The Lamenters had recently run into trouble.
They had been stationed on Langjuxu, peacefully recuperating. Their recruits were training well, and another batch of fresh blood had just been packed into the transformation tanks.
Then things went wrong.
The enormous device built by the Necrons to imprison the Krork, which they were guarding, had a feeding system.
All it did was open a warp rift and throw things inside to keep the Krork from starving.
But the "food" the Krork could handle with ease proved rather troublesome for the Lamenters.
Maturio had a splitting headache. Bugs were raining down through the Feeding Zone, which stood dozens of meters high. These fist-sized insects were exceptionally tough, requiring a direct hit from a power sword to kill, and their numbers were... a little excessive.
To the Krork, these bugs probably had the hardness and crunch of popcorn.
One bite apiece. Crunchy.
For the Lamenters, however, the fighting was rather harder.
These little creatures had terrifyingly sharp mouthparts that apparently could chew through adamantium armour with sustained attacks. Worse, they were so small and numerous that, without warnings from their machine spirits, the warriors struggled to notice the little beetles already gnawing on them.
Maturio could not run back and forth between several Adeptus Mechanicus establishments every day like Evan, securing vast supplies for battle. The Lamenters had not even finished repairing the Mother of Tears.
The black, gleaming insects headed straight for the Adeptus Mechanicus research area. Haituo, the Mechanicus heretic, had been conducting warp research when a multitude of alarms suddenly sounded.
"Sage Haituo, an insect swarm is approaching. Take care of yourself." (This shameless man had awarded himself the title of sage.)
Maturio's voice came through the communicator, slightly breathless. They were fighting on the front line.
But... Haituo heard