The roar of thousands of tank engines filled the plains. They transitioned into Siege Mode upon a ridge, while armored commanders bellowed orders through communication channels. Thunderous salvos hammered the Tyranid swarms attempting to breach their lines as they waited for the slightly slower Goliath walkers to catch up from behind.
To eliminate these high-firepower tank clusters, the Tyranid Hive Mind began hatching more Tyrannofexes and Exocrines. Both sides unleashed ferocious firepower upon each other's positions.
Flesh melted amidst the acrid smoke; steel was corroded by toxic spores. At this moment, both sides were exerting their maximum effort—one to satisfy an insatiable hunger to consume, the other simply to stay alive.
In the skies, countless Mutalisks and Corruptors once again entangled the Tyranid aerial units. The Tyranid Hive Mind seemed not to notice the "gift" Zagara had carefully prepared for them.
The instant the Mutalisk swarms collided with the Gargoyles and Harpies, countless Scourges suddenly decloaked beside them. They accelerated violently into the Tyranid ranks, their corrosive acid detonating instantly.
This acid, capable of eating through heavy alloy vehicles, was a cataclysmic disaster for the Tyranids. Countless mangled carcasses fell from the sky, the acid sizzling and hissing against their remains.
A similar strike occurred on the ground. On the Tyranid flank, a Zerg force that the Hive Mind had perceived as insignificantly small suddenly burrowed together.
Moments later, a green ocean of Banelings erupted from the Creep. The Tyranid swarm, failing to react in time, slammed headlong into this emerald tide.
In an instant, the sea of green swallowed every living thing it touched, eroding all life with impartial lethality. By the time the last Baneling had detonated, the entire battlefield had fallen into a haunting silence.
The Tyranid forces across half of the Ember Plains were effectively wiped out. At that moment, the true clarion call for the counter-offensive was officially sounded.
Under Zagara's command, the Zerg Swarm began a massive, coordinated assault. The burrowed Zerg burst forth; Zerglings scrambled to recycle all available biomass on the field; Roaches surged through the earth. Every Zerg unit charged desperately forward, racing to seize the open ground from the Tyranids at maximum speed.
Behind them, the humans advanced once more. Tanks switched modes, alloy treads began to roll, and engines roared as Goliath Hellfire missiles cleared the remaining Tyranids from the sky.
Nearly thirty PDF Legions began assisting the Zerg offensive under their respective commanders. The entire Ember Plains surged like a sea of blood and iron.
Kaidel raised his heavy Gauss rifle, firing continuous bursts at the surging Tyranid swarm in the distance. The ammunition feed system inside his power armor's pauldrons provided him with relentless combat endurance.
He had left the Adeptus Arbites after the Demon War and chosen to follow Alexei into the Planetary Defense Force.
Now clad in CMC-600 Power Armor, he led an assault squad across the Ember Plains. He never expected to encounter such terrifying xenos so soon after fighting Warp demons.
Suddenly, he spotted several bio-plasma shells arcing toward them from mid-air. "Incoming! Evade, now!" As he roared into the comms, the squad members dove desperately to the sides.
Even so, two unlucky recruits were hit by the lethal explosive solution. Despite their power armor, half of their bodies were instantly dissolved.
Kaidel had no time for grief. Injuries like these were beyond even a Medic's help. He scrambled up and continued the charge.
"Don't stop, or their sacrifice will be meaningless!" Kaidel yelled at the squad members who stood paralyzed beside their dying comrades.
Reluctantly, the team abandoned their heavily wounded brothers and followed Kaidel into a new charge. Violent bio-spore shells continued to rain down along their path, and teammates died amidst constant wails of agony.
But none of this could stop their steps. Whether for humanity or for himself, Kaidel vowed he would never halt.
As the shadow of the second fortress line appeared on the horizon, their pace quickened, and casualties began to drop. Kaidel noticed the enemy's fire was slackening. As they continued to cut down the Tyranids, the opposition's numbers seemed to be dwindling. The Siege Tanks beside them accelerated their advance. It seemed they had... won, for now?
