Inside the massive Heavy Factory of the Underhive industrial zone, unlike ordinary factories with their dozens of workshops, there was only one gargantuan open platform. Dozens of robotic arms were autonomously assembling a giant mecha.
Its colossal frame nearly filled the entire space. The manufacturing process was nearing its end as the robotic arms installed the final rear weapon system—a set of quad-linked cannons that would not look out of place even on a starship.
Alexei stood below the platform, watching the mechanical arms integrate the terrifying battery with the Thor's back. Following a shower of sparks and electrical arcs, the arms slowly retracted, revealing a brand-new Thor Heavy Mecha to the onlookers.
Everyone present stared at the mecha with disbelief, including Inquisitor Diana, who harbored an intense hatred for xenos technology. She had visited this factory multiple times, witnessing this giant being built piece by piece from its skeletal frame to its current form.
"This big guy can surely rival the legendary Knights of the Empire..." a former Baneblade crew member whispered while gazing at the Thor.
Alexei walked to the feet of the Thor. Looking at this ultimate product of Terran technology from StarCraft II—the undisputed overlord of the ground battlefield—he ran his hand over its cold alloy steel. The Swarmlord is all yours now... don't let me down.
Utilizing six giant Heavy Factories, he had produced six of these 15-meter-tall Thors. Alexei intended to deploy them directly onto the front lines to confront the Swarmlord head-on.
To man these machines, he had brought the best-performing tank crews from the recent battles. Although the Thor was massive, it required only one person to fully operate. Since each tank crew consisted of three people, he turned to the group still reeling from the sight.
Alexei quickly explained the Thor's specifications: heavy alloy plates for immense frontal defense, twin-linked large-caliber "Thor's Hammer" cannons on the arms, and a rear 350mm barrage cannon system capable of switching modes to target light or heavy aerial units—or even conducting wide-area orbital-style bombardment on the ground.
The primary drawback was its extremely slow movement speed. They needed transport assistance. Alexei planned to use heavy-duty cargo flyers with high-strength steel cables to hoist these behemoths to the frontline bunkers. It was a pity he didn't have Medivacs; otherwise, six Medivacs could have shuttled these Thors with much greater efficiency.
Alexei then ordered a crew member to enter the Thor. The steel restraints began to unlock one by one. The thunderous roar of the fusion engine filled everyone's ears, and with the aid of an intelligent sub-processor, the titan took its first step.
Thump! Thump! Accompanied by the hiss of hydraulic levers and the roar of engines, the six Thors entered the Underhive testing grounds. At Alexei's command, they unleashed their firepower on a nearby open area. With the rumbling of cannons, countless explosions instantly saturated the entire space.
With the whirring of mechanical gears, the quad-linked 350mm cannons on their backs transformed, their thick barrels aiming forward. A volley of fire powerful enough to burn the air erupted. The roar was so intense it temporarily deafened the onlookers, and the tremors from the ground made it difficult for anyone to stay standing.
As the fire subsided, the crowd was shocked to find that the distant ground had been physically lowered by a staggering amount.
"This is true romance for a man!" Alexei looked at the smoking barrels of the Thor, a hint of fanaticism in his eyes. Now, it was time for the final show: Mecha vs. Kaiju.
Cinder Plains, second defense line, the final three bunkers.
Several days had passed since the Tyranids launched their general offensive. The final three bunkers stood stubbornly on the road leading to the rear, enduring the relentless assault of an endless Tyranid swarm.
The alloy walls of the bunkers were already battered and broken. The collapsed sections exposed everyone to the swarm's fire.
Newly produced heavy tanks charged recklessly toward the gaps in the walls, using their thick armor as shields for the PDF infantry. As the frontline pillars against the swarm, they were nailed firmly to the front of the battlefield.
However, under the bombardment of countless bio-shells, even the thickest alloy armor couldn't hold for long before being scrapped. Crew members were often dissolved into nothingness by corrosive acid. Even so, none of the tanks retreated; they were the only cover the PDF infantry had left.
SCVs braved the bombardment to repair damaged structures, while Goliath walkers and Missile Turrets poured fire into the Tyranid flyers.
Reinforcements from the rear were streaming toward the Cinder Plains. The swarms on all other fronts had mostly retreated. Every soul on this planet knew the war had reached its most critical juncture.
The three bunkers were now like spinning meat grinders. Both sides threw their forces in frantically. The average survival time for a PDF soldier in the bunker was less than twenty-four hours.
The humans on the battlefield were seeing red, having forgotten the meaning of fear. They knew if they failed, their families behind them would become fodder for the aliens. They could not lose.
Just as the human line was about to buckle, a cloaked Overlord successfully locked onto the Tyranids' long-range fire positions.
The next moment, accompanied by Zagara's roar within the Zerg psionic network, the ground around the three bunkers began to tremble violently as if a massive earthquake were occurring.
The wasteland split open. With a roar, a maw large enough to swallow anything burst from the earth, appearing directly behind the Tyranid swarm.
As nearby Tyranids turned their bio-cannons toward this dark, ravenous abyss, countless shrieks erupted from within. The Zerg Swarm, absent from the battlefield for so long, had struck the Tyranid rear in a way the Hive Mind never expected.
The first wave of cloaked Banelings rolled out of the maw, exploding to clear a landing zone for the main force.
Following them were massive numbers of Roaches, Zerglings, and Queens. While the Queens hurriedly spread Creep, the Roaches and Zerglings lunged at the nearby Tyranids.
