Nightmare

The strength of mortals is pitiful, but the saying "many ants can kill an elephant" isn't just for show.

On the defensive lines outside, it was manageable. When retreating, those mortals who had already foreseen their own demise had voluntarily stayed behind to hold off these chaos traitors, allowing the remaining personnel to safely withdraw to the hive city.

However, after everyone had retreated, they discovered this was an even more brutal battle, fought in silence.

Everyone entered through the lower levels, but in that environment, all sorts of xenos and mutants dwelled.

Setting aside the xenos, the mutants were completely corrupted by Chaos.

When the hive city's security forces were evacuating civilians, they had also tried to descend to the lower levels. But the xenos and mutants, who harbored extreme hatred for the Imperium's rule, had forcefully driven them back.

Coupled with their environment, these mutants quickly fell to Chaos's slightest temptation.

All along the way, various fallen mutants ambushed and attacked the squad.

The mortal soldiers who fully retreated into the hive city were less than one-tenth of the original number. Even the Planetary Governor, Foul Sigilite, who was formerly a Commissar, fell to a crude kinetic weapon made by a mutant.

Almost every mortal soldier was wounded. Coupled with the corrupted mutants and the harsh environment of the lower levels, their wounds had begun to fester and look strange.

But the narrow-minded mortals didn't think much of it. They simply had the logistics personnel hastily apply medicine and bandages before rushing to their respective defensive positions.

Regiment Commander Affos still remembered the words Quan Tiehua had said before the battle began.

Therefore, even during the retreat, he kept the squad in formation. Quan Tiehua was placed in the middle of the formation.

While returning to the Throne wasn't bad, who wouldn't want to live if they had the chance?

But at this moment, Regiment Commander Affos's expression was grim. The brothers around him noticed this change.

"What happened?" Tylert, who was directing the construction of defensive fortifications for the street fighting, felt a pang of unease upon seeing Regiment Commander Affos's troubled expression. He quickly walked over to him and asked in a low voice.

"The agricultural sector in the southern part of the planet has experienced a large-scale ghoul invasion." Tylert wore a helmet, so his expression was hidden, but his voice remained steady.

"What's the specific situation?"

"It's very bad. Without our support, a large-scale rout and infection have already occurred there." Regiment Commander Affos looked at the soldiers still engaged in transport and patrol duties. His voice grew even quieter, and he even put on his helmet.

The Chapter's communication channel immediately picked up their conversation. "That's the agricultural sector. Even if the population from the northern hemisphere evacuated there, the settlements are separated by vast farmlands. How could it have fallen in just over a day?"

"That's the problem. According to the last feedback, all the food was infected. After eating food harvested from there, everyone became infected and turned into ghouls."

Quan Tiehua put down the bolter he was cleaning. The other Battle-Brothers also stopped what they were doing.

"So, the only remaining population on this planet is the hundred thousand or so people here?"

"Yes. I've already ordered the ships in orbit to conduct orbital bombardment. For us here, it should alleviate some pressure. But for the agricultural sector, I think we should give up. The final outcome for this planet will likely be an exterminatus order. After all, the entire southern hemisphere has been polluted by Chaos."

Quan Tiehua remained silent, looking once more at the System's progress bar panel in his mind.

A complete, beautiful, and prosperous planet with billions of inhabitants had, in just one Terran month, been reduced to only a little over a hundred thousand normal people.

Even the word "normal" needed quotation marks. If this war was won, 95% of the normal population would be directly executed by the Imperium's Inquisition, for they had faced Chaos and risked corruption.

If this war was lost, then all the remaining people, including their entire Chapter, would be corrupted by Chaos.

At this moment, Regiment Commander Affos and Tylert had finished their conversation. They didn't move but stared at each other in silence.

They had already lost too much in this war.

"Regiment Commander." Quan Tiehua suddenly broke the silence, appearing on the Chapter's communication channel.

All the brothers turned to look. Quan Tiehua walked up to the two of them. The communication channel remained silent.

All the brothers knew that the time had come for the Regiment Commander to make a decision.

"Hold the line and await reinforcements."

With that one sentence, everyone began checking their weapons, ammunition, and gear.

It wasn't that he didn't want to evacuate now and preserve the Chapter's fighting strength. It was that he felt it wasn't yet a point of no return.

"Ahhhh!"

A sudden scream startled everyone, instantly breaking the tense atmosphere.

The mortal soldiers, who had been intently watching the entrance, were startled by the sudden scream and instantly pulled their triggers. With one person leading, countless others followed, unleashing a barrage of fire into the empty, dark passage.

The Astartes reacted with extreme speed, quickly pinpointing the source of the scream. They saw the person suddenly sit up, drenched in sweat, their face a mask of panic.

Instantly, countless muzzles were pointed at that person.

They looked exactly like someone who had woken up from a nightmare.

Just as the Astartes were about to ask what had happened.

At the front-line entrance defense, fierce sounds of attack erupted.

Simultaneously, various roars echoed.

"Everyone prepare for battle!" a high-pitched command rang out. Everyone entered combat readiness and moved to their positions.

No one paid attention to the bewildered mortal, whose eyes held a hint of anger and lingering shock.

At the entrance, a battle had already begun.

A dense mass of bald, green-skinned humanoids, brandishing their weapons, shouted, "For the Four-Armed Emperor!" as they charged madly towards them.

"Genestealers."

Talk about coincidence. A mortal's nightmare directly alerted everyone. A mortal soldier, with nerves on edge, instinctively pulled the trigger after being startled, directly triggering a chain reaction.

And this group of Genestealers, who were sneaking away and trying to break through the blockade at that very moment, also suffered an undeserved disaster.

They thought they had been discovered, but who could have imagined it was an accident?

The battle erupted in an instant.

In a place no one could see, the mortal who had been awakened by the nightmare had eyes that were somewhat angry and bloodshot.