strictlysupreme Chapter 213 New Crisis!
Chapter 213 New Crisis!
On the seventh floor of the underground sewage system, Russell could feel the air becoming viscous, and the filter of his gas mask issued a clogging warning every ten minutes. Brutal was using a power hammer to smash the fluorescent mushrooms on the wall, each blow releasing a choking cloud of spores.
“Captain,” Leos suddenly lowered his voice, “the tactical tablet shows…The Emperor Above!”
Russell followed his gaze and saw three Chaos Space Marines clad in crimson power armor patrolling at the end of the sewage pipe. Their armor was covered in writhing, fleshy lines, and the chaotic markings swirling on their shoulder armor distorted the air itself.
[System Notification: Chaos Space Marine (Rank: Crimson Blade) detected. Immediate evacuation recommended.]
“This is impossible…” Russell muttered to himself, “The Crimson Fist clearly controls the entire planet, how did these bastards infiltrate the depths of Nest City?”
He immediately opened the encrypted communication channel: "Company Commander Aksu, this is Russell. We've detected Chaos Space Marines in the seventh septic layer. Repeat, Chaos Space Marines detected!"
A static crackling sound came through the communicator, followed by Aksu's voice a few seconds later: "Roger that. Hold on, we're..."
Suddenly, one of the Chaos Warriors seemed to sense something; the visual array on his helmet flashed red. Russell immediately signaled the squad to retreat, but it was too late.
"Rat found!" The Chaos Warrior's voice was like the scraping of metal. "Let's play a game!"
Russell activated "Emperor's Protection," and golden light enveloped his entire body. He could feel the power surging within him, but the system interface displayed a stark contrast:
[Power Ratio: 1.2 (Russell) vs 3.8 (Chaos Warrior)]
The "Fire Kirin's" laser beam left only scorch marks on the opponent's chest armor. Russell decisively threw out the "Blood Drinker." The Spirit Bone Engineer's Shovel spun and sliced through the Chaos Warrior's knee armor. Taking advantage of the opponent's stagger, he grabbed the rebounding handle and launched a series of slashes.
[System Notification: Inflicted minor damage on a Chaos Space Marine, gained "Chaos Defense Shard" x1 (Defense +0.1)]
“A little trick.” The wounded soldier suddenly grabbed the entrenching tool, and Russell felt as if his wrist had been caught in the tomb door of a space necromancer. The moment the Chaos Power Sword pierced through, he had to activate “Soul of the Serpent”. Two seconds of superhuman strength allowed him to barely break free, but his left arm armor had already turned into smoking scrap metal.
Just then, an explosion suddenly came from above the sewage pipe. Aksu's Iron Cavalry Terminator squad descended from the sky, and the blue arcs of lightning from the Thunder Hammer burned holy symbols onto the Chaos Warrior's armor.
"Back off!" Aksu roared, shoving the Chaos Warriors aside. "This is not an enemy you can handle!"
Russell immediately led his squad to retreat, while providing fire support with "Fire Kirin." He saw Aksu's Thunder Hammer smash the helmet of a Chaos Warrior, but two other enemies had already summoned their demon hosts.
[System notification: Bloodthirsty Berserker Lavae detected. Threat level: Extremely high]
"Retreat!" Aksu's voice was unusually anxious. "The entire underground system is about to collapse!"
Russell took one last look at the demonic host that was taking shape; seven eyes dripping with pus had already sprouted from its twisted body. He grabbed the molten bomb and hurled it at the main support pillar of the sewage pipe; the resulting collapse temporarily halted the pursuers.
When they finally reached the ground, the entire hive was shrouded in an eerie red light. Explosions echoed in the distance, and the trails of flame from the chaotic landing pods streaked across the sky.
“The situation is worse than we anticipated,” Aksu said, removing his helmet to reveal a grim expression. “Harken’s forces have infiltrated all the hives. We need to revise our plans.”
Russell checked the system interface; the newly acquired "Chaos Defense Fragment" was slowly strengthening his body. But looking at the black smoke rising in the distance, he knew this war had only just begun.
