Author Notes:
Bit of a short chapter because I think I am a bit mentally exhausted, having a migraine right now. As such, I would be happy if anyone can spot any mistake or lack of consistency I fail to notice in my less than efficience state. If you do see something, please comment on the specifics so that I can immediately patch them at fast as I can.
Honestly, I think the reason why I am in a bit of a physical downer is because I don't have enough recaf.
Don't forget to check out the pictures, tell me how you feel about them, and take a look at the Special Recruitment Drive which will end in ten days!
https://www.patre-on.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
Ein C8th 3: https://postimg.cc/XXJJQ4ck
Ein C8th 4: https://postimg.cc/DmZZBndc
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We have set up an encampment around the breach we made. Using the rubble knocked over by the Dreadnoughts and a few prefabricated materials the convoy carried with them, we set up a few lines of barricades, covers, and firing positions. These are to be used by the portion of the dismounted force staying with the vehicles right outside the breach. Our rides home, in particular, will also be sticking close to enemy infrastructure, apparently using it as cover against indirect artillery attacks. While this will instead put these vehicles close to where there's possible enemy infantry, thus presenting a significant risk, we hope that the troops we leave behind will be enough to protect the flanks of our iron fist. However, the staying power of this heavy armor force in a confined setting, with a barely serviceable number of meat shields, is questionable at best. As such, it's the duty of the assault force to swiftly cut the peak of the bird and pulverize the head. Right after the encampment is properly up and running, the JTF leaders waste no time ordering a push further inside. Once again, there's no respite, only actions in the name of the Emperor.
Nonetheless, while our will is set, it doesn't mean the heresy in the front will sit still and offer up its head. Every room, every hallway connected to the breach, is soon teeming with foes. Small hordes of cultists traverse down every nook and cranny, passing by heretical iconography in abundant and indiscriminately splattered on the rusted, archaic walls. Their response time is swifter than expected, but it's only fitting, considering we didn't just breach their headquarters in a show of splendorous fireworks but also sanctified a portion of it. And yes, the accompanying Tech-priests and the Sisters of Battle can be a potent combination in purifying the tarnished ground. Still, whoever is ordering these cultists to counterattack obviously doesn't attach any brain to them. You don't expect sheer numbers and crude weapons to be enough to dislodge two Dreadnoughts, a Chapter Master, a Chief Librarian, a Canonness Superior, and multiple Companies' worth of power armor soldiers, right?
The moment these heretics round the corners, brandishing their mismatched firearms and makeshift melee weapons while chanting the name of their respective Lords, they are met with the unflinching wall of ceramite that are the Dreadnoughts and Assault Terminators. Although the convoy we arrived on has some munition carriers, it's agreed by both Chapter Master Tu'shan and Mama Elyzabeth that we shouldn't expend our ammo on this bunch of riffraff, if we can help it. As such, the heavy frontliners employ their bulk, martial experience, and power weapons while paving the way forward. To cover these JTF elites, it's actually us Cadian 8th and Kasrkin who use our Lasguns and Hellguns to thin out the cultists' ranks while the other Astartes and Sisters of Battle shore up the flanks and rear of the spearhead. This formation, with the Imperial Guards mostly front and center, is chosen because we have the most munitions to spare, as we heavily employed the ammo-efficient Lasweapons. 3rd Platoon is, as always and most certainly because of my shield, at the very front of the mortal troops, moving right behind the towering form of Chapter Master Tu'shan and brother Dreadnoughts.
"No pity! No remorse! No fear!" Tu'shan, shouts as he raises his favored Stormbearer Thunder Hammer. "Brothers and sisters of the Imperium, suffer not the heretics to live!"
With a mighty shout, the Salamander Chapter Master slams the crackling hammerhead down onto the floor, easily creating a tremor akin to an earthquake. The charged energy contained in the hammer explodes forward, pulverizing inorganic and biological matter alike as dozens of cultists meet their gruesome end, being turned into bloody mist that is soon vaporized by the lingering heat in the air. Befitting a master-crafted weapon of Salamander origin, Tu'shan's Stormbearer heats the very air around it despite its name and nature. Inspired by their Chapter Master, the frontline Assault Terminators and Dreadnoughts swing their weapons and fists even faster, paying no mind to the utterly ineffective bullets and las shots striking their premium Ceramite platings. And while our marching speed is no doubt hastened by Tu'shan's active participation and constant inspiring quotes, one does not easily ignore the squishy feeling of combat boots stepping on dismembered body parts and fresh, blackened blood.
[Nuwa: S-Sorry, but... I think I will throw up.]
[Fuxi: ... You should have listened to me and turned the censor on, foolish sister.]
[Xuanyuan: I... Had I not had my cultivation... I would have reacted much like Sister Nuwa. ]
[Jingwei: Such a sight is still too early, and even unfit for you all, but... If you are to continue watching Ein's livestream, sooner or later, you will have to get used to it. Better see the world through her eyes now than later.]