"Marshal, the Tyranid Swarm appears to have abandoned the assault. They are withdrawing their forces to the front of the first fortress line. We have successfully reclaimed the second fortress line."
"Casualties?" Colton asked, not feeling particularly celebratory. He lit a solid stimulant stick—made from a dried, pickled local plant that boosted focus.
"Statistics are still coming in, but based on the current situation... the losses are heavy. We've lost half of our tanks and Goliaths. Casualties across the thirty legions are approaching fifty percent, and that's not counting..."
"I understand. Tell them to hold that second line like a nail! No one retreats, even if they all have to die! Reinforcements, supplies, and SCVs are on the way!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the forward command post, Colton listened to reports with a dark expression. They had retreated to the third line of fortresses. If this line fell, the Hives would be isolated and cut off from each other.
Then, he received Alexei's notice: reinforcements were arriving.
"Finally." The earlier tests of the new tanks had been astounding. They were as large as Baneblade heavy tanks, and their 180mm shells could turn a charging swarm into red mist. With their immense range, they could fire from behind the safety of the fortress walls. To Colton, they were more like heavy self-propelled artillery than tanks.
Alexei had ordered the factories to shift production to a 9:1 ratio of Siege Tanks to Goliaths. He also informed Colton that at sunrise the next day, the forces at the Ember Plains would attempt their first counterattack.
On the Ember Plains, the third fortress line was struggling. Bio-spores hammered the alloy walls, leaving them pitted and scarred. The Zerg were no longer numerous enough to hold the line and were forced to harass the Tyranid flanks to relieve pressure on the humans.
In the air, the Mutalisk count had plummeted, and the supply of Goliaths couldn't keep up with the losses. Even infantry with Gauss rifles were being pressed into AA duty.
Colonel Anna stood in the command post. She hadn't slept for days. Suddenly, a bone-chilling roar caught her attention. She rushed to the wall and saw a massive bio-titan—a Hierophant—approaching the fortress. All fire directed at it was shrugged off by its thick chitin and heavy escorts.
"Focus fire! Give it everything!" Anna ordered. But the attacks did nothing. Just as she was about to order a retreat, a thunderous boom erupted from behind the fortress. The ground shook.
The Tyranid swarm ahead was instantly pulverized. The heavy shells cleared entire sections of the battlefield. The Siege Tanks had arrived in force.
A Hive Tyrant charged through the fire, but it was hit directly by armor-piercing shells designed to crack Ultralisk hide. The beast collapsed before the gates.
As the immediate crisis passed, over a hundred tanks and supply convoys entered the camp. The roar of engines filled the air. The commander of the convoy brought a message from the Marshal: "Tomorrow morning, we counterattack to retake the second fortress line."
At the same time, the Zerg hives were filled with Zerglings, waiting silently. In the air, Corruptors and Scourge circled. The recent reduction in Zerg presence on the front wasn't just due to losses; they were hoarding strength for a massive surge.
Zagara stood before the primary hive, monitoring the network. She waited for the Master's command. "The time for vengeance is near. We shall prove what is truly perfect."
As dawn broke over the Ember Plains, the PDF made their final checks. Siege Tanks continued their bombardment while other heavy vehicles revved their engines.
In the Zerg hives, the endless Zerglings had morphed into cocoons. With a collective rupture, countless green Banelings crawled out, their glowing toxin sacs pulsating eerily.
Zagara roared, and the Banelings began to roll out, blending into the environment through environmental adaptation. Corruptors and Scourge took to the skies to reclaim the air.
Colonel Anna stood in her camp. She waited for the signal. Finally, a messenger ran in. "Colonel, the Marshal's orders: Attack immediately!"
"Everyone, move out! Sound the counterattack! Let the enemy feel the Emperor's wrath!"
A red flare shot into the sky. The alloy gates of the third line opened. Thousands of Siege Tanks and nearly ten thousand Goliaths led the mechanized charge, supported by the Swarm on the flanks. Behind them, regiments of power-armored PDF moved to secure the breaches. Above, a cloud of Corruptors and Mutalisks emerged to seize air superiority.
"Success or failure depends on this," Alexei said from his spire. He believed that concentrated offense was the best defense.