He Will Return Like Lightning

Soon, a Word Bearers warship appeared before the kill team.

It was a Word Bearers cruiser named Kolkis, but at this moment, it was like a space leech, firmly attached to the belly of the Glory of Macragge.

Using braces and a force field generator, the warship secured its position and provided the Word Bearers with the conditions for boarding.

Nikanna spotted flashes between the cruiser and the Glory of Macragge. These were the traces of the Word Bearers using cutting tools and searchlights.

These insidious individuals, who had bypassed the Void Shields of the Glory of Macragge, were attempting to cut through the armor of this Queen of the Void-class warship to provide a passage for their assault troops.

There was more than one such infiltrator; within Nikanna's line of sight alone, at least three warships were attempting to board.

Hill had organized forty kill teams, but the warship was simply too massive. In the face of its layered armor and intricate piping, these teams were like drops of water disappearing into the sea.

There was no time to call for backup; battle was imminent.

The communication channel fell silent. The Ultramarines maxed out the output of their jump packs, sprinting at full speed along a wide heat exchange channel.

In the silent void of space, these rapidly moving Adeptus Astartes attracted no attention whatsoever.

The Word Bearers clung to the flagship's armor, their plasma cutters and laser cutters slowly opening the thick walls of the Glory of Macragge, like the sharp teeth of a leech biting into a giant whale.

Closer, closer.

At an extremely dangerous distance, Hill and the others braked. They could already see through their helmets as the Word Bearers operated those massive machines to cut through the armor, the scattering sparks particularly eye-catching.

The blood of the Adeptus Astartes surged. The Emperor's Angels, fully entering combat posture, unleashed volleys of vengeful bolter rounds at their traitorous brethren.

The bolter round's boosters began to accelerate, their flashing exhaust trails streaking through space before disappearing.

Without air resistance, these deadly weapons would fly even faster. Without a sound, a Word Bearer on watch suddenly flew backward. His bolter slipped from his grasp, and a massive crater erupted from his chest plate, scattering metal fragments into space.

The power of the bolter round had not only penetrated the armor, but the augmented muscles and bones within the power armor had also turned to ash. Boiling blood and bone fragments dispersed in all directions. This Word Bearer died instantly, his corpse tumbling along the trajectory of the projectile, quickly disappearing from view.

The skirmish that took place in space was like an art form from a distant past known as "silent film." Whether it was the roar of bolters or the death cries, all was silent in the void.

Hill's four bolter rounds killed three Word Bearers. One round deviated from its trajectory, grazing the edge of an enemy's helmet.

A bolter round from the shadows ended the life of this lucky individual. His head exploded with a bang, scattering like a dissipating cloud in the zero-gravity environment.

The warrior with the red helmet didn't look back. He knew it was a sniper shot from the Raven Guard.

Nikanna never missed. His terrifying aspect was his absolute precision, even in the zero-gravity environment of space.

He was colder and more precise than any machine.

The kill team unleashed their full firepower, slaughtering the Word Bearer soldiers on the exterior of the warship, releasing their pent-up rage.

One by one, enemies died in astonishment, just as the unsuspecting Ultramarines had died at their hands.

The enemy's counterattack was equally swift. Realizing the Ultramarines' surprise assault, the Word Bearers leaped from their warship, their magnetic boots attaching them to the flagship's armor.

Enemy bolter rounds opened fire. Hill deflected his body, using his thickest shoulder armor to block the unavoidable attacks. Nikanna, however, was fearless. He approached the enemy with spectral steps, drawing his power sword and severing the enemy's head.

Hill followed closely, sword in one hand, bolter in the other, sending bolter rounds into the chest of a charging Word Bearer wielding a plasma cutter.

The other Word Bearer, wielding a melta-torch, was dealt with by Nikanna. This enemy's weapon was exceptionally dangerous. This superheated instrument could cut through a warship's outer hull armor, making its use against a Space Marine's power armor a gross underutilization.

However, Nikanna was faster. Empowered by his jump pack, he moved with extreme speed, then swung his long sword, striking the melta-torch's fairing. The uncontrolled high-energy particles rapidly dispersed, and the Word Bearer was quickly incinerated by the intense heat, as if embracing a melta reactor.

With a twist of his blade, Nikanna's sword flicked the Word Bearer away, sending him drifting far in the opposite direction of the warship. The uncontrolled melta-torch finally released all its energy, its violent flames and shockwave erupting in space. He wouldn't even leave a complete piece of tissue behind.

