The Company Captain had barely shouted when the jungle around him seemed to come alive.
Countless monsters with bark-like skin, knotted muscles, and beaked mouths leaped from the trees, the undergrowth, and the soil!
They were Kroot Flesh Eaters!
Using their innate mimicry, they had blended perfectly into their surroundings. Before the Imperial Guard entered the ambush zone, no one had detected their presence.
A bloody slaughter began.
These primitive, savage creatures brandished crude but sharp blades and rudimentary rifles that fired solid projectiles, hurling themselves at the panic-stricken Astra Militarum.
Their way of fighting was steeped in primal savagery. They knocked soldiers down, tore them apart alive with sharp teeth and claws, then greedily devoured their warm flesh and blood.
Brave though the soldiers of Cadia were, they faced fearless monsters pouring in from every direction.
In less than half an hour, the entire company had been torn apart and eaten alive by these jungle hunters. Not a single soldier survived.
Meanwhile, on a ridge far from the main battlefield...
Several enormous XV88 Broadside battlesuits stood deployed like silent giants. Their massive shoulders bore two intimidating, long-barreled weapons-Twin-linked Railguns.
Their muzzles were trained on a tank position several kilometers away, where the Imperial Guard was assembling.
"Target locked," a Broadside battlesuit pilot reported calmly over the comms. "Calculating wind speed and humidity..."
"Fire."
Whoosh-
A metal projectile no larger than a fist launched at an unimaginable speed.
Several kilometers away, sparks suddenly erupted from the turret of a slowly advancing Leman Russ main battle tank. A smooth hole the width of a bowl appeared in its thick frontal armour.
A second later, a violent ammunition explosion tore through the tank. Flames surged skyward, blowing the entire turret into the air.
The commander of the tank position stared in disbelief.