Assembly

Quan Tiehua held a Bolter in one hand and a Chainsword in the other, meticulously searching the nearby wreckage.

Behind him, over a dozen Astartes, their armor already bearing scratches and dirt, cautiously fanned out, searching the surroundings with at least ten meters between each of them.

This was Quan Tiehua's requirement! Because in the current world's military power, even a Bolter, let alone lighter infantry equipment, couldn't harm them! Those so-called individual combat capabilities were laughable in front of the Astartes.

Perhaps heavy machine guns, or even anti-aircraft heavy machine guns, could inflict some damage on them, but only if you could actually hit them.

The moment you opened fire, I would react and dodge. Even if I couldn't dodge, my thick Power Armour would have to withstand the initial few shots. With my running speed, I could close the distance within a hundred meters and kill you in less than five seconds of your firing. What's the point of you firing those few rounds?

Unless it's a high-powered weapon, it must be armor-piercing or anti-armor! But now we're definitely in densely populated areas, and if you use that kind of weapon, you have to consider the damage to ordinary people.

Moreover, an important prerequisite is: can you keep up with our reaction speed?

Of course, if you mobilize tanks, do you think my Chainsword and Power Sword are for show?

Hey, friend! This... saw I use for chopping trees! It spins just like a treadmill! The saw blade on it can cut through your tank like tofu if you're not careful, it's that easy!

So, does Quan Tiehua need to worry? Not at all!

Of course, if you were to use nuclear bombs or missiles, that would be a different story.

"Idiot!"

An angry shout instantly drew everyone's attention.

Quan Tiehua and the Astartes quickly ran towards the source of the sound, then stopped at a corner! Each of them chose a ruin to conceal themselves.

Then they saw a group of little idiots in dark green uniforms and Americans in brown-green uniforms enthusiastically shooting at each other.

Unfortunately, they had already ventured within 15 kilometers of the nuclear blast's epicenter. Communications were likely heavily disrupted by the electromagnetic field, making them intermittent at best, effectively useless.

But he wasn't sure if they were completely useless. After all, he didn't understand this world very well and would need to see familiar things to confirm.

Ordinary people without specialized equipment, if they ventured within another five kilometers, would essentially be meeting their maker within the next five years.

Quan Tiehua watched everything unfold, uninterested, and instead notified his brothers via comms to quietly detour and continue searching for their other brethren.

But the next second! The Tech-Sergeant's voice came through.

"Brother, I've found the Chapter Master's location!"

"Where?"

"500 meters away! And according to the Power Armour's feedback, the Chapter Master and the others are currently unconscious. Based on the combat between these mortals at the scene, it's likely that these mortals in dark green uniforms found the unconscious Chapter Master and his men and were trying to move them out when they were encountered by these mortals in light brown uniforms, leading to a fight over them."

Upon hearing this, Quan Tiehua couldn't help but frown! In the Warhammer 40k universe, having been indoctrinated by the Astartes' ideology for so long, he subconsciously considered himself superior to mortals.

Therefore, upon hearing this news so suddenly, an inexplicable rage surged within him.

At the same time, he was certain that the Chapter Master and Gers must have been severely wounded, otherwise, with these ordinary people numbering less than a hundred in total, they wouldn't even be enough for Gers to kill alone.

But it was understandable. After all, the Chapter Master and Gers had stayed behind to hold off Papatyr! In the face of the nuclear blast, no matter how fast an Astartes was, how far could they run?

"Kill them. Leave none alive!" As Quan Tiehua's cold voice fell, the Astartes instantly broke cover from the ruins.

They began to circle around the battlefield.

Why were they being so cautious instead of charging straight in?

What if the enemy had heavy firepower?

And the most important point is, would you bet that all of these people's communications were completely down?

If they gambled wrong, they would face the encirclement of countless armies, a force of land, sea, and air!

The dagger slid across, and blood splattered instantly! The combat experience accumulated by the Astartes allowed them to kill these mortals without making a sound.

The slaughter was swift, but as the rate of fire between the two sides decreased, their commanders quickly realized something was wrong. They hastily searched for the cause and then discovered their targets behind them, secretly slaughtering their team members.

Quan Tiehua and the Astartes froze mid-action, looking at the surprised Americans and little idiot soldiers who had turned around.

The next second, both sides attacked!

The mortal soldiers in the Astartes' hands were crushed by immense force, and then the automatic rifles of the ordinary soldiers pinged and clanged against their Plasteel armor.

Quan Tiehua did not charge at the forefront, as his shoulder armor was severely damaged, with a large chunk of flesh and bone exposed.

The roar of the chainswords echoed through the ruins, only to abruptly cease after a mere dozen seconds!

The Apothecary stepped over the still-warm corpses and bloodstains, quickly reaching the Chapter Master Affos and Gers!

Both of them were severely injured at this point!

Gers' long hair had been burned to ashes! And the scorching red on their Plasteel armor had flaked off like dried paint, lost somewhere.

Especially the Chapter Master Affos, as he was the last to evacuate and not as fast as Gers, the nuclear blast had inflicted the most severe damage on him!

After painstakingly lifting them out of the rubble, their Plasteel armor was carefully removed!

Gers was in slightly better condition. Wearing Power Armour and running fast, his body was only red and blistered from the heat, along with damage to his respiratory system from inhaling the hot air. But the problem wasn't severe; a little medicine and a few days of rest would allow him to recover!

However, the Chapter Master's condition was quite grim. Almost half of his body's skin had ulcerated from the intense heat.

After lifting the Chapter Master out, various healing potions were injected into his body, but he remained unconscious. Clearly, his internal organs were also severely injured.

It was highly possible that the heat was so intense it bypassed the helmet, allowing hot air to enter his lungs, directly burning his lungs and trachea.

"Quickly find the other brothers, and then we'll withdraw immediately!"

"Brother, we have incoming!"

An Astartes on outer watch suddenly alerted them over the comms.

Hearing this, everyone abandoned their other tasks and evacuated the area with the two injured individuals!

"Hurry, there was just a hail of gunfire here!" A familiar Japanese voice called out! Quan Tiehua merely glanced in its direction before ignoring it.

These were skillfully retrieved, intact grenades from the mangled corpses of soldiers they had just cut to pieces!

Their own supply of thrown weapons was running low, so they had to scavenge some. And if necessary, they could set up some traps along their retreat route to slow down pursuers!

That would be very effective too!