…………
Ice crystals condensed on Chapter Commander Pedro Canto's bronze power armor, a sign that the bridge's life support systems were overloaded. His scarred right hand rested on the tactical hologram, his five fingers deeply embedded in the imperial emblem forged from adamantite.
"Commander!" The sensor commander suddenly ripped off three data cables, sparks flying from his mechanical eye. "Subspace tidal anomaly, region β-7..."
A blinding purple lightning bolt tore through the void, and thirty black legion warships emerged like pus squeezed from a wound. At the bow of the leading cruiser, the "Path of Skulls," eight hundred skulls embedded in its armor simultaneously burst into eerie blue flames.
"Raise the Void Shield! Load all macro cannons with Holy Symbol warheads!" Pedro's voice was like red-hot iron in a forge. "Tell David that his two hundred brothers must quicken their pace."
The Crimson Fist's six strike cruisers deployed in a wedge formation, their turrets on either side of the hulls beginning to rotate. When the distance between the two fleets closed to 0.3 astronomical units, Pedro slammed his fist on the launch button: "For Dorne!"
Seventy-two Nova Cannons roared simultaneously, their shells, engraved with scriptures, tracing golden paths through the vacuum. But the Black Legion warships suddenly released a liquid black shadow—a nanocloud contaminated by the warp—and the Holy Warheads self-destructed as they passed through the black mist.
"They've desecrated the Mechanicus's shield technology!" the technocrat roared, tearing open the holy oil tubing on his chest. "Requesting activation of the plasma incineration protocol!"
Pedro's pupils reflected the data streams pulsating on the tactical screen: "Vested. Activate the 'Anvil' program and let these bastards see the true Son of Dorne!"
Twelve Sword-class corvettes suddenly burst forth from both sides of the main fleet, their engine nozzles entwined with Martyr's Chains—a suicidal tactic unique to Crimson Fist. As the corvettes charged into the enemy's 300-kilometer radius, all crew members chanted Chapter Seven of the Fortress Book in unison before detonating the ship's reactors.
Amidst the dazzling burst of light, Pedro personally led his flagship into the battlefield. The ram of the "Unyielding Anvil" tore apart a Chaos frigate, spewing out a large number of mutated crew members from the shattered armor plates, their tentacles writhing wildly in the vacuum.
"Lock on the 'Path of the Skull'!" The Chapter Leader's gauntlet connected directly to the fire control system. "It's time to let Harken taste the Emperor's wrath."
The two flagships engaged in a brutal waltz at the edge of the asteroid belt. The whirlwind torpedoes of the Unyielding Anvil relentlessly pierced the formation of the Chaos Fleet, while the subspace cannons of the Skull Path left bleeding wounds in the real universe with every shot.
As the distance between the two sides closed to within the range of the ship's cannons, Harken's face suddenly appeared on the holographic screen. The Headhunter's power claws gripped a still-dripping Crimson Fist helmet: "Your cubs were still chanting 'Honor' before they died."
Pedro responded by personally pressing the fire button on the array of light spears. Twelve pure white beams pierced through the void, vaporizing Harken's holographic projection and the three chaotic slaves behind him.
"Void Shield strength reduced to 7%!" the damage control chief roared, half his body stuck in the ruptured pipeline.
Pedro watched as friendly signals disappeared from the tactical screen, then suddenly ripped the relic box from the neck of his power armor. Inside were fragments of the Chains of Dorne, relics tempered for nine thousand years in the fires of the fortress monastery.
"All engines overloaded, target enemy core." He embedded the relic into the command throne. "We are the final anvil."
As the "Unyielding Anvil" charged forward, trailing a plume of plasma leakage, Harken's flagship suddenly released seventy-two skull-shaped landing pods. These projectiles, imbued with subspace energy, bypassed the main battlefield and headed straight for the atmosphere of Saint Night.
"Commander!" the navigator suddenly screamed, "Company Commander David's signal... they're stuck in the Seventh Nest!"
Pedro's fist shattered the armrest of the throne. He watched the death meteors plummet towards Saint Night Star, and before the bridge was engulfed by plasma flames, he issued his final order: "All surviving units, evacuate immediately."