Boom—! Crash—!!!
With the deafening roar of explosions echoing through the entire district, the air seemed to tear apart in an instant. The shockwaves, like the collapse of heaven and earth, obliterated everything in their path.
The Titan had completely shattered the defenses of the Sons of the Emperor on this main thoroughfare, and the dust and rubble it kicked up plunged the area into a deathly silence.
The fragile Chaos cultists and daemonic creatures of the Sons of the Emperor were utterly annihilated under this devastating strike.
Even Lucius and its millennia-old veteran followers had vanished without a trace.
It seemed that, faced with the arrival of the Titan and the follow-up forces of the 2nd Company, they had chosen to abandon their original invasion plan and flee back to their "home" in a frenzy.
...
However, Saul Tarviz, Captain of the 2nd Company, did not relax in the slightest after Lucius's retreat.
After all, the "Daemon Primarch," which resembled their Primarch, was still wreaking havoc in New Argo's central plaza, about four kilometers north of their position.
Through the real-time feedback on his helmet display, Tarviz carefully observed the dynamics of the entire battlefield.
The shared perspectives from drones and aerial vehicles allowed him to grasp the overall situation.
The central plaza was becoming increasingly chaotic. The Chaos Space Marines pouring out from the Warp, clad in corrupted heavy armor and exuding an aura of evil and madness, intertwined with the surrounding mutated creatures, forming an unstoppable daemonic horde.
Compared to the enemies they had just repelled, these Chaos Space Marines displayed far greater strength and combat experience than any of the previous foes.
As soon as the anomaly in New Argo was detected, the 2nd Company fleet stationed in low orbit over Fertile Star swiftly initiated emergency deployments.
Tarviz had the 2nd and 3rd Assault Squads, along with the ODSTs (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) and elite veterans carried aboard the ships, dropped into the city. Their destination was near the towering "pillar of light," the source of the Chaos incursion.
Following this, Tarviz dispatched a large number of transport convoys to reinforce the 2nd and 3rd Assault Squads with sufficient manpower.
Currently, the 2nd Assault Squad, supported by two Knight Titans and over ten thousand auxiliary troops and various mechanical and biological weapons, was holding the central plaza, trying to contain the Chaos invasion and evacuate civilians.
But compared to the "Daemon Primarch," these forces seemed insignificant.
At this moment, as the "Daemon Primarch" drew closer to the 2nd Assault Squad's position, Tarviz knew the situation had become extremely dire. If they didn't act quickly, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Immediately, he opened a communication channel and ordered, "Rylano! What are you doing? Retreat now! Do not engage that Daemon directly!"
As soon as Tarviz's voice fell, the communication channel was filled with static and irregular gunfire.
A few seconds later, the voice of Rylano, the leader of the 2nd Assault Squad, finally broke through the noise, sounding urgent and strained:
"We... clang—! clang-clang! We have over a hundred thousand civilians still evacuating... can't accept retreat..."
Rylano's voice was labored and filled with anxiety, his words laced with helplessness.
The chaos of the battlefield and the fluctuations of Chaos psychic energy severely disrupted communications, making the signal intermittent and difficult to decipher.
In the background, the constant explosions, gunfire, and bursts of sparks painted a grim picture of the dire situation the 2nd Assault Squad was facing.
As the Chaos tide surged into the central plaza, the 2nd Assault Squad was under unprecedented pressure.
Through the aerial view provided by drones, Tarviz could see that the 2nd Assault Squad and their auxiliary forces were doing their utmost to cover the evacuation of civilians.
One escape route after another was being opened at subway stations and underground shelters, with dense crowds of people flooding toward safer areas.
Seeing this, Tarviz understood that when the Chaos invasion first struck New Argo, the civilians in the city center, who had been relaxing, entertaining, or simply wandering, had naturally sought refuge in the nearest underground shelters.
However, this conventional evacuation method was clearly inadequate against the unique threats posed by Chaos.
Their methods of attack far exceeded the understanding of the material universe.
