The Tyranid bio-fleet densely filled the entire star system, so many that you couldn't count how many hive ships there were, along with a terrifying number of giant motherships, each over twenty kilometers long.
Those giant bio-ships, each two to three kilometers in length, were as large as humanity's massive battle barges. This was not the small-scale Tyranid swarm that Rhodes had encountered before, but a true main tentacle of the Leviathan fleet.
The sheer number of Tyranid bio-ships so terrified some of the human commanders aboard Rhodes' ship that they nearly wet themselves. The sight of hive fleets covering an entire star system was simply beyond belief!
"By the Emperor! How can we possibly win this war?" a mortal commander asked, his voice trembling.
At that moment, a boltgun was pressed to his forehead. The one drawing the gun was a battle sister, implanted with Elena's gene-seed.
"Cowardice will not be tolerated! Lord Rhodes hasn't spoken yet! If you say one more thing to shake morale, I'll shoot you on the spot." Others might not know how terrifying this reinforcement army was, but these battle sisters did: over 600,000 Space Marines, an army far stronger than the original Astartes.
"I'm sorry! Commander, I won't show any more weakness," the mortal commander said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
For a moment, his faith had truly wavered. Facing such a terrifying fleet, they seemed to have come just to die.
"Fear is inevitable, I can understand that, but remember: you are warriors of the Imperium. Never retreat in the face of the enemy," Rhodes said, hands behind his back as he looked at the radar, which showed the dense swarm fleet.
This time, he expected a huge harvest—so many bio-fleets were as good as gold!
"Commander, how do we fight this battle?" An Astra Militarum regimental commander came up to Rhodes and asked.
"All battle barges, converge on Baal's main star. Destroy the bio-fleets near the main planet's orbit. Ground forces, deploy to the battlefield immediately. The Space Marines and Battle Sisters will support you," Rhodes ordered.
"Then, my lord, who is going to handle these hive fleets in space?" the Imperial Navy officer asked.
Frankly, their 40 battle barges here could only withstand one salvo from the swarm and then would be torn apart. But if not them, who would face these endless hive fleets?
"I'll pilot this human Golden Age space fortress to deal with this hive fleet. You don't need to worry about the space war—just clear Baal's main planet and its moons of the Tyranid forces. Go support them now—don't waste time," Rhodes said, waving his hand.
The commanders glanced at each other, bowed to Rhodes, then returned to their barges and set course for Baal and its moons.
The 600,000 Space Marines in Rhodes' ship, led by their officers and captains, used silver bracelets to teleport, directly reinforcing Baal's main planet.
"Avarich, Titus, Creed, you three command the legions and support the ground battle! Remember, when fighting the Tyranids, attrition is key. At first, you can send all 600,000 in one wave to push them back but be prepared for a protracted war. Divide your forces into squads, rotate them into the fight, and establish defensive lines," Rhodes instructed.
"Yes, Lord Rhodes! Leave it to us!" The three snapped to attention and saluted.
"Good, head to the surface—your presence isn't needed here," Rhodes waved them off to the battlefield.
"Lord Rhodes, I'll take the Battle Sisters down too. Be careful," Elena said, approaching Rhodes.
"Go ahead. Don't worry about the fight in space. Trust me—this isn't my first time against the Tyranids, and I'm not the same as before," Rhodes smiled reassuringly.
"All right. We'll clear the planet of the bugs. The space battle is yours. We'll be waiting for your victory below," Elena smiled, activated her golden teleport bracelet, and vanished.
Now, only Rhodes remained in the vast space fortress. Even the super-beast custodian had gone to the battlefield on Rhodes' orders.
After everyone left, Rhodes ordered the mothership to separate: four small motherships and one medium mothership detached from the main vessel.
He then aimed the Pedanium main cannon at the Tyranid hive fleet ahead. The mothership's main gun was something the Tyranids had never faced before.
During the last battle with the Tyranids, Rhodes' ship hadn't even reached mothership class.
In the void, blue-golden Pedanium rays fired, instantly sweeping away several giant Tyranid hive ships.
The hive fleet, meanwhile, noticed Rhodes' unfamiliar, yet somewhat familiar, ship.
After Rhodes attacked, the Tyranid fleet struck back, their enormous bio-ships charging forward.
A hundred King Joe robots were launched by Rhodes—these could fight in space and combine to form a shield. Each King Joe was equipped with a void shield.
Besides its energy shield, the mothership also had additional void shield arrays previously installed by the great sage, allowing for alternating shield use.
Max-level Ironclad robots and two upgradeable King Joes were deployed, as were the crucial war machines Ace Robot and Ultra Seven.
Ace Robot struck a pose and unleashed a super Metallium beam, instantly blasting apart a dozen Tyranid hive ships.
Then the Iron began recharging Ace Robot.
The familiar rainbow beam instantly evoked bad memories in the Tyranid swarm. Rhodes' psychic senses could feel the hive fleet's agitation.
"Long time no see, Tyranids. I'm back!"
After Ace Robot's rampage, Ultra Seven attacked, firing an Emerium beam from its green forehead light to destroy nearby Tyranid ships.
It also made an "L" pose, unleashing its Cluster Beam—though only as strong as a normal Metallium beam, not as powerful or long-ranged as the super version. Rhodes didn't plan for Seven to be the main force this time; its job, like the Iron, was to recharge Ace Robot.
Rhodes' Pedanium mothership now went all-out: over a hundred secondary guns and the main cannon unleashed their fury.
A 100-meter-tall King Joe split into four components, firing Pedanium rays.
Beams lanced through space, annihilating the hive fleet.
Dazzling explosions erupted in the Baal system as countless Tyranid ships were blown apart. The hive fleet, under heavy fire, slowly approached Rhodes' fortress, while their motherships pulled back—clearly, they recognized who Rhodes was.
The departing human battle barges witnessed this space battle.
The power of these beams was far beyond any macro-cannon or nova cannon they knew. In just a short exchange, hundreds of Tyranid ships were destroyed.
The mothership also launched vast numbers of 50-meter flying Titans and several 100-meter giants—extremely agile and deadly, inflicting devastation on the swarm.
"So, these are Golden Age weapons? Terrifying!"
"Indeed. If our Navy tried this, after losing all our ships, we'd be lucky to destroy a couple hundred hive ships," an Imperial Navy admiral remarked.
"We can't let Lord Rhodes look down on us—hurry! Land on the planet, the Blood Angels need our support!"
As the mortal troops prepared to land, Rhodes' forces had already teleported down and were engaged in fierce melee with the swarms.
…
On Baal, Chapter Master Dante had fallen into despair, having summoned 29,000 Space Marines to defend the Primarch's homeworld. Despite a legion's strength, his forces collapsed as soon as the battle began.
First, all Imperial ships in orbital defense were wiped out; then the Tyranids landed endless bioforms, launching ground assaults. The towering, 20-meter Tyranid titans devastated them.
Imperial Titans and Knight suits couldn't threaten these bio-Titans; his Marines faced literal mountains of enemies.
Just as despair set in, flashes of blue light appeared around them.
Suddenly, masses of towering, power-armored Space Marines materialized, joining the slaughter against the swarm.
"Reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!" a Blood Angel shouted.