The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"Are these Necron weapons really that powerful?"

From a vantage point in the Governor's Spire, Leolin looked up at the flickering void shields and the wreckage falling from the sky, unable to suppress his amazement. The Eleventh Company hadn't participated in the Battle of Ekweria, so they hadn't encountered the Necrons before.

"Of course, otherwise they wouldn't have swept through an entire sector in just a hundred days. Even the Tyranids can't do that."

Sablin, standing beside Leolin, didn't share his relaxed expression; instead, he looked very serious.

"According to the data, their greatest strength is their extremely powerful weaponry. You must be careful and avoid being reckless. A gauss rifle hit can bypass much of your armor's protection."

"Come on, if that's the case, I just won't get hit."

"Oh really? Can you dodge gauss rays?"

A piercing shriek interrupted their conversation. They noticed something diving down from the storm-wracked sky. These objects had crescent-shaped profiles, were pitch black, and moved so fast that even an Astartes could barely track them. They descended over the hive city, ignoring the dense anti-aircraft fire as they weaved through like birds in a storm with terrifying agility, then dropped spheres as dark as the night. These antimatter bombs shattered upon impact, obliterating their targets and leaving huge scars on the hive spires.

Boom—

With a violent explosion, a towering hive could no longer support itself. The spire slowly tilted to the right in a catastrophic collapse, nearly brushing against the main spire and startling both men on the platform.

"What is that?!"

Leolin's earlier nonchalance vanished, replaced by an expression of astonishment.

"The enemy bombers are here. Where's our air force?"

Sablin frowned as he watched the Necron aircraft weave through the spires, wreaking havoc with bombs and lightning. The void shields could block attacks from outside, but they were of little use against these flyers.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

A series of ear-splitting sounds of air friction swept past, followed by a gust of wind that nearly blew off the Tyranid decorations on their armor.

A Thunderbolt fighter roared past from below. Its nose-mounted lascannon fired continuously into the sky, seemingly trying to hit something.

Bang!

But as it rose to a height of only three or four hundred meters from them, a narrow, intense beam of energy pierced its entire fuselage from the right, instantly detonating it into many pieces of varying sizes.

Watching the burning debris fall from the sky, the two instinctively stepped back, but fortunately, the fragments only fell outside the platform, like a tragic rain of fire. At the same time, a bizarre crescent-shaped aircraft also flew past the outside of the platform from the upper right. The two could even see its exposed pilot—a mechanical being resembling a humanoid skeleton.

Two seconds after it passed, two more Thunderbolt fighters followed, seemingly trying to catch up from behind.

But as the two watched, this alien aircraft performed a physically impossible 180° parallel turn, as if inertia didn't exist for it. The metal pilot inside didn't seem to care about the terrifying G-forces. Instantly, it appeared to the upper left of the two Thunderbolt fighters. Two bolts of green lightning struck, and the two Thunderbolt heavy fighters instantly disintegrated, their pilots annihilated.

The display left the two Space Marines dumbfounded. Fortunately, the alien fighter didn't seem to notice there were spectators, and with a terrifying shriek, it flew away to hunt other human fighters.

"Sergeant Leolin, Sergeant Sablin, the Captain wants to see you!"

Hearing Sezel's voice from behind the door, the two turned around, walked through a corridor, and then entered the brightly lit and bustling temporary command center.

But it was obvious that they were packing up.

Talos looked at the constantly flickering planetary hologram, seemingly thinking about something. Hearing the two's footsteps, he looked up and said only one sentence.

"The command center is moving to the Polar Fortress."

Leolin's eyes widened.

"Captain, are we running away just as the fight starts?"

Talos shook his head.

"The spire can't be defended anymore. Almost all the void shield generators have been destroyed. A large number of enemies have also appeared in the wasteland below the hive. It's only a matter of time before this place is blown up, but that doesn't mean we're giving up Hive New Vallasburg. I'm going to the Polar Fortress because it has complete large-scale communication facilities, which can continue to command the forces in other areas of Amara. Sablin, you take fifty men and stay here to continue leading the resistance. The Necrons won't have many troops. Most of their forces are stationed in the mid-hive and the bunkers in the suburbs. I've already made the deployments. What they need most is your morale and confidence."

Sablin nodded and replied in a deep voice:

"Yes, Captain! I will resolutely complete the mission!"

Talos nodded slightly and looked at Leolin.

"What about you? Are you coming with me or what?"

"I'll stay here with Sablin and deal with those metal skeletons!"

"Alright then, I'll leave first. You guys get out of here immediately and go to the Department of Justice Fortress in the mid-hive. That's the temporary command center I've arranged. This spire won't last much longer."

Talos didn't say much, turned around and walked towards the door, but after a few steps, he turned back to the two and said:

"Be careful, don't be reckless. Fight when you should, retreat when you should. Your only mission is to hold out as long as possible, not to die trying. Don't sacrifice yourselves."

Kassadinn, on the other side, walked over carrying a pile of data slates.

"They're not little kids anymore. They should be able to stand on their own."

Soon, all the members of the Eleventh Company withdrew from the Governor's Spire, and just fifteen minutes later, it collapsed in the repeated bombing of the Necron Night Shroud, its wreckage carving a shocking scar on the hive city.

"Imperial citizens! All fighting soldiers!"

At this moment, a calm and powerful voice came from the speakers throughout the hive.

"I am Sergeant Sablin of the Astral Knights Chapter! Do not be intimidated by the alien's tricks! Do not be crushed by their temporary show of violence! They are just a group of shameless, soulless rampaging machines! Just like the servitors you usually see! So pick up your weapons! Raise the shield of faith! Put on the armor of courage! I am with you! The Emperor is with you!"

Clap clap clap clap——

As soon as Sablin put down the microphone, Leolin clapped his hands with a grin,

"Not bad, not bad, our brother Sablin is also a speech expert. He's becoming more and more like Bakhram. He'll definitely be a Captain in the future!"

Leolin's flattery made some of the surrounding mortals quietly turn their heads to take a curious glance. Sablin waved his hand and threw the topic to a nearby bishop.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense. The trouble is just beginning. Why are you looking at me? Keep chanting."

The bishop nodded hastily and began to chant.

".The God-Emperor teaches us, the bravest, can return to the throne, the cowardly, will be doomed forever, its eternal gaze stares at everyone"