Encounter Battle

The silence of the void was shattered as the allied fleet burst forth from the Webway, arriving above Nuceria after a week of travel. Yet, some peculiar entities had been waiting here for a long time.

As the Blacklight exited the Webway and re-entered realspace, the ship's alarms began to wail frantically. The Space Marine crew, possessing superior military discipline, immediately activated the void shields to cover the trailing fleet.

Brilliant lances of light slammed directly into the two legion flagships leading the vanguard, their immense energy dispersed by the shields into streaks of light and shadow.

In less than a second, the two warships endured enough concentrated fire to melt the surface of a planet into glass, but the enemy had achieved their goal: the entire fleet was now completely surrounded. The enemy was captured by the auspex and projected onto the bridge's holographic display.

The image on the screen was puzzling, for the opposition consisted of human warships, including a Gloriana Class vessel never seen before. While there were some unfamiliar models, they were, by and large, of Imperial design.

The moment Hogg saw the image, he identified the enemy's origin: the "Chaos fleet of the World Eaters."

A profane eight-pointed star was etched onto every Chaos ship, and twisted, grotesque flesh-tissue sprouted from their crimson hulls, as if every vessel were alive, with blasphemous daemon engines roaring madly upon them.

Such a sight caused physical discomfort to all the warriors. The coalition forces did not know what the enemy was, but since they had opened fire, they were merely xenos. The legions feared nothing more than war, even if the enemy's numbers were several times their own.

Brilliant lances of light remained humanity's most potent counter-attack in the stars. Countless missiles and torpedoes were launched at the enemy ships; though most were destroyed by point-defense batteries, lucky shells inevitably struck the decks of both sides.

Intense heat melted armor, and unlucky crewmen were flung from their ships by explosions, turning into boiling, frozen corpses in moments without life-support systems.

The first exchange of the battle entered a white-hot phase. Although only a small portion of the Ultramarines had arrived, their vast resources allowed for saturation fire, and the Blackwatch, well-versed in the supremacy of heavy firepower, followed suit.

Yet, a bizarre scene unfolded: the Chaos fleet did not dodge or weave, charging toward them while returning fire. The attacks landing on the enemy ships became strangely ineffective, making the gunners wonder if they were still dreaming.

The Chaos fleet, which should have only appeared in the future, had appeared before their eyes with premeditated intent. Hogg felt the consequences of interfering with fate.

But having done so, there was no room for regret. Thanks to the knowledge that a war with Chaos was inevitable, Hogg had mapped out potential future enemies during the development of the Blackwatch, incorporating Chaos daemons and Orks as villains in training simulations. Even the mortal soldiers of the Blackwatch received ideological education every week.

Despite the Blackwatch's minor daily flaws, Hogg strictly enforced ideological construction and discipline as his two red lines. Thus, the Blackwatch already possessed a vague understanding of Chaos daemons.

"The key is that Emilia took a portion of the men to secure the territory before we arrived; Hogg doesn't have many troops left now! Khorne, you dog-headed bastard, you really know how to pick your moment!"

Seeing that long-range fire had limited effect, Hogg ordered the Blacklight to close in for a ramming maneuver, simultaneously sharing data with Guilliman through their synchronized link.

"Guilliman! Our long-range weapons have limited effect on these xenos; we must strike hard. The enemy fleet is too numerous, and we are trapped. You stay behind to provide fire support; I will leave you enough ships.

Remember! Believe nothing, listen to nothing, and recite our father's name. If you feel anything abnormal, find my Legion Commander, Lynn.

Aren't you curious about what the Blackwatch does? I'll tell you now: this is it. The purpose of the Blackwatch is to crush them. We are boarding; watch our rear."

Guilliman, having received the data, did not hesitate. Utilizing the formidable firepower of Macragge's Honour, he began to provide cover while rallying the remaining forces, establishing an inverted-triangle counter-attack formation.