The Swarmlord immediately realized its "backdoor" had been breached. It deduced that the crimson maw on the surface was the source of the Zerg, and it roared for its flyers and Biovores to tear the creature apart.
But Zagara would not allow that. A large number of Ravagers—units that had never before appeared—emerged from the Nydus Worm alongside Hydralisks.
The Swarmlord noticed these unusual creatures. A tide of fodder-tier Gaunts swarmed toward them. Zagara gave them no chance to close in. The Ravagers shuddered as the lumpy glands on their backs launched globs of searing plasma into the sky.
Before the Tyranids could react, dense clusters of plasma rained down, turning everything in their path to ash. Even the large Tyranid units with thick chitinous carapaces could not withstand the repeated strikes of high-temperature plasma.
A torrential "rain" began to fall on the rear battlefield of the Cinder Plains, but this orange-red rain consisted entirely of plasma mortars fired by the Ravagers.
Under Zagara's orders, the Ravagers pushed forward alongside the rest of the swarm. She knew it wouldn't be long before the Tyranids adapted to the plasma, so they had to eliminate as many as possible before then.
In the three bunkers of the human front, Anna, acting as a commander, keenly noticed the shift in Tyranid numbers. She recalled the "encirclement plan" Marshal Colton had mentioned. Everything happening on the battlefield proved their offensive had begun.
She didn't hesitate. Every second was critical. Even without orders from the rear, Anna seized the gap during the Tyranid troop rotation.
"All forces, advance!" At her command, every heavy tank in the bunker charged out toward the swarm outside—a clash of needles against wheat.
Each heavy shell blast painted the ground with Tyranid ichor. With the Zerg pinning them from behind, the Tyranids' fire had significantly weakened.
PDF assault squads charged alongside the roar of tank engines. Finally, the general offensive order reached the other bunkers. The human army surged forward like a dam bursting. The desperate situation was finally showing signs of a turnaround.
But just as everyone thought they might secure another victory, a massive roar froze the smiles on their faces.
The Swarmlord had arrived in person, accompanied by several Hive Tyrants. Their presence instantly halted the human advance.
The colossus crashed into the human formations. Agonizing screams filled the comms. No matter how the humans attacked, they could not damage the monster; all fire was deflected by its psionic shield. Terror spread once again.
Faced with this, the commanders could only sacrifice lives to stall the monsters. Just as despair was setting in, a transmission from the rear ignited new hope.
"Attention: The Thors have reached the front lines."
As the voice echoed over the comms, six massive shadows appeared in the sky above the distant rear. The ultimate ground power of the Terrans had arrived.
On the front lines, Kaidel's mind was a blank. He hid behind the wreckage of a shattered Devastator tank. His left arm had just been struck by a corrosive spore; the thick CMC-600 power armor had melted away instantly.
As the agony reached his brain, Kaidel snapped back to reality. He screamed, "Bard! Bard!" But his call was cut short. Not far away, the upper half of a Medic's body was missing.
"Damn it." Kaidel had no time to grieve. He grabbed a tactical combat knife and carved away the remains of his corroded left arm.
"AAAGH!" Feeling the blinding pain, he nearly blacked out, but his right hand didn't stop. He threw away the knife and grabbed his Gauss Rifle. Just as he was about to lean out of cover to return fire, another explosive glob landed beside him.
Kaidel's mind went blank again as he instinctively dove aside. But a sharp pain in his lower body told him he had been hit again. In his trembling vision, he saw nothing but empty space where his leg used to be.
Suddenly, someone dragged him backward. Kaidel turned his head with difficulty. As expected, it was the remaining survivors of his squad. "Hang in there, Captain!" Quichi ran over, using his broad body to shield Kaidel from the incoming fire.
The squad members tried to drag him to safety. Boom! Several massive explosions rang out. Several oversized plasma balls instantly vaporized Quichi as he was firing. Not even a corpse was left behind.
"NO!!!" Kaidel, with only one arm left, struggled, but his teammates pinned him down and dragged him behind another destroyed Devastator.
"You damned bastards!! Come and kill me then!" Kaidel leaned against the tank wreckage, roaring incessantly. Massive blood loss was blurring his consciousness. His teammates were still leaning out, firing their Gauss Rifles into the swarm.
However, their attacks were negligible. The swarm continued to close in. Just as Kaidel thought this was the end, massive shadows appeared in the sky.
To their shocked eyes, six figures large enough to blot out the sun became clear. They were gargantuan heavy mechas. As the steel cables from the transporters released, the six mechas slammed into the ground.
The impact kicked up enough dust to obscure the battlefield. Just as the nearby Tyranids noticed these six terrifying silhouettes, a thunderous barrage of cannon fire erupted from the mist. The shockwaves from the cannons blew the dust away.
The six 15-meter-tall Thors stood before everyone. Every step they took made the earth tremble. The roar of hydraulic levers and fusion engines gave the surrounding humans a new sense of hope.
Countless Tyranid flyers tried to swarm them from the sky. As they drew close, the quad-cannons on the Thors' backs transformed, unleashing a deluge of missiles specialized for light units. Simultaneously, every blast from the "Thor's Hammer" arm cannons erased a section of the swarm.
Even when attacks struck these terrifying mechas, they were rebuffed by alloy armor of unimaginable thickness.
Relying on their overwhelming firepower, the six Thors bombarded everything in their range, slowly advancing forward. The surrounding PDF forces finally gained a temporary reprieve.