The Aeldari warships slipped silently through the void, closing to point-blank range.
By the time the Iron Warriors warships, still conducting their orbital bombardment, detected them, it was too late.
Torpedoes launched in great salvos, accompanied by Starcannon fire, catching the Iron Warriors warships by surprise.
The fleet, so orderly moments before, plunged into chaos.
In the past, such a thing would never have happened among the Iron Warriors. They would simply have counterattacked mechanically according to their contingency plans.
But now their Primarch was commanding them in person. Even the Trident Council dared not overstep his authority and directly order the Iron Warriors to counterattack.
Yet their Gene-Father was fighting on the ground below.
And so the Iron Warriors Legion, long renowned for its brutal discipline, descended into chaos, each warship fighting alone.
On the ground, large numbers of Rangers and Shadow Spectres suddenly emerged from the lava and launched surprise attacks on nearby Iron Warriors artillery positions.
The Iron Warriors, still firing their guns, were caught off guard and struck down. The survivors tried to fight back, only to be killed by the elite Aeldari warriors.
The advancing Iron Warriors abruptly lost their momentum. The fortress, previously suppressed by artillery, roared back to life and poured its fire into them.
Inside the fortress, the Iron Warriors who had held the upper hand moments before suddenly encountered a new kind of enemy.
The Primaris Space Marines, who had remained hidden for so long, charged into the enemy ranks with boundless fury. Even the heavily augmented Iron Warriors quickly found themselves outmatched in close combat.
As the distant Mandeville Point opened, a vast Imperial Fleet poured into the sector.
Leading it was the recently recovered flagship of the Thirteenth Legion-the Macragge's Honour.
"Thank you for your help this time, Yvraine,"