Lunde knew very well that he had no chance of winning at all.
But no matter what, he had to buy time, even if it was just one more minute, one more a second, it could become the cornerstone of victory!
"I'd love to hear what kind of beautiful screams will come from your mouth when I crush your bones." Elesian let out a sinister laugh, the power armor, inscribed with blasphemous runes, emanating a substantial dark red mist from its surface.
His heavy footsteps sounded like giant thunderclaps.
The trenches, filled with mud and flesh, seemed to part like a huge curtain as Elesian dragged his massive chain-axe and lunged at Lunde like a ferocious beast.
Buzz buzz buzz!!!!
The chain-axe was like a living thing, its teeth spinning wildly, and the tens of thousands of souls imprisoned within it wailed and shrieked in unison!
A sticky rain of blood and the gore of shattered organs, accompanied by the terrifying pressure brought by the giant axe, cleaved down upon the weak Lunde!
A cruel smile had already appeared on Elesian's face; he was ready to enjoy the wailing and screaming of this human as his bones were crushed.
But, just before death arrived, a surge of power erupted from somewhere within Lunde.
He suddenly raised his head, looking directly at the chain-axe just inches from him, his sunken eyes devoid of fear or despair, only an almost absolute calm, an indomitable will like a bedrock.
He saw it—a chance!
The only chance!
Lunde's legs pushed off with sudden force, and he leaped like a rabbit, completely disregarding the descending chain-axe tearing at his shoulder.
Through the excruciating pain of flesh being ground to bits, he pulled out an unassuming dagger.
"Now!!!"
Clutching the dagger, he used all his strength to stab at the neck of the world Eater Champion!
Elesian, underestimating him, had not worn a helmet, and this gave Lunde a sliver of opportunity.
The dagger was poisoned, a lesson taught in the Schola Progenium: always remember to poison your dagger, so you have a chance to take down a powerful enemy in your dying moments!
Elesian naturally noticed this.
His mocking demeanor changed completely; he let out a roar, a mix of terror and rage, and hastily retracted his strength, simultaneously turning and violently slamming into Lunde.
Bang!
Lunde was immediately sent flying, and the dagger struck his shoulder plate, failing to deliver a fatal blow.
Lunde knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.
Each inhale caused his muscles to pull at his broken ribs; Elesian's charge just now was like a battering ram, the immense force sending him flying over ten meters like a broken ragdoll, slamming him hard into a shell crater.
Luckily, by chance.
Every Commissar who graduated from the Schola Progenium had the opportunity to receive a seed for a bio-implant from 'Paradise Star'.
Combining the cybernetic and The Wandering Earth's exoskeleton devices, it could provide them with excellent defensive capabilities.
It was precisely because of this that he was able to survive the chain-axe and the collision.
But, even so.
The hormones provided by the bio-implant could not save his life; after all, his left shoulder was almost completely cleaved open, and maintaining consciousness was already his limit.
"Is—that it?"
Lunde once again stumbled out of the shell crater, stood before Elesian, and then, on his bloodless, pale young face, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, forcing out a strained arc.
"You—you're not so great either"
"Cowardly lapdog of the Imperium, are you going to kill me with your mouth?" Several veins popped out on Elesian's forehead; he was clearly fed up with this meaningless battle.
"Since you talk so much, once I cut off your head, I'd like to see what else you can say!"
The next moment, the roar of the chain-axe suddenly drew near!
Elesian's massive shadow completely enveloped Lunde, each step making the ground tremble, like a bloodthirsty beast.
The steaming blood aura, carrying a sulfurous burning sensation, surged forward like a tsunami!
Clang!!!!
A deafening metallic clang exploded in the trench, surpassing any previous collision!
The high-speed rotating teeth of the chain-axe savagely gnawed at the equally spinning chainsword, sparks flying blindingly, but as Elesian pressed down mercilessly, the ground beneath Lunde's feet suddenly caved in, and he was forced to his knees by the overwhelmingly violent force, slamming them hard into the ground!
Bang!!!
Immense force transmitted through the sword.
Lunde's arm bones seemed to groan, and his shoulder plate let out a grinding, teeth-aching crack under the strain!
