Despair spread like a plague.
The warriors lowered their guns. The spirits within the Wraithguard stopped moving.
They were tired. Far too tired.
Just as Khaelmon's trembling hand was about to touch the psychic rune that represented destruction.
Just as the swarm hissed in triumph, ready to enjoy this lavish buffet.
At the center of the battlefield, where the Avatar of Khaine had just fallen.
Space suddenly twisted.
Directly above the square where Khaine had fallen, in the dark purple sky obscured by Bio-ships, a single... no, thousands upon thousands of golden fissures burst open at once.
"BOOM!!!"
An enormous metal foot, flowing with golden lava, stepped out of the portal and landed squarely on the head of a Carnifex that was about to pounce on Khaine's remains and devour them.
The heavily armored Tyranid beast weighed several tons, yet it did not even get a chance to scream before that foot stomped it into pulp, sending juices flying.
Then a deep, resonant, booming voice, utterly out of place in this moment of despair, rang across the entire battlefield.
"Holy crap, what's that smell? Are you running a seafood market here on Iyanden? That fishy stink is brutal!"
Chief Farseer Khaelmon's half-chanted invocation stuck in his throat, nearly choking him to death.
Across the battlefield, both the Aeldari waiting to die and the bugs busy feeding froze.
Amid the golden light, densely packed, seemingly endless golden figures descended from the sky.
Some held burning halberds, some carried heavy psychic shields, some rode ancient Jetbikes, and some simply floated in midair.
In that instant, they all arrived on Iyanden's squares, ruins, towers, and even the backs of the gigantic bugs.
In just ten seconds, the square that had been occupied by a purple tide of bugs was forcibly painted gold.
A