You showed Dragon Commander the corpse of the Lictor Genestealer.
The Tech-Priest of the advance team at the exploration base also stated that there were no similar creatures on Tyran.
This was likely an unprecedented, unknown species.
You once again impressed upon Dragon Commander the severity of the situation.
You believed that every soldier needed to mobilize and prepare for battle.
Dragon Commander accepted your suggestion.
He also hoped that you could explain the unknown creatures they were about to face to the 358th Regiment.
Without any hesitation, you told the soldiers of the 358th Regiment some of the truth.
This was a Xenos Swarm far more terrifying than the Orks.
They were predatory organisms from the endless void beyond the Milky Way, seemingly existing only to devour, evolve, and expand their numbers...
"In the future, the Imperium will call them the Great Devourer, or perhaps..." Bitterness seemed to rise in your mouth as you murmured softly.
In the third week, Warp communications at the Tyran planetary exploration base were cut off.
The 358th Regiment could only attempt to contact the Endeavour-class Light Cruiser stationed in planetary orbit through aircraft.
The waters around the isolated island seemed to have fallen into deathly silence. The once vibrant ocean was now devoid of life.
For an entire week, you barely slept.
Every day, you took your adjutant Lawrence to repeatedly inspect the defensive positions.
The exploration base on the isolated island had no defensive line. Or rather, every direction was the front line.
During one patrol, an Imperial Guardsman's Lasgun accidentally fell to the ground.
Terrified and demoralized by what you had told them before, he trembled without stopping.
Adjutant Lawrence wanted to step forward and reprimand him, but you stopped him with one hand.
You calmly picked up the Imperial Guardsman's Lasgun and gently slung it back over his shoulder.
You patted the still-youthful face of the soldier, who had only just come of age, then turned and swept your gaze across the eyes of the Imperial Guardsmen around you.
"I know we are about to face an unimaginably horrific and brutal war, against unfamiliar enemies none of us have ever seen. You are all afraid... to tell the truth, I am afraid too, even though I have already died many times..." you said to them with utter sincerity.
"But... we are soldiers! We are the defenders of the Imperium of Man! We are the first line of defense for countless living worlds! We cannot retreat! We dare not retreat! We must use our sacrifices to reveal the enemy's weaknesses to the Imperium and lay a solid foundation for humanity's future victory! As the commissar of the 358th Regiment, I can promise you this... when the enemy attacks, I will be the first to charge! Even if I die in battle in the end, I will die before you! I will die on the path of the charge!"
The veins on your neck bulged as you shouted.
You drew your Chainsword in one swift motion and raised it above your head.
"For The Emperor! And for the Imperium of Man!" Your eyes were bloodshot as you roared yourself hoarse.
At first, only Adjutant Lawrence offered a faint response.
Then came the excited cry of that newly adult Imperial Guardsman. Soon after, the warriors around them erupted into cheers and joined in... until the entire exploration base seemed to boil over.
The fighting will of the 358th Regiment of the Imperium of Man's Astartes rose above the fringe world of Tyran, echoing through the stars.
In the fourth week, an endless purple tide appeared along the shores of the exploration base.
It was the vanguard of the Great Devourer. Countless Tyranid Warriors and Genestealers known as Rippers and Fleshborers surged onto the land around the exploration base like a raging wave.
Countless Lasguns formed an interlocking barrage and hummed incessantly. Third Company, responsible for operating the heavy weapons, activated the Heavy Bolters and mortars in an attempt to halt the spread of the purple swarm tide.
Carrying a Hellgun, you ran back and forth through the bunker fortifications, ordering every heavy weapons squad to give special attention to the taller Warriors among the swarm.
Dragon Commander led First Company in guarding four Laser Cannons, remaining alert for the possible endless assault of flying Xenos Swarm Gargoyles.
Time passed slowly, but thanks to your early preparations and repeated warnings,
the 358th Regiment faced its first clash with the Great Devourer without fear, and their soaring morale even allowed them to temporarily repel one swarm assault.
During your brief respite, countless blood-red Raveners crawled out of the sea onto the island, beginning to devour and reclaim every Xenos Swarm corpse.
In the fifth week, countless enormous Spore Mines, each comparable in size to a Chimera APC, appeared on the battlefield.
Living Artillery had grown from their backs, spraying vast numbers of spore mines that relentlessly bombarded the bunker fortifications.
This caused the soldiers, who had relied on those fortifications to hold back the swarm tide, to suffer heavy casualties for the first time.
From the battlefield situation, you and Dragon Commander concluded that you had to find the Node Creature Hive Tyrant you had mentioned, learn from the advanced experience of resisting the Orks, and carry out a Decapitation Strike.
Unfortunately, before you could find any trace of the Hive Tyrant, even larger Carnifexes appeared on the front line. They were living siege rams bred specifically to smash through enemy defenses, easily capable of overturning a Leman Russ Tank.
You intended to order the Laser Cannons to bombard the Carnifexes and prevent them from approaching the heavily damaged bunker fortifications.
But Dragon Commander stopped you.
He said cautiously that unless the Hive Tyrant appeared within the swarm, they were not to use the Laser Cannons. They were a surprise reserved for the Xenos Swarm commander.
The thunderous roar of Basilisk artillery shook the entire exploration base.
Along with countless Rippers and Fleshborers, the Carnifexes and Spore Mines were blasted into mangled heaps of flesh, swiftly reclaimed by countless blood-red Raveners.
You breathed in the blood-soaked air thick with gunpowder smoke, staring at the Raveners outside the shattered bunkers in prolonged silence...
Devouring and evolution were the Great Devourer's most threatening and terrifying methods.
In the sixth week, the towering figure of the Hive Tyrant appeared at the edge of the land.
You ordered the Tech-Priests to repeatedly calibrate the Laser Cannons and bombard the Hive Tyrant.
However, the terrifying Laser Cannons merely wiped out large numbers of guards around the Hive Tyrant, while also revealing the Laser Cannons' existence to it.
The Hive Tyrant's movements became increasingly elusive and unpredictable. You tried bombarding it several more times, but none succeeded.
Facing the swarm tide's increasingly frenzied assault, after losing many bunker fortifications and soldiers,
the 358th Regiment, reduced to only three companies, had no choice but to retreat into the exploration base and continue resisting stubbornly.
Dragon Commander, his eyes bloodshot, made a reckless decision despite your fierce attempts to stop him.
He personally led two Leman Russ Tanks into the swarm tide, attempting to draw the Hive Tyrant's attention and create an opportunity for the Laser Cannons.
Just when you thought the unstoppable Leman Russ Tanks might actually succeed,
one of the Leman Russ Tanks was overturned by a terrifying creature that suddenly burst from beneath the ground.
It was a creature with thick smoke billowing from its black carapace, its blood-red limbs clutching serrated blades...
The Swarm Lord!
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