Cinder Plains, second bunker defense line, Bunker No. 3.
A standard assault squad clad in CMC power armor rested not far from a Devastator Heavy Tank that was firing incessantly.
They slid back their visors and gulped down compressed starch bars. One of the Medics asked, "Captain, I heard you've actually met our new Governor?"
Kaidel stuffed the rest of his starch bar into his mouth, chewed hurriedly, and swallowed. "Of course. He's the one who saved my life."
Boom! The Siege Tank behind them let out another armor-piercing shell. "Damned bugs, can't they just give it a rest for a minute?" a Marauder in CMC-660 armor grumbled. As the squad's heavy gunner and a veteran, his temper was anything but mild.
"Alright, Quichi, hang in there. We're lucky just to be alive right now," the Medic comforted him.
"If the Governor hadn't provided us with this power armor, we'd have been turned into bone scraps long ago," Kaidel sighed.
"Yeah, the Governor is a truly kind man. You know, my sister wrote to me recently saying that work hours in the Underhive have been cut significantly. She has more time to go to the chapel now," the Medic said sentimentally. "She said she met someone she likes at the church and they're planning to get married under the priest's blessing. She's just waiting for me to get back..."
"Hey, Bard, you bastard, shut the hell up with that talk!" Quichi immediately interrupted with a curse. "I don't want any 'accidents' happening later." Dreaming of the future on the battlefield was a notorious jinx.
"Fine, fine, I was just feeling a bit—"
"Enemy contact! Massive swarm detected! Prepare for battle!" Before Bard could finish, Kaidel roared. The alarms within the bunker had already begun to wail.
In the distance, the sky was blackened by swarms of Tyranid Gargoyles and Harpy-like winged beasts converging on Bunker No. 3. Before everyone could even reach their combat stations, a large number of Tyranid Trygons and Mawlocs burst through the ground inside the bunker perimeter via subterranean tunnels.
"I'm gonna tear you bastards apart!" Quichi, in his CMC-660, unleashed a barrage of quad-grenades from his arm-cannons into a Mawloc.
"Watch out!" Kaidel raised his Gauss Rifle and blasted several Gargoyles trying to ambush Quichi. "Prioritize protecting the tanks! Don't get reckless!"
Hearing this, the assault squad members moved closer to the nearby Siege Tanks, gunning down the tunneling beasts attempting to disable the armor.
In the camp, all Goliath walkers and Missile Turrets began firing at full capacity toward the swarming aerial threats.
"Something's wrong. This Tyranid offensive feels much heavier than the previous ones." In the central command post of Bunker No. 3, the commander frowned while scanning the battlefield.
Not only were the Tyranids numerous this time, but the concentration of elite units was staggering. "Have they designated us as the breakthrough point?"
In front of the bunker, scores of Carnifexes shielded Biovores and Exocrines as they bombarded the alloy walls. Tyranid Warriors and countless Gaunts threw themselves into the line of fire with suicidal disregard.
They used their lives to soak up the defenders' ammunition. Countless bullets and shells tore them into fragments, only for the gaps to be filled by the swarm a moment later.
In the air, Venomthropes released clouds of toxic spores and bacterial mist. Fortunately, the human CMC power armor featured built-in NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) filtration systems sufficient to purify the air, but the thick smog began to obscure their vision.
"Damn it, we've hit the Tyranid main force!" Kaidel's squad arrived at the high walls to assist the defense after clearing the Mawlocs in the camp.
Behind them, dozens of Siege Tanks poured fire into the swarm, yet they still couldn't halt the advance.
"Retreat! Retreat!!!" Upon reporting the situation to headquarters, the commander immediately received orders to pull back. This main force was more than they could handle; they needed to preserve their strength and fall back to Bunker No. 4 to make a stand.
Kaidel led his team in a fighting retreat, shooting down diving Gargoyles. Just as they narrowly dodged a bombardment from the winged flyers, a section of the alloy wall collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"Go! Get out of here! We'll cover you!" the armored company commander roared over the comms. All the tanks in the camp transitioned into their mobile forms to cover the retreating infantry.
Kaidel didn't hesitate and led his team away. But just as they were about to reach a safe zone, the armored commander's agonizing scream pierced the comms: "What is that monster?! AAAAGH—!"
Before the voice could fade, a world-shaking roar echoed across the plains. Kaidel spun around and witnessed a sight he would never forget: a hideously ferocious colossus was slaughtering the entire tank company within the toxic mist.
The Siege Tanks looked like mere toys before it. All incoming fire was perfectly deflected by a psychic shield shimmering around its body. Four bone-blades sliced through tanks with every swing; a single charge from the beast could flip a heavy vehicle over.
The Goliaths were swatted aside like flies. It unleashed a piercing psychic scream that caused every human who had fled their vehicles in panic to die instantly as their brains liquefied.
"What... is that thing..." Kaidel stared at the invincible behemoth. His heart, which he thought had been hardened by countless trials, trembled with terror once more.
The beast seemed to possess its own intelligence, commanding the other swarms. Once it had cleared the immediate enemies, it stood still, staring toward the direction of Kaidel's retreat. Then, another roar sounded—a clarion call for the charge. Every Tyranid began to swarm forward once again.
"Run!!! Move!!!"
"An unknown giant bio-monstrosity has appeared on the front lines. Approximately 10 meters tall, equipped with four extremely sharp bone-blades that can easily carve through tank armor. It possesses a psychic shield capable of withstanding concentrated tank fire and can directly liquefy the brains of nearby enemies within a certain radius. Furthermore, it appears to be commanding the entire Tyranid swarm..."
"The second bunker line is crumbling because of its presence. Massive swarms are converging on the Cinder Plains, and the numbers on other fronts are dropping rapidly. They intend to launch a general offensive through the Cinder Plains! All frontline bunkers are requesting reinforcements..."
Alexei listened to Colton's report with a heavy frown. The fragments of data from the front coalesced in his mind into a terrifying figure: the Swarmlord.
As the apex predator of the Tyranid race and the superior of the Hive Tyrants, it possessed immense psychic power and supreme tactical intelligence. Usually, the Hive Mind only birthed one when the swarm could not crush its foe through sheer numbers or standard tactics.
Alexei felt a surge of tension. This thing was capable of hacking Space Marine Chapter Masters into pieces... ordinary soldiers were practically sacrifices before it. How was he supposed to deal with such a monster?
Moreover, it was essentially "immortal"; every time it died, it returned stronger the next time it was spawned.
"So, you've chosen this moment for a general offensive too..." Alexei's gaze seemed to pierce through the distance to the Tyranid Hive Mind.
He hadn't expected the enemy to strike at the exact same time he had planned his move. Currently, all his Zerg forces were gathered at a single location, waiting for his final command to travel through Nydus Worms and strike the Tyranids' rear with overwhelming force.
Cloaked Overlords were already drifting deep behind Tyranid lines. Once the coordinates of the enemy's long-range clusters were locked, the Zerg would bypass the front via the Nydus network.
But now, the Tyranid swarm had beaten him to the punch.
"In that case... let's see who gets the last laugh."