The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"The entrance is open. Let's move."

Finally, with the help of a demolition grenade, the melted hatch shattered into pieces of metal. The Kentus one by one walked into the breached doorway.

As the searchlights illuminated the path ahead in the corridor, Sablin took the lead, followed closely by the other members. Several servo-skulls floated to the left and right and into the ventilation ducts.

"Sezer, Victor, you're in charge of rear security. Li Lin, track any identifiable signals and see if you can find a secure node to contact the bridge."

As they delved deeper into the corridor, the team saw many signs of carnage: torn bodies, congealed blood splattered on the walls, even fragments of internal organs, massive claw marks, twisted chitinous remains. Clearly, there had been intense fighting everywhere.

However, so far, they hadn't encountered a single living Tyranid.

The power system here seemed to have failed, with only weak emergency lights casting long, dancing shadows of the Terminators with each step. This area served as a preparation zone for the flight deck, filled with various large pieces of equipment and cables almost as tall as themselves snaking between supports, making the terrain very complex.

For some reason, Sablin kept catching glimpses of something flashing quickly between the wreckage.

Soon, the squad reached an open area along the corridor. Four men covered the flanks and rear, while the other four spread out in a fan formation in front, with the two heavy weapons specialists in the center.

They advanced alternately, sweeping their gun muzzles and searchlights into the darkness.

Dirty dust enveloped them, shimmering in the light. Then Sablin noticed something hanging down from the overhead beam.

"Potential threat detected! Everyone stay alert, stick together!"

He immediately issued a warning and tried to identify the strange shadow, but Li Lin had already spoken.

"Threat confirmed! Coordinates 75, 92!"

The once-silent preparation area suddenly erupted with noise as Tyranids of various appearances swarmed out of the shadows. Most were hormagaunts, termagants, and warriors, as well as lictors.

"Brothers! The fun's about to begin!"

Li Lin's voice suddenly became excited. At the same time, the two heavy weapons specialists in the middle of the team immediately activated their weapons. First to roar was the assault cannon, its dense stream of bullets sweeping through the darkness like a bright line, instantly shattering bone armor and blasting flesh.

Then the Terminators on the flanks began firing their plasma guns, the blue bolts of energy raining down on the rampaging swarm, tearing them to shreds.

But the sheer number of the swarm was overwhelming, their advance far outpacing their casualties.

"Burn them!"

The two Terminators carrying Anvilus-pattern heavy flamers became a solid barrier against the swarm, their flames igniting carapaces, sending the aliens writhing and screaming in the inferno, and thoroughly dispelling the darkness.

Li Lin, wielding his chain halberd, laughed as he fired his wrist-mounted storm bolter at the warriors, but Sablin felt like something was missing.

Suddenly, it hit him, and he looked up.

"Something's above us, scatter!"

Hearing the warning, everyone immediately moved from their positions, and a shadow landed with a dull thud.

It had only a vague outline, appearing almost transparent visually. It was difficult to discern it with the naked eye, if not for the distortion of the heat from the flamers. Even the Terminators' thermal imaging and hunter sights struggled to make it out. All they knew was that its silhouette resembled a warrior, with long limbs and writhing tendrils.

But Sablin immediately guessed what it was.

"Lictor! The Tyranids have sent in a Lictor! Take it down!"

Then the transparent outline straightened up, revealing a mottled yellow-purple armored body and an oval head covered in prehensile tendrils. Its yellowish-brown eyes held a venomous gaze, and a pair of almost meter-long scythe claws arched from its back. Barbed tendrils extended from its carapace, and, shockingly, its size seemed to have more than doubled, growing from the size of a warrior to something much taller than a Terminator.

Moreover, its carapace was significantly different from the Lictor's appearance described in the records Sablin had seen. Although the Mechanicum also believed that these Tyranid assassins with high camouflage or even stealth capabilities rarely looked exactly alike, the variation in appearance was rarely so drastic. Its torso was thicker, its head protected by a ring of augmented chitin, and its ribs had constantly extending and retracting meat hooks.

Without a doubt, this was likely a new variant of the Lictor. Sablin's helmet quickly recorded its physical characteristics.

"Leave it to me!"

With a roar, Li Lin charged forward, the servos of his Terminator armor and the chain halberd in his hand screaming as he launched an assault on the monster.

However, the Lictor's movements were equally swift. It used the bone armor on its claws to clamp down on the whirring chain halberd, then suddenly retreated, causing Li Lin to lose his balance. Immediately, the meat hooks from its lower abdomen shot out, piercing towards Li Lin. The sharp barbs struck the Terminator armor, sparking violently, unable to penetrate but knocking him back several meters.

Sablin had already charged from behind, his multi-melta ready to fire, but the creature suddenly leaped away an instant before the shot, instantly covering dozens of meters. Its target was a Terminator firing his weapon at other Tyranids, leaving his back exposed, as if this had triggered its instincts.

"Mochather, watch out!"

Hearing the warning, the warrior turned around and pulled the trigger. Facing the dense stream of bullets, the Lictor's claws were as fast as lightning, the claw tips piercing into the chest armor, but before it could penetrate further, it was severed by the roaring chain halberd.

"Mochather, are you alright?"

"Not... deeply penetrated, I'm fine."

The impaled Terminator pulled out the broken claws, and a burst of blood spurted out. Then the Terminator's emergency systems activated, and the sealant quickly repaired the pierced armor.

At this moment, Sablin also aimed at the creature and ignited the melta gun, the intense flames instantly piercing through the thick armored body, roasting the soft organs beneath. The Lictor howled in pain, and Li Lin rushed forward. The dying beast staggered backward, its arms spread wide, claws ready to strike.

"Die!"

Li Lin swung his forearm forcefully, aiming for the creature's neck. The chainsword's teeth pierced its spine, the Lictor shrieked, its head rolled off, falling to the ground, and then the tall and sturdy corpse collapsed to the ground, spewing bright corrosive blood.

During the fight with the Lictor, the squad maintained a high level of tactical discipline. Everyone trusted Li Lin and Sablin to handle the combat and cover their backs, focusing on fighting the Tyranids coming from all directions, which prevented the situation from becoming chaotic.