The Ritual Attack of the Dusk Raiders

The XIV Legion, following Nimrod's orders, landed on Stevenage II.

After landing, the "Dusk Raiders" did not launch an attack immediately; they defended against the Andresian attacks and waited for Evening to arrive.

Two Honor Guard members of "Shadow of Order," Alex of the 8th Legion and Shikodran of the 11th Chapter, stood atop the mountain, looking down.

They saw the Andresian' strange, disc-shaped tanks attacking the defensive lines at the foot of the mountain.

The disc-shaped tank rotated forward, with four Andres gunners positioned at a 90-degree angle, operating their cannons and firing shells in turn.

Two Shadow of Order discovered that the bizarre design allowed the Andresian artillery to fire continuously, but the shells were only half the caliber of Imperium tanks and far less powerful.

"A flashy but impractical design; the Xenos tanks pose far less of a threat than the Imperium tanks," Shikodran commented.

The Twilight Raiders, clad in gray Power Armor, charged through artillery fire under the command of the Second Company Captain commander.

The Warrior in the front row raised their Storm Shield high.

The Storm Shield is a more advanced, bulkier version of the Battle Shield, offering superior defense.

At the same time, it is much larger than a battle shield, and the user must hold it with their hands; unlike a battle shield, it cannot be used with two weapons.

The dense barrage of Xenos projectiles slammed into the shield, which shimmered with blue energy, producing crackling lightning.

The Storm Shield can withstand both melee and ranged attacks, and can withstand strikes from Lascannon and even super-heavy weapons.

The attacks from the Xenos mini-cannons did little damage to them.

The Twilight Raiders, wielding Storm Shield, slammed into the bizarre, round tanks of the Andresian, their energy fields tearing through the tank armor.

The Twilight Raiders raised their Thunder Hammer and smashed them down on the Xenos.

The Andresian's tank line was torn apart by the Dusk Raiders in the instant they encountered them.

The tanks in the back row opened fire on them.

The Dusk Raiders raise their Storm Shield.

The lightning sparks from the shells illuminated the entire area.

"Warrior" Alex discovered that the Dusk Raiders were excellent heavy infantry.

The Warrior in the front row, wielding Storm Shield, formed a tight line, blocking wave after wave of Xenos artillery fire.

The Warrior in the back row followed closely behind them, protecting themselves.

"They were all excellent heavy infantrymen, skilled in survival, and their defense was incredibly tenacious."

"Moreover, their stamina is remarkable. Since landing, they have withstood fifteen attacks from the Xenos, yet their speed has not decreased in the slightest."

"But their mobility is insufficient. If they encounter Ork, the Ork Dakka might exploit a gap in their flank."

The "Warrior" gave his assessment of the Dusk Raiders, and Shikodran nodded in agreement.

"Although the 'Dusk Raiders' don't possess the armor and firepower advantages of the 'Iron Hands,' they are also adept at head-on combat."

"However, compared to the combat methods of heavy infantry, the Primarch was more interested in how they utilized the time of Evening."

The two Shadow of Order then walked side by side into the makeshift command post.

Apart from the Second Company Captain who led the Warrior to resist the attack of the Andresian, all the other company commanders were in the camp.

"Lawyer" Shikodran carefully chose his words, following the custom of addressing each other among the "Dusk Raiders": "I've heard, the Unbroken and the Storm Walkers..."

"Yes, now we should call them the 'Iron Hands,' you're all from Albia."

"The names the Emperor bestowed upon you, 'Dusk Raiders' and 'Storm and Hammer,' also originated from the war arts of the Albia tribes."

"Yes," replied First Company Captain Barasin, who was wearing gray armor and covered in combat medals.

"This prototype was formed during our vanguard assault at the Battle of Ironside in the 'Unification Wars,' although at that time the optimal time to launch the offensive had not yet been determined to be Evening."

7th Company Theseus glanced at the Power Sword slung at Alex's waist. As the strongest combat company commander of the "Dusk Raiders," he could tell that the squad leader in black armor was an excellent Warrior.

"Only through battle can one truly understand the Unbroken."

"Follow me, and join the battle."

"Shikodran, you follow Barasin."

Seeing that Shikodran nodded, Alex said, "Lord Theseus, we will obey your will."

Barasin said to Shikodran, "As Theseus said, you shall follow me."

Then, assuming the responsibilities of the chief company commander, he looked at the holographic image in front of him and began to issue orders.

"The Auger Matrix scan results show that this world is composed of numerous honeycomb factories."

"..."

"Theseus, your company is tasked with initiating the counterattack first, tearing apart the Xenos lines, and then attacking the largest Xenos factory marked A."

Finally, Barasin said, "As always, the offensive will be launched at dusk."

After the XIV Legion's war council, Shikodran followed Barasin to the mountaintop again to look down.

He saw that the number of attacking Xenos was increasing, they were everywhere and there was no end in sight.