The terrifying pain, like ten thousand volts of electricity, almost made him pass out, but Lunde ground his teeth together, swallowing all the pain.
"He actually blocked it?!"
Even Elesian was shocked by Lunde's sudden burst of power.
How could a mere human block that?
But looking at Lunde—he was actually smiling?!
"What—are you smiling at?!"
Elesian's pupils trembled slightly; he didn't understand why this human could still smile when he was clearly at a dead end!
"I'm smiling—at you!"
Lunde barely managed to block the blow.
His arm muscles bulged to their limit, dark veins popping out, every inch of muscle and bone groaning under the overwhelming force, every breath requiring maximum effort.
But even so, Lunde was still smiling!
"You ask me—what I'm smiling at?"
Under Elesian's confused and perplexed gaze, Lunde's mouth stretched to his ears, and then he pulled out a pistol-like weapon from beneath him.
"Do you know now? You idiot!"
This is... an ion gun?!
Elesian's mind suddenly went blank.
"As a Commissar, carrying an ion gun is a very reasonable and logical thing to do, isn't it?"
Lunde pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The reason he waited until now was that ion charging takes time, and firing also takes time, which makes it difficult to hit Space Marines head-on, given their reaction speed measured in milliseconds.
But now, it was different!
Lunde gave him no chance at all.
"No"
Elesian's eyes widened; he, the champion of Khorne's world Eaters company, was going to die here!
Boom!!!!
A scorching and viscous plasma ion ball directly pierced Elesian's chest, vaporizing his internal organs, blood, and even his armor!
117th Regiment, I'm coming—
Lunde closed his eyes contentedly.
He believed that such a feat should be enough to return to the Golden Throne, right?
Violent jolting woke Lunde.
He was in too much pain to speak, and when he turned his head, he saw the Company Commander, Aleksei, and a few soldiers from the first company, carrying equipment and running frantically with him.
Seeing him wake up, the Company Commander couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"I don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky that you didn't die."
...Lunde couldn't speak, but his eyes conveyed his thoughts: it must be bad luck!
He thought he was dead for sure, but then he opened his eyes and was still alive.
In a way, that was already bad luck.
But how did they survive?
As if noticing his question, the Company Commander forcefully shifted his position.
"See for yourself, I don't know how to explain it."
Then, Lunde witnessed an extremely terrifying scene.
The Warp rift in the center of the battlefield had expanded a hundredfold, ear-splitting shrieks tearing at souls, and an even larger, more blasphemous shadow, like an insurmountable mountain, stood majestically in the twilight.
Its massive brass body was adorned with still-dripping skull trophies, and a giant chainsword burned with unquenchable Warp fire; the mere shadow it cast was enough to suffocate the bravest warriors!
"Daemon—Titan?!"
Lunde's heart tightened.
Despair, like a cold tide, instantly drowned the newly kindled flame of hope once again.
Khorne's daemon army had clearly lost all patience; the giant, blasphemous mechanical construct, dozens of meters tall, represented the Chaos Legion's resolve.
They aimed to utterly crush the Imperium's flank defenses with a thunderous assault!
That was a blasphemous creation of Chaos!
Standing upon the shattered earth, its very existence seemed to be the embodiment of a Chaos god's will.
Surging, violent malice, like a tsunami, poured down, mixed with a visibly bloody energy wave, directly submerging the trenches ahead.
It was not a purely mechanical construct, but rather more akin to flesh and steel, forcibly bonded together into a terrifying behemoth after the addition of blasphemous Chaos sorcery.
Beneath each armor plate, twisted sinews and muscles were covered, and thick hydraulic pipes and energy cables were exposed like human tendons and blood vessels.
As dark red energy was injected internally, it pulsed like the heartbeat of a giant creature!
Scalding, crimson, blazing red steam enveloped this terrifying 'Daemon Titan'.
Countless mortal thralls had offered their blood and souls to it, and through the blood mist, one could even glimpse the sacrificial lives imprisoned within the Chaos construct's furnace and surface armor—distorted, wailing faces!
The flames of hatred materialized, igniting hundreds of kilometers of atmosphere, making the clouds burn like fire.
