Whoosh!
Several Boarding Torpedoes launched from the Lunar-class Cruiser's torpedo bays and shot toward the sole remaining Xenos Warship not covered by Imperial firepower.
Crunch!
With a dull impact, the pointed tips of the Boarding Torpedoes pierced the faintly glowing surface of the Xenos Warship and drilled straight inside.
That was not all.
Several Landing Pods circling in the distance also landed upon the Xenos Warship's deck.
Warriors from the Sons of the Emperor's elite First Company and Second Company joined this boarding operation as well.
A fine day began with a boarding action!
The Landing Pod's hatch opened, but what greeted Kasgar was not a welcoming ceremony—it was the Crystalline Aliens on the ship's landing deck firing madly at him.
Countless dazzling rays burst forth from before the Crystalline Constructs, fiercely scorching the uninvited guests before them.
Without suitable defensive measures, charging headlong into such dense Focused Energy Weapon fire would have resulted in devastating losses for their squad.
Blinding light instantly filled the cramped landing deck.
The Crystalline Constructs responded with crisp clattering sounds like colliding glass.
Perhaps they were celebrating their own victory in their language, sneering at humanity's cunning.
They knew the Imperials had not fired Macro Cannons or Lances at them, but had instead sent Boarding Torpedoes. They clearly intended to board the ship and take prisoners alive.
So they had played along and arranged an ambush at this landing entrance in advance.
Any ordinary boarding party that failed to notice it would have been wiped out by that first volley.
But Kasgar was different.
He was a shield dog.
As the dust settled, the Crystalline Constructs did not see charred enemy corpses, but an utterly intact shield.
A massive golden Imperial Eagle soared across the elegant purple Boarding Shield.
The Boarding Shield stood as tall as Kasgar. Its surface was carved with countless dazzling purple-gold petal patterns, intricate and beautiful, while the golden eagle wing in its upper-right corner, poised to take flight, added another touch of elegance.
Holding a masterwork Boarding Shield made by Fulgrim, Kasgar extended the barrel of an Explosive Gun through a firing slit at its side.
Buzz!
The beam swept across the cramped Landing Pod in an instant. Before the ambushing aliens could lie in wait for another volley, Kasgar had already cut down most of them.
They became scorched silicon crystals melted together, giving off a thick burnt stench.
We shield dogs!
Crash!
The Crystalline Aliens hiding in the corners, having avoided Kasgar's first wave of fire, let out a crisp symphony when they saw their ambush had failed.
Wriggling their clumsy bodies, they tried to scatter and flee through the complicated turns of the Landing Pod's terrain.
Kasgar truly had no way to deal with that.
But his teammates did.
"Hmph, trying to run?!"
A phantom-like figure darted across the battlefield. A slender Duelist Sword repeatedly plunged with precision into the aliens' crystal cores before swiftly withdrawing.
After fighting them for several days, they had long figured out their weak points.
"Lucius."
"Watch your positioning. The area ahead remains unexplored, so do not pursue too deeply."
Saul Tarvitz, standing guard to Kasgar's left, spoke up to remind him.
Carrying a large amount of demolition explosives and an engineering axe, he served as the team's support. At that moment, he was adjusting the Augur Array in his hands to search for nearby enemies.
"Tch, no fun."
Hearing the advice, Lucius reluctantly retreated to Kasgar's right and returned beneath the Boarding Shield's protection.
As the squad's Breacher, he would use the melee blade in his hand to eliminate every enemy who dared block their advance.
At the very rear stood Sword Saint Aqua, overseeing the formation as their instructor.
On one hand, she could observe the overall situation and provide timely support. On the other, she could offer this Tactical Squad advice on cooperation and let these recruits receive real combat training.
Judging by their coordination, these three little ones had all performed rather well.
Three recruits with potential comparable to her own.
Other legions would have struck gold if they discovered even one.
Yet they had produced three at once!
Thinking of how they would someday lead the Sons of the Emperor as the Third Legion's new generation, Aqua felt a wave of sincere pride and anticipation.
"Open up! Meter inspection!"
Kasgar kicked open an iron door on the Xenos Warship and shouted.
"And you lot, vice raid!"
He kicked open another door.
Fine. Forget she said anything.
Kasgar could never stay serious for more than three seconds.
"No one here. This area should count as a cleared safe zone."
"Based on our original landing point, we still have a long way to go before reaching the aliens' control center."
As they walked through the narrow deck passageway, Kasgar analyzed the situation.
The interior of the Xenos Warship was primarily made of crystal. Even the deck corridors they walked through were covered with countless diamond-shaped spikes.
Trying to search for the enemy control room step by step with only their four-man squad would take far too long.
Although this Xenos Warship was currently alone, once it entered the Portal, Kasgar's boarding squad would be dragged back to the aliens' headquarters with it!
They had to seize command of the ship before it entered the Portal!
"Tavitz, deploy the New Unmanned Spiders."
"Understood."
At Kasgar's command, dozens of small Mechanical Spiders poured from Saul Tarvitz's backpack.
They crawled along the irregular walls into other rooms, transmitting the information they gathered in real time.
Due to their small size, these Mechanical Spiders were difficult to spot and could enter sealed rooms through narrow pipes to investigate them.
Using their movement paths and camera modules, they could also map the terrain of the rooms they entered.
At the same time, they could provide navigational information much like Servitor Skulls.
Naturally, this was another marvelous little tool proposed by Kasgar and designed by Fulgrim.
There had never been a boarding battle before, so this was their first time putting it to practical use.
"Tavitz, how is it working?"
"Even better than I expected."
The taciturn Terran recruit replied, "This Xenos Warship differs somewhat from those we usually encounter."
"The command room is not at the bow. It is at the very center of the teardrop-shaped hull."
"Good! Synchronize and share the information with the other boarding members."
"Now, continue advancing toward their command center."
Above Silent Star's orbit.
"What was Kasgar's response?! Are they still attempting to seize control of the enemy warship?"
The fleet commander, who had initially been ecstatic over their great victory, looked increasingly grim as time passed.
"Notify them at once. If they cannot seize the enemy warship, they must evacuate immediately!"
The warship you are on is already very close to the Portal. If you cannot seize it, evacuate immediately!
I repeat! If you cannot seize it, evacuate immediately!
The Sound Array's broadcast echoed across the Lunar-class Cruiser's bridge.
If Kasgar and the others were carried through the Portal by the Xenos Warship and vanished without a trace...
How was he supposed to answer to Primarch Fulgrim then?!
He nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Before you continue