Shikodran inspected the display interface of the Eyepiece, and the data captured by the Auspex was displayed on the Tactical Network, showing that Andres had deployed more than 10,000 disc tanks.

They launched wave after wave of attacks on the mountain peaks, like a tidal wave.

However, the Second Company maintained its defensive line intact despite the onslaught. As the gray-armored Warrior wielding Storm Shield fell, Dusk Raiders immediately took their place.

The Second Company launched regular attacks, destroying hundreds of tanks each time.

Shikodran calculated: [The Second Company directly resisted the armored forces of the Andresian, and the defensive line was never breached.]

With fewer than 140 casualties, they were an excellent defensive heavy infantry unit; only our Third Legion could have done better.

Yes, if it's the Third Legion, they've already broken through the enemy lines.

Alex, a "Warrior" in the 7th Company of the "Dusk Raiders," looked around and watched the Warrior in gray armor preparing for battle in an orderly manner.

Holding Bolter in their left hand and Ritual Bell in their right, they moved slowly and steadily across the Bolter gun, meticulously performing the maintenance ceremony.

The Shadow of Order discovered that they were ignoring the battle below the mountain, seemingly focused entirely on maintaining the ritual to avoid provoking the Machine Spirit.

The "Warrior" couldn't help but feel a greater sense of respect for the gray-armored Warrior. He was certain that the Dusk Raiders didn't just use Bolter as weapons; their maintenance rituals had amazed him.

The "Warrior" had never seen anyone so engrossed in maintaining their weapons, and even he, who considered the weapons as part of his own body, was amazed.

The "Warrior" withdrew his gaze, took out a cleaning cloth, poured on the Vostonian Pattern Weapon Oil, and carefully wiped the Bolter again.

Then, the hilt of the Power Sword was cleaned with Vostonia-type weapon holy oil.

As Alex performed his second round of cleaning after acquiring the weapon, Shikodran, immersed in a "Lawyer" state, pondered deeply the actions of the "Dusk Raiders."

The "Dusk Raiders" place more emphasis on ritual than other legions; their preparations are more ritualistic.

In every battle, they tended to launch their attacks at Evening.

It's still unclear why they're so persistent. If they were to launch a full-scale counter-attack now, shouldn't they be able to break through Andresian' defense?

After a moment, he came to some conclusions.

First, this tactic effectively depletes the enemy's strength and morale.

Secondly, by forming habitual behaviors, the Dusk Raiders will feel power from these ritualistic acts.

Finally, it's likely that they do effectively utilize light during changes in brightness; however, this can only be determined through observation once the battle begins.

As Shikodran pondered, the Lord of the Forge of the "Dusk Raiders" walked to the side of Chief Company Commander Barasin.

"The test results, after fourteen rounds of verification, confirm that Evening will arrive precisely in seven minutes."

The Shadow of Order looks up at the sky, gazing at the setting sun.

[Almost.]

Shikodran silently set a countdown timer on the Eyepiece, ready to verify it later.

He heard Barasin give the order, "Set the countdown, launch the attack on time."

The shared Tactical Network updated the countdown settings, starting at four minutes and fifty-nine seconds and rapidly progressing.

Shikodran noticed that the gray-armored Warrior moved almost simultaneously, heading in an orderly fashion to the assembly points of their respective companies and squads.

With three minutes left in the countdown, they arrived at the assembly point and took their positions.

With two minutes left in the countdown, the Andresian launched another attack.

With one minute left in the countdown, the Warrior of the Second Company repelled the Xenos attack, but no Warrior from other companies took action, nor did anyone provide them with fire support.

The Lawyer frowned slightly, thinking to himself.

This is too rigid and inflexible.

If the enemy exploits this ingrained mindset to launch a targeted attack, it could cause significant losses.

As Shikodran thought of this, he suddenly felt a slight melting sensation within his body.

As the countdown reached zero, the timer designed by Shikodran sounded a beeping alert.

The Shadow of Order swept across the sky, and at that very moment, the light vanished completely, plunging the sky into darkness.

[Perfectly on time!]

As he pondered, the sound of exploding bombs rang out.

Shikodran looked down, and the gray-armored Warrior launched their attack at the same moment.

Like a dam releasing its floodwaters, a dense hail of bullets rained down on the Andresian.

Alex, along with the 7th Company, launched a charge against the enemy.

He keenly noticed that at the moment the light shifted, Andres's firepower paused for a brief moment.

They were then met with a sudden and unexpected attack from the Dusk Raiders, and their lines collapsed instantly.

From the mountaintop, Shikodran has a panoramic view of the entire landscape.

[Just as I expected, the defensive battle before the Dusk Raiders exhausted the enemy.]

They seized the moment when light and darkness switched, and the instant the enemy's physiological adaptation occurred, to launch a concentrated firepower strike against the enemy lines.

Only Astartes, with their near-light vision and ability to launch rapid attacks, could seize this opportunity.

He then thought: [While effective, it seems more like a ritual attack; the Dusk Raiders launch their attack at a specific time, using methods they believe in.]