Anti-Daemon Tactics

"It's a communication from the surface."

Nykona accepted the communication request and held it before his chest. A holographic projection appeared in the air, revealing the images of Lox, Ventanus, and the others.

"How is Macragge's Honour? We have already assembled a large force on the surface to resist the Word Bearers' assault, but if we want to turn the situation around, we must retake the Orbital Platform's Weapon Array!"

Ventanus spotted Marius, who had lost an arm, and immediately asked.

"The situation is dire. We have lost the Primarch's trail. Continue holding out." Gage understood what Calth's surface forces meant. They needed reinforcements to drop onto the Orbital Platform with them and retake the Weapon Array.

"I will detach some warriors to assist you, but their numbers will be limited, Captain Ventanus. There are currently things aboard our ship that cannot be explained by the Imperial Truth."

"Daemons. We call them daemons," Hill interjected.

"We don't know what else to call them. These things are not xenos we have killed before, but something far more terrifying and dangerous—creatures from the tides of the Warp. We had to use every means at our disposal to kill them."

"That's right. Those damned Word Bearers brought them here." Ventanus nodded. He understood the flagship's current situation all too well.

"Steel and fire are more lethal to them than plasma and lasers. They are horrors from Old Night; our common sense does not apply to them."

Lox ended the communication. Macragge's Honour had made its meaning clear: it still needed time.

"Chapter Master, we do not have much time. Three Word Bearers cruisers are docked near Macragge's Honour. Void shields cannot stop objects moving too slowly. They are breaching our airlocks and hull armor. We must organize a force for combat within the ship."

"Go on, Sergeant." Gage was recovering. Losing an arm was nothing to him; he was already ready for the next battle.

"State your plan. I grant you the authority to gather battle-brothers, so long as you can stop those Word Bearers from boarding our ship."

Marius delegated his Chapter Master's authority. At this critical moment, when victory or defeat hung in the balance, any method could be permitted. Even if Hill was only a sergeant, as long as his abilities were sufficient, he would be given the corresponding rank and authority.

Gage realized that this disciplined sergeant possessed an extraordinary strategic mind. His performance was even better than that of Gage himself, the Chapter Master.

Absolute calm, composure, and rationality.

"By the way, Hill, can that power axe in your hand be used one-handed?" Gage turned his gaze to the battle axe in Hill's hand.

"It's very light. Absolutely," Hill replied.

Gage took the battle axe and swept it through the air, drawing a sharp arc of light.

These weapons had all come from the Primarch's private collection, and they were reliable when facing those daemons.

"Battle-brothers, we must carve a bloody path forward! Those daemons are ravaging Macragge's Honour!" Hill shouted, leading his brothers toward the destroyed bridge.

Gage followed behind. He turned to look into the Apothecary's eyes and asked,

"Battle-brother, do you know why Sergeant Hill was disciplined? He is so calm and wise. What mistake did he make?"

The Chapter Master did not know Hill or understand his circumstances. At this moment, he wanted to know what offense this outstanding warrior had committed.

The Apothecary answered, "Hill was discovered by his superior running simulations on how to defeat Space Marines and building theoretical models for it. This was considered dangerous thinking. No Space Marine had ever treated Space Marines as hypothetical enemies."

"Now we have." Gage's tone was faintly sarcastic.

"Hill argued that Space Marines were a blind spot in every Legion's combat doctrine, and therefore it had to be addressed and corrected. He wanted to explore a theory to counter that blind spot."

Before the Word Bearers' betrayal, that had been dangerous thinking. Today, it had become foresight.

"The facts have proven that his transgression was instead a transcendent kind of foresight. Now we must rely on his theories to strike back at the Word Bearers."

Sergeant Hill walked alongside Nykona of the Raven Guard.

They had known each other for only a few hours, yet they had immediately established a tacit understanding and common ground. This had played a crucial role when they killed daemons.

"Brother, your power armor seems different from ours. It is sturdier and more reliable. Why is that?"

Though the two fought side by side, their armor was completely different. Hill's Mark IV power armor was already covered in scars. Its ceramite exterior could barely withstand the claws of those nightmare creatures, and several places even exposed power cables that crackled with electrical sparks.

Nykona's power armor, however, remained as smooth and flawless as ever, as though it had just emerged from the furnaces of a Forge World.

"Because of a friend's help. He is a very interesting person, from the distant past, and he knows much forgotten knowledge," Nykona said with a faint smile.

"He is different from us. He witnessed humanity's once-glorious achievements. Sometimes, I rather envy him."

The power armor Lox had forged had proven its reliability time and again through dangerous wars. Nykona did not know much about its construction, but he knew that the armor he wore could withstand the attacks of Warp daemons without being damaged.

The strength of its composite alloy far exceeded that of ceramite.

"Perhaps you could get me a set someday." Hill made the joke with a hint of envy.

But the next second, he immediately gave the order to halt over the communications channel.

In the compartment ahead, a massive daemon with a sharp beak and feathers lurked silently in the darkness. It weighed at least dozens of tons. Its enormous body writhed and swayed beyond sight, crushing the corpses of the dead beneath it.

Nykona's eyes could pierce the darkness. He noticed that the daemon's body was surrounded by countless tentacles. These easily overlooked appendages effortlessly pierced the dense bulkhead doors, as easily as a hot knife cut through butter.

"Suppressive fire!"

At the command, the Ultramarines immediately unleashed their bolters. The propulsion-assisted rounds released terrifying heat and explosive force the instant they struck, tearing large and small horrific wounds across the daemon's body.

The fire dragon roared. The flamer spewed blazing flames, and once the promethium ignited, it could not be extinguished. Before the flames, the daemon displayed extreme fury—far greater than when it had been struck head-on by bolter rounds.

They feared fire.

The daemon's counterattack came even faster. Its beak, made of some unknown substance, sliced an Ultramarine in half from head to groin at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. Ceramite could not stop that fatal blow.

A relentless rain of bolter shells descended. It screamed and roared in helpless fury.

Nykona lowered his bolter, turned, drew his power sword, and charged forward.

Close combat!

Hill circled in from the other direction. The two swung their power swords, severing the highly dangerous tentacles and carving huge chunks of flesh from the daemon in the blink of an eye.

Power swords inflicted more damage than bolter fire. Hill's tactical theories were being confirmed step by step. The two held the daemon's attention, a task requiring astonishing agility and footwork, and Nykona excelled at it.

The Son of the Raven stepped through the shadows, moving through the darkness like a ghost. Even Hill could not see Nykona's figure through his helmet's scanning display.