The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Watching the mountain-like, giant green-skinned Titan striding towards him in the distance, Sochoyan smiled with disdain and connected to the air force channel.

"Enemy Titan target spotted. Initiate the Beast Hunter squadron."

"Roger that."

The Fire Raptors and Thunderhawks, already prepared at high altitude, swooped down, unleashing firepower capable of staggering even large mechs upon the Greenskin's gargantuan war machines.

In response, numerous Greenskin fighters swarmed upwards from low altitude like a disturbed hive. Urctralalracca wasn't a fool; he knew that clumsy Gargants were vulnerable to threats from above, and the Gretchin-operated anti-aircraft guns alone were insufficient to protect the massive Titans. Therefore, he maintained several fighter squadrons specifically to escort the Gargants.

But they soon encountered opponents unlike any they had faced before. Lightning-fast Stormtalons and Stormravens swiftly intercepted the Greenskin fighters attempting to ambush the assault squadron, and a fierce aerial battle erupted. Simultaneously, the Adeptus Mechanicus aircraft joined the fray. Although lacking advanced large aircraft and skilled pilots, the semi-mechanized pilots, combined with the rugged and durable Vindicator fighters, still played a crucial role—this planetary defense fighter was among the first shared technical data from Star Steel. Its simple and practical features were recognized by many Forge World sages, including Zhao-Akad, especially as a disposable aerial weapon that achieved an excellent balance between performance and cost. With sufficient raw materials, the Mechanicus's cruiser-class factory ships could produce them in large quantities.

Soon, the sky was filled with intense combat. The Fire Raptors and Thunderhawks, acting as Beast Hunters, began their aerial assault on the massive Stompas and Gargants. Missiles and glide bombs struck them with precision, unleashing explosions filled with shrapnel, causing Stompas to collapse one after another.

The Gargants were more troublesome. These were more powerful and complete than those encountered before, reaching heights exceeding even Warlord-class Titans, and equipped with multiple layers of shields, making them difficult to shake even with aerial bombardment. Since they had approached within range of the 1st Company's position, orbital bombardment was also inconvenient. If it recklessly attacked, Sochoyan would be fine, but the 1st Company would inevitably suffer casualties. More importantly, the scattered Greenskins, encouraged by the Gargant, were returning to the fight, making it difficult for the 1st Company to disengage for the time being.

In this situation, Sochoyan made a choice.

In the sky, a massive fireball streaked across like a twin-tailed comet, crashing onto the battlefield.

As smoke and flames rose, Sochoyan's armor shimmered slightly, and he vanished in a flash of teleportation.

The massive Gargant seemed to see a challenger, roaring and activating all its weapons. A storm of destruction swept over, only to detonate in a blaze of light against an invisible barrier.

As the glare subsided, a semicircle over a hundred meters in diameter appeared on the ground, surrounded by smoldering scorched earth, marked with traces of laser weapons and solid projectiles, forming a small valley of black slag.

Through the swirling smoke, the Greenskins saw a shape forming, like a predatory monster rising with sinister slowness to the surface of the deep sea.

With a screech, the buffering auxiliary engines and protective plates fixed around the black Banshee's body fell away. This type of drop pod landing was generally used only for small Titans, such as Warhounds, and only in extremely special and urgent circumstances, because the process was very risky for the Machine God, and the results were unpredictable.

But Sochoyan wasn't worried about the result. He knew what power this Titan possessed. As it fell, he could control it to activate psychic protection, ensuring it wouldn't be harmed. Then, this special Titan emerged from the smoke, a torrent of steam and psychic vapor erupting from its joints, and the scream echoing between two spaces suddenly intensified several times, a broken crown appearing on the Titan's head.

In that moment, many Greenskin Boyz were locked in spasm, forced to cover their ears as if a discordant wall was hammering them.

Even the lights in the Gargant's cockpit shattered, alarms wailed, and amber emergency lights flickered on, black blood flowing from the ears, eyes, and noses of the Gretchin and Mekboyz.

But the worst was for the Weirdboyz. For them, the scream was unimaginable, its horror unfathomable, not just psychic energy but also accompanied by conflicting warp interference, making it unbearable. They howled as their brains melted, triggering more violent explosions.

At this moment, Sochoyan stood in the modified cockpit, silver threads extending from the tips of his five fingers, connecting to several crystals that constantly emitted different colored light, allowing him to once again feel the power of becoming a god.

Power is easily addictive, Sochoyan realized profoundly.

In fact, the Banshee didn't necessarily have to appear. He could have destroyed the Gargant alone, but he convinced himself with the reason that he "had to be formal" when destroying the opponent, but in reality, he knew best that the real reason was...

He was itching for a fight.

He also wanted to test the performance of the repaired and partially optimized Banshee to see if it was worth the price he paid for it.

Now, he had become a giant, and nearby was a steel beast keeping pace with him. Many Greenskins swarmed at its feet, as if insects fighting and dying beneath an indifferent god. As it strode, everything was crushed indiscriminately, dust and smoke swirling around its thick legs, the barrel-shaped body like a distorted skirt.

Around it, there were also a dozen or so clawing Stompas.

The numbers were unequal, but it wasn't a big problem. Sochoyan raised his right arm, feeling his hand slightly heat up as the twin-linked Volcano Cannon charged.

But before he could attack, the Greenskin offensive swept in again, their crude weapons launching a barrage of massive shells. The Banshee's shields shimmered with starlight as various pieces of metal and flames burst and splashed across its layered surface.

The Gargant also stopped, its joints grinding with overstressed gears and hydraulics as it realigned its weapons towards the Banshee, this time its powerful main guns would unleash even more devastating power.

But it was too slow.

Sochoyan reactivated the twin-linked Volcano Cannon, steam erupting from the glowing weapon, and the blast struck the Gargant's frontal shields in the same instant.