Then Come at Me, Xenos!

After cutting down the enemies in his path, Company Captain Wilson charged on.

More enemies surged from ahead, but a flick of Company Captain Wilson's wrist sent his Power Sword through two precise arcs.

The heads of several Ork Boyz blocking his path flew into the air, green blood spraying from their necks.

Before their bodies hit the floor, Wilson strode past them, his gray Power Armour gleaming coldly in the dim corridor.

Behind him, the warriors of the Word Bearers spread out in a standard tactical formation. Short, lethal bursts from their Bolters cleared away the remaining resistance.

Just as he prepared to order the advance toward the Star Fortress's core, a heavy crash and the shriek of twisting metal rang out from the side.

A gray figure flew backward as if struck by a battering ram. He slammed into the corridor wall with a sickening crack of bone, then slid limply to the floor.

It was one of Wilson's men. His chest plate was visibly caved in, and sparks spat from his damaged power pack.

Will's gaze snapped toward the attacker.

At the end of the corridor stood an impossibly massive figure.

It stood nearly twice as tall as an ordinary Ork, its knotted muscles straining against a haphazard suit of heavy iron armour.

Its rough skin was a deep, dark green, covered in scars and thick metal rivets.

In one hand it held an enormous Warhammer crudely welded from vehicle wreckage and metal plates. The hammerhead was thicker than a grown man's torso.

Its other hand, encased in a crude metal gauntlet, gripped another Word Bearers Warriors.

The warrior's Power Armour was broken in several places, and one arm bent at an unnatural angle, but he still struggled.

Half his Helmet's faceplate had shattered, exposing a bloodied jaw and eyes burning with fury.

"Die... Xenos..."

He forced the words through clenched teeth and tried to raise his uninjured arm to fire his Bolt Pistol.

Gul'dan. Will knew its name from the other Orks' howls of fear and reverence.

Gul'dan gave a low, mocking grunt.

Its Great Maw spread wide around its tusks. It gave the warrior no chance.

Then its huge hand clenched.

The Ceramite shell of the warrior's Power Armour groaned under the terrible force before cracking and buckling like an eggshell.

The sound of bones breaking was unmistakable. The warrior stopped struggling at once.

"Weak little shrimp," Gul'dan sneered. It tossed the crushed body toward Wilson as casually as discarded trash.

The Space Marine's twisted metal and flesh struck the floor with a dull thud.

Will stood motionless.

He lifted his gaze from his fallen comrade's body to Gul'dan's ugly face.

His expression was hidden beneath his Helmet, but the temperature in the corridor seemed to plummet.

The other Word Bearers ceased fire and swiftly closed ranks around their Company Captain, forming a defensive line. Every Bolter pointed at the massive Ork warboss.

Only the faint hum of Power Armour servos and distant explosions remained.

"I reckon you're all weaklings!" Gul'dan swung its enormous Warhammer into the metal wall, leaving a Deep Pit as it tried to shatter the sudden silence with noise.

"Xenos! Atone!"

Will's roar erupted from his Helmet's speakers.

Almost at the same instant, his boots scraped sharply across the metal deck. His gray form became a streak of lightning hurtling straight at Gul'dan.

The charge enraged Gul'dan. With an earthshaking roar, it lumbered forward to meet him. It was nearly three times Wilson's size, a mountain bearing down on a Mortals. Yet as they closed, the pure, icy killing intent radiating from Wilson briefly overwhelmed even the Ork's fury.

The Power Sword activated with a hum, its pale blue power field tearing through the air.

Will offered no threats, no battle cry. His entire will focused on the sword in his hand. Through his Visor, his eyes locked on Gul'dan's movements. There was no anger or frenzy in his gaze, only a fierce, single-minded hatred bent on destroying its target.

"Little shrimp! What're you looking at?" Gul'dan roared, bringing its huge Warhammer down with crushing force. Instinct warned it something was wrong. This "little one" felt more dangerous than any opponent it had torn apart before.

Will said nothing. An instant before the hammer struck, he slid sideways with a grace that belied his heavy armour. The hammer grazed his pauldron and smashed a great hole in the floor. Will's Power Sword was already swinging.

His slashes came faster and faster, without pause. To Gul'dan, the blade seemed to become a beam of light, striking at it again and again.

Will drove a step forward. His arm blurred as his Power Sword struck faster than the eye could follow.

Cleave! Chop! Slice! Thrust!

He did not swing blindly. Every stroke targeted a vital point: Gul'dan's wrist, its elbow joint, and the connections on its Warhammer.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metal screamed against metal in a torrent of blows, sparks flying.

Dozens of deep cuts appeared across Gul'dan's crude Warhammer in an instant.

Thick rivets holding the scraps of metal together were sliced clean through, and a sharp-edged steel plate flew free.

Gul'dan was forced back a step.

It tried to counterattack, but Wilson's sword was too fast, his blows too relentless. They formed a net of death that closed off every line of attack.

Gul'dan could only swing its Warhammer to parry, and more often had to retreat or dodge on instinct.

Under the Power Sword's ceaseless, precise blows, the heavy Warhammer it relied on was rapidly falling apart.

Will took another silent step forward, his blade moving even faster.

He was like a perfect killing machine, using the simplest, most effective movements to drive a powerful enemy toward its end.

Desperate, Gul'dan resorted to a dirty trick. As Wilson pressed closer, it clenched its fist and drove it at him the instant he raised his sword.

Will could not dodge in time. He chose to take the blow with his Helmet.

Bang!

Will flew backward, but he had traded injury for injury: his sword had severed Gul'dan's left hand completely.

"Stinking shrimp! I'll kill you! I'll use your skull as a bowl!" Gul'dan shrieked.

"Then come at me, Xenos!"

Will tore off his Helmet, broken into two pieces, revealing a face cut by metal fragments.