The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 3318 Amara's Storm (6)

As the constructs poured out, three Annihilator gunships also appeared in the distance, looming over the battlefield like grim reapers.

Even amidst the chaotic battle, almost everyone could hear the clicking of gears and the terrifying friction of the twin Tesla destructors charging up. The entire battlefield seemed to fall into a brief silence, followed by streaks of green that twisted and writhed in the air like thunder in the night, before slamming into the ground.

The ensuing explosions engulfed the entire battlefield in flames. Ur screamed in agony as his skin burned before he was knocked over. He felt the scorching heat of the impact instantly char his skin, and then, as soon as he landed, a shockwave hurled him twenty meters away.

He landed in a crater filled with cold, foul-smelling water. The impact nearly knocked him unconscious. In a daze, he saw more fireballs erupting, but a closer look revealed them to be human-shaped 'candles'—the lightning arcs from the Annihilator gunships had instantly annihilated hundreds of soldiers, including his company commander, turning them all into smoldering wrecks.

Ur was lucky; someone had taken the brunt of some of the fatal energy for him, but even so, he sustained a mortal wound. When he tried to breathe with his injured lungs, he could only manage to retch.

Suddenly, something fell into the crater, landing heavily on him.

As the pool churned with mud and gore, he found himself staring at a charred face. A Necron barge began to move in the green arcs of electricity. Anger and sorrow welled up within him. He tried to scream, but the bitter, foul water flooded his lungs, and his strength gradually ebbed away.

"Mom..."

He curled up, as if returning to his mother's womb.

Boom—

A loud bang made him twitch violently. Ur opened his eyes and saw an Annihilator gunship tilting to one side. As it tried to turn, a red heat beam pierced its hull and the pilot inside, followed by a deafening explosion.

"What..."

From the dark dome above, a screaming giant descended from the sky, the red trails from its massive jump pack resembling blood-colored wings. The front of the Terminator's helmet was carved into a pale skull, and deep blue lightning patterns covered its silver-gray armor.

The Overlord turned sharply to attack the newcomer, but a howling power halberd had already pierced its body, pinning it to the ground.

"Though you are too pathetic to scream, we still come for you!"

As soon as Kentar, clad in Terminator armor, landed, he grabbed the end of the war scythe and, with a fierce sweep, smashed the Overlord impaled on it into the surrounding Immortals, using it as a 'warhammer'. This power weapon, shaped like a serpent's fang, was a reward given to Li Lin by Soch after he had performed many meritorious deeds in the Grand Diocese. Although it was a creation of the Adeptus Mechanicus, its precision and power were first-rate, and it was named Night Fang.

Following him were more than twenty warriors from the Eleventh Company, who sprayed bolter and plasma fire into the Necron ranks. Close behind them came swarms of combat servitors and Adeptus Mechanicus reinforcements, mostly equipped with melta and plasma weapons, which were more effective against the Necrons. The resulting impact quickly shattered the Necron lines.

The dazed Ur realized that the enemy had paid a price. His head lolled, and he passed out. In his last moments, he seemed to faintly hear someone shouting,

"There's still someone breathing here!"

"What are your thoughts?"

In the speeding Rhino command vehicle, Kasati stared at Talos. The highest commander of the Amara Home Defense Command was still busy processing information pouring in from all directions, even inside the vehicle.

"This battle will be difficult. The kill-to-death ratio is very unfavorable. Are you confident that you can hold out until the naval battle is decided?"

Talos raised his head slightly, muttering to himself:

"Three hours have passed. He said he needed at least twenty-four hours."

Then he turned his head.

"The fiercer the ground resistance, the more Necron forces will be drawn from the ships. They have few ships and can't carry many soldiers. The fewer soldiers on the ships, the greater the chance of success for Soch's boarding action, so we just need to hold them back."

"It's not that easy. We can't even control the airspace. How much of the air force is left?"

Talos picked up a data slate and glanced at it.

"About 1,900 aircraft of various types."

"So, you've lost almost half of your fighters in just three hours?"

"Mainly because of the wave-like resistance, which led to the piecemeal deployment of the air force."

"Oh? Now that you mention it... Talos, have you not commanded large-scale operations much?"

Talos glanced at him sideways.

"What? Does the master strategist of the Eighth Legion have something to teach me?"

"I just noticed that you've dispersed your forces so much. Although this can avoid losses from enemy bombing, the Necron ships don't seem capable of bombing the entire planet. Doesn't this mean that many units can't be deployed for combat immediately? Is it still possible to redeploy them later?"

"If the forces are too concentrated, the Necrons will realize it's not easy to attack. What do you think they'll do?"

Faced with Talos's question, Kasati was stunned for a moment, then realized.

"You're worried they'll use exterminatus weapons?"

Error-free version is reading! First release of this novel.

"Do you think they don't have them?"

"Then how can you be so sure that they won't use exterminatus weapons if they don't encounter strong resistance?"

"What else could it be? Arrogance, of course."

"So, what are your plans next?"

"Increase the intensity."

With that, Talos opened the miniature imager.

"Now, the other two major hive cities of Alama are also under attack. The defenders of Karosh report that the enemy has advanced to the mid-hive. The situation in Tritos is more special. It's a hive city built on a primordial lake, and its under-hive is a flooded labyrinth. The Necrons have chosen to attack from the bottom up. The battle is still fierce, but the Necrons' main target is still New Vasburg. You can tell from the air power they've deployed. The number of Necron fighters participating in the attack on New Vasburg is more than the total of the other two hive cities combined. They're not completely ignorant about Amara. They know this is where the governor is located and the planet's communications and command hub. Therefore, they will definitely deploy heavy forces, even using it as a base to sweep across the entire planet. I plan to organize a counterattack in that area."

"A counterattack?"

Kasati's eyes widened.

"Did I hear that right?"

"My High Gothic shouldn't be that bad."

"Why?"

"This Menak Dynasty is like a church-going whore. These types of things have one thing in common: they like to show that they 'appreciate' courageous opponents. So, as long as we proactively launch an attack, it will definitely attract their attention. This way, they will invest more troops in that location, eventually forming a meat grinder that I need."