As the flames gradually died down, the Hearthkyn and Ironkin assembled a ground force over a thousand strong to clear out any possible survivors.
Yet as they crossed the ground that had been scorched into glass, a sudden attack caught them completely off guard.
A massive, makeshift trench position had been established in what had once been hilly wasteland.
Large numbers of troops occupied the sprawling battle line.
Over a dozen Basilisks roared, their shells exploding amid the tightly packed Dwarfs' columns. The Centaur carriers at the front were almost entirely wiped out in the opening salvo.
Massed volleys of gunfire and bolter rounds then erupted from the positions.
More Leman Russ Battle Tanks and Malcador tanks opened furious fire on the Battle Fortresses among the Dwarfs' ranks, which looked like steamed buns mounted on chassis.
Yet despite the concentrated bombardment, the Hekaton Land Fortresses, clad in thick Void Armor, were not all destroyed.
Red las-fire mingled with the orange streaks of solid projectiles, blanketing the entire Dwarfs' ground formation.
In mere moments, the Dwarfs' force lost over a third of its strength.
Several squads began advancing under the cover of Chimera armoured vehicles.
The Dwarfs tried to destroy these armoured units with L7 Missile Launchers.
But several Hydra Flak Tanks following behind swept the missiles' flight paths with fire.
The occasional Missile that slipped through was casually shot down by Space Wolves scattered among the troops, using their Bolt Rifles.
A powerful counterattack by the Dwarfs followed.
Heavy magna-Railguns at the rear of the formation quickly opened fire, picking off the Imperium's armour.
These enormous weapons, each comparable in size to a large vehicle, were powered rail weapons commonly fielded by the armies of the Leagues of Votann. These heavy, vehicle-mounted versions had greater penetration and destructive power than