Chapter 358: Unexpected Attack
Although the Eternal Crusader had been transferred to the Black Templars, this legendary warship, which had once served as the flagship of the VII Legion and the Primarch, still attracted the gaze of various factions.
Its abnormal mobilization and the military deployments of the Black Templars quickly aroused the vigilance of numerous forces on Holy Terra.
However, this time, Rogal Dorn displayed a long-absent unyielding stance, suppressing all prying and suspicion with unquestionable will.
At this sensitive moment, Dorn made a decision that surprised everyone—he personally went deep into the Imperial Palace to meet the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes.
During the meeting, Dorn, with rare solemnity, requested the dispatch of a portion of the Custodes to assist in maintaining order on Terra and stabilizing the Imperium's situation if necessary.
This request deeply puzzled the Captain-General. Not long ago, it was Dorn and Guilliman who had jointly issued an edict requiring the Custodes not to step half a pace out of the Imperial Palace. Furthermore, the Custodes themselves, having failed to protect the Emperor during the Siege of Terra, remained steeped in self-blame, voluntarily confining themselves deep within the Palace. Dorn's highly uncharacteristic request at this moment was indeed perplexing.
However, an even more shocking event occurred.
Just as the Captain-General was preparing to politely decline this untimely request, a familiar and majestic consciousness suddenly descended upon the audience chamber.
A clear perception emanated from the direction of the Golden Throne—it was the Emperor's will, faint yet unquestionable.
This consciousness contained a clear directive: the Custodes must assist Rogal Dorn.
The Captain-General immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head to receive the command.
To the Custodes, the Emperor's will was the highest law, even if this command contradicted their previous decisions.
When they raised their heads again, they saw a trace of long-lost resolve on Dorn's face, weathered by ten thousand years of hardship.
Hours later, a contingent of glittering Custodes appeared on the outer perimeter of the Imperial Palace, breaking precedent.
They marched silently in formation, their golden power armor shining brilliantly under the Terran sun.
This was the first time the Custodes had appeared in public since the Siege of Terra.
Their appearance immediately sent shockwaves through Terra's highest echelons—everyone understood that there must be an extraordinarily momentous reason behind this.
Dorn stood on the highest balcony of the Imperial Palace, watching the Custodes divide into small squads and head to various key nodes.
The knuckles of his hands gripping the railing turned slightly white.
The Emperor's manifestation was both support for his actions and a sign that what was about to happen might far exceed his initial estimates.
This recognition from the Master of Mankind was both a protective talisman and a heavy responsibility.
Just as Sigismund was rushing to the Death World at full speed, Akira's base suffered a sudden attack.
Several massive meteorites, wrapped in green psychic flames, brutally tore through the atmosphere and smashed heavily onto the wasteland on the perimeter of the base.
Pouring out of these crude drop pods were roaring Greenskin Orks.
The moment these beasts landed, they acted like a swarm of locusts scenting blood, launching a frenzied charge directly toward the laboratory.
Their numbers were not particularly massive, but that primal and pure desire for destruction, coupled with their highly unusual method of arrival in this environment, caused Akira's computing core to immediately flag them with an extremely high threat level, flashing a judgment of "conspiracy."
However, he had no time to delve into the strangeness behind this right now.
The base's standing Skitarii and Cybernetica Automata quickly organized a defense line. Flashes of las-fire and bolter rounds lit up the wasteland, continuously shredding the Orks charging at the front.
But the Orks' offensive was like a never-ending tide. Their crude but immensely powerful weapons and their fearless charges were rapidly depleting the numbers and ammunition of the defending forces.
The defense line was retreating step by step. Based on the current attrition rate, being breached was only a matter of time.
Akira did not hesitate.
While sending a highest-priority distress signal to the frigate in orbit, he forcibly stabilized the dimensional parameters near the base and opened the rift leading to Night City once again.
"Nearl Squad, return to reinforce immediately." His command was delivered instantly through the comms channel.
At the same time, the orbiting frigate received the order. The ship's cannons began to adjust their angles, locking onto the area with the densest concentration of Orks.
After a brief charge, several thick pillars of energy light slammed down from the firmament like spears of divine punishment!
"Boom—!"
Deafening explosions rang out in succession, the earth trembling violently.
At the impact points of the light pillars, several massive, scorched craters were instantly cleansed into existence. The Greenskins within the blast radius, along with the rock beneath their feet, were vaporized in an instant.
The fierce shockwave sent Orks further away flying in droves.
The orbital bombardment temporarily halted the Orks' fiercest offensive, winning a moment of respite for the defense line.
But the Greenskins possessed extremely tenacious vitality. The Orks that were not directly hit quickly recovered from the shock, letting out even more furious howls and continuing their charge.
Just as the defense line was about to be submerged by the green tide once more, the spatial rift behind Akira stabilized.
Accompanied by heavy, rhythmic footsteps—distinct from the clamor of the Greenskins—Margaret and Maria, piloting their Imperial Knights, were the first to step through the dimensional gate.
"Clear them out," Akira's order was concise and cold.
"For the Magos, purge the xenos!" Margaret's voice transmitted through the Knight's vox-caster, steady and powerful.
The Lancer's shock lance instantly ignited, and its ion shield unfurled. Like a dam of steel, it met the green tide head-on.
Maria's Castigator raised its bolt cannon, forming a crossfire with the orbital bombardment to accurately blanket the Orks' follow-up forces.
With the addition of these fresh reinforcements, especially the formidable firepower and impact brought by the two Imperial Knights, the situation on the battlefield instantly reversed.
Although the Greenskins remained frenzied, under the triple strike of orbital bombardment, Imperial Knights, and elite infantry, they could hardly advance another half-step.
Akira calmly evaluated the battlefield data streams. The parameters flashing continuously in his optical lenses confirmed the stability of the defense line.
Relying on the suppressive firepower of the orbital bombardment and the addition of the Nearl Squad as fresh troops, holding out until Sigismund arrived was no longer a problem.
However, the timing and method of this Greenskin appearance were far too strange.
They crashed precisely on the perimeter of the base and launched a targeted attack without hesitation. This was absolutely not the aimless plundering behavior common to Orks.
The computing core quickly ruled out accidental factors, and a clear judgment surfaced—this was a premeditated attack, and there was inevitably some force guiding or manipulating it from behind.
"Someone... or something, is plotting against me," Akira's synthesized voice sounded lowly within the command nexus.
He no longer viewed this matter as a simple accident.
Without the slightest hesitation, through a top-secret communication channel with multiple layers of encryption exclusive to him and Magos Dominus Vox, he sent a maximum-emergency astropathic distress signal to the Forge World of Nexum.