Under bolter fire, all were equal. Hill checked the headcount through his helmet's sensors. Two Ultramarines had lost their vital signs, their names turning from green to red, but more Word Bearers had died in the void.

The Ultramarines surrounded the large cutting machines the enemy was using. Without hesitation, they destroyed these machines with melta bombs and magnetic mines. They had been mere moments away from breaching the Glory of Macragge's armor.

The violent explosion shockwaves caused the cruisers attached to the flagship to shake continuously, but this also attracted more enemies.

Heavy bolter rounds poured down like rain. Word Bearers poured out from within the warship, their numbers far exceeding those of the kill team.

Clearly, the deaths of their comrades had incited these warriors of the Seventeenth Legion. They leaped out of the cargo holds one after another, blanketing the Ultramarines with incredibly dense bolter fire.

Some Ultramarines were hit in vital areas and died without question. Crimson blood sprayed from their cobalt-blue armor, congealing into perfect spheres in space.

"Disperse immediately, find cover!"

The Ultramarines activated the thrusters of their jump packs, scattering in all directions, using various machinery and armor to dodge the terrifying bolter rounds.

An Ultramarine near Hill was hit. He wasn't dead yet, but his damaged armor caused a rapid loss of atmosphere, and his damaged jump pack could no longer provide thrust. Hill could only watch helplessly as the warrior drifted into the deep void of space.

Perhaps he would die there, or perhaps he would activate his Sanguine Membrane and enter a state of suspended animation, only to be recovered after the battle.

There was no time for grief. Hill had to mobilize all his senses to evade the rapidly flying bolter rounds. He had to retaliate with his own bolter fire. If they couldn't annihilate this enemy force, they would have no chance to continue their mission.

Fortunately, Nikanna was still behind Hill. The Raven Guard and the Ultramarines fought back-to-back, minimizing their blind spots as much as possible.

In the space battlefield, there was no strict distinction of "up, down, left, or right." Bullets wouldn't necessarily come from all directions; fatal shots could come from above or below.

"Brother, it is an honor to fight alongside you."

Hill fired a volley of bolter rounds, taking down two enemies attempting to sneak closer from a heat exchanger tower. But more Word Bearers continued to fire. Under the dense barrage of bolter rounds, his power armor sustained multiple hits.

His shoulder armor had a large hole, his waist and abdomen were grazed by bolter rounds, and he suffered multiple soft tissue contusions and fractures. While none of these were fatal wounds, they still spoke of the dangers of war.

Once the airtight seal of his power armor was completely broken, Hill would face a desperate situation.

This tenacious and calm Ultramarine never expected to survive this Betrayal. He was prepared to sacrifice himself for it.

Even if he died, there would be other excellent warriors among the Ultramarines to take his place.

Faced with Hill's dying tone, Nikanna remained silent. He simply continued to snipe at every enemy that tried to approach with his bolter, each bolter round precisely hitting the enemy's head, blooming flowers of death in the dark, cold expanse of space.

Space warfare, in a sense, is a game of attrition. The Ultramarines suffered casualties at a ratio of almost one to three. These chosen strongmen were all veterans of the Thirteenth Legion. They joined the kill team without hesitation, even though everyone knew it was likely a suicide mission.

Vibrant lives and resolute souls were reduced to cold numbers. The kill team's numbers were rapidly dwindling. If not for the reinforcement of a hundred Ultramarines led by Ventanus earlier, Hill's squad would have likely been wiped out by now.

Their bolters depleted, Hill and Nikanna casually discarded them on the surface of the warship. The sheer mass of the colossal starship created a weak gravitational effect, causing the bolters to adhere to the armor.

The two, wielding power swords, hid at the edge of a heat sink tower. Their helmets were fixed on the approaching enemies, preparing to launch a stealthy ambush.

But suddenly, something patted their shoulders from behind.

In the cold, dark expanse of space, being struck on the back by an unknown object caused even an Adeptus Astartes to break out in a cold sweat. Hill's electromagnetic longsword flashed backward in a stab, but it was easily deflected and stopped by a large hand.

Behind them stood a giant. The Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman, was right there.

He was clad in armor, as tall as a Titan. However, his helmet was missing, leaving his entire head exposed to the vacuum and extreme cold of space. The air he exhaled froze into ice crystals that clung to his skin.

He roared silently. Although there was no medium to transmit sound, the two undoubtedly heard the furious roar.

From the mind, Roboute, known for his reason, was now like an erupting volcano, unspeakable rage and ferocity brewing within him.

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