The Daemon Titan's head was an incomparably massive brass skull, and as its jawbone opened and closed, it let out a roar capable of shattering souls:
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
The Daemon Titan's roar carried a pure will of destruction and a massive psychic Impact.
A visibly crimson energy wave, centered on its massive body, spread out in a fan shape towards the position of the 113th Regiment and the main legions further back!
Buzz—Boom!!!
Lunde bore the brunt, feeling as if his head had been violently struck by an invisible giant hammer.
His vision instantly turned blood red, and only a sharp ringing and the phantom sound of bones shattering remained in his mind.
Every inch of his bones felt as if it were being crushed, including his internal organs; physiological nausea, revulsion, and so on, all surged into his mind.
Lunde spat out a large puddle of viscous liquid mixed with red and green, which seemed to contain fragments of internal organs.
Thick, warm blood uncontrollably seeped from his nostrils, ear canals, and even the corners of his eyes.
The company commander, who was carrying him and running wildly, was already at his mental and spiritual limit.
As if struck again by this psychic Impact, he immediately collapsed to the ground.
The reactions of the others were not much different from Lunde's, but a few warriors with weaker willpower displayed an even more terrifying scene.
They seemed to be frozen, stopping in their tracks and standing dazed, their pupils constantly dilating, and then—bang!!!
Their heads, as if squeezed by an external force, exploded instantly the moment the crimson energy wave swept past, scattering viscous matter mixed with red and white, along with metal fragments of helmets.
Such a scene was truly terrifying!
The Daemon Titan merely let out a roar, and the heads of the soldiers on the entire rear defense line exploded in sequence like lit fireworks, as if they were celebratory displays offered to Khorne!
The communication array was also jammed with Chaos corrupted code.
The terrifying, blasphemous demonic sounds permeated everything; even removing their helmets could not remove this terrifying sound from their minds.
If one were to raise the perspective, one could see that the defense line in front of the 113th Regiment, responsible for receiving them, had almost completely fallen into an unseen ran.
Some were screaming, some were fleeing in all directions!
And others had dropped their weapons, flailing like headless chickens, or cowering behind the remnants of cover, trembling.
They were clearly in a state of complete mental collapse, utterly overcome by fear!
This was a Titan!
With its power alone, it had plunged an entire army deployed by Emrys on the flank into immense ran, reducing its combat strength to less than one-tenth; it was no exaggeration to say that these soldiers, baptized by the Titan's fear aura, had completely lost the will to resist.
The Daemon Titan, burning with sulfurous fire, its gaze filled with wrath and murderous intent, effortlessly shattered a legion of hundreds of thousands of men.
As for the rest?
Although some individuals in the Eighth Legion still possessed strong willpower and withstood the baptism of the 'fear aura', their strength was utterly insufficient to withstand the Daemon Titan's advance!
Rumble!!!
The Daemon Titan took its colossal steps, and the entire mountain range seemed to tremble, quivering before this magnificent creation of a Chaos god, originating from the depths of the highest heavens!
Its massive left arm, like a siege hammer, slowly rose and extended horizontally as the 113th Regiment and others looked up, the weapon mounted on it seemingly forged from metal and souls, gathering foul crimson energy.
A torrent of blood rolled forth, gushing from the massive Warp rift behind the Daemon Titan.
The crimson, foul light obscured the sky, and the temperature climbed at rocket speed, causing the surrounding air to boil and distort.
The next moment, the torrent of blood erupted!
Boom—!!!
The air was instantly torn by the screams of billions of souls!
The terrifying crimson torrent, like a celestial river pouring down, unleashed a fearsome energy surge that caused even space to tremble and wail.
Even the 113th Regiment, not within the attack range, could feel the destructive power from this crimson torrent that tore through the sky, simply by witnessing it!
That was the highest manifestation of Khorne's divine power, and the purest force of destruction!
Its target was the last remaining artillery array of the Holy Terra Legion, located on a mountain ridge in the distance, still defending the flank.
If this artillery array could be destroyed, then the Holy Terra Legion's flank would be completely exposed to the Chaos daemon army, defenseless and wide open!
"No!!!"
Commissar Lunde's eyes were bloodshot as he let out a desperate roar.
He knew, of course, that the artillery array was the only hope to stop the Daemon Titan.
