The clamor of battle filled the Upper Hive of Merseyside V Hive City.
Workers had been summoned to reinforce buildings at street corners near the orbital train stations and construct defensive fortifications.
A thousand newly forged anti-aircraft turrets were hurriedly installed atop the towering walls, their barrels pointing haphazardly at the sky.
Laser defense weapons whined and stirred atop countless Spires and factory buildings.
Temporarily modified road checkpoints had been turned into barricades and defensive outposts, surrounded by freshly dug trenches.
The defense troops lay behind bulletproof panels sealing doors and windows, mounting their weapons in firing ports and aiming at the entrances to the Hive City's orbital trains.
One enormous black figure after another appeared in the defense troops' sight, their footsteps heavy.
The Saturnine Terminator Prototypes strode directly into the trenches. The Thermal Diffraction Fields shrouding their armor melted the buried spikes into slag amid sharp, rapid bursts.
The Conversion Beam emitters on the shoulders of the frontmost Saturnine Terminator Prototypes rotated under the control of the Psychic Shock Units, aiming in every direction.
Brilliant beams shot out, sweeping across the surrounding rooftops.
The defense troops operating the laser Defense Arrays were instantly Charred, bursting apart amid trails of black smoke.
Witnessing the horrifying scene, the defense troops stared pale-faced at the black Steel Fortresses, unable to pull their triggers for a long while.
In the eerie silence, the regional broadcast channel suddenly crackled before turning into a booming voice.
"My faithful! I am Ezekiel! I am the Blind King!"
"Blasphemous heretics have set foot in my divine kingdom. They seek to destroy everything you believe in—your homeland."
"I watch over you. I bless you..."
As the Blind King's words spread across the entire region, yellow-green light of faith rose in the officers' eyes.
"Our lord watches over