The first thing Bruce did after learning that Guilliman had launched a decapitation strike against Ferrus on Isstvan V was notify Curze and Corax, who were currently carrying out their assassination mission.
The two of them replied decisively.
"Fine. I know. I'm coming back immediately."
"Make sure Ferrus holds on!"
Such an irrational move did not seem very Guilliman-like. But Curze and Corax could not care less.
Since that fellow had voluntarily abandoned his home-field advantage and run over to Isstvan V instead, then they would kill him there. The location did not matter.
At the same time, under Guilliman's command, the rebel forces began tearing open the defensive line like a sword. The troops under his command started showing flexibility.
Not only did they avoid entangling themselves too deeply with the loyalist main force, they also knew how to maneuver, piercing weak points in the defense line and winning through skill.
Likewise, Ferrus refused to show weakness. He and his Iron Hands Legion were like a powerful warhammer, striking hard against the rebels.
Even if the rebels managed to dodge by luck, the shockwave produced by each swing was enough to make them suffer for a long time.
Rather than a contest of whose soldiers were better or whose weapons and equipment were finer, this duel was more a contest between the styles of two Primarchs.
One was a swordsman.
The other was a heavily armored warrior.
Overall, however, Guilliman was still slightly inferior, because in the end, he was only one person. He could not respond to attacks from all directions at once.
Especially after he left the Macragge's Honour, Mortarion and Abaddon immediately began counterattacking upward like mad dogs. This caused the orbital control he had painstakingly seized to change hands entirely.
The situation for the ground troops was even more dangerous for him. On the frontal battlefield were Ferrus and the Iron Hands. On the flank were Vulkan and the Salamanders. Even in the rear, there were joint attacks from the Night Lords and Raven Guard.
Guilliman, who was being beaten until he suffered terribly, must have had at least one moment when he regretted initiating a decisive battle and leaving the Macragge's Honour to fall into this cesspit-like ground war.
As one of the senior commanders, Bruce led a mixed company alone and provided strong support to Ferrus's main force.
After a period of rest and reorganization, his company had regained combat strength, and their morale was exceptionally high.
The magical girls from the Thousand Sons Legion were all howling that they would make Guilliman the traitor pay the price. How dare he use forbidden Warp energy in this manner? He deserved death!
Aside from them, the World Eaters Legion had also been authorized by several Primarchs to deploy to the surface. Their commander was Khârn.
These surrendered World Eaters had been waiting precisely for such an opportunity to atone.
Because of this, by the time Guilliman realized that aside from the Salamanders, there was another strange force advancing fiercely on his flank, it was already too late to adjust his strategy.
"Kill, kill, kill! Kill all these traitors!"
Flandre excitedly patted Bruce on the head while cheering for her sons' ferocious offensive.
And hearing their Primarch cheering them on, Khârn and the other World Eaters naturally made their attacks even more ferocious. To them, receiving their Primarch's approval and gaze made even the greatest casualties worthwhile.
Besides, Guilliman's Omegon Legion, these fallen and darkened Astartes, filled them with disgust on both a physical and psychological level.
Even if they had once been the Ultramarines Legion.
"Bruce, watch your offensive progress. Guilliman is clearly trying to lure you into an encirclement."
Ferrus kindly reminded him.
"Yes, Lord Ferrus. I will constantly monitor the battle line's advance."
Bruce answered with a numb scalp.
Things were slightly beyond his control.
This was not because the rebels were especially strong or because his side was weak. Rather, his own progress was far faster than Ferrus's main force!
He was clearly positioned as flank support, and he only had around ten thousand troops. Yet in two days, he had forcibly pierced through Guilliman's defensive line.
One had to understand that the Salamanders Legion, with roughly the same number of soldiers and even better equipment, had only advanced about one-third as far as Bruce's side.
Whose problem did this count as?
Bruce fell into thought.
"Lord Bruce, the enemy's movements seem to be intentionally shifting toward the Iron Hands Legion's position."
Khârn's voice cut in.
"Unless I am mistaken, they are preparing to launch a decisive battle."
"Handle it as you see fit. Keep an eye on Guilliman's position at all times. He is the key point."
Bruce was very comfortable leaving frontline affairs to Khârn.
As one of the few Astartes who could still think with his brain despite having the Nails implanted, Khârn's ability and loyalty were completely trustworthy.
The prerequisite, however, was that Angron stood on Bruce's side, because Khârn only recognized Angron.
"Yes!"
Khârn began holding the line without any complaint.
At the same time, the Conqueror in orbit was slamming all manner of fire support down onto the surface. Not only that, it was also providing massive quantities of airdropped supplies.
With a Gloriana-class battleship providing support, this battle felt incredibly reassuring.
Once the loyalist main fleet arrived, there would only be more Gloriana-class ships. When that happened, the rebels would die under overwhelming firepower coverage.
