The Battle of Karmas 11

The brief respite brought by the temporary rest was gone in an instant.

Under Leona's command, the mixed assault force once again left the relative safety of the manufactorum ruins. Like trapped beasts breaking free of their chains, they continued advancing toward the pulsating heart of evil deep within Hera City.

The demons' resistance remained frenzied, but as the force gradually left the open outskirts and entered the city's tangled districts, the nature of the battle changed.

Narrow streets, towering ruins of high-rises, and underground utility networks made it difficult for vast demon hordes to fully spread out, but they also gave small elite enemy units opportunities to lurk in ambush.

Leona adjusted her tactics, splitting the Blood Angels veterans into even smaller combat squads. They covered one another as they cleared every building that might conceal enemies, floor by floor. Their advance was slow, but more secure, aimed at minimizing dangers behind them.

While clearing an industrial complex connected to a side route off the main thoroughfare into the city center, the forward Blood Angels squad encountered unusually stubborn resistance.

Not only did they face targeted suppressive fire, but the building was also filled with crude yet vicious traps and blasphemous symbols. Intense firefights and close-quarters combat echoed through the maze-like factory halls and conveyor belts.

"Something's wrong," Captain Tycho said over the comms. His squad had just blasted open a reinforced gate that had been welded shut with a Meltagun. "Their defenses are layered. They're not like those bloodletters that only know how to charge.

There's something in here worth protecting this fiercely, or... they're buying time to keep us from discovering something."

Leona personally led a squad of Blood Angels elites into the building's core. After eliminating the last group of stubborn Cultists led by Chaos Space