The Emperor’s Angel of Death

“I have locked onto the target, Captain.”

The voice of Operator Two quickly followed, and Oliva's eyes locked onto the aiming matrix on the screen. The swaying crosshairs quickly turned into a lock within the Warhound's sights, the target being the vehicles suspected to be Doomsday Arks floating on either side of the obelisk's silhouette—though more likely enemy transport vehicles. Nevertheless, erring on the side of caution, the Captain ordered their priority destruction, a task assigned to Shadow Wolf Three.

“Fire.”

Instantly, the roar of weapons echoed faintly in the cockpit. Two tongues of flame leaped from the tips of the giant bolter cannons. The air crackled with the tearing shriek of hundreds of projectiles being launched, and a stream of spent shells poured from the ejection port beneath the weapon, clattering onto the ground like the chaotic chorus of broken bells.

Under Oliva's gaze, the first target vanished within the pale green crosshairs, torn apart by the continuous barrage.

The second then pushed its power plant into overdrive, attempting to reverse and flee, but a torrent of debris erupted from its skeletal chassis.

“Fire control, stay on target, don't let it escape!”

Oliva stared at his console as the relentless fire shredded the alien vehicle, eventually turning it into an exploding ball of fire. He even glimpsed the tiny figures of Necron Warriors leaping from the wreckage, still firing their gauss flayers even as they were engulfed in flames.

At the same time, the enemy obelisk began to glow, followed by an amber beam lashing out against Shadow Wolf Three's void shields.

“Enemy particle weapon attack! Void shield integrity down to 76%!”

The Captain's voice chimed in at the opportune moment.

“Shadow Wolf Three, concentrate fire on the enemy obelisk.”

“Father Vakko, plasma blast cannon ready.”

“Charging in five, four, three, two, one.”

The plasma blast cannon, forming the majority of Shadow Wolf Three's left arm, hummed to life. Focusing coils around it shuddered as vast amounts of energy poured into its charging chamber from the Titan's reactor core. Oliva could even feel the accumulated energy prickling against the skin of his arm, raising goosebumps.

“Energy transfer complete.”

The Mechanicus priest's calm, crackling tone came from the platform behind the cockpit.

“Charge threshold reached and maintained within tolerance parameters. Praise be to the Omnissiah, may you use your fiery wrath to destroy these fallen ones.”

Oliva aimed the weapon at the distant obelisk.

“Target locked.”

“Fire.”

In an instant, a blinding sphere of energy shrieked from the Warhound's left arm, hurtling into the enemy ranks like a comet with a hissing tail of light. The smoke screen was incinerated as it tore through, and an entire swathe of invaders was annihilated, fused into molten debris of vitrified ruin.

In other directions, two other plasma blasts roared forth.

The moment it was attacked, the obelisk's black surface rippled and flowed. Then, three massive plasma blasts struck its living metal surface in quick succession.

The first impact created a spreading cloud of plasma. The second caused massive cracks to appear on the obelisk's surface. The third generated a blinding flash of light.

In the blink of an eye, nearly half of the solid obelisk's structure was burned into red slag, the surrounding infantry evaporated. Then it tilted to the left, collapsing into an unremarkable pile of black rubble.

“Keep moving, the hunt continues!”

As Shadow Wolf Squad cautiously entered the outskirts of the hive ruins, activity from other squads could be heard from other directions, with booming gunfire and the crashing of remaining structures. As the Titan squads advanced, tanks and armored vehicles carrying large numbers of infantry roared towards the hive, like rivers surging at the feet of giants, intending to breach the gaps in the dam and cause it to collapse completely.

At this stage, enemy resistance seemed to have collapsed, and scattered Necron Warriors were quickly crushed and overwhelmed by the furious armored forces. The ground forces then began to advance further, while the Titans slowed their pace.

The internal structure of the hive suddenly became rugged and complex, making it somewhat inconvenient for the Titans to walk through, and even causing walking accidents. Therefore, they were as careful as possible.

It was this caution that saved them from the worst of the enemy's ambush when it was sprung.

Within the dark hive ruins, searing green beams of light suddenly rose, turning dozens of Leman Russ and Land Raider tanks at the front of the column into piles of slag, with the ensuing small-scale explosions vaporizing everything in the surrounding area.

“Detecting enemy high-energy reaction source! Confirming!”

A rapid alarm sounded in Shadow Wolf Three's cockpit, followed by the void shield being struck by something, flashing with a dazzling light. Streams of green gauss energy burst and splashed across its layered surface.

The God-Machine stopped immediately, gears and hydraulics grinding under the immense force. Then it turned sideways, bringing its weapons to bear on the threat.

“Enemy gauss weapon attack! Void shield integrity down to 63%! Approaching critical threshold!”

“Target confirmed! It's an enemy turret!”

Oliva did not choose to force the issue, because the enemy's firepower was very fierce, and the rate of fire of that fixed turret was also very high.

The first lesson taught to all Titan Legion pilots is a truth: unless absolutely necessary, or there is absolute certainty, try not to engage in continuous shooting with the enemy's fixed firepower points. No matter how powerful the God-Machine is, its firepower and energy are ultimately limited, and you never know how much power and how many weapons, and how thick a shield the enemy has prepared for fixed firepower points.

The God-Machine is powerful mobile support firepower, and its greatest advantage is always on its legs.

Oliva maneuvered the Warhound in a serpentine path, then entered the shadow of a collapsed hive spire. Immediately, another gauss ray struck, but was blocked by the steel ruins, absorbing most of the energy, leaving only a faint glow on the void shield.

The other two Warhounds also hid behind cover, partly to determine the enemy's position and partly to give the void shield time to recover.

The complex terrain of the hive, while posing a threat to their turrets, also greatly limited their field of fire.

“They must have deployed a blockade.”

The Captain's deep voice sounded on the channel.

“The area that Titans can enter is limited. They are specially prepared for us. Let the ground troops find, or better yet, clear these turrets before we continue.”

After receiving the request from the Titans, the ground forces accelerated. They advanced against fire from all directions.

Soon, the locations of those Necron turrets were identified one by one. They were all well hidden, even among the ruins, and guarding them were large numbers of Necron Warriors and their Annihilation Barges, as well as various constructs.

A great battle broke out instantly. Tanks were detonated, barges were destroyed, and the combined forces of the Krieg Death Korps, Necromunda Spiders, and the Imperial Knights Auxiliary formed an iron fist, smashing hard against the enemy's living metal ramparts.