The soldiers' breathing became more and more rapid, and their hands gripping their rifles trembled slightly.
The approaching Chaos army was like a wall of flesh and blood that kept growing taller, making it hard to breathe, and morale plummeted like the receding tide.
"Hold on!" William drew his Chainsword from his waist, the serrated teeth spinning rapidly with a roar, interrupting everyone's thoughts.
" The Emperor is with us! Prepare the minefield!"
The enemy's vanguard quickly stepped into the pre-prepared minefield.
"Boom, boom, boom!" A series of explosions rang out, and flames stretched along the street like a winding fire dragon.
The buried military mines and Melta Bomb detonated simultaneously, and the high temperature and shock wave instantly tore apart hundreds of Nosak soldiers in the front row.
The two Chaos Spawn that charged at the front were blasted into a bloody mess, with half of their bodies flying into the air.
The momentum of the charge suddenly stalled.
Before the soldiers could even relax, the wizards behind them waved their staffs again, and more Chaos Spawn, braving the aftershocks of the explosion, stepped over the minefield and over the remains of their comrades to continue their advance.
The severed limbs writhed on the ground, miraculously reattaching to the body through magical manipulation. In just a few breaths, the wounded monster stood up again, though its movements were somewhat slow.
Bishop Jensen stood on the high platform in the center of the position, his silver scepter slamming heavily on the ground.
His white beard was blown back by the wind, and there was no sign of retreat in his eyes, only a resolute cold light.
"Fanboy squad, attack!" The order was transmitted across the position via the communication channel.
Behind the broken walls on both sides of the position, three thousand fanatical followers of the Ecclesiarchy, dressed in gray robes, slowly stood up.
Most of them were devout believers from the Lower City, without standard Flak Armour or sophisticated weapons, carrying only short knives coated with holy oil and simple explosive devices.
Yet, a fervent fire burned in everyone's eyes, like sparks willing to burn themselves out.
The priests stood before them, holding up sacred objects and chanting prayers. Golden light of faith, like the morning sun, fell upon the bodies of the three thousand people, condensing into a thin film of light on their skin.
This layer of light can resist the corrosive influence of the whispers of the Warp and weaken the arcane missiles of the Pink Horror.
But it couldn't withstand the battle axe and claws, nor could it withstand the overwhelming force of powerful physical attacks.
"For the Emperor!" Someone roared first, and three thousand people shouted in unison.
Then, like two golden torrents, they surged from both sides of the position towards the flanks of the Chaos army.
The Nosak warriors opposite him let out a contemptuous sneer.
Facing tens of thousands of fully armed Chaos soldiers, three thousand unarmored mortals charging forward were tantamount to suicide.
Several Norsak champions even stopped in their tracks, arms crossed, watching the charging fanatics as if it were a farce, the flames on their axe blades dancing lazily.
The Pink Horror chattered and laughed strangely, firing arcane missiles one after another, but the missiles only splashed up ripples when they hit the golden faith light membrane, causing little damage.
This only made the Chaos army feel more bored; they were nothing more than a bunch of ants sustained by faith, and once they got close, a single axe blow could wipe them all out.
The fanatics quickly rushed into the enemy lines, within a hundred meters of their lines.
The Nosak warriors in the front row raised their battle axes, ready to face this one-sided massacre.
Just then, Bishop Jensen closed his eyes, drew a sacred symbol on his chest, and whispered a single word, "Explode."
"BOOM!!!" The first explosion rang out, followed by a continuous series of explosions.
Until the three thousandth sound.
Three thousand golden holy flames exploded simultaneously on the flank of the Chaos army, like three thousand small suns falling from the sky, illuminating the dimly lit streets as bright as day.
This is Bishop Jensen's trump card.
Upon learning that the Vanguard had mixed the ashes of the holy relics into incendiary bombs, he did not condemn it as blasphemous as Bishop Venka had. Instead, he immediately recognized its tactical value.
