29. Insurmountable (II)

"Balastar, provide fire support. Ramitz, use your own judgment. Sarlun, with me."

Having tossed out those orders, Kius immediately strode forward, sweeping his sword through the blazing compartment and cutting open a path through the curtain of fire.

Bolter shells streaked past his sides like rain, punching straight through the xenos hiding behind the flames and preparing to strike. Blood mixed with potent chemicals burst from their bodies along with shredded flesh, hissing into great clouds of pale purple smoke within the fire.

The sergeant charged forward with sword in hand, treating it all as nothing. With a lift of his right hand, he beheaded two Eldar aiming their weapons at him. Their heads spun through the air in almost beautiful arcs, while the sergeant had already rushed into the midst of the crewmen fighting desperately.

The battlefield was utter chaos. Corpses, flames, and smoke lay everywhere. This boarding attack had come far too suddenly, without any warning, but that was hardly unusual for xenos enemies like the Eldar.

Their ships possessed a technology known as a mimic engine, allowing them to imitate Imperial vessels. Combined with their characteristically extreme raiding habits, this situation was not particularly surprising.

"Hold your positions, citizens of the Imperium!"

The sergeant roared and raised his sword again. The disintegration field surged in response to his will, and a string of coin-sized sharp objects vanished into it, reduced to the tiniest fragments and scattered among the flames.

He spun around and charged straight toward the enemy without even looking, wreathed in fire, trampling charred corpses and the sailors' blood beneath his feet as his anger spread in silence.

And how long did he need to unleash it? Less than half a second.

Within that brief instant, he had smashed through the flames and arrived before