Boom, boom, boom.
Aside from macro-cannon and lance strikes, the Knight Houses and Titan Legions were also putting in tremendous effort. This, too, was one of Horus's arrangements.
Because she had considered the worst-case scenario: what if the enemy resisted stubbornly, could not be taken down through bombardment, and ground troops had to be deployed?
Then the necessity of these god-machines would appear.
Although the Astartes possessed armored units, compared to true war engines, they still seemed slightly inferior.
And reality proved exactly that. Guilliman's Omegon Legion was being slaughtered by these war machines, which stood taller than mountains.
Even if a few units could use specialized equipment to hunt or disable god-machines, one or two tactical victories had no effect on the overall strategy.
"Recruit, I have sighted that traitor's position."
Just as the battlefield was blazing hot and Bruce was still struggling to hold back the World Eaters, who were like rabid dogs, a communication from Sevatar immediately made him sharpen his focus to the utmost.
"You mean Guilliman?"
Bruce did not dare be careless and quickly asked for confirmation.
"Yes. He appeared less than one hundred kilometers from Lord Ferrus's position. Visually, he seems to be trying to kill Lord Ferrus and create an advantage."
"Understood. I'll go help right away!"
Bruce was very grateful for this critical intelligence.
As long as Guilliman's position could be confirmed, and as long as they roughly knew what he intended to do, the rest would be simple.
Setting aside the two Primarchs who had gone off to assassinate him, Bruce could, if he wanted, gather two Primarchs at any moment. If things became truly urgent, he could even call in two more.
In other words, no matter how powerful Guilliman was, he would have to fight three Primarchs at once.
That was one versus three!
No matter how good Guilliman was at fighting, there was no way he could take three at the same time. Lü Bu had been brought down like that back then. What was Guilliman compared to him?
"You're going over?"
Sevatar asked in confusion.
"What can you do over there?"
A battle between Primarchs was a fight between immortals. A tiny Astartes like you running over to join the fun—do you think your life is too long?
"Act as insurance! If Guilliman really goes all out, I can count as half a Primarch's combat power, all right?"
Bruce said proudly.
"Then you had better be careful. My instincts tell me that traitor launched this offensive because he has confidence. He should have prepared something."
Sevatar reminded him repeatedly.
"I have my own judgment!"
After the communication ended, Bruce handed on-site command authority to Khârn and Wuzhi. His only demand of them was this: fight steadily, not quickly!
Especially the Thousand Sons Legion. They should not spend all day bombing everything. Save some psychic power!
After confirming that there were no major problems with his battle line, Bruce hurriedly took Flandre and a small group of people toward Ferrus's location.
Because Isstvan V had been battered beyond recognition in the short term by war, normal vehicles had become especially redundant. Only aircraft could achieve high-speed movement.
Thus, Bruce decisively called in his air squadron and directly rode a fighter at maximum speed toward the target area. During this period, they naturally could not avoid interception by enemy air forces.
Both Bruce and Flandre were high-value commander-level targets. The Omegon Legion naturally would not let them go.
However, the Raven Guard's air force was no pushover either. They directly pressed back the rebel fighter squadrons, and even launched several waves of missile bombardment toward Guilliman's position.
This made Guilliman feel worse than if he had eaten shit, because he had not only lost control of the void war, but now even air superiority was gone.
Precisely because of this, he became even more eager to kill Ferrus through a decisive battle and break open the situation for himself.
"I see him!"
Bruce piloted the fighter and firmly locked onto Guilliman on the ground.
He had arrived at exactly the right time, because the grand Legion advance had just entered its fiercest phase. Whether it was the Iron Hands or the Omegon Legion, both sides were throwing Astartes into the fight as if they cost nothing.
Mortal soldiers did not even have a chance to intervene, because their weapons could only cause limited damage to power armor, while Astartes could blow them apart with a casual shot.
As for armored vehicles, those were even more terrifying. A standard squad had at least one and a half infantry fighting vehicles providing cover and continuous advance.
Among them were quite a few things that, from Bruce's transmigrator perspective, counted as premium goods. On a battlefield where even Mastodon heavy assault transports were common enough to be used like cannon fodder, he could not imagine how people in the 40th millennium would view these sacred relics being spent like trash.
"Prepare to board! Assist Lord Ferrus!"
Bruce dumped all his ammunition toward the ground.
"Yes!"
At this moment, Ferrus had already brought his bodyguards, a group of Astartes equipped with Gorgon Terminator armor, and was directly charging through the enemy's ferocious artillery suppression.
They crossed a complex battlefield environment of ruins, corpses, shell craters, and wreckage, heading straight for the enemy commander.
Likewise, Guilliman led his Honour Guard and accepted Ferrus's invitation to slaughter.
The two soon collided and began a duel where both sides staked their lives.
