The Emperor’s Angel of Death

While the Hades Breaching Drill is quite practical, it has a significant drawback: its heavy chassis makes it relatively slow. Although its thick armor provides excellent protection, it can easily become a target for enemy anti-armor fire, usually requiring artillery support to clear a path for follow-up troops.

However, the Krieg Guardsmen's ingenious idea to introduce this equipment into a boarding action mitigates its weaknesses, as the battlefield is confined.

Faced with the rumbling approach of the Hades Drills, the Immortals' ranks were clearly unable to withstand them. Their gauss weapons were ineffective against the drills, mainly because these Hades Drills were equipped with additional plasma shields on their fronts, providing three hours of energy reserves, which was sufficient.

Additionally, they were fitted with extra weapons, including bolters and assault cannons. Some Krieg soldiers even deployed artillery emplacements on the vehicle tops, using light artillery and mortars to continuously bombard the enemy, while groups of infantry ran close behind the vehicles in silent, rapid steps.

Boom—

Suddenly, a Hades Drill shook violently, throwing the soldiers on its roof off. A massive, multi-legged machine had climbed onto the vehicle, its sharp limbs scraping against the armor with a grating sound. It raised its head, and its cavernous maw slowly opened, releasing a green beam.

In a way incomprehensible to humans, the massive Hades Drill began to turn transparent. Despite the Krieg soldiers behind it unleashing a hail of gunfire to destroy the Tomb Stalker, it used its banishment weapon to hurl the vehicle into a warp dimension after only a few seconds.

Afterward, it did not continue attacking the Krieg soldiers but twisted around and lunged at the wall, disappearing directly into it before everyone's eyes.

With the loss of a Hades Drill, a gap immediately appeared in the advancing formation. The Immortals began to move, heading towards this breach. The Hades Drills had strong frontal defenses, but their sides were less armored, making them vulnerable to flank attacks. Therefore, the Krieg officers immediately ordered the soldiers to fill the gap, covering the drills' flanks.

A sharp whistle blew, and the Krieg soldiers began to run.

At the same time, swarms of scarabs poured along the walls and ceiling, as the Necron commander had obviously recognized the threat here.

The Krieg officers had already learned about the power of the scarabs in their manuals and knew how to deal with them. Several servitor turrets on the Hades Drills rotated and spewed out scorching flames, engulfing the forward passage in a sea of fire—although these flames could not destroy larger Necron units, they were extremely effective against the tiny scarabs.

With their small internal components overloaded by the heat, the scarabs fell like rain, while the flame-wreathed Immortals collided with the living, scattering liquid metal and hot blood onto the ground.

".Engineering Corps reports, progress is smooth, but one Hades Drill was destroyed by the enemy."

In the temporary command post formed by the landing craft, Marshal Vena, wearing a silver rebreather, watched the data flowing across the simple tactical display and the flashing points of light, listening to reports from all sides, his expression unreadable.

Initially, his request to volunteer for the boarding action had been denied by Sosiun, as it was difficult to explain to others why the commander of the Krieg regiment would participate in such a potentially suicidal mission. However, Vena had his reasons for doing so.

He was very old, eighty-seven years old, excessively long-lived for a Krieg Guardsman. He had fought for the Imperium for seventy years, and nearly all of his body parts had been replaced. Perhaps it was the Emperor's special protection that had allowed him to escape death time and again, but the long years of combat and injury had made him experience the thing a soldier feared most—old age.

Vena was keenly aware that he was aging. Without life-extension surgery, he would soon be unable to hold a weapon, or even stand without assistance, eventually relying on machines to sustain his life, lying motionless in bed.

This was unacceptable to him. As early as his forties, he had longed for a glorious death, the fitting end for a Krieg Guardsman, rather than cowering in life-support machines in fear and despair like those cowards they despised.

He wanted a dignified end while he could still move and fight.

Perhaps sensing his thoughts, the Departmento Munitorum had not assigned him any combat missions for a long time. He had been training recruits at home, holding the highest rank a Krieg Guardsman could achieve. Perhaps the Departmento Munitorum wanted him to "live out his days in peace."

Vena did not want that. He even woke up in terror for the first time at midnight, fearing an impotent death.

Although Sosiun kept "holding" him back by saying that "the Krieg regiments on the ground still need you to command them," Vena was well aware that with the defensive preparations and military strength the Imperium had made on Amarah Prime, the battlefield there was not very dangerous. He might end up sitting in a command post, but the Krieg Guardsmen could not disobey orders, and Sosiun was now the supreme commander, so he had to obey unconditionally.

In the end, he wrote a private petition to Sosiun, detailing the reasons for his request, hoping that Sosiun would grant this old Krieg Guardsman's last wish.

Perhaps moved by his sincerity, Sosiun agreed to his request, allowing Vena to board the enemy flagship with his bravest soldiers and participate in this suicidal but most glorious battle.

Now his wish was fulfilled, but it was not enough.

This battle had to be won, Vena knew that, because it concerned the survival of the entire Orpheus Sector, so he would not die before victory.

".Increase the speed of the 17th Line Regiment, make sure to break through the passage within half an hour. Is the 87th Armored Regiment ready?"

Not far from the landing zone, the low rumble of engines and the sound of tracks grinding could already be heard.

No more mistakes in reading! First release of this novel.

No more mistakes in reading! First release of this novel.

No more mistakes in reading! First release of this novel.

Less than two seconds after he issued his low inquiry, an officer immediately saluted and replied.

"Report! The 87th Armored Regiment is ready! But one company of tanks has been lost in space!"

"Order them to advance along the third passage on the left, covering the advance of the 21st Line Regiment! There seems to be an energy center ahead, and it must be captured!"

"Yes, sir!"

At this moment, an officer ran over, saluted, and said loudly:

"The Orpheus Death Korps 8th Assault Regiment requests support! They are being blocked by the enemy in front of a small pyramid, suffering heavy casualties and unable to break through!"

Vena raised his head slightly, pondered for a moment, and replied:

"Order the 918th Infantry Regiment to support them."

"Yes, sir!"