organisms with the highest danger level, at the same level as the Bio-Titans and other super-beasts. It was named Neurovore by the Adeptus Mechanicus, an enhanced variant of the fragile Neurothrope, losing its ability to fly but gaining more powerful psychic and defensive power.

In Hayes's course on learning the characteristics of Tyranid organisms, the list of extremely dangerous organisms clearly stated that units below the regiment level should prioritize avoidance when encountering this organism, and units above the regiment level are not recommended to directly confront it without specialized weapons. The most important thing is to call for Astartes support from the Chapter.

To make matters worse, the appearance of the node creature caused the Tyranid swarm, which had shown signs of collapse, to reorganize at an incredible speed and launch another attack on the breach.

"Fire! Fire and take it down!"

Hayes immediately ordered the surrounding stunned soldiers to organize fire, even slapping a few soldiers who were still in a state of mental shock. Then the entire firing position boiled, but live ammunition and energy bodies only left a ripple on the psychic shield protecting the monster.

The situation began to deteriorate at an extremely rapid rate. The Hive Mind seemed determined to break through here. In the howling of the Thunderhawks, all the remaining warriors of the Ripper Guards arrived here, including their Captain. At the same time, the air force began to join in support one after another, and the heavy artillery fired into the distance, trying to block the subsequent reinforcements from the Hive Mind—shooting too close could hit the defense wall, creating even more and larger breaches.