About ten minutes later.
Inside the Severian's hangar, beside a thunderhawk gunship, Marcus was carefully inspecting several weapons that had already undergone Magos Galio's appeasement ritual. The small battle scars on the weapons from combat, and various mechanical damages from continuous firing, had all been restored to their original state.
Although Marcus was not a follower of the Omnissiah and could not feel the presence of the machine spirit, he could still feel that the quality of these weapons in his hand seemed to have truly improved a little. If it were in a game, it would be like their quality had been upgraded by one level.
"The machine spirit, truly a miraculous existence." Marcus couldn't help but exclaim.
In addition to these weapons that had undergone the machine spirit appeasement ritual, Marcus was also carrying five powerful melta bombs, all prepared to face the Tyranid Hive Tyrant.
Just as Marcus was observing the Tech-Priests scolding the slave workers with great interest, in the distance, nine Astartes were swiftly approaching the thunderhawk gunship. It was Titus Squad, Veridian Squad, and Talasa Squad.
"Sergeant Titus."
Once Titus approached, Marcus put away the weapons in his hand, stood up straight, and saluted.
"Lieutenant, the Starseer Relay Station on Avarax is under siege by the Tyranid. If the Starseer Relay Station is breached, our hope for reinforcements will be shattered." Titus came before Marcus and said in a deep voice. "We will launch a three-pronged operation: decapitate the alien leader, restore communications, and hold the relay station."
"At your command, Sergeant."
"Talasa Combat Squad will be responsible for decapitating the Tyranid Hive Tyrant, causing the Tyranid to lose command and fall into chaos. Veridian Combat Squad will proceed to the cathedral to break the heretical blockade and restore communications. Brother Chairon, Sergeant Gadriel, and I will hold the Starseer Relay Station and send a request for support."
At this point, Titus paused and looked at Marcus. "You need to choose a squad to join and assist in completing the mission."
Hearing this, Marcus said without hesitation, "I want to join Talasa Combat Squad, sir."
Titus was somewhat surprised; in his opinion, decapitating the Tyranid Hive Tyrant could be said to be the most difficult of these missions. To be honest, even if Titus personally took the field, he wasn't 100% confident in killing the Tyranid Hive Tyrant.
However, Titus didn't press Marcus on why he chose to decapitate the Tyranid Hive Tyrant. In the past few days of coordinated combat, Marcus's demonstrated combat power was already on par with the elite warriors of the Second Company. With Marcus's addition, the probability of Talasa's successful decapitation would greatly increase.
"Now, no one can afford the consequences of failure. Prepare for deployment immediately. I will transmit the mission details upon landing." Titus scanned everyone present and said in a deep voice.
Without hesitation, everyone immediately boarded the thunderhawk gunship.
After boarding, Marcus glanced at Talasa Combat Squad, who would be performing the decapitation mission with him. Talasa Combat Squad consisted of three members: Straban, a special operations soldier who used various heavy weapons; Varius, a tactical soldier who could mark enemy weak points with an augur box; and Vespasia, an assault soldier equipped with a jump pack and wielding a thunder hammer.
As Marcus observed the three, they were also scanning Marcus. They had already learned about Marcus's achievements in the past few days from Titus. Neurothropes, venomthropes, lictors, and even Exocrines had all died at his hands. Even though Marcus was not an Astartes, they would not underestimate him.
Just then, the thunderhawk gunship had already penetrated the atmosphere and was heading towards the Central Hive below. Titus began transmitting the mission details to everyone.
According to the plan, Marcus and Talasa Combat Squad first needed to land near a large bridge and install explosive charges beneath a giant statue, then assist the Astra Militarum forces in attracting the Tyranid Hive Tyrant's attention. Finally, detonate the bombs, using the collapse of the giant statue to crush the Tyranid Hive Tyrant to death.
Of course, Marcus, who was familiar with the plot, naturally knew that although the plan was successfully implemented, the Tyranid Hive Tyrant did not die from it, only suffered severe injuries. They would still have to face the severely wounded Tyranid Hive Tyrant in the end.
Soon, the thunderhawk gunship arrived at the designated location. Talasa Squad and Marcus jumped out of the cabin and onto an open platform. As soon as they landed, they saw a small Tyranid swarm in the distance, attacking an Astra Militarum defensive line of dozens of soldiers.
Everyone immediately moved. Straban, equipped with a heavy plasma incinerator, opened fire first. A massive ball of plasma shot out with a roar, arcing in a parabola before accurately landing in the middle of a group of Tyranid Warriors. The high-temperature plasma ball instantly exploded, creating a deep crater in the ground. Several Tyranid Warriors at the center of the explosion were directly vaporized by half their bodies, falling powerlessly to the ground. Dozens of Hormagaunts and Gun Worms around them also lost command and fell into a state of chaos.
At the same time, Vespasia, equipped with a thunder hammer, activated the jetpack on her back. She leaped high, then raised the thunder hammer in her hand, and with overwhelming force, slammed it into the center of the Tyranid swarm.
"Boom!"
The heavy thunder hammer slammed into the ground with unstoppable momentum, unleashing a massive shockwave and air blast. Dozens of Hormagaunts and Gun Worms around Vespasia were instantly knocked to the ground by the shockwave, unable to get back up.
Varius, meanwhile, raised the bolter in his hand and used the under-slung grenade launcher to fire several grenades into the surging swarm. The fragmentation grenades immediately exploded, instantly taking the lives of dozens of Hormagaunts.
Marcus was not idle either; his psychic flying knife instantly unsheathed, reaping the lives of the Tyranid at terrifying speed. At the same time, he raised his hellgun, precisely targeting and shooting the Tyranid Warriors.
Under the efficient slaughter of the four, the originally surging Tyranid swarm was quickly cleared, leaving only a ground covered in dismembered fragments and Tyranid ichor.
After the battle, the Commander leading these dozens of Astra Militarum soldiers knelt before the four.
"Sirs, thank you for your assistance."
This Astra Militarum unit was responsible for guarding a giant laser anti-aircraft gun nearby, to shoot down the spore drop pods constantly falling from space.
"Continue to hold this position, keep the anti-aircraft gun firing continuously, and those filthy aliens will soon fall in droves."
After simply issuing some orders, the four left the position and began to advance in the predetermined direction.