"The Battle of Manros began in its signature fashion: after the Warp storm dispersed and only the Mercy Emissaries remained in the system, the Chapter deployed Drop Pods and activated a Virus Bomb inside Fortress No. 13."
"Before the war, the locals could never have imagined where it would lead."
"The Fierce Angels may once have believed themselves to be the tide-riders of this war. Their strategic vision was limited to themselves, the Mercy Emissaries, and the world of Manros."
"They were proven wrong."
"Just as when Manros had purged its old grudges, every participant had their own reasons and goals, while events always ended up beyond anyone's expectations."
"The Battle of Manros was no different. Perhaps when Lu Jin saw the Titan Legions facing each other across the plains, he would recall the afternoon when he had first arrived on Manros, intending to do a little business."
"Fate was simply that wondrous."
The two fleets closed in on each other within the system.
A combined three hundred warships exchanged fire in the void. Lances, Macro Cannons, and torpedoes reached their targets before the ships themselves did.
Inside the command center, thirty-eight Fierce Angels, including Lu Jin and the recruits, stared at the largest screen.
After the armored battle on the plains, the armored forces that had retreated to the underground barracks of Fortress No. 12, the closest fortress to the plains, set up high-definition cameras on the surface so everyone could witness the battle in space directly.
The veterans among the Fierce Angels had fought in wars during the Chapter's heyday, but this void battle raging across the system still made them feel profoundly ignorant after comparing the Fierce Angels to these visitors from beyond the stars.
The lances formed a brilliant, tangled web.
Above, beneath, and around that web, the mottled black specks were physical munitions.
If the Vicious Fang Strike Cruiser had been placed at the forefront of either fleet, it likely would not have lasted even a solar hour before becoming wreckage.
Yet the void battle continued to expand.
As more fleets flashed into view at the edges of both sides of the system, they joined the battle.
The Red Corsairs warband, a so-called warband nearly the size of a Legion, might have been loosely organized, but its numbers were truly immense.
Though Huron had turned traitor, he had not embraced Chaos. This kept his mind clear, allowing him to plan the void battle with flawless calculation under the authority of the Maelstrom Lord.
On the Imperial side, one could easily imagine what kind of elite, brilliant people were commanding the void war for each Chapter.
If all they had to do was watch the war unfold and marvel at their own insignificance, that would have been fine.
For Lu Jin and the Manrosans, the truly terrifying part was that they were not only weak, but caught between both sides of the entire war.
The Red Corsairs wanted to use the Manrosans as ritual materials to summon a Warp storm.
The Imperium, meanwhile, also had strategic ambitions for Manros. In its future advance into the Maelstrom, Manros would be an indispensable strategic hub.
"The landings have begun."
Kao lowered his gaze to the screen below.
Beyond the vast plains where the armored battle had taken place, the southern approach was a basin, while the northern approach was a pass lying between two long mountain ranges.
Both sides designated landing zones behind the basin and the pass. While the void battle continued, ground forces were dropped down.
The Chaos forces' first wave of armored units was more than twice the total number of armored vehicles fielded by both sides in the previous battle on the plains.
The Imperial side sent even more.
Several Astra Militarum regiments specializing in armored warfare, along with a Chapter skilled in armored combat, had been transferred here.
Because only armored units could fight in the environment ravaged by the Virus Bomb, both sides deployed over ten thousand tanks in total, with armored strength as their main force.
Yet this was only the first wave of landing troops.
As tanks from both sides began rolling onto the plains, the second wave descended.
Knight Mechs.
Whether Imperial or Chaos, the Knight Mechs were deployed in batches by family.
Knights were inherently a heavily feudal type of force. In most cases, Knight Mechs belonged to core members of a family. They also came in different types and ranks, from Armigers to Castellans.
This meant that once a family was deployed to the battlefield, it could form a combat unit like a tank squadron, with clearly defined roles and exceptional coordination.
But that was not all.
The third wave of landing troops was deployed from transport ships entering the planet's atmosphere.
On the screen, Lu Jin saw a massive transport ship land. Its hundred-meter-tall gates slowly opened, revealing a vast, pitch-black interior.
Bwoooom—
A deep horn sounded across the plains.
Dozens of crimson lights ignited within the dark interior.
The ultimate ground-war machines, generally ten to twenty meters tall—the "Titans"—strode out of the transport ship at varying speeds.
The Imperial side had committed a Titan Legion, forty Titans of various types in total.
The emblem mounted on their Titans was a black fist.
Chaos Titans also emerged from the transport ships. They were far more flamboyant: crimson, dark purple... every color and decoration imaginable. Some even had human skin affixed to their armored surfaces.
