Neither side, before the war began, had anticipated that the decisive battle would start early, and on such a Death world!
In the Tyranids's plan, they should have proceeded to the Baal system at the fastest speed and devoured Baal II, which would have been the most consistent decision with the Hive Mind's will.
But it never expected to be forcibly dragged onto this Death world by a human, using despicable and shameless tactics, midway through its journey.
Emrys, on the other hand, also didn't expect that what was originally just an attempt to consume as much Tyranid power as possible and vex the Hive Mind, would ultimately turn into a mission of desperate defense.
In fact, with the war having progressed to this point, both sides were a bit hot-headed. As the saying goes, 'it's not about the steamed bun, it's about the argument.' The Hive Mind now only had one thought: to kill Emrys!
As for Baal?
That wasn't important; there would be other opportunities in the future!
But if it didn't kill Emrys, it simply couldn't swallow this insult, and the Tyranids would feel it had failed him!
However, from Emrys' perspective, he had suffered so many losses for no reason and gained no benefits, so how could he let the Tyranids have an easy time?
The Hive Mind poured all the biomass it had plundered from various Worlds onto Perdita!
Perdita had already evolved from an initial small skirmish battlefield into a true large-scale battle.
The Hive Mind had never been so serious; it first sent a massive tide of low-tier, cheap Gaunts, Hormagaunts, and genestealers,
forming an overwhelming wave that surged ceaselessly towards the human positions.
Their purpose was to waste human bullets, as their production cost was extremely low, making them ideal cannon fodder!
This was also a common Tyranid tactic; they wouldn't launch a real offensive until these low-tier Tyranid had been completely annihilated.
Next, scattered across the plains behind the main lines, were the Bio-Titans, which would launch plasma and corrosive artillery, bombarding both the low-tier Tyranid swarm and the humans in front of them!
Even if countless such cheap Tyranid died, the Hive Mind wouldn't bat an eye or feel any pain!
Once these cheap Tyranid had largely depleted the human artillery, it would be time for truly threatening high-tier units to appear.
For example—the Swarmlord!
This was the first time Emrys had seen it on the battlefield, the overlord of the entire swarm, also a top predator, the vanguard of the Hive Mind!
"This is bad; the Hive Mind is getting serious—" Emrys' eyelid twitched, not only because he saw the Swarmlord, but also countless strange creatures, like ghosts, floating in the sky.
"Even the Neurothrope has arrived!"
Those Tyranid floating in the air, with huge ovoid heads and slender bodies dragging below, were the special Tyranid unit known as the Neurothrope.
Within their exaggeratedly large heads, they contained powerful psychic abilities bestowed by the Hive Mind, capable of easily overturning and shattering a Taurox APC with their psychic power!
And there were hundreds of such psychic units in the ocean-like Tyranids swarm, almost forming a collective!
With the addition of psychic units, the Tyranids' advance speed increased severalfold in an instant!
First, directly in front, the Hive Mind had specifically bred the 'Lictors' to deal with them, their bodies covered in hard chitinous carapaces, crushing enemies in their path like heavy tanks!
Immediately following was the psychic bombardment from the Neurothrope collective, wave after wave of psychic tides, directly leveling the defensive fortifications meticulously dug by the Krieg Engineers!
After the defensive fortifications were breached, it was time for the 'Shrieking Killers' to make their appearance. Their specially adapted killing claws could easily tear through sturdy steel, and the superheated plasma they shrieked could even destroy the body of a Transformers in a single blow!
In the sky, countless 'Harpies' with huge leathery wings hurled swollen sacs filled with highly toxic spores, like bombs, towards the front lines!
As the sacs burst, a corrosive, dark green gas containing venom immediately spread out!
Although the soldiers of the Krieg Death Korps wore gas masks, the spore sacs thrown by the Tyranids Harpies didn't just kill with gas; they also had an even more terrifying corrosive effect!
In just a few seconds, a living person could be dissolved into a skeleton, like a living hell!
The situation suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.
It proved that even the elite of the Astra Militarum, the Krieg Death Korps, couldn't withstand a frenzied Hive Mind!
Gazing at the overwhelming and endlessly emerging new Tyranid species, Emrys' brows furrowed tightly, almost forming the character 'river' (chuan, meaning river).
"Tell me honestly, are there any more reinforcements coming?"
"No."
Winnie shook her head and honestly said, "The 371st Siege Regiment is already the closest Astra Militarum to you. Other regiments are too far away, and it would take at least a month for them to arrive."
