Charge and Break the Formation

Of course, the surprises this Astra Militarum force brought Rowan were far from over.

In the midst of the deafening battlefield, Rowan's eyes suddenly flickered, and almost simultaneously with Sibyl, he turned his gaze outward.

Shell after shell rained down, and most of the Ork Boyz clustered nearby fell at an alarming rate, as if caught in a pincer attack. Their once-dense formation thinned out rapidly.

This allowed the two of them to see past the greenskin ranks and glimpse the distant scene.

—It was an armored tide from the Astra Militarum.

Leman Russ Tanks and Chimera Armored Vehicles rumbled forward, kicking up clouds of dust. Soldiers clad in heavy flak armor, gas masks, and wielding lasguns advanced between the tanks, pouring fire into the greenskins' heads with astonishing efficiency.

"...Reinforcements, huh? Pretty quick on the draw."

Rowan was a bit surprised. "And that armored formation is solid—very orderly, doesn't look like something thrown together on the fly."

"This must have been pre-planned. I get it now—their original tactic was probably to use trenches and light infantry to blunt the greenskins' advance."

As an Inquisitor with some military command experience, Sibyl began analyzing as well. "Once the greenskins were bogged down, they'd organize armored units to loop around, form an arrowhead assault formation, and hit their flank to gain the upper hand."

"Simple tactic, but effective."

"You're probably right."

Rowan nodded. "And considering they saw our drop pod insertion, immediately adapted their plan to support us, and pulled off such effective artillery fire... this Astra Militarum commander has some skill."

Still, it worked out.

Thanks to the timely reinforcement, Rowan no longer needed to call in an orbital bombardment from the Strike Cruiser.

Earlier, all the Fear Claw Drop Pods had thrown the Astartes companies straight into the orks' armored tide.

The Astartes had carved out a landing zone by sheer force within that armored mass, so even with their superior gear, casualties were still significant.

But with the safety net of his reality warping ability, every fallen Astartes had been brought back, allowing them to rejoin the fight.

Now, the situation was vastly different. The Astra Militarum's assault drew away most of the orks' attention, loosening the greenskins' formation considerably.

On the human side, however, a complete and powerful offensive had formed.

It was like a spear: the Astartes were the sharp tip, piercing through the orks' lines with brutal efficiency, but they'd been bogged down by the green tide, like a spearhead stuck in flesh.

Now, with the Astra Militarum acting as the "shaft," the balance of offense and defense shifted. The squad's advance speed multiplied several times over, punching straight through the greenskins' defensive lines.

At Rowan's signal, Sibyl's eyes lit up as she used her psychic power to scout again.

Soon, she had her answer: "...Correct, as you expected. Those xenos didn't anticipate such a fast breakthrough. They didn't have enough time to fully assemble their vehicles."

"Right now, their formation is still scattered, nowhere near a level that could threaten us."

Rowan nodded after hearing that. "More than enough. The conditions for a decapitation strike are met. Prepare to move."

With a thought, Lucia and Leonardo, who had been weaving through the enemy ranks slaughtering, received the telepathic message. They reacted instantly and began pulling back to regroup with Rowan.

Once they converged, Rowan casually reached out and grabbed at the ground.

A large clump of earth lifted into the air, twisting and warping.

Matter conversion, distortion, shaping... Finally, following Rowan's will, it solidified into a Golden Shield and a power sword.

It was one of the Adeptus Custodes' standard armaments: the Sentinel Blade and the Guardian Shield.

Invisible psychic force hurled the weapons toward Leonardo. Understanding Rowan's intent, Leonardo set aside his empty Guardian Spear and reached out to catch the new gear.

Then, sword and shield in hand, he stood alongside Lucia at Rowan's sides.

The relic Storm Shield and the Guardian Shield together formed an impenetrable line of defense.

"Go!"

At Rowan's command, the four of them instantly broke away from the Astartes company, becoming a storm of momentum that tore through the greenskins' defensive line in an instant.

The Ork Boyz tried to resist, but every round they fired was blocked by the Living Saint and the Custodian with their shields. Any greenskin that entered attack range was met with a flash of cold steel and reduced to dismembered corpses.

Rowan wasn't idle either. He swung Solomon's Ceremonial Sword repeatedly, its blade seeming to ignore the barriers of space.

With each strike, a golden flame ignited on the target—whether a horde of Ork Boyz or their grimy vehicles—unconditionally burning them to cinders, effortlessly clearing a wide path.

Behind and beside him, Sibyl, floating through the air via psychic levitation, quickly plotted the shortest decapitation route.

Before long, Rowan's eyes fell upon the ork battle fortress, which resembled a small land crawler.

Though some armored vehicles and Ork Nobz had gathered around the fortress, they were completely caught off guard by the speed of the breakthrough, instantly thrown into chaos.

"Don't panic! Wait, what the zog is this?"

Inside the battle fortress, the Ork Boss Galia's eyes went wide as he stared at the four strange little 'umies charging toward him.

They moved through the battlefield with ease, the fierce greenskins around them unable to slow them down in the slightest, smashing through every obstacle like a force of nature.

As for their target...

Well, it was obvious enough that even a greenskin could understand.

A rare flicker of panic surged through Galia. He roared at the top of his lungs:

"Open fire! Open fire! Shoot everything! Stop 'em, ya gits!"

With the roar, the Ork underlings who heard the command finally snapped into action. Tanks and Looted Wagons raised their gun barrels, cans and mechs lifted their weapons, and a torrent of firepower erupted in a simultaneous volley like a rainstorm.

Though hasty and chaotic, this barrage of covering fire was still utterly lethal.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of Rowan and his group, this level of firepower was far from enough.

Sibyl let out a piercing shriek. Her frenzied psychic energy spread with the sound waves, eventually coalescing in the air into a colossal barrier shield.

Boom boom boom boom!!!

Though the rain of artillery fire slammed against the barrier with a thunderous roar, it failed to slow the four's advance in the slightest.

At last, they closed in on the battle fortress.

All around, what seemed like an endless tide of Ork armor and various vehicles surged toward Rowan and his party like madmen.