The Tau Empire commander.
Mocked the mercy shown on the battlefield.
"The commander's plan really worked. Their weakness is their fellow humans. Just send humans out in front and throw them at them, and they'll tie their own hands. Add in the Stinger Bees' assassinations, and they're bound to lose."
"But this should end now. Send out the Stinger Bee Second Company and the First Company infantry to finish off this world as quickly as possible. Our homeworld in the Fire Caste is calling us back. Unusual fluctuations have appeared near the Tau Empire, and we need to investigate." The commander paused, then continued, "All for the Greater Good."
"All for the Greater Good!"
The combat squad that received the order headed toward the landing craft.
All the Tau Empire soldiers wore lightweight combat armor, and each was supported in battle by an AKA Drone Bee.
The combat armor consisted of metal plates covered in a layer of nanocrystals, capable of stopping small-caliber weapons.
AKA Drone Bees were flying gun platforms that could hover freely in the air. They came in many varieties and served all kinds of functions.
These drones were also among the most common types in the Tau Empire, widely used in every aspect of society. They were like pets kept by humans, and were even allowed to upgrade to advanced artificial intelligence. Some advanced drones in the Tau Empire could even obtain the rights of second-class citizens.
They boarded the landing craft.
The Drone Bees tucked in their flat tops and slotted into the craft's mounting racks.
The order was to completely purge the disobedient government, then install a new puppet regime and turn the world into a satellite that obeyed the Tau Empire's commands. The force tasked with the operation came from the Fire Caste, one of the several homeworld castes.
The Fire Caste was the strongest in individual combat among the Tau Empire's several homeworld castes. Its warriors were far stronger than ordinary mortals, and their weapons were even more formidable. Their kinetic weapons surpassed those used by the Imperium's human forces, while some of their powerful plasma weapons could even punch through thick Power Armor.
One company of Fire Caste warriors could take an unguarded, barren world without Astra Militarum forces.
That was enough.
The Fire Caste warriors descended from the sky like dumplings dropping into a pot.
The T'au had a naturally weak sensitivity to Psionics, allowing them to develop artificial intelligence without restraint. With AI, they could deploy troops and march across the battlefield more quickly than the Imperium of Man.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The landing craft's doors opened. The Fire Warriors' jump packs spewed scorching flames, propelling them toward the battlefield to begin the slaughter.
Behind them came a vast force of drones and Wasp-men, forming an assassin corps that posed yet another terrifying threat.
"Start with a long-range volley."
The Fire Caste fought differently from humans. Though warlike, strong, and violent, they had always been taught to fight with their brains. So whatever the battle, they tried to stay at the farthest edge of their weapons' range, using their advantages to strike at the enemy's weaknesses.
Unless absolutely necessary, their front-line troops wouldn't engage the enemy in close combat.
In a war whose outcome was already certain,
all they had to do was pick off the troublesome enemies from a distance.
They were still a thousand meters from the battlefield when a dense hail of bullets came screaming toward them.
Above them, the enemy was even preparing to launch missiles.
"Company commander!"
A Salamander roared furiously.
"AAAH! Xenos, die!"
"Sergeant, get up there and bring the company commander back. I'll cover you."
The fiery weapon in the Salamander's hands drove off the Stinger Bees overhead for a moment, buying a precious instant to rescue him.
The Stinger Bees' neutron weapons were followed by even more powerful pulse weapons and plasma beams.
Even Salamanders had to dodge the dense laser fire.
A human soldier charging forward was hit by a Pulse Rifle's laser shot and melted instantly. Even his bones glowed red with heat. That meant even the Ceramite Power Armor worn by the Salamanders might not withstand those pulse-laser rounds, let alone the longer-ranged, more powerful plasma rifles carried by some Fire Warriors. They could only form a defensive line through agility and the Shield Guard's dispersal fields.
"Company commander."
The Salamanders gathered around Vulkan. "Forget about me. Their attacks can't kill me. I just got stung by those damned Wasps."
"Company commander, they're too far away. They've kept a safe distance of a thousand meters the whole time."
"We only have Melta Guns and flamethrowers. Our weapons can't reach them."
Weng!
A plasma beam shot in.
It pierced a Salamander's Ceramite Power Armor, leaving a horrific wound in his chest.
A Salamander fell.
Then,
the missiles overhead came screaming down.
"The enemy's bombing us again."
Watching his comrades die and listening to the missiles shrieking overhead, Vulkan tightened his grip on the Thunder Hammer.
A tiger fallen to the plains was bullied by dogs.
If they hadn't been supporting Cadia a month ago and accidentally crashed here, wrecking their ship and badly damaging their armory,
how could the Salamanders Chapter, inheritors of the will of the Lord of Fire Dragons, have been driven back by these Xenos?
"Kill!"
"Drive them out!"
"Traitors!"
"Traitors who sided with the Xenos!"
The humans who had trusted them and fought alongside them were being slaughtered on the battlefield.
One mortal soldier after another fell.
Vulkan's rage burned.
He seemed to hear the voice of the Lord of Fire Dragons,
the sound of something forged in anger and flame.
"I've fought in plenty of battles, but I've never been this humiliated. Logan, form a defensive line, then we charge again. I'm going to smash those bastards to pieces."
"Yes, company commander."
The Salamanders were good-hearted, but the Tau Empire's endless harassment tactics had finally made them lose their heads.
The enemy kept attacking from range, exploiting their short reach.
They couldn't run away, and they couldn't hit back.
When they chased the enemy, they withdrew. When they didn't, the enemy popped out and attacked.
Against the Fire Warriors' tactics,
they would either be kited to death
or risk everything in a desperate charge.
Vulkan had no choice but to go all in.
"Charge!"
The Fire Warriors across from them saw Vulkan leading his men in a charge.
"They're out of options."
"Activate your jump packs. Get airborne."
"Yes, sir!"
They had long since worked out the Salamanders' range.
Their jump packs couldn't keep them airborne for long, but they could easily create enough distance from the Salamanders.
"Taking off."
"What a terrifying tin can."
"Is that guy a god? He took two plasma beams head-on."
They watched Vulkan charge toward them, weathering their fire.
If they hadn't taken off in time,
he would have taken them all on by himself.
A Fire Warrior watched the tin cans about to charge beneath them and couldn't help smirking.
"So what if you can take a hit? How many plasma shots can you survive?"
"Size doesn't matter. Brains do. Right, Talif?"
Before he could finish,
whoosh!
A brilliant green streak struck him from the air.
With half his head gone, he toppled toward the ground a moment later.
"Sir, Astartes reinforcements have arrived!"
"Oh? Which Chapter?"
"I don't know, but they're wearing silver-white Terminator suits."
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