[Emperor of Man: Don't be too hard on them, Hua. The censor system exists in the stream for a reason. As dark as it sounds, such a gory mess will be a recurring event throughout Ein's life. Ein is used to that life due to her upbringing, but the others aren't exactly cut out of the same cloth. So, a gradual ease into it is better for sanity's sake. My only hope is that you all, as her martial and second family, not alienate little Ein for circumstances she can't and won't be able to control. If that's to be the case... I will be disappointed, indeed.]
[Nuwa: Hey, I may be sick in my stomach now, but that doesn't mean that you can belittle our bond with Ein, Emperor! Our bond is as sacred and stalwart as Mount Taixuan...! Although, do excuse me as I turn on the censor, sorry!]
[Fuxi: Although we can do without my sister's solo stage play, she does make a good point. Ein won't ever find herself without the backing of the entirety of Mount Taixuan. And come what may, we will ensure her pureness of heart in a universe so rife with strife.]
[Xuanyuan: Well said, Sister Fuxi! With Sister Fuxi and Nuwa being the brains, Jingwei and I can become Ein's right and left arm, respectively! Still, to become her left arm, I must improve myself even further. I can't let my martial sister fight unaided forever! There must come a time when we can help her in the other world, right?]
[Jingwei: Theoretically, yes. Nonetheless, while it's good to see that everyone is sufficiently motivated in helping Ein out anyway we can, let's not clutter up the Chatroom and let Ein focus on fighting this pivotal battle. We can continue this discussion later... And Ein? Be careful.]
I let out a small smile beneath my helmet.
[Ein: Thank you, Sister Hua, everyone.]
The Chatroom then dies down into inactivity, just in time for our formation to transit from a long and wide corridor to a slightly narrower and denser hallway, littered with needless objects and branching doorways. If anything, this area is a maze to delay attackers like us. Understandably, the Chaos-touched construction of this headquarters means we have no reliable building blueprint to go by as we traverse the place. The only reason we can so confidently push forward is thanks to the effort of the accompanying Techmarines who constantly scan the topography with their powerful Auspex. Since we are targeting the command and control center of the anti-air and anti-orbital network, it goes without saying that a lot of electricity is needed to power the central cogitators and Auspex array. By identifying where the power lines are concentrated, the Techmarines can pinpoint our destination.
It also helps that the Techmarines can help deter the enemy commander from blocking our path forward or separating us with the use of internal blast doors. The mortal minds can't outcompute that of a specially trained Techmarine, and our Techmarines can dispose of these weak, feeble attempts at tactics with laughable ease. That is, if Tu'shan or the Dreadnoughts haven't lost patience somehow and smash the obstruction apart.
Now, where does Mama Elyzabeth fit in all of this? She is, of course, acting as the co-leader of this assault force, posting in the back of the formation and leading the rearguards. It's a mightily important task, mind you, as we are surrounded and are heavily outnumbered the deeper we are into the bowels of this structure. Even this far forward of a formation of more than a hundred men and women, I can still feel the hymn generated by the swinging of Mama's Blessed Power Sword, the heat of her Inferno Pistol searing columns of the enemy's ranks. Never to stray far from her side is Sister Tsavorae, leading her Squad in cooperation with the Celestians to aid Mama in carrying out their sacred duty to the Emperor. While not at all flashy as the Salamanders' Terminator Rows, Mama leads her Sisters to be just as impactful as they ensure we never get bogged down by multi-prong attacks. More than anything, their Faith brings about an intangible benefit to mortal units like 3rd Platoon in the formation filled with supersoldiers, soothing our strained minds and physical exertion. It's something I have only noticed, thanks to my training in Edge of Taixuan. In a way, I can equate the Order's Faith as a Holy version of my Battle Meditation.
Still, it does say something when I can feel Mama's gaze lingering on my back nearly all the time. She can't seem to stop worrying about me, and that makes me both happy and concerned. I don't want her to be distracted in the heat of battle and suffer from an injury. Her Rosarius is not a foolproof protection, despite its potency when empowered with Faith. And speaking of shielding, some members in our force are equipped with the same portable shielding devices as the ones used in the Imperial Droidekas. More specifically, they are given to some of the midrank field officers, mortals and enhanced alike, like Sergeants and Palatines. While these portable shields can only take a finite amount of punishment, not at all powerful like the likes of the Rosarius or Iron Halo, they do give the wielders a few precious seconds of survival against concentrated range attacks before needing to be recharged after suffering from enough damage. Without a doubt, it's a major force multiplier in offensive attacks like this one, as our overall durability is way over the top for these throwaway cultists.
In fact, we haven't taken a singular casualty in the fifteen-minute march to the inner areas of the headquarters, something to be both happy and alarmed about. Given this is a territory headed by the Cult of Lies, probably, the inner areas are where things should be trickier. The moment I finish thinking that, however, is when our force comes across a truly massive blast door that separates the inner areas from the outer ones. And already, my instinct is tingling in alertness, telling me of the threats lying beyond this metallic veil.
"Guess we'll be moving onto the main course soon, then..." I mutter as the Techmarines move to appraise the sealed gateway.