Hammond Walker, lying prone behind cover, watched this scene with a slight frown.
He had witnessed knights in battle; three years ago at the Cadian Gate, he had fought alongside the Legion and other Knight House for three days.
Those knights were strong, but they seemed quite different from the St. Garus Knight before them.
The problem lies not in firepower or other aspects, but in defense.
He saw several Deff Dreadnought fire rocket pods at the silver-gray knight, with at least a hundred rockets hitting him.
Based on Hammond's experience, the knight's ion shield, while not overloaded, would at least cause violent fluctuations.
But St. Garus's shield only rippled, decayed at an abnormally slow rate, and soon returned to its initial state.
Those rockets were like pebbles thrown into a deep pool; they made a splash and then disappeared.
" Brevis's unique technology..." Hammond muttered to himself.
He had heard rumors that the St. Garus Family possessed some unique technology, originating from a secret of Brevis.
It now appears that the rumors may be true.
The arrival of the knights stabilized the defensive line; these strongest ground forces of the Imperium greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers.
For the next six hours, humanity barely managed to hold the breach.
Aiden's knight mechs became mobile firepower fortresses, going wherever danger lurked.
The Gatling gun ran out of ammunition three times, and each time the Armiger Knight covered their retreat to the rear for resupply.
But there are just too many Orks, so many that it's despairing.
By noon the next day, the breach was close to being breached.
Undeterred by death, the Orks launched countless charges.
No one knows exactly how many died.
All that is known is that the pile of corpses was used to re-seal the breach, which was then blown open by a bomb, allowing the Orks to continue their assault.
The allied forces began to crumble, Leo still wanted to organize a counterattack, but the orders could no longer be passed down.
The soldiers' nerves were stretched to the limit; seeing the endless expanse of green rushing in, even their last bit of courage vanished.
"Master!" Aiden's voice roared into the communicator, "Retreat! Now!"
Leo shook his head. He stood at the forefront of the defensive line, with fewer than ten personal guards remaining by his side.
In the distance, three Orks mechs were approaching, followed by thousands of Ork Boyz.
"You may leave," he said to his guards.
"Sir!"
"That's an order!" Leo drew his Chainsword. "Go back and tell my grandfather..."
"Never mind, there's nothing more to say."
He looked at the approaching Orks and took a deep breath.
But today is not his death anniversary, for new voices are heard from afar.
It wasn't the roar of knights and mechs or the howls of Orks; it was a dense and intense sound!
It was the whistling of artillery shells cutting through the air, the hissing of laser beams scorching the air, and the roar of steel engines.
Leo looked back and saw an endless sea of steel on the southern horizon.
The first thing that came into view was the thousands of Leman Russ Russ, lined up in neat rows.
It is painted entirely in blue-gray, with the Imperium Aquila emblem printed on the side.
The shells began to fall, a barrage of attacks.
The entire area behind the wall in Zone C8 was instantly engulfed in flames from the explosion.
The charging Orks army was struck as if by a giant hammer; the front row was instantly vaporized, the middle row was torn apart by shrapnel, and the rear row was swept away by the shockwave.
Next came the Chimera Armoured Vehicle, its heavy machine guns spraying bullets and relentlessly reaping the lives of the Orks.
Finally, there's the Manticore self-propelled artillery, whose salvo could clear an area the size of a football field.
At the very center of the array was a colossal machine.
Cold Front Super-heavy Tank.
It is an ultra-heavy tank manufactured by the Industrial Alliance based on the Baneblade Tank. Although it is not as good as the Baneblade Tank, it is still extremely valuable.
The Cold Front Tank's main gun is a plasma bombardment cannon, and its secondary armament includes four laser cannons, two Heavy Bolter, and two missile launchers.
The vehicle was painted dark blue, and a flag belonging to the Planetary Governor, with a blue background and a golden eagle, was displayed behind the turret.
Eight specially modified Leman Russ Russ tanks guarded the Cold Front Tank.
These tanks have thicker armor, larger main gun calibers, and soldiers wearing high-tech Power Armour stand on the turrets.
Iron Guard, the most elite force in the Industrial Alliance, directly comparable to the elite forces of PDF.
They were all Chairman Trevor's "sincere" show of loyalty to Lynn: a super-heavy tank and ten thousand elite Iron Guard comparable to PDF.
A man was standing on the roof of the Cold Front Tank, Kerry Von, or rather, Lynn.
He wore finely crafted Carapace Armour and a dark blue cloak draped over his shoulders.
He held a relic Boltgun in his hand, with golden wings tattooed on both sides of the gun.
He looked at the battlefield, where the Boltgun was firing continuously.
The Orks were clearly stunned by the sudden shelling, but after a few seconds of stunned silence...
The Ork Boyz' eyes lit up when they saw so many "big toys".
"Waaaagh!!!" They turned around, abandoned the pursuit of the fleeing coalition forces, and charged towards the armored units.
Then they learned what saturation firepower was like.
What does it mean to have 5,000 vehicles firing simultaneously?
Even Leo had never seen anything like this in his entire life.
Countless types of metal bullets and deadly beams of various colors intertwined to form a web of death, covering the entire area where the Orks were located.
The Orks charging at the forefront were instantly physically wiped out, or blown into the air along with their dilapidated vehicles.
The Orks continued their charge, then followed in their footsteps.
The explosions were continuous, flames shot up dozens of meters high, and thick smoke obscured the sky.
The shockwave even reached human positions, and tens of thousands of soldiers who were unable to retreat were engulfed in flames.
But no one complained, because sacrifice was the most common thing.
For Imperium, human life has always been the least valuable resource.
The armored formations began their advance, slowly but irresistibly crushing the battlefield.
Leman Russ Russ's main guns precisely targeted Orks vehicles, Chimera used machine guns to sweep away any remaining Ork Boyz, and various heavy artillery provided long-range fire support.
The Cold Front Tank was always at the very front of the formation.
Lynn stood on the turret and kept firing.
His marksmanship was excellent; with each Boltgun, an Ork Boyz's head exploded.
Some Orks attempted to attack the tank with a wasteland-style rocket launcher, but were immediately picked off by the surrounding Iron Guard with precise shots as soon as they raised the launcher.
What shocked Leo even more was the morale of the Vanguard, especially the infantry advancing behind the armored formation.
Their eyes were filled with fanaticism as they chanted, "For the Governor! For Brevis!"
They then charged fearlessly towards the Orks.
Why? Leo quickly found the answer.
Because Lynn was always at the front.
Wherever Cold Front Tank went, he followed.
One Ork Warboss even broke through the barrage of fire and pounced on the tank.
Without saying a word, Lynn jumped off the tank and engaged it in close combat with his Power Sword.
There are no sophisticated skills, only the purest numerical crushing.
The heavily armed leader didn't even see Lynn's movements clearly before he found his vision starting to spin, and finally his face made intimate contact with the ground.
The soldiers erupted in a deafening cheer when they saw Lynn behead the Ork Warboss leader with a single sword stroke.
"A true man should be like this," Leo said, somewhat mesmerized, as he watched the scene unfold.