Ultramarines Were Humanity's Standard Answer

Invictus stood where he was, staring at the air where the Warp Rift had vanished. He stared for a full three seconds.

His chest heaved violently. The breathing beneath his faceplate was heavy, and his boiling fury battered the dam again and again.

The Chapter Master had sent them to protect Chaplain Lin En. In the end, Chaplain Lin En was gone.

How was he supposed to explain this to... the Chapter Master, and the Regent?

Not one of the Terminator Veterans around him dared to speak. The air throughout the hall seemed to solidify in an instant.

Then Invictus moved.

He raised his Storm Shield again. With a hum, its energy field returned to full power. He turned around and swept his gaze across the Aeldari defenders still alive in the hall.

Those Craftworld warriors, Fire Dragons, and Howling Banshees had been battered into disarray during the exchange of fire. Most were huddled behind the ruins, still firing back sporadically.

The Golden Aura vanished from the battlefield after losing its wielder.

The whole world seemed to dim. Invictus had never found a battlefield so hateful before.

The Machine Spirits of the two hundred Sentinel Mechs had also lost their supporters. They fell silent at the same time, standing motionless as if they had lost their lives.

Invictus opened the command channel. His voice no longer sounded human. It was low and coarse, like grinding boulders, and he spoke with icy hardness:

" Aeldari soldiers on site! Leave none alive!"

The answer came as the roar of gunfire from every weapon in the hands of the Ultramarines throughout the hall.

The Ultramarines all descended into a frenzy, intent on tearing apart every enemy before them.

The First Company Terminators opened fire at once, their Storm Bolters roaring. Their ammunition belts