The Lunar-class Cruiser began its attack. Faced with Atris, seething with a Daemon Tide, its crew held nothing back.
Bombs fell on the once-magnificent planet, blasting everything from the Ice Wastes to the Ork Invasion Memorial Pit, from the outskirts of the Hive City to the hole in the Warp.
Our fleet made one attempt to close that enormous opening. A volley of Lance fire had no effect, and the two captains had to abandon further attempts. They were running out of time.
The ships advanced through the smoke of bombardment, bombing every area on the planet where daemons had gathered in force.
Then they arrived above the Far North Military Base.
This was where Evan had once landed. His enormous statue still stood, but huge gun barrels now extended behind it, and Void Shields had risen around it.
The ships hovered above the base and turned their main guns toward space.
Chaotic gunfire filled that direction. The order Atris had spent three centuries establishing in space had collapsed within days. Far in the distance, the outer system's defensive ring had been destroyed.
Without a fleet to support them, the system's defense stations were bombarded at will by the enemy Strike Cruisers. The Chaos Warband's warriors paid little price to smash the outer defensive ring completely.
The mortals fought to the death, but the only useful information they obtained was that the enemy ships had heavier firepower than ordinary vessels.
Of course they did! The enemy was an Astartes Warband that worshipped the Dark Machine God. Every ship they deployed had been meticulously built by the Dark Mechanicum with enhanced firepower.
Their density of fire was one and a half times that of other ships in the same class.
Vashtorr's fires of vengeance were burning. The Chaos Warriors had received