Standing on the tank, Peter watched the Chaos Cultists being slaughtered ahead and the soldiers carrying out the slaughter. He shook his head slightly.
He noticed that some of the Mortal Auxiliary soldiers seemed hesitant, and he could guess why. These former citizen-soldiers, no matter which city-state they came from, had never fought a battle of this kind, one where the enemy was wiped out to the last.
To them, war meant a great army bearing down on them. Both sides sent troops to fight head-on; the victor took prisoners, and the defeated were taken prisoner. When the war ended, there would be negotiations or surrender, and they would become the other side's vassals.
Many of them were supposedly professional soldiers, but they had never actually fought in a particularly brutal battle, much less one where women, children, and unarmed civilians were shown no mercy.
It seemed that after this war, they would have to discharge some of the older soldiers, whose ideas about warfare were deeply rooted in local traditions. They would have to place their hopes in the young and the next generation, and reform their education as well.
The armies on all four sides continued to steadily advance the front line, and soon they would wipe out the last hundred thousand.
But suddenly, Warp energy erupted among the enemy positions, sending countless rocks and clouds of dust swirling through the air. A commotion broke out in the enemy ranks, and a horde of bizarre creatures charged through the Chaos Cultists.
Pink, blue, and yellow lumps of flesh plunged and wheeled through the crowd. Their mouths snapped and gnawed with sharp teeth, while three vicious claws flailed wildly. One of their hands even clutched a dagger, stabbing people at random.
The Pink Horrors sometimes extended a hole in their index fingers and spewed pink flames, roasting the flesh of the mortal cultists around them. The Blue Horrors spewed fire from their fingers too, while wildly swinging their daggers at the cultists nearby. The smallest, the Brimstone Horrors, simply leaped onto the cultists, roasting everyone around them with their eternally burning bodies.
There was also a flat creature resembling a manta ray, flying through the air. Each time it swooped down, it bit off a human head, leaving the rest of the body to fall to the ground.
Another kind of creature was tall and slender, with fleshy skirts shaped like mushroom caps. Flames within their skirts kept them floating in midair, while their arms and heads spewed fire, scorching every living thing in front of them.
The last was a huge, towering ball of flesh covered in countless thick tentacles and writhing heads. This creature had even retained the ability to cast spells: its heads chanted incantations and unleashed lightning and psychic force, while its massive body simply crushed the cultists beneath it.
Peter observed the Warp creatures appearing on the battlefield and recognized them all:
"Chaos Spawn, Daemonettes, Screaming Sharks, and Fire Fiends. Fortunately, there aren't too many."
After identifying them, Peter issued an order over the comms:
"Tzeentch Demons have appeared. All commanders, halt the advance. Redirect heavy weapons to eliminate the demons first. Aerial fire support, stand by."
After speaking, Peter switched channels. He trusted his brothers; the commanders on the other fronts would know what to do.
"Sacks, order all units to fortify their positions. Set all weapons to lethal force. Take no prisoners."
At Peter's command, both the Dark Mechanicus and the Spear of Hector stopped taking prisoners. They faced forward, on high alert, and fixed bayonets beneath their gun barrels at their officers' command.
The soldiers ahead opened fire with everything they had. Autoguns and Laser Guns alike fired incessantly into the crowd. Logging Guns mounted on the ground spewed flames mercilessly, their bullets tearing through countless bodies. The officers had ordered them to take no prisoners, after all.
Under the merciless barrage of light weapons, countless mortal Chaos Cultists fell. But the demons were entirely different. The poor-quality Laser Guns and Autoguns had little effect on them, and the horde charged straight toward the army's lines.
The Twin-linked Lascannons on either side of the Land Raider tanks fired at the demons. When a lascannon shot pierced a Pink Horror, the creature, now sporting a huge hole in its chest, split in two. Its remaining flesh divided, and two Blue Horrors sprang out, one to either side.
Peter raised his Plasma Pistol and pulled the trigger, controlling its power with the pressure of his index finger and keeping it at medium. With a bang, a plasma shot melted the upper body of a Blue Horror. The creature's remaining lower half then turned into two Brimstone Horrors.
For a moment, the enemy seemed to grow in number the more they were attacked. The Space Marines and Neophytes showed no fear, continuing to fire with calm precision. Anthony in particular didn't spray with his Heavy Bolter; instead, he fired two or three controlled shots at each demon.
But the number of demons still exceeded what the Space Marines on the battlefield could handle. As they drew closer to the lines, the Mortal Auxiliary soldiers began to waver.
Peter spoke only five words:
"Magos Yamila."
About a thousand Dark Mechanicus Rangers and vanguard troops emerged from the rear lines. They all wore embroidered red robes and were encased in armor. Their hands and legs held no flesh, and some of their organs had even been removed. These Defenders had remade their bodies to the limit, adapting themselves for any battlefield. Each carried a long Current Rifle, like a flintlock musket, and they advanced in silence.
They passed the Auxiliary Army soldiers without a hint of emotion and came to the front line. The front row knelt, while the back row remained standing. They raised their long Current Rifles. Mechanical communicators inside their helmets, connected to their brains, received the command simultaneously. In a single volley, they pierced several Daemonettes, Screaming Sharks, and Fire Fiends, which vanished into thin air.
The Defenders were actually formidable. In the confined interior of a ship, Space Marines could easily thrash them. But on open ground, when hundreds of Current Rifles capable of piercing Power Armour were aimed at them, even Space Marines could only give way. And when hundreds of thousands of Defenders had armored vehicles and air support, they could face a Chapter of a thousand Space Marines without fear—and might even win.
The demons had nearly all been eliminated, leaving only the largest Chaos Spawn still advancing. Peter applied a little more pressure with his index finger, setting his Plasma Pistol to maximum power. Then he charged it and fired a plasma bolt at the Chaos Spawn in the distance. With a bang, the plasma burst open in front of it, and its scattered light revealed the round outline of a shield.
"Psionic Shield!"
Peter hadn't expected the Chaos Spawn to retain enough reason to raise a shield.
The tanks' Twin-linked Lascannons fired at it too, but the Psionic Shield blocked them as well. The Chaos Spawn even began to counterattack. Psychic light flared in the eyes of countless heads across its body. Then an invisible psychic blast slammed into the front line, leaving hundreds of Mortal Auxiliary soldiers mangled and bloody. Some clutched severed hands and feet, wailing without pause.
"Requesting air strike."
Peter called over the comms. Soon, a Storm Eagle Gunship flew over, and its pilot wasted no time. The twin-linked Multi-melta cannons at the front fired at the Chaos Spawn, but the Multi-meltas' range dropped off sharply, and they still couldn't break through its Psionic Shield.
The Space Marine pilot didn't dare descend too far, afraid the enemy's psychic attack would bring down the War Band's only Astartes aircraft.
The Space Marine pilot pressed a button. Four Hellstrike Missiles mounted beneath the wings launched, roaring toward the Chaos Spawn.
But as the missiles exploded, smoke billowed into the air. Gradually, a figure emerged from the smoke. It was still the Chaos Spawn. It unleashed another psychic blast, killing several Defenders and hundreds of Mortal Auxiliary soldiers on the front line.
The Chaos Spawn continued its slow, relentless advance, though every other demon there had already vanished.
But Peter remained composed. Like most shields, the Psionic Shield was better at stopping fast attacks than slow ones.
Peter spoke into his helmet's comms:
"First and Second Assault Bike Squads, move in to support immediately."
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