Yet, no matter how angry or desperate he was, he could not change the unfolding reality.
Before despair arrived, the artillery array on the ridge seized its last moments, launching a round of artillery strikes towards the Chaos Legion's position.
However, in the face of that destructive crimson torrent, their final efforts seemed so pale and powerless.
Rumble!!!
The massive mountain ridge, including its rocks, was submerged by the crimson torrent.
Extremely violent energy, accompanied by an earth-shattering explosion, resulted in a mushroom cloud with a diameter of hundreds of meters erupting before the eyes of the 113th Regiment, and a visibly expanding energy wave spread out!
It's gone, truly gone!
Lunde despairingly closed his eyes; there was no need to doubt the Daemon Titan's power.
That single shot was enough to obliterate the entire mountain ridge; there was no room for luck!
The Holy Terra Legion—was going to lose!
Anyone with eyes could see that the flank defense had completely collapsed.
Next, with the help of the Daemon Titan, the Chaos daemon army would be able to drive straight through, like a fatal dagger plunged into the heart of the Imperium of Man!
At this point, unless a miracle happens...
Otherwise, no one can turn the tide; the collapse of the Imperial Legions is imminent.
The immense pressure on the flank made Azrael, who was at the rear, also feel a great deal of stress.
Yet, at this critical juncture, Emrys, the supreme front-line commander of the Legion, was nowhere to be found.
Azrael believed that the Lion's appointed First Guardian Knight would never desert in battle.
But, given the current situation... how could it be resolved?
"If there's truly no other way" Av Krast, the Chapter Master of the Sons of the Forest, a former Fallen Angel, and Blade Angel Knight-Captain, suddenly stepped forward, a look of grim determination in his eyes.
"I can lead the Sons of the Forest, using the Lion's 'Forest,' to carry heavy cyclone torpedoes and detonate them directly at the feet of that Daemon Titan."
This might be the only way.
However, the success rate was still negligible, even infinitely close to zero.
Although, in terms of nomenclature, people generally refer to these massive creations as 'Titans,' which has led to a misconception for many.
A Titan is called a 'Titan,' but its true designation should be—a Titan Legion!
A large legion formed around a 'Titan' as its core, much like the aircraft carrier fleets of various nations on Terra during the distant 3K era.
A complete Titan Legion includes a large number of auxiliaries, among them the cult Mechanicus Legions, the Skitarii Legions, and the Knight Legions.
Precisely because of this, facing such a massive legion, even if all the Sons of the Forest were elites, Angels of the Emperor,
demigods in the eyes of mortals, it would be impossible to complete such a mission.
Send the Lion?
No, this thought was immediately erased from Azrael's mind.
He even felt fear, wondering why he would have such a blasphemous idea; how could he let the noble Primarch undertake such a suicidal mission?
"Trust him."
The Lion remained in his meditative posture, his gaze still fixed on the holographic command map.
He was well aware of the immense pressure on the flank; that blasphemous Chaos creation could very well, with a single shot, reduce his meticulously planned deployment to ashes.
But, even the Lion could not handle such a situation.
He could only trust Emrys, trust this miraculous boy... He once said he would bring hope!
Hope... where was it?
The Lion tasted the bitterness; it was his first time facing a war with such a vast disparity.
The Holy Terra Legions were strong, but far from true Astra Militarum elites; those xenos called 'Transformers' were also formidable, but they couldn't completely replace the roles of the Imperial Navy and the Knight Legions; even the Space Marines, such a fighting force, were stretched thin for them.
The Blood Angels and Dark Angels had already endured the brutal Battle of Draconis III, unless... the Ultramarines could arrive on time.
The Daemon Titan continued its advance; no force could halt its steps.
A legion of tens of thousands?
In front of a "Titan," a single shot would smear flesh into mud, leaving a crimson, lava-like chasm on the world's surface.
Roars from the Empyrean, the malice of the Chaos Gods, and the Daemon Titan's inhuman psychic Impact continued to spread, spread, spread towards the Imperial lines!
Mortal willpower seemed so insignificant, so ridiculous, before the Daemon Titan.
