Fully armed, the Angels of the Emperor, towering like gods among men, strode through the warship's corridors. Behind them marched the Astra Militarum and Sisters of Battle in orderly formation.
Arthur, holding a massive shield, used the sturdy relic Storm Shield to block enemy fire. Through the gaps behind him, Bolter rounds and following Lasgun shots flew with astonishing efficiency, slaughtering the charging cultists.
The traitors were blasted apart by all manner of weapons, reduced to mangled flesh and blood. Severed limbs flew everywhere as though flung about by an invisible mop.
Splat—
With his blade tucked behind the heavy shield, Arthur relentlessly beheaded every heretical monstrosity that withstood the gunfire and tried to squeeze past the shield. Then he raised his iron boot and, without hesitation, crushed those mutated, blasphemous bodies into pulp.
With every step Arthur took, the ventilation ducts beneath the floor, already clogged with sticky chunks of corpses, overflowed with foul, viscous fluid.
Behind him, Romulus maintained suppressive fire. Whenever they passed an intersection, he did not forget to stick a bright yellow Glow-stick into the wall.
After advancing through only several stretches of corridor, the support from behind them gradually thinned out until it vanished entirely. Arthur and Romulus had no choice but to stop at a node.
It was not that they did not want to continue onward, but because of the Astra Militarum behind them.
After stomping a struggling cultist to death, Arthur casually found a section of collapsed ceiling for cover and raised his Volkite Gun to scorch the cultists in the passageways. Romulus held the other side.
As long as they controlled the node positions in an area, only a small amount of firepower was needed to suppress the enemy within a confined space.
The Astra Militarum had a heavy task. While following the Astartes' breakthrough, they also had to continuously construct Defense Nodes along the way to intercept enemies coming from other passages. Coupled with delays in relaying information, even Colonel Kovek's superb command required more time.
Under normal circumstances, an Astra Militarum soldier sprinting at full speed could not even match the speed of an Astartes breaking through a heavy weapons fire net.
Thus, in assault operations, the Astra Militarum inevitably fell behind the Astartes.
A dozen breaths later, Arthur had emptied his battery and was replacing it when a Bolter round streaked past his side. The Sisters of Battle, clad in Power Armor, arrived at this node.
Another dozen breaths later, Colonel Kovek, his body stained with blood, finally arrived with the most elite company under his command.
"My lord!"
After shaking the crimson blood from his Chainsword, Colonel Kovek wore an expression of shame.
Retaking the Geller Field Generator depended on the Space Marines' breakthrough, yet now, as members of the Astra Militarum, they had become the weak link in the mission.
The Astartes were simply too swift, like a hurricane.
"After taking every five nodes, we will wait."
Arthur spoke. He understood why the Astra Militarum had fallen behind.
It was not that the soldiers had failed to work hard enough. Every one of them was squeezing his body for all it was worth, trying to make this coin yield greater value before being spent in sacrifice for the Emperor. Yet the vast physiological difference was ultimately difficult to overcome.
"My lord, there is no need to wait!"
Seeing this, Colonel Kovek urged them. He had barely managed to keep pace with the deliberately slowed strides of the two Angels as he called out loudly.
"Please continue onward. Though we may face the heretics' challenge, we can take care of ourselves."
As an old veteran who had traveled through more than a dozen worlds, Colonel Kovek felt awkwardly uncomfortable with the two Angels' down-to-earth manner. In a sense, he even felt inferior, wondering how he could possibly deserve the Angels' understanding and tolerance.
The core of this operation was to support the Deathwatch squad that had lost contact within the Geller Field Generator area. Only by securing the Geller Field Generator would the strongholds they had established along the way have any meaning.
Before that, if they could not eliminate the invading Chaos Space Marines before the field was destroyed, then no matter how perfect their defensive deployment was or how few casualties they suffered, it would be useless. The price of mission failure was the annihilation of the entire force.
Thus, he had already prepared himself to suffer massive casualties when the operation began. Yet now, the Astartes had deliberately created a commotion to draw the enemy in, systematically cleared each node area, thoughtfully left guiding lights behind, and were now even willing to halt for them.
To the point that, even now, not a single member of the entire mobile force had been lost during the breakthrough!
Colonel Kovek's face burned with shame.
Right now, he felt that he and the soldiers behind him were a group of infants protected in swaddling clothes.
"So you mean that we should no longer concern ourselves with your safety and prioritize advancing?"
Romulus repeated for emphasis.
The simple values fostered in peacetime placed great importance on human life, especially now that they were Space Marines.
Having long been influenced by the unique culture of the military, the two of them tacitly agreed that, given their current identities, there was nothing wrong with prioritizing the safety of these ordinary people.
"Yes."
Colonel Kovek replied, "The safety of the Geller Field is the key to this mission."
He knew very well that, in terms of physical ability, the Astra Militarum could not compare with the Angels or the Sisters of Battle, all equipped with Force-feedback Power Armor. He also knew how to distinguish priorities.
"Are you sure?"
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
Though the Astartes were superhuman, they were not omnipotent. Prioritizing a breakthrough meant that the Astra Militarum would inevitably have to face certain monsters on their own.
"We will bleed, but we will not let the glory of victory slip through our fingers."
The Astartes' breakthrough was enough. They were the spearhead and needed to lead the Sisters of Battle in rushing to reinforce their comrades.
The aftermath of the storm's passage alone had already bought them an exceptionally precious window.
And that was enough.
Holding their gains, establishing the defense line, and ensuring the Angels had no worries behind them—they would certainly accomplish all of it.
They were mortals, but they were also pillars of the Imperium.
And the Angels of the Emperor had no need to halt for coins like them in their fight for victory.
The power of faith was truly terrifying. It could make people disregard their own lives.
Arthur fell briefly silent. For the first time, he had encountered the clash of different values from two worlds, and he exchanged a glance with Romulus.
"What do you think?"
"Trust the professionals."
If being constrained by the current situation would instead force them into the awkward position of having to make such a choice, then Romulus felt that the best option was to respect the other party's wishes first, complete the mission as quickly as possible, and then return to support them.
After all, everyone knew how awful Warhammer World was. As Transmigrators, they naturally had the awareness not to let their own wishful thinking make things worse.
The two nodded at the same time.
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