Sturdy shelters and heavy protective doors were nothing more than fragile barriers in their eyes. Whether it was the fallen Sons of the Emperor or the mutated Chaos creatures, they could easily destroy and penetrate these seemingly safe havens.
Moreover, no matter how tenaciously the human forces defended, they could not match the tide of Chaos, especially when facing the "Daemon Primarch." The pressure was overwhelming.
The "Daemon Primarch" was massive and terrifying, each step accompanied by devastating energy surges.
Yet, it did not seem to be in a hurry...
No, to be more precise, it did not seem inclined to speed up its twisted, crawling advance. Instead, it appeared to be savoring the anxiety, fear, and despair of the 2nd Assault Squad and the civilians.
It loomed over the 2nd Assault Squad's position like the reaper, and the surrounding Chaos creatures and Sons of the Emperor grew even more frenzied in its presence.
As the core threat on the battlefield, it not only dominated the field but also disrupted the human forces' communications and command systems with its Chaos psychic energy, making the already tense situation even more chaotic.
Faced with this catastrophe, Tarviz's order to avoid direct confrontation with the "Daemon Primarch" was correct.
After all, any direct engagement would only lead to the complete collapse of their forces.
But as a commander and a warrior serving the Emperor and the Imperium, he knew that the 2nd Assault Squad, as fellow human forces, would never abandon innocent civilians.
Even in the face of such a powerful enemy, those unarmed civilians were still their responsibility to protect.
With this in mind, Tarviz took a deep breath and reopened the communication channel, issuing a firm order:
"The Titan is to proceed to the central plaza immediately! All Company Honor Guards are to follow me to provide support! We must evacuate as many civilians as possible before the main forces arrive!"
His voice was resolute and unwavering, leaving no room for doubt.
As for life and death?
Tarviz and all the human forces had long since cast such concerns aside.
From the moment the Chaos invasion began, the 2nd Company had already lost more than half its strength. Every charge, every defense, was a life-and-death struggle against the forces of Chaos.
The Primarch, who had been on the other side of Fertile Star, would take about ten more minutes to reach the battlefield, but the battle in New Argo had already reached a fever pitch.
The warriors of the 2nd Assault Squad, facing an endless tide of enemies, had no time to consider retreat or avoidance. Their entire focus was on the mission of rescuing and protecting civilians.
Amidst the crossfire of artillery and Chaos psychic energy, the Astartes, ODSTs, auxiliary troops, elite veterans, and even abhuman soldiers worked in perfect coordination, using their flesh and blood to build lines of defense.
Even though the enemy's numbers were overwhelming, even though the pressure from the "Daemon Primarch" was suffocating, they did not retreat.
For these warriors, protecting civilians was a higher calling than their own lives.
Every soldier in the Imperial Army knew that, from a purely military standpoint, the Astartes, ODSTs, and other elite forces were far more valuable than unarmed civilians.
However, in the ideology of the Imperium of Man, the lives and souls of their fellow humans were priceless.
No matter the abilities of these civilians, they carried the future and hope of humanity.
This belief was deeply ingrained in the hearts of every soldier, driving them to stand in front of civilians without hesitation, even in the face of certain death.
---
Meanwhile, in the commercial and entertainment district, sandwiched between the defensive lines of the 2nd Assault Squad and the charging Chaos forces...
Boom... Boom...
Clang... Clang-clang...
Gunfire and explosions echoed from all directions.
The area was shrouded in smoke, filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder and the pungent stench of blood and decay.
The aftermath of the explosions left shocking cracks in the streets, and the intense fighting had destroyed everything around them. The ground and roads were torn apart, a scene of utter devastation.
The once bustling and peaceful commercial and entertainment district had now become a hellish ruin, filled with debris and chaos.
The towering megastructures had collapsed into burning ruins, their twisted steel frames glowing in the firelight.
The walls of large shopping malls were riddled with bullet holes and shattered glass, their interiors reduced to scattered shelves and ash.
The once vibrant shops were now nothing more than crumbling ruins.
