Saladin stepped through the Transport Ship's hatch and onto the battlefield within the Planetary Construct.
The air reeked of Ozone, molten metal, Xenos blood, and death.
The roar of gunfire, the tremors of explosions, and the shriek of collapsing structures merged into an unending backdrop of noise.
He did not stop or even look around. His right hand had already closed around the hilt of the scimitar at his waist.
The scimitar left its sheath without any dazzling flare, only a deep, muted arc of dark gold. Its edge cut through the air with a low keen, like the howl of a desert wind.
Takidin followed close behind, the Commander of the Primarch Guard as silent as stone.
Behind him, dozens of Primarch Guard members formed ranks with heavy strides.
They wore Terminator Armour, its thick composite plates of ceramite and adamantium making them resemble small, mobile fortresses.
The round shields in their left hands had sharp rims, capable of smashing bone and armour alike.
Their right hands held not standard-issue Power Weapons, but Power Scimitars resembling Saladin's, with deeper curves and even more formidable dimensions.
Black or sand-coloured silk draped their pauldrons, snapping in the turbulent air and explosive shock waves within the construct.
The silk was more than decoration. Intricate energy circuits were woven into its threads, instantly activating Force Fields under attack, subtly diverting incoming energy beams or solid projectiles.
This force of fewer than a hundred silently pierced the battlefield like the tempered tip of a scimitar.
Ahead stood thousands of Rangdan Soldiers who had surged over at the news, intent on intercepting this elite squad.
They came in all manner of forms, roaring in an indescribable language as eerie blue beams from their energy weapons poured down like torrential rain.
Saladin did not slow or