The Word Bearers Had Arrived, and the Counterattack Began

As Bernardo spoke, Company Captain Wilson swept his gaze over the terrified nobles and their private soldiers, then casually pointed to the two guards closest to Horace.

"You two. Restrain him."

The order was brief and left no room for argument. The two guards stiffened, torn.

On one side stood the lord they had served for years, who had treated them well. On the other stood the Astartes Chapters, representing the Imperium's supreme military might and authority.

But the choice was not difficult. Defying a noble might earn them punishment. Defying a Space Marine? That was tantamount to treason and heresy.

Without another moment's hesitation, they stepped forward. One on each side, they wrenched Baron Horace's arms behind his back and pinned him to the floor. Blood and dust from the Palace floor stained the fine clothes he had taken such pains to protect.

"A misunderstanding! This is a terrible misunderstanding! My lord Angel! He's slandering me! He's setting me up!" Horace screamed, his heavy body twisting in vain.

The hall fell deathly silent. The other nobles kept their heads down, afraid even to meet Horace's eyes, let alone make a sound.

No one dared anger a Space Marine Company Captain now.

Company Captain Wilson did not spare Horace another glance, as though he were already no more than a speck of dust.

"Gather every surviving force and anyone fit to mobilize," Wilson ordered, his voice clear through his Helmet. "Prepare a ground counterattack. Clear the remaining enemies from the Hive City."

He paused, then added the most crucial order. "Effective immediately, the Hive City and Low Orbit are under lockdown. No noble or privately owned vessel may leave port or take off without express authorization from my Legion. Anyone who disobeys..."

His cold gaze swept across the bowed heads. His voice took on a mechanical edge. "...will be treated as a traitor and a heretic. Kill on sight."

The private soldiers hurriedly led the still-howling Baron Horace and the ashen-faced nobles away from the ruins, grateful to be dismissed.

Only the Space Marines, General Bernardo and his adjutant, and a handful of Imperial Army soldiers remained.

Only then did Company Captain Wilson turn back to Bernardo, who was still on one knee.

His gaze passed over the Ork Warboss's enormous corpse. The wounds showed just how savage the final struggle had been. Then he looked back at Bernardo.

"Stand up, General," Wilson said. "You're the Commander who killed that large xenos alone?"

Bernardo rose as ordered. Exhaustion and pain made him sway slightly, but he stood straight. "It was my duty to serve the Emperor. I succeeded by luck. It's nothing worth mentioning."

At Bernardo's words, Wilson tilted his Helmet slightly, as if studying him.

"I hope your humility is sincere, not a performance put on for the occasion."

"My actions will prove my loyalty."

With that, Wilson said no more. He raised his finely crafted Helmet, marked with a Company Captain's crest, and settled it firmly on his head. The Visor over his eyes lit up cold red.

"Target: the main access points to the Middle Hive," Company Captain Wilson ordered his warriors over their internal channel.

He did not return to the Thunderhawk Gunship. Instead, he walked toward the heavy transports reserved for Space Marines on the plaza outside the Palace, including Rhino armored personnel carriers and the much larger Mastodon.

Hundreds of Word Bearers boarded in efficient silence.

Engines started with deep, powerful roars. Carrying the Emperor's Angels of Death, the convoy of steel behemoths rolled out of the noble district, crushing rubble and corpses beneath its treads as it sped toward the Middle Hive access points, where the fiercest fighting would decide the Hive City's fate.

General Bernardo stood where he was and watched the convoy go. Company Captain Wilson's last words echoed in his mind.

He drew a deep breath of air thick with Smoke and blood, then turned to his adjutant. "Rally everyone who can still fight. Count our Ammunition and equipment. Our job isn't over. It's time to fight back alongside the Angels."

"They're almost through! Hold the gate!"

"Quick! Watch out for their artillery!"

A massive gate stood at the junction between the Middle Hive and the Underhive. On one side were hundreds of millions of Hive City residents and tens of thousands of Imperial Army soldiers. On the other stood tens of millions of Orks.

"Every able-bodied man, take a weapon and follow me! The Emperor needs you now!"

"Do not be afraid! Do not be cowards! You will die for humanity! You will die for the Emperor! That is our honor!"

An officer proclaimed his message through a Servo-skull, though the Orks' roars beyond the high wall repeatedly drowned him out.

"How much longer can we hold?" asked Major Ivan Petrov, who commanded the defense.

"Uh, three days," another officer replied.

"Three days? That's enough..."

"No. Those three days include the time it'll take them to march over our corpses."

"..."

Major Ivan Petrov sighed and silently drew the Power Sword at his waist.

"They're attacking the wall!"

A soldier's shout was followed by a violent explosion.

Then came the screams of dozens of soldiers.

“We’ll put the remaining Tank inside buildings. Use those that have lost their tracks as Turrets. Turn every inch of ground here into a bunker. Make the enemy pay dearly for every step they take.”

Ivan Petrov's resolute voice rang through the streets and alleys. Countless Hive City residents raised their weapons with fierce excitement and waited for his command.

"Fire!"

The guns mounted on the wall unleashed their first volley. Dense fire engulfed the Orks moving through the Hive City, blasting tens of thousands of them to pieces in an instant.

"Attack!"

The emplacements on the wall spat streams of fire. Heavy Bolters, Melta Cannons, Autocannons—everything fired at full force.

There was no point conserving Ammunition anymore. Now was the time to give everything they had.

"Waaagh! Find a way to smash those runts' gate!"

Countless Shoota Boyz drove Gretchin forward to draw the Imperial Army's fire, while Lootas used anti-tank guns cobbled together from scrap to bombard the Imperial Army emplacements on the wall.

An Ork modified into something like a siege engine was pushed to the front. Shrieking, it endured the concentrated fire of several Leman Russ battle Tank and charged all the way to the gate.

"WAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!"

Boom!

The explosion blew a hole in the front of the gate.

Seeing that the suicide attack had worked, more explosive-laden Orks charged toward the gate.

On the other side, the Imperial Army soldiers were in dire straits. They had braced the gate with every sort of armored vehicle and building debris, but against explosions like these, there was nothing they could do.

"Move aside, Mortals!"

"The Word Bearers will take over here!"

A voice mingling machine and man rang out. A Contemptor Dreadnought charged beneath the gate and held it fast through explosion after explosion.

Alongside the Contemptor Dreadnought came Space Marine fighters bearing the Word Bearers' insignia and Imperial Army fighters.

They struck precisely at Ork concentrations beyond the wall, clearing landing zones for the drop troops aboard the warships.

Company Captain Wilson came into view. At that moment, Imperial Army soldiers and civilians alike raised their weapons and cheered.

They knew that the arrival of the Astartes on the battlefield meant the counterattack was about to begin.

(There would be an extra update that evening.)