In the passageway on the second basement level, Lynn crouched behind a makeshift alloy bunker, constantly watching the reports that came in.
The casualty figures for the Vanguard continue to rise, Luna's sorcery traps on the second level are far more cunning than those on the first.
Space folds, mental whispers, and nodes that summon demons are hidden in every pipe and corner.
Just then, a very faint rustling sound of fabric came from behind.
A purifying bishop silently landed beside him, his purple pupils beneath his hood carrying a hint of solemnity. Through the symbiote's mental link, he sent a message directly into Lynn's mind:
"Sir, there has been a sudden anomaly in the orbital airspace."
" Warp Rift has opened outside the Eastern Starport, and the Nurgle Fleet is breaking into solid space."
" The Tithe Fleet has entered a state of high alert, and fighting has broken out."
At the same time, a somewhat shaky and blurry image of a starry sky entered Lynn's mind.
It roughly depicts the scene near Brevis Starport, starting with a corrupted fleet of ships.
A foul-smelling fleet emerged from Warp Rift, and Dominic dispersed the battle lines.
To Nurgle.
They arrived just in time.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling little panic but rather a sense of understanding.
The plague in the Lower City came strangely, and its speed of spread and degree of mutation far exceeded that of ordinary Hive City plagues. He had long suspected that the Death Guard was behind it.
The other party was just too well hidden and never gave themselves away, but unexpectedly they suddenly jumped out at this critical juncture.
"Can you confirm the identity of the War Gang?" he asked in his mind.
"The plague has unique characteristics; it can directly corrode mechanical structures."
"Even without human contact, some inorganic materials at the Lower City showed signs of corrosion and festering," the bishop added.
" The Adeptus Mechanicus's accompanying priests initially determined it to be some kind of ' Warp corruption'."
Warp plague capable of corrupting and infecting machinery...
The words "Rust Plague" suddenly appeared in Lynn's mind.
He still had some recollection of this infamous Warp plague.
The Death Guard has a warband called the " Pale Hand," and these traitors possess a peculiar plague called the Rust Plague.
It can corrupt most mechanical creations, from small Lasgun to large warship engines and knight mechs.
Once contaminated, metal will rust within hours, growing deformed flesh and blood tissue, ultimately becoming a plaything of Chaos.
Several years later, in M42, a Knight World in the Segmentum Obscurus fell to them.
The Pale Hand Warband feigned defeat to lure the knights into a pursuit, ultimately succumbing to the Rust Plague.
The virus continued to erode and corrupt half of the Knight House's mechs.
This gave rise to a traitorous knightly gang called the " Rust Hounds," who began hunting down the souls of their former comrades.
"The goal is clear." Lynn stood up and dusted off his knees.
"In a backwater like Brevis, there are only two things that warrant the Death Guard's serious involvement."
They are also knight mechs of the St. Garus Family, the last remaining Knight House in the Calixis System.
Even if it's just an empty shell now, those mechs and Machine Spirit that have been passed down for thousands of years are still excellent raw materials for the Pale Hand, which is skilled at corrupting machinery.
Another one is the STC Template hidden deep within Brevis.
The Chaos faction's thirst for STC is no less than that of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Luna was stirring up trouble underground, plotting to use someone else to do her dirty work and seize power.
These madmen with Pale Hand are eyeing the Knight House and STC, wanting to turn the entire planet into their first test subject.
Lynn chuckled.
interesting.
Logically speaking, the Pale Hand could have waited a little longer.
Once he and Dominic have a complete falling out over the Genestealer issue, and once Luna stirs up even more trouble on the planet.
If we wait until humanity's forces are at their weakest point due to internal strife before making our move, our chances of victory will at least double.
But they chose this exact moment to jump out.
Did he notice Tzeentch movements and fear Luna would snatch the fruit first?
Or is there some hidden reason that forced them to act ahead of schedule?
But the reason is no longer important.
Importantly, this Nurgle Fleet that suddenly appeared inadvertently helped him out of his predicament.