Even the Astartes, Angels of the Emperor, could not stem the Daemon Titan's advance; the Chaos Legions' offensive surged like a tide, accompanied by volley after volley of artillery fire capable of evaporating rivers and leveling mountains, causing hundreds of the blue sectors representing their forces on the holographic display to vanish in an instant!
Every blue sector here was rapidly being painted red.
Scarlet, sharp, deadly red arrows pierced directly into the Imperium's 'heart'!
But, just then...
The atmosphere suddenly heated up, like boiling water, and a suffocating pressure enveloped everyone's hearts.
What happened?
The Lion froze for a few seconds, then saw a crimson beam of light, tearing across the sky, carrying the Emperor's wrath, descend upon the Chaos Legions.
Boom!!!
The entire battlefield seemed to be muted at that moment.
Immediately, an even more violent sound completely overwhelmed it, a roar like a tsunami, even causing temporary deafness.
That thick crimson beam of light emitted a suffocating heat, like the core of a released Sun, carrying the terrifying temperature that purified all heresy, and a space-rending shriek, piercing straight through the atmosphere with an irresistible, terrifying might.
Wherever this light passed, trace elements in the air were completely annihilated, leaving only a scorching and twisted vacuum trail. Any life caught in the path of this beam was instantly vaporized, including the flesh-twisted creations of the Chaos Legions. The ground even appeared vitrified, melted by the high temperature.
This attack is... The Lion's heart trembled as he followed the light with his gaze.
At the same time, members of the 113th Regiment also looked up towards it, where a sacred structure stood majestically within a gigantic gate of light.
It was hard to imagine what it would look like when a magnificent, colossal cathedral stood on a planetary surface.
And now, Rundle finally saw it.
It was more than just a "cathedral"; the magnificent and sublime cathedral made it appear sacred and solemn, but what truly shocked the Chaos Legions, and even the Imperial soldiers, was that this colossal, mountain-like 'cathedral' was actually... 'standing'!
Yes, it wasn't a 'cathedral,' but a mobile 'fortress.'
Its thick and massive mechanical lower limbs caused earth-shattering tremors with every movement, and from its amplification arrays, capable of covering the entire battlefield, chanted binary hymns unique to the Mechanicus, which Rundle could not understand at all, as if praising this great and holy creation.
Its height even reached into the clouds, allowing those standing on the ground to glimpse only a very small part of it.
But even this very small part was enough to awe people, to deeply intoxicate them with its body, constructed of sacred destruction and the precise gears of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
A name simultaneously surfaced in everyone's minds.
"Titan"!
That's right, the Imperial side had also deployed a 'Titan'!
With the appearance of the Titan, large numbers of cult Mechanicus Legions, Skitarii Legions, and even Knight-class mechs of the Knight Houses,
marched onto this battlefield under proudly unfurled banners.
Among the fluttering banners were those of the 'Stygies VIII' Forge world, the Imperial Astra Militarum, the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, the Astartes Chapters, and the Knight Houses, among others.
"Notify all personnel: Vigilus forces have joined the war!"
This was Emrys' voice, sounding so sweet at this moment.
The Lion's expression was a bit strange; he knew of Vigilus, but... it was tens of thousands of light-years away. How did this boy bring people from so far away?
And the moment this Warlord-class Titan stepped onto the battlefield, no words were needed, nor did a Commissar need to boost morale.
Because its very existence was the greatest encouragement to the soldiers!
It was the embodiment of the Machine God, the Emperor's wrath unleashed upon heretics, the Machine God!
This Warlord-class Titan, from 'Vigilus,' the Stygies VIII Mechanicus Forge world, sponsored by Archmagos Drakechris,
stood majestically on the blasphemous planetary surface. Although its height was not as immense as the Daemon creation, it exuded an entirely different kind of majesty.
Countless sacred scriptures and the Aquila, symbolizing Imperial glory, were carved into its magnificent holy armor plates, glinting with a cold and resolute metallic sheen under the dim, blood-red sky.
And within this holy creation, the crew responsible for piloting the Titan, the Princeps, was highly connected to the 'Machine Spirit' within the Titan.
His voice, amplified through the Titan's vox-caster, carried a metallic emphasis like grinding gears, resonating with the Titan's engines, and spreading across the entire battlefield.
"In the name of the Machine God, the God-Machine advances—!!!"