Most importantly, there were almost no survivors in this area, yet it was teeming with lone Chaos creatures, heretics, and fallen Sons of the Emperor.
They roamed the ruins like hungry hounds, searching for any remaining life.
This place had become a scene of hellish devastation, not just because of the fighting, destruction, and chaos, but also because of the Chaos forces' unrestrained "indulgence" and atrocities.
On the streets, one could occasionally see captured civilians, their fates worse than death.
The followers of the Chaos Gods would torment these innocent people in the most blasphemous and twisted ways.
The Sons of the Emperor, on the other hand, would use cruel methods to mutilate the civilians' bodies, cutting off their genitals and breasts while injecting them with corrupting agents to keep them alive.
The civilians, stripped of their vital organs, were not granted release but instead forced to struggle in extreme pain and terror, satisfying the Sons of the Emperor's insatiable greed for extreme emotions.
Whether in the main universe or in *Warhammer 40k*, the Astartes could almost be described as "asexual."
Of course, this wasn't because the Astartes had lost their reproductive abilities; it was simply that they could "control" themselves, avoiding interference from emotions driven by physiological reactions.
But the Astartes who had fallen to Chaos and betrayed their oaths were driven by all kinds of desires.
They would naturally use their preferred methods to satisfy themselves and please the Chaos Gods they served.
The screams of these victims echoed through the empty streets, bearing witness to the tragedy of this place.
The remaining structures among the ruins, illuminated by firelight and shadows, looked like twisted monsters, and the Chaos creatures, heretics, and Sons of the Emperor added an aura of despair to the area.
The commercial and entertainment district, once vibrant with lights and life, had become a scene of apocalyptic devastation for human bodies and souls.
At this moment, in the wreckage of a large shopping mall's aerial parking lot—
"Brother, stop wasting time. What's the point of hiding? We've already seen through your little tricks."
"Hand over those children, and maybe we'll make your death quick."
"Hahaha, of course, you could also join us and have some fun with those little brats... Tsk tsk, once you try it, you'll never forget the taste."
A hoarse voice, filled with mockery and a nasal tone, echoed through the parking lot.
Three hulking, fallen Sons of the Emperor were pacing through the abandoned parking lot, searching.
Their faces and bodies had fused with their helmets and armor, and sharp bone spikes and twisted tentacles protruded from their jaws and cheekbones, exuding a nauseating aura of corruption.
This parking lot had once been a hub for civilian hovercraft, bustling with activity. Now, it was filled with an eerie and oppressive atmosphere.
Rows of hovercraft sat silently, their surfaces covered in dust and debris from the explosions.
Clearly, when the Chaos invasion began, many civilians had not had time to drive their vehicles away before fleeing to underground shelters.
As for the "brother" the Sons of the Emperor were referring to—a human forces sergeant—he was hiding in a large storage room within the aerial parking lot.
The storage room's rolling shutter was tightly closed, and the space inside was cramped, filled to the brim with supplies, making it extremely confined.
Moreover, the storage room was filled with a group of children, around eleven or twelve years old.
They wore school uniforms, their faces still marked by youthful innocence, now filled with fear and despair.
It seemed they had been visiting the mall after school when the Chaos invasion suddenly struck.
The sergeant's condition was also precarious.
He should have been wearing a complete set of human forces' Titan VI power armor, but his helmet had been severely damaged in battle and discarded.
His silver short hair stood out in the dim light, and his features, though resolute, were covered in blood.
A gruesome scar ran across his brow, the wound having stopped bleeding but leaving dried blood covering the left side of his face, making him look even more disheveled.
The right side of his chest plate had a horrifying penetrating wound, with exposed armor fragments and dark red bloodstains starkly visible.
To make matters worse, his power pack had been completely destroyed, leaving him to rely on the backup energy of his nanosuit to keep his power armor functioning.
His breathing was labored, each breath a struggle, yet his hands remained steady.
Most critically, he had exhausted all his ammunition, leaving him with only a shock dagger and a chainsword...
------------------
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