Even if Dominic wanted to hold the Genestealer accountable, he could still prioritize in the face of the Chaos invasion.
The internal Imperium can settle its scores later, but with Chaos attacking, we must unite against external threats first.
This is a principle etched into the very bones of every Imperium warrior.
"Notify the Governor's Office," Lynn said decisively.
"The entire expeditionary fleet has been dispatched to reinforce the Tithe Fleet."
"Dispatch the Second and Fourth Vanguard Divisions and immediately deploy them to the vicinity of Starport for defense."
"All air defense arrays are operating at full power, and all ground defense fortifications are activated."
"In addition, detach a heavy assault regiment and prepare for boarding and providing support."
"Inform fleet command that the Vanguard is at the mercy of the Tithe Fleet and does not need to report to me."
He didn't intend to send a special message to Dominic to explain.
Saying too much might seem like you're trying too hard to please someone, or that you're showing weakness or insecurity.
The Vanguard's actions themselves are a reflection of his attitude.
Internal conflicts aside, given the current Chaos, he will certainly not stand idly by.
That's the best response.
"Yes." The bishop bowed and accepted the order, then vanished into the shadows in a flash.
Lynn looked again at the barrier markings on the tactical terminal for the third underground level.
The external pressure has eased temporarily, but the battle here still needs to be fought.
Luna wanted to use Nurgle's influence to buy time, but he wouldn't have her way.
"Pass down the order: the assault team must accelerate its advance." His voice turned cold.
"I need to be standing in front of the third-floor entrance within half an hour."
Above Brevis orbit, the flames of war have ignited across the entire expanse of space.
The roar of the Macro-cannon firing in unison, even through the hull and the vacuum of space, could still be heard deep within the bridge, sounding as muffled as distant Thunder.
On the bridge of the Gemstone, all the officers had tense faces, their eyes fixed on the constantly updating data on the main screen.
Dominic stood with his hands behind his back in front of the porthole, his military uniform impeccably tailored, the general's star on his left shoulder flickering in the reflection of the gunfire.
He gazed intently at the distant fireballs that exploded, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
The Imperial Fleet spread out in a fan shape, with a distance of 500 kilometers between them, and the firepower network composed of light spears and Macro-cannon poured down towards the Warp Rift.
The Macro-cannon, trailing white flames, streaked across the void, crashing into the bloated, rotting Nurgle warships, exploding into a shower of rusty fragments and dark green pus.
The anticipated immediate collapse did not occur.
These are warships without Void Shield, without any energy shields, and even their hull armor has been replaced by flesh and rust.
Yet it displayed a terrifyingly tenacious vitality.
A single Macro-cannon is enough to penetrate the armor of an ordinary frigate, but when it lands on a plague frigate, it only blasts out a huge, bloody crater.
Beneath the splattering pus and bits of flesh, the severed blood vessels would immediately wriggle and intertwine.
New granulation tissue fills the wound at a visible speed; in just over ten seconds, the ruptured hole will be plugged again by the proliferating flesh and blood.
All that remained was a patch of uneven, rotting flesh.
The cruisers deeper inside were even more extravagant.
The high-energy beam of the light spear could cut through large sections of the flesh and blood of the ship's hull, exposing the rusted metal skeleton inside.
But those skeletons would soon be covered with sticky tissue, spreading like mold and re-enveloping the damaged hull.
They might even sprout new abscess-like cannon barrels, spewing viscous, corrupted shells at the Imperial Fleet.
They were like a group of rotten, still wriggling flesh, smashed to pieces, displaying the tenacity and resilience of those under the Grandfather's hand.
Except for the Pale Rose, which is located at the very back of the formation and still retains a relatively intact hull.
The remaining dozen or so warships were riddled with holes under saturation fire, and large patches of pustule peeled off their hulls.
Countless vascular-like tissues were severed, making them look from a distance like a group of mangled, rotting corpses.
But not a single ship stopped.
Braving the overwhelming firepower, they advanced towards the Imperium fleet at a slow but unwavering pace.