Barabas Dantioch activated the teleport beacon built into his power armor. When he opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the forward base.
He let out a long breath, then stepped out of the ring-shaped apparatus on the teleport platform.
The air was thick with the acrid scent of ionized ozone. Servitors cleaned up the mud and bloodstains he had left in his wake as Barabas Dantioch headed for the command room in search of Lox.
"I failed to decapitate the enemy commander."
The moment he saw Lox, Barabas Dantioch delivered the report in a calm, succinct tone.
"The Iron Hands' artillery bombardment covered that entire area. The enemy command system is already in disarray."
Hearing Nykona's voice, Lox looked up from the holographic projection displaying the changing battle lines.
"That is enough. The Aeldari have endured to this day because they have more than enough hidden cards. When you truly think you can take them down, that is when you must be wary of walking into a trap they have set."
"Your caution was correct. Better safe than sorry."
The Death Raven nodded and studied the current situation alongside Lox.
The Ultramarines' progress along the main front was encouraging. Under the combined assault of Knight mechs and heavy vehicles, the allied force of Craftworld Aeldari and savage Aeldari had resisted only briefly before withdrawing.
The savage Aeldari could be set aside for now. Most of them were civilians with no military training and could only serve in supporting roles.
However, the reinforcements sent by the Craftworld Aeldari had plunged the Space Marines into a hard fight. Every one of those special Aeldari known as Aspect Warriors possessed formidable combat strength, enough to rival an Astartes.
Of course, Lox did not believe the enemy had simply collapsed. They