A frenzied roar erupted from the rebel ranks.
The Bloodletters on Khorne's side raised their flesh-cleavers and unleashed deafening roars at the sky.
The eyes of every Khorne Berserker grew even bloodshot. They began pounding their weapons against their breastplates in a steady rhythm, like war drums.
Ren's voice came from the direction of the warehouse. By now, it had become an eerie chorus of overlapping voices:
"Blessings of the Lord of Change... let the winds of change... blow across this lifeless land..."
The Tzeentch Horrors began weaving complicated flight patterns in the air, faint blue sparks gathering around their claws.
"Now that's something."
Wang Zhong quipped in the regional channel. "Chaos has united, apparently."
"When facing the Imperium, even local warlords will put aside their internal conflicts for a while and kill the forces of Order first. Very Warhammer."
Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run chimed in.
"What about us?" Soul of Cadia asked. "Keep rescuing people?"
"Of course we keep going!"
Wang Zhong looked behind him. More than three thousand workers had gathered at the entrance to the Raw Material Transport Tunnel in the northwest corner. Players were still leading new workers out from the ruins all around them.
Most of the native workers looked terrified, and many were wounded.
With the players shouting and gesturing to organize them, they had managed to form a reasonably orderly line. One by one, they crawled into the rust-covered metal pipe, three meters in diameter.
According to the information Jeremy had provided before his death, the other end of the pipe should lead to an Abandoned Mining Site two kilometers outside the factory complex.
"Squad One! Report!"
Wang Zhong called over the channel.
"Squad One, reporting!"
Soul of Cadia's voice came through, breathless. "The tunnel's been cleared. We took out seven rebel stragglers hiding inside. No traps found!"
"The pipe's mostly intact, but some sections could collapse. We've left people along the way to reinforce them!"
"It'll take... at least forty minutes for all the workers to get through!"
"Too slow!" Wang Zhong said with a frown. "The Alru forces will attack in three minutes. These Chaos scum and rebels inside the complex won't hold out for long!"
He glanced at the holographic clock: 02:12, 02:11...
"All squads, listen up! We're changing the plan!"
"Squad One, get the workers through faster. If you have to, kick them in the ass and push them along!"
"Squads Two and Three, send a third of your people to establish a perimeter around the tunnel entrance. Be ready for an attack from inside the complex, whether it's rebels, Chaos, or rebel stragglers!"
"Squad Four, tech team, come with me!"
Wang Zhong led his personal squad and several dozen members of the tech team, crouching through a stretch of burning rubble before climbing onto the base of a Cooling Tower that had not yet completely collapsed.
From here, they could overlook most of the factory complex.
The Alru forces had completed their final deployment. Tank turrets began making fine adjustments, while the front row of infantry knelt and set up Heavy Bolters and Missile Launchers.
Inside the complex, the rebels had built crude fortifications among the ruined buildings. Khorne's followers gathered around the Bloodletter, forming a surging storm of crimson.
The Tzeentch Daemons hovered above the warehouse. The Horrors began arranging themselves into some kind of bizarre formation, while the Lord of Change and Mystery started casting a spell with all nine arms. Countless flickering runes appeared in the air.
"Oil-Guy," Wang Zhong said, staring at them. "Analyze what those blue smurfs of Tzeentch are cooking up."
Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run's eyes rapidly scanned the distant psychic fluctuations.
"Comparing this to the Warhammer rulebooks... They appear to be preparing a large-scale area spell."
"It's not intended to deal damage. It's more for... battlefield control."
"Possibly spatial distortion, time dilation, probability interference—classic Tzeentch tricks."
"The goal is to hold up the Alru forces and give Khorne's followers and the rebels a chance to engage them in melee."
"What about Khorne's forces?" Tax Brother asked.
"Khorne's simple," Xue Brother replied. "As soon as the Alru forces attack and the Tzeentch spell disrupts their lines, the Bloodletter will lead the Berserkers in a charge and get right in their faces."
"The rebels will take the opportunity to provide ranged support, targeting vulnerable infantry and light armor."
"Standard Chaos combined-arms tactics. Though this kind of cooperation usually falls apart before the battle's even over, with them stabbing each other in the back."
