The War Council included not only representatives of each gene-seed lineage, but also delegates from the Navy, the Astra Militarum, the Inquisition, the Sisters of Battle, and other factions.
For the moment, however, they could not get a word in. The Primaris Warriors' capacity for parallel thinking gave them an innate advantage in strategic deployment, making them the undisputed overall leaders.
The current supreme commander was Coriassus, Captain of the Ultramarines' Fifth Company. A Primaris Librarian stood beside him, assisting with strategic deployment.
The Raven Guard's successor Chapters were working hard to locate the enemy. This would decide the outcome of the war. Until then, the Imperium had to focus on stalling.
The Navy had to preserve its strength so it could eventually launch an assault on the enemy's central Hive Ship.
Pressure on the planetary ground forces soared, and Astartes units were scattered across the planet like ordinary soldiers. Coriassus did not mind the White Scars Sons' "abandonment of their posts." They had always been like that. It was the Tyranid creatures' behavior that puzzled him.
The Tyranid Hive Ship had exceptionally thick defenses and was constantly growing.
The surrounding creatures kept hauling damaged Bio-ships back to the Hive Ship. On the planet below, biomass was dumped into reclamation pools filled with highly efficient digestive fluids, converted into nutrients, and continuously transported up to the Hive Ship through capillary towers.
Ground-based cannons pounded away below while the living vessel repaired itself above, creating a temporary equilibrium.
All the Hive Ship's downward-facing cannons had been destroyed. Strangely, however, its flying forces rarely attacked Astra Militarum positions. They seemed in no hurry to expand their territory.
Instead, Tyranid cysts-Drop Pods-filled the sky. After floating briefly, they spread across vast areas, where defensive fire blasted them apart in midair. The creatures then