The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The only available air power was diverted to support the breach. Precision glide bombs detached from the ornithopters, heading towards the Biovores, but veered off course mid-flight, detonating against the barricade. The Dragonwing troopers' firepower couldn't penetrate the psychic shields. Worse, three Neurothropes emerged from the spreading toxic fog, creating a nearly viscous psychic zone with the ground-based Biovores, deterring both machine infantry and Dragonwings from approaching. Tyranid psychic attacks had proven lethal, and they lacked psychic resistance.

Amidst this brief chaos, the Tyranid swarm surged with renewed vigor. Gaunts and Hormagaunts crowded around Warriors and Carnifexes, pouring through the breach. The Hive Mind's enhancements boosted their abilities, making them faster, tougher, and more ferocious.

Simultaneously, the towering silhouette of a Hierophant loomed in the distant toxic fog. The creatures generating the fog were also closing in. Air support had to abandon the breach to eliminate the Venomthropes, as the pervasive fog alone could shatter the defenses.

The firing line behind the barricade was on the verge of collapse. Militiamen held their ground as Tyranid organisms tore the line into several small skirmishes. However, the second line of defense remained effective, with auxiliary forces firing heavy weapons indiscriminately into the alien hordes, and Flesh Tearers engaging the aliens' claws with their blades.

The Flesh Tearers' company commander clearly intended to launch a decapitation strike against the Biovores, but the lack of a Librarian prevented him and his veteran squad from getting close. A swarm of winged Warriors hovered around the Biovores, ready to intercept any Flesh Tearer who ignited their jump pack, while the Neurothropes' psychic lightning was also ready.

At that moment, Hayes remembered something:

When encountering Tyranid psychic entities, immediately report to the Chapter for specialized handling.

He contacted the command vehicle.

"Commander! We must report to the Chapter immediately! There are many Tyranid psychic entities here!"

Due to Tyranid psychic interference, the transmission was fragmented. Hayes could only catch snippets.

"Already... reported... hold... defend..."

Hayes understood the gist, but easier said than done. The commander's vehicle had retreated, but the majority on the front lines had to face the endless Tyranid swarm. But they weren't the biggest problem; the psychic entities were.

The Flesh Tearers company had no Librarian, making a brute-force confrontation with the powerful Biovores unrealistic.

Consequently, the breach not only remained open after a few minutes of engagement, but widened. Rockets and air strikes destroyed only insignificant units, posing no threat to the clustered psychic entities.

This was a characteristic of Tyranid psychic entities: high intensity and endurance. Human psykers struggled to maintain psychic power for extended periods, but Biovores and Neurothropes didn't suffer from 'psychic overheat'. They could maintain their powerful mental strength indefinitely.

Under the oppression of immense psychic power, the soldiers' will to fight rapidly diminished. Their shots became inaccurate, they experienced auditory hallucinations and sensory distortions. Facing this, the Flesh Tearers' company commander had no choice but to order a retreat, requesting covering fire from heavy weapons in the rear.

Hayes' regiment retreated to a flood-control levee built during the city's founding. Beyond it lay the residential districts.

"The line can't be closed..."

Hayes watched the distant flames and shockwaves through binoculars. Heavy artillery and super-heavy tanks halted the Tyranid advance. The sharp sounds of incoming shells drowned out the aliens' hisses and death cries. Each massive explosion sent fragmented bodies and limbs flying.

It was uncertain whether the psychic entities had been eliminated, but the original barricade had been blasted to pieces by the firepower. As soon as the heavy fire ceased, the Tyranid swarm would pour in, spreading chaos elsewhere. The Flesh Tearers' company commander had requested reinforcements from two other regiments, but the Tyranids were attacking along the entire front. Other sectors could only spare a few troops, and how to reach the defensive line was another problem.

As always, events spiraled in the worst possible direction.

Suddenly, Hayes saw a vague silhouette in the rising heat. Gradually, his expression darkened.

"Damn it... A Titan... A Bio-Titan!"

Hayes yelled at the communications officer beside him:

"Report immediately! Bio-Titan sighted!"

Even from nearly a kilometer away, everyone could feel the ground tremble slightly. Amid the flames and explosions, a behemoth slowly emerged, taller than most buildings in Trident City. Its massive forelimbs took heavy steps, each one resonating like thunder across the battlefield. Barriers and fortifications collapsed under the alien behemoth's footsteps, crushed into bright piles of ash.

Then, the giant beast roared deafeningly. Despite the armored vehicles' engines, the roar was loud enough to hurt eardrums. The alien behemoth lowered its forelimbs with the bio-cannons, pointing them towards the ground. Hayes stared at the massive muzzles through binoculars.

Soon, the bio-cannons fired two globs of boiling biomass, targeting a forward position to Hayes' right. A barrage of projectiles struck a Chimera, the metal hull quickly melting. Even hundreds of meters away, Hayes heard the hissing of liquids. Soon, only bubbling iron slag remained where the Chimera had been.

The other glob struck a retreating infantry squad, warriors from the Second Company. They were too far away for their screams to reach Hayes, then everyone vanished in a terrible silence. Their deaths were like a horrifying mime.

"Damn it to hell!"

Hayes groaned in pain, enduring the throbbing in his temples, indicating the damned Tyranid psychic entities hadn't been eliminated by the heavy fire.

More air power arrived. Formations of Thunderhawks and Stormtalons fired missiles and rounds at the Tyranid behemoth, but its chitinous armor was too thick. This creature required super-heavy tanks or larger bombers, but the defenders' only anti-Titan super-heavy tanks were three Baneblades, and most bombers had to be escorted by fighters to distant areas. They had to suppress Tyranid artillery, or all defensive lines would collapse.