“For the Emperor!
Hold the line!” an Sergeant roared.
But the Chainsword in his hand was trembling.
“Cowards who only hide behind doors.” Avitus snorted coldly, shouldering his heavy bolter.
Boom, boom, boom—!
The intervention of the Astartes instantly changed the tide of battle.
The Warrior Bug that was still strutting around had its head explode like a watermelon.
Several Zerglings didn’t even have time to turn around before Thaddeus stomped them into a bloody pulp from above.
The battle ended within ten seconds.
The group of mortal Soldiers stared blankly at these red giants, as if they were seeing walking gods.
“Those loyal to the Emperor shouldn’t be wasted like this, Avitus.” Tarkus walked up to the Soldiers.
The massive power armor at this distance brought a suffocating sense of oppression.
“We need every bit of firepower.
Reuse them as much as possible.” The surviving Sergeant trembled as he stood up, performing a standard Imperial aquila salute.
His face was a mix of blood and mud, and his eyes were filled with the fanaticism of surviving a disaster.
“85th Regiment, Sergeant Merrick reporting!
Thank you for the arrival of the Angels!” Merrick shouted loudly, his voice hoarse with excitement.
“We…we can still fight!
Please instruct!
What can we contribute to the Emperor?” Tarkus did not answer directly.
He turned his head and looked towards the rear of the team.
Merrick followed the Angel’s gaze.
By a waterlogged shell crater, Alex was idly kicking a Zergling corpse with his toe, kicking it very hard.
He even squatted down and leaned his face close, staring at the insect’s still twitching claws, muttering: “It’s dead already?
No more struggling?
Get up and bite me…” In Merrick’s eyes, this man in strange Carapace Armor was like a madman; was he pressuring an insect?!
“You only need to follow him.” Tarkus’s voice rang out coldly.
He pointed his finger at Alex.
Merrick was stunned.
“Sir…sir?” The Sergeant glanced at Alex, who had an expression like “why isn’t this insect trying harder,” then glanced at the tall Astartes.
He felt his faith was being challenged.
“This is not according to regulations…my lord.” Merrick said, steeling himself.
“My subordinates and I wish to follow the Emperor’s Angels to eradicate the xenos in this holy crusade, not to follow some idiot…” Tarkus lowered his head, his red optical sensors approaching Merrick’s face.
The oppressive feeling from the demigod almost made the Sergeant kneel.
“Your refusal is meaningless, Sergeant.” Tarkus’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word hit the ground like a nail.
“His value alone is enough to match your entire 85th Regiment.” When Alex heard this, he was about to put his finger into the insect’s mouth to test its teeth.
He looked up, staring at Tarkus with a bewildered expression.
“Huh?” “Me?
Worth a whole regiment?” If I’m worth that much, why are you bringing me down here to do this dirty work?
Shouldn’t I be enshrined?
No one paid attention to his complaints.
Although Sergeant Merrick was reluctant, it was an Angel’s command.
By the God-Emperor, it was a holy decree.
“Remnants of the 85th Regiment, heed my command!” Merrick roared.
Thus, an extremely bizarre scene appeared on this rainy battlefield.
The Astartes were striding forward, clearing the way.
Behind them, Alex was surrounded by more than twenty heavily armed Imperial Guard Soldiers.
“Commander!
Movement on the left!” a Soldier abruptly pushed Alex back into cover.
“No, I’ll go check…” “Danger!
Commander!
Please retreat!” Two Soldiers held shields in front of him, protecting him tightly as if escorting a baby.
Alex despaired; he had originally wanted to find an opportunity to draw some aggro.
But now—he was surrounded by a circle of human shields named “Loyalty.” “What the hell…” Alex looked at the circle of bright-eyed, mortal Soldiers around him, ready to take a shot for him at any moment, and felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
I just wanted to die quickly, how did I end up as a platoon leader?
The further the team advanced, the more stragglers gathered.
Besides the remnants of the 85th Regiment, there were also some scattered Planetary Defense Force personnel, and even armed civilians carrying guns.
