The first battle

The armored convoy sped across the desert, throwing up clouds of dust.

"We need to rally the stragglers as quickly as possible. Thunder Warriors or Astartes, I don't care-bring me anyone who can still move."

"If any Imperial Army regiment retreats without orders, execute its officers on the spot. Gather the routed troops and get them ready to fight as quickly as possible."

"Odo, Rick, Sival, you three will be responsible for taking out that Reaper."

Malak looked at Bona beside him. Heading into battle for the first time, Bona was carefully checking his weapons.

"Bona, stay beside me once we get there. No running off."

"All right."

Bona looked out the window at the refugees fleeing with their families and the military police doing everything they could to maintain order.

If they failed too, the supply center behind them would be completely exposed to the enemy's advance.

The troops at the front would not only run short of ammunition and food, but also face attacks from both sides. The Imperium might even lose vast stretches of territory.

No wonder his normally even-tempered father had been so furious.

The troop transport soon came to a stop.

The Adeptus Custodes leaped out and raced away, leaving Malak and Bona behind.

And, of course, the ever-silent Sisters of Silence.

The retreating soldiers stared in astonishment at the group that had suddenly appeared, unsure what to do.

But large numbers of ordinary people were still fleeing in a frenzy, desperate to escape the ever-closer thunder of artillery.

Despair was the prevailing mood here.

War had destroyed their courage, but Bona had no intention of controlling these soldiers through fear. That would only take them from one extreme to another.

Malak was about to restore order when he discovered that Bona had already climbed onto the troop transport.

"Soldiers! Are you just going to run away in disgrace like this?"

"Do you think the enemy won't come knocking if you run home and hide under your blankets?"

"Do you want to return to a life where you never know if you'll survive another day, worrying that genetically modified men and cyborgs will burst into your homes and take everything you have?"

Bona's words seemed to work. Many soldiers stopped and stared blankly at the figure in white robes.

"The Emperor is behind us now. Your families and friends are behind you. If we lose, the enemy will herd us back like wild dogs in the wasteland, and we will bring defeat to the Emperor."

"We must hold them here and buy His Divine Majesty three days. I can't promise that you'll survive. I can't promise that your names will be remembered."

"But I can promise that your families and friends will be able to live like human beings."

"Who will march with me?"

"I will!"

One rank-and-file soldier raised his gun and shouted.

"Who will live and die with me?"

"I will!"

A crowd of soldiers raised their guns and shouted.

"Who will die for the Imperium with me?"

"I will!"

Everyone was shouting wildly.

Roaring, the soldiers charged back toward the front. Many even tore off their dog tags and handed them to the military police beside them, leaving the bewildered officers clutching piles of tags in both hands.

Malak looked in astonishment at the figure standing on the vehicle's roof.

For some reason, he felt as though he could see a shadow of His Majesty.

"The little one's grown up too," Malak murmured.

The routed soldiers who had just fled the front charged straight back within moments, holding firm against the enemy's assault with terrifying fervor and resolve.

The hard-pressed Astartes and Thunder Warriors finally had a chance to breathe. Under the organization of the Adeptus Custodes, they formed into combat squads.

They then stabilized the defensive line, which had once again been on the verge of collapse.

The Nordics halted their assault, leaving the ground littered with corpses.

Malak cautiously poked his head out to glance at the quiet front, then quickly ducked back down.

"Uncle Malak, have they retreated?" Bona was sorting through the ammunition he had just picked up.

"They'll charge again soon. This was only an advance force."

Malak looked at the boy.

"Are you afraid?"

Bona shook his head, then tucked three grenades into his harness.

"What about you, Uncle Malak?"

"I have long since forgotten what fear feels like. The only thing I fear is failing to fulfill the duty His Majesty has entrusted to me."

Seeing Bona's puzzled gaze, Malak raised his Guardian Spear.

"If anything happens to you, His Majesty will skin me alive."

They had three full defensive lines ahead of them, with nearly a thousand Astartes and Thunder Warriors and countless mortals standing between them and the enemy. The Emperor had also given them plenty of lifesaving equipment.

Even if they all died here, they had to protect the Sisters of Silence long enough for them to drag Bona back to safety.

At last, the air began to tremble. Then fire seemed to rain from the heavens, as though a supreme goddess were pouring flames upon the mortal world.

Malak expertly shielded Bona behind him as the earth ahead shook.

A dozen or so mortal soldiers fled the trenches, howling. They clutched their bleeding ears and screamed, only to be smeared across the ground by heavy artillery shells.

But the roar of engines and numerous figures also appeared on the horizon. Those lunatics were actually attacking through the bombardment.

Weren't they afraid of blowing up their own men?

Bona felt there was something deranged about them. They did not falter even as their comrades were torn apart by shellfire.

The Imperial Army also emerged to return fire, but the mortal soldiers struggled to hold steady amid the earth-shaking bombardment. Only the Astartes and Thunder Warriors could aim accurately.

But...

Bona saw a Thunder Warrior roaring something at an Astartes recruit beside him, then kicking the Astartes to the ground.

Ummmm...

Looks like these Astartes still have a long road ahead of them.

The enemy soon charged up, howling. Those lunatics did not even care that their own artillery was still firing. They charged straight through the shellfire from both sides.

There were many cyborgs and gene-warriors among them.

Cyborgs from the era of the Unification Wars.

One such cybernetic madman had enormous iron pincers for hands. He stormed into a trench and effortlessly tore apart an entire platoon of Imperial soldiers through their gunfire.

Two Astartes rushed over to try to deal with the cybernetic warrior, but they were soon beaten back. Even powerful bolt rounds seemed to have no effect when they struck him.

Another Thunder Warrior joined the fight. Under the combined assault of the three warriors, the cybernetic soldier first had both legs shot off, then continued fighting like a crab, propping himself up on his enormous iron pincers.

Only when his head had been all but pulverized by bolt rounds did he finally fall.

The first two defensive lines were torn apart, and the Adeptus Custodes holding the third line joined the battle.

The Adeptus Custodes were powerful indeed. Those seemingly immortal cybernetic warriors invariably fell beneath their precise strikes.

The Astartes were thrown forward to plug the line, while the more powerful Thunder Warriors were assigned to destroy the enemy's armored vehicles, though only one in ten returned.

Even Uncle Malak went into battle himself, but before leaving, he strictly forbade Bona from charging to the front. The Sisters of Silence beside him silently kept watch over Bona.

Bona had no choice but to handle logistics.

Still, thanks to all his time studying under Grandpa Malcador, Bona could at least ensure that every soldier received ammunition and food, even if he could not manage logistics as flawlessly as Malcador.