Wang Zhong nodded, confident he had the situation figured out.
Just then, the holographic clock hit 00:30.
Caspar Alru's mechanical voice rang out again.
"Thirty seconds."
"This is your final chance for mercy."
"Anyone who leaves the factory complex will be considered to have surrendered."
"Anyone who remains inside will be considered a heretic."
"Countdown: 00:29, 00:28..."
Not a single rebel or Chaos Cultist left the complex.
Instead, several faded flags rose above the rebel ranks. They bore the crest of the Black Royal Family from eighty years ago: an eagle clutching a lightning bolt.
The Khorne Cultists' pounding grew more rapid. The Bloodletter began slamming its giant axe into the ground, each strike making the earth tremble.
The Tzeentch Daemons' chanting reached its peak. The Lord of Change and Mystery opened all three heads' eyes and flung all nine arms toward the sky!
"00:03, 00:02, 00:01!"
"Time's up."
The red glow in Caspar Alru's mechanical eye flared.
"Extermination mode, engage."
"For the guild, for Order, for The Emperor."
"Fire!!!"
"BOOM!!!!!!!"
The main guns of fifteen Leman Russ Tanks roared at once!
Fifteen high-explosive shells streaked across the morning sky, trailing flames as they slammed into the factory complex!
Almost simultaneously, the twin main guns of three Baneblade Siege Tanks fired, sending even larger shells after them!
Then came the Lascannons and Heavy Bolters of the Sentinel Mechs, followed by volleys of missiles and lasers from the infantry...
The area around the Refinery's walls was instantly engulfed in explosions and flames!
"Holy shit!"
Did White Scars speed today nearly leaped out from behind cover. "These effects! These explosions! These sound effects! They're even better than the cutscenes in Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War!"
"Of course! You're in the middle of it right now!"
Tax Brother yanked him back down. "Stray rounds! Watch out for stray rounds!"
The first artillery barrage mainly targeted the factory walls and outlying buildings, aiming to open a path for the assault.
But more than a dozen shells had already landed inside the complex. One struck an Ore Crusher that was still standing.
The piece of equipment, worth fifty thousand coins, that the players hadn't had a chance to dismantle yet, instantly became a cloud of flying metal shards.
"My fifty thousand coins!!!"
Soul of Cadia wailed over the channel.
"Quit whining!" Wang Zhong yelled back. "Look over there!"
After the barrage, the Alru forces began advancing.
Tanks led the way, Sentinel Mechs guarded the flanks, and the infantry followed close behind, surging toward the breach in the wall like a tide of steel.
Inside the complex, the Tzeentch Daemons had finished preparing their big spell.
The Lord of Change and Mystery thrust all nine arms downward at once!
The flickering runes in the air exploded, spreading into a blue force field that covered half the factory complex!
The space within the field began to warp, bending the light at bizarre angles and muffling every sound.
Most terrifying of all, the three Leman Russ Tanks at the front suddenly seemed to seize up. Their tracks spun madly, but their forward speed dropped by seventy percent!
The tanks' shells also began veering off course. They were aimed at the rebel fortifications, but instead wobbled into the Wastewater Pool beside them.
"Spatial distortion field!"
Mechanicus Oil-Lover on the Run eagerly recorded the data. "Reduces movement speed, disrupts projectile trajectories. Classic Tzeentch crowd-control!"
"Khorne's making his move!"
Sure enough, under cover of the Tzeentch field, the Bloodletter let out a heaven-shaking roar, raised its flesh-cleaver, and charged at the nearest Leman Russ Tank!
Behind it, more than two hundred half-daemonized Khorne Berserkers charged after it like a crimson mudslide, roaring as they ran!
"For the Blood God!!!"
"Skulls! For the Skull Throne!!"
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!!!"
The rebels were busy too. They unloaded all kinds of defensive equipment from the hundreds of vehicles they had driven into the industrial district.
Behind their fortifications, they set up dozens of Heavy Bolters and Lascannons they had brought with them and opened fire on the Alru Infantry.
The battle had well and truly begun.
Before you continue