They were originally running around like headless chickens, but seeing Astartes clearing the way, and a Commander being “specially protected” by the Astartes— They immediately found their backbone.
By the time they reached the generator complex gate, Alex was surrounded by nearly fifty people.
He stood in front of the generator’s huge turbine, looking at the group of people eagerly waiting for his orders.
“…Alright.” “Merrick, take your men and guard the entrance.
Don’t let even a single mosquito fly in.” “Yes, Commander!” Merrick’s salute was much more standard than before—after all, along the way, he had personally witnessed Alex “casually” blast three lurking Genestealers with his gun.
The control center was much larger than Alex had imagined.
It was a massive circular domed space.
In the center stood three plasma generator units, each five stories high.
Their indicator lights were all off at the moment.
Only an occasional electric arc leaped across the coils, illuminating the metal casings engraved with Imperial Aquilas.
“This is it.” Matellus’s servo-arm impatiently reached for the control panel.
“Give me three minutes.” “Protect the Techmarine.” Tarkus ordered.
“Everyone, establish a defensive line.” Alex’s “motley platoon” was positioned at the eastern entrance of the dome.
There was a huge industrial roll-up door there, currently emitting a metallic screeching sound— Clearly, something outside was trying to force its way in.
“Aim.” Alex raised his gun and shouted to his “subordinates.” More than forty lasgun were simultaneously raised, aimed at the roll-up door that could be torn open at any moment.
Buzz— The low hum of the generator starting up came from behind, and the lights began to flicker.
At the same time—the roll-up door finally couldn’t hold anymore.
Boom—!
Metal plates were torn to shreds from the outside.
Several Tyranid Lictors rushed in first.
Multiple laser beams shot out simultaneously, riddling the leading insects, but there were more behind them.
They surged in like a tide from the breach, trampling over their companions’ corpses as they charged forward.
“Reload!
Cover!” Merrick yelled.
Alex emptied a magazine and was about to reload—when he suddenly saw a broken Zergling emerge from a side ventilation duct, pouncing on his back.
“I knew you could—!” Before he could even turn around, a huge ceramite fist smashed down from above his head.
Bang!
The Zergling’s head exploded like a watermelon.
Green ichor splattered all over Alex’s face.
“Focus on what’s in front, brother.” Thaddeus retracted his fist, “We’ve got your back.” Alex wiped the insect blood from his face.
“With you big guys behind me, I’ll sleep even less soundly…” Buzz————!!
A huge humming sound came from the center.
The generator lit up with dazzling blue light, and the previously silent light tubes on the dome illuminated one by one, making the entire space as bright as day.
“Generator restart complete!” Matellus’s voice carried a rare excitement.
“The Gate of Angels…is closing!” A dull rumbling sound came from afar.
It was the sound of gates tens of meters high slowly closing.
The swarm of insects pouring into the dome suddenly stalled.
They seemed to sense something, letting out a series of piercing screeches, then retreated from the breach like a receding tide.
“They ran away?” A young Soldier shouted in disbelief.
“No.” Cyrus’s voice came from the shadows.
“They just…changed targets.” “What do you mean?” Cyrus did not answer.
He walked to the torn roll-up door, looking at the underground passage in the distance, which was submerged by the insect tide.
In the deeper darkness—a huge figure was slowly moving.
It was a…giant creature that almost filled the entire passage.
“Hive Tyrant.” Tarkus’s voice deepened.
Alex followed his gaze.
The monster was five meters tall, covered in thick carapace, with two huge scythe-like horns on its head.
Its four limbs were as thick as industrial mechanical arms, and in its claws were massive bone swords.
Most terrifying were its eyes; those intelligent eyes were staring directly this way from hundreds of meters away.
A condescending gaze, like a human looking at ants.
“Oh, crap.” Alex swallowed, his palms sweating.
Where’s my Titan?
Where’s my Titan?!
“Does this thing…
also fall under my command as a ‘platoon leader’?” No one answered him.
But the monster started to move.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”