Bruce's side then made a move no one had anticipated.
In order to complete deployment as quickly as possible, he directly overloaded the fighter's engine and dived toward the enemy defensive line and dense anti-air batteries.
A suicide attack?
No!
At the most critical moment, Bruce would eject from the cockpit, activate his jump pack, and land smoothly on the ground.
But this also meant the slaughter officially began.
Although Bruce was far from enough against a Primarch, against Astartes of the same class—even if the enemy wore Terminator equipment—he could still kill them easily.
"Quick! Assist Lord Acting Commander!"
Seeing Bruce's heroic charge as he carried the Second Young Lady and rushed toward the enemy, the Night Lords felt both terrified and hot-blooded.
Hell yeah!
Our acting commander always pulls off some truly lively stunts!
"Bruce, do you need help?"
Flandre raised her hand and crushed several rebels' organs. Although she did not kill them outright, she did make them lose mobility for a short time.
"As you like."
Bruce moved back and forth across the battlefield, turning into an afterimage as he hunted every Astartes who tried to block his path.
Reaching Ferrus's side was now his most important mission.
As for whether he could kill Guilliman the traitor, he would have to look for an opportunity.
"I understand!"
Flandre excitedly began releasing her spell cards.
The bullet patterns that appeared out of thin air left the rebels unable to react in time. Very soon, they were killed by this strange power. With the pressure reduced, Bruce quickly reached the battlefield.
Although it had taken him only around ten minutes, the impact caused by the battle between the two Primarchs had already left no living thing within a kilometer.
Both sides were practically fighting atop the bodies of their own sons. Any outsider who tried to approach—forget getting close, even merely looking from a distance—might be killed by a casual strike from one of the Primarchs.
Bang.
Bruce had just pulled out his boltgun and aimed at Guilliman when he saw the other party casually fire a shot at him. Fortunately, his reaction was fast enough, and with the assistance of his psychic precognition, he was not hit.
But an Iron Hands behind him was not so fortunate. Before the specially made bolt round, not only was his armor pierced, the fragile flesh inside was also destroyed.
Although Warfarin, who arrived afterward, immediately began treating him, unfortunately, she was still one step too late. After thinking for a moment, she could only collect his gene-seed with tears in her eyes and great joy in her heart.
"Damn it, what kind of god-tier matchup is this?"
Bruce hid behind cover and secretly observed the battle between the two Primarchs.
From what he could see, Ferrus was at a disadvantage. Guilliman was pressing forward step by step, suppressing him. Several times, Ferrus had almost been stabbed.
From this, it seemed that Bruce rushing over to help was indeed necessary. Otherwise, Ferrus really might be killed.
"Alfie! Can you hear me?"
Bruce raised his gun again, searching for a suitable firing angle.
"I am here!"
Alfred immediately replied.
"Take people and clear out Guilliman's Honour Guard! Don't let them interfere with me. Can you do that?"
Without hesitation, Bruce transferred the command chain of all his subordinate companies to Alfred.
You have an Honour Guard, Guilliman?
I have a Contekar Terminator company too!
Ace against ace, then!
"Yes! I will complete the mission!"
Bang.
Bruce seized the opening when Guilliman swung his sword and fired decisively. Guilliman, who had just been knocked back by Ferrus, had only raised his sword when he sensed something flying toward him. He had no choice but to turn and slash the bolt round in half.
Then, he looked toward Bruce's position with incomparable fury.
"Bruce... Wayne...!!!!"
The next second, Guilliman turned into a furious bull and charged rapidly toward Bruce's location.
The Astartes along the way who tried to stop him were casually cut down with one sword, as easily as killing stray dogs by the roadside.
"Oh shit!"
Bruce had not expected that single shot to draw this much aggro.
After firing another shot at Guilliman, who was practically flying toward him, he hurriedly hugged his boltgun and turned to run, without the slightest intention of continuing the fight.
join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 210)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" (This matter is completely finished.)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 280
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 240
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (This matter is completely finished.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume5/8
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 160
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 125
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 180
My Harem Is Indescribable 110
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 115
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 120
Still playing traditional Honk 105
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120
What Should I Do After Switchi 70
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 140
Checking In in Demon Slayer 100
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 115
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 90
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (This matter is completely finished.)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 95
MYGO Beauties 80
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 100
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 135
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 150
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 70
The Uma Musume Who Became 75
I'm Definitely Not the King of 130
After Maxing Out Every Class 135
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 120
I, the Elden Sword Saint 70
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 65
No One Knows Pokémon Better 65
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 65
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 105
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 120
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 80
Honkai: The Fire Devil 115
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/70
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 85
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 80
At age 8, she co-starred with 80
Honkai: Schicksal Media 81
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 70
Chainsaw Man, but I'm Aatrox 60
Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 60
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 45
Morgan Shirou's Journey in Dan 43
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