"They will absolutely fight over Manros. And to control Manros, they must control the hive city and underground barracks under our command."
Kao immediately deduced the course of the war and looked to Lu Jin as if asking for help.
His eyes seemed to ask what they should do.
"For now, we have to treat the underground barracks, where large war machines cannot enter, and close-quarters fighting against Space Marines as advantages." Lu Jin drew a deep breath. "We have to."
Meanwhile.
The Red Corsairs' flagship.
Huron watched the hologram, studying the Titan Legion on the ground.
The Warmonger Titan Legion—that was the name of the Legion deployed by the Imperium.
Huron had an old grudge against this Legion. Back when he had still served the Imperium, and was punished for his ambitions, the Warmonger Titan Legion had joined the battlefield as the main force of the ground assault. The blare of a single horn had pronounced the defeat of all his defending forces.
That war, which ended in Huron's defeat, was part of a campaign composed of several conflicts known as—the Battle of Badab.
And was the Warmonger Titan Legion the only one to forge a grudge with Huron during the Battle of Badab?
Huron shifted his gaze to the side, where it fell upon the hologram displaying the void battlefield.
Seven Imperial Chapters had their names marked out.
His gaze swept over the notorious Minotaur Chapter before settling on the Great White Sharks.
"They came too." Huron lightly patted Amanius on the shoulder, signaling for him to look at that name.
But Amanius looked only once before withdrawing his gaze.
Because Manros was not the only system at war. Neither side had simply thrown all its forces into Manros. Battles were raging in over a hundred systems, including Manros. Far more than seven Chapters were involved; Manros was merely the undisputed focal point.
Huron cared more about hatred than those who worked with technology did.
"Karlos."
The blue Daemon on the command deck heard the Maelstrom Lord call for him. His two bird heads turned toward the voice.
Huron continued, "If we sacrifice all the Manrosans, can we destroy the Great White Shark Chapter while summoning the Warp storm again?"
One of Karlos's heads nodded, while the other shook.
Huron was reassured. "Good."
Then he ordered a veteran, "Pick a thousand expendables. Take tens of thousands of slaves and begin the assault from Fortress No. 12 east of the plains."
The veteran immediately gave a fist-to-chest salute, then asked, "The Fierce Angels' Chapter Master, Lu Jin..."
"Best not let him die on Manros," Huron said.
The Imperial flagship.
An Inquisitor, Imperial Navy commanders, Chapter Masters, and senior members of various Chapters... figures of importance rarely seen by ordinary people were now crowded onto the command deck.
Even the Inquisitor who could command the Mercy Emissaries Chapter to hunt down the Fierce Angels was merely a minor figure who ought to keep quiet at this moment.
The great figures discussed a plan, then summoned others to carry it out.
The two Chapters that had not been assigned the task of "defeating the heretics on the surface"—the Minotaur Chapter and the Great White Shark Chapter—were called upon and given their orders.
These two Chapters were known for their ferocity and possessed excellent equipment. Sending them to fight an attritional battle on the plains would have been a waste of their talents.
"Asterion Moro, Tiberius, take your Chapters and seize control of Manros."
"Before the heretics do..."
The person issuing the order lowered his head and glanced at the tactical display.
A new wave of Red Corsair landing troops was charging toward the eastern plains. Thus, the two Chapters specifically tasked with seizing control of Manros were assigned to Fortress No. 1 on the western plains.
According to the conclusions of several armored warfare specialists, the local Manros forces had been able to move large numbers of armored troops because their underground facilities had to be interconnected.
As long as they broke into one of them, the rest would be easy.
The local defense forces, those nameless remnants numbering only a few dozen people... whether they eliminated those remnants and the local defenders was entirely irrelevant.
The true priority was getting inside before the Red Corsairs did, preventing them from turning the locals into ritual consumables.
"Before the heretics do." The person issuing the order gently pulled aside his naval uniform and rubbed his chest. "How do you think we should stop the enemy's ritual?"
"The enemy wants the locals. Then we kill all the locals," Moro answered coldly.
Tiberius beside him shared the same view.
The two Chapter Masters did not get along, nor did their Chapters have a good relationship, yet they had reached an agreement at this moment.
"They are, after all, subjects of the God-Emperor." The one giving the order sounded rather hesitant, though his expression remained casual.
"There is no other way, my lord." Halfway through his words, Moro laughed silently, as if mocking something. "On behalf of my Chapter, I implore you to make this difficult decision."
Hearing this, the one giving the order raised his wineglass and took a sip, his tone light.
"It can't be helped, after all... Handle it as you see fit."
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