As if by mutual understanding, the two fleets rammed into one another. Adamantine rams collided with a sickening crunch, initiating point-blank fire before landing craft swarmed like locusts toward the opposing hulls.

With melta-charges leading the way, boarding craft began to weave through the chaos to strike at the heart of the enemy. Hogg took the lead, charging into the Chaos vessel, which was also a Gloriana Class ship.

What greeted the First Assault Company was a scene of utter blasphemy; countless bones and mangled limbs were piled in the chambers, and the profane, chaotic eight-pointed star was painted onto the deck in blood.

A squad of World Eaters, having waited long in the shadows, roared as they charged. Bolters tainted by Chaos corruption began to thunder, striking the shields of the Primarch's honor guard with massive Waaaagh-like howls, followed immediately by a violent melee.

A berserk World Eaters Space Marine locked eyes with the most imposing figure in the center—Hogg. He leaped across half the cargo bay in a single bound, intending to sever the Primarch's head, but a roar of plasma gave him no chance, obliterating the World Eater in mid-air and charring the remaining scraps of his corpse.

"Are you that brave?"

Power claws snapped out, and the honor guard followed the Primarch into the fray. Standard-issue power swords tore through ceramite armor, but the fearless World Eaters engaged in a brutal exchange of lives.

Soon, the Blackwatch suffered casualties. The first Blackwatch soldier was caught off guard when an enemy plunged a chainsword into his shoulder, tearing out a mass of flesh and tissue.

A furious Hogg parried a veteran's strike, plunged his power claw into the traitor's chest, and hurled him away, using the corpse as a projectile to save the wounded Blackwatch soldier.

As more reinforcements arrived, the small battlefield was cleared. Having slain the last Chaos warrior in sight, the assembled troops began a counter-charge.

Hogg transformed into a 20-foot-tall, hideous behemoth. Raider fire platforms, fused with flesh, erupted from his chitinous carapace. Each squad was issued two high-yield nuclear warheads; their mission was to detonate this massive enemy ship from within.

Hogg led the charge, his massive frame smashing through everything in his path. Four claws, wreathed in Dimensional Lightning, tore apart every enemy in sight, expanding the space for the troops behind him.

Modified tactical Dreadnoughts poured ammunition indiscriminately, maintaining fire suppression.

The Chaos counter-attack came swiftly. Hogg, having pushed too far ahead of his squad, found himself isolated. Profane machinery began to appear among the enemy ranks, and daemon engines opened fire on Hogg, only to be engulfed by the plasma fire from the behemoth's body a second later. No enemy could withstand a single blow from Hogg; his supersonic claws could shred thick adamantine.

But there were too many enemies. Countless bolter rounds and strikes hammered against his chitinous carapace. Hogg's advance slowed, and even with saturation fire from the rear reinforcements, enemies poured in from every direction.

Cracks appeared in his thick carapace. Completely enraged, Hogg began to expand, and countless tentacles of flesh surged from his body.

Threads of dark red lightning danced across the tentacles, and the flesh and mangled limbs on the ground were entangled and decomposed by the tentacles, fusing into Hogg as nutrients.

The behemoth's size grew rapidly: 7 meters, 9 meters, until it reached a staggering 20 meters. Hideous spikes pressed against the metal ceiling, and the enemies before him seemed like mere ants.

Having expanded to nearly three times his original size, Hogg finally heard the voice he had been waiting for—the First Captain's report.

"Father! The nukes are set; we have retreated to the landing point."

"Received! Go support Guilliman; kill those rats." A manic roar erupted from Hogg's tooth-filled maw:

[Scum, taste my 110,000 Horsepower Flesh Rotation, Grave Point Extermination!!!]

A torrent of surging tentacles tore everything asunder. The massive behemoth began to shrink, and nothing could stop the advance of the tentacles. Had one been watching from the outside, they would have seen the ship pierced through by tentacles, transforming into a hideous sea urchin of flesh.