In other words, there really was no one left this time.
"What if we can't hold it?" Emrys stared intently at the front line, asking without turning his head.
"I'll take you away." This time, Winnie said without hesitation, "Your safety is more important. Even if this gate cannot be held, your safety must be guaranteed."
"Well, I'm quite honored then—"
Emrys didn't even know what to say. So, he was actually that important in the eyes of the 'yellow-skinned one'?
He sighed, and whispered, "Central Intelligence, execute the highest level purification protocol, awaken the War Fortress, Juggernaut!"
As the greatest weapon, it should have been reserved for last, but he didn't expect it to be Juggernaut's turn so soon.
The next moment, the steel fortress towering on the plain, like a monster awakening from slumber, transformed directly into an Iron Giant nearly a hundred meters tall, resembling a mountain, amidst terrifying tremors!
Juggernaut had awakened!
Upon its initial appearance, it caused the entire battlefield to fall into a brief standstill, as if both friend and foe were stunned by it!
Juggernaut gripped its thermal melta-axe, and like Pangu splitting heaven and earth, it gathered its strength and brought it down fiercely, its terrifying power stirring up rolling storms, and surging heat waves swept through, like a celestial river pouring down!
Boom—!!!
After a thunderous sound, the world fell silent!
The immense force split the ground, crushing countless Tyranids into powder!
However, the power displayed by Juggernaut was far from over. Hundreds of massive cannons on its body began to roar, like a sonata from hell, instantly melting tens of thousands of Tyranids!
This was a Titan!
In a war of this scale, it was almost an 'invincible' existence. Unless there was a war machine of the same level, destroying a Titan would only be possible by relying on overwhelming numbers to exhaust its ammunition, wear down its shields, and slow its advance!
Political Commissar Kevin Leslie of the Krieg 371st Siege Regiment looked at the gigantic mechanical construct, his face turning deathly pale, like ashes, making a few gestures across his chest.
"By the Emperor, how did even a Titan come out? Will I ever to live and return?!"
He was already furiously cursing the Astra Militarum in his mind. Is this what they called a 'one in ten chance of survival'? This was clearly a 'certain death with no chance of survival'!
In the Warhammer Universe, if there was one thing the Astra Militarum least wanted to see, besides the Inquisition, it would probably be the Titan.
It was well known that whenever a Titan was needed, their lives were generally on a countdown.
If a Astra Militarum soldier sees a Titan on the battlefield, the first thing he should do is not get excited, but rather put his dog tag in his mouth.
This sentence was told to Kevin Leslie by an instructor at the Schola Progenium.
Kevin Leslie sighed. His greatest wish in life was to be transferred to the Astra Militarum Artillery Corps, but after graduation, he was assigned to the Krieg 371st Siege Regiment.
He was used to the saying, 'nine deaths, one life' (referring to a perilous situation).
After all, this was the Krieg Death Korps; ordinary orders didn't require them to execute. But there was still a slight difference between 'nine deaths, one life' and 'ten deaths, no life' (certain death).
He never imagined that he, a slacker who was just waiting to die and had the worst grades at the Schola Progenium, would actually be so fortunate as to see a Titan.
He had read many stories of legendary Political Commissars, but Kevin didn't want to be one of them at all, and he certainly didn't want to see a Titan, even though for a Astra Militarum soldier, it was the highest honor.
Kevin Leslie thought of the instructor's words, silently put his dog tag in his mouth, biting down hard with his teeth.
With bloodshot eyes and a fierce expression, he cursed, slurring his words.
"Damn Astra Militarum, you tricked me into believing it was 'nine deaths, one life.' I won't let you off even if I die!"
Cursing aside, he had never considered deserting. He graduated from the Schola Progenium, was a soldier of the Imperium, and a Political Commissar of the 371st Siege Regiment!
There were no deserters in the Krieg dictionary!
Kevin Leslie pulled the whistle around his neck to his lips and blew three forceful blasts—two long, one short—the meaning of which was: wait for cover, then charge!
He had nothing to lose, so he might as well go for it!
If he could see a Titan in this lifetime and live to live, wouldn't he be able to brag about it for the rest of his life?!
He huddled in the trench, his gaze sweeping around, searching for valuable targets on the battlefield, but what he was really thinking was that since he was going to die anyway, he might as well pick some unlucky soul to take down with him!
