The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

"For the gods! For Chaos!"

Abaddon's roar thundered through the warship's corridors, amplified by his helmet's speakers.

The blasphemous cry swelled like a wave rising from the Warp, drowning out the fierce gunfire and shrill alarms aboard the ship.

His roar was both the signal to attack and the beginning of the slaughter!

Blood from loyalists dripped off Abaddon's Daemon Sword Drach'nyen. The metal deck around him seemed to bake under molten lava, while invisible heat shimmered through Chaos's blasphemous aura. Red light and thick smoke enveloped him, making him look like a demon god risen from a blood-soaked hell.

The Chaos Gods had blessed his heavy Terminator Armour.

The blasphemous marks of the Sons of Horus glowed with the Warp's malicious curses. Anyone who dared look straight at them felt dizzy to the depths of their soul, overcome by physical revulsion and nausea.

The dreaded Demon Sword Drach'nyen poured out immense Warp energy. It hissed like a snake, filling the air with dread as it licked hungrily at its surroundings, eager to show its master, Abaddon, its thirst for the coming slaughter and the souls of loyalists.

"Form ranks!"

At the far end of the corridor, the Ultramarines Third Company obeyed the discipline ingrained in their bones.

They had to stop the servants of Chaos here!

Abaddon sneered at the Ultramarines still resisting. "Kill them!"

In an instant, the Chaos Dreadnoughts surged forward like a flood of filth, bearing down on the Third Company with overwhelming force.

"Fire!"

The seasoned Third Company veterans immediately raised their Storm Shields to form a barricade.

Then they opened up with their Heavy Bolters. Shells rained down the narrow warship corridor, streaks of orange light shrieking through the air before slamming into the Chaos Terminators with tremendous force.

The deadly barrage struck the