He ordered his men to crush all the relic fragments, martyr ashes, and sacred oils that had accumulated in the Midtown Parish over the years.
They were packaged into simple explosive devices and distributed to the most devout fanatics.
Each bomb contained the ashes of saints and blessed Promethium.
The holy flames generated by the explosion possess purifying properties and have a devastating restraining effect on Chaos flesh and blood.
A towering golden wave of fire swept out from the flanks, instantly engulfing the nearby Nosak warriors in holy flames.
The Chaos armor on his body melted away like ice and snow, his flesh sizzled under the holy flames, and he let out a shrill scream.
Dozens of Chaos Spawn were blasted to pieces; the granulation tissue at their wounds withered and emitted black smoke upon contact with the Holy Flame, never to heal again.
Chaos spread like a plague along the ranks of the Pauper Princes.
The troops on the flanks were blown to pieces, and a gap instantly appeared in the front-line charging formation.
"Charge!" Commander William seized the fleeting opportunity, pointed his Chainsword forward, and roared out the order.
The Iron Guard Assault Battalion, which had been waiting in advance, immediately leaped out of their bunkers, grabbed entrenching tools and bayonets, and tens of thousands of heavily armed soldiers charged straight into the breach amidst the aftershocks of the explosion.
The Sisters of Battle positioned themselves on both flanks, Chainsword and purifying bombs in unison, like two sharp knives plunging into the chaotic enemy ranks.
Armored vehicles and tanks behind the position started their engines simultaneously, their heavy tracks crushing through gravel and rubble.
Instead of long-range artillery fire, they aimed the rams of their vehicles at the Chaos Line, launching a primal physical charge like ancient heavy cavalry.
The Iron Dragon Flamethrower Armoured Vehicle charged at the forefront, its flamethrower on the front of the vehicle unleashing a torrent of Promethium holy flames, carving burning paths through the Chaos army.
Leman Russ Tank's tracks crushed the Chaos Spawn blocking its path, and its vehicle-mounted Heavy Bolter swept across the ground, wiping out swarms of Nosak warriors who rushed forward.
In the instant the fighting began, blood splattered all over the street.
The Iron Guard soldiers' entrenching tools cleaved through the skulls of the Norsac People, while the enemy's runic battleaxes could also cleave through Ceramic Plasteel plates.
The Sisters of Battle severed the tentacles of the Chaos Spawn with her Chainsword, but she also had to be careful of the corrosive liquid spewed by the monster.
There were no fancy moves, only the most primal flesh-and-blood combat. Every second someone fell, and every step was taken over corpses.
However, the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves cannot be bridged by mere enthusiasm.
The warriors of Nosak were far more ferocious than imagined; the more wounded they were, the more fierce their attacks became, and even when they were disemboweled, they would still drag their intestines and swing their axes to kill.
Even if the Chaos Spawn is blown to pieces, it will still roll and pounce on the nearest human, using its corrosive bodily fluids to perish together with them.
And the Norsak wizards provided constant magical support.
Before the Rubric Marines at the rear could even make a move, the believers and monsters in the front ranks had already firmly held off the defending forces' charge.
Five minutes, just five minutes.
The charging Iron Guard soldiers suffered more than half their losses, the Sisters of Battle ' formation was broken by the continuous surge of demons, and hundreds of armored vehicles were overturned by the Chaos Spawn.
The tank's tracks were corroded and broken by the acid, leaving it paralyzed and unable to move in the inferno.
The golden holy flames gradually dimmed, and the lingering smoke from the explosion slowly dissipated.
The Chaos army paused briefly before stepping over the mountains of corpses again and slowly advancing towards the core area of Midtown.
Bishop Jensen stood on the high platform, watching the approaching blue halo, and released his grip on the scepter, instead picking up an officer's Chainsword.
Instead of ordering a retreat, he joined the final wave of the charge.