Ancient technology stunned everyone

The two battleships began furiously firing at each other in space, while the Iron Warriors' cruisers relentlessly wore down the Imperial battleship's Void Shields.

As more and more lance beams and shells rained down on the warship, its Void Shields soon struggled to recharge fast enough.

After several minutes of combat, the Imperial battleship's captain realized what the enemy intended.

The enemy warships had not maintained an all-out bombardment. Instead, they kept alternating positions, using their Void Shields to absorb his ship's fire.

When the crew ahead saw the densely packed blips on the Auspex, the captain immediately shouted.

"Quick! Launch every aircraft aboard! Intercept all incoming small targets!"

"Notify Commander Sien and have the 'angels' return to the ship immediately! We're the enemy's target! We cannot let them take an Imperial ship from us!"

The battleship swiftly launched two squadrons of Fury Interceptors, while countless small weapons across its hull began firing furiously.

In an instant, the entire battleship lit up like a hedgehog covered in glowing spines.

Plasma, laser beams, small torpedoes, and missiles flying in every direction filled the surrounding space.

Fury Interceptors were the most widely deployed fighters in the Imperial Navy, designed primarily to intercept small craft.

But facing enemies several times their own number still left the Imperial naval pilots scrambling.

Their objective was simple: destroy as many enemy targets as possible before the traitors' Lightning Strike Fighters shot them down.

After all, once the enemy boarded the ship, they would have nowhere to return even if they survived the battle in space. Both Boarding Torpedoes and Caestus assault boats were their targets.

At the controls of an interceptor, they could destroy a landing craft packed with renegade Astartes with a single burst.

But inside a ship, ordinary Imperial soldiers without their fighters would face nothing but a one-sided slaughter against the Astartes.

Destroying as many enemy boarding craft as possible in space was the best help they could offer everyone else aboard.

As for the enemy's Lightning Strike Fighters, they evaded them whenever possible and weathered their attacks when they could not.

As Imperial naval pilots, they had fought these fighters, commonly used by the rebels, many times. Although the enemy craft were somewhat faster, their protection was much thinner. Their own fighters were also closer to the battleship and could take cover under its smaller weapons, whereas the enemy had to brave dense fire to pursue them.

The chaotic battle in space sent flashes flickering across the sky. Even from the Hive City, people could occasionally see falling craft or fragments plunge into the atmosphere, trailing brilliant flames.

Watching Sien and the others hurry away, Iax grabbed Sien, who was running at the rear of the group.

A holographic image then appeared before him.

Iax did not recognize the insignia on the ships in space. After all, the Imperial Navy's insignia differed somewhat from the standard Imperial Aquila.

To avoid causing trouble while trying to help, Iax stopped Sien and prepared to let him see that help firsthand.

Perhaps that would earn Iax more information in their later discussions.

"I've detected five ships in space. One is under concentrated fire from the other four. I can't identify any of their classes, so tell me which one is yours."

Although Sien did not know why Iax had suddenly grabbed him, and instinctively tried to pull free, the holographic display Iax presented soon caught his attention.

"You can see the battle in orbit?"

"Of course. I'm preparing to offer you a little help, but you'll have to give me more information and help me reach Earth or piece together history."

Sien could not understand why Iax was so fixated on history, but the situation clearly did not allow him to ponder that question any further.

"What help can you offer?"

Rather than answer Sien's question directly, Iax enlarged the five ships before him one by one.

"Which ship is yours?"

Sien pointed to one of the enormous battleships, its design strikingly elaborate.

"This Oberon-class Battleship is ours."

Sien then examined the other four ships on the display. Their insignia were clearly visible.

"Iron Warriors! Those damned traitors! They want to steal our ship!"

Among the many renegade Space Marine Legions, the Iron Warriors possessed the greatest technological capabilities. Their Legion specialized in mechanical fabrication, and every member was both a warrior and a Techmarine.

But building a ship was still far too much trouble for renegade Legions short on resources.

Even the Iron Warriors were no exception.

Although the Iron Warriors had forcibly taken many Imperial ships during the Horus Heresy, they had still suffered losses over more than ten thousand years of fighting.

Besides building ships themselves, they could hunt down isolated vessels, launch boarding actions, and send Space Marines aboard to seize them outright and sail them away. Once modifications and the corruption of the machine spirit were completed in the Warp, they naturally had a new ship.

Even Perturabo himself would have called that a bargain.

After marking the Imperial battleship Sien had identified, Iax designated all four other warships as hostile.

Soon, a dazzling light shone through the terrace doors a short distance from the hall, spilling across its floor.

Confused, Sien jogged to the doorway and immediately witnessed a sight he would never forget.

The enormous turret on the nearby mountainside, which he had seen during the descent, fired a gigantic column of pale light.

The beam shot into the heavens, hurtling toward the battlefield in space.

One of the cruisers that had been exchanging fire with the Imperial battleship was struck by the sudden beam in an instant.

The mechanically adept Iron Warriors had clearly maintained these ships well. Compared with the previous Death Guard Strike Cruiser, covered in biological growths, this vessel's Void Shields offered stronger protection.

But against the Shatterer Cannon, those extra fractions of a second were nowhere near enough to change anything.

The pale beam pierced the entire Void Shield, then blasted the cruiser in two. The immense shock wave from the ensuing explosion immediately swept through every small craft in the surrounding space.

"What was that?!" The startled cry burst from almost everyone's lips.

Standing to one side, Magos Vashul watched excitedly as the Shatterer Cannon fired again, then turned toward Iax nearby, eyes blazing with fervor.