Hmm, preferably a valuable, high-priority target. That way, even if he died, when the Astra Militarum awarded medals, it might make his old man, who always looked down on him, finally see him in a better light!
While Kevin Leslie was deep in thought, the Ghyreling strode dozens of meters in one step, crushing dozens of bugs.
It headed directly towards the Tyranids swarm's last and largest 'Broodlord' with clear intent!
Broodlords are often the 'spokespersons' of the Hive Mind, possessing the highest authority to command the swarm. As the saying goes, to catch the bandits, first catch their king. Emrys' goal was to slay the Broodlord!
But the Broodlord was not foolish. Seeing the Ghyreling charging towards it, it immediately led its guards in a retreat.
At the same time, it let out a roar.
Hundreds of thousands of living artillery bugs, as if receiving a signal, immediately turned their massive cannons and began to volley fire at the Ghyreling!
Especially the 'Ion Cannon Bugs,' their high-temperature plasma projectiles, almost equivalent in lethality to plasma cannons, slammed into the Ghyreling's outer void shield, creating violent ripples!
"Warning! Warning!"
"Experiencing large-scale bombardment. Ghyreling's outer void shield energy is rapidly depleting!"
"Don't stop, continue!"
Emrys completely disregarded the AI's warning and still ordered the Ghyreling to charge forward.
He knew very well that Tyranid firepower couldn't break through the Ghyreling's defenses in a short time, and they needed to seize this time to quickly kill the Broodlord!
The value of a Broodlord was not comparable to low-tier cannon fodder. With the current Tyranid biomass, it would be impossible to gestate a second one in a short period!
This meant that by killing this Broodlord, they could indirectly weaken the coordination between the swarms, effectively buying them time!
The soldiers of the Krieg 371st Regiment gathered around the Ghyreling's feet, clearing the surging swarms of bugs for it, thus forming a mobile fortress that slowly advanced through the vortex-like swarm!
But soon, Emrys noticed something was wrong. Each time the Broodlord moved, it would stay in place for a while, as if deliberately waiting for him to catch up!
"Cunning bug—it's trying to lure us into a trap!" His face darkened, and he instantly saw through the Broodlord's intentions.
This cunning bug was clearly trying to lure them!
The Broodlord was using itself to deliberately lure the Ghyreling to chase it, then using long-range firepower to deplete the Ghyreling's shield. Once the void shield's energy was exhausted, it would be surrounded by the swarm!
"What should we do then?" Winnie frowned. The current situation seemed truly disadvantageous.
"Should we temporarily retreat?"
Even with a Titan present, it would be difficult to reverse such a massive disadvantage by oneself.
"We can't retreat." Emrys shook his head. Although the situation was dire, his mind remained cold as he analyzed the current battle, stating in a deep voice.
"Retreating now would be truly over. We must charge forward!"
"But we can't get close to it," Winnie said with a frown.
"Who said there's no way? Don't we still have me?"
Emrys looked towards the Broodlord and sneered.
He had prepared for both possibilities from the start.
If the Ghyreling could successfully approach and directly crush the Broodlord, that would be the best outcome. But if that wasn't possible, then it would be his turn to make an appearance.
"Do you dare to go with me?"
Emrys raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Winnie beside him.
"You and I charge into the swarm and kill that Broodlord. What do you think of this plan?"
Upon hearing this, Winnie was stunned for a second, then a smile appeared in her clear, cold eyes. She chuckled sweetly.
"Is this your date invitation?"
"I thought you had forgotten." Emrys was slightly surprised, but soon grinned.
"If you're willing, you can consider it a date."
"Alright."
Winnie chuckled, golden fire igniting in her eyes, and she pursed her pink lips.
"Let's make a bet. Whoever can chop off its head first gets to have the other fulfill one request, how about it?"
Emrys placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Deal! It's settled then!"
Wednesday, combine!
After the handsome purple armor combined, Emrys and Winnie, enveloped in dazzling light, instantly vanished from the Ghyreling's command room.
Almost simultaneously, a flash of light burst forth in front of the Broodlord, which was protected by numerous guards, followed by two figures flying out from it!
"Your's is here—!!!"
With a roar, Emrys, wielding a blood-red long blade and clad in purple metallic armor, was surrounded by a dense aura of blood, as if the Blood God himself had descended upon the battlefield!
And at the same moment, beside him was Winnie, burning with golden flames, with what looked like Angel wings on her back, sacred and solemn, wielding a golden sword of fire, decapitating a guard!