The Battlesuit pilots were desperately trying to restart their machines, but before they could, several cold-glinting bayonets pierced through the cockpit and pinned them dead to their seats.
Yan Ou blocked an Imperium soldier's thrust with his bayonet, then fired two shots into the man's waist.
"Agh!" Pain forced the Imperium soldier to cry out as he collapsed to the ground.
But another of his comrades had slipped behind Yan Ou, raising a power maul high, ready to smash his skull in with a single blow.
"Damn it!" Yan Ou spun around and used his bayonet to block the crushing strike. His hands went numb from the impact, and the bayonet was knocked away.
He still aimed the pulse pistol in his hand at the enemy. At such close range, there was no need to worry about aiming.
Two more shots rang out, but the soldier who should have fallen did not do as Yan Ou wished. He roared words of atonement and glory, utterly unconcerned that his internal organs were burning.
With a clang, Yan Ou's helmet cracked. A dent appeared in the white officer's helmet. He endured the pain radiating through his head, feeling as though his skull had split open.
Squinting through the pain, Yan Ou did not feel the agony of radiation breaking down his flesh. Fortunately, his helmet had not yet split open. That was something.
He watched the power maul swing toward him once more, only to see a string of pulse rounds tear the Imperium soldier apart.
The ground-combat XV104 Riptide Battlesuits and drone swarms had finally descended. Yan Ou struggled and shouted, "Watch out for electromagnetic interference!"
Yan Ou did not know whether it would help, but it was the only thing he could do.
Then what did he see?
He saw