The Emperor’s Angel of Death

In an excited growl, the long, sharp mouthparts of the Void Serpent were aimed at the Knight's cockpit. It sensed Cyrene's location through bioelectrical signals, which weren't actually in the head.

Cyrene's mech appeared to be immobilized, unable to dodge, as the eel-like, sharp mouthparts extended like daggers towards the upper right of the Knight mech, towards the cockpit.

"Die!"

Suddenly, the Knight's right arm moved, the Wrath of Heaven cannon pressed against the creature's chest, firing a final burst of energy that instantly turned the mouthparts and unprotected chest cavity into a bloody mess. The wounded Void Serpent wailed, staggering backward, allowing the Silver Unicorn to break free from its limbs.

This was the opportunity Cyrene had been waiting for. He had deliberately feigned being controlled to expose the creature's weakness. The Mechanicum had added a note to the Void Serpent's entry, based on anatomical and biological correlation theories, suggesting that the weakest point should be the chest cavity. Attacking this weakness when it opened for a fatal strike might be highly effective.

His gamble proved the Mechanicum sages' theory. The Void Serpent's entire chest cavity was almost torn open, splattering blood and burnt organs. Its former swiftness turned into a sluggish struggle.

The Silver Unicorn strode forward, slamming its Stormblade into the creature's head. The Tyranid bio-armor cracked and wobbled, but its claws still swiped relentlessly, leaving deep scars on the Silver Unicorn's carapace.

Suddenly, a precise shot from a servitor struck the unprotected rear joint of the Void Serpent's right leg, causing it to lose balance. Cyrene seized the opportunity, precisely swinging his Stormblade to sever its head.

"No!"

Just as Cyrene was thrilled with his kill, he heard a scream over the comms.

He saw that Ashley's mech, 'Iron Maiden,' was displaying severe damage. Turning, he saw the Errant Knight kneeling, several smoking servitor mechs lying nearby. Its left arm had been torn off, and a severe gash ran from its chest to its groin, thick machine oil gushing out like blood.

Harlowin was fighting a Void Serpent that had lost half its head and two limbs, its body smoking. Nearby, a Ravener had emerged, its bio-cannon shrieking, the surrounding air seemingly shimmering with the weapon's activation, before it spat a stream of acid.

Upon contact, the acid corroded the Paladin's outer armor. The Void Serpent seized the chance to plunge its remaining claws into the Paladin's chest. The huge maw in its chest opened, its sharp mouthparts piercing the Knight mech's hull, then clamping down on the Paladin's head, thick machine oil gushing from the Knight mech's cracks.

Faced with the sudden turn of events, a squad of brave servitor mechs rushed to rescue the struggling Knight, but the Ravener's fire severely hampered their progress.

"Damn... transmission system failure!"

Harlowin's panicked voice crackled over the comms. Cyrene saw that Antothet and Tarsia were still fighting another Void Serpent. Their close combat experience and skill were inferior to his, making them helpless against the agile Void Serpent even with two against one, and they were also being harassed by newly emerged Tyranid creatures. After a moment's thought, Cyrene decided to save Harlowin first and started to move.

Zzzzzap—

"Ugh, ah!"

A powerful electric shock rocked his mech, the cockpit flashing. Cyrene could even feel the electricity coursing through his body from his feet, causing him to instinctively tremble and scream.

A Pyrovore had emerged from the chaotic battlefield and wrapped itself around the Silver Unicorn's right leg from below, climbing upwards, its claws digging into the Knight mech's hip joint and chest, releasing a powerful bio-electric charge. In the chaos, Cyrene could even see the alien's vicious eyes staring into the Knight mech's head. The massive electrical surge caused sparks to fly from the Knight mech, internal system components exploding one after another, and the machine spirit wailing.

Nearby servitors immediately opened fire, but the creature seemed determined to die with the Knight, refusing to let go even as its carapace was blasted apart. The Questoris Knights even bravely charged forward, using their chainswords to cut into the Pyrovore's body.

However, as one of the Tyranids' toughest ground creatures, the Pyrovore's carapace was extremely durable, the chainswords merely sparking against it.

Cyrene gritted his teeth, straining to push his arm, trying to drive the Stormblade upwards into the creature's body, but an even more powerful electrical surge completely paralyzed the mech's transmission system, preventing a fatal wound.

"The Knights seem to be in trouble."

Bahram also noticed the Knights' situation.

"I remember Cyrene just graduated not long ago. It's difficult to have these rookies directly deal with Void Serpents. Jacob, you command here. Ricus, and—"

Just as he was about to call for someone to help the rookie Knights, the sky was suddenly torn apart by excited shouts.

"Scream! We have come for you!"

With a huge, billowing jump pack on his back, Lin, adorned in Kentarus Terminator armor with extensive Tyranid carapace decorations, closely resembling a Chaos Raptor, held his chain halberd high and plunged like a missile towards the Void Serpent.

Instantly, he smashed precisely onto the Void Serpent. The heavy Terminator, aided by momentum, was no different from a heavy artillery shell. The Void Serpent wailed and crashed heavily to the ground, its entire body caving in. Harlowin's Paladin swayed a few times and almost fell onto the Void Serpent's corpse, but finally managed to steady itself.

Bathing in alien blood, Lin, the second in the company after Sablin to master Terminator jump pack technology, reactivated his Incandis-pattern plasma jump pack, propelling the massive Terminator into the air, leaping towards the roaring Ravener. Before it could raise its weapon to fire, he gnawed through its chitinous armor with the chain halberd, then forcefully dragged it downwards, severing the bio-weapon directly from the Ravener's forearm, crippling its knee joints, and the huge beast collapsed to the side on the ground.

Finally, Lin raised the meltagun on his arm and blasted its head to pieces.

The remaining Void Serpent also fell the moment Sablin landed, a chain halberd deeply embedded in its forehead.

Lin then turned and cleaved his way through the swarming Tyranid creatures, reaching the fallen Errant Knight 'Iron Maiden.' A swarm of Ripper swarms had already climbed onto the Knight mech. Lin waved his chain halberd to disperse them and forcibly opened the cockpit with his Endryd Claws, pulling out the unconscious Ashley.